A few brief notes about tea, conversations, books and sometimes cats
Baked white rind cheese, such as and Camembert or Brie, is one of the easiest, yet most festive dishes for relaxed entertainment. Baking the cheese turns it even creamier, enhances its flavor, and keeps it in the perfect texture for serving with tasty additions, such as crackers and fruits. The pairing of delicately salty cheese […] …
Continue reading “Baked Camembert Cheese with Kumquat Marmalade and Brandy — Tasty Eats”
We love Buck Creek Winery’s Road House Red and The Laughing Cow creamy spicy pepper jack cheese. What a great Saturday afternoon snack to share. Afternoon cheese and wine snack — Roadtirement
I have started trying to follow rhythms of life other than our modern 9-5, 24/7 lifestyle that leaves me cold. I have alway been fascinated by the seasons and wanderings of the stars and moon so I have decided to start following the moon phases and spotting the astronomical wonders of the sky. One of …
Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 launched on 15 May 2021 with a 365-day celebration of culture. Join the celebration online here today 6th June: https://coventry2021.co.uk/ The cultural programme will reflect Coventry as a diverse, modern city, demonstrating that culture is a force that changes lives. Coventry is known internationally as a city of welcome, […] …
I enjoy culture. I do not care if it high, low, popular or rarified. It all links together and is part of the inheritance of man. A few months ago I was listening to my Silmarillion audiobook and I was struck by Morgoth sitting on this throne in Angband. It reminded me that Sauron would …
The traditional fairy story starts with a completely normal situation, relatively speaking. In Hansel and Gretal it is a starving family who are compelled by poverty to practice infanticide, in Jack and the Bean Stork it is the story of a boy sent to market to sell a cow and in The Elves and the …
Continue reading “Tricksters, Fairies and Deals with the Devil”
“I have been homeschooling for the last couple of months which means I have to be thoughtful about what audiobooks I listen to. When my little boy was younger I could get away with more grown up narratives but I recently had to turn a book off when I realised a little boy was listening …
Nothing–as Brits are fond of saying with a straight face–is as British as a curry. The first time someone said that to me, I had to recover from the mental jolt of curry/India running its voltage through Britain/not India, but after that I could see the truth of it. Go into any small town in […] …
Continue reading “Food: A quick history of the British curry — Notes from the U.K.”
Today I was at a lovely school teaching ‘Stories from Different Cultures”. I was asked to look at Anansi and the Tinga Tinga tales. The tale of how the elephant got its long trunk would form the children’s big write so I focussed on that but had a great opportunity to tell loads of Anansi …
Shrewd peasant wisdom is the weapon of the powerless against the powerful and it is a mighty weapon indeed.