Country Gardens

Visited lovely gardens at Bateman's in Kent and Penshurst Place in Sussex.

Bateman's was the home of the author Rudyard Kipling. The house is Jacobean and the interiors left very much as they were in Kipling's lifetime. Now owned by the national Trust the interiors are charming, I could move in tomorrow, .The gardens are as lovely as an English garden can be, kitchen garden orchard, herbaceous borders and a woodland walk.
The tea room is excellent with delicious cakes. The shop has a specialist book area with Kipling's works on sale at a reasonable price.

Penshurst Place

The interior of this castle, once the home of Sir Philip Sydney but now owned by the aristocratic de L'Isle family is dark and dreary. A tedious collection of armour, paintings by unknown artists and the third best porcelain. The restaurant was dismal, the coffee was good but the food poor, heavy use of catering quality margarine in the cakes. Several rooms were closed because of a wedding.Eat at the Porcupine Café before you go in, the light snacks there were better.

The gardens are a different matter. Extensive, formal parterre gardens, orchards, a woodland walk and an adventure playground for children,worth the visit. The shop is full of meritricious rubbish.


                                              

                                                             

 

NHS Doctors Too Busy to See Patients

No appointments to see my NHS GP in Cambridge are available for 2 weeks, 28th May the soonest offered.
The surgery and the GPs are too busy with a contract with the military from Wisbech .Now  NHS medical practices  have control of their budgets they are fixed on money making enterprises and their regular patients  can drop dead. Felt sorry for the students trying to get appointments during their very stressful examination period. Doubt many of the GPs have the expertise to become entrepreneurs and the whole thing will be a total mess.


No wonder the Hospital Accident and Emergency Departments cannot cope -- they are stuck with the overflow from this hopeless new system. What do the government think people are going to do if they are ill?
                                                               

Victorian Women--Illegitemacy--Foundlings

The social stigma and lack of any financial provision for  having a child out of wedlock was impossible for many young women to bear . A Foundling Hospital such as this one was the answer to the problem in 1883.





                                                     


The Foundling Hospital , Guildford Street, London 1883

                                                                                  

 

Victorian Grandmothers

Fish Wives


Fisher girls had a hard life packing herrings caught off the east coast of England in barrels of salt and brine for curing and delivery inland.They had a reputation for being tough, hard swearing and drinking women.Hardly surprising when you think how cold it must have been  by the ocean .Raw hands and the  smell of fish hanging around you were an added burden.

Victorian Grandmothers

Rural Occupations


Lace Makers



                             

If you have ancestors from Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire then some of them would probably have been lace makers.These children and women look romantic in their country setting but the interiors of the cottages were damp, dark and overcrowded , many of them died young from tuberculosis.The light was better outside .
They were paid a pittance for the very hard work needed to produce pillow lace but it was the difference between the family having a living wage and extreme poverty, their husbands and fathers were mainly agricultural labourers.At least you were excused chores such as potato picking as your hands had to be kept soft to handle the lace.

Family History Sites

I have spent hours trying to get into findmypast .co.uk to be told constantly that they are busy. I have paid the top subscription to this site .When my subscription runs out I will not join again. Ancestry is so much better..

Bought some old books at a book sale on Saturday ,some interesting illustrations


Did your ancestors emigrate ?

And for those of us still in the UK this is the interior of a Northamptonshire cottage, the condtions that people wanted to leave

More will follow

Ancestors and Lace Makers

For my next family history article I am looking at my husband's lace making ancestors from Olney.In the 1850s there were hundreds of women making pillow lace at home.Most of them were the wives and daughters of agricultural labourers and the money they brought in kept impoverished families going.
At the age of four little girls were sent to a school to learn lace making and their catechism. If their attention wandered they had their noses rubbed raw in the sharp pins holding the lace.

I have a small collection of bobbins from the 1850s with the names of their owners inscribed like the one named Betsy.

                                                                  







It is getting hard to find original old photos of these ladies that do not have copyright.


                                             

Carpal Tunnel Problem

Have just had an injection into my wrist for carpal tunnel syndrome which I have had for months.Ouch!
Hope it cures it.

Just as the snow was beginning to thaw it has started snowing again.

King's College, The Senate House, and Clare Street look pretty with a bit of snow.

                            

Spring flowers for a gardener.

A much loved member of  the congregation of St Botolph's Church has died. At his family's request the ladies in the congregation have worked hard to fill the church with the spring flowers that John Barber loved for the funeral service today. He managed the church garden for many years.

Cambridge ,a new term begins

I always like this time of the year and the sense of a new beginning.The Christmas tat has been cleared away and the house looks tidy.

There is a sense of anticipation as Rowan Williams , the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has been seen around  Cambridge where he taking up his new role as Master of Magdalene College.

Here is Tony by his college office door, the rooms are very nice in this building and have reasonably modern facilities inspite of the Elizabethan exterior.

                                              

Crystallized Fruits for Christmas

I usually buy some crystallized fruits at this time of the year. They are a delicious alternative to chocolates packed in a pretty box, on top of cakes or with a glass of port.Prices in London last week were ridiculous but I have found a brilliant source of these fruits on Cambridge Market at Emerald Foods.They even have real  French angelica, this is very hard to find but so pretty on top of cup cakes or ice cream.

You will find the  Emerald Foods stall if you turn right at the second row on the market which has loads of other lovely offerings at this time of the year plus some good buskers and carol singers around the edges.

GINGER MARMALADE

I am making marmalade and cakes for a fund raising event  in Cambridge.I have been trying recipes using Mamade and have a good way to make Ginger Marmalade using Australian  ginger from Lakeland with Mamade.
I also want a neat professional finish to the jars,Ryman's labels combined with templates downloaded from Avery give a professional finish.


         Ginger Marmalade


1 can   Orange Mamade--
I packet Australian uncrystalized ginger-- chopped into small pieces
4lb sugar
3/4 pint water


Method

1. Wash and sterilise 6, 1lb jars by putting them in the oven 100C
2. Follow the instructions on the Mamade can adding the ginger during the boiling process
3. When a set has been reached continue to follow the instructions on the can
4. Cover with sterilised lids, label with contents and date made

5. Store in a cool place until needed.

                                                        

We Will Remember Them 11th November 2012

                                                  

Zippos Circus

A good evening may be had at Zippos Circus. No nasty  cruel animal tricks just some well trained horses. The rest is acrobats and two of the funniest clowns I have ever seen doing a slow motion mime of a wild west shoot out.

Wear warm sweaters.

                                                           

Pianos--we love them

The University of Cambridge Music Faculty Festival of Ideas have placed old but playable pianos around the city and have invited passers by to have a go at playing them

This is proving very successful. Our granddaughter was thrilled when people stopped to listen to her play.
The duet playing Embraceable You were brilliant. People are turning up prepared with music, it is getting competitive-- well it is Cambridge!

                                             

Jam Jar issues put fund-raising cooks in a pickle

This what the Church Times has to say

Fund-raising cooks in a pickle


Not sure this makes things any clearer

have decided to re- use jam jars and buy new lids.

Jam Jars and the European Union

Charity fund raisers everywhere are just realising that we can no longer legally use our recycled jars for making jams ,pickles and marmalades to sell at home bake stalls
Buying new ones is expensive and adds  a great deal to the cost of making home produce.

If you are planning a Christmas or Winter fair and selling jams etc. like me you are probably infuriated at this petty restriction , jars are easy to sterilise using a dish washer followed by heating in the oven prior to filling with  hot jam.

The Shower Replacement

I have been at home all day waiting for this repair to take place as promised. It is now 3.40p.m..I suppose it will be the bath tub again tonight.This is not easy to manouevre with an injured wrist. Our bath tub is very deep and getting in and out without drowning / hurting the wrist makes me feel like a surfacing whale.

                                           

Wrist Injury

I have hurt my wrist trying to turn a stiff tap off in the bathroom . It is so annoying to have  done something so painful that could have been avoided. Moral of this story: if its broke fix it.
 Needless to say the tap would not turn off, water burst out everywhere , so there was the added cost of the Sunday morning call out of an emergency plumber.He reduced the fee if we payed cash so upturned purses, wallets and the back of the sofa produced sufficient funds to satisfy him. All the shower taps are turned off until Wednesday and we are now waiting for the big expensive shower replacement exercise.

Just off to see a physiotherapist.

Visit to physio.

A complex medical scenario needing at least 6 visits has been identified.It seems I have something in common with Mrs Thatcher who also had this wrist problem.I have read that people with Viking ancestry are more likely to get it.I do not look anything like a Viking and have a great fear of small boats and rough seas.

                                                         

Summer 2012 highs and lows

Low Lights

Frustrations with the weather, the terrible BBC coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, trying to buy Olympic Tickets, travel arrangements .Oh and  the rodent problem

 High lights

Getting the Olympic tickets,finding London quiet,Carousel at the Barbican,The Brighton Pavilion,The South Bank on a sunny day, watching people grow up

 Room With A View Marriott County hall

Alice and Tilly find a friend

Brighton Beach

You talking to me?

Gone Fishin'

Its Cricket with Grandpa at The Oval

Home Made Ginger Beer

Easy recipe for non alcoholic Ginger Beer.


Recipe

125 grams ( 5 oz) grated root ginger
200 grams (8 oz) dark brown sugar
2 cloves
2 limes - zest and juice
1 Litre water

Method

• Put all the above ingredients into a saucepan large enough to contain them and bring up to boiling point for 2 minutes.
• Cover and leave for 2 hours.
• Strain the cordial into a jug and then pour into clean bottles ( or jam jars), put the lids on and leave in fridge to get cold.
• Use within 2 weeks.

To Serve


Put 3 ice cubes in to large glass, pour enough cordial to fill 3/4 of the glass. Top up with sparkling mineral water and add a slice of lemon or lime.

The mineral water may be replaced with gin, vodka or rum if you want a delicious long, cool alcoholic drink.

Birthday in The Pub

        Fish and chips and a few drinks in the pub , a good way to spend a birthday evening

London is Quiet

It is true, central London is very quiet and delightful to visit at the moment. Everyone has gone to the Olympics.
The Impressionist exhibition  in the Sackler rooms at the Royal Academy,Picadilly, is one of the best I have ever seen with some particularly lovely Renoir portraits.
The Summer Exhibition  has the usual exhibits by favourite old dears like Ken Howard  but the rest is pretentious rubbish especially the sculpture-- suggest they load it into a skip and burn it.

 Bought T. a tie  for his birthday from one of those expensive shops in Jermyn Street.

Olympic Ticket Checker

This website has now been blocked by Locog. I will leave it on as it may be useful to some people.
I.O.C. and their geriatric members should be sent to retirement homes where they belong.This lot and Locog have a lot to answer for over the Olympic ticketing fiasco.
checker.benmarshinteractive.com

Olympic Ticket Collection Stratford Gate

Went to collect my tickets from the Stratford Gate Box Office yesterday.
About 15 minutes walk from the tube station ,there is no escape from the route through Westfield shopping centre.
Badly signed (and only in English) we had to ask someone for directions;this ticket office consists of a few scruffy portacabins. There is no shelter from the elements for people waiting , you know it is your turn when one of the assistants sticks an arm out of the window and waves.

There were some ugly scenes as people without the correct documents were refused their ticket allocation

You need:

Confirmation email, reference number,credit card used to buy them with,identity document--passport is safest.

Allow a lot of time if you have not collected your tickets yet and are planning to collect them on the day you are going to use them

They are going to need the army , this could become a disorderly mess.

More hints: this is what I would take when going to the Olympic Park

• Wear comfortable shoes, there is a lot of walking--toes can get squashed  in flip flops and open sandals in crowds especially on the tube
• Sun screen, sun glasses,sun hat if hot and sunny
• Light weight sweater-- air conditioning can feel chilly
• Plastic cover up if wet-- noticed Primark had some good quality but cheap stuff a few days ago
• very small first aid kit + paracetamol for inevetable head ache
• Something to chew like polo mints
• Water but not sure what is /is not permitted so check on this.

Olympic Tickets at Last from the Website

I have spent days trying to get tickets after receiving emails from the Olympic Website.I have managed to get 4  costing £50 each
If you are trying to do this , this is what I worked out

1. Make sure you are registered with an account-- they only accept payment by Visa cards.
2. The extra tickets come online about 3. 30 -4 pm- be ready , logged into the page, Visa card beside you.
3. On the listing page select; Select a sport ,Venue: Olympic Park , All Times, All Events, and dates in the later part of the times e.g. 2 -12 August
4.Several pages appeared but I went to the numbers later on the page (4 ) -there seems to be quite a bit of handball ( Copper Box venue)
5 Choose fast--you have only 10 minutes to complete the transaction.
Follow the prompts through the request , search and final transaction process
6.They also ask you to create a password-- be ready for this, the minutes are ticking away
7.This may not work for everyone but it may be worth a try so good luck
8 That was the good news , now I have to go to the Stratford  box office  to collect them.

Sunday 4pm just tried this-- quite a lot more tickets have just come online

Olympic Tickets Bullshit

 I have received emails several times from the official Olympic site telling me that more tickets are available.
I have wasted hours going through the search and request process and every time it comes to the checkout the tickets described are not available.

What is going on? the whole thing is a shambles, why do they email me when the claim that there are tickets available is clearly untrue-- oh apart from football in remote locations no one wants to see.

There are some extortionate hotel packages costing £thousands-- check in time 3p.m. check out 9a.m.

The Rip -Off Olympics 2012

Strawberry Jam Must Wait

Just realised we have passed midsummer day without having had a real run of warm sunny weather yet.

Thought I would make my usual quantity of strawberry jam but the price of good quality strawberries is jaw dropping-- cheaper ones are wet and going mouldy, no good for jam making.
Perhaps the price will drop after Ascot and Wimbledon.

Pictures of real summers I have taken in the past.

Virginia

Biarritz

Monet's Garden, Giverny

Cambridge, punting by Magdalene Bridge

                                                     
                                      

Start Partying

Time to put on the silly red white and blue clothes, cut the cakes,  stop arranging flowers and chill out until Wednesday.

Flowers for The Queen, Ely Cathedral

Diamond Jubilee Celebration Cake

 Fame at last.
 Have managed to get my cake in the best cakes line up in the Times diamond jubilee cake competition today-- hooray
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/


Diamond Jubilee Rose Cake

Recipe

Cake

225g (8 oz) self-raising flour
225g(8 oz ) butter
225g(8oz) caster sugar
2 level teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
2 rounded tablespoons cocoa mixed with 2 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 fluid oz red  food colouring

Filling and topping

 150 g (6 oz) butter
500g (1lb) icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Decorations

454 g white marzipan, food colourings, yellow sprinkles


Method

• Pre heat the oven,180c/160C Fan/Gas4
• Line 2 x 20 cm (8 inch) sandwich tins with baking parchment.
• Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat using an electric mixer beat until everything is thoroughly mixed and creamy.
• Divide the mixture between the 2 tins. Smooth out.
• Bake for about 25 mins until firm to touch.
• Cool in the tins for 5 minutes then remove the parchment and cool the cakes on a wire rack.
• Divide the marzipan into 3 , colour as wanted with a few drops of food colouring ( about 3). Knead well and then roll out and use heart shaped and leaf cutters for the petals and leaves.
• Make the butter cream by beating all the ingredients together and when the cake is completely COLD use to sandwich the cake together and spread on the top and sides.
• Arrange the petals and leaves like a Tudor Rose ( see photo) on the top and more petals and leaves around the sides.
• This cake will keep well for several days in an airtight tin in a cool place.

For a speedy version omit the decoration and just use the butter cream. The red  cake is a great surprise when it is cut.

•  

Diamond Jubilee Party Recipes

Working my way through Mary Berry's Baking Bible.This is a useful book ,the tray bake recipes are practical for the home baker to make for events and parties. I made the banana loaf in about 10 minutes, a good way to use up over ripe bananas in the fruit bowl.

I will be making some of the recipes and  Duke of Cambridge Tart for sale at St Botolphs, Cambridge Refreshment day on Monday 7th May.Come and try them.Lakeland have disposable trays for tray bakes and some nice decorations for Jubilee cakes.

                                                  

Damien Hurst Exhibition

Went to see the Damien Hurst Exhibition at Tate Modern, London.I went round with 5 children ,they enjoyed it,a severed bleeding pig's head with accompanying maggots and flies is just the sort of thing 9 year old boys like.Not so sure about Grannies.

The accompanying literature says "Hurst presents cigarette butts lined along shelves of a cabinet as if they were natural history exhibits, extending his use of museological display techniques"

Ever heard the expression gobshite Damien?

Singapore- what is it like?

Several people have asked me what Singapore is like.

Think of an Asian Paris.A lovely city with wide avenues lined with exotic trees and flowers.Expensive shops , underground malls to protect you from the heat and rain, restaurants of every kind. A clean, well run city where nobody asks you for" spare change", vomits in the street or mugs you . A population of very hard working courteous people.

Yes, there are strict penalties for those who break the law but so what, it is a relief to walk around in a safe city , makes some of our western cities seem crude and out of control.

  

Shopping and Goodbye KL

This week has gone so fast.
The trip to Malacca was good, the driver was very nice and his car perfectly acceptable.
Yesterday was. our last day in KL.

We have done a lot of shopping, the goods are the same as in other stores around the world, e.g. Banana Republic, minus the purchase tax. and much cheaper. The exceptions to this are stingy old Top Shop and Marks and Spencer which charge the same as in the UK so they charge the UK VAT rate (20%) and fleece the customers. Avoid these shops .No bargains there.
The fake stuff is brilliant but check zips work and bargain for a discount.Petaling Street is the cheapest but the stuff is dodgy, could not believe people were buying optical stuff and electronics which were obvious fakes.

Flying Out

Going to Kuala Lumpur via Singapore tonight.13 hours flying time plus many more fannying around at the airports.
Hope I can get a shower at Singapore airport.
Weather forcast suggests it is still the rainy season.
Plan to do some fake ( sorry, inspired by) shopping in KL

Shoes and handbags are a good bet.

Diamond Jubilee Memorabilia

A lot of stuff is appearing in the shops, mostly tat.
Found this in Fortnum and Mason in Picadilly, London.
Quite a tasteful tin of biscuits  that plays God Save The Queen when you wind a key underneath the tin.Expensive at £12 , but a good excuse to visit F&M .
Worth a trip to look at the window displays.
Gorgeous Easter eggs.

                  
Try this link to see the Queen, Camilla and Kate at Fortnums     

  http://www.fortnumandmason.com/

Signs of Spring

The warm weather has brought the bulbs out over the weekend. These displays along the backs of Trinity College are always uplifting after the cold of winter.

Aconites and Crocus

                                                                               

Duke of Cambridge Tart and other Victorian Jubilee Recipes (5)

            
     The Duke of Cambridge and his Tart, Afternoon Tea and the Sinking Feeling

   Queen Victoria and Prince Albert  liked simple food.Their noon time lunches became increasingly meagre often consisting of a watery fish soup which was all that Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting  were offered. Anna ,Duchess of Bedford and lady-in -waiting complained that she suffered from  a "sinking feeling" by 4 pm and had a sneaky  pot of tea  and bread and butter in her dressing room .     
At home in Belvoir Castle the Duchess started a craze for tea parties sending out invitations for tea in the afternoon at 5 pm. This practice extended to London, was adopted by Queen Victoria and by 1855 some very formal tea parties were taking place.

Prince Albert died in 1861.Heartbroken, Victoria retreated to Osborne House and it was at this time that the famous Victoria Sandwich was named after her.    




Victoria Sandwich

Recipe

• 4 large eggs
• 225g (8 oz)caster sugar
• 225 g (8 oz)self raising flour
• 225g(8 oz)soft butter or margarine
• 2 tsp baking powder

for serving : good quality raspberry or apricot jam

                      butter cream or whipped double cream

For an outdoor party butter cream is safer

Method:

• Take the eggs and fat out of the fridge for at least an hour before you make the cake
• Heat the oven ,350 F,180C,Gas4
• Line the base of 2 x 8inch sandwich tins with silicon paper
• Put all the cake ingredients in to a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer or Kenwood K beater  to beat everything to a soft creamy consistency that will drop off a spoon easily.
• Divide between the 2 tins
• Bake the cakes for 25 minutes
• When the cakes are light golden and firm to touch take them out a cool for a few minutes on a wire rack
• Run a blunt ended knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them and turn out onto the rack, avoiding wire marks on the upper cake by turning it onto a tea towel first ,( this is not essential)
• When the cakes are completely cool assemble the cake on a plate with cream and jam.
• Finish with a dusting of caster sugar

Butter Cream

        3 oz butter

        6 oz icing sugar

        1 drop vanilla essence

        1 tablespoon milk

Method

Put all the ingredients into a medium sized bowl and beat well until all the ingredients are blended and creamy, use as wanted.

The Royal Family have continued the practice of holding tea parties in the gardens of Buckingham Palace.If you are lucky enough get invited this is a wonderful excuse for ladies to buy a lovely hat and  for gentlemen to wear morning dress.

Battenburg Cake is another Victorian favourite believed to have been made in honour of the wedding of Queen Victoria's granddaughter to Prince Louis of Battenburg in 1884.

                                                         Battenburg Cake

This is essentially a Victoria Sandwich mixture divided in 2, one half is coloured pink with some food colouring and the 2 halves  cooked in a an oblong cake tin with a thick fold of non-stick aluminium foil to divide the mixtures.When the cakes are cool cut and arrange the colours as shown using warm apricot jam to glue them in position them cover the whole thing in an oblong of rolled out marzipan large enough the wrap around the cake with the seam underneath.

This cake can be time consuming and tricky, there are many good commercial ones on the market, Marks and Spencer's version is a nice one.

The name Battenburg later became changed by the family to Mountbatten as they thought it sounded too German after 2 wars had been fought with Germany.

Prince Philip , husband to Queen Elizabeth 2nd is a member of this family .

The Duke of Cambridge  (1819-1904) and his tart

The Duke of Cambridge was a grandson of George 3rd.He joined the army at the age of 9 years and remained a professional soldier for most of his life.He was a florid man with a huge moustache and after Prince Albert's death often stood in to escort Queen Victoria and  help her entertain foreign dignitaries.The title of Duke of Cambridge has now been given to Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton is now the Duchess of Cambridge.

Duke of Cambridge Tart

                                                              

Recipe

4-6oz shortcrust or sweet pastry-

                              (Supermarkets like Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose sell good ready to use pastry)

Filling

3 oz butter

3 oz sugar

4 oz raisins (or chopped candied mixed peel)

2 os chopped glace cherries

2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

grated lemon rind

Method

• Pre heat the oven 190C or Gas5, 375F
• Line a flan ring or pie dish with the pastry.Leave in a cool place while you make the filling
• Put the  raisins/peel  into a small pan with enough water to cover. Bring to the boil then drain.Cool them
• Put the raisins, cherries and lemon rind into the pastry case
• Melt the butter and sugar in a small pan, bring to the boil
• Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks and brandy
• Pour over the raisins and cherries
• Bake in the pre heated oven until the pastry is brown and the filling golden, about 25-30 mins
• Serve warm or cool with cream or icecream

    

Note

This recipe can be made into individual small tarts.

                                                                                 

eBooks for Kindle and other new projects

Time to start a new project so I have written a very short story just to see if I can work out how to upload some writing onto Amazon for publication on Kindle.

Time consuming but got it on eventually, crappy cover but will try to do better next time.

Story title :Raw Material: Janet Cockerill

Visit to Asia seems like a distant memory now the temperatures are sub zero.

Swimming in December in Kuala Lumpur