This last week or so has contained many journeys, sometimes cruising through a happy valley, and at times, hurtling along on a roller coaster that you hadn't intended ever to board!
Let's start with a 'Happy Valley' excursion.
The Friday before last saw me and Mr Cooper heading for Eye, taking with us both sausages and good will. We were nearly taking son John too, but on the morning we left he was feeling not quite the ticket, so it was only the two of us who made the usual stop in Turweston, at The Stratton Arms.
Mr Cooper has moved on from dining on the filled rolls (delicious and extremely good value) to feasting on the hot steak pies, which are delicious in the extreme. Not only is the filling all you could desire, but the pastry is amazing too. I did have to convince him that the pub is too far away for it to be a regular lunch venue for him and his mates, Jim and Dave.
Later that evening, after a sausage supper with Mum, my dearest friend Deborah came over and together we braved the elements and walked to the Blue Boar, a very different pub to my lunchtime venue! Having braved the elements without, we then braved the elements within, and were soon catching up on our lives, sharing both experiences and much laughter as only true friends can. There are two good safety valves to coping with life's difficulties, one of which is talking to your nearest and dearest female friends and laughing at life's tribulations where you can, and the other is, at times, have a jolly good cry. But more of that later on.
How can there possibly be tears on the horizon when you have a box of blancmange in your hands?
As my little brother Mark was joining us on Saturday with his three children, I thought it was time that we re-discovered the treats that Granny and then Mum used to make for their grand-children. Lucas and Jem have yet to experience the chocolate bunny on jelly grass. This was such a loved pudding that I have made several lino-prints of it.
If you are looking at the above and thinking 'That looks amazing, Sue' just send me a cheque for £45 and your address, and you can have your very own, and be amazed on a daily basis. Simple.
Anyway, on Saturday I made the jelly and popped it into the fridge, and then I made the blancmange and didn't pop it into the fridge. Why not? Well, I only read some of the instructions.
What you can do at this point is learn from the mistakes that I made.
Jem was my sous-chef in the creation of this dessert. As you can see from the actual rabbit mould, if the blancmange is not chilled, it does not gain all the details! As Jem added the jelly grass around the 'rabbit' then arranged the flowers, he said that it rather resembles a tasty chicken leg than a rabbit.
So there you have it, a chocolate bunny heavily disguised as a chicken leg, but tasty, nevertheless.
We will get it just right for Easter, just you wait and see.
Jem did a first class job with grass and flowers.
We continued our culinary trip down memory lane, with Mark bringing to light the sundae glasses. They were aptly named, as they were only used ever on Sundays. Sometimes they had Angel Delight in them, and in the 70s we experienced our own food revolution by having 'starters'! Whilst watching the Galloping Gourmet, a much-loved weekly programme, we took down the recipe for prawn cocktail, which became not only our very favourite starter, but also influenced my art in later year.
I made sure to include mum's carpet in this shot, as it also hails from the 70s.
Be warned, Simon, the glasses have gone back with Mark to Portishead, so get in quick with any special requests!
Here is my knitted prawn cocktail brooch against the background of my prawn cocktail apron.
You can commission me to knit you a brooch for not too much money, but an actual apron will cost you dear. But if you are fortunate enough to be one of my beautiful nieces, you will already own one of these potential heirlooms!
I might just give mine an outing tonight, teamed with my most favourite dinosaur necklace.
Now we have strayed into the realms of art, let's have a burst of culture on the literature front.
Of late, I have experienced a spell of choosing books that I have failed to complete. and the ones that I have completed have not been anywhere near good enough to recommend. One book I very nearly added to my blog as having been 'a deep disappointment', but I decided that was not really the way I wanted to go, though I very much felt like it. But then this one came along.
Usually when I read the word 'epic' I associate it with 'very very long' but this story had many glorious strands in it that were so beautifully interwoven. It gave a tremendous insight into the reality of not only living but surviving under Chairman Mao, and beyond. It also mentioned often a sweet that is one of my very favourites.
The 'White Rabbit' Chinese sweet. Here are wrappers from two that me and Mr Cooper ate earlier!
'I must buy some' thought I, and so I did. (The Katmandu food-store, Andover, well worth a visit.)
Last Sunday I had a cheery call from Sam, to wish me 'Happy, Happy mother's Day' (I don't think son John knew the significance of that day to mothers everywhere). Much later that day, as he was travelling to Winchester on his moped, he had a bad accident. George had the call from the police that every parent fears, and was able to go to the scene of the accident, and then onto Southampton General to be with Sam. Very luckily, his wounds were not life-threatening, and he was prepared for surgery the following day.
I was oblivious to these events as it was Monday morning when I was contacted by George, and the two of us travelled to the hospital to be with him after his surgery. It was such a relief to see a sleeping, living Sam after only a few hours on the roller coaster when you are not sure at all how far you are going to be hurtled in the downwards direction. Sam was very battered and bruised, with the addition of about fifty stitches to his face, mainly to re-attached his forehead back to the right place. His right eye was damaged both in front of it and behind it, but hopefully not actually to it. When I talked to Sam he was how you are shortly after a general anaesthetic, but there were two things he kept talking of. One, that he stood by the side of the road after the accident (which he doesn't remember) barely able to see, and knowing he had been badly injured, but waving both arms to flag down passing motorists, of which there were many. He was eventually found by the best person ever, a passing fireman called Rodney. By that time, Sam was extremely confused, had really given up, and just sitting in a puddle. It makes me cry just to think of how much help he needed, how vulnerable he was, and how many people thought it wasn't their business. Even if you felt you weren't equipped to be 'first on the scene' and I can really understand that, as he would not have been a pretty sight, why not just stop a little further down the road to call for the emergency services? I know Sam is going to thank Rodney in person if possible, and if anyone knows who he is, give him a huge thank you from me, and George, and Sam and John and Molly, and the list goes on and on.
Luckily Sam was discharged after a couple of nights on Ward F5 (thanks to all the staff there too).
And on the day he arrived back home, it was to be met with a triumphant yellow garland (albeit one he could hardly see).
Juliette has been helping George transform his home back to being a place of beauty once again. When I left The Greyhound in my break to go and see Sam on Tuesday, these were flapping in the breeze, and it felt like a good sign for new beginnings. It will be a while before Sam establishes a new 'normal' but he is now experiencing a new beginning in his life, whether he wanted one or not! As are all those of us who love and care for him. And when you are on that roller-coaster, hurtling down at speed, there are times when you don't think you will survive the crash that surely awaits you at the bottom. Luckily this roller coaster drew to a stop after having frightened to death everyone of its passengers.
So, in the week ahead, and beyond, if you are unable to stop and help someone in distress, just go a little further along, then stop and make sure you contact someone who can. It won't take many minutes out of your own life, and could actually save the life of somebody else.
And on a more cheery and uplifting note, go out and buy some yellow dusters (or wash your existing, grimy ones) and dust your beautiful belongings. Work to make at least an area of your house a lovely place to be, then wash those dusters in readiness for when any greyness tries to creep back in.
Just one addition to all of this, if you read this and know Sam's Grannies, they haven't been told, and don't need to be, it is far better that way. If you know them, you will understand why.
So go forth and celebrate life, vigorously waving those bright yellow dusters!
Looking forward to seeing you all very soon.
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