In Which The Pastor’s Wife Is A Pudd’nhead*

Today is…

…so when we got back from church, I decided to make a batch of Jamie’s “Baby Yorkies” to go with the roast chicken. Took the bird out of the oven to rest, and ‘turned the oven up to full whack’ and put a 12-hole bun tin on top shelf to heat up.

Here’s the recipe from the 30-minute cookbook

YORKIES

• just under 1 mug of plain flour
• 1 mug of milk
• 1 egg

Put the flour, milk and egg into the liquidizer with a pinch of salt. Blitz, then quickly and confidently remove the bun tin from the oven and close the door. In one quick movement, back and forth, drizzle a little olive oil in each compartment, then do the same with the batter until each one is half full (any remaining batter can be used for pancakes another day). Place in the top of the oven, close the door and do not open for 14 minutes, until golden and risen.

Important – when you are confidently removing bun tin and drizzling the oil DO ensure you are holding the right bottle. My first compartment had balsamic vinegar in it before I realised my error!!!

So I ended up with eleven puffy, delicious little puds -Bob was well impressed, ‘Take a photo’ he said. So I did – here’s four of them on a plate

Before church, I was pondering about dessert [Sundays deserve a proper dessert, even if it is ‘fruit or yogurt’ on other days] and I spotted a small baguette in the bread bin [left over from our Alpha Supper] Just the one, about 7” long.

Well, I cannot abide waste, and I had a small amount of cream in the fridge too [best before 3rd Feb, but it looked and smelled OK] So I sliced the baguette and buttered it and made a B&B pudding.

It looked really lovely [see photo]

I served it up, with custard and began to eat it. There was something…odd…it tasted…wrong …I wondered if my spoon had not been washed properly in the dishwasher- turned it over- no it was perfectly clean. I looked at Bob. He had a quizzical expression.

He enquired as to the ingredients used in my impressive looking dessert  - and I began “Well, I’m trying to be thrifty…” at which point he collapsed in convulsions of laughter, to the point where he was almost in tears with hysteria. Once he had recovered himself, he explained that the leftover bread was in fact AN ONION BAGUETTE!!! [Not having eaten any at Alpha, I thought they were just plain baguettes]

Well, it did add a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the flavour

So there you have it – the Yorkies almost ruined with balsamic vinegar, the B&B pud edible, but slightly weirdly flavoured. Fortunately the roast chicken worked beautifully, and Bob is still chuckling to himself about it all.

My only defence is that I think I am ‘going down with something’ – my throat is sore, I keep sneezing, and I feel as if my head is full of cotton wool.

[*definition of pudd’nhead - a nitwit, a person who is not very bright, lacking intelligence or common sense]

Exodus!

At last! – this morning I shall hear Bob preach one of the sermons in his Exodus series [every other week I have been out preaching elsewhere, or out taking a Sunday School class] He’s done four sermons already so this is number 5 [I think we are at Chapter 17]

He has spent part of a Christmas book token on a new commentary

and shown lots of clips from the TimeLife DVD

Meanwhile, Scripture Union have just released their Holiday Club Programme for 2011 – based on…Exodus

It looks like a good one – and my decision back in December to start collecting** these…

and these…

 

…has proved to be a good one. The Craft Idea I spotted in a book a couple of months ago is definitely going to be included. But you will have to wait to find out what I am going to do with the corks.

[**’collecting’ as in ‘asking members of the congregation to save them for me’ – I do not propose to drink 100 bottles of champagne before July. I do not actually like the stuff!]

Scrabble and Squabbles!

Last year’s wonderful “Forgotten English Calendar” hanging in the downstairs loo

has been replaced by the 2011 Scrabble Calendar

This one has Scrabble Challenge for each day, plus a ‘new word to learn’ [allegedly a word that you are unlikely to know already]

Unfortunately we are only 35 days into the New Year and I have already come across not one, but TWO spelling mistakes – in the relatively common words jetsam and milieu. [my spellchecker knows both these words, so they cannot be too unusual]

Is it picky of me to be a little irritated by these errors? If ‘every word counts’ then we ought to be spelling it correctly.

At school on Tuesday I asked a pupil if he knew what the word “Altar” meant – he said “A film”. I was baffled. Further questioning revealed he meant “That film about blue people” [Ah, right, not Altar but Avatar!]

After this morning’s Prayer Meeting, we went into Leicester, to go to the bank and the Christian Bookshop.

The Leicester Chinese Centre had an exhibition of information about Chinese New Year – they were making decorations, painting people’s names in Chinese characters, and other activities – plus a splendidly informative display about the New Year. Today is the 3rd day of the New Year – which makes it Squabbling Day

My question – if the people want to avoid meeting family or friends in case they squabble, why do they go out at all? Surely there is a serious risk they might all meet up at the temples?

Bob treated me to lunch in the Real China Buffet – excellent food, and delicious Chinese Tea

It was a satisfactory trip into the city centre – we managed to find all the things we needed.

I was very amused by this sign outside one of the pubs…

…but I ignored the instruction, as I don’t smoke on Saturdays [or any other day, for that matter]

I hope your Saturday is free of Squabbles

Pretty Things!

Six weeks ago, on Boxing Day, during the Sunday Morning Service, we dismantled our paper chains - we each got a section containing a task or two which would be an Act Of Random Kindness, or a Reminder Of God’s Goodness. My two links said “Look Up At the Stars” and “Take Cakes To Colleagues At Work”

So I enjoyed the splendid starry night skies when we were on holiday at Cornerstones in December – but did not get round to the cake making till this week. I made some fairy cakes, and seven minute frosting, and took them into school, where they were very well received…

Well – it was Friday, and I think many of my colleagues were in need of something sweet to boost their blood sugar! It was really good to be able to explain why I had taken in the cakes – even if this is not quite as healthy as Chris Duffett’s Free Fruit Initiative.

[I discovered that there is one problem with the frosting – my electric hand mixer interferes with the TV, and Bob was trying to watch a film whilst I was making it. Seven minutes can seem a very long time when you are waiting for it to end…]

Thursday night we had a great evening at Friends and Neighbours Group with Clare and Caroline from the Mary Clare Knit and Needlecraft shop [website] We made simple ear-rings under their expert tutelage [that’s a lovely word, isn’t it?]

I had some lovely iridescent blue beads to work with, and here’s the result of my labours.

It was great fun working together – Clare and Caroline had packs of pliers and wire cutters for us to use, and foam mats to work on [so the beads didn't roll away]

The selection of beads and craft materials they brought along was quite extensive – I was so caught up with making my ear-rings and watching friends creating theirs that I completely forgot to take any photos.

Another busy few days ahead- hope you have a good weekend too!

Midsomer Mysteries

Inspector Barnaby has gone…long live Inspector Barnaby

DCI John [Neil Dudgeon] will be taking over from his cousin Tom [John Nettles] I hope the new DCI will become just as popular as the old. But the final episode of the ‘Old Regime’ left me with a number of unanswered questions.

If you haven’t watched it yet, you can read on safely, I am not giving away any ‘plot spoilers’

1. Was Wednesday’s programme the last one in Series 13, or the first one in Series 14 – reviews seem divided on that trivial question
2.                    Why was Police Procedure so appalling in this episode? There is a murder, and a missing person – yet nobody asks why a crucial door is locked for a number of days – and nobody notices the trail of blood drips outside either! [You’d never get such slapdash behaviour on CSI]
3. Cully’s Husband – where was he? Cully [Laura Howard] married Simon Dixon [Sam Hazeldine, son of actor James] back in 2008 and she left the programme [mostly] She was back in this final episode for her Dad’s birthday party – but I didn’t see her other half at the party. Was he mentioned?
4. WPC Gail Stephens[Kirsty Dillon]. When Tom was thanking everyone for their love and support down the years, he mentioned everybody in the room except Gail. Was he overwhelmed by her exceedingly short skirt? Bob and I have been intrigued over the past few months by the way she has gone from quiet uniformed worker in the background, tapping away on her PC [the other sort!] …and become a feisty, smartly dressed woman, showing signs of intelligence!

 

5. What will happen to Joyce [Jane Wymark]  now? It is OK for John Nettles to feel he wants to bow out, but what is she going to do? Has she lost her acting job – or will she continue to pop up in the Midsomer locality, joining various social groups and supporting worthy causes – mainly so that she can conveniently be on hand when a person accidentally slits their throat/drowns in the flotation tank/falls off the bell tower?
6. Why didn’t they introduce a little bit of nostalgia, for the Bergerac Days, and have Tom and Joyce announcing they were going to have a holiday on the beautiful island of Jersey? 

Presumably these questions will get answered eventually. And in case you have ever wondered about it, the reason Cully is called Cully – it is the name of the village on the northern shore of Lake Geneva, where Tom and Joyce spent their honeymoon, and where their daughter was conceived. I am so glad they were not spending their romantic holiday in Dully, Gland, or Morges!!

I did like Sergeant Troy  - the one on the right [Daniel Casey]

and I am glad we appear to be keeping DS Ben Jones [Jason Hughes]

Lewis has survived the death of Morse – and CSI has gone on without Grissom – so I imagine people will continue to get bumped off in Midsomer, and the perpetrators will continue to be brought to justice. After all, Taggart ran with Mark McManus as its eponymous hero from 1983 till MMs untimely death in 1994 – and for over sixteen years they have managed without him! There are probably people out there who think “Taggart” is probably a Scottish slang word for “Murrrder!”

Mind you Jackie Reid [Blythe Duff] goes on forever, doesn’t she – only the hairstyle changes!

The Year Of The Rabbit!

Chinese New Year celebrations start today

I have put up a display in the entrance area at school

I hung some lanterns

And displayed lots of red and gold items – the traditional colours of good luck in China. Plus a free calendar from the local takeaway!

I also found lots of toy animals representing the different years

Which year are you? Is the analysis of your character accurate?

I don’t think mine is particularly correct!!

Fortunately I don’t set much store by this sort of thing!

But anyway…

Gong Xi Fa Cai

which means

Happy New Year

Reels and Ribbons

On Sunday morning, a friend came up and gave me a carrier bag when she arrived at church. “My friend’s been clearing out, and didn’t know what to do with these, and I thought of you…”

So in the evening I sat down with a cup of tea and delved into the bag…

More than a dozen reels of cotton, and a beautiful old wooden chocolate box with a little brass catch. [When did you ever see a chocolate box made of wood? I have only ever had sweets in bags, tins, or cardboard cartons!]

Some spools were so old they had lost their labels, but this half dozen really appealed to me

Their names are so evocative

Chinese green

japonica

deep amethyst

orange lily

“The Penguin Brand” [ok, those two are both a dull ‘fawn’ but never mind]

And inside the box were loads of lengths of ribbon, lace and braid. Here is a selection of the ones I thought were rather special

The one on the right actually shimmers through shades from pale sky blue to navy. And I love the horse and cart braid, and the one with the two children and the little house.

I am already planning little craft projects incorporating these treasures [but have no idea when they will come to fruition]

Of Candles And Kindles

Today is Candlemas- the date in the liturgical calendar for the celebration of the Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple.

 

[Simon Vouet’s 1641 painting of “The Presentation of Jesus” from the Louvre]

 

 

The day gets its name from the fact it was also the date on which people brought their beeswax candles to church, for the priest to bless them.

 

 

 

 

These days, people are more likely to take not a candle but a Kindle to bed with them. You can’t beat a good bedtime story! Which makes it very appropriate that this is the middle of National Storytelling Week.

The Society for Storytelling has lots of information on their website

The website says…

The Society for Storytelling was set up to promote the oldest art form in the world. Storytelling is at the root of every art form: we think in story form, make sense of our world in narrative – from something we’ve seen, through last night’s television, to what family and folk stories we remember and retell.  Performance storytelling can be a powerful experience, both entertaining and moving. Story is also the traditional medium of communication from generation to generation, a tool for education and therapy.

National Storytelling Week was conceived in the year 2000 to increase public awareness of the art, practice and value of oral storytelling. It is held during the first week of February every year.

This week was chosen because it is not too close to Christmas and coincides with Candlemas, which falls on the 2nd of February. Part of the rituals for this old church festival includes a blessing on the throat, a prime tool in the store of nearly all storytellers of every belief and culture.

Although I am a little confused by the last sentence- I understood the ‘Blessing of the Throat’ to be part of the celebration of St Blaise’s Day – which is tomorrow, February 3rd!

“Two candles are blessed, held slightly open, and pressed against the throat as the blessing is said. Saint Blaise's protection of those with throat troubles apparently comes from a legend that a boy was brought to him who had a fishbone stuck in his throat. The boy was about to die when Saint Blaise healed him.”

Whatever day these things are remembered, it is a good thing to encourage storytelling. My parents and grandparents were great at storytelling, and it is wonderful to have such a heritage.

I love telling stories- whether to one child, a class, or a crowd in a pink and purple circus tent at the Village Fun Day.

My favourite stories for telling to children** are [not surprisingly] Bible stories

Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear;
Things I would ask Him to tell me if He were here;
Scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,
Stories of Jesus, tell them to me.

– and I love stories about the lives of real people – but I love good fiction too – whether it is vintage [C S Lewis] or modern [Michael Morpurgo]

[**and adults]

What stories do you enjoy telling?

At The Sign Of The Four Poster!

My sister in law Denise gave us a basket of bulbs at Christmas – the first flower, a lovely tall pink tulip, has just bloomed. There are lots of other green shoots in the baskets – I cannot wait to see what emerges from them!

Denise also gave me a tea towel. It is a reproduction of a 1928 advertising poster from Heal’s Furniture Store in London. In 2010 the store celebrated 200 years in business and this was one of the special celebratory products.

I’ve just put it in a clip-frame and plan to hang it in the kitchen at Cornerstones.

I love the way it shows the different floors and departments in the store. If you go to the shop now, you can still climb the Cecil Brewer staircase and see this bronze cat.

In the 1920’s, one of the young women working in the store started the story that “If you touch the cat’s paw, it will grant you a wish” In a short space of time, it seemed as if everyone passing reached out to the feline! Then a customer paid £40 for the ornament. Ambrose Heal, the owner, cancelled the sale, and declared the cat to be the Official Store Mascot!

The cat has remained on the staircase ever since [to be precise, it is a serval – a wild African cat]

The woman who started the story was Dodie Smith – later the author of “I Capture the Castle”, and “101 Dalmations”

The store’s website has a fascinating history section [here] including information about one of my favourite Heal’s designers, Lucienne Day, who died last year.

Most of Cornerstones is furnished with hand-me-down furniture, or inexpensive IKEA stuff. So it will be pleasant to have at least one item from this iconic store on display – even if it is only a tea towel in a clip frame!