There is something about blogging in the sunshine....

Somehow sitting at the laptop in the open air inspires fantasies of creativity; Hemingway sitting at his Remington, trusty shotgun at his shoulder….

(No don’t worry, I’m not feeling suicidal, far from it! Full of the joys of Spring, me!)

Happy Easter to everyone reading this. It’s midday and the sun is baking down, a fresh coolness pouncing on the unwary whenever one of the few passing clouds dares to cover the sun.

Yesterday the Legal Eagle and her Beau came round for an Easter Sunday celebration.

Main course was a handsome leg of Irish lamb. (Probably the left leg, it was very tender).

As always though, when the Legal Eagle is around, a good pudding is never far away.




This marvel was a “Tarte aux poires a la normande”, an excellent tart of pears in an almondy frangipane filling.

The recipe is in Jane Grigson’s excellent The Cooking of Normandy. (Now out of print and “Collectible”, available from Amazon second-hand)

When it arrived on the table, it looked as if we had been transported to the other side of the channel.

To conclude, a group photo to commemorate a great day:




(Left to Right, The Beau, Legal Eagle, The Phantom, The Phantom's Better Half).