11 fish and a hamster called Steve

So this is a little late, sorry about that. I like my Saturday mornings to have 3 things, always starting with a lie in:

Coffee

Bunny cuddles 

And more recently, this guy.

John Finnemore’s souvenir programme is back and is my newly appointed Saturday morning treat. It’s charming, witty and takes pleasure in clever pedantry; approaching it more as a joyful exploration of language and its quirks. In short, it’s a delight that brightens up my Saturday morning and sets me up for the weekend.

This Saturday a friend and I had planned a little trip to buy some fish for her son. It was supposed to be a quick jaunt with a stop for some cake before our evening together. Instead we spent several hours watching all the beautiful coloured fish and anemones and came out with 11 fish plus a new hamster called Steve.

2,997 photos

This year for Mum’s birthday we went all out. Wait, sorry, we all went out…to Rome. It’s a wonderful city, very beautiful and relaxed. Every corner could have been photo-worthy but I was slowing everyone down. These are just a few of the sights we saw. 

Today I have enjoyed...

These are things I have enjoyed today:

1. Catching up with an old friend

2. Giving the bunny a bath.

You see before you a ‘rabbit of negative euphoria’. 

3. The Sleeping Lord

Continuing with the theme of ‘please stop spoon-feeding us political clichés, you’re killing me’

 

4. My bed

So squishy. Goodnight!

Time for a sarcasm font

Today a Tory minister apologised for a comment that was made in a party conference fringe meeting. He apologised unreservedly, ‘I would like to offer a full and unreserved apology. I was foolish to accept the premise of the question. To be clear, all disabled people should be paid at least the minimum wage, without exception, and I accept that it is offensive to suggest anything else.’ Unreservedly I say, all disabled people should be paid at least the minimum wage because that is what the law says and apparently the general public agree, but I still don’t necessarily think that they are worth it, as I said earlier.

Yep, that’s right. He pulled the old ‘I’m sorry you’re upset’ trick. And it seems that Labour, spotting that cunning little switch as well, have rejected his apology.

Apart from the obvious concern that someone who holds such disgusting opinions is trusted to contribute to the protection and development of our country’s benefits system, this sense of ‘less than’ leaves a bad taste in the mouth especially when considered in the context of the bigger picture.

Delays in disability payments and higher numbers of job-seekers sanctions will be pushing some unemployed to the limit. If we start to stray into the dangerous territory of ‘less than’ we will see the divide in our culture increase; with some of the most vulnerable members of our society being told they aren’t worth the minimum wage and the lifestyle that can buy you, no matter how basic that may be.

So farcical though this episode may seem, no matter how much like a ridiculous 50s sitcom, we can’t let the laughter mask the ugly truth that a man, senior in our Government held these views, when he was in a position to do something about it.

Going potty

I find the plant pots in the shops around Reigate really boring. So far the most exciting one I have found is cream and ribbed. So tonight I decided to jazz up the plain pots I have. 

Aren't they ghastly. 

I am armed with my craft tape, acrylic paints and lots of newspaper (because I will drop the paintbrush and make a mess). 
I have taped up the pots to give the paint lines that I want. 

The paints that I have dry with a slight spring in them, so I have to be careful when I take the tape off otherwise the paint starts to peel as well. 
Half an hour later, ta da!

4 seconds to live

My laptop is sick.

Inconveniently it has rejected its own battery, like a Xenomelic limb.

As a result it cannot remain on, unless plugged in, for more than 4 seconds. Even then it must be fully asleep before you unplug it. This doesn’t seem too much of a hardship except when you need to move from room to room. Living in a small flat you would think that four seconds would be adequate time to cross rooms given I should know where I am going, but that is not accounting for the time to both plug and unplug the contraption.

I have found, through bitter experience and several high-speed falls, that there are two plugs in my house that are close enough that if I move swiftly I can make the transition without my computer shutting itself down. It's a knife-edge journey and one that cannot be made without some preparations (gathering as much cable in my hands as possible so I don’t trip over it as I go) and cannot be achieved without looking like a cartoon villain trying to escape the scene of a crime.

Until such time as I find a cure I think I may need to rig up my house with a string of extension cables and daisy chain my way along them to move successfully from room to room with power (and at least some dignity).

Sunday bakes - Autumn apple cake

Like most people I have a few pounds that I would like to shift, so often, with good intentions, I buy a batch of fruit which tends to go uneaten. Every time I over buy apples I go to make my apple cake but I can never remember what recipe I modified last time so this time I have decided to write it down, very unlike me.

My parents have a few apple trees in their garden so I have a large batch of cooking apples to be used up.

I like to make my apple cakes a bit like bread puddings, spongy, gooey and spicy. Other apple cakes seem to layer up slices of apple but I like to stew chunks and mix it into a sponge mix before I bake.

Previous iterations of this have worked out well but having not written down what I did today will be another experiment which may or may not work out. Lets find out!

1lb 8oz of cooking apples

6oz light brown sugar

6oz sultanas

1tbsp cinnamon

½ tbsp ginger

1tsp ground cloves

For the sponge

4oz margarine, softened

4oz caster sugar

2 medium eggs

4oz self-raising flour

½ tbsp cinnamon

For the topping

2 red eating apples

Golden caster sugar

1tsp cinnamon

180° for 30 minutes

Peel and core the cooking apples and put them in a heated saucepan with the brown sugar. Heat until the apple goes soft and translucent stirring often to make sure the sugar doesn’t burn, add in the spices and sultanas as it cooks.

Whisk up the margarine and sugar until light and pale then mix in the eggs, one at a time. Once the mixture is fully mixed and light sift in the flour. Mix in the cooked apple and sultanas and pour into two greased cake tins and put in the oven for roughly 30 minutes. My oven is pretty sketchy on maintaining a temperature, for Christmas last year I was given an oven thermometer because once it is on the heat just goes up and up and you can never tell what temperature it really is, so I usually go by the colour of the cake and the skewer test. 

Whilst that is baking take two red eating apples and thinly slice them uniformly. Put them in a saucepan with some Golden caster sugar and a tsp of cinnamon and heat. Stir it carefully to make sure you don’t break the slices until the apple is going translucent and the sugar is a syrup. 

When the cake is cooked leave it in the tin for a little while as the inside will be gooey from all the apple, then take it out and carefully lay the apple slices over the top of the cake in whatever pattern you like. I tend to put it in a circle. Once the apple is laid out pour the rest of the caramel syrup over the top of the cake. 

It came out a little too gooey so next time I think I will add less stewed apple. 

Experiment outcome: salvageable  -  to be improved next time. 

Quick note, be careful where you throw your oven gloves. Preferably don’t aim for the hot stove top and then wander off to go and watch American horror story because that is pretty foolish and you would be lucky to come back in just as they are starting to smoke but before they catch. Sigh.