Friday, after our regular lunchtime visit to the fishmonger on the market, Lisa set to work to put together a very classy meal of tuna, salsa sampire and rice. The tuna steaks were marinated and then briefly char-grilled, the marsh sampire (also bought from the fishmonger) we blanched and tossed in butter and Lisa made a tomato and onion salsa. These elements were composed on the plate as you see, and served with a pot of basmati rice flavoured with fresh garden herbs and cooked in chicken stock. Quite a lot of work for a Friday evening but well worth it!
Saturday we were back on the art trail in Cambridge, this time visiting the small gallery at Kettle's Yard to see an exhibition of ceramics by Edward de Waal that had been featured in the national press. These were delightfully engaging and occasionally slyly humourous works each consisting of numerous ceramic objects (mostly plates, cups and bowls) arranged and placed in the various gallery spaces to wonderful effect. Far, far more rewarding than the disappointing Hodgkin paintings we saw last week. Even better, we learned that there were a few more de Waal pieces that had been installed in the Kettle's Yard House so we went next-door and spent an engrossing couple of hours there enjoying the house as a whole and the de Waal installations in particular. A very fine way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
Today (Monday) Lisa had a pre-interview "informal chat" at one of the research centres in the University where she's applying for work. Yes, she's on the job-hunting trail again as her contract in her current post isn't going to be renewed due to funding difficulties. We met up briefly afterwards and, over a coffee, Lisa described a pretty intensive one-to-one grilling by the place that left her feeling shattered; and this is before the panel interview in a few weeks' time. Whew!
04 June, 2007
30 May, 2007
In our own backyard
Saturday we met up with Mei Hua and spent the afternoon in town with her. We started with lunch at Teri-Aki a Japanese sushi and noodle bar. Lisa was especially impressed with the sushi but it was a good thing we weren't in a hurry as the service was surprisingly slow. Mei Hua then gave us a guided tour round the grounds of her college, Magdelene, which has a series of secluded and peaceful gardens along the river.
Then it was off to the main objective of the afternoon: the Fitzwilliam Museum. It's such a cliche, but true, that neither Lisa nor I had set foot inside in spite of passing close by every single working day whereas we happily go to London or abroad to visit places of no greater distinction. What finally drew us in was an exhibition of paintings by Edward Hodgkin which looked and sounded very interesting from the publicity. We found the reality distinctly underwhelming: unusually, the paintings looked much better in photographs than they did in the flesh and none of us could find anything to respond to in the works. We decided that since we were in the museum, we should take in some of the permanent collection and spent quite a while looking mostly at paintings and drawings. There was plenty to enjoy there, including a strong representation of French impressionists. We left vowing to return and see some more.
Then it was off to the main objective of the afternoon: the Fitzwilliam Museum. It's such a cliche, but true, that neither Lisa nor I had set foot inside in spite of passing close by every single working day whereas we happily go to London or abroad to visit places of no greater distinction. What finally drew us in was an exhibition of paintings by Edward Hodgkin which looked and sounded very interesting from the publicity. We found the reality distinctly underwhelming: unusually, the paintings looked much better in photographs than they did in the flesh and none of us could find anything to respond to in the works. We decided that since we were in the museum, we should take in some of the permanent collection and spent quite a while looking mostly at paintings and drawings. There was plenty to enjoy there, including a strong representation of French impressionists. We left vowing to return and see some more.
21 May, 2007
Cricket at Lord's
We had a very full day out yesterday. Friends who were unable to use them had given us tickets to see the cricket match at Lord's, the "headquarters of cricket" in North London. The match was the First Test between England and the West Indies, yesterday was the Fourth Day (of five). Much as we both love the sport and keenly follow the major matches on the radio, neither of us had seen a Test Match before. The weather was kind to us, the atmosphere at the completely full ground was buzzing and we discovered our seats were in near perfect position to enjoy the action on the pitch.
The trains were less kind to us, with engineering works forcing us to take a bus from Stansted to Liverpool Street. One way and other we managed to miss the entire first two hours of play which was the only downside to an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable day. For most of the time we were watching, England were batting and building on their first-innings lead of 116. Kevin Pietersen top-scored with an impressive 109. Once they were 400 in front, England declared and we got to see a couple of overs in which the West Indies scored seven without loss.
Lisa took a ton of photos, of which the one shown is a typical example, and we enjoyed ourselves so much that we immediately resolved to repeat the exercise as soon as possible. As it happens, England are playing the First Test against India at Lord's in two months' time and there are still some tickets available for the Fourth Day (again a Sunday) so I put in our order straight away!
The trains were less kind to us, with engineering works forcing us to take a bus from Stansted to Liverpool Street. One way and other we managed to miss the entire first two hours of play which was the only downside to an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable day. For most of the time we were watching, England were batting and building on their first-innings lead of 116. Kevin Pietersen top-scored with an impressive 109. Once they were 400 in front, England declared and we got to see a couple of overs in which the West Indies scored seven without loss.
Lisa took a ton of photos, of which the one shown is a typical example, and we enjoyed ourselves so much that we immediately resolved to repeat the exercise as soon as possible. As it happens, England are playing the First Test against India at Lord's in two months' time and there are still some tickets available for the Fourth Day (again a Sunday) so I put in our order straight away!
14 May, 2007
Celebrating 49
As I entered the last year of my forties, Lisa orchestrated a weekend of celebration meals. On Friday we enjoyed a very special dish of skate wing poached in court-bouillon and served with capers and black butter. This is a recipe from Rick Stein's Seafood book and is our favourite way to prepare skate wing. The longest part of the job is to make the court-bouillon but once that's ready the rest is quite quick and the taste is superb!
On Saturday I was treated to dinner out at Café Adriatic, a favourite restaurant of ours in nearby Mill Road. And on Sunday, the day itself, Lisa put together the intricate oriental dish shown here. I don't know what it should be called as Lisa dreamed it up herself. It's based around the thick Japanese Udon noodles that I love and serves these with just about everything that's good to eat with noodles: chicken, prawns, tofu, and more kinds of vegetables than I can keep track of. To bring it all together, there's a soup that's poured over the whole and the entire meal is thus served in a single bowl. Delicious!
On Saturday I was treated to dinner out at Café Adriatic, a favourite restaurant of ours in nearby Mill Road. And on Sunday, the day itself, Lisa put together the intricate oriental dish shown here. I don't know what it should be called as Lisa dreamed it up herself. It's based around the thick Japanese Udon noodles that I love and serves these with just about everything that's good to eat with noodles: chicken, prawns, tofu, and more kinds of vegetables than I can keep track of. To bring it all together, there's a soup that's poured over the whole and the entire meal is thus served in a single bowl. Delicious!
23 April, 2007
Brilliant brill, bicycles and barbecue
Friday lunchtime we visited the local market to se what the fishmonger had to offer. Particularly attractive this week was a beautiful brill, not a fish we know well but, on this occasion, irresistible. We adapted a turbot recipe out of fish guru Rick Stein's Seafood book and braised the brill whole in white wine, adding a sauce of herbs and capers in melted butter once the fish was cooked. Served with asparagus (delicious local stuff, also from the market) and baby new potatoes it made a refined and delicate composition.
We got our leisure cycling off to an early start this year with a gentle ten-mile spin over a favourite local loop via Fulbourn, Teversham, and Cherry Hinton on Easter Sunday. Yesterday we went a step further and extended our route out over the Gog-Magog hills for a rather lumpier twelve mile ride. We enjoyed beautiful weather again, for the third weekend in a row; sunshine always makes life seem more joyful.
After the cycling it was time to get the barbecue fired up for dinner. We'd bought a baby chicken from the local halal butcher on Saturday and Lisa spatchcocked it then rubbed it with a mixture of oil, garlic, herbs and spices. We then set about preparing a batch of Lisa's wonderful coleslaw which was dispatched to the fridge. Once the coals were ready, the chicken was quickly cooked over the hottest part of the fire then brought inside to rest while Lisa cooked corn cobs and more asparagus (it's not at its best for long, so when it's at its peak we can't have too much of it!) on the cooling grill. All assembled it was quite a feast to see out the weekend in style.
And tomorrow the Easter Term begins: tea-break over, back on your heads!
We got our leisure cycling off to an early start this year with a gentle ten-mile spin over a favourite local loop via Fulbourn, Teversham, and Cherry Hinton on Easter Sunday. Yesterday we went a step further and extended our route out over the Gog-Magog hills for a rather lumpier twelve mile ride. We enjoyed beautiful weather again, for the third weekend in a row; sunshine always makes life seem more joyful.
After the cycling it was time to get the barbecue fired up for dinner. We'd bought a baby chicken from the local halal butcher on Saturday and Lisa spatchcocked it then rubbed it with a mixture of oil, garlic, herbs and spices. We then set about preparing a batch of Lisa's wonderful coleslaw which was dispatched to the fridge. Once the coals were ready, the chicken was quickly cooked over the hottest part of the fire then brought inside to rest while Lisa cooked corn cobs and more asparagus (it's not at its best for long, so when it's at its peak we can't have too much of it!) on the cooling grill. All assembled it was quite a feast to see out the weekend in style.
And tomorrow the Easter Term begins: tea-break over, back on your heads!
16 April, 2007
Sunday at Ally Pally
We spent the weekend visiting our accountant friends Antony & Chris at Muswell Hill. On the Sunday afternoon we walked to nearby Alexandra Palace (familiarly known as "Ally Pally"). This impressive looking building is mostly used as an exhibition centre nowadays but Tony, sorry! ANtony, tells us there are plans to expand the usage.
At one end there is the famous BBC television mast that beams out TV to a wide surrounding area and from where, in 1936, the first public television broadcasts were made. Along one side there's an impressive colonnade and inside, under huge arched glass ceilings, there's even a palm tree growing!
Having admired the building, we spent a pleasant few hours enjoying the sunshine and admiring the views looking out over North London to the City centre skyline. Summer seems to have started nice and early this year!
At one end there is the famous BBC television mast that beams out TV to a wide surrounding area and from where, in 1936, the first public television broadcasts were made. Along one side there's an impressive colonnade and inside, under huge arched glass ceilings, there's even a palm tree growing!
Having admired the building, we spent a pleasant few hours enjoying the sunshine and admiring the views looking out over North London to the City centre skyline. Summer seems to have started nice and early this year!
28 March, 2007
Flying visit to the Med.
Back to work today having just got home yesterday from a week-long visit to Nice. No time to re-adjust, just "bang!" straight back in harness. We try to get to Nice each year to see Lisa's Uncle who lives on the Port. As usual, we flew out by EasyJet from Stansted and stayed at the "guests" apartment of Lisa's Uncles on Boulevard de Cessole. Each day we took the bus down to the centre of town to do our usual routine of shopping in the old town, walking on the promenade and visiting Lisa's Uncle for lunch. I didn't keep a detailed journal this time but the one I posted after the first of our two trips in 2004 gives a flavour of how we spend our time.
I also didn't take a whole lot of photos this time but, again, there are plenty online from 2004. The one day I did use my camera was on a day trip by bus from Nice to Menton, close to the Italian border. The highlight of our quick visit there was the museum of works by Jean Cocteau housed in a 17th century fort on the sea-front where Cocteau at one time worked. Wonderfully arranged and packed full of typically strong paintings, drawings, ceramics and more it's a concentrated feast of fascinating work. Lisa was more active with her camera, as can be seen here and here.
We normally expect to see plenty of the sun when we visit Nice, even in March (a time of year when we've often visited). This year we hardly saw the sun at all and, though it was certainly warmer than the UK, the cloudy skies did not give us the contrast with home we normally enjoy. That didn't undermine our pleasure in making the visit: we feel very at home in the city and are always assured of the good company of Lisa's Uncle. We'll be back!
I also didn't take a whole lot of photos this time but, again, there are plenty online from 2004. The one day I did use my camera was on a day trip by bus from Nice to Menton, close to the Italian border. The highlight of our quick visit there was the museum of works by Jean Cocteau housed in a 17th century fort on the sea-front where Cocteau at one time worked. Wonderfully arranged and packed full of typically strong paintings, drawings, ceramics and more it's a concentrated feast of fascinating work. Lisa was more active with her camera, as can be seen here and here.
We normally expect to see plenty of the sun when we visit Nice, even in March (a time of year when we've often visited). This year we hardly saw the sun at all and, though it was certainly warmer than the UK, the cloudy skies did not give us the contrast with home we normally enjoy. That didn't undermine our pleasure in making the visit: we feel very at home in the city and are always assured of the good company of Lisa's Uncle. We'll be back!
12 February, 2007
How quickly they grow up!
It only seems like a few weeks ago that we first met Robbie. Actually, it was almost five months ago now and he's grown tremendously in that time. Although he'll still be a "kitten" for another six months, it's got to the point where we're ready to let him roam the great outdoors. Or nearly so: first the little chap has to take a trip to the vet to get his shots updated, get a microchip implanted and have a little snip done. Then it'll be time to get him trained on the use of the cat-flap and reassure ourselves that he'll come home of his own accord. And all this has to be settled before we head off to Nice next month: we'll be leaving the kitties at home while we're away and they'll be looked after by a friend who'll call in once a day so they'll be on their own recognisance as far as comings and goings are concerned.
A little while ago was the ninth anniversary of Thomas joining us. He was four when we rescued him from the shelter, so he'll be 14 (in May) this year. That hardly seems possible either: on the one hand it feels like he's been around forever, on the other he doesn't strike us as being a senior citizen. I read somewhere that 14 for a cat is something like 70 for us, so he's not doing so badly. Madam Sofia, the third of the menagerie, turned five a week after that and a right grown up little Miss she is too! Sophie joined us when she was about the same age Robbie is now: funny how these things work out.
On the food front we've been enjoying more authentic Chinese home cooking chez-nous thanks to our policy of setting guests to work in the kitchen when they come for dinner. My colleague Emma (Wu Lejun) was here last weekend cooking duck and dumplings and this weekend we again welcomed Mei Hua who constructed the complex but undeniably delicious dish shown in the photo.
A little while ago was the ninth anniversary of Thomas joining us. He was four when we rescued him from the shelter, so he'll be 14 (in May) this year. That hardly seems possible either: on the one hand it feels like he's been around forever, on the other he doesn't strike us as being a senior citizen. I read somewhere that 14 for a cat is something like 70 for us, so he's not doing so badly. Madam Sofia, the third of the menagerie, turned five a week after that and a right grown up little Miss she is too! Sophie joined us when she was about the same age Robbie is now: funny how these things work out.
On the food front we've been enjoying more authentic Chinese home cooking chez-nous thanks to our policy of setting guests to work in the kitchen when they come for dinner. My colleague Emma (Wu Lejun) was here last weekend cooking duck and dumplings and this weekend we again welcomed Mei Hua who constructed the complex but undeniably delicious dish shown in the photo.
05 February, 2007
Blogging all over the world
Just a quick note to say that I created two additional blogs this evening, to run alongside this one. I did consider mixing them all in together but decided their style and subject matter wouldn't sit comfortably alongside these more general ramblings.
First up, I've debuted a blog recording my thoughts on books I've been reading, this is called Nightwol's Books. It continues the similar notes I used to record on the Books Pages of Nightwol's Perch. I'm hoping the blog format will make it easier to add new entries as and when I finish reading each book.
The other new blog will record the fortunes of the Fantasy Cycling Teams Lisa and I have selected for the forthcoming European road racing season. Again this is an offshoot of something I've been keeping track of for some years on dedicated pages of Nightwol's Perch. Last year I maintained a season-long blog of our results using Apple's iWeb component of their iLife suite but that software became desperately unwieldy to use for a blog with over two hundred entries so I won't be using that anymore, big fan of Apple though I be!
First up, I've debuted a blog recording my thoughts on books I've been reading, this is called Nightwol's Books. It continues the similar notes I used to record on the Books Pages of Nightwol's Perch. I'm hoping the blog format will make it easier to add new entries as and when I finish reading each book.
The other new blog will record the fortunes of the Fantasy Cycling Teams Lisa and I have selected for the forthcoming European road racing season. Again this is an offshoot of something I've been keeping track of for some years on dedicated pages of Nightwol's Perch. Last year I maintained a season-long blog of our results using Apple's iWeb component of their iLife suite but that software became desperately unwieldy to use for a blog with over two hundred entries so I won't be using that anymore, big fan of Apple though I be!
29 January, 2007
Burns Night Dinner
Now, I'm English (from the far south-east of the country too) and Lisa's a black American so why celebrate Burns Night? After all, what's Burns to us or we to Burns (to mangle Shakespeare)? Hard to say really. Certainly I have fond memories of Burns night celebrations with Scots friends when I was in my twenties and Lisa acquired a taste for haggis and whisky on our honeymoon in Edinburgh. Whatever the source of our enthusiasm, we've made it our custom to dine traditionally on 25th January each year.
This year we enjoyed the best haggis either of us can remember! Brought down from Edinburgh by Lisa's colleague Harry, it had a wonderfully rich flavour and delightful texture. We made our champit tatties (mashed potatoes) and bashed neeps (for which we use swede, which we like to cut with carrot for colour and flavour) but we passed on the bagpipes. Nonetheles, the cooked haggis was brought ceremoniously to the table by the chef and yours truly gave it the traditional address. The Selkirk Grace was said and we tucked in with great gusto. The pungeant haggis is perfectly complemented by the milder tasting vegeatbles and, of course, all is accompanied by many a "wee dram"!
This year we enjoyed the best haggis either of us can remember! Brought down from Edinburgh by Lisa's colleague Harry, it had a wonderfully rich flavour and delightful texture. We made our champit tatties (mashed potatoes) and bashed neeps (for which we use swede, which we like to cut with carrot for colour and flavour) but we passed on the bagpipes. Nonetheles, the cooked haggis was brought ceremoniously to the table by the chef and yours truly gave it the traditional address. The Selkirk Grace was said and we tucked in with great gusto. The pungeant haggis is perfectly complemented by the milder tasting vegeatbles and, of course, all is accompanied by many a "wee dram"!
22 January, 2007
Mei Hua cooks duck
Lisa's work colleague, Mei Hua, came over on Saturday to cook a duck (Chinese style) with us. I say "with us" but in truth Mei Hua ran the show and Lisa and I were her more than willing sous-chefs. To begin with much attention was lavished on the duck itself then, while the duck was roasting, Mei Hua concocted a delicious accompanying dish of mackerel on a bed of sliced vegetables topped with sliced omelette. Not content with that, she whipped up a truly home-style Chinese soup as a starter and then tossed off a dozen pancakes in which to wrap the main course. Stunning food that was matched by the fun and laughter that filled the kitchen all evening long. We can't wait to do it again!
08 January, 2007
Entertaining Joyce
Lisa's great friend, Joyce, came over from New York on a visit to spend New Year with us. She did the same last year, so we must be doing something right as hosts!
Lisa has written up the New Year's Eve dinner in A Cook's Journal but that was far from the only culinary highlight of the visit. The Genoese minestrone in the photo was prepared by yours truly as a relatively easy-to-eat dinner the day before for Joyce's first (and consequently jet-lagged) evening here. A huge pot of vegetables is gently cooked down to an intensely flavoured soup, laced with pesto and topped with lashings of parmesan cheese.
On New Year's day we worked up an appetite with a stroll across nearby Coldham's Common and then went to work to prepare Jamie's "Incredible baked Lamb shanks", yet another stunningly successful dish from "Cook with Jamie". As Lisa and I were back at work the following day, Joyce turned the tables on us and treated us to dinner out on her. At our suggestion she took us to the Wok & Grill in Trumpington: a pan-East Asian restaurant that
features a deliciously tasty buffet together with a chance to have your own choice of ingredients and sauce stir-fried in front of you by one of the restaurant's chefs. Great fun and hugely popular.
Lisa has written up the New Year's Eve dinner in A Cook's Journal but that was far from the only culinary highlight of the visit. The Genoese minestrone in the photo was prepared by yours truly as a relatively easy-to-eat dinner the day before for Joyce's first (and consequently jet-lagged) evening here. A huge pot of vegetables is gently cooked down to an intensely flavoured soup, laced with pesto and topped with lashings of parmesan cheese.
On New Year's day we worked up an appetite with a stroll across nearby Coldham's Common and then went to work to prepare Jamie's "Incredible baked Lamb shanks", yet another stunningly successful dish from "Cook with Jamie". As Lisa and I were back at work the following day, Joyce turned the tables on us and treated us to dinner out on her. At our suggestion she took us to the Wok & Grill in Trumpington: a pan-East Asian restaurant that
features a deliciously tasty buffet together with a chance to have your own choice of ingredients and sauce stir-fried in front of you by one of the restaurant's chefs. Great fun and hugely popular.
30 December, 2006
Racking up the holiday food
Our local butcher, Andrew Northrop on Mill Road, Cambridge, is great! We wandered in there on spec., our first post-Christmas shopping venture, and asked about getting a rack of lamb. The request was inspired, yet again, by a recipe in "Cook with Jamie" and we were delighted to be told that we could get one on the spot. The butcher prepared it in the "French trimmed" style and even gave us half a dozen miniature paper chefs' hats to cap the exposed bones.
We followed Jamie's recipe to roast the lamb and make a potato and cauliflower dauphinoise to serve with it. The rosemary (for the lamb) and thyme (for the dauphinoise) came fresh from our garden. Rather than spinach, Jamie's choice of vegetable, Lisa prepared a medley of stir-fried broccoli and french beans.
We followed Jamie's recipe to roast the lamb and make a potato and cauliflower dauphinoise to serve with it. The rosemary (for the lamb) and thyme (for the dauphinoise) came fresh from our garden. Rather than spinach, Jamie's choice of vegetable, Lisa prepared a medley of stir-fried broccoli and french beans.
27 December, 2006
New Cookbooks Rule!
Having recived it as a Christmas gift from yours truly, Lisa has been keen to cook from Jamie Oliver's recent book "Cook with Jamie". Last night we indulged in (rump) steak with the cremiest white beans and leeks and tonight we went for the blackened pork (loin) fillets. Both dishes worked well, even with the supermarket meat we used.
Last night's creamiest white beans (we used cannelloni) and leeks were delicious and the leftovers went very well with smoked salmon and cream cheese for breakfast today. Tonight Lisa served the pork with American-style accompaniments: rice cooked with fellini pasta, vegetables blanched and then stir-fried and a tomato and iceberg lettuce salad with a plain viniagrette.
Lisa also received a copy of the River Café Two Easy by Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers of London's River Café, so I epect we'll be dipping into the pages of that in the next few days!
13 November, 2006
New cat on the block
Meet Leonardo, Leo for short. Who's now called Robbie, after going through a number of names that refused to stick. This picture was taken the day he arrived, as a six-week old kitten.
When we first took him in, our intention was to find a good home for him: we have two grown cats of our own, after all! We made handful of attempts to offer him to suitable homes, none of which worked out. After a couple of weeks we had to face up to the fact that we'd grown so used to having him around that we weren't keen to see him go. So it was off to the vet with him to get his first round of shots and we officially conceded that we were now a three cat household.
When we first took him in, our intention was to find a good home for him: we have two grown cats of our own, after all! We made handful of attempts to offer him to suitable homes, none of which worked out. After a couple of weeks we had to face up to the fact that we'd grown so used to having him around that we weren't keen to see him go. So it was off to the vet with him to get his first round of shots and we officially conceded that we were now a three cat household.
02 October, 2006
Dream Come True in Shropshire
With the start of the new academical year looming, Lisa and I squeezed in a trip to Shropshire in the last week of September. Ever since I read Malcolm Saville's "Lone Pine" books as a child I've longed to go there and walk the hills that feature in the stories. That it finally came together, after plans to visit the Chilterns and Brecon Beacons fell through, in the week that Lisa celebrated a landmark birthday was just magical. I booked us in to a guest house in Church Stretton, a town which had the dual advantages af a railway station and direct pedestrian access to the hills I was so keen to explore with Lisa.
So, last Monday, we set off by train from Cambridge and, travelling via Birmingham and Shrewsbury, arrived in Church Stretton in the late afternoon. Checked in to Brookfields Guest House, we strolled across town to the Buck's Head Hotel which seemed the most appealing of guest house proprietor Paul's suggestions for eating in town. We weren't disappointed: the food was better than average pub grub, the Timothy Taylor's Landlord was well kept and the bar where we ate was smoke-free until 9pm.
The BBC Weather Forecast had alerted us to the possibility that Tuesday might be the best day of the week, weather-wise, so on returning from the pub we consulted the guides that Paul lent us to plan a walk that would take full advantage of the good weather in prospect. Breakfast was the traditional guest house "full English" fry-up of eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes. Straight afterwards Lisa & I set out through the town and out the other side towards our objective of the day: the Long Mynd.
Following the route proposed in the guide, we left Church Stretton via Townbrook Hollow and, once we emerged from the woods, immediately found ourselves immersed in the full glory of the wonderful scenery of the hills. The walk up to the valley head was everything I'd been hoping for and the warm sunshine made the experience perfect. As we walked, the changing perspective continually revealed new delights and we spent plenty of time drinking in the views. Unsurprisingly, Lisa's efforts to capture some of this in photographs were more successful than mine but even so they provide only a faint echo of the impact of actually being there.
Once up on the Long Mynd itself we soon found a comfortable spot to break for lunch. We made short work of our sandwiches, had some coffee from our flasks and then lay back to enjoy the sunshine for a while. After a couple of hours rest we gathered ourselves and set off to return to Church Stretton, this time by way of Ashes Hollow. The descent was easy-going in the early stages but there were a few stretches lower down that needed a little more care. We encountered several sets of school children surveying sections of the lower part of the valley. As on the way up, the scenery continually delighted us to the point that it was hard to take it all in. All the way we enjoyed great walking weather so it all added up to a near perfect day in the hills.
The Ordnance Survey map I was using seemed to show a footpath back from the foot of Ashes Hollow to near the starting point of the walk but the guide insisted that there was no viable alternative to the road. After some debate we opted for the road so we walked down into Little Stretton, noting the Ragleth Inn as we passed, and trudged back to Church Stretton. Walking so far on the road in walking boots left us very footsore on our return to the guest house. We rested our weary feet for a couple of hours then headed out to the Buck's Head again for dinner.
Wednesday's weather started out dull and offered little prospect of improvement so we spent the day shopping in Church Stretton and walked (not in boots this time!) out to Little Stretton for a delightful lunch in the Ragleth Inn. Amongst our purchases was a number of local walking guides, including an updated edition of the one we used yesterday. Consulting this we learned that the path shown on the OS map was now the recommended way to finish the walk. We bought a second copy of the guide to donate to the guest house and maybe save future guests from unnecessary sore feet! For the third, and last, time we took dinner in the Buck's Head.
Thursday was Lisa's birthday. Gallantry forbids that I mention the number involved but this was a significant birthday for Lisa. We had booked dinner for the evening in the Ragleth Inn while we were there yesterday and Lisa wanted to spend her birthday out in the hills again. Today we turned our backs on the Long Mynd and headed for the nearby landmark of Caer Caradoc. We scrambled our way up the southern flank and spent a while enjoying the wonderful views from the top before making our way, more gently, down the southerly end of the hill. We broke for lunch at the foot of Willstone Hill. The weather wasn't very warm so we didn't dally long after eating and set off up and over the hill: again a steep ascent was followed by a more gentle walk down the other side to the village of Hope Bowdler. From there we returned to Church Stretton following a path parallel to the road as far as we could before taking to the road itself to get back to the guest house.
We rested and freshened up then set off for Little Stretton again for dinner at the Ragleth Inn. We ate in the dining room rather than out in the bar and enjoyed a very nice three course meal with a decent bottle of wine in a relaxed and un-fussy atmosphere that suited us perfectly. We walked contentedly back to Church Stretton and the guest house for our last night.
On Friday we returned home to Cambridge by train via Newport in Wales and London, thus completing a circular route. On Monday we returned to our jobs uplifted, refreshed and ready to plunge into the new academical year. The trip was every bit as special as we'd been hoping and looking through the dozens of photographs we took while away brings back wonderful memories of those magical few days in Shropshire and has us vowing to return soon and often to this uniquely beautiful part of the world!
So, last Monday, we set off by train from Cambridge and, travelling via Birmingham and Shrewsbury, arrived in Church Stretton in the late afternoon. Checked in to Brookfields Guest House, we strolled across town to the Buck's Head Hotel which seemed the most appealing of guest house proprietor Paul's suggestions for eating in town. We weren't disappointed: the food was better than average pub grub, the Timothy Taylor's Landlord was well kept and the bar where we ate was smoke-free until 9pm.
The BBC Weather Forecast had alerted us to the possibility that Tuesday might be the best day of the week, weather-wise, so on returning from the pub we consulted the guides that Paul lent us to plan a walk that would take full advantage of the good weather in prospect. Breakfast was the traditional guest house "full English" fry-up of eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes. Straight afterwards Lisa & I set out through the town and out the other side towards our objective of the day: the Long Mynd.
Following the route proposed in the guide, we left Church Stretton via Townbrook Hollow and, once we emerged from the woods, immediately found ourselves immersed in the full glory of the wonderful scenery of the hills. The walk up to the valley head was everything I'd been hoping for and the warm sunshine made the experience perfect. As we walked, the changing perspective continually revealed new delights and we spent plenty of time drinking in the views. Unsurprisingly, Lisa's efforts to capture some of this in photographs were more successful than mine but even so they provide only a faint echo of the impact of actually being there.
Once up on the Long Mynd itself we soon found a comfortable spot to break for lunch. We made short work of our sandwiches, had some coffee from our flasks and then lay back to enjoy the sunshine for a while. After a couple of hours rest we gathered ourselves and set off to return to Church Stretton, this time by way of Ashes Hollow. The descent was easy-going in the early stages but there were a few stretches lower down that needed a little more care. We encountered several sets of school children surveying sections of the lower part of the valley. As on the way up, the scenery continually delighted us to the point that it was hard to take it all in. All the way we enjoyed great walking weather so it all added up to a near perfect day in the hills.
The Ordnance Survey map I was using seemed to show a footpath back from the foot of Ashes Hollow to near the starting point of the walk but the guide insisted that there was no viable alternative to the road. After some debate we opted for the road so we walked down into Little Stretton, noting the Ragleth Inn as we passed, and trudged back to Church Stretton. Walking so far on the road in walking boots left us very footsore on our return to the guest house. We rested our weary feet for a couple of hours then headed out to the Buck's Head again for dinner.
Wednesday's weather started out dull and offered little prospect of improvement so we spent the day shopping in Church Stretton and walked (not in boots this time!) out to Little Stretton for a delightful lunch in the Ragleth Inn. Amongst our purchases was a number of local walking guides, including an updated edition of the one we used yesterday. Consulting this we learned that the path shown on the OS map was now the recommended way to finish the walk. We bought a second copy of the guide to donate to the guest house and maybe save future guests from unnecessary sore feet! For the third, and last, time we took dinner in the Buck's Head.
Thursday was Lisa's birthday. Gallantry forbids that I mention the number involved but this was a significant birthday for Lisa. We had booked dinner for the evening in the Ragleth Inn while we were there yesterday and Lisa wanted to spend her birthday out in the hills again. Today we turned our backs on the Long Mynd and headed for the nearby landmark of Caer Caradoc. We scrambled our way up the southern flank and spent a while enjoying the wonderful views from the top before making our way, more gently, down the southerly end of the hill. We broke for lunch at the foot of Willstone Hill. The weather wasn't very warm so we didn't dally long after eating and set off up and over the hill: again a steep ascent was followed by a more gentle walk down the other side to the village of Hope Bowdler. From there we returned to Church Stretton following a path parallel to the road as far as we could before taking to the road itself to get back to the guest house.
We rested and freshened up then set off for Little Stretton again for dinner at the Ragleth Inn. We ate in the dining room rather than out in the bar and enjoyed a very nice three course meal with a decent bottle of wine in a relaxed and un-fussy atmosphere that suited us perfectly. We walked contentedly back to Church Stretton and the guest house for our last night.
On Friday we returned home to Cambridge by train via Newport in Wales and London, thus completing a circular route. On Monday we returned to our jobs uplifted, refreshed and ready to plunge into the new academical year. The trip was every bit as special as we'd been hoping and looking through the dozens of photographs we took while away brings back wonderful memories of those magical few days in Shropshire and has us vowing to return soon and often to this uniquely beautiful part of the world!
18 September, 2006
The Long Goodbye to Chiara & Other Endings
Tuesday I was invited out to the local Thai restaurant, Sala Thong, for lunch. Just a few minutes walk from where I work, this is a firm favourite as a lunch destination. The food is arguably the best Thai cuisine to be had in Cambridge and the special lunch menu is extraordinary value for money. Lunch was on Anya, one of the Faculty's departing graduate students, who (having completed her PhD in Japanese studies) will be swapping one Cambridge for another when she takes up a job at Harvard in the near future. On this occasion I opted for the lentil curry and the expected high standard was upheld. The company at lunch was every bit as enjoyable as the food.
Our charming Neapolitan friend Chiara departed this week too, having finally submitted her PhD (also in Japanese studies). On Tuesday she made a farewell visit a casa nostra. Home-made pizza was again the dish of the day and Chiara contributed a special Neapolitan touch to one of the three. The base of Pizza Chiara had a raised rim and the topping consisted of Lisa's tomato sauce, a sprinkling of dried oregano, chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese, anchovies, and torn leaves of fresh basil from our garden. Trust me, it tasted every bit as good as it looks!
Farewell to Chiara continued on Thursday with dinner at Lady Patricia's home in Shelford. Lisa and I met up after work and caught the train to Shelford together, joining the others the "Stone House". Our hostess cooked us all a stunning West African dish of chicken in a peanut sauce accompanied by pasta, runner beans and a dish of shrimp and vegetables. We ate out on the terrace in the early evening and then repaired to the kitchen for coffee. To round out the evening we moved to Patricia's "white" room to watch the 1978 film of "The Thirty-Nine Steps" with Robert Powell and a host of other British stars. The film was tremendous fun, the pace never flagging for a moment and with high tension perfectly balanced by moments of humour all the way up until the climactic scene at Big Ben which was brilliantly done. At last the evening was over and we all caught the train back to Cambridge.
On Friday evening, Lisa, Xavier and I paid our first visit to the revitalised "Castle" in central Cambridge. This is an example of the trend that turns basic pubs into lounge bars and was so recently re-opened that the smell of fresh paint was still very pungent. The service and food were great until we tried to pay our bill and leave, at which point chaos reigned as there seemed to be no record kept of what we'd eaten or drank.It rather spoiled the otherwise very pleasant effect but no doubt the staff will get the kinks in the system ironed out promptly.
For the first time in longer than we can remember, Lisa and I spent the entire weekend a deux at home. Our bikes stayed in the shed and the shops on Mill Road had to survive without our custom for once. Towards the end of Saturday we roused ourselves to action in the kitchen and concocted a "store cupboard" Indian meal of lamb keema, a green bean & sweetcorn korma (created by yours truly) and basmati rice. The combination of the dry keema, the wet korma and the plain rice went very well together.
Sunday continued the low key approach to the weekend. I watched the last two stages of the Vuelta a España (a bicycle race of some note, m'lud!) on Eurosport and was gratified to see riders from my Fantasy Cycling Team continue their domination of the race through to the final stage sprint in central Madrid. An hour's strenuous gardening left us feeling hungry so we set to on the pizza trail yet again and treated ourselves to the same thing we've so recently served our treasured guests chez-nous.
The musical background to most of the weekend was an album by Turkish singer Sezen Aksu which was a gift of Chiara and which seemed to match the prevailing mood perfectly.
11 September, 2006
Blackberries & Brice
Our culinary week included large quantities of curry left over from Emma's visit and a reprised moussaka, by yours truly, which was a big hit with the lady of the house. On Saturday, Lisa's colleague from Rheims, Xavier, visited for an evening of home-made pizza and a movie. The pizza dough was made using our bread machine and Lisa made a tomato sauce using tomatoes from our garden. The toppings of the three pizzas all began with the tomato sauce and grated mozarella cheese. To these we added (1) Spanish chorizo sausage (2) Greek feta cheese and olives (3) French goats cheese and red onions.
After dinner we settled down with a few beers to enjoy the movie Xavier brought over with him, the hilarious "Brice de Nice" by James Huth starring Jean Dujardin as the eponymous hero. This had us all in stitches, even though Lisa and I were often dependent on the English subtitles. Knowing and loving Nice as we do, we enjoyed the settings and the humour of a surfer dude waiting for his "big wave" in that most placid of bays. I'd highly recomend checking this out on DVD.
Sunday, we reprised last Sunday's ride, into Cherry Hinton along Coldham's Lane and then through Church End and Fulbourn Old Drift up into Fulbourn itself from where we took the Shelford Road over the Gog Magog hills. We paused for a while to collect blackberries for jam and to take some photographs, then continued down into Great Shelford and back up to the Babraham Road and Addenbrooke's. Our way back was then up Mowbray Road and along Coldham's Lane home.
04 September, 2006
Food & Bicycles
Reading these entries, you might be forgiven for wondering if there's anything much else in our lives!
This week isn't going to offer much in the way of contradiction either. Early in the week Lisa created a chicken, mushroom and spinach gratin which proved a big hit, served with brown basmati rice. On Saturday we pulled out a lot of curry stops to entertain our Changchun friend, Emma, to dinner. I contributed my masala bhindi and fragrant basmati rice, Lisa cooked the Keralan dish Kochi chicken curry from Atul Kochhar's "Indian Essence" and made a sublime dal tarka with split red lentils, Emma prepared a cooling cucumber and tomato raita, and the feast was rounded out with paratha bread and pickles from Al Amin. We had mango kulfi (Indian ice cream), also from Al Amin, lined up for dessert but Emma pleaded a full stomach so that stayed in the freezer. As usual, the talk continued long after the food was finished and Emma returned home, clutching her share of the Kulfi, a dinner's worth of left-overs from the meal, and a sea bass long after midnight.
The sea bass was one of two that we got from our local East Asian superstore, Cho Me, on Saturday. We enjoyed ours on Sunday evening, baked in foil with herbs from the garden, served with some variety of choi (also from Cho Me) accompanied by a home-grown salad of mixed leaves and tomatoes.
Prior to the sea bass, Sunday had been a bicycle day. My hopes of travellin to London to see the final stage ofthe Tour of Britain and supporting events in the flesh were scotched by our very late night on Saturday but we did watch the BBC coverage of the race on the TV and enjoyed the spectacle of seeing the reigning world champion, Tom Boonen, win the final stage with veteran Brit Roger Hammond second and rising British star Mark Cavendish third. Watching this on the box inspired us to get out on our own wheels and go for a ride. After our exertions last Sunday, we wanted to see how we felt with some local undulations so, after we rode into Cherry Hinton along Coldham's Lane and then through Church End and Fulbourn Old Drift, we climbed up into Fulbourn itself and, from there, took the Shelford Road. This led us over the Gog Magog hills and down into Great Shelford. Our way back was through Trumpington, along Long Road and Queen Edith's Way into Cherry Hinton, then back through Church End and along Coldham's Lane home.
28 August, 2006
Adventure in search of art
Before I get to the title story, the obligatory weekly round-up of gustatory highlights. Moussaka and wholemeal basmati rice, served up by Simon & Zoe as a thank-you for help installing an ADSL/WiFi modem, proved such an inspiration that we reprised the meal for ourselves four days later. Lisa has done a thorough job describing Saturday's pot-luck dinner in her new Blogger blog: A Cook's Journal. I'd just like to add that the specific jumping off point for the musical exchanges was our "Remains of Tom Lehrer" collection which particularly caught the eye of our Belgian guest.
Sunday we kept our promise to visit an art exhibition in darkest Hertfordshire where Irene, an ex-colleague of mine from a former life, was exhibiting. Google Maps told us that the venue was only a little over seven miles from the nearest railway station, a distance that seemed well within our cycling capabilities, so we loaded up the bikes on the train and set out. Once off the train at Bishop's Stortford, we tangled with the local one-way system for a while before finding our road out into the countryside which was a long uphill drag. What we hadn't realised was that the route was entirely composed of an unbroken sequence of long and/or steep hills which made the ride at least twice as strenuous as we'd anticipated. It took us over an hour to get there but the effort was worth while as the exhibition was thoroughly interesting and mounted in a delightful setting. We were also blessed with the best weather of the three-day Bank Holiday weekend. I was, of course, intrigued to see what Irene had been up to since we were both made redundant by Nortel five years ago: most of the work she was exhibiting had partly involved physically weaving multiple photographs together, a technique I'd never previously encountered and which gives rise to complex images that repay lingering attention. There was plenty of other interesting work on display too, tremendously varied in scale, style and technique. The tea and home-baked cakes were pretty good too! Knowing what faced us, we were better prepared for the ride back to the station and completed the return trip in well under an hour but certainly that was the hardest fifteen miles we've ridden together! Dinner in a rooftop tapas bar in Stortford, with friends (and their son) who'd also attended the exhibition, preceded the train ride back to Cambridge. Nice!
This weekend marked the start of the Vuelta a España, third of the three major cycle races on the professional calendar. After the doping problems that have scarred the sport recently, the anticipation is muted but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that sporting efforts, rather than pharmaceutical skulduggery, will make the headlines from Spain over the next three weeks. Tomorrow (Tuesday) also marks the start of the rather smaller-scale Tour of Britain, I hope to have more to say about that next week.
Sunday we kept our promise to visit an art exhibition in darkest Hertfordshire where Irene, an ex-colleague of mine from a former life, was exhibiting. Google Maps told us that the venue was only a little over seven miles from the nearest railway station, a distance that seemed well within our cycling capabilities, so we loaded up the bikes on the train and set out. Once off the train at Bishop's Stortford, we tangled with the local one-way system for a while before finding our road out into the countryside which was a long uphill drag. What we hadn't realised was that the route was entirely composed of an unbroken sequence of long and/or steep hills which made the ride at least twice as strenuous as we'd anticipated. It took us over an hour to get there but the effort was worth while as the exhibition was thoroughly interesting and mounted in a delightful setting. We were also blessed with the best weather of the three-day Bank Holiday weekend. I was, of course, intrigued to see what Irene had been up to since we were both made redundant by Nortel five years ago: most of the work she was exhibiting had partly involved physically weaving multiple photographs together, a technique I'd never previously encountered and which gives rise to complex images that repay lingering attention. There was plenty of other interesting work on display too, tremendously varied in scale, style and technique. The tea and home-baked cakes were pretty good too! Knowing what faced us, we were better prepared for the ride back to the station and completed the return trip in well under an hour but certainly that was the hardest fifteen miles we've ridden together! Dinner in a rooftop tapas bar in Stortford, with friends (and their son) who'd also attended the exhibition, preceded the train ride back to Cambridge. Nice!
This weekend marked the start of the Vuelta a España, third of the three major cycle races on the professional calendar. After the doping problems that have scarred the sport recently, the anticipation is muted but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that sporting efforts, rather than pharmaceutical skulduggery, will make the headlines from Spain over the next three weeks. Tomorrow (Tuesday) also marks the start of the rather smaller-scale Tour of Britain, I hope to have more to say about that next week.
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