Gardeners delight...

... or mine anyway. As promised I am back, having made 4lbs of lemon curd and some homemade cheese. I'm nothing if not industrious, me.
I have spent most of the last few days (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) at the allotment. Actually that's not strictly true. We did go on Sunday with LTB in tow but had to abort our visit due to boy/rake issues. Our visit was long enough to discover that some form of arthropod has attacked the tiny sprouts of our Golden Ball onion sets. I discovered also that we have lots of lovely strawberries coming through too.
Yesterday Surrealo Son and I went up and he sheared down the grass and dandelions around the fruit bushes so that I can lay the weed suppressant fabric round and about. I turned over another bed (the one that I had done on Monday) in readiness for our 60 brassica plants that are due any day now, hoed around the strawbs and earthed up our new potatoes, Adora. They're about 5 or 6 inches tall now. They went in a week earlier than the Catriona which are just breaking through.
This morning 10 sweetcorn plants arrived; they will have to wait until Friday now as I have to go to a funeral tomorrow and won't have time. They join the globe artichokes in the things to do list, although I have potted them up and they are sitting on the kitchen windowsill. Did I tell you that already? Am I loosing my mind?
The most exciting thing of all is the tiny pea sized apricots or nectarines on my unidentified fruit trees which even have tiny green bum clefts. There are also a plethora of red/white and black currants although the strimmed goosberry bush seems not to have survived.
Last but not least, I have to report that my Maigold rose is flowering its little heart out and my William Morris is just about to follow suit.
So as they say, somewhere, everything in the garden is lovely.

New and lovely

A repository for my recipes can be found here: http://sheweevilsmoveablefeasts.blogspot.com/.

I will be posting about the allotment a little later.

Help save Fordhall Farm ...

taken from the Warmwell.com website and found via the INEBG forum

"a community driven venture which is helping to reconnect people with the land and food, whilst promoting the full 'pasture to plate' cycle."
The Fordhall Initiative was established with the aim of saving Fordhall Farm in Shropshire from being broken up, sold off and lost forever. The story is an inspiring one - (particularly after the sad story of High Yewdale -new window).The family remain adamant that the decades of research and compassionate management at Fordhall should not be lost to development. The family has until July 1st 2006 to raise the £800,000 required to purchase the land and save it from development. They have raised over £65,000 to date. The idea is to take Fordhall Farm out of private ownership and to put it into community ownership forever. Fordhall will be owned by the public and opened as an educational and social resource promoting sustainable farming and healthy living. It will remain a proper working farm with farm shop. Their website shows how you can buy shares and help to support this brave venture. As the website says,
"This structure is the first of its kind in the UK; it represents a passion and commitment to a way of life that needs to be encouraged if future generations are to enjoy living in harmony with nature."The venture is applauded and supported by, among others, Patrick Holden, Prince Charles, Zac Goldsmith - and by warmwell. And some warmwell readers, we hope, will want to buy shares or write a letter of support.

Mmmmm ...

The letter meme is brought to you today by the letter 'M' and the number 37 and is here courtesy of Stegbeetle via Cheryl via Annie.

I have to now think of 10 things about me that begin with the letter M. I won't be specifically tagging anyone but if you want to do this yourself just leave a comment.

Motherhood - back in the days of yore when I was still at secondary school and wanting to be this careerwoman (forensic scientist/journalist with a life a little like Kay Scarpetta I should imagine) thoughts of being a mother were quite alien to me. I had a hard time believing that I would be married until I was at least 40 and the idea of having children at that age or out of wedlock seemed an impossibility in my left wing but conservative (for this read old-fashioned mind) mind. I will freely admit that just three years later, in a very dark place, I used motherhood as an escape, a buffer to the trials of life. Don't get me wrong, once the decision was made and the deed done it was an instant love affair with my children. I was completely overwhelmed by my own love for them and astounded when this overwheening need to be with them and ensure they grew up into fine young adults was not shared by their father. He has not seen them for 14 1/2 years apparently because he has to pay too much maintenance to be able to come 400 miles. I know that I would walk (to coin a phrase) 500 hundred miles to be with them. Sorry if you are reading this but tell me this is not true.

Marriage - In 1993, back living with my mum and dad with two little children. I thought I would be on my own forever. I was very lonely and very sad but I knew I never wanted to be married like that ever again. I didn't see how it could be any different. 3 years later I met the Painter. Within a very short time I realised that (durr!) not all men were the same. He is the love of my life; the other half to my whole. Most days he makes me feel like it's not only okay to be me but it's essential. I love him for loving me in all my shapes and sizes and am so glad that the children have had a father they could really learn values from.

Morgan - It is, although I don't and have never driven, the car of my dreams. One day we will tour around France in one, staying at little B&Bs with me wearing a headscarf and the Painter a rakish grin. It won't be in the colourways of the one above but will be in cream with tan leather interior. I'll probably wear white a lot and pretend I am a floaty and gamine type of girl instead of the sturdy (and possibly even sturdier) girl I am now. We might even have a red setter in the back (oh, well there is no back and it might be a bit of a squeeze if he sits in the middle - forget the dog).

Muse - Until I started blogging I had been unable to write for about 8 years. I still find the poetry, which came so easily once, difficult to write. It was as if, at the end of my degree in 1997 the poetry became a childish thing to be put aside; that decision having been subconsciously made in my head, I find it very hard to go back to it. It is a struggle. I have no space in my head or my heart for me or my writing. I try to keep blogging. It is a little space in the world that is just me.

Memories - I am a sentimental and nostalgic old fool and find myself away in my past often. My memories are not all good, even of my childhood but there was a halcyon time before 1977 when my life seemed just about perfect. Things happened after that which brought the world and the intrusions of others crashing into my psyche and they have altered my entire life and cast their shadows far and wide.

Mum -
as I have said before, she often goes unmentioned as she is a very private person. She has been a rock through my adult life and if she should find herself now on sandy foundations then it is time for me to be a rock. (September 1987)

Mullion - A happy place in my life. A very austere beauty built on serpentine rocks.

Mangold wurzels - these root vegetables grown as cattle fodder were what we used to carve for halloween. Children in this country did make jack-a-lanterns but not from pumpkins as they do now but from turnips (swedes to you English types). We made ours from mangold wurzels. They were like very large parsnips but much more gnarled with lots of thick sinewy rootlets coming from the main taproot. They took ages to scoop out (and kept us, no doubt, nice and quiet for ages). Once we had carved faces in them and put string through for the handle we dripped red wax on them to make them look even more sinister. Then we took them with Karin, Mum, Diane, Christopher and huffy and the happy Christmas fairy (sometimes with Jason Bryant) to Easter Beach* for a sausage sizzle.
* If you go here and click the big pink button look for Mawnan Smith then recentre on Bream Cove at max zoom it can be found mid way between Bream Cove and Gatamala Cove.

Margaret - my middle name. The eighties were not a good time to have the name Margaret if you liked Billy Bragg. It made me feel guilty by association. Until that time and now I loved it and even considered going by Peggy or Meg. I feel proud that it is one of my names as it is for my paternal grandmother Margaret Morrison, a very lovely lady.

Mercy - a scarce commodity these days. We find ourselves in a world increasingly intollerant of difference and the ability to extend mercy and kindness to others seems to be becoming lost. I am remindedthat from time to time I need to extend this to myself.

Friday picture

As Cheryl (the mad, baggagey one over here) remarked once, the scale of these paintings is difficult to glean from the computer screen. The Painter's paintings are often large chimney breast fillers and this one is no exception and would grace any wall apart from the fact it is currently languishing in a roll having had a mishap involving falling off its hook and its stretcher bars breaking. It's all quite sad.

It can probably be restretched but some of the canvas has torn too so it will have to be cut down; at least we have the image here.

I was going to post the picture of the iris which the Painter painted from one of mine in honour of the Chelsea Flower Show which seems to have them in abundance this year. If you are thinking of some for your garden they really are fabulous and I must recommend Claire Austin's catalogue. She has such a variety of fantastic irises in all shapes sizes and colours; lovely blousy back of the border cottage garden perennials. She has a great selection of other perennials too and the quality is excellent.

Hopefully the rain will stop at some stage over the weekend otherwise I will be laying phormisol in the rain. This week has been a bit hectic with work commitments taking over and lots of unfortunate and sad events that have meant more stress and headaches and a screaming fit mid week.

The Painter stood and took me venting my spleen (eugh) like the man that he his. An unhappy train of coincidences that were beyond everyone's control have meant a very unsettled and unsettling week for the Sheweevil. It's half-term now and hopefully I can use that as some sort of full stop. I have decisions to make.

On a different tack or perhaps as an adjunct to the above I need feedback on the Cafepress stuff. I think small independent retailers might like the designs, what do you think. I also thought about doing craft fair kind of things with them. We have some samples on order and once we have seen the quality of production will be able to think about this in more detail. I have no real sales ability and singularly failed to sell myself when I had my own business a few years ago but I don't find it hard to be enthusiastic about the Painter's stuff (sorry gentle reader you bear the brunt I'm afraid) and so perhaps it's a way to go?

Broad Bean and Bacon Loveliness ...

or Soup to us mere mortals.

Here is the recipe (my own) referred to in the post below.

About 2 lbs of shelled broad beans
large onion
clove of garlic
lardons or streaky bacon cut into small pieces
2 potatoes scrubbed well or peeled
2-3 litres of stock
olive oil
basil
salt and pepper to taste

Sweat bacon, onions and garlic in olive oil until bacon is golden brown and onions are translucent. Add broad beans, potatoes chopped roughly and stock. Bring to boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add a handful of chopped/torn basil leaves and allow to infuse for five minutes. Blend in a liqidizer and reheat if necessary. Serve with crusty homemade bread.

Technorati tags: soup, recipe

It's not easy being green

You may or may not have seen the programme "It's not easy being green" on BBC 2 recently. The post below (the one about the Strawbridge Smiley) is a tribute of sorts. Essentially, the programme is about living a more sustainable life. It helps that the family have moved to Cornwall (God's country) and the village of Tywardreath in South Eastish Cornwall, within spitting distance of the Eden Project.

many will have seen Dick Strawbridge and that moustache before on Channel 4's Scrapheap Challenge (various series) and I suppose it was the appeal of this ex-Army officer turning eco-warrior that appealed to me.

The series is sadly now over (another is in production). Sadly the BBC has no plans at the moment to release it on DVD. A little consumer pressure is needed, I'll be bound. But the Strawbridge family do have a website here. There's lots of information on there including courses to attend and a very new and active forum. Lots of great recipes ( including my curried parsnip and a new broad bean and bacon one never previously published), tips, advice and support.

The series veered away from preaching greeness and that is one of its winning ingredients; most of the advice is given and received in the same vein.

Go and pay them all a visit - they are a friendly bunch and like Sheweevils appear not to bite very often.

Technorati tag: green, life

Nicked

from Stegbeetle, who says, and I quote
"from Wulfweard. I warn you now, there are meant to be 100 questions but for some obscure and unexplained reason there are no questions 9, 26, 63, 70 and 87. "

1. NAME ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
I have a scar just below the outside edge of my right eyebrow. It's tiny, looks a little like a minute moon crater and is the kind of thing only an infant child or a lover would notice. Chickenpox on my fifth birthday. The party was cancelled.
2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS OF YOUR ROOM?
Four Muchas and a Morris.
3. WHAT DOES YOUR MOBILE PHONE LOOK LIKE?
Don't have one
4. WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
Jazz mostly swing bebop, motown & northern soul, folk happy clappy stuff and gritty industrial stuff and gaelic mouth muisic.
5. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT DESKTOP PICTURE?
Yellow tulips on blue sky came with XP
6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
A place of our own away from our neighbours
7. WHAT DO YOU MISS?
Being near my family; mostly my dad
8. WHAT TIME WERE YOU BORN?
05:40 hours
10. WHAT ENDED YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP?
An officer of the law.
11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
No I love the dark.
12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
Cheryl.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOGNE/PERFUME?
Chanel No 5
14. WHAT TYPE OF HAIR/EYE COLOUR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Dark hair, dark eyes but that's an electra thing. Honestly the wrapper is relatively unimportant it's what's on the inside that counts.
15. DO YOU LIKE PAINKILLERS?
Try not to take them unless you mean the metaphorical kind in which case I like some a little too much and have done for a very long time.
16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS?
Coffee.
17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PIZZA TOPPING?
pepperoni
18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Bacon and egg bap
19. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON YOU MADE MAD?
One of the children
20. DO YOU SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE?
A bit of french, bad german and can say how are you, would you like a coffee and good night in gaelic
21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIFT THAT SOMEONE EVER GAVE YOU?
Fido
22. DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE?
I am madly in love with John Morris
23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
No - a lot of the time I'm barely single jointed
24. FAVOURITE CLOTHING BRAND?
ditto steg
25. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM CAR?
I don't drive but a Morgan not sure about the leg room though
27. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MARRIAGE?
I've done it twice; once was very, very bad and the other, for the most part, is very very good.
28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
probably
29. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU?
By letting them be themselves
30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED:
17
31. BLONDES OF BRUNETTES?
Brunettes.
32. WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL MOST OFTEN?
my mum
3. WHAT ANNOYS YOU THE MOST?
Rudeness and ignorance.
34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF ENGLAND?
Scotland obviously, Canada and Ireland. Never been to Wales
35. YOUR WEAKNESS?
Expecting the rest of the world to be considerate.
36. WHAT WAS THE LAST GIFT YOU RECEIVED?
A garden fork.
37. FIRST JOB?
Marks & Spencers christmas assistant.
38. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
No.
39. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED OUT THIS FORM?
Family treeing
40. IF YOU COULD GET PLASTIC SURGERY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Breast reduction
41. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN IN LOVE?
Probably 3 times
42. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT THE MOST?
I don't know
43. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL?
Breathe a sigh of relief. Not really; prohibition is a famously crap idea and I shouldn't impose my problems on the rest of the world.
44. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
Weed supressant fabric (which I now have thanks mum) world peace.
45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
Could probably go on having babies forever but only want 3 children.
46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My middle name is after my grandmother Margaret.
47. DO YOU WISH ON STARS?
No but I do think my dad is sitting on a cloud somewhere, possibly over the rainbow.
48. WHICH OF YOUR FINGERS IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
my wedding ring finger which is slightly bent.
49. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
yesterday for Cheryl and George
50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
yes mostly but the 'puter makes it increasingly difficult to do
51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE VEGETABLE?
yuk to all the green ones once cooked. Potato, parsnip turnip.
52. ANY BAD HABITS?
I think most of them are covered above except nosiness
53. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF?
Don't have too many and they are all carefully selected, so none.
54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
yes. I'm a loyal friend and a kind goodhearted person when I'm not being a sarcastic cow.
55. HAVE YOU EVER TOLD A SECRET YOU SWORE NOT TO TELL?
Yes, I'm ashamed to say.
56. DO LOOKS MATTER?
My looks matter to me but not others looks.
57. HOW DO YOU RELEASE YOUR ANGER?
Explosively
58. WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME?
Second homes should be subject to Council tax at double the rate not a discount.
59. DO YOU TRUST OTHERS EASILY?
Yes. Until they give me reason not to.
60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE TOY AS A CHILD?
I wanted a train set but never got one
61. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE?
None
62. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
almost never
64. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT?
Is that a large fruit stone
65. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
wit
66. WHAT ARE YOUR NICK NAMES?
Self-coined sheweevil; no others, no-one would dare.
67. WHAT IS THE MOST PAIN YOU HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED?
Tooth ache from an abscess
68. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
I let the butler do it
69. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU SPILLED?
Milk. I didn't cry
71. WHATS THE LAST FURRY THING YOU TOUCHED?
Molly. You can only stroke her for a bit until she bites the hand that sometimes feeds her .
72. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE COLOURS?
Green
73. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BANDS/SINGERS?
Ella Fitzgerald
74. HOW MANY WISDOM TEETH DO YOU HAVE?
None; see number 67.
75. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
Only if they want to
76. WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Lachlantheboy talking to his dad
77. LAST THING YOU ATE?
Fruit salad. Yummy yummy
78. THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Isobel
79. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Arms and facial hair
80. FAVOURITE THOUGHT PROVOKING SONG?
Flower of Scotland
81. FAVOURITE THING TO HATE?
where to start? the list is full of petty peeves
82. FAVOURITE DRINK?
Gin and Tonic.
83. FAVOURITE ZODIAC SIGN?
Cancer.
84. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SPORT?
Rugby Union
85. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOUR?
Red with greying temples.
86. EYE COLOUR?
Green!
88. SIBLINGS?
Two sisters: huffy and the happy christmas fairy. Hello *waves*
89. FAVOURITE MONTH?
July.
90. DO YOU LIKE SUSHI?
I don't know but I don't think so. It's a textural thing: I don't like smoked salmon either.
91. LAST THING YOU WATCHED?
The House of Tiny Tearaways.
92. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
Christmas Day
93. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
Probably. I have done in the past but it's always gone tits up.
94. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Autumn
95. KISSES OR HUGS?
Do I have to choose?
96. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE-NIGHT STANDS?
Relationships.
97. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
probably someone egotistical like me.
98. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
I can't possibly imagine
99. BIGGEST FEAR?
Leaving my children too young.
100. IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU?
I believe so.

RGU Blogging research

I took part (as I'm sure did many others) in a research project on British bloggers earlier this year or perhaps at the tail end of last year. I received a follow up email today and post it below for anyone who is interested.



Dear blogger

you'll no doubt recall filling in a questionnaire for a research project on blogging at The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.

Your participation was much appreciated. Several of you said that you would like to be informed of the results, so I'm writing to let you know that Sarah Pedersen is giving a conference paper in Bulgaria in June. The focus is on the technical aspects of online communication, hence the slant of the paper. A summary appears on the conference website, http://elpub.scix.net/cgi-bin/works/Show?_id=213_elpub2006 . There's also a link from Sarah's webpage, http://www.rgu.ac.uk/abs/staff/page.cfm?pge=10843 . In due course, the full paper will be available online.

We're also preparing to submit a paper to a journal, and have another one sketched out. Depending on where they are published, these should also eventually be available online.

Best regards

Caroline Macafee

The Strawbridge

As many of you will have guessed, the Painter is the one with all the artistic flair in our relationship. I like to think of myself as more of an ideas man. Here is my first rudimentary stab at producing a Strawbridge Smiley. I did google smileys and how to create them but the language they use is in a geostationary orbit somewhere above my head. So if YOU know how to turn :{ into that over there but with a much bigger moustache then HELP!

Friday picture

The Painter did this for me last year: I made him do it one day when he wasn't feeling very inspired after Stroke No. 1. I bought the tulips and said "There, paint those"; this probably isn't a very conducive method of inspiration but I love the result. He doesn't, wasn't happy with the photo he took and so it isn't on Minigallery and is actually languishing in his portfolio.

Yesterday I coined a phrase "blog village". I have spoken about the idea before; of online virtual communities offering something of the support that real communities once (sometimes) did.

I visited a forum that I hadn't been to in a while ( a very friendly one) and it turns out that practically none of us now visit the one where we all met, a large food based forum. I stopped visiting it after there was a lot of unpleasantness there. I also joined a forum yesterday. It's very new and I suppose the personalities are still bedding in but some of the opinions were expressed in a particularly strong way that wasn't really necessary for the level of the discussion. I will have to wait and watch.

To everyone everywhere I send a Strawbridge Smiley :{ and say have a happy Friday. Share your views don't impose them.

Tired and emotional

I am quite recovered from the escapades of Friday or "LachlantheBoy and the flu remedies" as it will now forever be known. He is entirely all right, at least he's as all right as he was before he took them.

Despite the fact that I'm still full of whatever it is I'm full of, I had to go to the allotment today because a) my onion sets were sitting here still festering in their packet and untouched since they arrived in February and b) Thompson and Morgan will soon be delivering the array of veg plants that I ordered so that I wouldn't be able to say "I'll leave it until next year" and risk losing our plot. You may think I have already lost the plot but no gentle reader, that hasn't happened quite yet.

So Surrealo Son came to the gardenwith me while the Painter did some shopping. He only came to help me carry the tools and asking him to do some shearing of the common paths was apparently rather too strenuous and he left soon after.

We had cleared the bed for the onions last weekend before LTB's asthma came back with avengeance; I didn't feel like I could leave Arty Daughter and Surrealo Son with the responsibility of looking after him with a serious attack imminent so today was the first day we were really able to get back down there.

I turned the whole bed over again and gleaned yet more couch grass and dandelion roots and then riddled the bed and removed the hitherto undiscovered part of the Fosse Way that is my allotment. In true Roman tradition I am removing some of the stone to cover the pathways, even giving them a nice cambre in order to allow the rain (what rain?) to run off.

Our mystery fruit trees seem to be a nectarine, apricot or possibly plum not cherries as I thought last year and there are five of them all with fruit set so it's quite exciting.

The onion sets went in this afternoon, unfortunately some of the red ones had gone for a burton because I hadn't taken them out of the jiffy bag but there are too many other things in life to worry about so I'm just going to shrug and say an internal "so what" and not give myself a hard time about them. There are also strawberries, some potatoes through and red and white currants developing nicely.

My climbing rose Maigold seems to have recovered from its two moves in one year and is about to flower and Climbing Sweet Dreams is still thriving despite the fact it was an Asda bargain basement in a cracked pot when Dad bought it for me.

We also replaced the Wolf Tools multichange handle and rake which had been nicked. I was going to wait as Tom, the old guy on the allotment next door, gave me an old rake of his which was very kind but being handleless makes my hoes unusable and so I splashed out.

Two beds up and running the fruit patch is also going to be home to globe artichokes and sweetcorn, possibl the tomatoes too but for the rest of it some weed supressant fabric is the order of the day. I wonder if my lovely mum will mind giving it as a birthday present?

Enjoy your gardening.

One branch at a time ...

I'm spending a fair amount of time up my family tree at the moment and have "found" four distant cousins so far.

Thankfully I have had a little more luck than Keith Richards in the tree department; perhaps he sould stick to his family tree too.

My surname list and sundry other lovelies are here:

Lots of names connected with me mostly

My resistance is low ...

I have been quiet for a few days. This is due in large part to tree pollen and the profusion of it about this year. I don't even get hayfever, unfortunately it is the thing which aggravates Lachlantheboy's asthma and I hadn't had a night's sleep since Friday. On Monday everything took a turn for the worse and we had to make a dash to the doctor's. They were fantastic. I phoned them at just before 11 and they said "we can fit you in at 11:10" so we went over to the surgery and everyone was extremely kind and helpful. Now I have stopped worrying to the same extent about LTB I seem to have succombed (my spelling brain has deserted me too so if you do happen to notice something that makes me look particularly ignorant, please ignore and in no circumstances bring it to my attention) to whatever hit me earlier in the year.

In addition to that I seem also to have reinfected by the Indie Virus. So unfortunatley I may have to spread it about a bit, in order to make a full recovery you understand. If I do happen to sneeze in your direction don't worry just think of it as some kind of extended meet and greet. The Indie Virus will do no harm whatsoever to your drive, hard or other wise and the Indie Virus is only mitgated by spreading it about.

Chocolate and Avocado Mousse ...

a la Sadie Frost.
I didn't see the whole programme; just caught the end when I was waiting for the Apprentice and to be honest I tried this because I believed it wouldn't work. I was wrong, it does and is super delish.
(This is not their recipe just my interpretation of what I saw)

1 200g bar of dark chocolate(see previous post on chocolate cake for American equivalent)
2 large ripe avocadoes
the juice and zest of 1-2 flavourful oranges.

Melt the chocolate gently until runny. Halve and peel the avocadoes, roughly chop and place in a liquidizer (or food processor) with the juice and zest of the orange. Blend on high speed and add the chocolate. Blend again until completely smooth. Place in the refridgerator and allow to set.
These ingredients make about 3/4 of a pint.

Friday picture

Something of a departure this morning. When these lovely Fruit Pastels were created two years ago, they were done as greeting card designs. Although the Painter looked into it, all the upheaval during the last two years meant that we never really got around to doing anything with them(apart from putting the originals on minigallery). I can now announce our own range of merchandise, printed on demand by Cafepress.com.

"CafePress.com is an online marketplace that offers sellers complete e-commerce services to independently create and sell a wide variety of products, and offers buyers unique merchandise across virtually every topic. Launched in 1999, CafePress.com has empowered individuals, organizations and businesses to create, buy and sell customized merchandise online using the company's unique print-on-demand and e-commerce services. "

John Morris Art merchandise can be found at the link above or through the text link at the side and there are a variety of items available from greetings cards to aprons and of course the ubiquitous t-shirt.

Things go from strength to strength at Minigallery and we'd like to say a big hello to the person who joined up following a clickthrough on here! Hello! Now to go and do some more work: I'm up to update the other websites.

Google search terms

My new oddest google search term is ""Julie T Wallace" breasts". I'd rather have my own thanks but to whoever you are Hi *WAVES*. This picture was borrowed from the Mum's the Word tour website, here.

My original post, which helpfully also explains the origin of my blog persona can be found, here. Unfortunately due to the demise of my old blog and my need to just cut and paste it all back up you'll have to scan down that page to a post called "The origins of the She Weevil".

Private Lives

Following Ally's post over the weekend about demoralisation and the merits of spoiling her ballot, I joined the Labour Party.
This is not an act of endorsement but one of protest.
I have tried to join before on a number of occasions but the lamentable administration at Party HQ meant I never got the direct debit mandate through in the post. I am a member of the TGWU and have been a lifelong labour supporter so after trying unsuccessfully and then frankly just not getting round to it, I have let the whole thought of activism slip and let real, not ideal, life be my main concern.
Enough is, frankly, enough though. Many pundits have shied away from the Prescott story, citing the fact that it is a "private affair". If the allegations are to be believed, though, the notion of turning his officicial residence at Admiralty House into some sort of knocking shop is a matter for public debate. Perhaps he thinks he is honouring his political forebears in some odd sort of way or perhaps he has just forgotten the old chestnut that "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely".
In my opinion his alleged behaviour shows scant regard for the morals he purports to uphold. He has breached the trust of not only his wife and family but of his constituents and his party too. He has abused his mandate in a way he found unacceptable in others:
"They are up to their necks in sleaze. The best slogan he could think up for their conference next week is Life's better under the Tories. Sounds to me like one of Steven Norris's chat up lines. Can you believe that this lot is in charge? Not for long, eh? Then after 17 years of this Tory government, they have the audacity to talk about morality. Did you hear John Major on the Today programme? - calling for ethics to come back into the political debate? I'm told some Tory MPs think ethics is a county near Middlesex. It's a bit hard to take: John Major - ethics man. The Tories have redefined unemployment they have redefined poverty. Now they want to redefine morality. For too many Tories, morality means not getting caught.Morality is measured in more than just money. It's about right and wrong. We are a party of principle. We will earn the trust of the British people. We've had enough lies. Enough sleaze".
I thank Iain Dale for the quote from John Prescott's 1996 speech to conference.
We have had enough lies; enough sleaze. The Labour Party means too much to me to let this all go unchecked. Enough.

So here's to you Mrs Davison ...

Inspired by Stegbeetle at Solid Gone

Emily Davison (1872 - 1913) (taken from BBC History: Historic Figures series)




Emily Davison, the militant suffragette and martyr to the cause of the political advancement of women, had a favourite quotation: 'Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God.' In 1909, she wrote these words on slips of paper, tied them to rocks and threw them at the carriage of the chancellor of the exchequer, David Lloyd George, as it drove by.

She was sentenced to a month's hard labour in Strangeways jail as a result, but to Emily, imprisonment was only one of a series of setbacks she considered worth suffering to advance the cause of women's suffrage.

As a young woman, the Women's Social and Political Union, founded by Emmeline Pankhurst, had caught the attention of Davison. In 1909, she gave up her job as teacher and went to work full-time for the suffragette movement. She was frequently arrested for acts ranging from causing a public disturbance to burning post boxes.

In prison she went on hunger strikes, a tactic favoured by many of the suffragettes, as a hunger strike meant release from jail. The Cat and Mouse Act of 1913 addressed this: a female hunger striker would be released from prison long enough to regain her health, and then, once strong, she was put back inside to finish her sentence.

It was in the late spring of 1909 that Emily was caught throwing stones at Lloyd George. During her month in prison she attempted to starve herself, and resisted force-feeding. A prison guard, angered by Davison's blockading herself in her cell, forced a hose into the room and nearly filled it with water. Davison, it's claimed, seemed content to be martyred this way. Eventually, however, the door was broken down, and she was freed. She subsequently sued the wardens of Strangeways, and was awarded 40 shillings.

By 1911, her illegal actions increased. She began to believe that the suffragette cause needed an actual martyr to bring it the publicity it needed.

Her final act was to run out onto the racetrack at the Epsom Derby, and grab the reigns of the king's horse running that day. In so doing, she was trampled on, and died a few days later. The public disregarded the act as that of a crazed woman.

Despite the public's indifference, Emmeline Pankhurst, in her autobiography, wrote what she felt Davison's death meant to the suffragette movement: 'Emily Davison clung to her conviction that one great tragedy, the deliberate throwing into the breach of a human life, would put an end to the intolerable torture of women.'

A suffragette being force-fed