This week, an outdoor theme still pervades, punctuated by a culinary delight for you to feast your eyes upon.
Once again, son John and I found ourselves as the only passengers in my elderly Volvo as we made our way to the Gaylard Wood Fair 2016, near Sturminster Newton. Apparently, Wood Fairs are not for everybody, (this was news to me!) Mr Cooper went to one once, so he should know.
 It was a bit of a hike, but so worth it.

The setting is in woodlands where there is truly an abundance of oak.  Here is a typical oak avenue, plus a good cross-section of the visitors.  Beards, shorts, hats, glasses of cider, dogs.
 John and I had beard and cider (him) and shorts, hat and cider (me).

Set against a backdrop of clumps of oak trees were many vintage woodworking vehicles.
 A couple of weeks ago we were looking at a saw bench being powered by a traction engine, and now we were looking at one being powered by an elderly tractor.  If you look closely, the man in charge has shorts, bowler hat and cider.

I have been to many steam rallies of varying sizes, since I was very young.
 If you too have attended a few rallies, this poster should indeed make you smile.
We found it in the perfect place, tucked amongst the stationary engines.
 And if you don't know what one of those is, this joke will be lost on you.  But if you have unwillingly accompanied a steam enthusiast to many rallies, try to contain your hysterical outbursts!

If I was able to have my time again, I would love to have a pair of working horses, not as an exhibit from the past, but earning a living by working in the woodlands.  This would take up a lot of my life, leaving painting, writing and cooking to fill up the corners, ready to take over for when I got too old for working in the woods. (Probably in my early eighties!)

It was a real delight to see so many horses there, demonstrating working with timber,
and this is Jenny.
Although she looks like she is sporting a bonkers outfit ( another plus for me) she is in fact wearing a covering to protect her from flies.

Another thing that serves to protect us all from flies is our friendly spider.  This one was doing a good job of keeping the fly population down, plus any badly-behaved terriers.

John must have been in a good mood, for after he had let me stroke the Suffolks (horses to John are dangerous bitey, kicky things)........

.........he accompanied me on a ride round the site on a cart pulled by them.
Strangely enough, we had a peaceful, uneventful ride with no biting, kicking or bolting.
Darling and Boy behaved beautifully, as I thought they would.

Leaving the woodlands behind now, we returned to The Gables to make a Shanghai Steamboat, a delicious request from Sarah.  It is now going to be introduced to the Falkland Islands.
Years ago now, Mr Cooper and myself experienced our first 'steamboat' in a tiny Vietnamese restaurant in Southsea, back in the days when I lived in the Pink House, we had some money,  and ate out a lot.
It is such a fun dish to eat, each diner cooking their own meat and fish in the broth, which is served over noodles.  Vegetables play an important role (of course) and the beauty of this dish is that a fussy eater can stick to what they feel safe with (yawn yawn) leaving people like me and Mr Cooper to stuff down as much steak, squid, prawns, chicken, tuna etc as we can (hurrah!)
I will include the general outline for one, at the end of the blog.  This week's recipe.
The chances are that I will be writing a cookery book soon!

Sarah and Ali's visit was sadly drawing to a close, and they bought cases to pack all their purchases, mostly wedding-related.
Sarah's dress was packed in a cream coloured suitcase, just the right size for hand luggage, and she asked me if I would paint it to be more 'wedding-y'. 

So on Sunday I applied the base colours.  It was a bit of a pig to paint on, as I was painting on a canvas-like fabric stretched over a thickish board.  I was happy though, as for the first time in absolutely ages, I was in my shed on a Sunday afternoon, painting away whilst listening to Radio 4.
A state close to heaven, well, heaven for me.

Here it is at the end of Sunday afternoon.......

And here it is at the end of Monday afternoon.  Luckily it was  Bank Holiday Monday, so for once I had a free afternoon.

Tuesday found me reluctantly back at work, but I disappeared into the shed on Wednesday morning,

 

and once again on Wednesday afternoon.  Just in time, as the case was then taken away along with Sarah and Ali on Thursday morning to Heathrow, to begin their long trip home.

And the next time we see them will be in February, when we join them to celebrate their marriage, which will take place in Ali's parent's garden.
Just got to make lots of purple and silver bunting now, not forgetting my purple dress!
Now when was the last time I made lots of bunting?

That's it, for when I got married to Mr Cooper!

Looking forward to making lots of bunting for you now, Sarah!
 (Not forgetting knitting the odd garment for Henry too, of course)

Enjoy your working week, and the weekend to come.  Make sure you have something frivolous in your life to make you smile, and if you feel that is lacking, you can always make some bunting.
Or you can visit the Irregular Choice website to purchase truly frivolous footwear!
 http://www.irregularchoice.com/
I have just purchased some truly frivolous footwear for the wedding!

Whatever you decide, looking forward to seeing you all in a week or so's time.

Shanghai Steamboat.

Make a broth from stock, sliced onions, leeks and carrots, chopped parsley, and a chili cut in half.  Make enough to fill a medium/large saucepan, which will be placed onto a camping stove on your table.
Prepare various fish and meats cut into bite-sized portions.  Steak, chicken, tuna, squid, whole prawns, salmon and lamb fillet all work well.  Cook enough egg noodles for you all, and have a variety of chili dipping sauces ready.
Put the broth onto the stove to simmer, give each diner a large soup bowl, with noodles covering the bottom.  Add a ladle or two of broth over them.
Now grab your 80s fondue forks, preferably 2 each, and cook your chosen delicacies in the broth.
Dip them in the sauce before eating, if desired.
Have a range of vegetables prepared to add to the broth at regular intervals, such as pak choi, mushrooms, sliced courgettes, baby sweetcorn etc.
Add a little boiling water to the broth if required.
At the end, when all the meat has gone, serve out the remaining broth to be eaten as a broth.
Enjoy!

Looking back over the last week or two, I think the theme must have been 'madness', and it still is.
But 'mad' in a crazy, busy, hyper, fun-filled time.  So far, we are clinging onto what could be sanity, and have eluded the asylum.  In this time of summer madness, Mr Cooper has worn 'even madder than usual' shirts, and I have also worn some crazy clothes.  But, I said a little sadly to him after a day out, even if I stood next to you in my brightest dress, considerably more luminous than your shirt, wearing a hat with sparklers blazing from it, and constantly sounding air horns, people will say, 'Wow, amazing shirt that, John' and I will always be the peahen standing next to my peacock.
But away from comments on dress conventions or otherwise, and back to madness.

Each year Midhurst has its own carnival, a glorious festival for music, arts and drama.

This year I was invited to exhibit my work in 'Comestibles', a really lovely delicatessen and cafe in Midhurst.  http://www.picnic-park.co.uk/deli.htm
What better place to showcase my 'food art?'
And what better place to indulge yourselves too, over lunch or coffee.
Go there at the very least for a slice of their  homemade (of course) honeycomb tiffin,
 pausing only as you go in to see my work featured in the left hand window.....

And also the right hand window.

What has really made the sun come out for us over the last few days is that Sarah has come to stay with us, travelling from the Falkland Islands where she lives, with her fiance Ali. It is always lovely to see Sarah, and have her to stay, and me and Mr Cooper can both say wholeheartedly that it has also been lovely to meet Ali, and have him to stay too. 
They are getting married next year (you may remember their  Facebook announcement to the world, which I also featured in in my blog, many months ago....here it is again)

Here they are, on a crazy day out in Portsmouth, where Ali had to meet even more  new people.

He has been subjected to an experience a bit like speed dating, called 'speed meeting', and he has done really well!
Next February, they will be the ones to say to us, 'And here are twenty more people for you to get to know in the next half hour, and to remember their names, interests and occupations.  As me and Mr Cooper are sadly now no longer young, I am sure things will become a little blurry round the edges.....or it might be that we will be sitting in a pub when these introductions are made!

During these ultra-exciting times, some of life goes on as normal.  And what could be more normal for me and son John than a trip to a steam fair?  Strangely enough, Mr Cooper and Sam opted to stay away, as did Sarah and Ali.
 Good job John and I were happy to join the ranks of the other 'normal' people there!

Very early into our visit, I found out what 'Galloping Dobbies' are *.  Well, I did know what they were, but had never heard them called that before.

And it was the owner of this Showmans engine that very kindly enlightened me.  He also said that the youngsters in his family weren't keen to take up the reins when it came to steam.
 I told John this, who said 'Well he could give it to me then.'
Lots of fun was had looking at the steam cars whizz round at an alarming rate.  That would indeed be a madly thrilling ride, perched on the passenger seat of one of those.  As I am an artist, I didn't take   an informative photo of them, but here is a highlight from a steam car, which was built in 1903, in America.

It is quite tiring, being a steam enthusiast, and John and I had to keep our strength up, during the few hours we were there.
We had the most amazing freshly-cooked flatbread with green olive tapenade, lemon and beetroot hummus, and dukka.  So delicious, the flatbread was warm and crisp, but with a soft and yielding interior.  It was also only the third time I had been offered dukka, which I love.  The first time was when I made it, and offered it to myself, and the second time was in Woodfire,where Sam made it.
I think it is still on the menu there. http://woodfirestockbridge.co.uk/

In fact it is such a delicious dippy treat that I will add the recipe for it, at the end of the blog.**

Over the past few days I have missed out on some of the festive treats, as I have also been hard at work.  But never-the-less, I have managed to

a)  Visit a bridal shop with Sarah and her mum, to sort of assist in choosing a beautiful dress.

b)  Eat too much, including takeaway food. (Memories of India, Bosham. Delish.)

c)  Go to Fratton Park to see Pompey play.  Well, they were on the pitch at the same time as the 

     other team, Colchester.  Pompey actually managed to score 2 goals!

d)  Have a very hot and sunny day out with many people in Gunwharf, most of whom I knew.

e)  Cook meals of the 'extra special' variety.

f)   Entertain other visitors.

g)  Wash up after cooking and entertaining.

h)  Eat too much at the Beijing Palace.  Conveniently, just over the road.  I nearly had to ask

     Mr Cooper to fetch the wheelbarrow as I was just too stuffed to walk home.
i)  Get up stupidly early to start to complete the 'Figures in the Sea' for Diane.
j)  Complete an 'out of the blue' painting, in 3 days.  More about that in my next blog.  The painting will be in The Falklands by then.

Lots more happened, of course, and lots more is still to come.
Rachael, Ben and Henry came over too.....

Here they all are, looking happy and beautiful.
 Well, you can just see Henry's leg, looking happy, beautiful and asleep.   I failed to capture him when awake, on camera.  It is not just steam cars that I fail to capture!
I also failed to capture the stripy suit I had knitted for him, which had taken 3 months!
Better luck next time, when I have completed the mad bootees.

Of late, I have been wondering whether to buy a camper van and have a sort of 'last hurrah' before becoming really old and generally just growling, and biting people.
But after the frantic pace of the last week or so, the thoughts of an even much slower pace of life than that offered by an elderly camper van appeal greatly.
What about a living-wagon, pulled along by something even more inconvenient than a couple of feathered horses?  Yes, a traction engine!

I really would be on my own with that, as Mr Cooper has reservations about me having a camper van!

In the brief free moments when not socialising, working, painting or cooking, I have managed to read a book or two.  This one by Caitlin Moran I enjoyed quite a lot, and at times an awful lot.

 I did feel that there were very distinct parallels to 'How To Be A Woman', but I was greatly taken by the description of the difference given between the rich and the poor.
So much so that I include the description below.

Read it, and see what you think.  If you have the book, it is on pages 167-168.

Staying with a literary theme,  the last 3 weeks have gone by so quickly that I was shocked to realise that it is Book Group next Wednesday.  Thank goodness for next-day-delivery I thought, as I pressed 'proceed the checkout'.
But there is so much art work I need to do, that it might be the first time I fail to complete the book.
As well as the 3 art works already in the queue, I am now also helping to design a tattoo.  I am turning someone's really interesting ideas into a working drawing.  There won't be another tattoo like this one.
And yes, I did for a little while think 'Why not be a tattooist?'   But then I thought of all the reasons why not.  Mainly, you do not have an eraser!  I suppose I could offer a reasonable rate for a reasonably good job!

I hope you are all still enjoying the summer, and making few, if any, errors in life.
And if made, hopefully the sort of errors that can be rectified, rather than the errors I might make if let loose with a tattoo gun! 
Perhaps best to stick to pastry, as the results are either edible, or compostable.

See you all soon for glimpses of knitted bootees, sudden paintings and amazing oak fairs.
Till then, may your errors be only of the culinary nature.....unless you are cooking to impress, that is.

* 'Galloping Dobbies'.  A child-size set of gallopers, turned by hand and not by steam.

**
Dukka.  Taken from 'River Cottage Everyday' by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingtall.

How to turn your house into a home, or rather, into somebody else's home.
Last week saw the ending of the decorating,
 and the final room changed from being fairly dramatic......

 to fairly banal..........(well, a bit of colour still crept in, thank goodness)

And when people say to me, you won't want to leave, when you've got it all decorated, my reply is that I am looking forward to making a home again.  A funny thing to say, really.
Does it intimate that the house looked fairly hideous before?

As well as colour disappearing, Mr Cooper removed the last painting to feature naked bodies,

 and we replaced it with the last of a series of three, in which blackbird pie funnels feature significantly.  Here is  'Blackbirds Flying From The Pie.'

It looked so good hanging there that we added the other two from the series, and they now adorn the office walls. 
Here is the first one,  'The Filling for the Pie',

And here is the second, which was actually painted first.  'Pie in the Sky'.

Sometimes I say 'These paintings need a good home.'  About these three, I say 'They are all for sale, but of course the potential homes will be fully vetted.' (Commissions undertaken, too.)


I started to collect blackbird pie funnels in my thirties, aiming for the full 'four and twenty'. I seemed to tail off a bit after collecting 12 or so, and then put them in my paintings, rather than on my shelves.
This is the first painting that featured blackbirds pie funnels.....you can see them flying in the window, as well as bursting out of the pie.  Here is 'The King of Hearts"

And of course it then needed a companion painting, 'The Queen of Hearts'.
No pie-funnels here, but another great love of mine has crept in, both as a comestible, and a recurring art motif.  Jam tarts! ( And aprons, too)

I am not going to include a recipe here, but a jam tart making tip.  Make the pastry the day before you need the tarts. (Half fat to flour, the flour being plain, and the fat either butter and lard, or butter and Trex if cooking for vegetarians.) Make it as short as possible, then roll it out and cut your circles, put them into the jam tart tins, cover with cling and leave them overnight in the fridge.
By 'short', I mean add as little water to the rubbed in mixture as possible. Too much and the pastry will be easy to work, but tough when baked.  You want these tarts to be crumbly and delicious.
And hopefully the next day you will be adding your homemade jam to them.  If not made by you, please don't buy an economy jar.......proper jam tarts have become a lovely indulgence.

At least now I have stopped painting walls, I can turn my attention to proper paintings yet again.
The first of which will be completing the 'Swimmers in the Sea' for Diane, and then the portrait painting of Janeese's two dogs, with elements of the Virgin Mary and also Frieda Kahlo.
 I am very much looking forward to that commission, and sketches for it are already appearing in my sketchbooks.

As I was cleaning and polishing select items to add to our new living room, the majority of the items destined for storage for a while, I had a pleasant surprise when I washed my blackbird collection.

I now have 20 blackbird pie funnels, 2 white blackbird pie funnels, 2 elephant pie funnels and 2 brightly coloured silicone ones.  If anyone has a pie funnel they neither use or treasure, just let it fly my way.  I am sure it will be made welcome by the friendly, shiny flock I now have.

At least now, in my alien room, I can feast my eyes on my no-longer dusty friends, then wander off to the shed for even more painting, of the right sort.

Perhaps life in my new home isn't too bad, after all!

Wishing you all a happy week ahead.  May it be shiny and dust-free, with indulgent interludes.
 Why not make some jam tarts for tea?
See you all in a week's time.  Till then, happy baking!

We all love a week in Sunny Hunny!
In fact, I am always so excited to arrive that the first 2 days almost become a mini holiday within the holiday.  That is, of course, after we have sorted out the housekeeping.
Sam and John knew they were having to share a room for a couple of nights, but when we got there, we realised a double room came with a double bed!  Re-think time......a trip to the budget-buys shop to get an air bed and a sleeping bag.
It was only when we unwrapped it that we understood why the sleeping bag only cost £3.99!

Oh well, it's worse where there's none.....

Our first complete day was very busy.....we visited every charity shop there was (too many, and no purchases made) then had lunch on The Green, purchased from the Norfolk Deli, http://www.norfolk-deli.co.uk/ with liquid refreshment provided by the Golden Growler (aka The Golden Lion, which borders the green)

One word of advice here......leave Mr Cooper at home if you are planning to drink outside the Golden Growler, as you will be given a plastic glass!  This incensed Mr Cooper so much that his continual moaning did mar the enjoyment of the best filled bagel I have ever had*.  My thoughts on the plastic glass front were, 'Why not collect a few over the week ahead, ready for picnic time!'
Which also gives drinking in the sunshine a sense of purpose.

Then later that day, Sam and I had one of the ultimate Hunstanton experiences...a trip on the Wash Monster.  http://www.seatours.co.uk/

Although the day had been hot and sunny, in the afternoon the breeze had changed to a lightish wind,
and as we sat there ready for off, our shared feelings were 'It's only for 30 minutes, whatever happens'

'Whatever happens' was like being on a rather large raft in a slightly choppy sea.  The guide told us they were seaworthy in a force 12 gale........but not with me and Sam sitting on it!
We concentrated instead on the outward bound views......

........followed by the homeward bound views.

Then back on terra-firma, and a restorative drink outside in the last of the sunshine, in a plastic glass.
(That's 2 for the picnic hamper now!)

On Sunday, 4 of us set off for the antiques and crafts centre in Old Hunstanton, to be followed by a little light lunch at Le Strange Arms.
 https://www.bestwestern.co.uk/hotels/best-western-le-strange-arms-hotel-83646

The weather was perfect, the only cloud on the horizon being that 2 out of 4 of us had forgotten to bring any money, and 1 out of 4 of us didn't really have any to forget, which left Mr Cooper as the only one with any cash.  So we made no purchases but went straight on to lunch.  Then, off to St Mary the Virgin, still in Old Hunstanton, to visit the flower festival there.

I must apologise here.....we had lunch looking over the sea, we visited an amazing church which is found in the remains of a medieval village, we thoroughly enjoyed an imaginative and varied flower festival, then went to visit their Garden Fete (sadly now with only £2 between us) and I only took one photo from all those experiences........

Yes, the fete also had a mini dog show too!

Usually when we have our bi-annual holiday in Hunstanton, we tend to do the same things.  This year we thought we would include some new events.  One new event that we didn't actually plan was a sickness bug which slowly worked its way through a quarter of the population, ending with me! **
(My last day there was spent in bed, sipping water and reading yet another book)

One event we did plan was to take Mum to Norfolk Lavender (regular event) but then onto a pub for a lovely lunch. 

It's lovely to have a lavender fix without having to go to the south of France.

Mr Cooper thought so too......

........and Mum liked the idea of a little light lunch to follow.

 We turned left out of Norfolk Lavender and found an excellent pub in the Sedgeford, the next village.  The King William IV.  http://www.thekingwilliamsedgeford.co.uk/
Faultless service, lovely atmosphere and delicious food.  Our only complaint was that we were unable to also have a pudding, as we were too full.  (For me, mackerel, beetroot and orange salad, followed by shark steak served with pineapple salsa and a wonderful mixed salad. )  If you are near, beat a path to its door.  And if you are not near, go anyway and stay for a night or two.

Mr Cooper was determined to visit Holme beach, found in the village next to Old Hunstanton,
Holme-Next-The-Sea.  He had read an article in the Sunday Times, saying how beautiful the beach was, so we  set out, armed with 2 apples and  £3.50 for the car park.  It is not too long a walk to the beach from the car park, but then you have a choice of how far you want to walk to the left or to the right.
It is an amazing beach, with an abundance of sand, a sprinkling of sand dunes and, even better, only a handful of people! We made camp at the bottom of a dune to shelter from the perpetual wind.
The couple occupying the dune to the left of us were looking to get an 'all over' tan!

This is showing evidence of yardangs, and something else technical beginning with Z.
(Zeugens, Mr Cooper has just told me)  To be found in the desert on a much larger scale.

And here we are looking left, with Old Hunstanton on the horizon.

Looking right now, with sea and sand on the horizon......there is an awful lot of sand here.

Looking towards the sea, from the shelter of our 'dune for the day'.

In the sea now, up to my ankles, looking back at the dunes.

But I love this image best of all, here are my knitted flowers basking in the sun.

Of course there was more we did, including cooking and washing up.
We had a great evening, as always, with Philip and Jayne, and Marcus and Edward.
And then I was struck down!

 During my recovery day, after a turbulent night, I read the latest book club choice.....

It is probably not a good idea to read the book club choice whilst ailing.
When I went along to the meeting on Wednesday, I was glad I was sitting next to Hetty, as the other 3 members began to discuss a book that didn't bear much resemblance to the one above.
It is worth a read, but not if you are feeling downcast and in need of a lift.
It is also set in Ireland (first thing that Hetty and I had failed to comprehend...although we were great on the emotion bits)

Back to West Sussex, work and decorating, and looking forward to a happy time ahead.  We made a huge effort over the weekend to finish the last and largest room, so it is ready for when Sarah and Ali are with us, tomorrow morning!  We are now able to watch the Olympics in a clutter-free zone, cream walls instead of red!  It is like being in someone elses house!

I hope you all have a good time ahead of you, whether or not you have family visiting from the Falklands!  And as a sort of bonus award for those of you who have read through to the very end,
Here is the recipe for the best bagel ever, courtesy of the Norfolk Deli.

*The Bostonian, a bagel with peanut butter, cream cheese and celery.
Spread one half of your cut bagel with crunchy peanut butter, the other half with cream cheese (just reach for that tub of Philly) and add some freshly chopped celery, green and crunchy, to the middle.
It's amazing!

**Found out later that I wasn't the last to fall....poor Olivia was struck down when she left.