Celebrations

The sun is peeping over the horizon and the sky is streaked as if lit by a night fire. Time moves on....
Now the soft glow becomes a harsh demanding eye.

A few nights ago I spent hours slicing up a christening cake; that and the arrival on our screens of the Great British Bake Off made me think.
Celebrations are a minefield and the choice of type of cake is a small but significant part of the celebration. I remember my dad talking about his mother baking fruit cakes then putting them in a biscuit tin with fruit like apples and burying them in the garden to store them only lifting them and opening them over the months in order to swop the wizened apples for fresh ones and reburying the tin until the celebration day arrives.

I am such a Northerner- I love moist fruit cake preferably with a chunk of cheese.

We went to a wedding recently where the layers consisted of different cheeses surrounded by mountains of butter and piles of savoury biscuits, providing yet another course after dessert.
Our latest wedding presented a (colour coordinated) mauve shaded 7 layer confection of which the mother of the bride confided the bottom 3 layers were polystyrene!

At weddings now it is popular to have layers made up of different types of cake; eg lower layer of fruit then above this balances a plain cake like a Madeira (which I dislike) and a chocolate cake. The difficulties are that nothing keeps as well as a fruit cake- so chocolate and plain cakes tend to be dry. The cakes' compiler also has to have a sturdy enough lower cake to support the upper layers so nonfruit cakes (even with columns inserted) can be dryer in order to be firm enough to hold up the weight above.
I wonder how they do it in the USA where I believe they often have cakes composed of ice cream?

It is traditional in England to keep the top layer of the stacked cake, to be used in years to come as the christening cake of the first baby! Certainly we followed tradition but I baked another celebration fruit cake as back up- just in case!

I invariably had marzipan stored in my cupboards for a forthcoming celebration cake eg Christmas- only to find my youngest sister had raided the cupboards while babysitting and the cupboard was bare of marzipan. I brush apricot jam on to the cake before covering it in rolled out almond paste; the timing is crucial as it has to be left long enough for the marzipan to dry out so as not to discolour the white icing. After undertaking a 3 year icing course, my mother's creations in Royal icing were spectacular. My Christmas cakes' snow scenes leave a lot to be desired!
These days one has to be so careful- I suppose because of the age of our offspring we have had the pleasure of a lot of weddings and christenings and all the cakes have been different and cautious! It is traditional to put nuts in celebration fruit cakes but we don't because so many guests these days have nut allergies- and because H1 doesn't like nuts in food! Similarly due to egg allergies and pregnant guests' , we have not iced with royal icing which contains raw egg white. Royal icing goes rock hard too. Sometimes we have left off the layer of marzipan due to the nut content- but at least that can be peeled off not ingested. Rolled out icing is the way to do it!

Finished at last

A Peace rose we inherited with the house; so old and gnarled, folk say we should cut it down- but it is too beautiful and flowers abundantly year after year so why would I get rid of it?
 

I am pleased to announce that at last I have finished 'Bring up the bodies' by Hilary Mantel after 8? months of attempting to read it- or rather after months of attempting to find the time to read it or anything else. I will Bookcross it if no one among friends and relatives wants it; get in touch if you want possession of this novel about the life of Thomas Cromwell at the time of Anne Boleyn; this book sequels Mantel's first Thomas Cromwell tale called 'Wolf Hall'; I had not realised Wolf Hall was the home of the Seymours; when I was advised to read her next book I did wonder where the title 'Bring up the Bodies' had come from not realising it was the call from the Tower when...... but I will leave you to discover that for yourself.

I am moving on to 'Philomena'; I saw the film quite a while since but weeks ago a friend offered the novel to me as the last reader among The Ladies, suggesting that the book was very different to the film so here we go!

hydrangea head

You wouldn't believe me

Not a lot of people sit in their garden in July sipping a cup of broth then a Christmas pudding with ice cream- but we did today! We are clearing out the ancient freezer as we do regularly in case it breaks down or will not restart when I defrost it next. I make 3 Christmas puds and though we have the big one on Christmas Day the two smaller ones we eat at some point later in the year- but time was pushing on and it would be a waste to have the last of our festive fare go mouldy- it was beautiful if I say so myself.

We have run around so much this week- in fact for the last few weeks- so the garden was thigh high in grass, weeds etc in the borders.

Going to visit the Aln Valley Railway was interesting- all these men slogging away to create something from nothing- boys and their toys.

We have been to the Theatre Royal to see 'Black Coffee',  Agatha Christie's first play and Hercule , Jap, Hastings were all in there. We thought it was much better than 'The Mousetrap'.

We were fortunate to miss the rain when we went to see Heartbreak productions do Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' in Jesmond Dene; the evening got cooler after a hot day but it was a smashing night.

We also watched friends get married in Las Vegas- via Livestream; it was as though we were there!

Yesterday we spent several hours at a barbecue; the joys of British weather meant one of the guests brought a gazebo/marquee so if rain threatened the roof appeared overhead to stop our Pimms from being diluted- however the rain was fleeting and light and the fire meant we could stay out & enjoy good food and great company till almost midnight..

Right now I can hardly move as I have gardened since 2p.m. and have just showered as gardening in your shorts gives you hacky filthy knees!

Outside the clouds are pink and lit by an evening sun; folks forget that up North we have summer light in June/July pretty well right through the night.

Restaurant reviews

A dear friend reported that he and his wife liked my 'reviews' of afternoon tea in  venues in Newcastle and requested that they would like me to do some recommendations of restaurants & cafes in the city too. Wow! That gives me a licence to eat!! Well someone has to do it!

We tend to eat at the same place frequently- do I want those places which are already packed due to popularity- to get too full for us to get in?!

We have eaten recently at La Vina (Grey St) , La Tasca (Quay Side) Piccolinos (on Trinity Gardens near Quayside/Law Courts) all of which I have reviewed on Trip Advisor- none were among the best places I have eaten in. We do quite like Zizzis if we are going to the Theatre Royal. We have not found any faults with Basilico in Gosforth. I have not been to Jesmond Dene House in ages for lunch or dinner because in spite of their reputation, years ago I had 2 very unsatisfactory lunches there. Eslington Villa has to be one of our best rendezvous'  still over many years. Maybe we might have a go at Jamie's, Browns, and some of the new places opened recently as well as Iguana, Café Rouge etc which we have not been to in for ages. Whilst I think Barluga is overpriced for tiny portions, last weekend someone advised me to try upstairs so maybe.....  Of course I like the coffee rooms at the Tyneside Cinema but I told you that a few blogs back. I heard drastically poor reviews of afternoon tea at the Baltic last Sunday- expensive, poor and take no regard for food to which one is allergic or unable to eat due to pregnancy (both of which had been rung in days before guests attended).

For a reasonably priced lunch in town I like Cloisters at St Mary's Cathedral and Coffee Bean downstairs in Old Eldon Square. For a coffee 'Johann's' in Fenwicks is central. I used to like the vegetarian restaurant 'Supernatural' but sadly it is no more.

woman bishops

Well done to the Anglican Synod who finally voted in the possibility of female bishops; apparently Pope Francis of the Catholic church said last weekend something along the lines of the church having married priests-  at last; Lots of people said Hallelujah- but lots also said what about women priests?

Imagine recognition of equality coming to the Christian churches?! What about other religions too?

Watch lots of spaces............

Halcyon days

I do not care what anyone says.... this is the second warmest summer on record. and what a glorious day today has been.

6 of us taking turns to push the pram while walking in 29degrees to Dean and Daniella's to sip Fentiman's rose lemonade and nibble a variety of grub; the healthiest of us nibbling avocado and prawn salad while jealously watching those who ate pizza, chicken sandwiches and sausage rolls (you all know who the 'Sausage Roll and Sweet Mince Pie Queen ' is.

Walking back we called into a pub and bumped into a young friend with whom we could catch up over a real ale.

Later we left the house full of runners and baby feeders and drove to pick up a friend to head to the coast for a barbecue. What a fantastic barbecue! Beautiful food, a lovely garden, lots of chat conducted in glorious sunshine and best of all with dozens of old friends.....

Life is good.

Grand parenting

Yes it is grand; being a grandparent means you do things with your grandchildren that you would never have done with your own children- eg allow them to eat chocolate and biscuits or visit cafes.
Pressures of time, education and discipline mean parents have to say 'no' at times and move on to the next 'project' or educational activity which will be beneficial in the competition held daily at the school gates- the casual , dropped in comment about how your Charlie has just swum the length of the pool and got his 25 metre badge or your Sophie has just got her Grade1 piano grade (with distinction!); it starts with the arrival of the first tooth/first crawl/ weaning/first steps and continues through university grades to their job

Grandparents have no one to compete with- and don't care anyway. You too are in your second childhood; in this child's eyes you are an expert train driver, tractor loader,

fish spotter

friend

sand castle builder

farmer- you are an expert at talking to animals
and about animals

story teller

cake maker and drink provider.


You love and are loved.