A late night out last night with a few more glasses of ale than are strictly necessary meant a tentative waking this morning. The crab curry was wonderful, though. However, I felt better than I deserved to. I awoke much as many of you did too, I'm sure, to a wonderful sunny day - almost a brief Indian Summer after all the rain of the last few days.
Still, it is officially Autumn and that means listening to Sandy Denny come rain or shine.
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| A Martello Tower by the Links |
Mrs Dave and I walked up to the Ferry this afternoon in the warmth of the early autumn sun. I was tempted to buy some locally caught sea bass from my favourite fishmonger but we'd already done the shopping so perhaps I'll go back up later in the week. We sat in the Ferry Boat Inn and had a glass of Woodforde's Wherry before wandering back home. We had to get back by 6:30 as
Strictly Come Dancing is back on and Mrs D has to watch that. We walked back past the Links (a golf course near the sea) that M. R. James mentions in
Oh, Whistle And I'll Come To You My Lad and near a couple of
Martello Towers still defending our coast. There were a lot of fishermen out today - we watched a Mackerel being caught. There were a few sailing boats out as well as two hardy souls in kayaks - we haven't managed to get wet suits yet otherwise we may have been out there, too.
As the sky grows darker a more autumnal feel grows, too. Suddenly, Sandy Denny seems more appropriate. Tomorrow should be another nice one and I'm torn between getting the little foot ferry over to Bawdsey to do a bit of foraging or drive over to the Cold War Museum that I've just found out about. It's always so exciting around here.
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| Bawdsey Manor |
Bawdsey Manor was where Radar was developed by Robert Watson-Watt
et al and they have a museum there which you can only go to on certain days in the year. The last one was 9th September so I'll have to wait until next year now to go to the exhibition. It must be great living in large towns and cities where you can see things all year round. As soon as I get an interest and think about going to a museum I have to wait half a year by which time I've forgotten about it. After reading Francis Spufford's wonderful
The Backroom Boys, I've got a real interest in going to see this sort of stuff. Ah well.
We're having a very quiet weekend at home. We were supposed to be out camping with the Duke of Edinburgh kids this weekend but not enough of them could get it together to go this weekend. I said that we need to remind them what a fantastic weekend this would have been if it's cold, miserable and raining when we finally get to go in (probably) November. Their loss.
Despite a poorish summer, we're still harvesting tomatoes and I managed to pick these fine specimens this morning (the ones in front). There are still loads of green ones out there - we can't possibly make any more chutney as we have a cupboard full of the stuff. Talking of food, I finally managed to source some goat meat last weekend. We also bought a new slow cooker in an attempt to be more organised. Actually I think it's a cunning plan by Mrs Dave to get me to prepare food so that we eat earlier during the week. Still, I made a fantastic goat curry on Tuesday that had been cooking very, very slowly for about ten hours. It was wonderful. Why more people don't eat goat in this country continues to amaze me. Evidently the company that I bought it from can't source it from Suffolk and get it from Spain. Jokingly, Mrs Dave suggested that perhaps that's our plan B - leave teaching and start raising goats? Hmm . . .
11 comments:
If you cook that for me it's goat to be perfect.
Good point, Brendan. You don't want to feel bilious, do you?
It's the result of living in a nanny state.
Is it Goat Curry or Curried Goat?
Good question, Andy. It's actually "Curry Goat" I believe. Not sure why but the Jamaicans call it that.
Brendan, I've herd that it's really good for you - the kids would like it. So stop being such a silly billy et al, ad nauseum . . . yawn . . .
Seems like we are all on the horns of a dilema here.......
Time to leave - I'll get my goat.
Goodnight!
But not yet surely!
You're a Capricorn, I can tell ...
"It must be great living in large towns and cities where you can see things all year round."
Actually, what happens in big cities, I can tell you, is that you never bother going to all those great places, because there's no urgency, they're on the doorstep etc etc. Only went to the Tower of London a couple of years back, for the first time in 45+ years, for example, because I thought the daughter really ought to see it, although I used to pass the place every day on my way to work.
Oh, and Wherry Bitter - one of my all-time great pints.
I agree, Martyn.
I remember when I used to go and stay with my really good friend Hugh Williams (god rest his soul) in London (Kensington of all places!) and we could never really work out where to go for the evening. One night we went to the flicks to see "Nashville" and on another we went to the Albert Hall to see the Alan Stivell band with Dave Swarbrick and (the very wonderful) Dan Ar Bras. Nights to remember, sure.
However, the Tower of London holds a particular memory for me. My good school friend (at the time) Brian and I wrote a few songs and had decided we were going to busk at the Tower of London.
I remember we did "Willie and the Hand Jive" a la Clapton but the others were self-written. Songs like "Banging My Head On The Wall" and "Staring At The Barmaid's Breasts" didn't seem to go down too well. Then a strange bloke with a barrel organ and a malevolent monkey* turned up - we had "nicked their pitch" or something . . . anyway, I'm sure you can fill in the details yourself . . .
I still get the shivers every time I pass it.
(* in full fez and waistcoat)
By the way, I'm an Aquarian! (Sung proudly as on the first Van der Graaf Generator album . . . )
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