Been reading more of the life of Elizabeth David. It was truly extraordinary one expects nothing less of a woman so wonderfully capable at her craft. My admiration is slightly mitigated by the knowledge that she came from an immensely privileged lifestyle that furnished her with the means to [quote] her friend Norman Douglas] "Always do as you please, and send everybody to Hell, and take the consequences.” But that in no way diminishes her efforts and contribution to the elevation of us all no matter our background.
All biographies are somewhat flawed but Artemis Cooper has captured the essence of the person in the book. The book does ramble on a bit though; but given Elizabeth David was such a private person one expects Artemis Cooper to have to include indifferent minutiae of her life to make a book of any length. I put the cover below.
The snow can come but ultimately it always dissolves into days of warmer disposition. There is a heavy frost outside and my mind strays to all the warm places she visited and the food she must have tasted. What a character to head off to all these places under her own steam. She never seemed to let a lack of money stop her doing as she pleased. Perhaps that is how we should live, no clock no money, no notion of tomorrow and consume no more than we need. Living only for the day we woke up in...If only life could ever be that simple.
As laughter rises into flowering cherry tree
A solitary yacht moored on an empty blue sea
Softens the view, mellows the heart of she
A mistral may blow among olive and pine
But a bowl of olives, good bread and wine
And Elizabeth David for company, simply divine
She saw the world in a lobster’s sheen
Realised potential no others had seen
Elizabeth David our British culinary queen
Thursday, January 27, 2011
27th Jan 2010
Today's headlines (more sensationalism over substance)
Half of UK road speed cameras aren't working
... Only 10% of them actually work in Lancashire
Mother dies after 5-hour hospital wait 'because A&E was clogged up with drunks
Sadly A&E is always clogged up...It’s been ok when I’ve been but it is going to get worse with the cutbacks so I hope I’m never ill.
Ken Clarke: Hard times ahead for the UK for three more years
I think most of us have lived all our lives in hard times. What they really mean is that your current misery will increase tenfold.
Shout at your spouse and risk losing your home:
It's just the same as domestic violence, warns woman judge
Woman judge - enough said
500,000 UK adults have NEVER worked
500,000 UK adults have NEVER wanted to work and anyway it’s probably soon to be 1,000,000 with the cutbacks
Tommy Sheridan is jailed for THREE YEARS after being found guilty of perjury
Girl who kicked gay man to death in homophobic attack to serve just two and half years
So tell a lie and get three years in jail but stamp on someone’s face and you get two and a half
I’m trying to understand UK justice but I can’t
Egyptian president's son 'flees to London with 100 pieces of luggage as Egypt is rocked by second day of violence
100 pieces of luggage – does this include his wives and servants...jeez!
Today's headlines (more sensationalism over substance)
Half of UK road speed cameras aren't working
... Only 10% of them actually work in Lancashire
Mother dies after 5-hour hospital wait 'because A&E was clogged up with drunks
Sadly A&E is always clogged up...It’s been ok when I’ve been but it is going to get worse with the cutbacks so I hope I’m never ill.
Ken Clarke: Hard times ahead for the UK for three more years
I think most of us have lived all our lives in hard times. What they really mean is that your current misery will increase tenfold.
Shout at your spouse and risk losing your home:
It's just the same as domestic violence, warns woman judge
Woman judge - enough said
500,000 UK adults have NEVER worked
500,000 UK adults have NEVER wanted to work and anyway it’s probably soon to be 1,000,000 with the cutbacks
Tommy Sheridan is jailed for THREE YEARS after being found guilty of perjury
Girl who kicked gay man to death in homophobic attack to serve just two and half years
So tell a lie and get three years in jail but stamp on someone’s face and you get two and a half
I’m trying to understand UK justice but I can’t
Egyptian president's son 'flees to London with 100 pieces of luggage as Egypt is rocked by second day of violence
100 pieces of luggage – does this include his wives and servants...jeez!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sorry haven’t done anything for some time but here is a short history
Dug up the last of the 2010 potatoes for tea from the earth mound we had stored them in. The frosts of December and January had permeated through to the top layers causing a bit of rot but underneath the potatoes where as white and sweet as they were in September. I enjoyed the taste of those with some butter. Given the way food prices are going might need to grow more?
Fell back in into the ravages of a cold last week. Funny isn’t it that when the weather is sub zero we’re all ok but as soon as it gets cold and damp off we all go with a cold. Once the coughing stops (which might be around March at this rate) I’ll be ok.
It rained nonstop the whole of last weekend but now the workdays are back the weather holds to a blue sky and sunny disposition for the most part.
A huge spider walked across the living room wall last night, (much to the bemusement of the dog.) He did have a bark at it but spiders don’t get this large without working a few things out and for me I’ll take that spider as my sign the northern world is waking from winter slumber one again. It has been a mild January after the previous cold moth.
Last Monday – we had a power cut at 7pm so out came the candles and within minutes we are transported back to Victorian times. I think I lit 12 candles and scattered them around but the light whilst mellow and restful is still pretty dim compared to electricity. Going to bed with a candle –
was strange but when I awoke this morning normality was once again restored.
Saturday went to the hospital to see the lady who works for Nick – she’s had an attack of jaundice and is a wonderful shade of yellow. She’s on the mend. I do hate hospitals though.
So here we are again another Monday and almost at the end of the month. Finally moved the large bay tree out the yard up to the garden on Sunday with Mike. When I say moved please read dragged, pushed and heaved the 300 metres. It’s got too large for the yard now but as its 25 years old I wanted to keep it. I decorated it as a indoor Christmas tree one year and all the leaves fell off but it came back as it has done several times after very cold weather.
Other than that it has been a quiet few weeks here. Well I had my haircut last week so that’s me ok till June and I have the dentist next week...what joys await there I wonder?
Dug up the last of the 2010 potatoes for tea from the earth mound we had stored them in. The frosts of December and January had permeated through to the top layers causing a bit of rot but underneath the potatoes where as white and sweet as they were in September. I enjoyed the taste of those with some butter. Given the way food prices are going might need to grow more?
Fell back in into the ravages of a cold last week. Funny isn’t it that when the weather is sub zero we’re all ok but as soon as it gets cold and damp off we all go with a cold. Once the coughing stops (which might be around March at this rate) I’ll be ok.
It rained nonstop the whole of last weekend but now the workdays are back the weather holds to a blue sky and sunny disposition for the most part.
A huge spider walked across the living room wall last night, (much to the bemusement of the dog.) He did have a bark at it but spiders don’t get this large without working a few things out and for me I’ll take that spider as my sign the northern world is waking from winter slumber one again. It has been a mild January after the previous cold moth.
Last Monday – we had a power cut at 7pm so out came the candles and within minutes we are transported back to Victorian times. I think I lit 12 candles and scattered them around but the light whilst mellow and restful is still pretty dim compared to electricity. Going to bed with a candle –
was strange but when I awoke this morning normality was once again restored.
Saturday went to the hospital to see the lady who works for Nick – she’s had an attack of jaundice and is a wonderful shade of yellow. She’s on the mend. I do hate hospitals though.
So here we are again another Monday and almost at the end of the month. Finally moved the large bay tree out the yard up to the garden on Sunday with Mike. When I say moved please read dragged, pushed and heaved the 300 metres. It’s got too large for the yard now but as its 25 years old I wanted to keep it. I decorated it as a indoor Christmas tree one year and all the leaves fell off but it came back as it has done several times after very cold weather.
Other than that it has been a quiet few weeks here. Well I had my haircut last week so that’s me ok till June and I have the dentist next week...what joys await there I wonder?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The weather here is turning its face toward mild for the time being although it was snowing first thing this morning but it was the kind of cold, wet snow that slaps you around the face as it laughs and then melts as it hits the floor. We’ve had our quota of winter weather but my heart says we shall see much more before spring is finally here.
Prices here are rising fast at the moment with petrol going nuts but the government has just upped tax on goods by 2.5%. That’s going to impact on everything and already I figure that makes petrol in your money - $2 per litre – that’s $9 a gallon! I can see from the web the US pay around $3 a gallon...lucky buggers!! Where it will all end is anyone’s business.
Had a quiet, enjoyable weekend. Saturday went to Southport with Nick and yesterday Mike and I burnt rubbish in the garden and sat and watched the birds while drinking coffee. It is probably imperceptible but I’m sure we can sense the change in the air now. The days are 30 minutes longer and in the mild weather we can once again begin to smell the pine trees scent brought on the wind. Dug up the last of the potatoes for tea from the earth mound we had stored them in. the frosts of December and January had permeated through to the top layers but underneath the potatoes where as white and sweet as they were in September. I enjoyed the taste of those with some butter. Given the way food prices are going might need to grow more?
Fell back in into the ravages of a cold last week which meant having to take a couple of days off work. Funny isn’t it that when the weather is sub zero we’re all ok but as soon as it gets cold and damp off we all go with a cold. Once the coughing stops (which might be around March at this rate) I’ll be ok.
It rained non stop the whole weekend but now the workdays are back the weather holds to a blue sky and sunny disposition. Still a huge spider walked across the living room wall last night, (much to the bemusement of the dog.) He did have a bark at it but spiders don’t get this large without working a few things out and for me I’ll take that spider as my sign the northern world is waking from winter slumber one again.
Prices here are rising fast at the moment with petrol going nuts but the government has just upped tax on goods by 2.5%. That’s going to impact on everything and already I figure that makes petrol in your money - $2 per litre – that’s $9 a gallon! I can see from the web the US pay around $3 a gallon...lucky buggers!! Where it will all end is anyone’s business.
Had a quiet, enjoyable weekend. Saturday went to Southport with Nick and yesterday Mike and I burnt rubbish in the garden and sat and watched the birds while drinking coffee. It is probably imperceptible but I’m sure we can sense the change in the air now. The days are 30 minutes longer and in the mild weather we can once again begin to smell the pine trees scent brought on the wind. Dug up the last of the potatoes for tea from the earth mound we had stored them in. the frosts of December and January had permeated through to the top layers but underneath the potatoes where as white and sweet as they were in September. I enjoyed the taste of those with some butter. Given the way food prices are going might need to grow more?
Fell back in into the ravages of a cold last week which meant having to take a couple of days off work. Funny isn’t it that when the weather is sub zero we’re all ok but as soon as it gets cold and damp off we all go with a cold. Once the coughing stops (which might be around March at this rate) I’ll be ok.
It rained non stop the whole weekend but now the workdays are back the weather holds to a blue sky and sunny disposition. Still a huge spider walked across the living room wall last night, (much to the bemusement of the dog.) He did have a bark at it but spiders don’t get this large without working a few things out and for me I’ll take that spider as my sign the northern world is waking from winter slumber one again.
Do you know what
• the food of England is?
• the hooks, the chimneys, and brick ovens in cottages were for?
• the Southdowns, New Forest and Lake District, other than recreation, can provide?
• goes into your daily bread?
• the pasteurization, homogenization and standardization of your milk involves?
• differentiates a York ham from a gammon, or prosciutto; a red herring from a bloater; Evesham, Bath, and Lincolnshire asparagus; a damson from a bullace?
Do you know when
• to expect the first broad beans, and the last tomatoes?
• to pick hedge garlic, St. George’s mushrooms, and Dorset Moss?
• to buy the finest watercress, clotted cream and laver?
Do you know where
• breeds of livestock, types of cheese and varieties of fruit come from?
• fish and shellfish are landed, by whom, and how stocks are doing?
• to find oatcakes, mazzards, filberts, and rusks?
Do you know that
• while the number of books, articles and programmes on cookery continues to rise, the number of people who can cook continues to fall?
• while the cases of heart disease and food poisoning continues to rise, so does the consumption of allegedly ‘health’ foods, and amount of regulation?
• the quantity of ingredients in low fat spreads (two in butter, one in lard) can be up to twelve?
• cheap food and eating habits have had a greater effect on animal welfare, the bird population, wild flowers, conservation and SSSI than subscriptions to good causes?
• Kyoto in Japan has over two hundred historic shops, complete with fronts and interiors, many of which are devoted to food, and the flagships of the English heritage industry (Salisbury, Winchester, etc.) may have two?
Supermarkets
Do you know
• how many small shops and businesses existed in your area before one or more supermarkets rolled into town?
• how supermarket 'contracts ‘are terminated?
• how 'free ‘offers operate?
• how much the supermarkets spend on advertising and packaging compared to the cost of the goods?
• how much of the supermarkets' food is wasted?
Do you know
• what you pay for a product like milk?
• what the supermarkets pay?
• what that means for suppliers, future supplies and national security?
Do you know
• where English apples go for waxing?
• where in store bakers obtain the dough for their bread?
• why, in cases of animal cruelty, profiteering and duplicity, the supermarkets are not accountable nor 'available for comment'?
What you can do to help safeguard finite, endangered and historic resources, which other countries would be proud of
• buy food in markets or shops.
• link a place on the map and a time of year to the food you obtain.
• ask in restaurants and inns for Sussex beef in Sussex, Shropshire lamb in Shropshire, Tamworth pork in Tamworth, the sole in Dover, the crab in Cromer, the kippers in Craster, the wildfowl in winter, cherries in summer, plums in autumn, and cut rounds or splits with a proper cream tea – until you get them.
• consider your roots. Ask your antecedents what they cooked, and cook it too. The local economy will benefit as well.
• read: A History of the Countryside by Oliver Rackham; Country Life by Howard Newby; The Englishman's Flora by Geoffrey Grigson; Death of Rural England by Alun Howkins; Food in England by Dorothy Hartley, English Recipes and Others by Sheila Hutchins; Eating England by Hattie Ellis; Traditional Foods of Britain by Laura Mason with Catherine Brown. Also: Lavengro by George Borrow; Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thomson; As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee; An Innkeeper's Diary by John Fothergill.
No then buy the book below
• the food of England is?
• the hooks, the chimneys, and brick ovens in cottages were for?
• the Southdowns, New Forest and Lake District, other than recreation, can provide?
• goes into your daily bread?
• the pasteurization, homogenization and standardization of your milk involves?
• differentiates a York ham from a gammon, or prosciutto; a red herring from a bloater; Evesham, Bath, and Lincolnshire asparagus; a damson from a bullace?
Do you know when
• to expect the first broad beans, and the last tomatoes?
• to pick hedge garlic, St. George’s mushrooms, and Dorset Moss?
• to buy the finest watercress, clotted cream and laver?
Do you know where
• breeds of livestock, types of cheese and varieties of fruit come from?
• fish and shellfish are landed, by whom, and how stocks are doing?
• to find oatcakes, mazzards, filberts, and rusks?
Do you know that
• while the number of books, articles and programmes on cookery continues to rise, the number of people who can cook continues to fall?
• while the cases of heart disease and food poisoning continues to rise, so does the consumption of allegedly ‘health’ foods, and amount of regulation?
• the quantity of ingredients in low fat spreads (two in butter, one in lard) can be up to twelve?
• cheap food and eating habits have had a greater effect on animal welfare, the bird population, wild flowers, conservation and SSSI than subscriptions to good causes?
• Kyoto in Japan has over two hundred historic shops, complete with fronts and interiors, many of which are devoted to food, and the flagships of the English heritage industry (Salisbury, Winchester, etc.) may have two?
Supermarkets
Do you know
• how many small shops and businesses existed in your area before one or more supermarkets rolled into town?
• how supermarket 'contracts ‘are terminated?
• how 'free ‘offers operate?
• how much the supermarkets spend on advertising and packaging compared to the cost of the goods?
• how much of the supermarkets' food is wasted?
Do you know
• what you pay for a product like milk?
• what the supermarkets pay?
• what that means for suppliers, future supplies and national security?
Do you know
• where English apples go for waxing?
• where in store bakers obtain the dough for their bread?
• why, in cases of animal cruelty, profiteering and duplicity, the supermarkets are not accountable nor 'available for comment'?
What you can do to help safeguard finite, endangered and historic resources, which other countries would be proud of
• buy food in markets or shops.
• link a place on the map and a time of year to the food you obtain.
• ask in restaurants and inns for Sussex beef in Sussex, Shropshire lamb in Shropshire, Tamworth pork in Tamworth, the sole in Dover, the crab in Cromer, the kippers in Craster, the wildfowl in winter, cherries in summer, plums in autumn, and cut rounds or splits with a proper cream tea – until you get them.
• consider your roots. Ask your antecedents what they cooked, and cook it too. The local economy will benefit as well.
• read: A History of the Countryside by Oliver Rackham; Country Life by Howard Newby; The Englishman's Flora by Geoffrey Grigson; Death of Rural England by Alun Howkins; Food in England by Dorothy Hartley, English Recipes and Others by Sheila Hutchins; Eating England by Hattie Ellis; Traditional Foods of Britain by Laura Mason with Catherine Brown. Also: Lavengro by George Borrow; Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thomson; As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee; An Innkeeper's Diary by John Fothergill.
No then buy the book below
Monday, January 10, 2011
When the river meets the sea ever is there turbulence across the rocks that have stood so long across the aeons. Like the river I become lost in the sea and all its greatness. I have flowed endlessly on until now and fast become enveloped in ancient wisdom. Yet it scares me and I try desperately to reverse the flow and return to the mountains where I sprung. I was a child of purity that trickled through a thousand feet of strata caressed by glacial embraces. Yet it is now all of no hope and I am carried away by currents into the depths of the secret sea. Released from ebb and flow I glance one last time to the heavens and the moonlit sea sways under a northern wind that sighs to me to beg goodbye.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
6th Jan 2011
Here’s the New Year and I brought it in with a cold. A real stinker too...just about everyone has had a cold over the last few weeks. All this talk of swine flu, but I think mine was just a piglet of a cold. It probably wasn’t helped by cleaning out the pond the other day. 4 inch of ice to break up but it had a good side as most of the weed and debris was encapsulated within it. See the pictures below. Just need to wait for the water to clear. Perhaps this spring will be able to see the newts swimming around.
Here’s the New Year and I brought it in with a cold. A real stinker too...just about everyone has had a cold over the last few weeks. All this talk of swine flu, but I think mine was just a piglet of a cold. It probably wasn’t helped by cleaning out the pond the other day. 4 inch of ice to break up but it had a good side as most of the weed and debris was encapsulated within it. See the pictures below. Just need to wait for the water to clear. Perhaps this spring will be able to see the newts swimming around.
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