Good morning to you all after a reasonably decent week. Somewhat overcast and cooler than of late which is a relief to many, I’m sure. Me? I’ve mainly enjoyed the blisteringly hot weather as it means that I can refrain from doing much of anything and, when challenged, blame the weather for my continuing indolence. Win, win.
During the hot spell I’ve made a few batches of ice cream – not great for our diet but delicious nevertheless. I made a batch of my favourite, world-famous liquorice ice cream which is beyond delicious. Even if you don’t normally “like” liquorice, give it a whirl – everyone to whom it has been served has said they’ve enjoyed it. Of course, they may be lying to avoid hurting my feelings.
I’ve also made a couple of other versions, peanut butter, greengage (fresh off the greengage tree in the orchard) and peach. The peanut butter was “so, so”, the greengage was delicious and the peach was very nice but could be more “peachy” next time round. Hmm, I’ll have to make another batch to see if I can improve it.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can find the liquorice ice cream recipe here.
As you know, my sweetheart had an anaphylactic reaction the last time she was stung by a wasp. As a consequence, I am very wasp conscious and I was thinking the other day that there seem to be a lot of wasps about. A day or so later I ran across an article in the Guardian which said exactly that – wasp numbers have soared following the unusually hot and dry spring. They’re just getting started on the ripening fruit in the orchard, especially the plums, so we’re on high alert around here!
Someone recommended The Taste of Things the other day – I wish I could remember who it was so that I could thank them. It was delightful, a very sweet French film with Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel. Set in the late 19th century, it’s about a woman who is an extremely talented cook who has been working over the last 20 years for a gourmet chef. Growing fonder of one another, their bond turns into a romance and gives rise to delicious dishes that impress even the world’s most illustrious chefs.
It’s beautifully filmed with magical light – sun, candles and oil lamps, and is a delight in every sense. BTW, did you know that the French term for Baked Alaska translates as Norwegian Omelette? Nope, me neither.
We’ve also just finished the first season of Landman which I do remember was recommended to us by Ben and Brex-Anna. Billy Bob Thornton plays the landman in question and is excellent at playing Billy Bob Thornton, quick-witted and razor-sharp dialogue of the sort he thrives on.
Thank you to those who have expressed concern for Penny’s well-being. After the completion of the pond, our garden seems to be running low on potential projects for her to get her teeth into. There have been a few suggestions that Penelope might become bored and dispirited if she has no more to do in the garden.
Worry not. She has started a new project which involves her digging up one of the lawns, removing several tonnes of rock and stone, and re-laying the whole thing. To be fair, this is a particularly crappy bit of lawn, probably because it’s on such lousy soil and the summer heat has depreciated it further. So, why not?
And, she intends, I gather, to do the same with another section which was pretty much destroyed by the mole invasion we had. It’s exhausting just thinking about it.
In her labours, she has excavated mountains of stone and rocks which is particularly apt as this area of Moreton Pinkney has long been known as Gravel Hill. Appropriately named, it seems. We’ve made a few trips to the tip to dispose of our “rubble” and Penny also advertised it on the Moreton Pinkney Matters Facebook page – free to a good home, rock and stone for all those projects you had in mind. To my amazement, there were two respondents who arrived to collect some. I can’t think why Penny didn’t go full Tom Sawyer and get them to dig the patch and recover their own rock and stone.
I wrote a few weeks ago about a conundrum I had – who is going to replace all those workers in the US who have been rounded up and deported? Whether they were working legally or illegally, many/most were working and various sections of the economy, presumably, are struggling to find replacements. Now it seems that others are catching up with me. On Sunday, my great friend Garry Trudeau, produced the following:
Remember folks – you (might) have read it here first!
YCNMIU
So now it seems museums are too “woke” and need to be reformed. That’s right, if history doesn’t reflect your world view, it must be wrong.
I was relieved to see the explanation as to why this was necessary:
And finally, Private Eye often produces very clever and hard-hitting covers. I thought this week’s was excellent.
And, I think that’s it about it for this week! It would have been my father’s 102nd birthday this coming Tuesday. He left us almost ten years ago but I still think of him every day. Happy Birthday, Dad!
It’s also our favourite diplomat’s birthday on Friday and that of our good friend Sue on Saturday. They’ll both be a bit older than they are today. Happy Birthday!
Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg