Bun Fight News

Yes, it rained and yes, it was windy but the people of Pecs didn't let us down. This year's Bun Fight was a triumph. We had veg sculptures galore including daleks make from peppers, miniature farms with broccoli trees, teeny, tiny rainbow carrots, elegant savarine ring cakes loaded with fresh fruit, toffee apple cup cakes and Charlie Fox with his award winning Victoria sponge. Sadly, Scrap didn't win anything with his 'horror' biscuits but he did come second in the vegetable hat parade with his Robin Hood hat of sugarsnaps to no 1, Loveday and her spectacular 'cavolo nero and radish crown' !

The Bellenden Bunfight

This year's competition is now taking place over the whole weekend.

THIS WEEKEND!
Saturday is the Horticultural Show with categories for giant veg, mini veg, vegetable sculptures, miniature gardens and the grand Vegetable Hat Parade!

Sunday is the Cookery Competition with categories including classic Victoria sponge, cakes, tarts, cookies & biscuits and preserves.

The are special categories for children plus brilliant prizes, including a years subscription to Delicious Magazine, dinner for two at Ganapati and an outstanding Best in Show award donated by the East Duwlich Deli.

Kick off is 10am at Review Bookshop. All proceeds raised will be donated to a local charity. I am likley to be one of the judges and I'll make sure you win, so see you there, with your hats on!

Ickworth House

Landcroft House is just back from a long weekend away to celebrate my 'special' birthday.

Ickworth House is one of those family friendly hotels and it really lived up to its promise. It's the East wing of a stately home so the building itself is fabulous as are the grounds. There are bikes, games, trampolines, a spa, an amazing swimming pool in a stable, early tea for kids and listening service and smart dinner for grown ups.

We could have spent the week in Portugal for the same sum and Scrap's manners let us down at the breakfast table once he'd got his hands on the 'bowful of fun' that are Cocoa Pops but what a lovely weekend!

Tiger Beer Singapore Chilli Crab Festival

Landcroft House is leaving SE22 for a few hours this weekend to go to this.
See you by the chilli crab stand, about midday?

The National Gallery

Very nice selection of cakes

Petersham Nurseries

I've heard a lot about Petersham Nurseries and Skye Gyngell's restaurant. So, we looked out of the window this morning and thought we'd give it ago. We got there at 11am, just as the gates were opening, and headed straight for the Tea House where we had a choice of a least eight different home-made cakes, of which we chose two and one of the egg mayonnaise and rocket sandwiches (£3.95). We spent ages sat round one of the many gorgeous, rickety old tables in the green house eating our cake before looking in the restaurant and deciding unanimously to ask whether maybe there was a spare table for lunch. It was the tower of Champagne flutes and the sign for Apricot Prosecco that did it for me. But sadly, no room and currently booking four weeks ahead. Having looked at the prices, Roasted Wild Sea Bass with Borlotti, Chard & Salmariglio, £26.00, probably just as well. Scrap had a quiet snooze on a bench then we took a little walk along the river, back through the woods and finally headed home for our own seasonal British lunch of globe artichokes with lemon butter.

Whitstable and Margate

The Kent seaside is a lovely place to visit, especially on a cold but bright winter’s day. Yesterday we made a snap decision to enjoy the sunshine and head for the sea. I think it’s watching that new drama-soap Moving Wallpaper / Echo Beach that’s making us yearn for some sea air but anyway, off we went, making a bee-line for the Royal Native Oyster Stores. As usual it was excellent, we had 1/2 dozen Whitstable natives and potted shrimps, then I had a crab, Scrap the squid with chips and Rob a beautiful seabass. Sadly, the service was slow and it all took too long when, really, we wanted to be outside. With a £100 bill - £3 for 75cl of San Pellegrino - we could have gone to The Wolseley and got real linen and silver.

Anyway, we realised that we were fairly close to Margate where Rob’s brother has just bought a house and 25 minutes later we were there and Scrap got a chance to race his bike along the brilliant sandy beach just before the sun set. Margate is the new Brighton according to Simon and you know, I think he’s right. And I think we’ll be spending a lot of our future summer weekends in his spare room.

Sharks, Spaghetti and The Captain of The Starship

We went to The Aquarium this morning and had a lovely time. The highlight for Scrap was when a very big shark swam right in front of us and then did a poo. Why do little boys have such an obsession with poo and burps?
After that we walked along the southbank and met Heidi and her boys for lunch in Strada. I liked it very much actually. They were extremely friendly, the boys shared a pizza, I had a respectable, if not quite hot enough, seafood linguine and the pink Prosecco was on special at £3.50 for a full-to-the-brim flute. The highlight for me was when the lady-friend of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (who was eating a big pudding on the next table) came over to say what lovely, well-behaved children she and The Captain thought our pizza-smeared mob were. I've seen him before you know, buying a very large pan in John Lewis using a very loud actors' voice. And I once saw Andrew Ridgeley (when Wham had just split up) reading a copy of Motorcycle News in a Soho paper shop.

Street Party!

As a child I remember there being quite a few occasions that called for a street party. The best one of course, was the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 when I must have gone to a dozen parties. But when was the most recent celebration that got everyone out on the street? They don't seem to happen. Is it because we don't know our neighbours? Can't we be bothered? Or are there too many public highway regulations?

We had our fourth annual street party at the mews where I work yesterday. It was great! I love the sense of community spirit that saw everyone producing a bag of charcoal, a couple of chairs or a tray of brownies. As the children went home for their baths, the tea lights got lit and the music turned up and there was a second sitting for the barbecues.
I wish there were more to go to! Bring back the street party!

Out and A Scout

I’ve been out in the countryside this week as a ‘scout’, interview-ing Local Food Heroes for UKTV food. As a Derbeian, I was given The Midlands as my region. I met farmers, day-old piglets, pure breed Hereford cattle, a woman who made chutney and the best butcher in the world ever (got his own smoke house).

I started my journey in Much Marcle near Ledbury at a great place called the The Scrumpy House which is on the site of a cider mill. I drank 7 different ciders and a delicious perry at 9.30am and got fed fantastic local ham, egg and chips for my lunch. Ledbury is a beautiful place to visit. The Midlands has got a lot: scenery and fresh air, my parents and lots of other family, Stilton, Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Buxton Water and Bakewell Pudding but still, I felt my pulse settle and life feel right again as my train pulled into dirty old Kings Cross just in time for the rush hour.

That Fête-full Day

Because we're sophisticated, tuned-in and artistic, while also remaining urban, edgy and on-point, we went to the Village Fête at the V&A yesterday. Oh yes. And it wasn't just because our route would (sort of) take us past that great bakery (Ayres) in Nunhead just as they were whipping the old sausage rolls out of the oven. Anyway, it was great (as were they) and the following things happened:

1. I saw a Stay Calm And Keep Going civil information poster from WWII in the V&A shop. I desired it a lot, but walked out without buying it (so, I can defer pleasure after all...).
2. We headed straight to The John Madejski Garden to sit for one of Nadine Faye James' Typewriter Portraits. That's it above. I think it's kind of brilliant, to be honest. Mind you, it should be for six quid...
3. Scrap climbed into Poke's amazing I'd Like To Teach The World To Burp machine to be filmed making a massive burp noise into a microphone. I thought it was hilarious, but then, I would, wouldn't I?
4. We then had a crack as Fibre Design's Quick Sculpt Queen Vic. I don't think we'll win, to be honest :(
5. After a bit more wandering about, we headed for Priestman Goode's Float Your Boat, where some lovely chaps helped Scrap make a boat from - hello! - recycled stuff. Said boat didn't actually work that well - not as good as my ivory-sculpted, petrol-powered one, anyhow - but he liked it. Enough to grab it, strip completely and join the rest of the boat-pushing littl'uns thrashing around in the ornate pool.

See you there next year, right?

Shrek 3

When it clouded over again this afternoon, me and Scrap flipped a coin and cinema beat swimming (hooray!). We did a deal on him getting his own popcorn provided he stayed in his seat for the whole film. He stuck to the bargain but made up for it by jumping and cheering every time the bionic gingerbread man came on and shouting out stuff in the quieter bits (mostly "why that bad man do that!?" and "watch out!!" but also "that stinky baby did a boff!!" ) at the top of his voice....
Anyway, it is a very enjoyable film, everyone laughed all the way through, Justin Timberlake very competently voices our young hero Arthur, good triumphs over bad and there are cute baby ogres at the end. Lovely!

The Company Shed

Landcroft House had a proper, old-fashioned day out yesterday that went like this:

1. We got up early (no change there).
2. Made it to Dulwich College Farmer's Market for 9am to see Charlie's Mum and buy some of her delicious pasta sauce.
3. Not quite believing how good the weather is, we thrashed down the A12 - in the little car and everything - to Mersea.
4. Because we wanted to have lunch in The Company Shed.
5. As did half of the rest of the country. And who could blame them? The sun was shining, the wind was blowing gently, and £8.50 for a Seafood Platter seemed like the best deal in town (trans: village).
6. We also had some pickles that were "alright" and some milky oysters.
7. Oh, and some delicious salmon pate.


Afterwards we wandered out to the water and lay in the sand for a while. It was truly wonderful. When we got home, Silvana dug out our Old Green Book which is like a paper and actual hard-copy picture of this blog that Silvana (and, to a lesser extent, I) did a few years ago. It's full of receipts and menus and photos and maps and tickets and descriptions of meals we ate. In it is this little gem where someone about 300 years younger than me - wearing Nike! For shame! - stands looking thin and dark haired outside the aforementioned Essex-coast-based crab-shack.

What a lovely spot.

PYO

Never could resist a forage me: mushroom hunting, nut gathering, or nipping the tender shoots from samphire growing in the salt marshes on Mersea Island. We were there today for lunch at The Company Shed and before leaving stopped off at The East Mersea Nurseries and Pick Your Own. I know it's not quite foraging but there is something really enjoyable about snipping food straight from the plant. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing - even though we're well into strawberry season, most of the berries were still green, and the majority of runners still small - just the lack of sunshine I suppose. Still, we picked carefully and came back with berries, beans, flowers and some wet garlic, potatoes and tomatoes from the shop. I think they taste better than any supermarket produce but I might just be imagining it.

Runner Beans With Chilli-Herb Butter
Very nice with roast chicken and potoatoes. Make the butter first: in a small food processor, whizz together a small garlic clove, grated rind of 1 orange, 1 chopped and seeded red chilli and a handful of parsley leaves until finely chopped. Beat in 100g room temperature butter and a handful of snipped chives and some ground black pepper. Chill. Cut the runner beans into 12cm lengths then slice lengthways. Cook in lightly salted boiling water for 3 - 6 mins depending on how you like them. Drain and toss with some of the chilli herb butter.

Records I Can't Stand: 11

Suzanne Vega: Marlene On The Wall (A&M, 1985)

We were getting ready to leave Cornbury at teatime on Sunday when Suzanne Vega came on stage. She was very good and absolutely everyone was loving her. Except me. I can't stand her songs, hate them all, but especially this one.
I grabbed Scrap and ran for the exit, fast as I could.

Scrap With Chick

A Pleasant Weekend In The Country

I had visions of Cornbury being a rain-lashed nightmare featuring a distinctly unhappy wife and spud-biter. In actual fact - it was lovely pretty much from beginning to end. It was full of nice people. Charlbury Pre School had cooked up a load of hogs that they knocked out in soft white baps at £3 a pop. Some nice pop groups played. Of course, the thing about taking a three year old to a festival is that you're there two hours before anyone plays and you leave two hours before the headliner's on, but I can tell you this much:

1 The Waterboys were fantastic.
2 Echo & The Bunnymen were amazing - David Cameron was the talk of the site the next morning after being spotted frugging energetically to the demi-Gods of Cosmic Scouse.

3 The Proclaimers have never written a bad song. Even if you're listening to their ouvre when your child (that's him being a dragon) has slipped out of your sight and you're holding increasingly frantic conversations with security officials they still sound good (btw, a very nice lady called Sara found him and delivered him to the Information tent - they were both crying).

4 If you complain about having a bad time in Swindon, the lady at the Swindon Travelodge will give you a bottle of wine.
5 It's easy to have a bad day if any of it involves going anywhere near Swindon.
6 Having funfairs and children's theatre and the like at festivals is a really good idea.
7 Being outside for two days is good for the mind.
8 The Feeling are a bit good, innit?
9 Did I mention the hog roast?

Next year I would camp and just bring Silvana and The Scrap up for a day trip. And I'd have him attached to me with unbreakable metal chains.

Hooray!

Godstone Farm

So we got in from Cornbury late last night, knackered after hours in the car, threw the washing in the machine, went to bed, got up, made sandwiches and were stood, all three of us, outside the nursery ready to board the coach with mediocre packed lunches and wellies by 8.30am.

By 9.30am we were there already! We saw all the animals, cuddled baby chicks, rode the tractor, ran around the playbarns, dug holes in the world's biggest sandpit, had a sunny picnic on the grass, enjoyed tea and cake (lemon, which was from a choice of five cakes all made by a man in the village, £1.45 a slice in one of the few teas rooms in the country yet to be refurbished and triple their prices). But by 2pm, we were all ready for nap, getting a bit crotchety and wishing we were back on the coach.
And then the thunder started...

Go there, it's great. But an afternoon is plenty enough.

The Horniman Museum

Fabio and I went to the Horniman today with our friends Lucy and John. We're very lucky because it's only just up the road and it's a fantastic place to visit all year round but especially when it's windy and drizzly as it was this morning. First of all there's the lovely gardens, then in the museum itself there's the new aquarium, the hands-on music gallery and changing exhibitions. And best of all, there's the original, Victorian natural history galleries lined with glass cases of scary stuffed animals - including the fox family, the baboons and the gigantic walrus sitting on his rock.
The cafe's good for spaghetti, chips and beans and an ice lolly. And as well as all that there's the real life goats, rabbits and chickens. Even if you don't live nearby, it's worth taking a trip for.