Children's Portraits.

My daughter 'Tenpin' with her bear Mrs Pins, and the two babies.

'Souvenir' paintings are unlike other work, simply because they're not intended to be seen by anyone outside the family. They're just records of 'how things were', and tend to be a bit rough.

I mentioned yesterday that drawing dogs was a bit of a nightmare; they NEVER sit still... Painting children is not quite so bad, they will sometimes remain still for a few minutes; even so the pictures usually go unfinished.....

....as in this portrait of my oldest son Kimbo. He was only two at the time, so I suppose he had some excuse.

 

Dog Week: Monty's first portrait.

W C Fields rightly observed that one should 'Never work with children or animals'.

Dogs are notoriously difficult to draw, and one is lucky to get anything down on paper even after several 'sittings'. Even the portraits I did of my children, when they were small, are mostly unfinished on account of their fidgeting; dogs are far worse.

Anyway, here's young Monty; still really a pup' at 11 months. He's patiently waiting for a 'treat' that I placed on a table, just above nose height.

What A Difference A Year Makes.

It hardly seems like 11 months ago that we first brought Monty home with us. From the very beginning he was chubby, pig-like, and permanently ravenous.

We were constantly amazed by how quickly he grew; we would get up in the mornings and look at him in amazement. 'He's grown again' we'd say, and wonder when it would stop (if ever).

Pictures don't seem to give a true indication of how big and muscular he's become; he's a very big boy. We're still wondering what his father could have been. Lady M thinks Ridgeback; I go for Great Dane.

The Sunday Curiosity: No 1. Eruv.

Most religions of the world have their little quirks; some go in for mock-cannibalistic rituals (drinking blood and eating flesh), some throw live animals off high cliffs to appease their inhumane 'gods', and others dance around, tempting death by putting poisonous snakes into their mouths; but Judaism must have one of the most bizarre.  

All major cities in the western world have large Jewish communities. In general they are hard working, honest, and respectful people, who require nothing more than to be left in peace, and get on with their work. But, as their religion prevents them doing certain things on a Saturday, they have had to find a solution.

So, they string up a length of aerial wire (the eruv) around their most populated areas, and within that area the rules no longer apply. Within the 'wired' area they may 'Move an object from an enclosed area (i.e. their home) to a major thoroughfare', or 'Move an object from a major thoroughfare to an enclosed area', or, if they're really adventurous, 'Move an object of more than four cubits around within a major thoroughfare'.

That simple encircling length of wire, magically allows them to ignore the rules of the Torah... A bit like Christians crossing their fingers behind their backs, as they ignore the 10 commandments.  Ain't life/religion wonderful!

If I find anything even more bizarre, I might post a 'The Sunday Curiosity No 2'.

True Love.

Him: "Darling, how do you feel about swapping positions tonight?"

Her: "OK, you cook and wash-up, and I'll sit on the sofa and fart!"

Do 'strikes' ever achieve their aim?

Everyone has the democratic right to withhold their labour, and that right should NEVER be taken away. But after last Wednesday's pointless UK strike, one has to ask questions.

The only 'proper' strike that I've followed closely was the 1984-1985 UK Miners Strike, the result of which was devastating. Here is a précis of the events.

On the 6th March 1984, the UK's 'National Coal Board' announced to the government that it wished to close 20 uneconomic coal mines. An enquiry was held, and the go-ahead was given for the closure of 13. As a result, the leader of the National Miners Union, Arthur Scargill, called his men out on strike and it soon developed into a violent national disaster that not only saw the deaths of 6 men, but also heralded the demise of the Coal Industry and the once powerful UK Trades Unions.

In 1983 (prior to the strike) there had been 174 working coal mines in the UK; the majority of which were viable. Today there are JUST 6. But not only did the strike destroy Britain's coal industry, it also had a devastating effect on engineering, the railways, electricity production, and steel production, all of which were inextricably linked to the coal industry. Traditional 'metal bashing' in The Midlands has now all but disappeared.

Certain mining communities have never recovered, and many families that were divided over the strike will never be reunited. The strike achieved nothing but unemployment, the coalfields were devastated, and those ever-eager Union leaders are now all living on fat pensions.

The miners themselves obviously had genuine concerns, but they could never have foreseen the disastrous results of their politically led strike action.

One really wonders how many strikes have ever achieved their desired effect. One could ask Britain's dockers and shipbuilders that same question.

Paté 2011

It's paté season again. Our stocks from last year are not yet depleted; a good enough sign that I make roughly about the right amount each year.

Of course everything is a little more expensive this year; but paté is paté, and never to be skimped on.

Yesterday morning I bought a huge, nearly 6 kg, whole pork belly, a large 1.5 kg lump of 'gorge de porc' (I think this is called 'hand of pork' in the UK), a 1.3 kg whole pig liver, and just under a kilo of duck foie gras.

For the paté itself I used 2 kgs of skinned and de-boned belly, all of the 'hand', about 500gms of liver, and all the foie gras. The first three ingredients were coarsely ground and mixed with Armagnac, white wine, 6 eggs, salt-n-pepper, and herbs, etc; with the foie gras being introduced later as large walnut sized lumps in the middle of each jar. If my maths is still good, we will end up with just over 4 kgs of paté, divided amongst ten 200 gm and six 350 gm jars.

The cost was a little above €26 (the foie gras alone counting for nearly €20), which is probably in the region of £22 for the lot. If that ain't a bargain; I dunno what is.... and I also had some mix left over for a large foie gras stuffed terrine, a slice of which is below!

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention; Whilst our wood-fired cooker was blasting out heat, Lady Magnon took advantage, and made our Christmas pud's at the same time.... 7 hrs in the steamer. They look wonderful!