England in the 'Summer'

Rain rain rain rain rain rain and rain.

Back at Ma 'Grammy Lou' Spratticus in Olney. An 'interesting' (i.e. soggy) riverside walk along the banks of the Great Ouse (which funnily enough comes up as Great Puddle under predictive text).

Raining hard, small bridges over the backwaters below water, angry clouds...but all is very green & verdant.

Round the Island 2012 - Oooops (again)

Another year, another sailing race around the Isle of Wight, another good start...but sadly another retirement. This time the jib halyard parted company with the jib 45mins in whilst close hauled in strong winds and surrounded by 50 other boats zig-zagging around us. Motor on, race over, back to Cowes.

On the way back, it sort of dawned on us that we could have fashioned a jury rig out of the spinnaker halyard or even the main sail topping lift...but that's hind sight for ya!

No race pictures, but here's True Love pre-race, Jane & Swanny looking chipper whilst heading out to start and a rather miserable Jane & Swanny heading back to Cowes.

That's five starts and two retirements (2011 & 2012). Next year...NEXT YEAR!

True Love - Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth

Jane & Swanny - pre-race

Jane & Swanny - glum after retiring

Team Naranja Rides Again?

Why do I bother?...but here we go again trying to organise another chaps' cycling trip...

Scotland, west side - ayeeee

Florence -
our home & transport for a week

Tobermoray harbour, Mull, Inner Hebrides

Calgary Bay, Mull -
typical Scottish weather -
I even went swimming (air temp warmer than sea temp!)

Puffins, Staffa Island -
right at our feet!

Skye looking towards Black & Red Cullins -
 nice spot for the night

Sea food stew at Florence's table -
including foraged mussels

OK OK, I've let myself go a bit...
and taken to walking the beach 
with a fish and odd shaped parasol

Gr-Easter

OK, so it's a little behind schedule...but here are some pics of Greek Easter in Zagoria and Thessaloniki

Mikropapigo Zagoria - our hiking base

A gentle stroll in the Pindos Mountains

The route down to Vikos Gorge

Vikos Gorge, 1km wide x 1km deep

Road winding up the hillside
Pindos, Zagoria

Mountain top monastry - Meteora

A little light (and deserved) refreshment

The business end of the tallest
 bread oven in the world
Thessaloniki

The top of the tallest bread
 oven - Thessaloniki

You don't want to be a lamb
in Thessaloniki at Easter

Father Adonis Pants - cheers

SprattStock becomes SplashStock

What can I say? The weather beat us this year. So so so so frustrating and apologies to all who had dusted off the tents, wiped the cobwebs out of their billy cans and kindly prepared food - hope you could freeze it. Also hope you found an alternative to placate the excited kids!

The decision was taken with a very heavy heart (heavy from water logging). But I think it was the right call. Thursday night was the most stormy night I have spent under canvas since sharing a tent with Radar after the Fort William Pickled Egg Festival. It rained almost all Friday, and even if the rain had kept off for (most of) Saturday, the campsite was already a bog and would have been a total quagmire with cars coming and going.

Thanks to all those who were 'up for it' and our most sincere apologies to have had to disappoint you.

We may try to rearrange for a date in August but I suspect it will be short notice after we have seen the weather forecast predicting glorious sunshine and no more than a weak kitten's breath of wind. We'll keep you posted.

Next year we are thinking GREECE!!

What the campsite FELT like

Three cars and it was all starting

 to look a bit 'speedway'

A rather muddy  'Welcome' mat

Zack, Luke and Christina 
(notice even Luke's pupils 
have taken shelter!)

Cheer up, here are some roses!

 It rained and rained and rained and rained,

The average was very well maintained.

And when the fields were simply bogs,

It started raining cats and dogs.

After a dousing of half an hour

We had a most refreshing shower.

And then the most curious thing of all, 

A gentle rain began to fall!

It poured and poured and poured and poured

Until the rain itself got bored.

And after a deluge the briefest lull

Before it recommenced in buckets-full.

The next day was very almost dry 

Save for the constant rain from the sky

Which wetted the party to the skin 

And then, at last, the rain set in.

Thunder, lightning, tempest, squall

And all the while the rain did fall.

And finally with great anticipation

We returned to plain old precipitation.

[A slightly altered (and very apt) famous poem on rain.]

Real Baking, Real Patisserie Style

As a treat, Mrs Spratticus booked me on a bread baking class at our local artisan bakery - Real Patisserie, Kemptown, Brighton. It was on a Sunday afternoon and we had the run of the place for three and a half hours of baking up a storm under the guidance of French baker and patisserie chef Clement and assisted admirably by Jamie.

The class of six dough-boys'n'girls were tutored in making French sourdough flutes, two white sourdough loaves (one with  ears and one with a beret - pics will make more sense), a rustic rye loaf and a seed laden soda bread.

In between mixing, kneading, prooving and baking the loaves, the tea and coffee flowed and we munched our way through pain au choc and pain au raisin.

So take a look at the wheaty fruits of our labours...

Rolling the oven ready flutes onto the 'peel' - trickier than it looks...
and it looks quite tricky!

White sourdough loaves with beret - chapeau!

White sourdough loaves with 'ears', and flutes

The whole bread haul

So, what did I learn? Well...

• Dough is a little more forgiving than I thought and you can play around with it (ears, hats...maybe even shoes and a pipe?)
• The 'shock technique' of kneading - basically slapping the dough onto the work surface - "treatin' it ruff"
• For sourdough, really do try and go as wet as you dare
• Rye bread isn't as heavy as I thought it always was (not sure what I've been eating thinking it's rye)
• Use a proper blade (or lame) for slashing - basically a razor blade on a handle - it makes a BIG difference
• The point at where you gather the bread prior to its final rise is called the key - it's like a loaf's belly button
• Key up or key down when baking - it makes a different looking loaf
• You can make French sticks in England!

Many thanks to Real Patisserie -  a great course and a fab way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Spring Sprung?

Cherry blossom out in Regents Park. But is it too soon. Return of Jack Frost & his icy hatchet this weekend...apparently.



[Postscript - actually Jack Frost was busy dancing around Yakutsk so cherry blossom lives on. Hope it stays that way.]