a week in Broadchurch (that's West Bay to you and me)

Broadchurch/West Bay in the sunshine

sea mist at West Bay/Broadchurch

How sad is it that I spent my birthday evening watching Broadchurch on tv?? My excuses are:

• not enough space on our Sky+ to record it
• we were in West Bay where most of it was filmed
• I really wanted to know if I was right about the murderer (and I was!) and West Bay is Broadchurch mad at the moment, so somebody would let it slip!

I enjoyed the series a lot, although it took me a while to stop the "ooh look that's West Bay harbour...news agent...the Ellipse cafe and flats that over look our flat...and now they are in Clevedon - that's a long way to go to find a hotel!". What's more we had our farewell breakfast at the Watch House Cafe yesterday at the table next to Pauline Quirke, who is so pretty in real life - and I think it must have been her own dog used in Broadchurch as there was at least a very similar dog with her and her husband.

Talking of breakfast, I am going to share my one and only food photo, to get it over with (I am trying very hard to battle my tea shop addiction). This was my birthday breakfast at the Watch House Cafe in West Bay....yummy!

blueberry pancakes at the Watch House Cafe, West Bay

From the Watch House we headed to the Abbotsbury sub-tropical gardens...one of my favourite places in the whole World. It was such a long, drab Winter I had forgotten how much I missed colour until we walked around the gardens. A sunny day and Spring wearing her fineries; a perfect day!

Spring at Abbotsbury gardens

Abbotsbury sub-tropical gardens

Abbotsbury sub-tropical gardens

birds after tit-bits at the tea room

We have Abbotsbury season tickets and went back later in the week, when it was really misty - everything was less vivid, but just as lovely.

tea rooms in the mist

Abbotsbury in the mist

As my birthday was such a lovely day, we decided to wander around the swannery at Abbotsbury before heading home. The cygnets won't hatch until the end of May, but it is such a peaceful place that it is wonderful for a gentle walk all year round (except the Winter when it is closed).

path to Abbotsbury swannery

Abbotsbury swannery

Abbotsbury swannery

Abbotsbury swannery

lambs at Abbotsbury

A quiet, gentle week, we took in Lyme Regis, Mangerton Mill, Bennett's Water Gardens and Forde Abbey - enjoying the sunshine and walking off at least some of the calories.

Mangerton Mill, Bridport

Lyme Regis

Bennett's Water Gardens (looking forward to going back when the waterlillies are out)

Forde Abbey

Forde Abbey

Forde Abbey

Forde Abbey

And now I think I should stop...as you are probably all gardened out, as Mark would say!

Do you really need to have children to enjoy crafts?

I like to think my posts are usually quite light-hearted, but today I am afraid I really have to let off a little steam. There is a lovely little place in Bath, the Makery, that sells bits and pieces and runs sewing courses and I get their updates on Facebook. Yesterday their update was excitedly announcing  a 'Mummy Mondays: a crafty night out for mums'. I assumed it was one of those things where someone has not thought through the name and it is actually open to anyone, so I queried it - only to find it really is only open to women with children but they are thinking of a separate evening when the childless would be allowed to attend!

Now I am fortunate to be sufficiently grateful that the 9 pound growth I had on my womb a few years back turned out to be benign and not the endometrial cancer the doctors suspected, to feel that not being able to have children is an ok price for being alive and fit enough to enjoy that life, but I know women who are torn apart by not being able to have children. For a business to think it is acceptable to segregate sewing evenings into those who can have children and those who can't is utterly heartless. Do they not realise what a slap in the face that would be for a woman already struggling to come to terms with not being a mum? Moreover, why should a woman not be able to chose not to have children, whether or not she could have them? Should a love of crafting be a deciding factor in whether or not to have children??

To be fair, this whinge is not entirely down to the Makery - there are are a number of groups set up for mums only, not to be...what?...tainted?...by the childless (perhaps they do not realise childlessness is not an infectious disease). I am forever being asked if I have children and when I say no I am reassured that I shouldn't worry as I am not too old yet (which actually, I think I probably am) and have I considered adoption? I generally feel my medical history is not their business, unless I am feeling particularly prickly (as I am today) and tell them just to make them stop going on about it. Fortunately, I have always considered having children, or not, a matter of fate. I really am so pleased for my friends when they have children, I love my nieces and nephews to bits and I thoroughly enjoy babysitting, but I think my life is bloody marvellous as it is...even without children.

I simply do not understand why there should be such an undercurrent in the world of crafts that sewing and knitting are things that only mothers do. Childless women, single women and...shock horror...even men can enjoy crafting too!

Not a lot of blogging...or sewing, for that matter!

This is in way of an apology for not having updated my blog in a while. The decorating continues and I have had no time for sewing or photography or anything I think might be of interest. I won't bore you with photos of the kitchen, as I have only painted the walls white (rather than dark terracotta wallpaper) - I say only, but stripping wallpaper, sanding etc is really hard work; particularly when one's arms are just a few centimetres too short to reach over the top of the kitchen cupboards.

I have, however, been something of a style icon while carrying out all this work - classy knee pads (a gift from Mark, who is no doubt fed up with my whinging about my dodgy old knees)

painting/gardening knee pads

...and paint in my hair.

white emulsion in my hair

Not to mention a lack of makeup (not that you'd see it under that layer of dust).


I have, however, made a new friend. Meet George; we go for a walk together once a week when his mum is at work. He is such a sweet natured dog, but he did try it on during our first walk when he tried very hard to persuade me that he had little legs and couldn't walk very far or up steep hills. He also seemed more keen to sit in the cafe in the park, rather than walk. I do understand the inclination, but walking is what we have to do!

George

We have had some lovely sunshine, although it is grey and drizzly now, so here is a pretty display of flowers on my stepmother's windowsill to celebrate the first hints of Spring.

Spring flowers

a new work room

My first week as a non-employed person has been a full one. I ache all over and am somewhat worn out, but our tired 1980s throw-back dining room is looking bright and fresh in white and 'chartreuse' (that's lime green to you and me). Mark and I took up the old pale blue and grime carpet to reveal the original 1930s parquet flooring, then I stripped wallpaper, sanded and filled and sanded walls, painted (three coats of each colour), oiled the floor and sorted the books...all my cookery books in just one book case - amazing! I do have a couple of bags of books to go to the charity shop, but have kept most, they are just sorted by type:

cookery
international
cakes and baking
celebrity chefs
Christmas
healthy and vegetarian
general cookery
jams and preserves
confectionery

sewing/craft/art
stitching and embroidery
quilting and patchwork
toys
bags
general inspiration
art
miscellaneous craft
photography

other
gardening
travel
maps and walking
pets and wildlife
poetry

I know it's a bit sad, but I like order.

So here it is my new kingdom!

shiny new work room

Of course it still has to be a dining room too...

dining room

One of the things I am most happy about is that my favourite painting ('perfect wave' by Helen Campbell) is finally better shown off against a clean white background (I just need to keep the shelf below uncluttered).

perfect wave by Helen Campbell

The cats have been making the most of the mayhem, finding new places to sleep (that's my Bagpuss hot water bottle Rio's cuddled up with!) and making the most of a mirror on the floor so Max can admire himself.

Max and Rio

After all this hard work, it was so nice to spend this afternoon with Alison, my lovely friend from choir. We had lunch at Bea's Vintage Tea Room, which never disappoints. We spent several hours eating and chatting as the sun streamed through the window (as most people know, I can talk for England, but luckily Alison is a very good listener) and the afternoon slipped away very happily. I now feel sufficiently re-charged to start decorating the kitchen on Monday!

Happy Easter!

I hope you are having a nice Easter break. Plenty of sunshine (and chocolate). A double celebration for me as it was my last day at work on Wednesday. I was prepared to be a bit emotional, leaving after 16 years, but so many people left this week, I think it was probably more strange for the few who stayed on. My team of four went out for lunch on Monday - my boss's treat - and Pauline and I were each given a bouquet of flowers and a card. I hadn't expected anything as so many have been made redundant already; it was very generous of the two staying on in my team. I also came home to find a parcel - a lucky cat teapot!

'sorry you're leaving' flowers and lucky cat tea pot

I do think the stress/excitement must have got to me a little, as I woke up this morning (Sunday) realising that I forgot to go to the WI craft evening on Thursday night!

Mark and I have been out to order fence panels and raised beds and planters for the garden, and we have stripped the wallpaper in the dining room and taken up the carpet - leaving the underlay to protect the original 1930s parquet flooring while I paint the room this coming week. I am hopeful that by next weekend I will be able to share photos of my new work room/dining room.

We did take a couple of hours out to help a friend affix a decal to her wall - aided and abetted by her two bengal cats!

furry helpers

 We had been invited to my sister's house for lunch today, and I fully expected to be able to wow you with photos of her very grand house and gardens, and maybe even an Easter egg hunt, but she has a bad cold and has cancelled. Not wishing to waste the sunshine, Mark and I went to Westonbirt for a spot of exercise and fresh air. It is still cold (my friend Karen reckons we are actually living in Narnia - land of endless Winter), but the sunshine was very welcome. We went to the Silk Wood for a change (and the chance to cuddle a dog or too, as there are always loads being walked there), and discovered some unusual carvings.

carving at Westonbirt Arboretum

Westonbirt Arboretum

strange carving in the woods

Lastly I just want to mention my dad. He died 11 years ago today, it was an Easter Sunday that day too and the day after his 67th birthday. Amongst other things, he is my excuse for my love of ice cream - it's not my fault; it's in my genes!

the teapots are taking over the asylum!

This is my last week in proper paid employment. Last week saw my 16th anniversary in my current job and this Wednesday will be my last day. The Government announced we were closing soon after the last election and I have been anticipating my redundancy ever since. Sometimes it seems like a long time coming, and other times the years feel like they have flown by. I had said I would give myself the Easter weekend off before starting to sort out the house and decorate, but I am going to need Mark's help to move the bookcases (God bless Ikea!) in the dining room and take up the carpet - which means we need to be doing this while he is off work next weekend. In preparation I have been gradually moving fabric upstairs and books in to the hallway and living room...along with those teapots that had been secretly breeding in the dining room (the ones on the shelves in the living room are far more restrained...or perhaps constrained).

teapot invasion

I try very hard to keep the living room our one calm and clutter free space in the house (not easy given that Mark and I each had a house when we got together and had each accumulated many bits and pieces over the years and have had to squish two households in to one house). However, I rather like the Bulgarian drip glaze teapot and sugar bowl on the mantelpiece; perhaps they could stay there without risking upsetting the zen too much.

was meant to be of fireplace, but cat got in the way - he's a total diva

It is hard to believe that we have already had a major clear-out of books. Admittedly it has been mainly paperback fiction that went to the stall in the Guild Hall Market or to charity shops when we got our kindles, but I did also have a bit of a weed of cookery books too. I think I may have to be a bit tougher!

books, books and more books

The cats have enjoyed nosing in to recently cleared spaces and finding new places to sleep.

Max pretends he's a book

Actually Max was a bit off colour at the end of the week and was refusing to eat. He has to have special food for his urinary tract problems, but even when I tried to tempt him with a little roast chicken or tiny bit of cheese he wouldn't even sniff it. When last year Rio was similarly off colour he started getting liver problems very quickly from not eating and had a few days at the veterinary hospital, so I rushed Max in to the vet to see if we could avoid that for him. The vet thought he might be getting over an infection and had got out of the habit of eating so gave him an appetite stimulant, and by the time I got him home he was meowing for food...and ate 2 1/2 dinners! We have been keeping an eye on him, but thankfully he seems to be back to his old, furry, purry self.

furry, purry Max the cat

So roll on my last few days at work so my new life can start - and I can get my teeth in to wallpaper stripping (not literally!) and turn the dining room in to an organised and beautiful workroom...that can still be a dining room when necessary. I know it is rather sad, but I am already looking forward to arranging my fabrics by colour and revisiting books as I return them to the shelves or let them go to new homes. What can I say, I like things to be orderly!

Spiced apple cake

I promised the Vikings my recipe for spiced apple cake - the one we had for breakfast, with clotted cream, last Sunday. So here it is:

225g softened butter
225g light muscovado sugar
225g self-raising flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon (there is cinnamon in the mixed spice, but I like a little extra)
3 large eggs
3 large apples (I like to use Bramley), peeled, cored and roughly chopped - I like quite big pieces, but this is to your own taste.
150g sultanas
a large glug or two of cider or calvados

A few hours before you want to bake the cake (or better still, the night before) soak the sultanas in cider or calvados. If you don't have much time, warm them in a pan or in the microwave a little as it helps the sultanas absorb the alcohol.

When you are ready to bake the cake, pre-heat the oven to 180C (perhaps a little lower for a fan oven). Grease and line a 23cm diameter deep round tin, or equivalent square or loaf tin.

Mix butter, sugar, baking powder, spices and eggs in a large bowl. I usually use an electric hand-held mixer, but a wooden spoon does just as well. When well mixed, fold in the apple and sultanas. Tip in to the prepared tin and sprinkle sugar over the top - I think Demerara is nicest as it gives crunch, but cinnamon sugar is good too. Check the cake after 1 1/4 hour, by inserting a skewer - if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked. When I cook this it usually takes an extra 30 minutes, but I think the thermostat on my oven is a little low, and you don't want to overcook it and make it dry. It is quite a substantial cake and is unlikely to sink when the oven is opened.

Serve either warm or cold - nice with clotted cream or even custard for a dessert.