Wedding of a lifetime.

When I heard about it I thought - lovely. When the invite was pegged to the kitchen wall I thought - this is the don't miss event of the year. Probably decade...

A rodeo weekend of camping, eating, drinking, dancing, and all round superbly faultless loveliness.

I'll sum it up in two photos.
Happy couple leaving the wedding...



The groom being greeted by one of the guests...

Lives Lived. Part deux.

Wedding anniversary a couple of days ago.
Blip. Ever had that moment that gets you down and nothing shakes it?
Thankfully being surrounded by lovely people is a sure fire way to turn that blip into a bubble. Guided home by Mark on a flit across the dusty, hazy lanes; flathead coupe full of warm oil vapours. Ticking leads, random misses, slipping clutch. Home into fading light with more friends and home-made cider.

Wrote a bit of a poem a while ago. Lives lived. One wonderful Ian went for a wander and came back with a tune in his head. Worked it up in the studio Tuesday, adding a spot of double bass, and wore it like a hat inside through Wednesday. Fitted fine.

Curried Pea Soup.

Upright freezer didn't actually die. Just took it upon itself to start freezing on the outside too... Replacements came courtesy of some new neighbours - a smaller upright freezer and a complimentary fridge to stand on top.

Which is a long way round explanation as to the excess of frozen garden peas that a "two-for-one" Morrison's deal forced us to buy... After three days of peas with everything it was time for a more drastic solution.

Curried Pea Soup.

Ingredients:
2 small, or one larger onion. (Y'know, some onion will be just fine.)
Garlic. (My choice, I don't have to kiss me so I went with four cloves.)
1 Red bell pepper.
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder.
1/2 teaspoon of dried mint.
1 tablespoon of Balti curry powder.(Again my choice, it's all I had...)
1 carrot. Chopped or grated. (Optional. It was leftover from the day before with a sprig of broccoli...)
1 vegetable stock cube. (Or a teaspoon of Marmite if you prefer. I did.)
Salt/pepper to suit.
Dash of double cream.
1 bag of frozen peas. Obviously

Method.
Chop n' fry the garlic, onion and pepper in a little oil.
Add the seasoning.
Dissolve the stock cube (or alternative...) in a mug of boiling water and pour it in.
Stir in the peas, chopped/grated carrot. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 6-10 minutes. Add extra water if required (I used a little cider that was to hand...)
Hit it with a blender to hide any 'extras' the kids won't like. See if it needs any extra seasoning - or open another bag of peas if you've been a little generous!
Stir in the cream to suit, remove from the heat and shout 'why isn't the table laid yet??!' as if it would make any difference.
Enjoy. Surprisingly my two came back for more, but then they're used to my cooking by now!
And, yes. It freezes. Of course I didn't have that option...

More lost things...

Well, I've been continuing the search for lost things. A camera and a V5 this time. Why do I remember what I've lost and yet not where I've put it?

Hah! Still, this gem slipped out from yet another pile of paperwork. Written "oh so long ago" inspired by a Gary Larson cartoon...

Edgar's found his Purpose.

Edgar's found his Purpose
He's got the whole damn lot.
He's turned the key on reason,
and now he knows what's not.

Edgar's found the remedy
to turn back missing time
Till the day before is dawning,
And everything seems fine.

Well that solves everything then. Using the word 'got' was a deliberate jibe at my English teacher who went to great lengths to impress upon us it's redundancy. That and the abhorrence that is the word 'nice'...

Bump, scrape, grind.

Wonderful weekend last summer.
Alice. Me. The ol' Fordor.
Field. Tent. Tap. Beer.
Morning. Bounce, splash, scrape, charge. Lovely day.
Up, breakfast, Curboro' sprint, Castrol R. Super.
Drive home, non-stop, heat, sun, exhaust fumes, bad head. Not dead. Neighbours barbeque, bath. Wiped out.

Seemed like a good idea when it was still wet n' cold n' winter. Curborough VSCC Sprint, just a few miles from a friends backyard. Why not go up early, have a day or so bumping the ol' Cee-dan around the Staffordshire countryside, go to the sprint on Sunday and drive home? Most pleasant.

Went back through that way yesterday. Rain. Wind. Sleet. Snow.
Really hope to do that all again this year!!