Temporal Age = 50; Cycling Age = 4 3/4

 This week while Jean- Luc has been turning 50, I have been reverting to childhood and learning to ....cycle!

I know! How could I get to 50 without learning to cycle (especially when I used to live and work in Cambridge - the UK's capital city of cycling); but I have and now I have to learn.

I have to learn to do what most people learn at 5 or 6 years old and while you can teach old dogs new tricks it's becoming obvious it takes a lot longer and is much harder to do so.

 Very young children able to cycle - oh if only it was so easy for me!

Luckily we found a great place to teach me - Tracs at Delamere Forest.

Tracs is run by the wonderfully patient Tony, an ex Army and Policeman; who is a wonderful mixture of hard task master (Pedal harder!) and inspiration (You're doing great, you couldn't do that an hour ago).

This magical man managed to get me from complete beginner, who'd never pedaled an inch to someone who could ride a bike (albeit not always in a straight line) in just 1 1/2 hours.

I can't describe the rush of joy at being able to get on a bike and pedal off.  Such a simple thing and such an amazing feeling - and I only fell off twice!

Two days later and we were back again.  This time Jean-Luc took a bike out and spent a couple of hours cycling 14 miles round a mountain bike track (I was impressed as he'd not been on a bike for about 10 years); and I cycled round the Gruffalo Trail with Tony - in fits and starts.  This is a very easy 1mile trail where small kids take their parents on a Gruffalo hunt.  It took me an hour to get round it and I did see the Gruffalo, very briefly as I cycled past it. 

Yes dear reader, you read correctly - I CYCLED past it!

I puffed, I panted, I 'pedaled harder', I panic braked and got bitten by the bike more than once (usually when passing children out of fear I would plough into them), I only fell off once and I realised how woefully unfit I am and made a commitment to spend more time with the exercise bike.  But sometimes for a few minutes (and usually before I panic braked and came a cropper with the gears again) I wasn't battling with my inexperience; sometimes for a few moments I was cycling through the woods and it was fantastic.

I didn't come away completely unscathed. Warning - following photo isn't for the faint hearted.

But no pain - no gain.

I have say here that these bruises in no way reflect the care and safety concerns of Tony my trainer.  These were caused by me and me alone panic braking and running the bike gears into my legs.  Tony was a veritable icon of patience and calm and kept me from steering into ditches and down steep banks on countless occasions and I felt completely safe with him there to guide me through the trail.

The bruises are a result of a clumsy learner not knowing what she's doing; but this clumsy learner is learning and the absolute thrill of being able to say 'I went cycling in Delamere Forest' is beyond measure.

I am still bouncing from the thrill and will be going back to practice some more with Jean-Luc; although I may wait a little longer than planned for the bruises to go down, but I will definitely be going back for more.

It was great - thanks to Tony from Tracs - I have learnt to cycle.

ps. this is not a sponsored post, I don't do sponsored posts.  This is just me thanking a terrific trainer for helping me achieve something completely new and utterly wonderful.

A Nu Look

We're finally getting round to painting the house.  We moved in 11 months ago and decided not to decorate straight away as we had a few things we wanted to do first (the built in bookcases for a start); and a whole load of making good on some issues we found (i.e. a thermostat on the heating boiler).  We also had to wait for the plaster  to dry on the walls of our bedrooom (not the front bedroom but the back bedroom which has better views across the fields and is quieter - if you don't count owls, donkeys, foxes and chickens - and we don't).  On top of this we wanted to live in the house a while in different seasons to see what the light was like.

So having let the plaster mature, sorted out our major and 'making good' jobs (boy were there a lot of making good jobs the previous owners had left for us to do) having  seen the seasons through; it's time to dive into paint charts and start daubing the walls with test pots (what? oh sorry! Jean-Luc says no test pot squares - whoops too late!).

Anyway we popped into the local DIY place and bought home some swatch samples.  We were quite enamoured of the surround of one of the pictures that Jean-Luc painted of the Nu over two years ago.  Obviously with such an important aesthetic decision to make and with it based on her elegance and beauty; the Nu felt she had to approve it.

Do I not look beautiful?  See how the colours compliment my luscious pelt?
I will let them proceed!

ps for anyone still interested we're going for the second green on the right tucked into the picture frame for one and bit (above the bookshelves) walls and the rest will probably be magnolia to add a bit of light and warmth.  Fingers crossed the Nu approves of it. 

pps Autumn must be here as the Nu is now spending part of the evening on the sofa as opposed to laying waste to the local rodent population.  If you listen carefully you can hear a collective mouse sigh of relief.  Death of Rats is also glad to be able to take a break.

Gorgeous Gluts and Perfect Preserves

I've not been around to blog for a while as I've been dealing with a wide range of preserving issues (on top of work - sometimes it really gets in the way of living; but it  pays the mortgage).

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Amazingly the tomatoes which had blight have responded to my drastic cutting out of any infected material  by giving us a fantastic crop.  We've had about 8 or 9 kilos of tomatoes so far and there are still more on the vine; although it's fairly obvious that the tomato season is coming to an end.

So with all this bounty, it's proved impossible to eat them all so I've taken to the preserving pan.  

I've turned 2 kilos into Italian sauce, 1 kilo into tomato and chilli jam and 2.5 kilos into tomato and roasted pepper chutney and we have frozen about 1 kilo in the new freezer.  And we still have more to go!

A vast amount of tomato bounty.

 

Roasted peppers - I keep the skins on as I like the slightly smoky taste of the charred skins.

 Tomatoes reducing with peppers, onion, sugar and white wine vinegar - yep it's that simple!

 The finished tomato and roasted pepper chutney in some very cute jars from Wilko's.  In all we have 8 jars now lurking in the pantry.

 Chillies and tomatoes reducing to jam.

Three jars of delicious jam, sweet yet piquant and perfect with sausages, chops, various meat dishes and sandwiches.

We were also very lucky as a neighbour had a fantastic crop of damsons this year and very generously allowed me to pick a whole basket.

Wow! don't they look lucious!

So I set about stoning and halving 3 kilos of damsons.   My hands were yellow by the end of this session - and it didn't scrub out of my nails immediately.  Oh well, it led to an interesting conversation at work; apparently not everyone spends the weekend at various stages of the preserving process - who'd have thought it.

I made 1 kilo into damson chutney and froze the other two kilos for later - either pies or more chutney.

Speaking of the freezer; we now have a second freezer.  Jean-Luc and I had been discussing getting a small second freezer for a while; not only to cope with our present and (hopefully) future crops but also to hold the vast amount of extra chilli and curry that Jean-Luc wants to make.  So he went to the pub, had a chat with some guys and ended up with a small chest freezer that someone had for spare in return for a whole passel of tomatoes and damsons.

 Chilli con carne and beef and vegetable curry for freezing.  The chilli has only our homegrown jalapenos in it  and tastes pretty damn good and hot.

Yes dear reader we bartered for a freezer - alternative economy rocks!

PS some friends have just asked if we want some damsons - apparently it's a bumper year for fruit (there was a slight not of desperation in their voice).  We will be taking advantage of their lovely offer and trading some of the already made preserves in return.

Station X

Jean-Luc and I have been away for a much needed break - we suddenly realised we hadn't had any extended time off together since February; and boy did we need some!  We were both getting snappish, tired and ground down.

We decided on Stratford upon Avon and Cotswolds.

So hold on folks 'cos we're gonna do this one backwards...... mainly because I can't contain my enthusiasm for this place.

Dear Reader we visited ......... Bletchley Park!

I have to admit to a fascination with this place ever since I found put about it. 

For those of you that don't know about it; Bletchley Park was Britain's primary code breaking base in the Second World War.  It was here that they broke the German Enigma encryption codes (and there were separate encryption codes  for each service - army, airforce, navy, secret service - as well as within each service ie U boats operated on a separate cypher from the rest of the navy.

On top of this the codes changed every day at midnight using a predetermined cypher book.  

Imagine the amount of work that took! Just as you thought you'd made a breakthrough the whole code would change and you'd have to start from scratch again.

Bletchley Park was also the birthplace of computers in the UK; it was here that Alan Turing developed the Bombes that deciphered Enigma and later worked with Tommy Flowers to develop the worlds (yes the WORLD's!) first programmable computer - the Colossus.

By the end of the war over 10,000 people worked there deciphering enemy transmissions and yet outside of the place only those with the right security clearance knew what was going on at the site.  It was Britain's best kept wartime secret and was instrumental in enabling the Allies to win the war and at least 3 years earlier than it might have otherwise done.

WOW!

So let's go on a little wander.

A view of the blocks across the lake and Hut 6.

 Inside the huts.

The Bletchley Park Trust have done an amazing job in reconstructing the interiors of the blocks and huts.

These lovely young gentleman are volunteers who keep an eye on the huts and add a surprising touch of humour to the place.

The Trust also makes great use of video and audio clips of reconstructed conversation to add atmosphere to the rooms.

The place is full of little domestic touches like jumpers and shawls over the back of chairs, handbags and coats hanging on coat racks, tea cups and enamel mugs, crosswords, knitting patterns and magazines scattered around the desks.  It brings the place to life and gives a real insight to the lives of the people that worked there

This is the big office in the manor - the decor is a little more luxurious!

Ok now we're going to see some of the techy stuff....

 A lovingly reconstructed Bombe, the first proto computer used at Bletchley Park to decipher the Enigma codes.

The back of the machine, a fascinating mechanical and electronic maze of intricate technology. 
This was cutting edge stuff at the time and it's development was a massive step forwards in developing computing.

This is also a working machine and this lovely man gave a fascinating demonstration of how it worked.
By the end of the war there were about 200 of these machines being run by Wrens at various sites (they split them up as it would have been a horrendous set back if they'd all been destroyed in a bomb raid).
This bombe was reconstructed by a team of volunteers and took 13 years to build.
It was obviously a labour of love as is reflected in the enthusiasm of the staff who demonstrate it.
Jean-Luc (who works in high level techy stuff) was mesmerised.

 The evil Enigma machine.  This highly complicated encryption device was what all the above machinery was designed to decode.
I can't explain how it worked but this helpful Wiki page can.

I have to say, I'm not a techno geek but I found the information about both Enigma and the Bombes both understandable and engaging.  The whole site is an engaging mixture of the the art of cryptoanalysis and everyday life and the use of modern technology to bring it to life is very well used.  I particularly liked the touch screen table tops that let you play at being a code breaker and the whole place felt accessible and well thought out.

Now for some purely personal pleasures....

 

 Knitting at Bletchley Park!

 

This is a reconstruction of one of the more comfortable billets that the staff were housed in.  As numbers at Bletchley Park grew many of the staff stayed in rooms in the houses of local people - not easy when you're working the midnight to 8am shift.

 

Well chaps that's all for now.

Ta ta and don't forget careless talk costs lives!

GBBO14

 It's back

The Great British Bake Off once more graces our screens.

Oh frabjous joy, oh finger licking fun.

I have waited oh so patiently and shall now spend one hour on Wednesday evenings in a self imposed circle of isolation.

No talking allowed, crochet at the ready as I indulge in this most British of programmes.

Elegant nibbles, delicate pastries, mouthwatering savouries and stonkingly large cakes will adorn the television and provide inspiration for bakers across the country.

I love everything about this programme.  The stern but encouraging judges, the impish and greedy presenters (fighting over who gets to lick the spoon like two kids), the charismatic, chaotic and brave bakers, the pastel country chic set, the delicate drawings of each contestants bakes.

Amidst worries of climate change, peak oil, redundancy, the creeping privatisation of the public sector, austerity and Russia's seeming determination to start World War 3; this is a beacon of calm and joy;

and by the gods I'm going to enjoy it - now pass that cake plate.

The Maiming of the Shrew

This post is not for the faint hearted. 

For the last couple of weeks the Nu has been exploring her inner hunter and has been enacting performances every other night of that famous feline Elizabethan play 'The Maiming of the Shrew' (huge apologies to William Shakespeare for that appalling pun).

With the surrounding fields full of ripe grass seeds the rodent population has reached its annual peak.  For a cat that has never hunted before this has provided a whole new experience for her.

Domestic cats kill a huge number of native wildlife and hunting should not be encouraged unless your cat is a professional hunter such as on a farm or in a warehouse.  We will be looking at a bell to discourage her if this habit continues.

 I think there's something in here!

 

Yes there's definitely something under here!

 See I told you.  There was something under the shed.

 Ok What do I do with this now?

I know; I'll leave it here for my humans to clean up.  The floor needs a sweep anyway.

Along with the presents of random rodents; she's also been enacting fairy stories in the bedroom.

A nightly telling of 'The Princess and the Pea'.

Her forays into the back field have meant she comes back covered in cleavers seeds which then drop off on the duvet cover as she grooms, leaving small, hard pea like seeds that work their way into the bed or onto the floor awaiting the innocent foot to step on it.

I know, I know we could shut the bedroom door but I don't think I could stand the pitiful meiowing that would result; and frankly, it's preferable to the soggy, rain soaked moggy that snuggled its way into a warm bed to dry off last night.

We suffer for her art.

Curious Cattle

The grass in the hay field at the back of our house is thick and luscious again and that means only one thing....yes the cows have returned again.  Well they haven't actually returned as it's a different bunch from last year but cows are definitely back in the field.

They spend the day wandering the field munching away with occasional forays into the pond for a refreshing drink.

 

 Cattle at the watering hole.

 As you can see they're all young steers (or male cattle).  

How can you tell? Well it's not the horns, as in some breeds both males and females have them.

You can tell by the lack of udders and the slightly tasseled penis sheath on its stomach.

They are fine looking animals with a fearsome set of horns adorning their heads.

They evidently like grazing on the hawthorn and young blackberries.  This charmer is reaching over our neighbours back fence to reach the unripe blackberries growing in her hedge.

Look at the size of that tongue!

 These are peering over our back fence; curious and yes, just a little bit intimidating this close up.

We'll be keeping the cat gate closed while they're in the field as the barbed wire probably wouldn't stand up to concentrated pressure.
They're very friendly, just young and curious.

Soft hides, wet noses and very licky tongues.  This one obviously likes his picture taken and wandered away once I put the camera away :-)

So here comes the tricky part.  What are these healthy and well looked after cows doing in the field.  They obviously aren't dairy cattle, they're boys after all.  I think they're probably being fattened up for beef.

Yep these charming, inquisitive animals may well end up on someones plate. 

This is the reality of farming and of our food chain. It's not all bucolic sunshine and clucking chickens.

Well, I'm not going to get caught up in the whole ethical debate about eating meat.  I'm a carnivorous omnivore. I eat meat and I'm not going to apologise for it. 

 I do though, think it's important that people who do eat meat acknowledge where it comes from.  It's all too easy to eat nondescript meat products that bear no resemblance to the animal they come from.  I accept I eat animals, I know I can kill an animal for food, I know I can skin and dress an animal once it's been killed.  I also believe it's vital to respect the animal who has died to feed me and to honour that sacrifice.  I believe we should treat animals gently, we should care for them with all possible compassion and diligence and to kill them quickly with as little pain and fear as possible.  

We owe them that at the very least.  

It's our responsibility and our duty.