No Thank You.

Talking recently about Carrot Cake made me think that I like cake, and I like carrots (in certain situations) but the combination seems totally wrong.

Another of my pet gastronomic hates is Bread and Butter Pudding; I like bread, I like butter, I like eggs, and I like currants (I'm not sure what else it in it), but the combination of these things literally makes me want to vomit.

Another strange thing is Porridge. I like Oats, I like milk (to a certain extent) but mixed together and boiled, produces something that would never pass my lips.

I do like Fruit Cake, but PLEASE don't put those green bits of Angelica in it. No, no, no!

I also like Muesli, but not with NUTS. Another no-no.

Lady M lived her early childhood in Washington DC where she learned the appalling habit of mixing Peanut Butter with Jam on her morning toast. I like both Peanut Butter and Jam, but TOGETHER; absolutely not.

Back to the Carrots. I suppose I do like them but only in either a Beef or Lamb stew/hotpot/casserole. Who on earth thought of putting them in Cake???

Some trees.

Now that the leaves are mostly down, we can once again see the structure of the trees.

I do love trees, I see them as our companions, and have probably drawn more of them than I have humans. These particular ones are home to Squirrels, Pigeons, and a good variety of small birds, and are to be found in my nearby churchyard.

This one below gives shade to the grave of one of Brighton's great characters from the past. Martha Gunn. If you're interested you can read about her here: Martha Gunn - Wikipedia

And lastly a tree that Billy and his chums run around on a daily basis; often four of five of them together. It is the central point of the 'Rest Garden' where he goes four times a day.

Nice aren't they.

 

The C word.

 

We shall be NINE for Christmas this year. My oldest and his wife with the two boys, my daughter and her two boys over from Oz, plus Lady M and myself. Sadly Boo Boo and The Cherub will not be joining us; they will spend the holiday at their new home in Thailand. I don't think their Elves suits would fit any more anyway!

Nine may not sound a lot, but in our bijou home, with a bijou table that seats six, we are going to need some jiggling.

On the food-n-drink side there's no problem, but as far as fitting everyone in, it'll be a bit of a squeeze. 

Prezzies are a real problem for me... what on earth does one buy for teenagers these days, when their only real interests are based inside their 'phones. Really, what does one buy for anyone? 

In fact I have actually started buying presents; nothing excessively expensive, but I hope 'thoughtful'.

My aim is always to buy things that will soon disappear; chocks, gourmet treats, theatre tickets; in fact anything that will be eaten or quickly used, leaving no trace. I try not to give people 'things'; they usually either don't want them, they dislike them, or they don't fit. A box of good quality chocks is always welcome, and soon shows no trace of ever having existed.

As for Christmas cheer; my 'champagne' will come from Italy, my reds probably from Argentina, and the port from an English producer in Portugal. I already have a good stock.

My designated Christmas cupboard is already home to Chestnuts, Cranberry sauce, various Pickles, Mincemeat, Crackers, festive Serviettes, and all sorts of other Nonsense. I suppose with my daughter coming from Oz, it's all getting very exciting. I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year. 

I'm now trying to forget about it for a month.

Refuge

Why is it that when Muslims flee their own oppressive countries they always head for Christian countries, and not to fellow Muslim countries? 

Once installed in their newly adopted 'friendly, liberal, generous, and tolerant' Western countries, why do they then try to insist on establishing Sharia law, support all Muslim causes, and demonstrate their habitual antisemitism?

Well, the reason actually is quite simple. Muslims are told what to do, when to do it, and not to ask questions. Muslims cannot 'leave' their religion; 'Apostasy' is still punishable by death; in some cases of their whole families. You don't mess with Islam!

Surely the one rule of immigration must be to assimilate; to grasp the new opportunities offered with open arms.

Sweden must be the saddest example of what we were all warned could go wrong with excessive immigration, but even here in England we have areas, and whole towns, that are more like the Middle East than the West. 

We've recently had massive Muslim-led Nazi-style antisemitic demonstrations on the streets of London, and we have regular gigantic Friday prayers actually on our streets blocking the flow of traffic. And all this in our lovely England that so kindly welcomed them. Do the police move them on? No! You try doing the same!

We Brits have always been proud of our immigration policy (and still are), and have welcomed people from the world over who've made huge contributions to our lives. But this is not what the 'Refugees welcome' folk (above) promised us; the worst and most overt racism is coming from our recent 'refugees'. Something they forgot to mention on their banners.

The UK is probably one of the best countries to live in, in the whole world. We are kind to the oppressed, we are liberal with those who oppose, and we are openly democratic; even to the extent of our own detriment.

After recent events, I hope those two people with the banner are now ashamed of their puerile slogan!

 

Dragons' Den spoof by Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse

'Dragons Den' was originally a Japanese TV programme, which was later very successfully adopted by the BBC. This spoof version by Enfield and Whitehouse is a classic, and (having worked in The City myself) is not as far-fetched as you might think.

The 'Dragons Den' characters in the video may not mean much if you haven't seen the BBC version.

A wall built of cake.

I'm not sure if I've shown this picture before; if I have I apologise.

I was recently sent this photo which brings back great memories. I think I must have been going through my Strachey period.

I had not long moved to France (Sept 1973) and had met an NZ woman who was living nearby; she later became a very good friend, and still is. She asked me if I would help to build a small wall, with flower bed, in one corner of her terrace. It was to be built of stone with a tiled top; an easy enough job which she wanted to be in keeping with the surrounding walls (i.e. rustic).

At one stage the daughter of the house brought me some Tea and Carrot cake. I had never even heard of Carrot cake, and found it as inedible as it sounded. I took a large lump and built it into the wall. My action was not appreciated.

I don't know if that's why I'm looking so miserable. I would have been about 25 at the time.

 

A change of mind?

Pre-Brexit life was very different. We lived our quiet bucolic lives tucked away in a small cottage deep in the Southern French countryside. We harmed no-one, and no-one harmed us. It was a simple and peaceful life that suited us perfectly.

Then, regardless of us voting 'no', we were forced to leave the EU, and therefore our right to live freely in any one of the 27 EU countries. We are now only allowed to stay in our own home for 90 days (unless we become resident or apply for an extension visa; neither of which we wish to do).

OK, we're not that fussed about it, as we'd made sure we had property back in the UK; where we are presently living. We're reasonably happy to live a two-location life.

Of course we miss a lot about our life in France. The fact that we had hundreds of acres of woodland on our doorstep, a very pleasant climate, a lovely 300 year old home, and some wonderful friends. We also had enough land for plenty of fruit trees and a veg' garden (Haddock's below).

However, it now seems as if both the French and the Spaniards are having a change of mind over the 90 day limit. They propose that home-owners would simply have to carry proof of home ownership to be able to stay as long as they like.

Macron is against the idea but many French and Spanish politicians want a change. They want second homes to be occupied, and for their (possibly) wealthy owners to spend plenty of money.

The EU's current rules amount to shooting themselves in the foot simply to be nasty about a rich member-country leaving their club. Both France and Spain claim that the 90 day rule is damaging their economies (I did warn them).

It may all come to nothing, but at least it proves that there are some people on the other side of La Manche who have some amount of common sense.