Beautiful English manor house on the Brockhampton Estate...

On a warm and sunny October day I visited Brockhampton Estate in Herefordshire and was amazed at the beautiful and romantic timber framed manor house which dates back to the late 14th century. It was picture perfect and still had roses rambling round the door in full bloom... It is surrounded by a lovely cottage garden and a large damson orchard and to walk amongst it all was like being transported back in time to a more tranquil era...

September sunshine...

A few late blackberries- I have picked about 5 kg from the hedgerows this year

brightly coloured Hawthorn berries

a corn field after the harvest...

Enjoyed a lovely walk in late afternoon sunshine across my local fields - a little oasis amongst an urban sprawl... It has been an "Indian Summer" for the last week and long may it last...

Damsons in Distress!!

I managed to buy some damsons from a farmers market this weekend - they are never for sale in supermarkets- and made a batch of delicious damson jam. They are my all time favourite fruit for jam as I love the sharp intense flavour and it is very easy to make as damsons are full of pectin so the jam always sets well. As you can see from the article below the fruit is on the decline which is very sad . Originally, damsons came from the area around Damascus, hence the name, and damson skins have been used for the manufacture of purple dye from Roman times.

Damsons in distress - HELP!! Save our Damson orchards...
By Telegraph ViewPublished: 7:44PM BST 14 Aug 2009
Fruit growers are reporting a good year for damsons, because of the cold winter and mild spring. However, there are fewer buyers than ever and many orchards are dying out. ? The damson is just the latest traditional English fruit to suffer from the decline in orchards and change in tastes towards more exotic fruits.
Stuart Ward, the last wholesaler of English damsons in the country, said that when he started in the trade 30 years ago more than 500 tonnes were sold every year but it is now less than 100.
This year the market is particularly dire because struggling drinks company Innocent have cancelled a massive order, jam-makers are importing plums from abroad because of consistency of supply and rising labour costs make it difficult for smaller growers to make a profit.
Mr Ward explained that damson trees only bear fruit for 30 years and many growers are simply not bothering to re-plant.
“Damsons will die out in a few years because no one is replanting the trees,” he said. “The picking costs do not make is worthwhile commercially for the value of the crops and people do not demand the fruit anymore – they do not realise how nice damsons are.” Most of the damson orchards left in England are in Kent, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. The Westmorland Damson Association in Cumbria,

Southwold- a British seaside gem!!

my granddaughter just off to build a castle...

and didn't she do well!!

Have just returned from a fabulous holiday in Southwold - a traditional seaside resort in Suffolk that is famous for it's brightly coloured beach huts- and we had a wonderful time with the family... it was a real bucket and spade, ice creams, picnic on the beach, type of holiday and the weather was just perfect - warm and sunny everyday. We paddled in the sea, made sandcastles, got sand in the sandwiches and had a really great time. Southwold has a short pier that was only built in 2001 and has stylish shops and restaurants along it- we had a fish and chips lunch there in a cafe that overlooked the sea and the shore.

There is an interesting harbour there with loads of shacks that sell freshly caught fish, crabs, crayfish etc and a ferry that will row you over to the pretty village of Walberswick. The present ferryman is a young woman and she is the fifth generation to run the ferry.

The ferry that rows you over to Walberswick...

Walberswick village.

Lepidoptera - A butterfly Ball!

The really beautiful Red Admiral butterfly....

A Painted Lady Butterfly... have seen lots of these this summer...

Not sure what this one is? ....

The Peacock hiding in the nasturtium leaves...

The garden is just full of beautiful butterflies this summer so have spent hours trying to photograph them - very difficult as they don't stay still for long enough . Our Buddleia bush has just been covered with them whenever the sun is out...I have been trying to identify them from an old "Observer's Book of butterflies" from 1966 !

Wild Northumberland

The ancient remains of Dunstanburgh castle...

Hadrians Wall and Housesteads with it's ancient Roman fort is impressive and the Roman soldiers (looking good for their age!!!) complete the scene.

Have just returned from a good holiday in the wilds of Northumberland which is in the north east of England. It is one of Britains hidden gems as there seem to be few tourists even though the countryside and coastal areas are stunning. The beaches are wide swathes of clean golden sand often with a backdrop of sand dunes and Embleton bay and Bamburgh both have ancient castles overlooking the sea.

The historic town of Alnwick ,which has one of the largest second hand bookshops in the U.K. housed in the old station building- Barter Books- is interesting to visit as is the pretty town of Warkworth which has an impressive castle and good places to eat. I sound like a travel guide!! But it is a lovely place to visit and locals are friendly and welcoming!!!

Lavender cup cakes!!

These delicately flavoured and unusual cup cakes are really yummy and lovely to make in the summer when the lavender is in flower. I used the recipe from Nigella Lawson's "how to be a domestic goddess" book and it is the usual standard cup cake recipe with some lavender milk added to the mixture. This is made by infusing 6 to 8 sprigs of lavender in 125ml of hot milk and leaving for 20 minutes , then straining the milk and leaving it for a further 10 minutes before adding about 2 tablespoons to the cupcake mix. The icing is made by adding some lavender milk to the icing sugar. Enjoy a flowery scented treat!!

Happy first birthday...

I made this sponge cake for my youngest grandaughter's first birthday ...her favourite toy is a duck glove puppet so thought she would like a cute little duck to feature on her birthday cake...

Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire used for filming "The Duchess"

Had a fabulous day out at this amazing country house in Derby, U.K.- It was built in 1759 for the Curzon family and features some magnificent interiors designed by Robert Adam which definitely have the wow factor. The house has beautiful landscaped grounds with a series of lakes and cascades. It was recently used to film "The Duchess" starring Keira Knightly and has an exhibition showing how the interiors were transformed and cared for during the filming... I am looking forward to seeing the film when it is released in the U.K. in September..

Bright summery Bag!

I have just finished making this bag for my sister to cheer her up as she has been ill for quite a long time- am pleased with the bright summery colours from the lovely fabrics that I got from Etsy... It took me a while to find a good pattern but eventually found one on this blog

http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2008/01/1-hour-bag-tutorial.html and it is very easy to make and a really good tutorial... good blog as well!

Best Lemon pudding ever!

This pudding is just divine and the recipe is in the BBC Good Food magazine which I subscribe to monthly.. I served it cold for a change with summer fruits - strawberries and blueberries -and it was gobbled down in minutes with everyone wanting seconds !!

The recipe is

50g butter

200g caster sugar

2 large lemons

3 large eggs

50g plain flour

300ml milk

butter an ovenproof dish and heat oven to 180c/160c fan . Weigh sugar and butter into a bowl .Finely grate lemons and then squeeze out the juice- you will need 100ml. Separate the eggs putting the egg whites in a dry clean bowl. Whizz the butter,sugar and lemon zest in a food processor until creamy, add the juice , whizz again and tip in yolks,flour and milk to form a smooth batter.

Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until firm but not too stiff and pour in the lemon batter and fold two together carefully so as not to knock the air out of the egg whites.

Pour the mix into buttered dish and set in a roasting tin adding a kettle of hot water to the roasting tin making a 'bain marie'. Bake for 35 minutes until the top is golden brown with a lovely lemony sauce beneath and ... Voila! Enjoy! Lovely dusted with icing sugar and served warm or cold with berries and ice cream - yum yum !!

beautiful birthday gifts...

It was my birthday today and I received a parcel from Australia from my lovely daughter who had made me this fabulous hand made bag

and matching purse - I am so in love with it- it is really beautifully made and the fabrics coordinate so well

this lovely little book was enclosed called "The Miggy Tree" by Karl Yeomans with wonderful illustrations by Anna Walker. The story is really heart warming and was dedicated to the author's mother - sadly he died in 2006 aged just 33 years. These are such precious gifts - thank you so much Becky.

I spent the day at a barbecue in my friends garden and had a really good time eating and drinking far too much and enjoying the perfect weather today, which ended in a huge thunderstorm ... then watched Andy Murray winning a tennis match at Wimbledon so I had a day to remember...