More unfinished work.

I've just been up in the loft; or, I tried to get up into the loft!

There are things I need to find, but it was impossible for me to get further than the top step of the ladder.

However, I did find this unfinished portrait of my daughter Tenpin. So many of my family portraits are unfinished; presumably because the sitters were too impatient.

I also found a painting of Lady M, which contained 'sections' that I really liked. The hands were particularly nice, as well as some of the overall painting. I hadn't seen the picture for years, and had forgotten how 'satisfactory' it was. I might bring it down, and photograph some of the best bits.

I am trying to devise a plan for the loft, using the rafters on either side to create shelves, which would house all the junk, and leave an empty aisle down the middle. It's do-able, but not (I fear) by me.

Something MUST be done, it's a nightmare up there; and it's filled with stuff that I value!

The Exceptional Cepe

One of delights of living where we do in France is the availability of wild mushrooms. Our village has a well-deserved reputation.

The King of Mushrooms (other than Truffles) is the Cepe (Boletus Edulis). Its taste is such that mushroom hunters become obsessed. Locations are carefully guarded, and competition is fierce.

Exceptional harvests can always be preserved. They freeze well, and can be bottled in either oil or water; I prefer 'water', as in a recipe given to me by my Vigneronne.

As such I have never had to actually BUY Cepes, either fresh or preserved. But this Christmas I was given a tin of Cepes in oil (above); something I had never tried before.

Well, I was very pleasantly surprised. The texture was certainly different, but the full flavour was still there.

After this upcoming Summer, one of the things on my 'To Bring Back' list will certainly be a few of these tins.

Kimbo also gave me a jar of Girolles (Chanterelles), but I'm not expecting them to be quite as good. There is no question that the taste will be there, but I've always found that preserving Girolles never really works.

Watch this space... I shall report back!

NB. The Co that cans these mushrooms is called Laguilhon, and their products are always sold in their distinctive yellow packs/tins/etc. They are makers of all of the local specialities, and if you are in the S W France, area and thinking of taking back a few treats, I can recommend everything they produce. I have never been disappointed!

                                 

Yet another bin

I must say that our bin men are very good here in Brighton. They collect rubbish every day, and things are kept very clean.

However, at each point where the bins are situated, there are several containers for very specific different materials. Cardboard, Glass, Tins, Garden waste, old Clothes, Wood, Feathers, Building detritus, Used plasters, Dead flowers, Plastic, etc.

To add to those, we now have a new one. Cooked and un-Cooked food. So now we know what to do with those few Leftover Chips, Chicken bones, and Apple cores that we've been fretting about for years.

It has always been a worry, where to put those few Peas, Bacon rinds, or Fish bones that we left on the side of the plate. Even that blob of uneaten Mustard has caused hours of panic.

Now all our previous problems have been solved. We can take our plates down to the bins, and scrape off those few bits of leftovers into the new shiny bin. 

I hope they do something creative with all this food waste. Feed it to the Seagulls perhaps?

Will we now no longer see half-eaten McBuns on the pavements? Somehow I doubt it.

BUT....... Observant readers will have noticed; the bin is taped closed. Collections will only begin in March, and will take place ONCE A WEEK. I predict a nasty WHIFF.

 

Alcohol, drugs, and Sam the Sham.

Let your hair down, have some fun, and dance like no-one's watching.

There's a one-hit-wonder Wooly Bully about!

Feed the Birds

It hasn't yet been very cold here this winter, but I'm sure it will be in time, and our garden birds will need extra food.

Last year I bought some of those fat/seed balls that one hangs in trees; I had NO TAKERS, and after they had sprouted and gone moldy, I had to throw them away.

This year I have bought something a bit more purpose-built; a standard seed feeder with the contents being kept dry, away from the cold and wet.

I have hung it in the Apple tree in front of the house, but as yet I haven't seen a single bird coming to feed. Where are they all?

We have plenty of Seagulls, Pigeons, Magpies, and Blackbirds; but hardly any small garden birds. It remains to be seen if any turn up.

The RSBP is carrying out it's annual garden bird count at the moment (The Big Garden Birdwatch). People are asked to count all the different birds they see in their garden, and send-in the results. Well, there's not much point my taking part in the survey, as there aren't any. I have a feeling that my neighbour's two cats might have something to do with it.

I'm just hoping that my feeder (being reasonably high up) will remedy that! 

 

Evolution.

When I built our 'tower', I was determined that it should remain as primitive as possible. No water, no electricity, and no mod-cons of any sort. Simply a bed, a cupboard, and a few candles for light.

It remained like that for several years, but last year I did run an electricity cable to the interior for the convenience of a couple of bedside lamps.

Lady M has now been suggesting that we install a basic bathroom onto the side of the tower. This would involve taking water to it, installing a new fosse septique, and destroying the new garage that I recently built for the mower.

So, will I be giving-in to her wishes? Not bloody likely! I might do a more professional job on the electrical installation, but nothing else.

I like it as it is!

 

Stone.

I suppose my love-affair with Stone dates back to when I was billeted right next to a huge towering medieval Cathedral for several years.

The Cathedral, which took hundreds of years to complete, is entirely constructed of Stone. Every single piece of Stone being hand hewn from a quarry 42 miles away in Northampton-shire, transported, then hand carved in situ. A massive undertaking.

I used to wander around in awe, admiring the details of the tiniest bits of carving, that most people never saw. It was, and is, a miracle of human endeavor.

Later, in France, I worked with a Stone Cutter, carving medieval style  'openings' for domestic buildings (windows, doorways, fireplaces, etc). I had been taught Stone Carving at my first Art College, by a man who had worked for Eric Gill.

These days I walk past my local church twice every day. It is built of Flint, with Stone detailing.

This beautiful, but simple, corner masonry (above) is a good example of the basic work involved. Most would walk past it without paying any attention to the workmanship, but it is a lovely piece of work. It was built when all that a Stone Mason possessed was Hammer and Chisel. Every piece of stone had to be firstly shaped into a flat sided block before the actual carving began.

Stone Cutting is very satisfying, but is also back-breaking. Once the lumps of stone are cut, they need to be lifted into position, and that can be 'painful'. I'm sure that my Sciatica is partly caused by lifting crazy weights into place. We always worked in the same way as those medieval Stone Masons had worked centuries ago. No machines or hoists.