Somerset in the Spring

I'm sitting in the sunshine of a glorious spring afternoon. Spread out before me are the Somerset Levels, Weston-Super-Mare in the distance. Angela and I have just come back from a glorious walk over chalk downland and through iron-age and Roman hill forts.

The damper, shadier lanes in this part of Somerset are lined with carpets of wild garlic, some stretching back eight to ten feet deep from the path. I picked a handful of the youngest, tenderest shoots this morning, and popped them into a bag. At the lunch stop they provided a delicate garlicky undernote in our cheese sandwiches.

Finely chopped, and added to cream cheese or a soft young goats cheese they would make a veritable challenger to Garlic Boursin.

Our organic veg box comes from Devon, an area richly endowed with the moist bosky lanes that wild garlic, or Ransoms, adore. Riverford sent all of their customers a gift a couple of weeks ago, a large bag full of the leaves. Unlike "normal" garlic, it is the leaves that are of use, deeply green, straplike, reminiscent in shape, (though not in perfume), of Lily-of-the-Valley.

When the bag came I added some to sandwiches like today. Others delicately perfumed a salad of home-grown japanese salad leaves.

I used the majority of the leaves (it was a big bag) in a stir-fry of chicken, par-cooking the chicken first, then removing it from the wok, stir frying some spring onions, then adding the wild garlic leaves to the pan to wilt with a splash of chicken stock and some rice wine. I returned the chicken to the wok to finish off, and added some pre-toasted cashew nuts for extra crunch. A handful of beansprouts and the dish was finished. The garlic had reduced down and was sticky and richly savoury, yet didn't dominate.

If you happen to be out and about in the next few days, keep a look out. Wild Garlic is free, it's seasonal, and most of all, it's delicious!

EDIT: Good Friday, April 10th. I realised a post like this needed a photo. I took one yesterday:




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I am Honoured.

It is a small world. The Blogosphere is even smaller.

I noticed an article on Slow Blogging a few months ago. I intended to blog about it then. I didnt. I figured it would be in keeping with the Slow ethos to let it wait for a while...

I finally got back into blogging and after one post I have been given an award. My fellow blogger Amalee Issa has awarded me this sparkling prize...



Amalee has passed this on to me for services rendered. In particular, for introducing her (via Russell Davies' blog, Egg Bacon Chips and Beans) to greasy spoon cafe breakfasts. My pleasure.

Anyone checking out the Slow Blogging article should read all the way down. They will find a photo of none other than Mr Davies himself. He has created a slow alternative to Twitter, Dawdler. I think Amalee should send him a postcard!

Happy New Year!!!

Ok, Ok. I know I didn't wish anyone Merry Christmas either. Sorry.

My new job has kept me busier than I could have imagined. Added to that, I have got involved with the local branch of the Ramblers' Association. It seemed natural to start up a blog about that, so I did.

The blog is called "Rambling On..." and can be found here.

For my sins, I have just been nominated as the group Secretary, so I guess I will just end up even more distracted!

At least I have got back in the metaphorical saddle of Phantom bloggery after falling off last November.

I am still cooking, and under-gardener to Angela. It's Chinese New year soon, and I will make a resolution to post at least once a week over in this corner of cyberspace.

More soon. (and Amalee- I haven't forgotten I owe you a post...)

Hampstead Rambling in the Snow

Angela and I are off work this week, as it is half-term here in London.
Half-terms come around every few months, but it was 1937 when it last snowed in London in October.

We put on our walking boots and walked a circular trip around Hampstead Heath via Kenwood, the Old Bull and Bush, West Heath, the Vale of Health and Parliament Hill, finishing with lunch in the Italian Cafe at Parli Hill.

It was amazing how few people we encountered.


The sun sent halos of light through the autumn sky


You could see that in snow, shadows are actually blue


And it seemed almost as if we had come upon the spirit of the Heath itself, energy writhing in tree form


All in all, a stunning day.

Be Prepared!

The old Boy Scout motto is always worth heeding when it comes to planning for a day's hillwalking.

Torrential rain and viscious winds struck in the Lake District today, with rivers in the Buttermere area bursting their banks after the heavy rains of the last few days.

It is precisely this area that Angela and I were walking in only two months ago. It is an area of great beauty, but when the weather turns it becomes hazardous in the extreme. Hundreds of people were competing in the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) when the weather broke. Conditions have been so bad organisers have been forced to cancel the event.



Luckily the OMM is an event for runners in pairs, and competitors have to camp out overnight, so all those caught on the hills should be suitably equipped.

We remember the steep descent down Scarth Gap to Gatesgarth Farm. Even in good conditions it requires care and concentration. I hate to imagine what coming down in a gale and torrential rain must be like.

During our stay we had an evening with a member of Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team. He gave us a slide show and explained the work his team of unpaid volunters did. I'm glad to say that our party gave generously when the collection tin went out. Those volunteers have been busy today, and will no doubt still be on the hills tomorrow mopping-up those who were benighted.

If You Want Something Done...

Ask a busy man...

Over the last few months Angela and I have attended a gardening course and a basic botany course. We have joined the Ramblers Association, and I am currently working with the local group the Hampstead Ramblers, to launch a blog attached to their website.

On top of this, I have started doing a GCSE Mathematics course, tutorials for which are clashing with the second gardening course we are currently doing.

Last Friday I had a job interview at my college, and on Monday I was told that I had got the job. So from the first of November I can effectively call myself a Librarian. I will be choosing and ordering books, liaising with teaching staff, cataloguing, managing a subject area collection and putting information up on the online Virtual Learning Environment.

Before I start learning how to do all of this, I have just over two weeks to tie up all the loose ends in my old job. So many things to try and pass on....

I would have written this on Monday evening but overnight a. the power transformer to the wireless router burnt out and b. the hard drive in my main PC died.

All this is a roundabout way of explaining why things have been quiet around here recently. Let's see if busy people really can do more....

Hassness, or Heaven?

As usual, "a couple of days" has turned into three weeks. It is a mark of how great a time we had in the Lakes that we are still enjoying the memories.

The light dappling on Buttermere...



The contours of Ullswater...



A Himalayan Balsam in the sunlight...



But there are things you can't capture with a camera. Things like the way strangers become companions; the way a strange room rapidly feels like home. The comforting knowledge that there will be home made cake waiting for you when you get back from your walk.

We booked our walking holiday with Rambler's Holidays. You can find a review of Mickey and Paula's hospitality here.



If you ever get a chance to stay at Hassness, take it.