In this weekly update are a few sticky moments as I navigate my way around our kitchen, aided by Delia Smith and the wonderful BBC Good Food website. The week also included some nice runs, entertaining friends, t’was also the week that Brexit came and went. Finally my friend Brian has sadly passed away.
Early in the week, we helped a young man make a little sense of modern life. This was all about the delights of the Government Gateway and the challenge of starting a self employed career. Once again this served as a reminder of the need to stay on top of things and how having a little money can make all the difference in terms of the quality of life.
Entertaining friends
On Saturday we had a lovely evening and I’m feeling chuffed as I had invited two couples to join us for dinner and they got on really nicely. It could so easily have back-fired if the combination hadn’t worked. So, it worked and Barry & Angela with Anthony & Deborah were our guests. Two very different couples and perhaps this is what made things work. We chatted foodie stuff, fitness and being healthy. We also chatted on climate change and even touched on Brexit (well, we were each in very agreeable company).
In terms of food, I made a Spaghetti Bolognese without the spaghetti. The recipe started as a Delia Smith recipe and then morphed into BBC Good Food recipe until I needed cloves, at which point it became my own. Actually it was definitely my own recipe as I did meaty and veggie versions. Interestingly everyone tried a little of my veggie version and liked it.
Barry needed to carb load a little as he was doing a cyclocross race on the following day. For those not in the know, this is a bunch of men (but not exclusively) riding their bikes around in circles on a grassy field or common. They weave around tight corners, slide a bit and occasionally one falls off. They get muddy and seem to enjoy it all the more! Here’s a shot of Barry, since I went to do a little spectating.
Oh and before I forget, we had our friends Steve and Claire over for lunch on Sunday and they brought their son Daniel too. Nice easy going company.
Marmalade
For a while I have fancied making some marmalade. This is partly driven by the disappointingly mediocre crap supermarkets tend to sell these days.
The recipe was simple enough. Oranges, water, sugar, a lemon and a little spoon of butter to prevent a scum forming on the final rolling boil. I thoroughly enjoyed making it but there was a little sticky problem afterwards; the kind which would delight Paddington Bear if he had dropped by.
Everywhere was so sticky. The worktop, all the finished jars, the hob, the kitchen floor, cupboard door handles…… need I say more?
The result is a very chunky marmalade, or “robust” as Rachel put it. She was so gracious in suggesting I cut the orange peel into slightly thinner strips next time….
Running
As you might have gathered, I have had a few nice runs since investing in a new pair of Saucony’s. The purchase was nearly thwarted through a power cut in the Up and Running shop in MK. I might blog about that whole experience some other time.
I am just so thankful I am picking up my running again. This time last year I was so fatigued, right through the winter and into the summer of this year. I am not entirely sure what is going on as my kidney performance has deteriorated and yet my energy levels have improved.
I am loving Strava as it tots up my mileage, tells me my pace and all kinds of other things. It just adds that extra bit of interest and I find that is a good motivator. I did toy with the idea of treating myself to a Garmin watch but decided against it (too fiddly to use, impossible without my glasses).
Losing Brian
We learned on Sunday morning our dear friend Brian had passed away the previous day. He’s in heaven now, a far better place but we can’t help but feel for his family who loved him so much.
I remember Brian for sending me little poems when he wanted me to sit up and take note. Although I’ve known him for years, it is only through joining his Art Group that I’ve really come to appreciate him. He would often say to me “I saw this and thought you could do a lovely watercolour of it”. That was until I told him about being colour blind. Other times I would hear him nicely encouraging others on.
I admire him for his free thinking, often surprisingly liberal, his deep faithfulness and his lovely smile. Undoubtedly someone I ought to have known better than I did. This is definitely food for thought with others I know and admire.
Brexit came and went
Yes, we all know it was a non-event and something for which I am grateful. For many reasons I voted to remain in the EU.
Now we have got ourselves into such a pickle, I can’t see an easy way out of it. Also I fear we must be the laughing stock of the civilised world.
Considering Boris Johnson pledged to take us out of the EU in his infamous “do or die” approach with “no if, buts or maybes” I really do despair at our situation. The current situation seems to be giving a voice to the extremes and this is troubling, particularly when it is far right wing nationalism on the rise.
One argument for a People’s Vote would be to present the final proposal to the country in another referendum. Then people might see the complexities and considerable impact Brexit will mean, often far beyond what may voters will have realised.
And yet, would a People’s Vote compound the problem? If we had a referendum on, say, cutting VAT by 75% most people would love it as things in the shops would be much cheaper. And yet it would be economic suicide, hardly in the country’s best interests. I fear that’s what happened with the Brexit referendum; a lovely idea was dangled in front of people who then said they’d like it. “It” being something which nobody really understood what it would mean at the time.
We live in interesting and worrying times. On a lighter note, I’m going with my friend Dave to a Lib Dem Pint evening on Thursday. “Mine’s a Coca-Cola please”……