Moment of Enthusiasm

It might not be exciting news but in a rare and rash moment of gardening enthusiasm (have to make the most of it) I have dug out the yellow loosestrife and replanted as above. The gigantic clump of loosestrife must have been there at least thirty years, so it was a bold move on my part. Have planted an allegedly hardy dahlia, crocosmia, oregano or something else purple, red lobelia, agapanthus and abelia. We'll see what happens. I hope it won't all die in a cold winter but I dare say the tough old loosetrife will reappear anyway.

Reading: Re-reading Angela's Ashes at the moment. Not quite as harrowing the second time around as you know what tragedies are going to happen.

Surfing: encouraged to see that Tropical Connections and Paris Imperfect have been bought by libraries in the USA and Australia.

Kitten, now cat, staying again and very keen on catching minute baby voles and bringing them indoors to play with. I am less keen.

Return of the Prodigal Kitten

Amazingly the kitten turned up again after two and a half weeks on the loose. Somebody had changed his collar but, thanks to the kink in his tail and the white star on his chest, and of course the micro-chip, he was recognisable. We are all delighted but don't entirely trust his wanderlust tendencies.

Am still trawling the bookshelves here for classics. Have just read Fair Stood the Wind for France by HE Bates, about a pilot who crashes in France and is rescued by a French family. He falls in love with the brave young daughter of the house, gripping stuff and movingly written.

By the way, two men have recently made a point of saying how much they enjoyed my books, so that's cheering. I'm very happy to be termed a women's fiction writer - these genres are inevitable - but it's nice to have chappish appeal too.

Hampton Court and lost kitten

Above views of our visit to Hampton Court taken by Rory.

Very sadly Son 1's family kitten (neutered male, micro-chipped, with collar, aged about seven months) has disappeared. Perhaps he has found another home, we don't know. We were all so fond of him but I guess that is the way of cats.

Guest blogger

Currently re-reading A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. Excellent, but I fear it will end in tears.
I'm even dreaming about it.
Weather vile. Hope I will make it to the RNA lunch tomorrow.

We have just been watching the news from Australia in horror. So, so awful. I'm sorry to comment about this crisis in the same breath as the above frivolity, but I would just like to extend deepest sympathy if there are any Australians reading this.

Christmas cooking recollected in tranquillity

Here is my guest the kitten on Christmas day. Sadly he has gone home now. We miss him.


A proper family Christmas is terrific fun, but exhausting if you normally lead a quietish life. We had ten people for four days, so I had to concentrate hard on being a domestic goddess. Fortunately I’d bought myself a pre-Christmas present of Mary Berry’s Stress-Free Kitchen, the sort of title that attracts me. This has several easy but looks-as-if-you’ve-tried fish recipes. I wanted to cook three fishy dinners as one family member doesn’t eat meat, just poultry and fish. First evening we had a Delia-esque fish pie, topped with crumbled Weetabix (it’s good, honestly), second evening Mary Berry’s creamy Thai-style salmon (not Thai at all really but interesting, I thought) then turkey, then MB’s haddock peperonata. Turkey came from Norfolk, twice as expensive as Saino’s normal ones but did taste good. I forgot to put semolina on the potatoes as advised by Nigella – fine all the same, as had bought duck fat (N. again). Memo: must invest in a new dressing gown next year – not red satin though, because something tells me I won’t look like her anyway.

Mistakes this year: next time I won’t buy pre-peeled Brussels sprouts. And I won’t put orange zest in the brandy butter as it looked a bit peculiar, despite my mother’s elegant dish. Oh another thing, Nigella said to flame the pudding in vodka and it worked a treat. I always heat the alcohol before setting light to it. Another more mundane cooking tip – Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon (purple pot) cheers up any home-made soup made from left-overs, even sprouts.
Photo - sister-in-law gave me Christmas pot pourri so I put it on the table (photo credits Rory V)

Went to see the film Australia yesterday. Good epic scenic romantic stuff, two stories really, very long. Take your sandwiches. I’ll blog about recent reading another time. Currently on English Passengers which I’ve had for ages on my TBR list. Hard work but an impressive piece of writing and interesting.

A very happy new year to all readers and blogging friends.