Almost there.

I've been very busy over the past few days, so Lady Magnon has been left to her own devices.

She tends to get festive well ahead of me, and she's been dying to start baking.

OK, they may not win a 'neatness' competition, but they are delicious. She even followed Weaver's advice to make her pastry with Orange juice, which was excellent.

Don't forget to have a wish when you eat your first Mince Pie of the season; those wishes always come true. 

Today, I believe, is her cake day.

p.s. I apologise for not having answered your comments recently. 

King Juncker I of Europe.

I see that EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker has recently awarded himself an increase in his annual salary of €10,000, and will trouser a Christmas bonus of €5,000. Any job where you can name your own price seems pretty good to me!

As Nigel Farage said "The EU is the opposite of Meritocracy; it's where people get rewarded for failure".



Jean-Claude has recently been instructing EU leaders NOT to let their countrymen have an in/out referendum, because voters will vote LEAVE. That figures!

How he ended-up with his job, I can't imagine!

Mona Selfie.

No comment necessary.

       

Beret Basque Laulhère .

I have been a beret wearer since the age of about 20, my original reasoning being that because of its shape, it was less likely to blow away in strong wind. I was wrong, but persevered.

One of my favourite berets (they're all different) was eaten by Bok, and I was left with just two; my present ratting beret, which is past its sell-by date, and my wider Sunday beret.

A couple of weeks ago I was buying Mouse poison at my local plant, pet, and everything to do with outdoors, shop, when I spotted the above. A genuine wide brimmed Beret Basque.

I think it was priced at a staggering €42; so I screamed inwardly and threw caution to the winds.

It will become my Christmas, Weddings, and Funerals beret; and probably see very little other use.

As they used to say "If you want to get ahead, get a hat". 

Mincemeat 2016.

When the kitchen table is strewn with Suet from England, dried fruits, and exotic spices from across the world, it means only one thing; Mincemeat for Mince Pies.

Lady Magnon has been shopping in London, and on her list were all those essentials for Dec 25th that we can't find here; she even brought back one of Prince Charles's own Plum puddings. 

I honestly think she's at her happiest when she's making either Mincemeat, Mince Pies, or her seasonal Guinness Cake. 

The kitchen smelt wonderful with the combined aromas of spices, citrus and Armagnac. Mince Pies must be my very favourite accompaniment to a winter cup of Lapsang.

December does have its advantages.

Speed with Guy Martin

England seems to specialise in breeding daredevils.

Lawrence of Arabia, Donald Campbell, Scott of the Antarctic, Eddie the Eagle, and now Guy Martin; to name but a few.

I really know very little about Guy Martin other than he's a pro' motor bike racer; what I do know, however, is that he's fearless, incomprehensible (he needs subtitles), and totally nuts. Anything that goes very very fast, he'll have a go at.

He has a TV programme called 'Speed with Guy Martin' which is certainly worth watching; if you enjoy such things.

Nature's Bounty.

I was just heading off for Bok's first walk of the day, when I spotted these fabulous twin Parasol Mushrooms growing by the side of the drive.

I think I say every year that these are one of the easiest identifiable mushrooms around; also one of the most delicious.

These particular ones are about 11 inches tall, and as you can see they have a very distinctive ring around the upper part of the stem. Difficult to confuse with any other.

If you are lucky enough to find some, throw away the stems, clean with a damp sponge, tear the caps into quarters, and fry in olive oil with a tiny sprinkling of salt.

A very meaty mushroom; we had them for lunch yesterday, and they were bloody marvellous.