I don't collect as many objects as I used to. In fact, I am slowly trying to re-house many of my old treasures.  But last week, as I was working away at a hot sink, I thought about my lovely milk bottle that has been with we for many years and 2 house moves, and decided that it would be perfect featured on my 'Fluffy Goes To Heaven' set of paintings.

 I knew there was a reason why I had treasured it for so long.

For quite a while now, my 3 paintings of Fluffy Kitten's demise, and her ascent heavenwards have been incomplete.  Mainly because they had been under a bed and forgotten about for 3 years.

 After her tragic end, she floats upwards beautifully…………….

……….and she does arrive, but without the necessary objects that would make it heavenly for Fluffy.

She did so enjoy a fresh mouse, her next best food being lovely creamy milk.  So last week, I set out to rectify the situation, and supply a heaven for Fluffy.

Almost done now, but not quite.  Thinking that 'heaven' for Fluffy would be quite 'hellish' for the mouse population, I decided that once upstairs, they would be happy to live in celestial harmony.
  And thinking back to a favourite childhood book from many years ago, sugar mice would also feature as well, to replace their chewed-up furry cousins.

And why the Christmas trees? 

 For many years now, I have followed an old Polish tradition, told to me by my sons' Grandmother. 

 In the Poland of her childhood, Christmas trees were not 'planted' in the house, but suspended from the ceiling, so they twirled and twinkled, and were decorated only in frosty silver. 

Next week should see this work complete, and then I need to re-discover and finish my Cinderella painting, before she decides to disappear under a handy bed for a few years.

 And here is my Pink House Christmas tree.  Fluffy used to love lying under the suspended tree, occasionally relieving it of a silver decoration or two.

So, one artwork nears completion, and another is getting underway.

My collection of food items for a very important present is nearing completion.  Not every supermarket sells 'Smash' I have found, but buying 'Spam' has caused no problem.
 In fact, after using the tin in the creation of the artwork,  I am very much looking forward to a little Spammy treat, for not only does the front of the can offer a serving suggestion,

but the back of the can, as well as giving helpful opening advice, offers another tasty idea.

I rather think that I shall prolong the pleasure, and eat the Spam in different ways.Version one, have a Spam salad meal, like at junior school, in the days when salad was lettuce, cucumber and tomato.
 A thin slice of spam just called out to be cut into decorative shapes before being eaten.
Usually a house, for me, with smoke from the chimney as well, if feeling particularly adventurous.

And, having looked at the back of the can with the 'slice and fry' recomendation, perhpas another meal of Spam fritters, chips and beans.
With perhaps a small slice left over for a soggy white bread Spam and tomato sauce sandwich.
We certainly nibbled away at our culinary boundaries in the 60s.

As well as creating visual treats (well, in my eyes at least) this week I put the finishing touches to a reading for Juliette and Col's wedding.  I spent a morning assembling all the thoughts and ideas that had gathered in my head, writing and re-writing them in my favourite creative writing place (bed, of course) before trying the speech out on Mr Cooper.  Then, changing it here and there, adding it to an email  then pressing 'send' so it has arrived now with the registrars, all official, and just a little bit scary, too!

And as a 'thank you' to for Mr Cooper for being so patient with me and my creative processes (as he always is) I decided to spice-up our regular Sunday roast chicken by delving into 'Jamie's Great Britain' and experimenting with 'Empire Roast Chicken'.  The recipe gives instructions for a beautifully spiced and marinated chicken, bombay roast potatoes, and a spicy gravy too.

 My bit was the easy part, combining the chicken and the marinade, and leaving them overnight.
Mr Cooper had the challenging part, to follow a recipe for gravy.  And as I was leaving the house on Sunday for hospital visiting, Mr Cooper was asking me what 'roughly chopped' meant, as he had been asked to do this to the onions. (Sam said 'chopping when hungover.' )
Having explained some technical terms, I went to the hospital for a little lie down….

And then we re-united at 4 o'clock, to put it all together whilst drinking gin, and it was delicious.
So much so that we may well make it again, this Sunday.  The recipe is at the bottom of the blog, if you should also feel inspired to make it.  Drinking gin is optional.

Book club this week, lovely to see the girls again, and catch up with life for an hour or 2, and then discuss the book.  A wonderful read this time, with a totally different slant on some events during, around and after World War 2.  The story has many inter-woven parts, elements that each form their own complete story.  Rush to your nearest bookshop now, tissues needed in parts.

The title reminds me of a kitchen happening this week.  As an ageing female, I am fairly invisible to many eyes, and if you put me in work clothes near a sink, it is sometimes a wonder that I am seen at all.
Just before my final shift on Thursday evening, Sam had found a battery operated label maker.
After much hilarious fun labelling items around the house, he gave me a prominent label to wear to work, in the middle of my T shirt.  "No one will notice it anyway'" he said.

But it was actually spotted towards the end of the shift.  Chef Mickey said, "Did Sam put that on you?'
 "Yes," I replied. "He knows me very well, you see".

Well, it's a good job I find my jokes funny, I can amuse myself for hours, and sometimes have to.

Well, the working week is almost over for me, and the weekend beckons.  We are off to London tomorrow, and I will tell you lots about that next week.
Not everything about it, as we are off to Mr Cooper's annual treat.  The Sexpo exhibition is on for the weekend, in Olympia (replacing Erotica) http://www.sexpo.co.uk/

I hope your weekend is looking exciting too, and the weather will be kind,whatever you have planned.
 Until then, add a little spice to it, and enjoy yourselves.  Will catch up with you all in a week's time.

Happy birthday, blog!  I posted my first blog last year, on the 5th November.  It was all about why I was not writing, and more to the point not illustrating, my cookery book that I had been planning to write for 3 years.  I am pleased to announce that this is my 52nd post, so I have averaged one a week. Now all I have to do is include weekly snippets in the coming year's blog, showing that my book is actually happening. That could be a little tricky at the moment.
Watch this space! I need to devote a specific amount of time each week to start those illustrations.  Ideas are moving around in my head, but in a hazy, translucent way . No bright ideas as yet demanding to be released, and put on paper.

This is my last blog of the first year, and the last one written during my convalescence.  It doesn't contain much evidence of hard work, unless you count eating!  It does drift through my birthday in a haze of food and alcohol.  I know it was my birthday, and not the usual drifty days of food and alcohol, as there were cards and presents involved, and many treats which don't usually happen.
Here goes then……..

The day of my birthday was bright and sunny.  I opened my cards, from my bros, my mum, my friends the Lemons, and Mr Cooper, and my presents from Mr Cooper.  Exhausted and overwhelmed after all that unwrapping, I then got ready to attend my second 'Creative Writing for Gourmets' event, at Tuppenny Barn. http://www.tuppennybarn.co.uk/
Like getting married twice in 2 weeks (to Mr Cooper, of course) which does extend the pleasure, we decided (well, me really) to extend the pleasure of a birthday by having an actual birthday, then a sort of Boxing Day birthday to follow.  One in sunny Nutbourne, and the other in sunny Stockbridge.

Although the weather was perfect, I was not feeling really in the mood for a 4 hour writing workshop.  Nothing at all to do with my age, and decreasing faculties, I had at least remembered where I was going, and why, but because of the disruptions battering my life from without.

But, Tuppenny Barn gave me a marvellous present.
All us gourmet writers provide an item for lunch, and today mine was a birthday chocolate feast,
Nigella's 'Cloud Cake', containing no flour, made only out of loads of dark chocolate, many eggs, a good helping of butter, and a little sugar for good measure.  Fill the sunken top with lashings of whipped cream, and it is a cake to savour, small helping by small helping.

Coming back to the writing, our first exercise was to spend 6 minutes writing about anything in your head, which would not be read.  I spent 6 minutes writing about the feelings surrounding emotional happenings which are beyond my control, and how this has had a 'freezing' effect on my creativity, and in the process of this, I experienced a definite thaw, and the day passed with much writing, reading, munching and laughter.  I was to have put the actual passage of writing at the bottom of this blog, as an optional read, but that might not happen, as at the moment I cannot find it!  All will be revealed at the end of the blog.  Or not, if it still remains hidden.

The rest of the day passed peacefully, duck breasts with ginger were eaten (thanks again, Nigella)
and television was watched.  You must remember, that although the evening sounds fairly boring and mundane, we have been experiencing a period of convalescence which has, for the most part, led to boring and mundane evenings watching the telly.  But that will change next week!

Birthday Boxing Day!  A dry day, perfect for our trip to Stockbridge.  A regular occurrence for me, but a treat for Mr Cooper.  And the first treat of the day, lunch at Woodfire, cooked by that exceptional chef, Sam Hofman.  It was all done by Sam too, as he was the only chef in the kitchen!

Thinking back to when we went out once for lunch on Mr Cooper's birthday, and ended up having a drunken buying spree in Gunwharf Quays, which included the purchase of a great pair of black Levis 501s (expensive) and 2 full-sized purple tinsel Christmas trees (absolute bargains), we decided to learn from our mistakes, and not to eat or drink too much, or buy any more trees.

Here is that wonderful chef Sam, preparing one of the four mezzes that we ordered, Baba Ganoush.

We started out with the best of intentions, as we often do.  Though sometimes, we do start out with bad intentions, but not when convalescing!  We chose only four mezzes, we ordered only one large Peroni..

…………..but then, the freebies from the kitchen came out.  Oh well, we said, we may as well tuck in.
 In fact, lets go on to have a dessert.  In my case, Gorgonzola ice cream and a large Malbec.  Mr Cooper just stuck to coffee and brandy, forgetting caffeine is a banned substance for the next 9 months!

After that, time to see my other son, and settle down to receive more gifts.  Sam's gift to me is still in the making stage, but progress is looking good.   John gave me a beautiful and thoughtful selection of presents, plus a largish metal birthday card which is going to have a pair of legs welded onto it, so it will adorn my garden.

Time to go to the Greyhound, (thanks for our birthday drinks, Bex) and to the best room there.
Birthday Boxing Day hadn't ended, as my friend Juliette, from the exclusive 'Young At Heart' club, had left a wonderful assortment of gifts in our room (thanks for the room, Lucy).  Thursday just kept getting better and better!

Well, what could we do but 'enjoy', and relax, and then get ready for dinner.

A real treat to be seated in the dining room, receiving food, rather than in the kitchen, washing up from the dining room and the kitchen. After much deliberation, we made our choices from the new menu.  Hard choices, as there was so much we wanted to taste.  http://thegreyhoundonthetest.co.uk/food-drink/
After our starters,  carpaccio of buffalo for Mr Cooper, scallops and ox cheek for me,  and before our mains, the boys in the kitchen sent out a duck breast treat.  Venison and cod to follow, with a bottle of number 3. And to finish off, or more accuratley, to finish us off, peanut butter and chili icecream, which is just perfect, as long as you love chillies and peanut butter.  Just perfect.

Lovely to return home the next day to find more cards and presents. Thanks Sarah and Ali, thanks Rachael and Ben!

After all that, treats and laziness were put away with a little sadness………..work was very much on the horizon.  So, all my unfinished sewing projects were completed and put away, work dungaress, both for pigging and painting were found, plus swimming costumes.

We both approached the pool with trepidation, as it had been four and a half weeks since we had done any swimming, but all was fine.  I still remembered how to do it, and did it for a quarter of a mile! Mr Cooper remembered how to do it too, but then went to the jacuzzi to recover. We both remembered that was a good thing to do!

So back at work now, which is a relief. Goodbye inactivity, and hello wages and studio!
I hope you have a week of the activities you want to do, even better if they bring in your wages.
Looking forward to having your company in the year ahead.

Ps, I haven't found my writings from the workshop, perhaps it is their intention to stay private for the moment.

Well, I am another year older tomorrow, so it's probably time for some 'New Year Resolutions'.  But more of that later.
During a pretty challenging week gone by, I found lots of old photos which had been hidden away for years.  When Sam saw this one, his response was particularly cheering for someone approaching their birthday.  This is what he said.  'Is that really you?'  '  It must be, they are wearing your clothes'
and, best of all, 'I didn't realise how young you looked when Sarah was young'.

Good job my child was able to identify me in the end, and at least he didn't say 'And you look really old now'

So here we are in Northern Cyprus, Sarah and I.  Probably 13 years ago, when I looked young!

As I enjoy the last day of being 53, I have decided that I must have at least one full day a week ensconced in my shed, as productivity has fallen recently.  And, joy of joys, next week I am allowed to swim again!  Doing very little physical activity is definitely not good for the soul.
And also next week, I am allowed to work again, much to the relief of my ever increasing overdraft.
So I should be worn out at the end of next week, what with all the swimming, painting, working and decorating I am planning to do.  Will there be time to write a blog?

And, in order to clear the decks in readiness for my surge of creativity, I finished a knitted birthday present for a friend.  Started in May, and completed in October!  Now all I have to do is wrap it up and deliver it, hopefully before next May.

In between all the upheavals that happened last week, Mr Cooper and I enjoyed an unexpected oasis of pleasure, which encapsulated all the good bits about living in the English countryside.
We decided to walk to Chidham on Sunday, and then to call in at the 'Old house At Home' pub.
On our walk through the fields, we came across Chidham's annual ploughing competition, and spent a really enjoyable time watching numerous old tractors working away. (And numerous old drivers, too, with a sprinkling of young ones.)

The weather was perfect, the hot dogs smelled delicious, and there was the promise of a good pint in the air.

And even better, as we went to leave, we found two pairs of horses enjoying a short break, complete with that heavy horse saggy lower lip.

Here are two beautiful Clydsdales, Dolly and Belle enjoying the sunshine.

Of all the heavy breeds, that is my favourite.  I used to have a lovely Clydesdale cross, an extremely gentle and large strawberry roan, not surprisingly called Strawberry.

Then off to 'the Old House At Home.  http://www.theoldhouseathome.co.uk/
 It was just perfect to sit outside in the sunshine, drinking not only a perfect pint (Chidham bitter) but to have chosen the perfect pint out of a range of many.
It is not often I choose another pint over Timothy Taylors!

So we sat in the sun, drinking and chatting, and waving to various tractors as they chugged past us from the competition.  The second drink called for a bag of crisps, and even that was perfection!
A flavour I hadn't tried before, but will be enjoying again.

So Sunday continued to be an English pleasure.  Roast chicken, Countryfile, the 'Strictly' results and then Antiques Roadshow.  What could be better than that?  Particularly if you are 53!

And to end this blog, a picture of a wonderful sculpture.  George gave this to me the last time I worked in The Greyhound, and as it sat on top of the dishwasher during my long, hot shift it turned my steamy corner into a little shrine for the arts.  It might be Icarus, it might be a diver, but what it is, is wonderful.

It might have to return to work with me next week, to keep my mind focused on all the art that is to be created in my head and then in my shed.
But before returning to work, I am visiting The Greyhound on Thursdayfor dinner, and a night in their best bedroom. A birthday treat.  And what is even better, no charge for the room.  Thanks Lucy, much appreciated!
And what a treat it will be to see the other side of the kitchen, the one I rarely see.  The only thing that would make the event as perfect as Sunday would be if I were able to hand-pick the waiting team.  Oh well.

And when I told Mum about the ploughing match, she told me a fact that I didn't know.  My Granddad was noted for his skill with the plough, pulled by horses.  He really didn't like animals, my Granddad.
But in his earlier farming years, his days were spent feeding them, milking them, working with them, fattening them up, and eating them.  I think he was very pleased when tractors appeared.

So in the week to come, I have to assemble Spam and Smash for an exciting art project, and find my painting dungarees.  I will tell you if I got as far as wearing them, and better still, working in them
Till then, I hope you have a productive week ahead, interspersed with fun and laughter.
I would quite like a week like that too!

This is my 50th Green Donkey blog, so quite a cause for celebration, on my part at least. My first blog was published on the 5th November last year, so almost one a week.
Still no closer with writing my cookery book.  Remember, this blog was about all the creative things I am doing that are stopping me writing it.  But, I am thinking about writing it a lot more.

Last Thursday saw me and Mr Cooper visiting Guildford, but only the NHS aspects of Guildford.  Luckily, after having been laid low for a week, I was well enought to take Mr Cooper for his 'procedure', as these things are called now.  All went well, and more of that later on.

Happily, he was well enough for me to leave him for a while on Sunday, when I went to see my first ever hedge-laying competition.  Sounds a very strange thing to opt to watch, but it was a fascinating and restful experience, and it wasn't raining!  A bit like fishing really, things happen very slowly.

I was there because my son John was competing in the novice section.

There were about 20 hedge-layers taking part, all laying a section of a beautiful mixed hedgerow.
 I saw the most amazing fuschia coloured flowers nestled in the hedge, looking so tropical, and almost un-English with its shocking pink and vibrant orange colour combination.
 Euonymus europaeus, or 'spindle' is what I was looking at, and here it is, below.

The colour combination reminded me of Mr Cooper's brightest shirt.

Last week I was talking about my drawing that had been accepted by
The Stride Open Art Competition.
 Here it is pictured below, to the right of the artist.
It is entitled  'Pieces From My Life, Last Year.'

And here it is again, a little larger.  Last week I was talking about the part of the jigsaw that featured the chefs at Woodfire, including son Sam, chopping away in between the other 2 chefs. This week, look at the jigsaw piece below Sam, showing an anatomical drawing within a couple holding hands. 

 Last year Mr Cooper was  diagnosed as having a very slow growing form of prostate cancer, and months were spent not quite knowing the outcome of this discovery.  That formed one important section of my life last year, and this year. 

So that part of the drawing is a cross section of a prostate gland, the hands being held are those of 

me and Mr Cooper.

Last Thursday, as a result of 'the procedure', Mr Cooper's prostate became implanted with 75
tiny radioactive beads,  so much so that when he flies now, he has to have a covering letter.
 When x-rayed as it looks as if he has an explosive device nestling in his under-crackers! ( Something that I discovered for the first time many years ago now)
So now Mr Cooper is not 'Feeling too clever' but he should be fine next Thursday when we head to The Greyhound to dine and to stay overnight, as part of my birthday celebrations.  The week after that I have to return to The Greyhound to resume washing up for those who are lunching and dining, so it will be lovely to enjoy the life as a guest for a few hours.


This week I had a rare days outing with son John, who wanted to go to Finkley Down Farm Park.
It has been a very long time since we were last there together.
Here is John perched on a tractor, after an intensive chicken feeding session, 23 years ago.

So after having bought a bucket of animal feed, we were let loose on the animals.
 First stop, the brown fuzzy-faced sheep.  A very gentle nibbler.
 Totally unlike the male turkey who drew blood!  I don't think many small children feed him.

As a cat lover, I was very happy with the animals there…………...

And John, with his love of rabbits, was happy also.

There were no animals there on Tuesday which had been there 23 years ago,

but all the tractors were still there.

Luckily john decided to sit on the seat this time, not stand, or we might have been asked to leave.
We were the only mother and son combination there where the son kept stopping for a smoke.

Next week, another 'Creative Writing for Gourmets' workshop.  Our focus this time will be 'vegetables', and Mr Cooper kindly said I could write about him.
Also, my last week of enforced rest, before I can start to earn money again.
And last but not least, birthday celebrations!

 I know you have to 'take the rough with the smooth', but I am so looking forward to a couple of days of smooth!
 And in the coming week I hope your roughs are not too raspy, and your smooths are 'just right'.
See you in a weeks time, I will be the one looking a whole year older.

Sorry to have missed you last week, I was bed bound for a little while, and not feeling terribly creative.
In the words of a childhood neighbour,  'I wasn't feeling too clever'.

But back now to feeling clever (if not actually being clever) and creative.
Last week there was good news for me on the creative front.  I had submitted three works of art to the Stride selection committee.
Two works were rejected,

                                               rejection one…….

Awakening Conscience…….Is That It?

                                                            and rejection two…….

Deepening Conscience………..Ironing Away my Dreams.

They accepted my largest and most autobiographical piece from this year, which I will show you next week, when I have attended the Preview Exhibition.
 It's on at the Oxmarket Centre for Arts, Chichester, 20th October - 1st November.
Then it is your turn to go and visit. https://www.facebook.com/oxmarket

There is a strong link with the accepted work, and Woodfire, where chef son Sam works, as the 3 chefs who work there form an important part of the drawing. 2 out of 3 of them  love being featured, and the third is, luckily, oblivious to that fact.
And more good news, Sam is no longer the junior sous, he is now the actual sous chef at Woodfire.
And here I am at Woodfire in my supporting role, for one day only……….

………..K.P extraordinaire, pictured here just finishing some extremely tasty gorgonzola ice cream.
Served with poached pears, it is only delicious if you love gorgonzola cheese!

My other son's job at Butser Ancient Farm draws to a close, as the Saxon Longhouse nears completion.

the house is becoming wattled before being daubed…………

with a beautiful thatched roof topping all.

And as this job ends, so begins another part of John's career, as he begins another apprenticeship, this one given by the Hampshire Coppice group.

I did take an atmospheric photo for here of John with 'Old Ken', who will be one of his two mentors, but it was at a time when 'I hadn't been feeling too clever' and had managed to take photos without having a memory card in place. 

 So as well as teaching John about life as a coppicer and hurdle-maker, eighty year old Ken is also keen to get John to 'Keep them trousers up' and 'Lose that there belly'.  Good luck with that, Ken!

So as a small celebration, Darren, his other mentor, pictured above, came round with John for a 'festive feast' and red wine festival.  In honour of the occassion, I made a pat of butter embossed with a cow design, and also added to the decorations John's Easter gift to me of the Polish butter lamb.  

It is still looking just the same, but smelling rather different!

A lovely night of good music, good food, and best of all, great company.

In my bed bound few days I did an awful lot of reading.  So much so that I had to send Mr Cooper out for supplies.  He tried really hard to get books I would enjoy.  So much so that I had read a few of them already, but this one was a real treat, my best book for a long time.

Warning, do not attempt to read this book unless you find the following reviews deeply enticing.

'Playful and intensely imaginative' and 'A breathtaking feat of imagination, a flight of fancy that pulls you in and wraps you up in its spell.'  

Just right for the bookclub!  And thanks again for the beautiful flowers, girls. 

And, books are cheaper by far from Havant charity shops, rather than Emsworth.  

A thrifty fact to share with you from Mr Cooper.

Just before my enforced reading holiday, I attended the creative writing workshop at Tuppenny Barn, advertised as 'Creative Writing for Gourmets'. http://www.tuppennybarn.co.uk/

 It was such fun, and so lovely to write and to share writings.  There were seven of us there, all not knowing what to expect. We all enjoyed the 4 hours so much that we will be meeting every month.  We all had different reasons for being there, but united by the fact that we all want to write, and we all really enjoy to eat.  What lovely 'common ground' to have.

So do stay tuned ready for my offering next week.  I leave you with an almost closing picture of the Saxon Longhouse already nestling into the magic place of Butser Ancient Farm………..

Don't worry, next week there will be a more diverse selection of images. I do know this week has been a little 'Butser heavy', but the photo I must leave you with features Mr Cooper. 

 When I was feeling 'Not too clever' and definitely not clever enough to drive a car, Mr Cooper took me to Butser, the first visit to the Saxon Longhouse for him. 

 And here he is, looking thrilled to embrace the magic of timber frames, wattle, thatch….

See you all next week, now both me and my camera are up and running again!  

Take care, look after yourselves and each other, and have fun!

From Puglia beaches, back to pots and pans. Last week, lunchtime squid.  This week, lunchtime sinks!
But, on the positive side, when I returned to work on Tuesday, everybody was really pleased to see me. Tuesday turned out to be a really happy day in the kitchen.

In fact, when Mr Cooper rang me as usual  at 5.30, to see how my day was going, I replied that I was having an unusually lovely day, and I said that "everyone is pleased to have me back."  

"Have you back?" he questioned, sounding surprised.  "Why, where have you been?" 

Luckily, when prompted, he remembered the lovely week's holiday we had just returned from!

This week, I submitted three pieces of work for the Stride Open Art competition.  http://oxmarket.com/stride-open-competition/  For the past 5 years I have entered at least one piece for it, which have always been accepted, until last year.  My first Oxmarket rejection.
The downside about being a 'creative type' is the fact that you have to get used to picking yourself up, and dusting yourself down.

I always do a lot of thinking and planning at The Greyhound, and last year, whilst washing away,  I imagined how lovely it would be if Mr Cooper, on his free day, would appear at the window with a bunch of red roses.  

 I created a watercolour study based on this idea, and titled the image 'Totally Unexpected'.

And once, to surprise me, Mr Cooper did just that! He appeared with red roses, and we spent my break together.  I think the chefs were also surprised later, as we had spent the break over the road in 'The Three  Cups'  But nothing got broken…...

So last year I created a more finished watercolour based on this.  The stacks of plates have not been exaggerated, but I might have knocked a decade or two from my age!
But hey, I am the one holding the paintbrush.

And this is the image that 'The Stride' rejected.
Next week I will be able to tell you if any of the three I entered this year were accepted or whether I am picking myself up, etc etc.

When I was in Puglia, I was so excited by the different plants that were there, in particular the different varieties of cactus, a secret love of mine.

This was a huge cactus, as tall as an adult, which we watched every night whilst enjoying 

our  'Couples Come Dine With Me' experience.  We were watching, not because there were very long breaks between courses (well only once, really) but because the beautiful flowers on the cactus opened fully only at night time.

I took a holiday sketchbook with me, and used it to write down shopping lists for us all. But also to create some studies of this beautiful plant, thinking I might paint it on my return.

Here is one of the studies…….

………….and here a photo of another cactus.  Luckily, this blog contains only 2 holiday snaps!
Perhaps these will become the idea for next year's entry.  Anyway, tune in next week for the results.

Friday saw me and Mr Cooper back in training for next year, when we hope to walk the South Downs Way in 9 consecutive days.  We have only just realised that we will have to walk twice weekly throughout the winter, but in the meantime let's enjoy walking in the sunshine.

We set off from Chalton, climbing to the top of Chalton Down to enjoy extensive views on the Isle of Wight, the Spinnaker Tower etc.

This is the view of St Hubert's Chapel, Idsworth, built in 1053, which the walk took us past.
Inside the chapel are some amazing frescoes.  One lot dates from about 1300, and another created to mark the millennium by fresco artist Fleur Kelly.  Well worth a visit.

 A little known fact about Fleur is that she has a recipe for lovely bread which she calls a 'Roman Loaf.'  Very easy, an overnight rise then straight into the oven.  In fact, I will share the recipe with you, if so desired, at the end of this blog.*

So after 5 miles of stunning scenery, gorgeous weather, and only one serious uphill, we return to Carlton, and to the Red Lion.  It is very picturesque outside.  Inside there are a couple of lovely old bars at the front of the pub, and then an extensive modern dining area.  My advice, a great place for a drink in the old bars, or a snack in the garden, enjoying the view, which is truly beautiful.
 I would not eat there again, as I dislike food that is overcooked or served cold, and I was given both.
It must take a certain amount of skill to get something wrong at both ends of the spectrum!
Peanuts for me, next time (but I will definitely check the expiry date)

On a more cheerful note, here is a cake that was not overcooked. I baked it for my Mum's 83rd birthday, using a recipe from her Mum's cookery notebook. 'Orange Drizzle with Melted Chocolate Topping.  Rather like a Terry's chocolate orange cake. (And yes, I am still in the process of writing the 'Green Donkey Cookery Book'.  Or at the moment, still in the process of baking the contents of it….. )

It was lovely to spend the weekend with Mum, and lovely as always to see Mark, Ella and Jem.
 And Snowy was pleased to spend some time with his various furry cousins.

As well as baking, I continue to sew.  On this picture of the boys, autumn images and train tracks now surround them.  Only one more textile photo to complete now.  Then hopefully the 'Memory Cushion' project will begin to gain momentum, after the summer break.

I need to gain some momentum now, as in an hours time I am taking part in a 'Creative Writing for Gourmets' event.  Mr Cooper and I decided to try different experiences, so next week I will tell you just what this experience involved, as I have no idea what is to happen!

In the meantime, enjoy your week ahead, and make the most of the sunshine.  I will catch up with you next week, with news of acceptance, rejection, and news of just what gourmets write about, creatively!

And here is the bread recipe.  I have often made it, and now usually make 2 loaves from it, not one huge one.  Try it, and see which you prefer.

*Recipe taken from "New Pauper's Cookbook' by Jocasta Innes and Kate Harris, 1992.

Fleur Kelly's Roman Loaf.

Makes 1 large loaf.

I bag strong white flour.                                1 tablespoon salt
1 sachet fast action dried yeast.                     1 tablespoon sugar

Mix together all the ingredients in a vary large (9 litre/2 gallon bowl)
Add enough warm water to make a loose, sticky mixture.  Stir the mixture rapidly with your hand, just enough to combine the ingredients.  Cover the bowl with a clean, damp cloth and leave to rise overnight, or even the following lunchtime, in the warm near the Aga.
The next morning, give the mixture a quick scoop round with your hand, then turn it into a baking sheet sprinkled with flour.  Put it in the bottom of the Aga's top oven for 45-60 minutes, or until the crust is firm and the loaf feels springy.  Stand the loaf up sideways after taking it from the oven, or the base is liable to become soggy.