tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23582453971517464302024-03-13T02:14:43.850+00:00Elevenses Time !ElevensesTimehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411143515664822711noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-28092950845942556922013-08-21T10:51:00.000+01:002013-08-21T10:51:06.049+01:00In praise of tea shops<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
Many years ago I had a job that included traveling to America to fix computer system. On one of these trips I had been stuck in a hotel room for too long with deadlines to meet, and was going a little crazy. So I lugged my laptop across the road to the shopping mall, ordered a cup of tea (no mean feat in the US) and sat working in the middle of all the shops. It was the first time I'd worked out how cheerful it could be to be around strangers.<u></u></div>
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Since then I've increasingly been a fan of tea shops. Whether it's for getting out of the study to work, sitting with a book away from the home chores, or just relaxing with a drink and watching the world go by, it's difficult to beat a tea shop. Sometimes a quick drink & break from the routine is all that's needed. Other times a pot of tea, with hot water refills available, and a long slow afternoon chatting with friends will hit the spot. <u></u></div>
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Mrs C is particularly bad at relaxing when there is work to be done around the house. And, as you can imagine, with 4 kids around, there is always work to be done around the house. So we are regularly to be found sharing a drink, and maybe a scone, at one of our local places.<u></u></div>
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As an adopted Yorkshireman I was brought up proper - drinking tea all the time. However as I've aged and matured and ventured across the border to Manchester I've also acquired a taste for coffee. But establishments that serve such beverages will always be tea shops in my mind.</div>
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Here are some of my favourites<u></u><u></u></div>
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Sykes Cafe<u></u><u></u></div>
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This is my local - just 5 mins round the corner, run by my old friend Sharon, who bakes a lot of the cakes herself. It's pretty small but very friendly, great for a bit of a natter.<u></u><u></u></div>
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<a href="http://www.broadstonemillshoppingoutlet.co.uk/Tea-Room.aspx" target="_blank">Broadstone Mill Tea Rooms</a><u></u><u></u></div>
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This has a great selection of different teas, some comfortable chairs, and big windows & high ceiling giving it a great open feeling.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Costa Coffee<u></u><u></u></div>
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I'm not usually a fan of big chains, but I will always associate Costa with drinks at the Trafford Centre with my friend Ann. You get a great view of people coming and going. Now there's a local one opened in Stockport which serves until 8 in the evening, which makes it a good venue for a late tea with Mrs C, who is totally not a pub type person.<u></u><u></u></div>
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<a href="http://www.visitcastleton.co.uk/rose-cottage-i44.html" target="_blank"><u></u>Rose Cottage Tearooms, Castleton <u></u></a></div>
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This was our honeymoon tea shop, right in the middle of the wonderful Peak District town of Castleton. It does the most wonderful cakes, though can get very busy with pesky tourists.</div>
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Mrs C says I should also add the following for honourable mention:<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Tearooms" target="_blank">The Ash Tea Rooms</a> - a cafe with it's own chocolate workshop next door!<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/the-little-underbank-tea-room/293231720771904" target="_blank">The Little Underbank Tea Rooms</a> - a new place which we've only visited once, but great service and impressive teapots<br />
and most National Trust properties with overpriced but nifty cafes.<br />
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Having said all that, there are still some tea shop hurdles to overcome:</div>
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Sofa or chair - the sofa always sounds a good idea, comfy and relaxing, but not always the best when you are trying to balance the tea cup & slice of cake while read a book at the same time.<u></u></div>
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Background music or silence - I'm actually quite a fan of a little quiet background music, but Mrs C finds it very annoying. <u></u><u></u></div>
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Do you have any favourite places near you? Where do you stand on the contentious issues? Leave a comment and share the tea shop love :)</div>
Paul Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121662389840568957noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-59470884029617979232013-08-01T09:00:00.000+01:002013-08-05T16:17:46.226+01:00#Elevensestime, Social Networking and the Bookbinder. <br />
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I'm Susan, a bookbinder and I started sharing my morning coffee with the elevensestime crew back in 2009 with my original Twitter account SusanGreenBooks, and I'd like to share my journey in social networking so far.</div>
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At the time, I'd been <a href="http://boundbyhand.co.uk/" target="_blank">bookbinding</a> for a couple of years, selling online in a small way and was fairly new to Twitter. Without a studio open to the public, I relied on my online presence to build relationships with local and national news and consumer press, galleries, potential customers, fellow bookbinders and those working in associated art and craft practices.</div>
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When you're an independent designer-maker, there's really little distinction between your personal and professional lives. Elevensetime helped me find a band of happy folk who have supported me and my endeavours ever since, whose families, work, projects and travels have become a familiar part of my life every single day. </div>
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Social media is the biggest part of my online marketing strategy, and although I use <a href="https://www.facebook.com/boundbyhand.co.uk" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/boundbyhand" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://pinterest.com/boundbyhand/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/susan-green/15/221/180" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and more recently <a href="https://plus.google.com/113753598795661014519" target="_blank">Google+</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/boundbyhand" target="_blank">Twitter</a> remains my primary platform, thanks to its immediacy and focus on individual personal connections, and I've got elevensestime to thank for switching me on to hashtag networking, a major part of building brand presence on Twitter.</div>
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In 2011 I was selected as one of Dragons' Den Deborah Meaden's top British businesses for quality Christmas gifts in her #BuyBritishHelpJobs Twitter campaign, and in 2012, I was one of the businesses featured in a Guardian newspaper article: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2012/aug/14/small-business-benefit-social-media" target="_blank">How social media can benefit small businesses</a>. Without elevensetime, where would I have been?</div>
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I relaunched as <a href="http://boundbyhand.co.uk/" target="_blank">BOUND</a> in time for Christmas 2012, complete with a new twitter account <a href="https://twitter.com/boundbyhand" target="_blank">@boundbyhand</a> and I'm happy that elevensestime continues to be a part of my professional and personal life.</div>
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So to say thank you to my Twitter followers, from elevensetime and elsewhere, I like to do regular giveaways of a <a href="http://boundbyhand.co.uk/collections/miniature-journals" target="_blank">Mini Journal</a>. It's personal, and it's business, and really - there's no distinction. It's good to know you - thanks for being part of the journey.</div>
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Susan x<br />
<a href="http://www.boundbyhand.co.uk/">www.boundbyhand.co.uk</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714303790867935388noreply@blogger.com5Wimborne Minster, Dorset, UK50.800657 -1.984495000000038130.0829215 -43.293089000000037 71.5183925 39.324098999999961tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-84419522606629777572013-07-15T05:00:00.000+01:002013-07-15T16:22:17.730+01:00A Book Launch with Elevensestime!<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">When Martin asked me to write a post for the Elevensestime blog to celebrate the launch of my third book,<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Storm-Mariam-Kobras/dp/0984203575/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373901474&sr=1-4&keywords=mariam+kobras"> </a></span><span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Storm-Mariam-Kobras/dp/0984203575/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373901474&sr=1-4&keywords=mariam+kobras">Song of the Storm</a></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">, I had to sit back for a minute and think about how I came to be part of that wonderful group on twitter.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The truth is, I have no idea. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It was so long ago, and it just happened the way everything happens on twitter: somehow, you meet the right people. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Since I joined twitter in late 2008, this has happened to me—and you too, I bet—over and over again.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Here’s the best example: I met my publisher<a href="http://buddhapussink.blogspot.de/2013/07/song-of-storm-blog-hop.html"> <span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px;">Buddhapuss Ink</span></a>, on twitter!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">That was some time in 2009. We talked about coffee and bagels, and about how her puppy kept her up at night, about the weather, and backyard gardening—in fact, we talked about nearly everything except writing or publishing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It took me nearly a year to gather the courage to post one page of my manuscript (page 99) on my blog. I tweeted the link to my followers and almost immediately I got an email from Buddhapuss asking for the rest of the book. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’d just finished writing <i>The Distant Shore,</i> and I had no idea how to submit a novel to a publisher, or what shape it should be in, but I did I know that what I’d written needed to be edited, and heavily.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Six frantic weeks later I finally sent it to them and promptly got signed.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When I signed that first book deal I had no idea how my life would change.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Do you know how it is when you are at a certain point in life and you alter one thing just a tiny bit, and suddenly everything is different? Like, when you write for fun and to entertain yourself, and then someone shows up and says, “Hey, let me have a look!” and you let them, and wham—a whole new world! Yeah, like that.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Suddenly I was traveling, writing like crazy, taking my first steps as an author, signing books, and giving interviews. And through it all, there was twitter. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Like a big, friendly family, my twitter friends walked that road with me, cheered me on and gave me mental hugs when things got a little rough, like that night last year, when I was traveling home from Salt Lake City to Germany and had to spend an entire day at JFK airport after an overnight flight. That’s the great thing about twitter: there’s always someone awake somewhere.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Anyway. tomorrow is launch day for </span><span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Storm-Mariam-Kobras/dp/0984203575/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373901627&sr=1-4&keywords=mariam+kobras">Song of the Storm</a></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">, and that’s why I’m writing this blog post. So let me tell you a little bit about it.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mariam%20Kobras&search-alias=books-uk&sort=relevancerank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WTmiYbWXbMc/Ud2iNxyVu1I/AAAAAAAAA1k/UmG7Eo17Mz8/s400/9780984203574-SOS-+FRONT+Cover+Trimmed.jpeg" width="258" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Mariam%20Kobras&search-alias=books-uk&sort=relevancerank">Song of the Storm and my other books on Amazon</a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Song of the Storm</i> is the third and final book in the Stone Trilogy. It continues the story of rock superstar Jon Stone and his wife Naomi. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After all the adventures and trials they went through in the previous two books, they’ve finally settled into the house in Brooklyn that Naomi gave Jon as a wedding present. They’ve just completed a world tour with Jon’s band, are expecting a new baby, and are staging a Broadway musical that they’ve written together.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Even Jon’s restless manager Sal, has found someone to love. It seems as if they’ve all sailed into calm waters at long last. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The only problem is one of timing, the year is 2001, and the preview of the show is scheduled for September. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Reviewer Lucy Pireel says this about <i>Song of the Storm</i>: </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>“The way this author very tastefully brought 9/11 into the plot is amazing and does justice to the people who suffered and still do from this vile and low attack on innocent New Yorkers as well as the people in the other planes and places.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This novel is probably the one closest to my heart. I love New York City very much. I feel very much at home there, and even today, twelve years later, it still hurts to drive through Manhattan and not see the World Trade Center. Granted, the new tower looks great. But it’s not the same. And it will always remind us of what happened.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I have friends who were in New York on 9/11, and I wrote this book for them. It tells the stories that live on in their memories but does it through the words and thoughts of the novel’s characters. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I very much hope you will read and like it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Oh, and I’ll see you on twitter! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This was the first stop on Mariam’s Blog Hop celebrating the launch of Song of the Storm. We’re hosting a giveaway for some great prizes—check out the info on our<a href="http://buddhapussink.blogspot.de/"> <span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px;">blog</span></a>. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Tomorrow Mariam will be visiting <span style="color: #0433ff; letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://fontsandfiction.blogspot.de/">Angela Barton</a></span> for an interview, you won’t want to miss it!</span></div>
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Mariam Kobrashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03538911373668958558noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-10455877189073192862013-06-19T10:06:00.000+01:002013-06-19T10:06:19.876+01:00My Wight Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/65176790/little-love-hearts-free-uk-pp?ref=shop_home_feat" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3dHBKBSmCOI/UcAmqM4swaI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/cQMQWkt2wD8/s200/100_1571.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<h3>
Here's a little bit about me!</h3>
Many of the #Elevensestime crowd know me as <a href="http://twitter.com/loves2crochetuk" target="_blank">@loves2crochetuk</a> some know me as Sarah, to 3 very special little people I am mum. My eldest son is 15, my daughter is 13 (she'd tell you nearly 14 actually and say that there are only 5 days left 'til her birthday but I am holding on to the younger numbers as long as I can) and then there is our new addition who is just 5 months old! So as you can imagine our life is a hectic jumble of teething, exams, friendships, relationships, hair straighteners, football and tons of other stuff too!<br />
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</h3>
I am currently a stay at home mum on maternity leave and seriously hoping to remain that for a while if I can. Unfortunately money might mean that's not realistic.<br />
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Things that I love or am proud of! :</h4>
<ul>
<li>Watching my babys' face light up when I pull a silly face or make a funny noise at him, watching the wonder in his eyes when he spots something new going on around him!</li>
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<ul>
<li>Watching my older 2 with him, seeing that (somehow) they have both turned out to be amazing loving children!</li>
<li>Seeing the oldest 2 doing so well at school after I home schooled them both for 8 years!</li>
<li>Seeing my partner play and chat with our baby everyday!</li>
<li>Spending time with family!</li>
<li>Overcoming depression.</li>
<li>I love the smell of freshly cut grass, petrol, freshly baked bread, good coffee, early morning, snow days - they do have a smell?!</li>
<li>I love every season, for different reasons.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/loves2crochetuk?ref=si_shop" target="_blank">Crochet</a> - obviously!</li>
<li><a href="http://loves2crochet.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Blogging </a> - not quite so obviously!</li>
</ul>
I could list things here for ages but I'll stop now before I send you to sleep! <br />
<h4>
A Settled Life on The Isle of Wight</h4>
I have lived on the Isle of Wight since I was 14 so just over 20 years now, I haven't always felt settled here but I'm in a good place in life now and happy to be wherever me and my family are. I wonder if moving away from the area I grew up in at 14 is what made me unsettled here in later life? Like everything I had grown up knowing was suddenly not there anymore and I (and my parents) had to start again in a completely different environment to what we had been used to? To be honest that's not something I have seriously thought of until now and I feel its not something I need to over-think either, I am here now and I am very happy so all is good :)<br />
I have recently created a new twitter account <a href="http://twitter.com/wighthour" target="_blank">@WightHour</a> to help promote local businesses here and the popularity of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wighthour&src=typd" target="_blank">#wighthour</a> (Mondays 8-9pm) is growing week on week.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r2b-xH1F2dI/UcAllAvZZCI/AAAAAAAAAlA/hGqNg3zWQug/s1600/100_3162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r2b-xH1F2dI/UcAllAvZZCI/AAAAAAAAAlA/hGqNg3zWQug/s200/100_3162.JPG" width="183" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my items available @<br />
<a href="http://www.madeonisleofwight.com/" target="_blank">Made on the Isle of Wight</a><br />
Bullen Road, Ryde, IOW<br />
PO33 1QE<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/loves2crochetuk?ref=si_shop" target="_blank">And Online here </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I Love to Crochet </h4>
My username on twitter is <a href="http://twitter.com/loves2crochetuk" target="_blank">@loves2crochetuk</a> - I had wanted to learn to crochet most of my life, my Nan was a crocheter but not the best teacher! My mum is an excellent knitter - something I can do but don't love. A few years ago I came across a few crochet hooks stashed away in the loft and finally had a go! I have tried many different crafts over the years, lace making, candle making, cross stitch, drawing, knitting but had never taken to any of them. Crochet is different! I <i><b>love </b></i>to<b><i></i></b> crochet. I enjoy making a variety of pieces generally quite modern and fresh looking items that would fit in with most styles. I always use 100% natural high quality yarns.<br />
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I blog from time to time (never as often as I intend to!) and it is something I intend to try! to improve on. I actually enjoy writing when I just let myself go a bit! If you have enjoyed this short post by me then I would love you to stop by my blog <a href="http://loves2crochet.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Loves2Crochet</a> and say hello!<br />
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I have been a participant of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23elevensestime&src=typd" target="_blank">#elevensestime</a> on twitter for a good few years now, everyone there is so nice and friendly and it is nice to share my morning cuppa with you all :)<br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sarah x</span></i><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-35928309642287242792013-06-03T08:51:00.000+01:002013-06-03T08:51:20.628+01:00Festivals as a Way of Life<div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o7bX_SgPAVA/Uat-ODyt8WI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Myd3MQVT0X4/s1600/festival+volunteer+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o7bX_SgPAVA/Uat-ODyt8WI/AAAAAAAAAAM/Myd3MQVT0X4/s1600/festival+volunteer+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It happened
a few years ago when I was living in Dublin: I fell in love with the <a href="http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/dear-festival-of-world-cultures-a-love-letter/">Festival of World Cultures</a>. The following year I was browsing their website and found
the volunteer section. Why not give it a go, I thought, and signed up. A few months later <a href="http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com/">Life is a Festival</a> was born. Ever since my first experience as a festival
volunteer I’ve been hooked. ‘Festival’ became a magical word for me, a sort of
road sign to a place called Being Happy. My new passion was like a favourite
piece of clothing, I took it with me everywhere I went. From a <a href="http://www.nelsonjazzfest.co.nz/">jazz festival in New Zealand</a>, a <a href="http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/35-years-of-japanese-canadian-history-and-culture-powell-street-festival-2011/">Japanese street festival in Vancouver</a> to a <a href="http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/3-festivals-2-weeks-1-amazing-festival-trip-to-ireland/">documentary festival in Donegal</a> I worked at any event that intrigued me and absolutely loved it.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes
people ask why I would ‘work for free’. It wouldn’t even occur to me to see volunteering that way. In fact it’s
a win win situation for everyone. Festivals get enthusiastic helpers while
volunteers get to attend events and often get an exclusive behind the scenes
look. At really good festivals (happy to give recommendations) you feel
appreciated as a valuable member of the crew. You are a sort of goodwill
ambassador for the event and it shows. It helps to have a bit of an altruistic
streak and to enjoy meeting new people. Having said that, if you’re more of a
shy type, there are usually plenty of alternative opportunities to get involved
with a festival.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So you’ve
never volunteered at a festival before and aren’t sure if it’s for you? The
good news is: it can be done while working a fulltime job, with a family in tow,
at any age, if you’re in a wheelchair, do not own a car or are just visiting a new place
for a few days. Just follow these steps: 1. Find something that interests you
or simply google for upcoming festivals in your area. 2. Do they have a
volunteer section on the website? Good. No? Email them anyway and offer your
help. It helps to mention that you are friendly, enjoy working with people, are
flexible, reliable and punctual. This is what ALL festivals are more or less
looking for. 3. You get accepted. Great. You don’t? Ask them to put you on the
standby list. A word of warning: give it your all but don’t over commit. Sign
up for a reasonable amount of hours that fit into your schedule. Being tired
and stressed doesn’t make for a great experience and you do want to have some
time to actually attend events. You can always add more shifts later. Let
the volunteer coordinator know if you have any special skills or experience and
whether there are any artists you’d particularly like to see, but be flexible
if you don’t get the exact shifts you are hoping for.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LRTtILe9nPA/Uat-p1XFW8I/AAAAAAAAAAU/WB_Sl8I-nUA/s1600/festival+volunteers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LRTtILe9nPA/Uat-p1XFW8I/AAAAAAAAAAU/WB_Sl8I-nUA/s1600/festival+volunteers.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Festivals
have become such a lifestyle for me that I stopped doing regular sightseeing a
few years ago. Whenever I visit a new country or city I search for community
centres, independent bookshops, cultural events, meetup groups for writers,
co-working spaces, indie music venues, and libraries and take it from there.
What interests me about travelling is how other people live, think and create.
Rather than following the well-trodden tourist path, it’s so much more exciting
to meet the locals and learn about cutting edge projects, such as a <a href="http://hugohouse.org/content/novel-live">novel writing marathon</a>, a <a href="http://www.filmracing.com/">24 hour film contest</a> or a <a href="http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/welcome-to-the-rainforest-circus-synchronicity-festival-2011/">circus in a rainforest</a>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Festivals
are what you make them. They are neither mindless entertainment nor boring lectures,
but a living, breathing organism made up of creative people, projects and
audiences who are open to learn something new, be amazed and connect with
like-minded souls. Some of my best friends are people I met at festivals around
the world. It’s not always easy to stay positive when we are constantly
bombarded with bad news. Festivals can be a great antidote. They are
their own universe, an escape from daily life or, in my case, the start of a completely new way of life. </span><span lang="EN-US">One of my goals when I started writing <a href="http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com/">Life is a Festival</a> was to keep the time between festivals as short as humanly possible
and to get others excited about festivals and volunteering in the community.
Both are a work in progress and I’m immensely enjoying this beautiful journey
I’m on.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">What are your favourite festival moments? Let us know in the comments section below. If you have
any questions about festival volunteering or festival trips around the world,
just drop me a line. I also offer one to one twitter coaching for musicians,
writers, artists and other creative people.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">@lifeisafestival</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://lifeisafestival.wordpress.com</a></span></div>
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<br />Life is a Festival!http://www.blogger.com/profile/05514887242899356929noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-228463357042726162013-05-23T16:46:00.000+01:002013-05-24T10:35:12.468+01:00Camping in comfort<br />
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There are some people, like my son Matthew, who regard comfort while camping as entirely optional. Then others, such as my friend Ann, say camping in any form should be avoided at all cost by sane adults.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m somewhere in the middle. Camping is a great way to give the kids a fairly cheap trip away, and it does me good to be in the fresh air and away from the work desk. But I’m not a great fan of shivering cold and hungry in a field. “Holidaying under canvas” is really what I aspire to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With that in mind, here are a few ideas that help me when we go away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Tent Doormat<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I take a doormat to put just inside the tent. Having this to stand on while changing footwear helps keep some of the grass and mud out of the main tent. I buy them for 80p from Ikea and if they look too grim at the end of a trip I throw them away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Gas lamp <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I've got various lamps and lights and torches, but my favourite is the gas lamp. They can be a bit pricey to buy but I've found they throw out a welcome amount of heat, as well as light. This can be a great advantage in the evenings when it’s starting to get nippy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Electricity </b><br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41dbsGA04OL._SX342_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41dbsGA04OL._SX342_.jpg" width="200" /></a>An increasing number of campsites are offering an electrical supply for your tent, for a small daily surcharge. I've been told that’s not “proper camping” but I have no pride when it comes to these things! You need a special adapter but with one of these to hand all sorts of wonderful things can now be <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">plugged in – table lamps for reading in bed, a </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">DVD</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> player to keep the kids quiet, a CD player to share your music tastes with the rest of the campsite. I stayed on one site that offered WiFi, for a </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">noticeable</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> cost, so you could take the laptop and do a bit of work while on holiday - that seemed to be going rather too far even for me!</span></span></div>
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<b>Beds</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Even after several years of camping I've still not settled on a bed I feel comfortable in. I've tried various different airbeds and roll mats. This year I have bought a camp bed which has little legs to lift you off the ground, so I’ll see if that’s any better. I don’t really like sleeping bags, as they feel one step away from mummification, so I've got an extra wide sleeping bag, and then I take a duvet as well for the warmth and the comfort.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am still no expert. I’d like to have some way to recharge the mobile phones, maybe from an AA battery powered charger. I know you can get solar powered phone chargers, but the good ones seem awfully expensive. Matt has a wind up phone charger so I should give that a go. He says it takes a good amount of winding to get a trickle of a charge into the phone. Sounds like that is something best left to a younger fitter generation than me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I also have no clue how to pack a wet tent!<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you've thought about camping but have never finally make the leap maybe some of these ideas might encourage you to give it a go. And if you have any camping tips do share them in the comments. Or just tell us what's your favourite Premier Inn :p<o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm a regular on twitter - follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/cyteen02" target="_blank">@cyteen02</a> and join in the chat with <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23elevensestime" target="_blank">#elevensestime</a><br />
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Paul Graveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121662389840568957noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-31661845616974236782013-04-30T09:57:00.000+01:002013-04-30T13:12:45.137+01:00In Search of the Ultimate Loaf!Over the past ten years or so, bread has become big business in the UK. A good thing too, for much of what masqueraded as our daily staple since WWII had increasingly become a poor imitation of the real thing. With a texture not unlike a kitchen sponge and a whole array of chemicals to aid rising and preservation, the heavily processed sliced white loaf is a culinary abomination with minimal nutritional value. Oh, and it tastes of nothing, either, save for the generous quantities of sugar and salt which are added to mask the blandness.<br />
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The excessive use of raising agents is the principal reason for the lack of flavour in mass-produced bread. For what these do is to rob the loaves of a key ingredient: time. Whereas an industrial dough is designed to rise as quickly as possible, its home-made counterpart, using a small amount of yeast and left to prove for several hours, will gradually develop complex, appetising flavours thanks to natural processes of fermentation.<br />
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Nowhere is fermentation in bread more evident than in sourdough cultures, which use the natural yeasts in the air around us to leaven the dough. As the name implies, sourdough bread can be quite acidic, often with a distinct tang that marks it out from yeast-risen breads. Also, the leavening action of these natural yeasts, in the form of a starter culture, is slower than that of baker's yeasts, which means that plenty of fermentation and thus flavour development takes place before the dough has risen to the required volume.<br />
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As sourdough cultures are notoriously capricious, baking a successful loaf of sourdough bread is the Holy Grail of the home baker. Sourdough, moreover, has become so fashionable that the top chefs and restaurants are at it, too, and many are keen to share their tips and recipes. A quick perusal of my kitchen shelves reveals entries on sourdough in cookbooks by Moro, St John, Jamie Oliver, and Locatelli, amongst others. These boast a variety of procedures for creating a sourdough culture, one involving grape juice, and another rhubarb and yoghurt. Some are quite lengthy and intricate, which may be disconcerting to the aspiring sourdough baker.<br />
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I have been baking bread off and on for around fifteen years now, and have made many attempts to develop an active and durable sourdough starter. A few times it didn't work at all; on other occasions I managed to bake a handful of decent loaves before the starter seemed to just run out of life. I found the Jamie Oliver technique the simplest and most reliable of the four listed above; he uses rye flour to capture the natural yeasts outside and it only takes five days before you can bake your first loaf. A couple of my very early efforts, which were made with a substantial proportion of rye, were a revelation - quite the tastiest bread I'd eaten. And yet, what had started out with a bang quickly fizzled out with a whimper; no sooner had I taken my eye off the starter than it sulked at me like a petulant teenager, obstinately refusing all I asked of it. I went back to using yeast.<br />
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When, therefore, I was given by a relative a small quantity of her sourdough starter, I received it with a mixture of gratitude, excitement, trepidation and resignation. I was under pressure to make sure that this present was not just for Christmas; the responsibility felt like having very small children all over again. Fortunately I had in the meantime acquired the excellent River Cottage handbook on bread, by Daniel Stevens, which I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone, even more experienced bakers. His section on sourdough is particularly enlightening and I'm sure is the main reason why, four months later, my starter is alive and well in the back kitchen.<br />
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So: to my own efforts. What follows is not a detailed recipe or procedure for making sourdough loaves - this can be found elsewhere. Instead I will focus on tips and hints which I've found particularly useful along the way.<br />
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The first piece of advice - and a good reason why you should not always be too rigid about recipe timings - is perhaps the most important of all: do not begin the bread-making process until your starter is ready. What is ready? Well, it is hard to define precisely, but if the culture is bubbling and frothing away with a pungent yet not unpleasant smell, then it's probably time. The difficulty here is that you can also leave it for too long. When the natural yeasts have gobbled up all the sugars in the flour, the starter will, like someone after a gargantuan meal, become rather inactive. It will need feeding again to return it to an vigorous state.<br />
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At this point I should perhaps take a step backwards and make a note about feeding your starter. A key tip I have picked up only recently is the routine of discarding half the starter and refreshing it with a similar amount of flour and water. Initially I was reluctant to follow this procedure, having been brought up never to waste food, but it really does make all the difference. And if you're baking frequently, you will use the discarded portion for your next loaf. I would also advocate freezing one or two pots of the starter, just in case your main culture does decide to give up the ghost. While we're on the subject, most writers recommend you discard and feed your starter on a daily basis. I have found mine to be so greedy that it actually prefers a twice-daily feed. But you get through a hell of a lot of flour.<br />
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When you're confident that your starter is in the right mood, it's time to try a loaf! Since I bought the River Cottage book I have been first making a 'sponge' overnight, which is where you mix your starter with all of the water but only half the flour. By the following morning, this batter should be frothing contentedly and hungry for the rest of the flour and salt. Daniel Stevens advises keeping your dough on the sticky side, and I've found a food mixer very handy for this. But I've also baked without one; you just have to be prepared to get mucky. He also advocates a number of risings, after each of which you gently knock back the dough and reshape it into a round. For the final proving, which can take several hours, I line a tall-sided bowl with a floured cloth, to give the loaf some shape. At baking time, the cloth is carefully lifted from the bowl and the dough transferred to your baking sheet/tin.<br />
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Another excellent tip is to ensure the oven is as hot as possible before your loaf goes in to bake. I am currently using a large stainless steel roasting tin for my bread, as it retains the heat and seals the bottom of the loaf, preventing it from sticking. I also make slashes in the dough before putting it in the oven (these should start opening up immediately) and spray the top with water from a plant mister. The fierce heat of the oven should give your dough a final chance to rise (and quite rapidly, too), while the water on the top temporarily inhibits the formation of the crust, thereby extending he rising time in your oven. You should leave the oven at its highest temperature for ten minutes, after which it can be turned down depending on how brown your loaf already looks.<br />
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One final piece of advice: do not cut open your loaf until it has fully cooled, which may mean leaving it until the following day. We are easily seduced by the aromas of baking bread, and the temptation to devour a chunk while it is still warm may seem irresistible, but until the crumb has properly settled inside you will just end up with a squashy, albeit delicious mass.<br />
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The differences between a regular loaf and a sourdough one should be immediately apparent. Quite apart from the distinctive 'sour' smell and taste, the crumb ought to be much looser with larger holes, while the overall texture of the bread should be springier and less crumbly. Sourdough also lasts longer than other breads, but it is unlikely you'll ever let it get stale.<br />
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So how am I getting on? Below you will see two pictures of my most recent attempt at sourdough bread. In the first you can see how the slashes on top of the dough opened up (although not completely), allowing for more rising. The second shows a cross-section of the bread. The crumb is denser than I am aiming for - some earlier loaves have been more successful in this respect. All in all it's not a bad result, and far better than my previous forays into sourdough bread. But I shall continue to strive for the ultimate loaf and let you all know if and when I get there!<br />
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What are your sourdough experiences?<br />
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Jamie Bulloch, 30 April 2013 <a href="http://twitter.com/LoveVirtually" target="_blank">Follow @LoveVirtually on Twitter</a><br />
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<br />Jamie Bullochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758172715193066360noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-36721857421174029972012-08-23T23:17:00.001+01:002012-08-23T23:17:43.779+01:00Slapped Wrists and Sodden Paths<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I have been struggling, as no doubt many others have, to find enough occasions when my free time coincides with dry weather to enable me to actually do anything productive at the plot. The extremes of weather have given the weeds and crops perfect growing conditions but have also kept us off the soil enough to allow Triffid like revolutions. As a consequence, I received a letter from my association warning of eviction if I didn't remedy the situation on my plot and spend more time working on it.<br />Now, you could forgive me for thinking that in hard times, when even the professionals are complaining, your friendly association would reach out a hand of support but these pencil squeezers have done the opposite. I can forsee so many plots being abandoned and the loss of many first timers thanks to this lack of sensibility. <br />I'll will post what I discover but I already know of one young family who will be hard pushed to recover from three consecutive months of flood, drought and tropical storms. <br />it's sad when the powers that be would rather kick people off than offer leniancy and help.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-23740367804007962372011-11-27T22:03:00.000+00:002011-11-27T22:03:03.978+00:00I’m Sorry I’ll Misread That Again<div class="MsoNormal">Apparently we have a dilemma in this country. We are both <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/286281/Starving-Britain" target="_blank">starving to death</a> and yet at the same time eating ourselves into the <a href="http://www.plus-size-tall.com/uk-women-are-the-most-obese-in-europe-can-japan-offer-a-solution-18264/" target="_blank">obesityrecord </a>books.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The news about the middle classes turning to food charities and co ops has a major clue in the description: Middle Classes!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Those of us who watch frankly too much television will have noticed the growing trend for arts and crafts, homemade and home grown, even as far as some fools building their own houses (home grown home?) . The overriding thing that sticks out through all of it is the fact that people can afford to mess up, to a certain extent. If you rent your own home, work for just above minimum wage and live on your overdraft limit, packing everything in and starting up as a self sufficient small holder isn’t possible. Making your own Christmas presents with help from the local W.I. isn’t cheap alternative is you’re using silver clay at ‘just £15 per key ring’. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Essentially, those people who are turning to food banks are there because they can’t afford the organic free range farm produced Fennel infused Manuka Honey they are used to, not because the price of Tesco Value Spaghetti Hoops has gone up again.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Surviving a recession isn’t just about changing your budget; it’s about changing your mindset too.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The obesity item has some obvious points but also hides the underlying truths that belie the headlines.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Many older women have worked in dull repetitive jobs, in factories and supermarkets, jobs that involve sitting a lot, repetitive muscle action and until recently almost always allowed smoking as a means of relieving the boredom. As any athlete will know, if you stop using those muscles, however big or strong they are, they will change into fat or loosen up to the point that the skin can’t return to size, resulting a lot of the time in what we commonly call ‘bingo wings’ and more. Legs that have been pressing a machine pedal or over forty years won’t just return to those slim shapely pins of youth. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Add to this the very fact that during their working careers these women are also raising children, often alone. Fast food is getting cheaper and those value hoops are an easy option. </div><div class="MsoNormal">If you can get a few hours each week to take up an exercise class just to vary the muscles you use or a couple of mornings or half days off work each week to prepare and freeze some proper home cooked meals, maybe one day a week to keep an allotment where fresh fruit and vegetables can be grown, there would be less risk of adult obesity. </div><div class="MsoNormal">But why, specifically, are we so high in female obesity?</div><div class="MsoNormal">Simply put, men have more opportunities to jobs with more variety. The wages offered to manual workers on production lines is usually the lowest level. It is often referred to as ‘pin money’ or an extra income to boost the main wage, traditionally from the male earner but much less so now. Factory work such as this is also usually flexible hours which makes it more suitable for workers who have school age children, again traditionally female staff. So, poor diet, repetitive jobs and responsibilities at home are all factors that I believe lead towards high female obesity figures.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Why the United Kingdom?</div><div class="MsoNormal">The United Kingdom was once a world leader in so many fields that involved manual labour. Manufacturing, building, fabric mills, and mining were all jobs which favoured stockier stronger builds. As times changed, populations grew that threw up a genetic dominance for the stronger, shorter person. When those jobs and careers declined, those people stayed and continued to breed. People built to swing heavy hammers and load carts were finding themselves stacking shelves, operating tills and working long shifts in call centres. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Yes, the same changes have happened in other countries, other careers and other cultures but we once ruled an Empire that we fed with those factories are still there but they don’t have such a dominance of fast food or rather unhealthy fast food outlets. They have climates maybe more suitable for outdoor exercise or perhaps it is just that they have a history of better diets.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anyway, I’m no expert and my views may be so far off track but they are just my views.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-90757740905248323912011-08-17T16:39:00.015+01:002011-08-17T17:43:24.134+01:00Indulgent Chocolate Brownies<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• 250g unsalted butter</span>
<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), crumbled</span>
<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• optional: 75g dried sour cherries pre-soaked in cherry liquor </span>
<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• 80g cocoa powder, sifted </span>
<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• 65g plain flour, sifted </span>
<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• 1 teaspoon baking powder </span>
<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• 360g caster sugar </span>
<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">• 4 large free-range or organic eggs
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<br />Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the cherries, if you’re using them, and stir together. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate and cherry mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency. </span>
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<br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes. You don’t want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don’t want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray, then carefully transfer to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares. These are excellent served with a good strong espresso.</span>
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<br />Enjoy!</span>
<br />NeilAShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06137931397983323234noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-10574433315490078052011-07-07T13:55:00.000+01:002011-07-07T13:55:37.716+01:00Boshed Squash Means Sweet Treats!<div style="text-align: justify;">I like to grow stuff. That's the simple bit. I actually thrive on successful plants, that's the rub. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The problem is, I don't like just accepting failure, particularly my own.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typically, my wife has taken to raising plants at home for me to plant out at the allotment, which has been a great help but the most recent and most important introduction was a pair of Squash plants. I'd name the actual variety but they were from a selection pack and neither of us can remember which so for now, they will remain 'The Mystery Squash'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, the plants were tended lovingly for a few months by the very dedicated under gardener until the time was ready to take them to their new and final home, a well manured,pvc covered bed at the plot. I had installed a length of old downpipe into the soil to help direct and deep watering too, as all the Cucurbit family like a lot of liquid to swell the fruits. I even added a generous sprinkling of (organic) slug pellets. Not because Squash are especially prone to slug attack, just that at my plot, everything is prone to slug attack! The pvc mulch and straw heavy manure was always going to prove a haven for those slimy pests so a good dose of protection was obligatory.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k8As36FP4HU/ThWdp_Bh_-I/AAAAAAAAAgk/DfnEUqY563M/s1600/snail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k8As36FP4HU/ThWdp_Bh_-I/AAAAAAAAAgk/DfnEUqY563M/s320/snail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the end, despite all these precautions, the plants lasted little more than a fortnight before they had been entirely devoured, leaving not even a tiny shred of stem.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The disappointment and eventual acceptance that something had failed miserably,that I had failed miserably and that this was something my wife, a much less experienced or qualified gardener had managed to raise very successfully before handing over to me, its would be executioner, was all mine to suffer. I could have wallowed, denied or just ignored the fact but instead, I girded my loins and decided to set off to the Garden Centre, armed with my Father's Day gift voucher and in search of replacement plants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point, I'd love to say we found replacement plants, they are doing fine and we expect a fine crop of Butternut,Pumpkin and Little Acorn for soups, pies and roasting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'd like to, but I'd be lying. There was a half price sale on the bedding plants range. We resisted. They had ornaments at a reasonable cost but again, we resisted.It was hard but we even resisted the BBQ offers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When we found the vegetable plants section, it was, as one would expect this late in the season,almost empty. There were plenty of Cabbage plants, many Lettuce and other salads but alas, no Squash. I have plenty of Brassica, Lettuce and others but I needed Squash. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My only solution in the end was to find a vegetable that would be equally different to the run of the mill supermarket staples as Squash are, that would benefit from the growing conditions I already had prepared an that could go in now, mid to late summer.</div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9sR358NJdbE/ThWsVQGGxHI/AAAAAAAAAgo/ey1BfYse6rw/s1600/sweetpotato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9sR358NJdbE/ThWsVQGGxHI/AAAAAAAAAgo/ey1BfYse6rw/s1600/sweetpotato.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">As luck had it, the Garden Centre were clearing some packs of Sweet Potato plants. Easy to grow in milder areas (I live in the warm sheltered South West), and, yes, best planted out late June or early July!</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I like Sweet Potato as a food, my wife/under gardener/ head cook likes making me food with them in and it's another thing to add to my list of growing achievements so in the basket they went. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The added advantage of being suitable for growing in a large pot also meant we could have a plant in the garden at home but controlled, as well as three at the plot. Should the plot not be protected enough, we still have the fall back option in a pot at home. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just as a final bonus, as I thought about writing this blog, I was reading last months gardening magazine. In it, I stumbled across an article about attractive plants to grow in pots. Which plant was included? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, by late October, early November, I may not be hollowing out a Jack O'Lantern but I should hopefully be scoffing Sweet Potato Pie!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-91976221322456807832010-10-18T14:34:00.013+01:002010-10-18T17:11:40.495+01:00The First Elevensestime TweetsBack in May 2009 a chance remark was picked up by a great bunch of people and became Elevensestime. The following are my tweets and comments I retweeted at the time. <div class="table-no-break"><table border="1"><tbody><tr><th width="250px">Time</th><th>Tweet</th></tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 10:59</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Does anyone have "Elevenses" any more? - off to get mine anyway</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:17</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @mizzlizwhizz: #makesmesmile playing with words [No surprises there then! :)]</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:19</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@mizzlizwhizz Right yours is the one on the left - stem ginger cookie ?</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:23</div></td><td><div class="tweet">People who get together and sort out differences and problems for themselves and others #makesmesmile</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:24</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Being patronized by large corporations and the state who think they know better #makesmerant (justsayin' !)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:26</div></td><td><div class="tweet">BT once sent me a letter explaining how their webhosting services would make my business *Look* professional #makesmerant</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:29</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Daughter insisting that chocolate can be one of her 5 a day #makesmesmile</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:31</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@mizzlizwhizz Nice aren't they - there's one left at the bottom of the packet</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:38</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@mizzlizwhizz I really shouldn't I've already had 5 and I'm watching my figure. *brushes crumbs from chin, nose and hair*</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:40</div></td><td><div class="tweet">My doctor suggested I go to weight watchers but I told him "I want to lose it not watch it" (boom! boom!)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:43</div></td><td><div class="tweet">.@naughtymutt Yum! - we're having ginger biscuits but you carry on with your radishes - much more healthy! :)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:46</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @Mangowe: *looks at breakfast* If this is health food, why am I enjoying it? [you need to have a word with @naughtymutt about that one]</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:50</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @Dormousezzzz: Oooo ginger biscuits! I havent had a ginger biscuit in ages! *looks pleadingly upwards through eyelashes* ;) [Enjoy! :) ]</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:55</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Just to finish off Elevenses - heres a nice feel good track from Beth Rowley #makesmesmile (spotify http://bit.ly/isja0)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 11:59</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Well that was nice - see you all later! :o)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 12:07</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @Mangowe: RT @okse: Went to the corner shop, bought a protractor. [Living the dream! :) #makesmesmile]</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 12:30</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @HelpSaveBees: Martin, you appear to have started an Elevenses Twitter Club, may I introduce you to the following new members:</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 12:32</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @HelpSaveBees: @typoretum @robocallaghan @iamamro @naughtymutt & of course miss biscuit crumbs herself @mizzlizwhizz [Nice to meet you!]</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 12:37</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@JemStone Thought you might like this! http://bit.ly/oUTmN :) #getorffmyland</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 12:47</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@iamamro Absolutely!</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 13:28</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @DaveHill: Have arrived in city of bath. It's small. [watch out Baedecker's! :)]</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 14:08</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Beavering away! - follow @ElevensesTime, have set up ElevensesTime@GoogleMail.com for biscuit recipes, longer thoughts etc. #ElevensesTime</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 14:43</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Off for a late lunch now - laters</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">16 May 09 17:15</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @DamianGrounds: Hi Martin, it's Damian from @HelpSaveBees. Can you add me to #ElevensesTime please</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 01:23</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@DamianGrounds No reason why we shouldnt have both - I've already set up http://ElevensesTime.Blogspot.com with a first explanatory piece</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 01:27</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@DamianGrounds A flicker group is great idea for sharing pictures with comments. Blog only really for posting stuff for those with no blog</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 10:26</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Morning All! - late start this morning - Listening to the Archers as usual</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 10:28</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Went to see Mark Steel last night in Cirencester (youtube : http://bit.ly/WGLLH *language*) absolutely hilarious and thought provoking</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 10:30</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@sunday Definitely starting to feel sorry for Matt! (Unlikely as that may sound !)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 10:32</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@sunday Not much chance of an early election then! (although the way GB's going I wouldn't put it past him!)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 10:38</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Just getting the crockery out for #ElevensesTime - as we're new to this I'll use the best china - use the hashtag to join in at 11:00 BST</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 10:45</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@YourMrBumbles Glad you like it - theres loads of other clips on youtube</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 10:48</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@TheChoirBoy Quite a few of us about! (@Timbentinck (David) is on twitter - interesting follow)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:01</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Tea's brewed - just trying to find some nice biscuits for #ElevensesTime - anybody got any music suggestions?</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:12</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Found some half chocolate ginger cookies in the special jar #elevensestime - does every one take milk?</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:17</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@DiscyDave Nice!</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:18</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@mizzlizwhizz Pull up a chair - there's plenty of bickies for evryone #ElevensesTime</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:21</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Can someone tell @HelpSaveBees aka @DamienGrounds his tea's getting cold! #elevensestime</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:23</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @DiscyDave: Try this..http://www.myspace.com/drivebytruckers [Second track v.good]</div></td></tr><br /><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:27</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@HelpSaveBees One lump or two ? - So what are we all doing this morning #elevensestime</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:29</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@Dormousezzzz Fifth I think - pawn to rook</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:34</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Here's some Fairport Convention to get us in a jolly mood http://bit.ly/1W9j5 #elevensestime</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:41</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@DamianGrounds Are you following everyone from your current account?</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 11:45</div></td><td><div class="tweet">RT @DamianGrounds: @iamamro @henryandjayne @mizzlizwhizz @ typoretum Good morning. I appear to be own. Jaffa cake anyone ?#ElevensesTime</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 12:03</div></td><td><div class="tweet">Right well that was nice! Just leave the cups on the side I'll put em in the dishwasher later. #elevensestime</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 12:41</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@TeaPartyProtest @teapartynews Not really a "Tea Party" thing! Just casual meet up and a chat at #ElevensesTime blog: http://bit.ly/mjCTK</div></td></tr><tr><td><div class="date">17 May 09 12:54</div></td><td><div class="tweet">@mizzlizwhizz Damien seems to have stirred up some interest from accross the water ! LOL Got to be so careful with keywords #elevensestime</div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-50631399106568419282010-09-06T11:48:00.003+01:002010-09-06T13:19:41.526+01:00Harvest Time : A Time of Plenty But Not To Waste<div style="text-align: left;">Don't you just love this time of year? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We were treated to a most excellent start to the month last week - blue skies abounded and the sun shone - 0h the sunshine! Look how blue the sky was. Look how red the berries.... Glorious :)</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/organikal/4963062625/" title="Rowan Berries by julie@organikal, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4963062625_2f72e5560f.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Rowan Berries" /></a><br /></div><div><br />It's not the Equinox until 23rd September (btw, we also have a full moon that day - so much good stuff) so it isn't really <i>officially </i>Autumn, but the weather is definitely autumnal up here in central Scotland, and the leaves are just starting to turn. The kids are back in school and there's a scent in the air, no?</div><div><br /></div><div>And with the change in seasons, it is often easier to find a change in focus. A new project, perhaps? Or just the promise you made whilst enjoying your sunny summer holiday put into practice?</div><div><br /></div><div>This week is an easy one for me and my easily distracted focus. It's both part of the <a href="http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/OrganicFortnight/tabid/244/Default.aspx"><b>Soil Association's Organic Fortnight</b></a><br /><a href="http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/OrganicFortnight/tabid/244/Default.aspx"><img title="Organic Fortnight" alt="Organic Fortnight" src="http://www.soilassociation.org/Portals/0/Content/side_images/organic_fortnight.gif" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> and the third <a href="http://myzerowaste.com/zero-waste-week/"><b>National Zero Waste Week</b></a></div><div><br /><a href="http://myzerowaste.com/zero-waste-week/"><img title="National Zero Waste Week" src="http://myzerowaste.com/ads/300x115-nzww.jpg" alt="National Zero Waste Week" width="300" height="115" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://myzerowaste.com/zero-waste-week/"></a>Both initiatives mean I've been renewing my focus on some of the things that are most important to me. </div><div><br /></div><div>Choosing organic everyday was a decision we made years ago - and it's really super to see this event get so big. To be honest, not so many of my neighbours up here in central Scotland suburbia are aware of Organic Fortnight, but we hope that with the support of the ever popular Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his delicious sounding <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/04/organic-pork-recipes-fearnley-whittingstall">organic pork recipes</a> even those of those that don't live as close to the land, will start to think a little more about where their food comes from.</div><div><br /></div><div>National Zero Waste Week just also happens to be about food this year. Yay! My fave subject :) Did you see the programme about the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tkr88">Great British Waste Menu</a>? I haven't got around to watching it yet, but apparently it did a great job of highlighting just how much food waste us Britons throw out. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mrs Green over at <a href="http://myzerowaste.com/">My Zero Waste</a> doesn't throw out any waste. Well, last year the Green family put just one wheelie bin out - for the whole year! National Zero Waste Week (supported by chef Brian Turner and sponsored by Tetra-Pak) is a great campaign started by Mrs Green and this year's focus is on food waste I've been ever so vigilant this last couple of weeks and am working hard to make sure we're not buying too much food and that we're finding inventive ways of using up what's left over - even scraps!</div><div><br /></div><div>It may be nearing Autumn officially, but that doesn't mean there's no new planting to be done.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.organikal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/OnePotPledge_logo-small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 166px;" src="http://www.organikal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/OnePotPledge_logo-small.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></div><div>Not another campaign? Well, yes. This time it's the <a href="http://www.onepotpledge.org/">One Pot Pledge</a> from Garden Organic. Aimed at getting folks to pledging to grow at least one pot of their own food this year, I thought it was such a great idea, I've only gone and labelled myself a Gardening Guru! </div><div><br /></div><div>That means I've been growing some of my own food for a few years and therefore should know what I'm doing, apparently! We're a little later than we'd have liked but we started a brand new projectand created <b>two brand new veg beds</b> in the <b>brand new polytunnel</b> (home grown compost and all!) and what you can see below is the result. In 4-6 weeks time I am expecting a harvest of radish, parsley, lettuce, spinach, pak choi, mixed leaves, spring onions and rainbow chard.</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/organikal/4963659596/" title="Veg Beds Freshly Sown by julie@organikal, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4963659596_f46566eb78.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Veg Beds Freshly Sown" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/organikal/4963659596/" title="Veg Beds Freshly Sown by julie@organikal, on Flickr"></a>The only thing is, I'm unsure as to whether I'm hoping for surplus or not, what with my focus on waste! Fingers crossed we'll have that problem to contend with :)<br /><br />Will you join with any of these campaigns? What campaigns are you involved with?<br /><br /></div>Julie Gibbonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08937132233038613383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-14200749770675250152010-08-19T11:20:00.003+01:002010-08-19T11:47:34.556+01:00Summery summaryIt's been another perfect summer hasn't it?<br />Well, ok we haven't had the much anticipated barbeque summer but , realistically, we were never going to get that. We have become suddenly quite accepting of unrealistic aims in the last decade. The ever increasing Americanisation of the British lifestyle has seen the dismissal of such hitherto relished delights as makinbg mud pies, long walks over verdant hills and wearing a vest under your summer clothes. In fact, summer itself is now expected to last much longer than the old six week period we were used to and which fitted the government issued compulsary summer break.<br />Now, thanks to cable television and cheap foreign holidays, we all want, no demand, a three month summer of blistering heat. We need at least desert conditions so we can dry roast ourselves in suburban gardens and eat chargrilled offal every evening from mid March until October.<br />Now, I like my full english served up poolside with a columbian blend coffee and freshly squeezed juice as much as the next man but I'm happy if it happens once or twice a year but I would happily forego that delight if it means retaining the temperate climate that allows my South African Alliums to flower alongs side my Himalayan Rhododendrons and my Australian Phormiums. I am aware that we like warm and dry more than damp and cold but if we want to remain the uniquely diverse island that we are, we need those rainfalls for our forests and flower meadows as much as we love the sun baked beaches and the snow capped Fells. This country reveals in such a huge influx of international tourists for the very same reason we like to moan: the weather. The range of conditions we enjoy here are the envy of the world as far as gardeners are concerned. Farmers may not like them because they specialize in sinlge crops but a gardener grows as big a spread of plant varieties as they can sustain and as such, we love the ever changing moods of Mother Nature. This year my crops, those I have had time to sow, have enjoyed days of high humidity, evenings of warmth and nights of mild but refreshing rain. We even had the ideal weather for about a week in May, days of hot dry sun with a slight breeze for pollenation, mixed with nights of straight rain from dusk until dawn. Perfect weather and perfectly British.<br />So, yes, I like to bake and tan but I can either pop on a plane to a foreign soil for that or crawl through traffic on a bank holiday and find it on a square metre of sand in Cornwall. Give me my Chinese veg and spicy italian herbs, bring me my home grown Apricots and frshly dug new potatoes. You can keep your Big Mac and Fries, give me wellies and grey skies. I love my British short lived summers!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-80886382364546598212010-05-14T15:59:00.016+01:002010-05-14T17:06:56.275+01:00Juggling new business start-up & full-time job!<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471151454967775378" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE-aQQrvlPY/S-1vQsm3QJI/AAAAAAAAAA0/HZC1itnr6do/s320/DSC01184.JPG" />I wouldn't recommend to anyone what I've been doing for the past 3 years unless you are fully motivated with an ultimate goal to aim for. Setting up a new business isn't easy, but doing it whilst working full-time and renovating a property from 70 miles away has given me many headaches as well as a lot of sleepless nights but it's all been worth it.<br /><br />I'm very fortunate to have been given my inheritance by my father during his lifetime. As a result, I am now the proud owner of a beautiful farmhouse which originally belonged to my grandparents. It is situated on the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border, approx. 6 miles from the Malvern Hills. It is where I grew up as a child and where my father and brother still farm.<br /><br />This all may sound very idyllic, but in the early 80's the property suffered a horrendous fire which nearly resulted in the family losing the whole house and the nearby farm buildings. Although a fantastic property to be given, it was derelict and in need of a great amount of love and money to make it habitable once again. Birds were able to fly freely through the house and nest on the wallpaper hanging off the walls! Last year when the plastering had finished in the bedrooms, we left the windows open so the plaster could dry more easily only to find that a swallow had made its nest in the rafters of a bedroom! We had to leave the bedroom window open through rain and wind to allow the swallows access to their nest. Luckily, they have all returned this year and found new nesting places in the farm buildings.<br /><br />In 2007 renovations commenced in earnest but I soon realised that my partner and I couldn't live in such a large property with no extra income to help run it. Many ideas went through my head and I thought that holiday lets would be the answer. But as the renovations progressed, I became more and more attached to the property and the idea of living in it and enjoying the place where I remember fondly playing as a child. Holiday lets no longer seemed such a good idea. And so the idea of developing the property as a Bed and Breakfast was decided as a great compromise - we could continue to live in and enjoy the property but also by sharing it with others we could pay for the renovations and running of the house.<br /><br />So plans began to transform the beautiful farmhouse into a home for ourselves and a relaxing place for Bed and Breakfast guests to visit. This has opened up a whole new world to me of not only finding out how to set up my own business, but also the Bed and Breakfast community of landladies and landlords. I have met some great people both on- and offline since starting my research and have thoroughly enjoyed the adventure because that is how I am approaching this new business. It is an adventure which I wish to enjoy and learn from.<br /><br />The website landing page has recently gone live and the real website will be live once we can take some photographs of the interior - the kitchen is being fitted this month, bathrooms next month and then the carpenter can move in to finish off whilst we decorate and furnish. We still have a lot of hard work to do inside and outside, but furnishings and gardening are what I consider fun, rather than plaster dust and builders mess!<br /><br />If you would like to follow our progress, please do visit the website <a href="http://www.huntlandsfarm.co.uk/">http://www.huntlandsfarm.co.uk/</a>Huntlands Farm Bed & Breakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01200030322841553248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-5897897920885431242010-05-10T09:46:00.000+01:002010-05-10T09:46:32.215+01:00Lemon and Honey Cough MixtureTwo juicy lemons<br />
150ml (5floz) clear honey<br />
50ml(2floz) glycerine<br />
<br />
Squeeze the juice from the two lemons and strain the juice to get it as clear as possible. Put the lemon juice, honey and glycerine into a jug and mix very thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a small medicine bottle and cork tightly<br />
<br />
This mixture will sooth a ticklish or sore throat and is suitable for children and adults. It is ideal for singers and actors and actresses to prevent throat infections and is also deliciousJulia Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435259906444169909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-50028953030302731352010-05-03T19:25:00.002+01:002010-05-03T19:28:45.905+01:00Cranberry and Honey Oat BreadThis recipe is in the 2010 North Cotswold Honey Show at the end of August where many of the beekeepers turn their hands to cake bakng - some more successful than others!<br />
<br />
2 tablespoons local honey, 1 egg, 2 tblspns milk, 1 tspn melted butter, 350g(12oz)plain flour, 175g(6oz)rolled oats, 1 dssrtspn baking powder, 1/2 tspn salt<br />
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon, 110g(4oz) fresh/frozen cranberries<br />
50g (2oz)chopped nuts<br />
<br />
<br />
Preheat the oven to 180c(350F,gas mark 4) and grease a loaf tin. Put the flour,oats,baking powder and salt in a bowl. <br />
Beat together the egg, honey and milk and add to the flour and oats, stirring well.<br />
Fold in the cranberries and nuts.<br />
Pour into the loaf tin and bake for about 75 mins, or until crusty and hollow when knocked.<br />
Pour the melted butter over the hot loaf and turn out onto a cooling rackJulia Edwardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00435259906444169909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-14464456743138187742009-11-18T10:06:00.005+00:002009-11-18T10:59:08.707+00:00Souvenirs from my Day at #140Conf - LondonI am sure many Elevensestime regulars were wondering where I got to yesterday. Well, contrary to rumours that I was being introduced at the "House of Lords" (thanks <a href="http://twitter.com/iamamro">@IamAmro </a> !) I was in fact at <a href="http://london.140conf.com/"> #140Conf - Exploring the State of Now</a><br />This was a gathering of Twitter enthusiasts and business people organised by <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffpulver">@JefPulver</a> there is <a href="http://twitter.com/robocallaghan/the-140-conf-characters/members">list of delegates </a> a put together by <a href="http://twitter.com/robocallaghan">@RobOCallaghan</a> and a list of speakers Jeff Pulver's <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffpulver/speakers-140conf-london/members">List of Speakers</a>. Have a look at these lists - there are some great people to follow on them.<br />I you want to get a good feel for what it looked like <a href="http://twitter.com/Britt_W">@Britt_W</a> has taken some really good <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/britt_w/sets/72157622825380488/show/with/4112703569/">photos</a> - see if you can spot me in the crowd! <br />I will add some more to this later but one of the highlights of the conference for me and for many others I suspect, was the <a href="http://www.blip.tv/file/2862636">talk</a> given by Stephen Fry - (captured on video by <br /><a href="http://twitter.com/b33god">@B33God</a> ) which is well worth viewing. The message here and throughout the conference was that Twitter is about people and engagement, it is about enjoying contact with people and that business can benefit greatly from interacting with real people.<br />As we all know at #elevensestime!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-1004258793634203482009-09-28T17:02:00.002+01:002009-09-28T17:14:38.285+01:00Courgette Cake<span style="font-family:arial;">This has been adapted from an old Nigel Slater recipe. It sounds odd, but believe me, vegetables in cakes work! I have tweaked quantities here, and also vary ingredients such as the type of nuts and dried fruit used. I also use extra cinnamon, and always use golden caster sugar (although any light brown sugar works well). It's also worth trying with wholemeal flour. I use the round yellow type of courgette because it's what I have to hand, but any will do.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">200g butter</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">200g caster sugar</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">200g plain flour</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">2 eggs</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">1 apple</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Roughly 150 - 200g courgettes</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">80g nuts (walnuts or pecans work well)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">80g dried fruit</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Generous pinch of salt</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Half a teaspoon of baking powder</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Cinammon to taste (I use half to one teaspoon)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Butter and base line a large loaf tin, and preheat your oven to 180 C. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat the eggs and add them one at a time making sure you mix each one in thoroughly. Coarsely grate the apple and courgette, squeeze out all the excess moisture and add them to the mixture. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon and gently fold into the mixture, then stir in the</span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> nuts and dried fruit. Transfer to the loaf tin, and then bake for roughly an hour (until golden and firm). Cool in the tin before turning out.</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-4396548579804074872009-09-03T15:44:00.005+01:002009-09-10T09:35:30.814+01:00Shropshire Honey Cake from Hopton House B&BThis is probably one of the simplest cakes in the world and one of the most delicious. I make mine with Shropshire honey & eggs from my own hens. Their yolks are such a vibrant yellow that the cake is beautiful and golden.<br />I would strongly recommend you make your cake with your own local honey & local free range eggs, you may then rename it to your local area - so far, since I first posted the recipe on Twitter, it has transmuted successfully into both Perthshire Honey Cake & Somerset Honey Cake and Texas Honey Cake is imminent!<br />It really does need to be eaten on the day it is made, preferably still warm from the oven.<br /><br /><strong>Cake Ingredients<br /></strong>180g Shropshire Honey<br />140g butter<br />80g soft brown sugar<br />2 beaten eggs<br />200g self raising flour<br />1tsp cinnamon<br />water<br /><br /><strong>Icing Ingredients</strong><br />60g icing sugar<br />1 tbsp honey<br /><br />1. Preheat oven to 180C and butter and line the bottom of a 18cm cake tin with bake-o-glide<br />2.Heat the honey, butter and sugar with a tablespoon of water in a large pan until melted.<br />3. Remove from the heat and mix in the eggs, flour & cinnamon, then put into the cake tin<br />4. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake is springy to the touch and shrinking slightly from the sides of the tin.<br />5. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turning onto a wire rack.<br />6. While the cake is still warm, make the icing. Mix icing sugar & honey with 2-3 teaspoons of hot water and then drizzle over the cake.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.shropshirebreakfast.co.uk/">Hopton House, Shropshire</a> - A Perfect Place to stayHoptonHouseBnBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646463983135845462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-88040939476259920782009-09-01T12:59:00.001+01:002009-09-01T13:01:13.419+01:00Pink Gooseberry Jam<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman', fantasy;"><b>Posted by hg_graceimaging but recipe from Doris Minter</b></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Buy gooseberries and wash them. Cut of stalks and ends.</span></span></span></p> <p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Cook in little water for about 10 minutes, the gooseberries themselves release lots of juice and let them simmer in it.</span></span></span></p> <p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Take off the heat and mash or puree to desired consistency.</span></span></span></p> <p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Remove from the pot and weigh the mass of fruit. Pour back into pot and stir in the same quantity of jam-making sugar. </span></span></span> </p> <p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Once the sugar desolves, add small lump of butter, all on low to medium heat. </span></span></span> </p> <p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Stir and bring to the boil. Boil for 4 minutes exactly. </span></span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Fill into clean jars. Cool and store.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Think it also needs to be kept in fridge after opening, due to dairy content.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;font-size:100%;">Thanks to my German housemate, Doris, for supplying this recipe.</span></span></span></p>Helen Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14224451402002528680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-73247618535145668922009-09-01T12:03:00.001+01:002009-09-01T12:06:20.375+01:00Blackberry, Honey and Polenta Cake<author style="font-family: lucida grande;">By Skye Gyngell</author><br /> <div style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="clear-f"> <br /></div> <div class="body"> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> 4 tbsp honey<br />200g/7oz blackberries </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> For the cake mixture<br /></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> 275g/9oz softened, unsalted butter<br />250g/8oz sugar<br />200g/7oz plain flour<br />A pinch of salt<br />2 tsp baking powder<br />200g/7oz yellow polenta<br />3 organic eggs, lightly beaten<br />100ml/31/2fl oz milk </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> Place the honey into a small saucepan and gently warm through. When just warm, remove from the stove and pour over the blackberries. Set aside while you make the cake mixture. </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas4. Lightly grease and flour a 28cm cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then mix in the flour, salt, baking powder and polenta. </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> Add the eggs and milk and stir gently to form a soft dough – the mixture should easily drop from a spoon. </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> Spoon the batter into the cake tin and gently stud the blackberries into the top. Pour over whatever honey is left in the pan and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for an hour and a quarter. </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="font-null"> To test whether the cake is cooked, insert a skewer into the centre; it should come out clean. Leave to cool and serve.*</p><p class="font-null"><br /></p><p class="font-null"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(I find this delicious with cream poured over a slice...)</span><br /></p> </div>Sundayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11675897528022606914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-20487210050601013032009-08-26T12:47:00.003+01:002009-08-26T12:56:17.184+01:00chocolate ginger snapsfrom "still life with menu" by mollie katzen<br /><br />1 stick of butter (8 tbsp)<br />1 square unsweetened chocolate, melted<br />3/4 c sugar<br />6 tbsp brown sugar<br />3 tbsp molasses<br />1 egg<br />1 tsp vanilla<br />2 c unbleached white flour<br />3/4 tsp baking soda<br />2 tsp ground ginger<br />1/4 tsp salt<br /><br />preheat oven to 350F. grease a cookie sheet.<br /><br />cream the butter in a large mixing bowl. drizzle in melted chocolate and beat well. (ideally use an electric mixer at high speed). add sugars, molasses and egg. beat several more minutes. stir in vanilla.<br /><br />in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ginger and salt. stir this into the first mixture. mix thoroughly but briefly (just enough to combine wet and dry ingredients). do not beat.<br /><br />lightly flour your hands and form 1-inch balls. roll the balls in granulated sugar. place them about 2 inches apart on the greased cookie sheet. bake for 12 min at 350F. they will be soft but the surface will be cracked. cool on a rack.<br /><div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=82ca71c3-c0a0-42bf-8335-fdcf044a27b7" alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Geraldinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15614463577317078972noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-84440562070280253602009-08-25T10:55:00.002+01:002009-08-25T11:20:57.446+01:00Italian Blueberry CakeJamie Oliver collected this recipe from a lady in Tuscany called Nada, and I've tweaked the quantities slightly. <div><br /></div><div>It's moist, not too sweet and it's an interesting-looking addition to the tea table thanks to the burst blueberries all over the surface. <div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ingredients</b></div><div><br /></div><div>2 eggs</div><div>135 g caster sugar</div><div>90 g butter</div><div>58 ml extra virgin olive oil</div><div>78 ml milk</div><div>half teaspoon vanilla extract</div><div>200g plain flour</div><div>three quarters teaspoon baking powder</div><div>pinch of salt</div><div>zest of 2 lemons</div><div>zest of 2 oranges</div><div>150g blueberries (more or less to taste)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Method</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Beat the eggs and sugar for a couple of minutes until they're yellow and thick. </div><div><br /></div><div>Whilst you're doing this, melt the butter over a low heat, then stir it into the eggs/sugar mixture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stir in the olive oil, milk and vanilla. It'll bubble pleasantly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sift in your flour, baking powder and salt, stirring thoroughly without paying attention to any lumps or bubbles, as these will disappear. </div><div><br /></div><div>Put a tea-towel over the bowl and set aside for 10 minutes whilst you zest the lemons & oranges. (The flour needs time to absorb the liquid.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Stir in the zest, then half of the blueberries. </div><div><br /></div><div>Turn into a lined & buttered tin. You have a couple of options - for a traditional-looking English cake, served as hefty triangular wedges, put in a 6 inch (or thereabouts) round tin - a springform one is most helpful. Or for a slightly more modest-looking offering, put in a much wider tin, perhaps a square one, to get thinner, flatter slices.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bake at 175 degrees C (that's 350 F or gas 4 or wherever your Aga does cakes best) for 15 minutes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Take out, then gently push the remaining blueberries into the top of the cake - you may have to break the surface around the edges where the cake has begun to set.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bake for another 30 - 40 minutes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Leave to cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yum!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Susan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197315903365167571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358245397151746430.post-33567386463293367922009-08-23T21:26:00.003+01:002009-08-23T21:34:35.054+01:00Sheila Ferguson's Carrot Cake recipe<span style="font-family: arial;">3 large eggs,separated<br />8 fl oz (250ml) vegetable oil*<br />12 oz (375g) sugar**<br />1 tsp vanilla extract<br />2 tbsps boiling water<br />6 oz plain flour<br />pinch salt<br />2 tsps ground cinnamon<br />1 tsp ground nutmeg<br />1 3/4 tsps baking powder<br />4 oz (120g) chopped pecans or walnuts<br />8 oz (250g) finely grated raw carrots<br /><br />* I use sunflower oil<br />** I like to use demerara sugar, but light brown, granulated or castor will all work well.<br /><br />Cream Cheese Frosting<br /><br /><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Preheat the oven to 375F, gas 5<br />Combine egg yolks, oil, sugar, vanilla and boiling water in a large bowl and beat until well mixed.<br />Sift together the flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and baking powder, then add to the egg mixture and beat well.<br />Mix in the nuts and carrots.<br />Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold carefully into the mixture.<br />Pour into a well greased and floured cake tin - I use a loaf tin - and bake for 50 minutes to one hour, until the cake springs back when you press the top lightly.<br />Turn out and cool on a wire tray.<br /><br />To make the cream cheese frosting:<br /><br />7 oz (200g) icing sugar<br />1/2 tsp vanilla extract<br />pinch salt<br />Tub of Philadelphia cream cheese<br />1 1/2 tbsps softened butter or soft margarine<br /><br />Beat all the ingredients together until well mixed, and use to ice the cake when cooled.<br /><br />This is a delicious, damp, nutty cake.<br /><br /><br /></span><br /></span>Sundayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11675897528022606914noreply@blogger.com1