Portland

Dear Reader, Just a quickie to say we are off on our ‘summer’ hols – bravely battling the coast of Southern England from Poole to Falmouth on a beautiful sailing ship……………. the Amelie Rose – check her out on http://www.topsail-adventures.co.uk/

I had anticipated balmy waters, beautiful sunshine and bracing sea breezes to blow us along – today’s shipping forecast says ‘no’!!!  In fact, it says:

• Wind Cyclonic becoming southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
• Sea State Moderate.
• Weather Rain or showers, fog patches.
• Visibility Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

Plymouth

• Wind Cyclonic becoming southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first.
• Sea State Moderate, occasionally rough at first.
• Weather Rain or showers, fog patches.
• Visibility Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

I don’t like the sound of ‘cyclonic’ very much.  Do you have any scary sailing stories?  When we were boating in Ireland about 15 years ago, my younger son, E fell overboard and we didn’t realise he had gone for quite some time.  Luckily, (and very blessedly) he was wearing his lifejacket and no great harm done – very scary at the time though.  I shall, naturally be wearing my lifejacket at all times too.

Back in a couple of weeks!!!!

First of all, I have to acknowledge Sky News* as the source of my info – check out the story on http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ageing-britain-faces-arthritis-tsunami-044316946.html

I was interested in this article as I have just made an appointment with the doctor about the terrible joint swelling and pain in my hands.  Yes, dear reader, I truly fear I may have arthritis or rheumatism, (not sure I could explain the difference if pushed) or a combination of both – and it’s hell.  Some of my finger joints are very swollen and tender and I get deep, stabbing pains in my hands at random times.  There is no history of this affliction in my family and at 49, I feel WAY TOO YOUNG to be a sufferer.  But something isn’t right and I need to do something about it…………………..

Could it be a working lifetime of daily, prolonged computer keyboard use?  Too much scrubbing when young perhaps?  An overload of housework?  Hot and cold water immersion?  Too much cooking, kneading, mixing and stirring?  Whatever it is, our hands are in use almost all the time – even when talking mine tend to fly around with minds of their own.  I hate the thought of losing the use of them………….but already I’m dropping things for no reason, my grip is weaker and I no longer offer to open stubborn jars or bottles.  Woe is me.

For anyone who follows Chinese astrology and years, 1962 was a year of the Tiger.  I’ve always quite liked being a Tiger, so much better than a Pig or Rat and somehow glamorous and slinky.  Not that I am remotely glamorous or slinky, but I don’t think I’m very rat-like either.  What I am at the moment is slightly surprised that 50 years have gone rushing by since my first appearance back in the summer of ’62.

Ex school-friend M was the first of the gang to hit the milestone back on the Ides of March, (in March, December, June and May, the Ides are on the 15th day), just in case you had forgotten when the Ides were, (13th in other months by the way). And now bestest friend A is about to reach it too.  We all shunned our 40th birthdays to some degree – feeling not quite as happy with ourselves and with the world as we should have done, but it seems that the big ‘five oh’ is finding us in better fettle.

So, celebrations here we come…………………A lives in sunny Spain and a few days of sea, sand and sangria are just what I need – full of cold and feeling sorry for myself is not conducive to merry-making – and the fact that we’re on the 06.05 ex Bristol means that we need to be up at 3am – so there’s still a little hurdle to jump – but after that, it’s Cava, Cava all the way.  Above is a pic of lovely A at my wedding a few years ago……………………

Maybe even a little glass of something en route – just to be sociable

What are you doing to celebrate your big birthday?

A reminder of my impending birthday!!!  Yes, dear reader, the big 50 looms – and on top of juggling plans for opening Tia Lucia Cookery School to the public, growing my Jamie business and doing a decent job for some freelance work I have been lucky enough to pick up, I have no time……………the invitations are printed, they are just waiting for me to find the time to write them out and post them.  Soon, I mean it!

Well, I am on my way to being a real, live, cookery school owner!!!!  With plans for our move to Italy still a distant dream, I have been urged by a number of people, (not least, by my Lovely Husband) to start by offering cookery lessons from home!!!  So, I’ve registered with the Council, signed up for a food safety course, am getting consultancy from someone who has been through the same process already and feel full of both excitement and somewhat nervous at the same time!  The kitchens above are from ‘real’ cookery schools, the photos below are from my own place – it looks pretty good I think- certainly welcoming and warm – which is the effect I want to create.  Tia Lucia, (Aunt Lucy in Italian) will open after Easter – watch this space for more news!!!!

As I mentioned in my last post, I am spending more time at home lately – I am enjoying, (if that is the right word) a spell of ‘gardening leave’.  A somewhat over-used word, that means many things to many people.  In my case, it means that I no longer have a job to go to – or not a regular type of one in any case…………

My reader may recall that I started the New Year full of excitement about starting a ‘Jamie at Home’ business – this is still the case – but as I have more time than usual to ponder, I am starting to worry about whether I really have enough of the ‘salesman’ in me to make it work.  Many years ago, my younger brother remarked that he thought I could ‘sell snow to the eskimos’, which I think was meant to reflect my powers of persuasion – but I never did feel like that person, a good talker, yes, hands up for that one, but salesperson – I’m not sure.

So far, I am relying on the good will of family and friends to host parties and buy stuff – but to be successful, it needs a much greater network and networking ability – somehow, one has to be able to ‘close’ with stangers, getting them to sign up on the dotted line and keep the pipeline full.

If you have tips or suggestions for doing this better, (you couldn’t do worse, really), then please feel free to let me know.

 

 

but I’m starting to realise why so many people have them………..they keep the cold out and the warmth in.  Duh!  I’m unexpectedly spending more time at home lately – more of which in a future post – but in the meantime, I have lots of opportunity to ponder just HOW COLD it can get inside a centrally heated house.  Especially an old Victorian one – still with its original windows and not many curtains.  When we moved in, I gaily took down the high quality, beautifully lined, but somewhat twee curtains that the previous owners had left behind – and replaced them with more visually appealing, (to me at least) wooden blinds and other ‘window treatments’ that do little to aid insulation.  Today, it feels warmer out than in…………

I hope you’re managing to keep warm wherever you are.  Toodlepip.

Another week has rumbled past and I’m still in New Year’s limbo……………….. I can’t quite believe that Christmas is over, New Year has happened and we’re ploughing on into another year without a care in the world. At least, that is how it seems of course, but beneath our gay exteriors all sorts of cares and worries lurk. I shan’t bore or depress you with mine – I just wanted to tell you that I am doing something POSITIVE………………

I have decided to add ‘Jamie at Home’ consultant to my many responsibilities – for those of you who aren’t sure what ‘Jamie at Home’ is all about, it naturally has its own website – which you can find at https://www.jamieathome.com/sign-in.html To those of you who lived through the 70′s and 80′s and remember them, it’s like Tupperware, or Virgin Vie, or Jafra or any of the other party plan type outfits there are out there. But of course, it isn’t – it’s the only party plan I know of that has its very own ‘celebrity chef’ at its heart – a chef who uses Jamie at Home products all the time in his widely watched and enjoyed TV series, no less – and I am quite excited to be doing something different. Always one for a get together, Jamie at Home is ideal for someone like me who loves to cook, eat, shop and chat ‘foodie stuff’ with like-minded people.

So, if you haven’t got a ‘Jamie at Home’ consultant near you, why not give me a call…………..I’ll happily pop round and show you his wares

I don’t know about you dear reader, but I think the TV was excellent this festive season……………….. I can’t remember when I last saw so much good stuff. A couple of hours in-depth perusing of the Radio Times at the start of the holidays was well rewarded with a crop of new, one-off dramas that I thought were exceptional – such as ‘Lost Christmas Eve’, with my very favourite Eddie Izzard; ‘Fast Freddie, the Widow and Me’, with another favourite, Laurence Fox and not to be forgotten ‘Lapland’ with Sue Johnston and the family from hell trying to have a good holiday ‘finding Father Christmas’ when they would all much rather have been at home. The latter was a tad caricatured at times, but Sue shines in whatever she’s in and as someone who took her two young sons ‘in search of father Christmas in Lapland’ not long after their father died, it was interesting to see what they made of it. I also enjoyed the re-make of The Borrowers – with Stephen Fry, Victoria Wood and other well known faces……………pure escapism, but nonetheless entertaining for that.

Eddie Izzard popped up again in Treasure Island over New Year – thoroughly enjoyable and quite scary at times, my only criticism is of some well dodgy ‘special effects’ which occasionally (and randomly) sped up sequences for no apparent reason. But what do I know – maybe there was a point to it I missed!!!

The usual suspects appeared of course, The Snowman, (nothing wrong with that, I finally managed to watch it last night in a final couple of hours festive viewing frenzy); The Nativity, a modern remake of the most ancient story, with virtually every slightly swarthy English actor you can imagine, (Art Malik, Vincent Regan) taking key roles, plus a few whose very whiteness, (Peter Capaldi, Andrew Buchan) was hidden under long beards, turbans and other swathed material. But sympathetically acted and not afraid to focus on the Joseph/Mary conflict, (you’re pregnant, by whom? God?? I don’t believe you). The series aired last year for the first time, but I didn’t see it. Well worth a stint on catch-up. Lots of churchy and carolly stuff of course – and very good some of it was- John Rutter’s own take on Christmas and it’s music went down well with LH and me and I am always a sucker for Carols from Kings – even though I also listen to it on the radio on Christmas Eve. I can’t ever hear Once in Royal David’s City without a tear springing from my eye. I know, sorry, just can’t help it!

There was some good, (by which I mean funny) comedy on – Michael McIntyre and guests made me laugh, (though obviously filmed well before the Catherine Jenkins/Gethin Jones split, who were in amongst the ‘celebrity audience’ which seems to pad out these TV shows these days, ‘too much work’ kept them apart apparently………..so did Rhod Gilbert on Live at the Apollo. Sadly, the re-make of AbFab didn’t make me laugh very much – I think it’s had it’s day and they should let it go………….sorry Jennifer, coz I really like you on the radio with Dawn……………

On the miscellaneous front, there can never be enough Strictly for me, so I was happy to see the Christmas special, with some ‘new’ celebrities and the old ones back again for a last gasp of fame and fortune. Downton was decent – especially after the rattling events of the last series which were a bit too much to keep up with at times – and lots of ends were nicely tied up – thank goodness Lady Mary FINALLY made it into the arms of heir presumptive Matthew; it wouldn’t have been bearable to see any other outcome. And good riddance to her nasty fiance, Sir Richard whatever his name was, who knew her ‘dirty secret’ and made her pay over and over again.

Finally, I managed to watch ‘Endeavour’ on catch-up – a prequel to Morse, I was sceptical about what it would do to a much-loved character and heritage – I shouldn’t have worried – VERY enjoyable and young actor Shaun Evans was very convincing as a young Morse – see the photos above – a resemblance more than a likeness, but it was enough – he’s obviously been studying the gestures – maybe even overdid a couple of them – but the link was very much there. Genius casting of a young pathologist Max as well – I can’t find the actor’s name, but he could so easily have been Max in the 1960′s. If you haven’t seen it yet, I urge you to give it a try!!!

I am sure there was much more worth watching – but so many programmes and so little time!!! Thank goodness for recording devices and catch-up!!!

What were your favourites? Do let me know.

Well, where does the time go?  I’ve had my longest Christmas holiday for a long time…………..over 2 weeks……….and still I don’t feel ready for the return to work or as if I have properly ‘had’ Christmas.  I made an effort with the home decor as you can see above – my little cameral doesn’t really do justice to any of it and those lovely flowers were given to me over a week before Christmas and were in fabulous bloom on the day – more than can be said for my sad Poinsettia, that despite looking perky in the shop didn’t really shine all over Christmas and is now most definitely in its decline!!!!

For the first time in a long time, I only had 6 people sitting down for Christmas lunch – including me and LH – it just didn’t seem enough somehow and I wished there could have been more!  I really missed my lovely best friend A, who decided to celebrate Christmas at home in Spain this year, and even some rousing, (if out of tune) karaoke together, plus some spectacular back garden fireworks on New Year’s Eve didn’t quite make up for the lack of festive feeling.

Without wanting to be too doom and gloom, it didn’t help that there’s a big shadow hanging over the viability of LH’s business – people are abandoning car servicing in their droves it appears – I am sure that the general ‘talking down’ of the economy and the outlook on TV and radio and in the papers doesn’t help either…………..why not take an optimistic view of things?  If you are in striking distance of Swindon and need good quality, good value garage services – why not give us a try…………….http://www.kamautoservices.co.uk/

And a New Year sees me taking on a new challenge………….. I thought it was about time I started to DO SOMETHING – instead of just waiting around for the stars to align for our Italian dream of a cookery school to become reality……………so I am going to become a ‘Jamie Consultant’ – if you’re not familiar with Jamie Oliver’s ‘at home’ range of goodies, you can find out more at:  https://www.jamieathome.com/sign-in.html  and if you fancy booking a party of your own, you know where I am!

Happy New Year everyone!