Puffs

An extremely cheap padder food- only occasionally though as not so good for the waistline. This is what my Mil used to cook for her big brood to fill them up when she was doing a cooked breakfast. Called "Puffs" they are simply a very thick paste of water and SR flour [think thick wallpaper paste] with salt for flavour [we added herbs last time] Heat up oil in a frying pan and drop dollops in- cook slowly for 10-15 mins turning once. During that time they puff up- hence the name! Worth draining them on absorbent paper as they soak up the oil otherwise. Even the hollow legged teenogre took a brief snacking break....mind you he was back nosing around my cupboards looking for edible treasures within the hour but that's quite a long time with his current state of near perpetual hungriness!

Arilx

Grammatical Humour.

One does so hope that this has tickled one's fancy!

Arilx

Out of Order

This is the art work's official name. Frankly it puts me in mind of a certain teenogre after a night on the tiles, but then there's a reason why I'm not a big name in the Art World [yet!]. By David Mach, it'll be a familiar piece to anyone who has pounded the streets of Kingston.

Arilx

City Wildlife.

Sounds like a contradiction in terms but even on my short walk over to Kingston in the drizzle earlier this week I was stunned when a turquoise torpedo shot past me in the gap between the side of the boat and the river bank. It could only mean one thing...a Kingfisher. I barely had time to even register it before it was gone.

Then round the corner under one of the bridge arches one of these- a heron. Arty L said it's normally there. The water moves rapidly and it's found a perfect place to fish. It's quite used to bemused humans watching it although I suspect the majority miss it as it's tucked away. I took a photo but it's awful- dark, drizzle and a Janet and John press and point do not make for Simon King type snaps so you'll have to content yourself with this much prettier depiction

These images and the ones below form part of the Red Wall Mosaic which was created by the Save the World Club. It deters people from vandalising the area and we discovered it by chance on our way back. Although living in the area this was the first time dear chum L had seen it. This is just a selection from some of the gorgeous artwork depicting our fantastic wildlife.

Arilx

Old Father Thames...the alternative scene.

'Tis surprising what one finds when one strolls by the river from Surbiton to Kingston with dear chum arty L. A most welcome splash of colour in amongst all the rain and shorter days. Expressing one's individuality via one's boat house no less!

Arilx

St Catherine's Day

St Catherine met her maker in 305AD. Reputedly she refused to turn away from her devout Christian faith despite the pagan Emperor Maximinus II's best attempts. She failed to crack under pressure when he tortured her and then turned down his marriage proposal [one would think she had probably already drawn her own conclusions about what type of husband he might make judging by his previous form!]. Frustrated by his inability to force her to yield to his will he condemned her to die on a spiked wheel. Even this plan was thwarted when it shattered upon her touch so he ordered that she be executed by beheading instead. So next time you have a Catherine Wheel as part of your firework display spare poor old Cath a thought!

She is a much celebrated figure in France and has been adopted by the lacemakers in this country. Very much a women's saint she is one to whom spinsters traditionally prayed to help them find a husband. This is an English prayer summing up quite nicely what your average unmarried dame was after when she appealed to St Cath for her services:

A husband, St Catherine
A handsome one, St Catherine
A rich one, St Catherine
A nice one, St Catherine
And soon, St Catherine.

It was traditional to feast upon Cattern cakes accompanied by Hot Pot [ a rather evil sounding hot combination of rum, beer and eggs] to mark the day and celebrate her legacy.

Arilx

And The Grumpy Old Trout Went Out!

Overtired and snippy Sunday morning- that was me. Absolutely charming I was but thankfully Mr GBT put up with me being frankly a PITA and once I'd been out in the sunshine and enjoyed a local jolly I returned to The GB Towers in a far better frame of mind.

I've recently discovered and joined a Facebook group called "Strange Things Found In Churches". To my delight I find there are many other souls who take great delight in snooping around churches so I'm afraid this has made me ten times worse! I've got a list of places I'd like to visit including churches [I add more on as fast as I tick others off] and yesterday saw another one scored through.

 Nestling at the foot of the South Downs this is St Botolphs which is a late Saxon church, Dating from 950AD it was originally called St Peter De Vetrie Ponte [St Peter of the old bridge] as it stood at the western end of the bridge [no longer in existence] which was on the pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Winchester. It was renamed after the Norman Conquest.

The ownership of the church passed into the hands of the Churches Conservation Trust in 2014 who are now doing the sterling job of carrying out essential maintenance work. It still has the occasional service held in it and I have to say it exudes the most wonderful sense of peace as you enter. It is simple and unadorned but that is part of its charm for me and I was touched to see in the visitor book that people came  sought solace within its walls after the tragic events of the Shoreham Air Show disaster a few months ago.

I had to wonder if whoever added their mark to the church door got themselves into a spot of hot water upon its discovery?!

And this is a tapsell gate. Although this one is modern [2003] they are quite rare. Mounted on a central spindle they can swing all the way round and are named after a carpenter called John Tapsell.

Always mindful of making the most of our fuel we then dropped into St Mary's in nearby Washington. Parts of the building are 13th century but the Victorians had a whale of a time and ripped down great chunks of it willy nilly whilst they set about "improving" it. Frankly it's left the place a bit sanitised but I did give the thumbs up to the rather splendid wooden barrel vaulted ceiling and the rather Arts and Crafts type depiction of the four gospels. It is very much still a hub of the local community and seems to have adapted to the changing demands made of it. Guess that's got to be a good thing rather than seeing it fall into rack and ruin through a lack of use.

Arilx