20 September 2010

Simpler Venison Casserole Recipe

Having gone through the fuss and carry on of marinading venison in stock per the previous post, I wondered why you do not just make a stew in the normal way as you would for beef or lamb.  Also, I still had some of the Hornby Castle venison in the fr...

18 September 2010

Recipes Using Venison From Hornby Castle

I bought some delicious venison steaks and diced venison the other day from Hornby Castle in North Yorkshire.  Since then, we have been experimenting with a couple of different casseroles, and have come up with two different ones - a traditional rich...

17 September 2010

Recipe For Yorkshire Fruit Tea Bread

We have always loved teabreads here at home like those made by Elizabeth Bothams of Whitby, but I reckoned that some of those homely, comforting cakes could not be too difficult to make.  So this weekend I set out to make a traditional Fruit Teabread...

30 August 2010

A Sense Of Community

On Saturday morning, I went to Havenhands the Bakers in St James's Square in Boroughbridge*, then on to the Post Office before going to Ripon to watch the start of the Annual Raft Race in the Ripon Canal Basin.  On that short journey, I met several p...

22 August 2010

Life Really Does Begin At Forty

I am 42 now and I have finally worked out what the phrase "life begins at forty" means.  It came as a Pauline moment as I was driving home the other day.  It really means that you only ever plan your life until you get to about 40 years old*, so now...

17 July 2010

Walk In North Yorkshire - Battle of Boroughbridge

I have a confession to make - I am not a big walker that likes to conquer hills and mountains, even if I know I should be striding forth across moorland and up mountains.  I am not a walker that goes into the hills for the beauty of nature; I ge...

05 July 2010

Ripon, Religion And Football

For someone with little spirituality, I spent much of last Sunday at religious events.  Both of them were for Ripon Cathedral Choir School, which is celebrating 50 years since its foundation by Ripon Cathedral.  Proof that little old Ripon can be a g...

04 July 2010

Walk Around Nosterfield Nature Reserve In Yorkshire

03 July 2010

North Yorkshire Walk - Thornborough Henge

On Thursday 1 July 2010, I did one of Axel's Random Walks near Nosterfield and Thornborough in North Yorkshire.  I recently bought myself an Ordnance Survey Explorer Map of Ripon & Boroughbridge (#299) and in the top left corner you can just find...

02 July 2010

Recipe - Chocolate And Nutella Tart

England's football team were abject last Sunday, but the Chocolate And Nutella Tart recipe from the French patisserie chef, Pierre Hermé, was the perfect compensation - sweet, rich and complex in taste that left you just wanting more.  In one of my p...

01 July 2010

Inspired And Humbled By Jennyruth Workshops

Sometimes you visit some people, who really are so good and wonderful that it shames you a bit.  The people at Jennyruth Workshops are some of those unsung heroes that underpin every society in the world; they just get on with it, doing good work, da...

23 June 2010

Short Walk In Boroughbridge - Yorkshire

Saturday evening saw the roads quieten off as everyone hunkered down to watch England in their first match at the South African World Cup.  The constant background noise from the A1 disappeared as it only ever does on Christmas Day - England hoping f...

18 June 2010

Quest For The Best Burger In The North

I have decided, like many before me, to go on a quest; a quest for the perfect burger. 

11 June 2010

Ripon Water Walks - Walk Along Ripon Canal

Ripon is blessed with lots of fabulous waterways and green corridors through the city.  One of the most noticeable is Ripon Canal, which cuts a straight caesura into the centre of the city, with the canal sitting on your left as you come in along Bor...

31 May 2010

Ripon Water Walks - Along The Ure

I mentioned in my first blog about walks in Ripon in North Yorkshire that I did not believe that Ripon had only been settled as a monastery in 650AD.  I believe this basic historical fact about Ripon's history even less now after walking along the Ri...

29 May 2010

Can We Save Ourselves From Global Warming?

I went to a public lecture by Professor John Beddington who is currently Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government.  He was lecturing on Climate Change as a University of York Biology lecture.  And yesterday he was back in London attacking climate s...

27 May 2010

Visit to Milk Shake Bar in Ripon

Yesterday evening, the Steenberg family finally went to visit the milk bar in Ripon.  It was a treat after we took the kids to Evensong in Ripon Cathedral on Monday evening for the Whit Monday service; that was beautiful with the service sung by the...

26 May 2010

Water Walks In Ripon - Alongside The Skell

As you walk through the centre of Ripon alongside the River Skell, you get an appreciation of how many bridges there are.  Sure, Ripon isn't Venice with its profusion of quaint, romantic curve bridges that play on the imagination nor the strong, engi...