Sunday 19 June 2011

the optimist

It's been a funny sort of day.  I had to, desperately, finish marking the Film Studies scripts as I was a day or two late (okay, they were due on Wednesday) which I did.  But it was cold and Mrs Dave demanded the heating be put on - the room she was completing her exam marking really is cold. So on the heating went.

This all seems very Autumnal and it's only June.  I've been listening to Sandy Denny which always makes it seem Autumnal.  It may be that I've just received the recent re-release of North Star Grassman and the Ravens, her first solo album or just a general feeling in the air. More of the album another time.  However, there is a track on the album called The Optimist which features RT playing most instruments (including a rare outing on both bass and 12 string guitar).  Interestingly, and through pure coincidence, Mrs Dave and I rather enjoyed a bottle of Aussie wine named - no prizes here - The Optimist Verdelho Chardonnay with our Sunday meal.  This is not any form of synchronicity but, as I said, sheer coincidence.

It's a lovely wine with very fruity notes, hardly Autumnal but went superbly with the roast chicken.  The real find of the meal, though was baked Sweet Potato.  I may be slow in the uptake here, but I've never baked Sweet Potatotes before - a simple process but with quite amazing results.  Third born was quite sad that I'd only cooked one each - a little victory there, then.  He even ate Strawberries afterwards.  Nearly 19, you see - adulthood beckons.  Maybe there will be less aromas of Pizzas in the air chez moi.  I never eat the damned things myself.

Although the weather has been a little, shall we say merde-y, recently, I managed to cook some rather fine lamb leg steaks on the Leeke barbecue on Saturday evening in between dodging the rain showers.  Our local butcher uses meat from Bramfield Meats in Suffolk, a local farm co-operative. I always walk up on a Saturday morning to the butcher shop and get the weekend supply - although I also use the local fishmonger.  To buy fish, that is.

Check out your local vendors if you don't already.  Quality is all and stuff Tesco et al

Anyway, I'm back in the land of the living.  I've only got to post the last few scripts off to the exam board and send off my expenses and I'm done for another year.  I must admit that this has been the most difficult year of marking so far.  It may be that I've had more decent scripts than usual - I'm used to a lot of poor ones. It may be that the general feeling at school isn't great what with the Academy round the corner. Of course, it could also be increasing age before you write in.  Still, it's over for now and I can get back to a "normal life" - whatever that is.

2 comments:

Andy Wright said...

Glad to have you back Dave. I thought your obvious frustrations with 'Blogger' may have been terminal! I agree that the weather has been rather autumnal of late. Wee bit early for Ms Denny to play a major role in my listening at the moment though. (I usually dust her off around the middle of September). The Leeke culinary arrangements for the weekend sounded wonderful.There is,I think, something rather sad though about having a BBQ in the rain. (which is exactly what we did on Saturday evening!). Ah well......

Dave Leeke said...

Hi Andy,

I'm still here. It's been a real drag doing the marking this year - normally I don't mind it.

The Blogger thing got sorted because, evidently, you have to unclick the "keep me signed in" button. The problem with that is that I now have to log in to Gmail every time I want to check my emails. Still, that's preferable to the frustration caused.

Anyway, yes the weather is a little inclement - or, at least keeps threatening to tip down. Mrs Dave's just gone off to her "Boot Camp" exercise class which is held outdoors.

I believe she may have taken a raincoat! Being ridiculously skinny, I don't have to worry about that sort of thing - cheers!