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dear diary ~ changing seasons, changing menu

By the time you read this we might be well on our journey (hope so) – stocked up with a couple of home made meals for the first two days (we are self-catering). After months of salads and plates of cold food I am really looking forward to eating some old favourites more suited to this cooler and very wet weather. I don’t know about you but I feel like I went to bed one day in summer and have woken up in autumn; the change overnight was so sudden here. I wasn’t quite ready.

With a change of menu in mind – nothing beats a good nutroast and it is so easy to transport…as long as we don’t forget to get it out of the freezer and yes we have been there, done that and got the t-shirt. The worst ever time I recall was forgetting to get Sweetie’s first birthday sponge cake out of the freezer to take with us to decorate at my daughters 70 miles away – good old Co-op came to the rescue.

This nut roast recipe above that I often use is a firm favourite, easy to make and uses up any celery, carrots or mushrooms at the end of a week or like now when we are going away. I will put the recipe page up on the drop down recipes above for anyone interested. If you like nutroast do try it you won’t be disappointed.

Once cooked and sliced it is a good standby for the freezer providing a homemade ready meal that can be microwaved in minutes. I generally serve it with mashed or roast potatoes, Brussel sprouts or cabbage and roast parsnips, I also add in a couple of small Yorkshires too. The meal would not be complete without lashings of gravy (vegetarian of course) with a splash of Henderson’s relish added (coming from Sheffield what else would I use)? Another unusual quirk of mine is to serve it with a spoonful of apple sauce as you would for pork, I think it goes so well with the nutroast.

Saturday night was Shepherds Pie with brown lentils, topped with swede and potatoes mashed together, a sprinkling of parmesan and a scattering of cherry tomatoes cut in half to provide some colour.

I feel quite smug and organised when I prepare the veg ahead of time ‘Mise en Place’ style though more often than not this is not always possible but it certainly makes life easier if we are late home and making Shepherds Pie from scratch takes far too long when you are a little ravenous.

DH prepped the veg for a curry yesterday morning and made enough for our evening meal and for us to take with us to Cheltenham. I will pack a packet of Tilda wholegrain basmati rice that will cook in 2 minutes in the microwave (I did check there is a microwave!)

My autumn menu plans will feature a lot of the old favourites – roasted veg lasagne, stuffed courgettes, baked potatoes and a medley of vegetables in a creamy cheese sauce. And I have a new soup recipe to try – Cream of vegetable and herb soup with celeriac and parsnip.

DH has taken to stewing the plentiful punnets of plums and apricots I have been buying in Sainsbury’s – often at a reduced price. Accompanied with some creamy Greek yoghurt or creme fraiche it makes a lovely simple dessert or breakfast.

And a neighbour gave me a carrier bag full of eating apples. I think they must be Pink Lady or a similar variety because inside they are a most wonderful rose pink colour. DH cooked them and then froze them in individual little pots and the left overs went to make an Eve’s pudding.

We shared one last night….. just to try it out of course …and yes it did taste good even better as we don’t normally have a pudding – the other one is travelling with us.

As soon as we return from our few days away I have promised myself an irresistable chocolate and pear pudding while there is an abundance of pears in the shops.

When I received the final details for the little flat we are renting we found out the number is 58 – the same number as our first student house in Cheltenham though not the same road.

But how co-incidental is that?

Can’t wait now to see this exhibition, all our old haunts and all the changes.

Back soon x

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dear diary ~ back in time for 70’s fashion student

I promised you some interesting news and this is something that took me quite by surprise back in early April when one of my blog readers, who happens to be the curator of a museum in Cheltenham, contacted me through the comments section on my blog.

“I love your blog, especially the pages about you being a student in Cheltenham in the 1970s. I am the Curator at the Holst Victorian House in Cheltenham http://www.holstvictorianhouse.org.uk and this summer we are planning a pop up 1970s bedroom as part of our exploration of the house before it was a museum. We want the bedroom to belong to a 1970s fashion student! We would love for you to be involved if possible, for example sharing your memories of your time at the college and advising us about the type of room you had. If you are interested, please get in touch with me at curator@holstvictorianhouse.org.uk.

Many readers who have been following both this blog and my previous one might remember I have mentioned before that I was a student in the 70’s at Gloucestershire College of Art and Design on the Fashion and Textile degree course and have talked briefly about my life during those few years in Cheltenham.  It was a very memorable time for me and packed with fun and hard work in equal quantities.

Intrigued, I replied to the comment and during these past few months I supplied the curator with a few key items for use in their room set display as well as providing a narrative about the life of a fashion student, which must be so different to the experience of today’s students, especially their super deluxe living accommodation.

The pop up exhibition at the museum centres around a fashion student’s bedroom as the owners of the house at that time rented out rooms to fashion students from the college and they have tried to emulate this as well as they can with items they already have in the museum and additional pieces they have sourced from the same period. I wasn’t actually one of the students living at this particular house, nor do I know anyone who did, but it was very similar to the first house I lived in on Prestbury Road.

The photo below is actually of my real life student bedroom in the early 70’s… taken on my 21st birthday at our little house in Grosvenor Terrace – note the mattress on the floor, quite common back in those days and more comfortable than the old fashioned bed springs on some of the beds supplied by landlords. Most accomodation came furnished with some quite old and battered furniture – some with the addition of woodworm! As you will notice there is quite an assortment of tastes – the Indian cotton print bedcover behind me from the Black Market, purple sheets from Woolworths beneath a bright green checked duvet from the Co-op.

Our living room was of the brown and cream era which was the equivalent of the grey period we are presently living through. We stuck thick chocolate brown cork tiles to the chimney breast to display my grandma’s flying ducks. I was much more into old junk shop finds at the time, and influenced by BIBA and Laura Ashley with a bit of modern Habitat thrown in. We all had to endure a tiled fireplace of one kind or another and a cut moquette settee, and I won’t even mention the quality of the carpets (usually threadbare and with a dark stained floorboard surround) so the whole appearance was rather drab on drab.

Looking for pictures and information to send to the curator brought back such a lot of memories. I can’t believe I only spent 3 years of my life there – it seemed far longer and I made some life long friends too.

A very young me on the bike with my friends – as you can see beards were very much in fashion too back then.

When I look back at some of the outfits I made they do seem quite crude and not anywhere near the more outlandish designs produced by students today, but they were more wearable and the whole course was geared up to us getting a job at the end of it as jobs in the fashion world were not easy to come by. I know a lot of people watch and enjoy the Great British Sewing Bee – I only watched it for the first time a couple of weeks ago as I switched over from another program that had finished and I can vouch for the effort that these people have put into making each garment.

So I thought I would show you a few pictures from my time on a fashion course in the 70’s but promise not to laugh!!

This is me in the picture above – I am modelling one of my very first dresses at the end of the first year. It was hand printed on an ivory silk. I was quite proud I had even got to the end of the first year – the drop out rate was very high. 46 started on the course and only 13 of us finished.

Me again, caught in the corridor modelling another students outfit in the third year with much shorter hair and much higher platform shoes!

And below I think this was our second year final show – I always got roped into modelling no matter how much I objected.

We often undertook projects set by fabric manufacturers to advertise their new ranges.

This design above using a new Crimplene fabric was made into a garment and I was lucky enough to get my design chosen for a mention in the Fashion Weekly magazine.

Our final show in the third year was in London with professional models and many top fashion names were invited to view.

My collection was based on luxury resort or cruise wear – some made with hand printed fabrics. The collection included a swimming costume in a relatively new stretchy fabric called Lycra – now a staple in our wardrobes in one form or another.

This was a picture in the press and 2 of my garments were chosen, centre and far right.

The exhibition which includes the 70’s fashion student’s bedroom at Holst Victorian House in Cheltenham will run until Wednesday 31st December.  If you live anywhere locally do go and see it.

I am especially excited to be going down myself to see the exhibition next week and spend four days in Cheltenham where DH and I can relive some very happy memories.  Sadly, the house in the photo with me on the bike at Grosvenor Terrace has been pulled down and is now part of the LIDL carpark and the wonderful sixties fashion block at the college in the lefthand photo at the top of this page has also been replaced by a more modern building.  I am sure though it won’t detract from the visit; the Promenade, Everyman Theatre, Pittville park and Pump rooms and Montpellier remain the highlights of the Cheltenham I remember.

Back soon x

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dear diary ~ a peaceful haven

For anyone that doesn’t know, this week is Heritage Week when many unusual and inaccessible places open their doors to the public for free. Over the years both in England and Scotland we have seen inside some amazing places. We had a look online and decided on a trip over the hill into Greater Manchester to this unusual little corner called Fairfield tucked away in the heart of the busy suburbs of Droylsden. It is almost an echo of a modern day gated community – yet this Moravian Settlement once surrounded by nothing but farmland is now surrounded by a built up area and some rather busy main roads.

The settlement opened in 1785, planned and constructed by a community of people who were part of the congregation of the Moravian Church. This tiny self sufficient and self governed village boasted a shop, bakery, farm, laundry, inn, fire engine and night watchman as well as its own physician and of course the centre piece being the church.

From what I could understand of the talk this Christian body have similarities to the Amish and the Quakers in that this little community value simplicity, hard work and everyone being equal in the sight of God.

Sadly, it is no longer a self contained village and not all of the houses are occupied by people who follow the Moravian Church and its principles, some of the houses have been given over to social housing and one or two sold off, but it still retains a unique atmosphere that is hard to describe, it has to be experienced.

As you enter this little village you pass through some quite impressively large gateposts and immediately feel like you have stepped back in time with the wide cobbled streets lined either side with beautiful Georgian style terrace of houses in soft red hand made bricks. All the houses are immaculately presented with mature trees softening and enclosing the formality of the layout. As we drove through the gates we were immediately enveloped by a sense of peace and tranquility… a similar effect to when we drove through our gates at the beach cottage….a true haven.

We had limited time as there is so much to see both inside the church and museum and outside around the village and grounds, so we will be going back again next year, perhaps on a day when the weather is kinder. Tea, coffee and fruit scones with jam and cream were being served in the community hall and a few stalls of plants and gifts were helping to raise funds for the endless restoration work needed to keep the listed buildings well maintained.

For anyone living near to Manchester this is a must to go and see. It is the largest example of its kind in Britain and the little museum tells the wider story of its development and of days gone by. It will be open again next year to visitors from about May to the end of August, but we were told they will be holding other special events before then.

Do go and see them they will give you such a warm welcome.

It was a lovely day out for us and despite the heavy downpour we came away feeling quite invigorated and are already eagerly awaiting news of their Christmas event dates in November. I expect it will look quite magical dressed up for Christmas and we will look forward to taking the grandchildren with us this time as Father Christmas is expected to make an appearance.

On the way home we called on a friend we have not been able to see all year due to our commitments elsewhere….a double treat…we had a catch up and a natter with a welcome cup of tea.

If you are interested to know more click these links…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfield_Moravian_Church

https://www.facebook.com/FairfieldMoravianChurchAndSettlement/?locale=en_GB

https://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/outside/moravian.html

Back soon x

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dear diary ~ back so soon?

I know I surprised myself that I am able to write this post so quickly after the last, but I wanted to say as soon as I could thank you for all your kind words – I haven’t answered them individually as I have to be conservative still with my time at the moment.  It was so good to hear from you all and that you are still reading in blogland….there has been so much movement over to places like Instagram, YouTube and Substack it is good to know that bloggers are still relevant.

It would seem by the abrupt change of weather that summer has now drawn to a close and I am sad to see it go but at the same time I am engaging in all that autumn has to offer. I have already taken the opportunity to switch out my summer outfits of sun tops for a few warmer fleece tops and lightweight jumpers.

And the warmer brushed cotton duvet cover has made its way onto our bed.

My pantry shelf has an abundance of autumn colour – it is a joy to walk in there – baskets of apples (given by my neighbour) and dishes of plums and tomatoes – none home grown I might add, this year I stuck to courgettes only as they do manage to take care of themselves and gave us a nice little yield.

Despite being hopelessly late in sowing the seeds I did grow some annuals, pure white cosmos and glorious vibrant calendula, but my favourites are definitely the mixed jewel colours of the zinnias, and surprisingly all of them continue to flower through the recent downpours, thunderstorms and hailstones we have had over the week. Even the Japanese anemones have stood firm.

The garden has taken a back seat again this year, our hopes to turn it around after ignoring it completely last year whilst selling the cottage are now on hold until next year. Our motto is fast becoming not another project for another day, but another project for another year…or maybe two!

Everything preys on my mind at the moment and feels like I am on overwhelm. As you can imagine, where time allows, I have done a lot of thinking about what and where I go from here since letting go of our cottage and our retirement plans to live there.  My vision of the future is still rather a blank screen at the moment and I am finding it hard to find myself, let alone know what I might do…I even bring into question what it is that I like doing anymore.  And of course since I hit 70 last year I have become acutely aware that time is in short supply and quite precious.  Making a wrong move or decision now could cost us dearly and I don’t mean financially.

I have another tale of woe to add to the one about the cottage but that is for another blog post, another day.  For now I will just tell you about my little accomplishments here and there over the year.

My mum has been rather good this week, which is fortunate.  No complaints or outbursts and has been complying with the carers to drink her water and take a little walk with her walker to exercise her legs and keep a little strength in them. We visited her on the Saturday of last week and took her to the local park for a sandwich and a chocolate muffin at the council café followed by a large ice cream cone.  Her appetite for an elderly person is enormous – she can eat far more than I do – is this a clue to her reaching 100 soon I wonder?  The weather remained dry and sunny so in all it was a pleasant day and worth the 6 hour round trip to see her.

She always has a few tears when it is time for us to go and it is worse at the moment as my sister is away on holiday and won’t be popping in to see her during the week. I still continue to ring her every day just before the final carer goes to put her to bed at 6pm.  The conversation now is very limited as she is in cognitive decline and little short term memory.  She asks over and over when my sister will be back and when I will be going up to see her again.  It can be so wearing.  This week has been good because I haven’t had endless calls from her in a panic during the day to ask the same questions, which means I don’t have to keep breaking off from things I am doing to answer her all the time and I can catch up with a few jobs here.

Presently, it is almost impossible for me to form any kind of routine in my life and until we have my elder daughter moved completely and her old house on the market I am reluctant to start any projects of my own.  We have finished all the decorating we intend to do in her new house and have now moved on to resurecting the garden at her old house ready for the sale pictures. Not easy during these sudden outburst of rain and goodness knows we need to get down to some cleaning, decorating and gardening here at home…it is well overdue.  I realised the other night that my only hope is to break down projects into smaller tasks of no longer than an hour.

My bedtime reading at the moment is a book I noticed on the bookshelf (The Success Principle by Jack Canfield) and it caught my eye as I don’t think I ever got round to reading it fully.  When flicking through I noticed in the list of contents a chapter headed ‘Clean up your messes and your incompletes’ and I immediately thought this is what we need to do as I feel like we are in one big mess and it is overwhelming, mainly because we don’t have the quantity of time to match the size of our mess!

So it has given me the momentum to try and get some of the items on my list completed.  The ironing pile was the first under attack… and some got done after sorting it into smaller piles of sheets, pillowcases, t-shirts etc.  There are surfaces, shelves and cupboards that also need attention – ‘stuff’ accumulates quickly; items that have not been put away after use and those that never had a home in the first place. I need to get back to my efforts to minimise our stuff – even though I buy very little I feel it is creeping in again… even seeping in again under the doors at night as we sleep! I really don’t know how it comes in other than by fairies.

I have managed to offload quite a few things since January – clothes on Vinted, bits and pieces on Ebay and a whole box full of old photos belonging to my MIL and given to my SIL after we scanned them onto our computer. She also took away an old retro chair that was intended for the cottage and we have no room to keep here.

However, today we will not accomplish very much on the home scene as we are actually having a day off to ourselves and going on a short journey with a packed lunch over the hill to Greater Manchester to visit the Moravian Settlement in Fairfield, Ashton under Lyne which is open as part of the Hertitage Week.

Oh well, as they say – Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Have a good week everyone x

PS…I have some interesting news as well, but again that will be another post, another day…maybe later in the week.