Toad-in-the-Hole

I've always found the Yorkshire pudding resistant to my culinary endeavours but after many years I have finally produced an edible one.

Antony Worrall Thompson's 6 egg recipe on the BBC website was chosen over James Martin's 8 egg one and I was so amazed I took a picture.

Unfortunately the secret ingredient turns out to be LARD so I think this is going to have to be a flash-in-the-pan.  I didn't even use vegetarian hard fat but actual lard.

RIP Keith Lancaster

Being at a golf club & hotel complex a few miles outside Durham before 5pm in the evening between reunions it was too early for bed by hours and too early for golf by years so Kate and I decided to hit Durham city for a bit of sightseeing and light refreshment.  A short tour of the cathedral and tomb of the Venerable Bede followed by a stroll along the river made us quite thirsty so we decided to visit the pub not recommended by Barry who had told us the beer was good.
It always comes as a surprise to southerners that northerners are spontaneously friendly.  At first you look over your shoulder to see who the barmaid is talking to, then you suspect that she is trying something on although its not quite clear what that might be.  Anyway armed with the full quota of change and two regulation measured drinks we took a seat in the sparsely decorated and poorly lit upper section of the pub beside five other patrons who were clearly not on their first drink of the day.
Having survived the benign friendliness of the barmaid we were cool but did not snub their quite undisguised overtures of friendliness, comments and stares and they turned into several concurrent conversations that were almost impossible to join as all five seemed to be talking at once to more than one person at a time.
They told us they had been at a funeral of an obviously dearly beloved friend the eponymous Keith Lancaster, who lost his fight against cystic fibrosis a week earlier at the age of 46, and had been cremated that morning.  Keith it seems had left £200 for the express purpose of their having a drink on him after his funeral and they had taken up this challenge with enthusiasm.
How sad it is that my first instinct was to disbelieve and suspect that somehow I was at risk, I was going to be conned or taken for a ride, without any concrete reason for that reaction.   And I think it's because I spend too much time in the company of the sort of selfish souls who proudly announce that they rush up an empty lane of traffic and push their way into a patient queue.  Sharp elbowed colleagues who happily ascend the slippery pole of success at the expense of others.
I went out for a drink in Durham to pass the time but got so much more from the experience.  Rest In Peace Keith, I don't know anything about you and your achievements other than that you were certainly esteemed by your friends and that's something of real value.

Beside the Seaside

I'm sitting on the terrace of the Imperial Hotel in Llandudno watching a plump, bespectacled lady in co-ordinating turquoise polyester, fitting comfortably within Llandudno's transient demographic she is chain smoking her 4th cigarette in this batch and its 9.15 am.  She seems to be struggling for breath in between bouts of coughing but is pressing on regardless.  This does not look like a pleasurable or glamorous activity.  Across the road a smattering of visitors promenade between the Orms some dressed for the weather, others for the date. 

Being in Llandudno is a bit like being outside yourself for a break.  It's just so unlike any of the places I frequently visit.  An attractive town caught in a time zone it always reminds me of Sunday School outings of the mid 1960's.

I've been here for 2 nights and will be escaping back to the 21st century later this morning.  I'm breakfasting alone looking out over the prom and enjoying a cup of tea.  It's a little strong so I looked into the pot (see left) 5 teabags!  

Wales has its highlights too.  Supertemps treated Di, Mark, Stacy and I to a lovely lunch at Osborne House.  The restaurant was charming and the food very good.  It is a B&B with very much hotel prices for accommodation but the restaurant prices seemed very reasonable.

And although the service and cleanliness of the local Weatherspoon is much the same as all of their branches the Llandudno one is worth a visit to see how they have converted an old theatre - it's amazing and completely wasted on a Weatherspoon.  Go in the stage door and keep going out the other side to another venue for a drink but do go in.

Fiela's Child

This was to be the July Ickenham Youth Football team Book Club choice but the meeting was cancelled, partly due to lack of interest.   I think I might be the only person who actually read it.

It started quite promisingly and up to about half way through it maintained my interest.  Being the product of an unbroken home and knowing who my family are might put me at a disadvantage in understanding the angst of the main protagonist.  I can't help thinking as well that it was a little naive about the issues associated with an unofficial, inter racial adoption in South Africa at a time of apartheid.  The story would have worked better for me if the characters had been more rounded with more internal struggle between the dark and light elements of human nature.