11 August 2011

St Wilfrid's Procession In Ripon (30 July 2011)

Today was the annual St Wilfrid Procession through Ripon.  This celebrates our city's patron saint, St Wilfrid, who was one of the great northern saints and important people of early Northumbria.  He is very unlike the ascetic Irish (Celtic) saints t...

09 August 2011

Aldborough Agricultural Show (24 July 2011)

After a couple of weeks away, we return home to glorious weather; blue skies and really hot.  Normally, we are still away this weekend, so we generally miss the local show - the Aldborough and Boroughbridge Agricultural Show - which is gentle like th...

08 August 2011

Last Walks Along Northumbrian Coast For This Year (22/23 July 2011)

07 August 2011

Luncheon at The Ship Inn In Craster (22 July 2011)

The day was dry, but overcast with a strong wind from the sea to shore.  We stayed put and walked over the dunes to Low Newton and The Ship Inn. 

06 August 2011

Two Fish Shops - Craster And Seahouses (19 & 20 July 2011)

06 August 2011

Wet weather day in Alnwick (20 July 2011)

A dreich, gray day.  What to do: the girls went to Alnwick swimming pool and had a great time.  My parents went to Paxton House north of the River Tweed near Berwick.  We went to Alnwick to Alnwick Castle.

04 August 2011

Two trips to the Farne Islands (18 & 19 July 2011)

03 August 2011

Walk To Low Newton – Stinking Newton (17 July 2011)

02 August 2011

Walk Around Some Of Glenkiln Sculptures (16 July 2011)

Sometimes you come across something truly beautiful.  Something simple, yet seemingly perfect.  So it was the other day when, on the way from a week near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries & Galloway we turned off the A75 near Dumfries to Shawhead and the...

01 August 2011

Two places for tea – The Old School House and Galloway Activity Centre

I seemed to spend the first week of our holidays driving a triangle from Loch Ken to Cream O’ Galloway at Rainton and then to Kirkcudbright, ferrying our kids from activity to activity.  We did manage to break for tea a few times. 

22 July 2011

The Better Supermarket Beefs In The UK - More Thoughts On Burger Making

For the supermarkets, I have reviewed their offerings (see below) and made an initial selection of meats, going for beef from Booths, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. 

15 July 2011

Some Rules For Better Beef For A Better Burger

These are some more technical thoughts on the type of beef you are after, over and above the right breed and farmer.

12 July 2011

How To Prepare The Meat For Your Burger

But the key to the recipe is the meat. You should not just get the nearest pack of mince that you can find, but should go to a proper butcher and get the mince made for you using the right types of meat.  The best beef for a burger comes from the top...

10 July 2011

Sports And Winning

I read with amusement about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge competing against each other in a dragonboat race in Quebec and that the Duke won and he reportedly said to Kate "There is no chivalry in sport."  At this time of the year as we seem to mo...

08 July 2011

Starting Out - The Basics For A Simple Homemade Burger

Some time ago, I started a quest for a great burger, then stopped that search as things at Steenbergs gave me less time than I had needed.  But I think I am ready to start that hunt again.

23 June 2011

Smells But No Bells

Since time immemorial, incense has been used for religious purposes and to cleanse the air in homes as well as in places of worship.  Much of the incense is based on fragrant gums like frankincense and myrrh and come from Arabia and India.  When you...

12 June 2011

Ripon's Flood Alleviation Scheme

Around a year ago, I wrote a few blogs about walking along the Rivers Skell and Ure in Ripon.  The rivers run through Ripon and circle around the ever looming presence of Ripon Cathedral on the mount at Ripon's heart.  The rivers bring the countrysid...

11 June 2011

My Take On The Modern British Balti - A Recipe For Balti Masala

On Thursday, I was at home sorting out some domestic chores with some builders and my mind wandered to food and more specifically curry.  I craved a great balti, so I whipped one up, together with some dhal.