Oh, to be beside the seaside

These pictures were taken in Whistand Bay, Cornwall, one of my favourite places in the world. The beach is reached by driving along steep cliffs and along windy Cornish roads and then by an almost diagonal slope down to the sand. 

If you're lucky enough to have grown up near to this beach then you will also know about the amazing path that creeps along beside the hidden beach huts - some of the only residential beach huts in the UK. They are like something about of a dream, or the lovely shire of the Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings.  

When I was working as a researcher for a TV company, I had to hunt out some of the owners of these huts for a feature on waterside living. One day I knocked on the door of a couple who had just come home with their day old baby. They welcomed me with open arms (we'd never met!) and we all sat shellshocked, chatting together and watching the sun setting over the sea. I made tea, heating water in a black pot on top of their little stove and drinking sweet tea out of white tin mugs. 

I dream of living in one of these huts, waking with the rising sun and spending my day tending to the fuchsias and sweet williams in the garden. 

Yet I would miss the busy pulse of London..the traffic of Old St, the smells of the market on Whitecross St, the aggressive elbows that greet me on Oxford Circus, the rainbow of colours on Colombia Rd, the coffee on Monmouth St, the luscious greens and community of strangers in Queens Park and most of all the friends who have foolishly chosen to allow me to adopt them as my surrogate family in this foreign city. 

Must do better

We ate amazing food throughout our stay in Devon over the May bank holiday weekend. From the bowl of freshly made baba ghanoush that greeted us on our arrival to the rich fried tomatoes that we squashed onto buttered toast at breakfast to the breadcrumbed pork we ate with piles of creamed sweet potatoes in front of Britain's Got Talent - every bit of it was divine.

My beloved mother, as fantastic as she is in most ways, has always been very territorial (to say the least) when it comes to her kitchen. So it is from the sidelines that I have tried to absorb her culinary skills, to replicate at a later date in a kitchen of my own. 

I don't know why but I have always been one of those irritating tricky eaters...and before you shut down this page in horror please read on.

A few teenage years as a vegetarian (how original) and a lack of experience actually handling raw meat has made me a little uneasy about being adventurous with the old dead animals! It is not handling meat that's the challenge, just that I've got into the habit of cooking without meat and as such stick to one type when I am feeling carnivorous.

I stick to my old friend Mrs chicken most of the time, needing simply to dice or slice and chuck in the pan or baking dish. And even typing these words I feel the vegetarian in me stomping her feet. See, in all things I am indecisive. At least I can rely on that,

The point is that I am going to start pushing myself to be more adventurous. I live in a beautiful flat with a wonderful large and well stocked kitchen. And I am resolving to use it more, and in new ways. As easy as it is to come home to my stable dinner of bulgur wheat salad with roast tomatoes and (surprise, surprise) chicken, I am going to book in some dinner parties and try a few new dishes. 

Of course I will keep you updated on my successes and failures...and for now here are my mother's glorious creations.

Thank you Joanna

Thank you to Joanna at A Cup of Jo for putting up my pictures of Danny and giving him his much deserved fifteen minutes of fame. He makes me deeply happy, and I'm glad others feel the same.

p.s. To those who sensibly commented that the chicken in the post below might be afraid, the first picture is evidence of their mutual respect for each other!

Adventures with a dog named Danny

Scenes from London

I can't get my head around the fact that we are fast approaching the half way point of 2009. This year has already thrown a lot at me, including the end of a quite new relationship and the re-kindling of an old one, along with dealing with the very recent loss of a much loved and deeply missed relative and coming to terms with how that will affect another loved one.

I have come to a much deliberated over decision, and have decided to leave my current job for a new career, and this will mean returning to full time study for 3 years. But this is a long-term plan and entails spending the next year and a half living extremely frugally so I can continue to live in London without a salary.

Despite these activities and decisions, this year is still passing in a combination of frantic activity and a slight feeling of montony. Without any trips away on the horizon, and having had several grey and drizzly weekends, I am feeling like I need a change of scenery or a new challenge to focus my attention.

This will probably take the form of trying to get into shape for summer, which will mean getting out of my new daily habit of eating quavers and chocolate at 3pm. I also hope to cook some new dishes over the next few weekends, and save some money while I'm at it. I have been a glutton when it comes to eating out this month.

The pictures above have been taken over my last weekends around London. The lovely looking couple are Ramona and Nemo, a Swedish couple I spotted in a bar and managed to snap a photo of. We ended up chatting, with me insisting I write up a list of London highlights for them. I also invited them to a party we were organising in Tuffnell Park (which is not the easiest place to get to) and I was so thrilled when they rocked up on the night. I hope we made their trip to London a little bit special, just as it should be.

Snaps of: Marks & Spencers Roses for my grandpa, a gorgeous bed and co-ordinated decor at Cologne & Cotton, a sweet couple lost in their books outside the Wallace Collection, children's books on display (I adore the imaginative design of most children's book), hot chocolate and Northern Lights in bed, one of the many beautiful churches in Maida Vale/St. John's Wood (I will check the name), a simple dinner and a cold glass of wine to celebrate Friday, a movie at The Gate Cinema (we saw, and loved, In the Loop), a jaunty note left outside an expensive house in Marylebone, scrapbooking on a Saturday morning, my new kitten heel gladiator sandals, Nemo and Ramona.

Let the funky music do the talking

For those who are interested, and I apologise but I think this is UK only, my first Spotify playlist. This was actually designed for my wonderful friend Tess, but for those of you getting for the weekend and a bit of dancing, please enjoy.

A few of my least favourite things

I always read top ten lists of "Things That Make Me Happy" or "Little things that made my day" with a heavy dose of cynicism and British sarcasm. I am ashamed to say if I ever begin making a list in my mind it all too often contains the things that irritate the hell out of me, rather than life's simple pleasures.

So as it is Friday, and I have now spent over 4 hours making playlists on Spotify, I am going to turn my attention to the things that make me happiest. However if I am to do that, I will also enjoy the great indulgence of listing the things that wind me up most.

Without further ado, and we shall start with the goodies:

Simple Pleasures
Fresh Coffee.
Friends who make me laugh and strangers who are kind.
Sitting right by the fire in my parents house with a glass of champagne in one hand and my dog Danny in the other. Throw in Britain's Got Talent/an old Poirot, and the company of the parents and you've got my perfect evening.
Leaving work early and meeting friends in town to mooch around Topshop, Urban Outfitters and Muji before heading into Soho for dinner.
Somebody else doing the dishes.
An impromptu dinner out.
Freshly washed and ironed sheets and duvet covers.
A sunny weekend.
Getting posters and art work framed.
Planning my outfits in preparation for the next day.
Going to bed at 10 with a good book and turning my phone off.
A long run around the park with a good soundtrack and no-one else around.

Misery Makers
Cleaning out the coffee granules from my cafetiere
Waiting anything over 5 minutes for my bus/tube (this is shameful impatience, but it is also shameful that I pay £25 a week for a travelcard so I feel justified in this grievance)
Eating too much rubbish, which always seems a great idea beforehand but not so much afterwards.
People who walk slowly up steps when they know someone is behind them (this is especially annoying when they are walking to a train platform with a train about to pull away, and it happens far more than you'd hope!)
Dishes left until the next morning.
Rainy weekends and grey days.
Having to pander to the requests and boundaries of people without imagination or who do things because they've always been done thus.