Bread

Finally I have nailed it!

I have been trying to make bread on and off for the last twenty years without much success.  The results have mostly ranged between solid and unbelievably solid.  All have been frankly inedible.

But thanks to my new best friend; the demi-god that is Paul Hollywood, Saturday saw the creation of a loaf worthy of any table.  Most was consumed with butter and cheese while still warm from the oven. 

While on the subject of making stuff, I found a beer kit tin in the shed last week.  It has no lable and I have no recollection of buying it.  So I added a kilo of Spray Malt and started it brewing.  It looks quite a dark one and smells very 'hoppy'.  It will be interesting to taste the results.

On a sad note, one of my favorite trees in Cambridge has suffered in the recent winds and has split in half. 

This is what it looked like in the New Year.

This is how it looked yesterday.

Sad Day

Twas a sad day on Saturday.  We said good bye to Mabel.  We have had a good two years use out of her but it is time to let her go.  She has gone to a good home and will be cruising in the Lake District!

So we are now boatless apart from the Nut Shell I keep at work.

Of course, as we all know it is sods law that just as you recieve a little cash, something goes wrong. So it was that a stone from a passing lorry cracked the windscreen on the car, the day before the boat was sold.  £125 for a new screen. Grrrr!

First day back on the bike today.  Frozen but great fun.

Murder and eyebrows

Saturday I had a 'gig' helping present a Murder Mystery evening at the Rivenhall Hotel down in Essex.  It was as usual, hard work but I think it went down well with the guests.

If you have a party or an event and want some different entertainment, have a look at  McAbra Mysteries .  It might be just the thing.


Warning!  Do not let your boy's girlfriend any where near your dog when she is holding an eye liner pencil.  Poor Stick now has eyebrows!

Never too old

Sticking to a literary theme, I have just learnt that my Aunt Eva has had a book published at the tender age of 84!

Available on Amazon Here

In other news, I wheeled 'Peanut' out of the shed where she has been hibernating for the winter.  With new brake shoes back and front and an oil and plug change, she passed the MOT no problem.  So with 'Bat outa Hell' as my sound track, I am on the road again.

Well, maybe not just yet as its got all cold again.

Poetry competition

Ok, so I am not a great fan of poetry; especially amateur poetry but I entered a competition hosted by a creative writing forum that I sometimes visit.

The subject was 'pet' and I wrote:

My frog died if malnutrition.
You could say he was thin as a rake.
So I spread him with butter,
Wrapped him in bread.
And fed him to father's pet snake.

And I won.  Fools!

Cameron, Wilson and PanPan

This week shall be known as the week of the rat(s)

We have been looking after my step-son's pet rats Cameron and Wilson for the week while he was off doing manly things with guns in Wales.  They are in truth adorable but they do retain the destructive tendencies of their wild bretherin.

Enter PanPan the 48 year old panda who has been my constant companion since birth.  Somehow the rat cage got put a little too close to poor old PanPan and she is now somewhat lacking on the arm department.

This is Wilson.

And this is poor PanPan.

This week I have also found a new hobby.  It is called 'getting rid of stuff'.  Its great, dos'nt cost anything to do and makes you feel brilliant! 
We went for a drink at a friends house on Friday and were given a tour of all the things they had bought since we last saw them including a 5 person Jacuzzi and all I could think was Why?  Maybe I am getting it all wrong but I dont want the to do the comsumer thing any more.  Why should I measure myself by the amount things I have amassed?
But I could'nt part with PanPan of course.

Tropical Fruit Wine.

I have been experimenting with Tesco Everyday Value fruit juice for wine making and after several batches, I think I am on to a winner.  I have been using 'Summer Friuts' and 'Tropical Fruit'.  Both are in the chilled section of Tesco at £1.39 for two litres.

The Summer Fruit makes a nice rose with a hint of strawberry while the Tropical Fruit makes a crisp white with a mango twist.  Cost is about 80p per bottle.

Here is what I do;

2 cartons of juice (4litres)

600g sugar

1/2 teaspoon yeast nutrient

1/2 teaspoon yeast.

This takes about a week to ferment out at 25*c

1/2 teaspoon of stabiliser and a really good de-gas.  I pour the wine from one container to another several times.  This is important or the wine will not clear and have a nasty acid fizz to it.

Add finings and leave to clear in a cool place.  The Tropical Fruit has a lot of 'bits' in it and will need racking off once or twice and maybe a little longer to clear. 

Bottle and enjoy.  Its ready to drink but is better after a couple of weeks in the bottle.

Tropical Fruit Wine.