Helen, Andrew and Ethan Visit

Helen, Andrew and Ethan arrived today. Triggering another round of present giving.

Further photos are HERE

Family Christmas

The traditional pre-meal photo.  We had a turkey crown from Dallduff Farm which cooked beautifully. Tons of sprouts for me.  As I'm the only lover of white source I spent a relaxing time sturing the roux and mixing in the milk. The M&S Christmas pudding was juicy  with large chunks of fruit and nuts.

Other photos can be found HERE

Jean received the two extremes of foot wear. A pair of trainers and some high class granny slippers.

Laura and Alan's Wedding - Sheffield

A really special weekend  for the wedding of Laura and Alan. The venue being in a Derbyshire hotel, the Maynard.  Most of the out of town guests were booked into The Rutland in Sheffield. I've not been back since my graduation ceremony nearly 40 years ago.

Ann looking very glamorous 

Due to recovering from illness I didn't spend the usual time getting a full selection of images.

Further photos can be found HERE

Very heavy rain for most of the day did not really suppress everyones spirits. It slowed to a gentle drizzle for a few quick out of doors photos of the whole wedding party.

The catering was excellent.  A good portion of vegetables - something I frequently moan about.  Fish cakes to start with Chicken and mash followed by treacle pud and well flavoured custard.

GSCS Christmas Night Out (Ayr)

A big turn out of new, current and past group members. As every year, excellent organisation by Fiona including the super tough quiz.

For me the Carrick Lodge's food was first class - well apart from my Pavlova which was solid.

I played my part due to the real white beard. Really good fun. Goodness I really have a Rudolph nose - the red wine kicking in.

Santa arrives - bag full of presents

Again thanks to Fiona who acted as main photographer due to Santa's duties.

Other selected photos can be found HERE

Rhys's 8th Birthday

Rhys requested a BMX bike. Here he is giving it a quick blast on the path.

A few more photos are HERE

Big Ted in for Repair

Big Ted returns to have some hospital treatment after taking a beating from Rhys's wrestling moves.

He's 10 years old, still a favourite and Jean can't resist making him welcome.

Lamb Shoulder on Saturday

Not to boast about my cooking skills but the lamb shoulder brought to the table on Saturday for Jean and me was one of the best lamb based meals I have had.

Not my recipe of course  but taken from Gordon Ramsey's "Ultimate Cookery Course", Slow Braised Stuffed Lamb Breast although I used an unrolled shoulder. I also decided to cook it much slower, about 4 hours @ 120 C. The result was very tender meat easily broken up. Admittedly Ramsey's original held its form and carved into sections like a Swiss Roll.

I'm not a usual fan of Ramsey's books but this one ticks the boxes for me as it is filled with meals I really fancied eating. Jamie Oliver is my usual favourite for this reason.  The version of lamb shanks in the book is also well worth trying.

The twist that makes a difference is that the lamb is rolled with anchovies, oregano, chilli flakes and lemon zest.  Then braised with white wine, half a tin of tomatoes, onions, capers and olives.

The resulting sauce was slightly light so I brought it together with flour and butter. Jean is not that keen on tomato sauces but this was not too over powering. It was nothing like a thicker full on Italian pasta sauce.

We also ate brown rice and green beans.

I'm really appreciating brown rice this month. I suddenly get the nutty taste and texture which makes regular white rice bland and uninteresting.  It seems harder to over cook and produces a good bite. Nothing worse that squishy white rice that's mush.

While I'm ranting the same can be said of pasta. Maybe I should also re-try brown pasta. The less processed brown versions are supposed to be nutritionally better.

OK that's the target for next week.

Halloween 2012

All three grand kids are in Ayr this year. You should see the amount of goodies they have collected.

This year has been the busiest in quite a while. All the streets children trooped in over 2 hours. Glad we stocked up with junk.

Forehill PS 5k Race

My 60th year has been special. In July I ran a 10K with my daughter Helen and today I ran a 5K with my grandson Rhys. Both were firsts. Apart form odd breaks I have done various forms of exercise since being a tad older than Rhys.  As teenagers my daughters showed no interest in any sporting activity. In these later years this has changed and it gives me great pleasure in taking part in recent events.

The weekend was very wet but it was decided to continue with the race.  The course was very muddy in places but the sun was out for the afternoon. I had a really enjoyable run. Even after numerous tellings Rhys would not keep a steady pace and he kept running hard until he had to walk.

The Start: Rhys and I on the right

The course went form behind Kyle Academy by the riverside to the footbridge. Along to Dam Park, up into the University grounds and a loop back to the river. We then went towards the golf course before returning back to the footbridge over onto the south bank and returning to the school fields.

As I expected Rhys perked up for the finish and we had a competitive sprint for the line. Rhys crossing first to big cheers from the support volunteers, his Mum and Grandmother! It was one of my most enjoyable feelings of the year, stride for stride with Rhys and a big grin on his face.

Surprisingly each finisher received a medal. That will be pinned on the notice board behind my PC.

The rain returned as we got back to the car, perfect timing!

Tom's 60th Birthday

Tom joins the exalted group of bus pass owners.  He is having a holiday next week for his actual birthday so we sprung a surprise at the start of our cons meeting.

For a birthday - the perfect working environment met Tom as he came to work this morning.  There was just enough room for his brown fruit scone which is collected from the restaurant at 08:32 each day. As with all ageing Ayrshire folk regularity is critical in all things.  Another treat provided by the secret desk designer was a "Killi Pie" an essential footballing accessory.  (Those outside the West of Scotland may have to Google the significance of the previous sentence. )

Following on with the football theme a personalised Kilmarnock shirt was well received.

Lynsey presented the highlights of Tom's family and working life using  photos to trigger some of Tom's most renown tales which mainly included bare backsides and drink.  Several presents to help Tom through the coming years followed.

We all went to the Fox and Hounds for a celebration lunch. A birthday cake awaited our return to round of the early afternoon and on to more con-calls!!!

Further photos of the presentation can be seen HERE

The 25th Site Anniversary

My company built the current manufacturing and office site 25 years ago.  Today we had celebrations with music, barbecue, games and big prize draws.

Just after 11am Clive kicked the day off with introduction and reminders of what was planned.

Outside our office area gave a good view of events. Here are a number of SCIT members watching on.

The Celebration Cake 

The group entered a team in the "Human" football event. Congratulation to Graham, Saeed, Apillonia, Mark, Grant, Stephen and Andrew for a well fought game. Imagine a game of table football with real people using ropes to keep them in two competing rows!!! See the link below for action photos of the match.

Other photos can be found HERE .

Trip To Manchester and Liverpool

As we decided to stay in the UK for this years holidays we had a cultural trip to Manchester and Liverpool. This closed my holiday period following the Olympics and a family wedding in Chester-le-Street.

In Manchester we visited a large Lowry exhibition and in Liverpool there was a exhibition of paintings by Turner, Monet and Twombly.  Comparing their styles and influences.

Further up the coast was Anthony Gormley's beach figures at Crosby.

We let the train take the strain and left the car at home.  The Senior Rail Card came to out of the wallet. The Holiday Inn and Thistle Hotels provided the rooms and breakfasts.

Further photos are HERE

Salford Quays

Jean finds a new pal......

Figures at Crosby Beach

Gillian and Matty's Wedding

A brilliant afternoon and evening attending Gillian and Matty's Wedding at Lumley Castle.

A unique and moving ceremony followed by a wedding afternoon tea held in a real medieval castle with steep stairs and narrow passageways.

The remaining photos can be found HERE

Coffee Shop Fun

Could not stop my self taking this in Ann's favourite coffee shop in Towcester.  Thanks again to Ann and Geoff for a great weekend.

Trend setting "fascinator" for the Wedding

Olympic Park and Stadium

The time arrived -- my only Olympic session. In a stadium with 79,999 other people. I've never experienced a crowd that large.

I was starting to get hoarse by 8pm so had to rein back my shouting for Team GB. Every British athlete was cheered even for warming up.  The highlights were Di Greene just missing the bronze and Usain Bolt receiving his medal for the 100m.

The number of people in the Park was enormous. Every vantage point to view the large screens positioned in the centre of the river was taken. Even the large thoroughfares were divided up to keep people flowing.

The whole park was built along the banks of a river. Much of the park was made to look natural. Especially by the main stadium. Meadow flowers in full bloom covered the river banks.

Check out my photos here

Transport to and from the Park was excellent. I got from the Stadium to Milton Keynes in 90 minutes and was back at Ann's in Towcester by 23:40. Many thanks to Geoff for staying up to drive me on the final leg!!

Ethan Stays the Week

Its English schools holidays so we enjoy Ethan off and on for the next few weeks.

Ethan

Gateshead 10K Road Race

I've been training for this run for a while now and 3 weeks ago I strained my back taking rubbish to the coop. That cleared up reasonably well but was left with a bad case of sciatica which stopped me dead.  The physio Andy got me rolling again a few days before the race. The result was that I had not ran consistently for a month and certainly not a 10K distance.

We decided to run as a team and finish together. We were assigned to the slow group which was at the back of the start line up. 4 groups assembled behind the elite runners. We were due to start about 18 minutes after these fast runners. This ended up as 12 minutes. Each group was started by the Mayor of   Gateshead.

A nice steady down hill first couple of Ks would be our fastest. Once down on the quay side the course was fairly flat apart from some rolling sections by the bridges. The course is roughly an out and back format. The final 2 K were the most strenuous as they required a climb back up to the stadium.  Our time was 70 minutes. Surprisingly I came 41st in my age group!!!

Nice and fresh at the start

The finish was in the stadium on the welcoming tartan track.

Here we are afterwards.

L'Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria

Jean and I had a couple of days in the Lakes.

Lake Windermere

I've been going to the Lakes since my teens originally for walking and climbing but this trip was to have a new gastronomic experience. We were booked in the hotel and the restaurants of L'Enclume.

Simon Rohan was one of the chefs chosen to produce the Great British Menu this year. The critics praised all of the food he produced but he was asked to cook the final cause of the banquet for the Olympians. L'Enclume is his establishment.

He has a small hotel and two restaurants in the small village. Due to the land availability in the Lakes they are made of 5 separate building. All are within a couple of minutes walk based around the square.

Cartmel village square

On Sunday we were at his bistro restaurant. The full menu that Simon had prepared as entries for the Great British Menu was offered which we could not refuse.

The two meals this weekend struck home the saying "less is more". I wondered why the portions in these places are so small. I was suspicious about it. The first course put paid to that - the intensity of the flavours were a completely new experience for us. To taste just one leaf of a herb or a small vegetable, a fraction of the size that I would eat for Sunday lunch.



The roasted suckling pig was so tender. It had been cooked for 24 hours and was that good Jean even ate the fat and all the crackling!! Lobster and longoustine where the fish course.

The main restaurant L'Enclume opened at 6:30 and we were scheduled to be one of the first. The whole 12 course tasting menu was to take nearly 3 hours.  Here is the menu.

There are too many course to describe in detail here. The overall impression for me was the starters and sweet courses had a greater immediate impact as they delivered startling flavours which were surprises. This perhaps does a disservice to the meat/fish dishes which still were outstanding but with less novelty.

The highlight for me was tasting one leaf which I could not recognised. I had expected a bland sensation but was hit by a far stronger aniseed taste. The disappointment was the venison - not as strong a taste I had expected.

The most novel was the Oyster pebbles. These came in a bowl with real pebbles. At first glance I did not spot the two edible ones. They were places next to two seashore leaves. We were recommended to eat the leaves first. The "pebbles" were meringues flavoured with apple to make them look grey. The emulsion was in the centre.

The wine list was extensive but we passed on the £830 bottle of red.

Just missing my sheep dog

Other photos can be found  HERE

Olympic Torch in Ayr

We went down near the Carrick Lodge Hotel to view the torch pass through Ayr. A good crowd even this far from the town centre.

I managed to get by a change over point between two runners. Before the first runner arrived the receiving running had her torch "primed" to accept the flame.

Here is the exchange.

Unfortunately my photos of the runner actually running was blocked by a "friendly" Met policeman running along side.

Met Danny by chance. Wearing his flash Ayr Storm basketball sweat shirt

Rhys

Burns Festival

In Wellington Square there were large sculptures made of cardboard boxes including this big arch.

Plus a number of musical entertainers and food stalls.

Footie In the Back Garden

Get the ball in the bucket.  New garden game. Rhys wins - first man to chip it in.

Helen's Birthday

Helen and Ethan arrived today which is Helen's birthday. Everyone was here but for Andrew who was on a Stag Do in Portugal.

Ethan and Helen

Make a Wish

Helen and Erin

Erin and Katherine

Young Ethan takes the camera with good results

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