Sweet and Stour

A glorious weekend. Friday night, Mark and I drove up to Wissington (about 8 miles south of Sudbury) and camped in a lovely little campsite on the banks of the river Stour (http://www.riverstourtrust.org/Rushbanksfinal.html). Had a lovely bbq (in the rain), and spent the night listening to a rather loud cuckoo and an over excited bull, who seemed to be getting more than his fair share of oats in the field of cows next to us ;-)

Saturday morning, we dropped the canoe in the water, and paddled up past Stoke-by-Nayland... beautiful weather, gorgeous scenery, and delicious sandwiches and coffee ;-) Canoeing is something that I never would have imagined myself doing, but is now something that I hope is always part of my life. I just love the feeling of solitude, and the beauty of the waterways in England.

Saturday afternoon, we dropped over to Sudbury to visit the River Stour trust, which turned out to be closed (but gave me an almighty blast from the past!), and then made our way to Flatford Mill. This is the setting for "The Hay Wain" painting by John Constable... gorgeous little village, totally over run with tourists, but simply stunning - somewhere I hope to return to and explore a litte more! There looks as though there are nice walks to both Manningtree and Dedham - both lovely places in themselves.

Saturday night we had a lovely evening with Tracy and the boys. Walked up to The Trowel and Hammer (Mark and I spent some of our first date in there!) and had a couple of beers with the boys in the beer garden, and then had a lovely dinner and far too much wine over the kitchen table at Tracy's. Was nice to spend the evening on our own (the three of us), chatting about everything and putting the world to rights.

Sunday, we joined up with Mum and Dad and went to the street fair in Bungay - another gorgeous little market town not that far from Beccles. I bought a Rhubarb plant, that am looking forward to cultivating, and managed to buy and eat lots of delicious homemade fudge (always my fave foodstuff). We had lunch in The Waveney in Beccles, a sleepy afternoon at Mum and Dad's, and Mum finished us all off by feeding us with homemade Spanish satsuma cake and a huge roast dinner... bliss ;-)

It seems though that a bbq in the pouring rain may have taken its toll... I seem to have developed a stinking cold (boo) - not a good start to my very busy week! Yesterday, had a lovely family lunch though, despite my cold - my Cousin Liza is over from West Virginia, and so I met her, her siblings Mark and Emily, My Aunt, my Mum and Liza's friend for a Thai lunch in the village here - was very nice, and good to catch up with them all. Mark's jaw seems a good deal better, although he is incredibly thin, mainly due to lack of food (he can only eat soft foods) and almost certainly due to a certain amount of stress. He looked better than I was expecting though, so that's good.

Anyway... must get on. SO much to sort out at home and work, and no time left to do it!
Much love,
Hayls
xxxx

Hell's Belles

Well, last night we played the Ellesmere Belles in the league game that I was so concerned about.

The final score was 31-4.... TO US!!! YAY!!!! With this first game under my belt, I no longer feel nervous about future ones, and I was quite impressed by what a slick bunch we seemed. To be fair, the Ellesmere Belles were deeply under-prepared (they had only been playing since Christmas), and were deeply out of their league with us lot, who have been playing since last year. I have a feeling that not all future games will be like this one.... it was a nice start for us though, and a real confidence boost. Well done to all involved - I actually thought we played very professionally.

Roll on the weekend....
Hayls
xxx

Pasties and a G-string

Well - it was pretty predictable really. Lowestoft is a small town, and it generally only takes a few days for these things to come out. Kevin has indeed got himself another woman in tow, and Alison has been informed. Most of all, its the kids I worry about... these poor little buggers put all their faith in their parent's relationship, and this is what is thrown back in their faces. Of course, in a way, you have to be careful with second-hand information (especially in Lowestoft)... but it makes so much sense that there was someone else involved. Nobody walks out on a wife and three children over a row over a shelf without something else going on?!!!! Anyway.... I just hope Alison can manage to hold herself and the children together. Her eldest - poor Liam (my Godson) has his SATS this week - I just hope he can manage to get at least some of it right. Or at least, I hope the school have the foresight to see that all of this could seriously affect his grades, and that they take this into account.

Anyway... not much else going on here... my first league netball match tonight (waaah!), and work up to my eyeballs!!! On a nicer note, went to see Adele yesterday - she and the bump are doing really well, and I am on call for her next week as this is her 'due date' and Jamie is on nights at the hospital... fingers crossed that I won't be needing my rubber gloves! ;-) Would be ironic if I had to act as midwife to a doctor's child!

This weekend we are possibly going camping (near Sudbury of all places!), and will be popping to see my parents on Sunday. Looking forward to it!

Lots of love
Hayls
xxxxxx

Hmmm....

Well it's been an interesting weekend... :-s

My mother called it "Sunday Bloody Sunday". I can't go into details (as am nipping orf to netball), but highlights include:

• Cousin Mark falling off bicycle when slightly inebriated, and smashing jaw in two places. After a night alone trying to administer his own version of beer-induced first aid (paracetamol and water?), he landed in hospital. He has had a successful operation to fix jaw with a titanium plate, but it looks like he has a long and painful path ahead of him... somehow, I think this may all be connected to his breakup with Lindsey...
• Nanny Brown had to go to hospital after coughing up blood. It seems in the end thought that this was due to some effect of the oxygen thingy she has to use now because her lung function is so crap, although she was checked out with a lung x-ray.
• My Aunt Alison and her three young kids have been left by her husband; possibly a short term thing, and possibly not. Not sure what is happening here - nothing a big fat kick up the ass can't sort out I think for someone who is making the mistake of putting work before family. Perhaps. Anyway... poor girl, and the kids in particular, are devastated.
• Kurt moved out to... not in a deleriously happy manner. Och...

Anyway... will update stuff tomorrow.

Off to play netball in the wind and rain. Oh joy!
Hayls
xxxx

Apology to Jennifer

Yesh.... Really sorry. It *was* a bit evil to put that photo of you on for your birthday.... I feel just awful about it... in fact I hardly slept last night due to the guilt. Perhaps this one will make up for it?!

It at least shows you in a more realistic light?! ;-)

I like to call this piece - "Jenny on the Block" (these Australians just feel so at home behind bars... HEHEHEH). Actually this is a long awaited revenge for allowing your husband to scare the kahoonies off me that night on that ghost walk around Port Arthur.... shudder! hahahah...

Belle parole non pascono i gatti...

or "fine words don't feed cats...".

These words will though. Tonight I am cooking this recipe for friends, and wanted to share it with you (especially those that are too far away for me to cook it for you). It is by far the best recipe I have come across in the last year - great for those pesky vegetarians that *will* eat fish (ahem... Mark), and loved by all that have tried them...

Le Migliori Polpette di Tonno: The Best Tuna Meatballs by Jamie Oliver
Just about everyone I know is a fan of meatballs, so I though I’d give you a recipe for these, as they are something a little different. I’ve seen them made in Sicily in the same way, using a mixture of swordfish and tuna- not canned tuna though. These have to be made with fresh fish and they are subtly seasoned with Sicilian herbs and spices- this recipe is just as good as the meat versions!

For the Tomato Sauce
· olive oil
· 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
· 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· 2 x 400g. cans of good- quality plum tomatoes
· sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
· red wine vinegar
· a small bunch of fresh flat- leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped

For the Meatballs
· 400g fresh tuna steaks (Hayley note: because you smash them up in this recipe, you can afford to buy slightly cheaper cuts of fresh tuna - the frozen ones in Iceland and the like and the like are very good for this purpose)
· olive oil
· 55g pinenuts
· 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
· sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· a handful of fresh flat- leaf parsley, chopped
· 100g stale breadcrumbs (Hayley note: you can buy tubs of ciabatta breadcrumbs in Tesco's “Ingredients” range).
· 55g freshly grated Parmesan
· 2 eggs
· zest and juice of 1 lemon

First make your sauce. Place a large pan on the heat, add a good glug of olive oil, your onion and garlic, and fry slowly for 10 or so minutes, until soft. Add your oregano, the tomatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, then blend until smooth. Taste--it might need a tiny swig of red wine vinegar or some extra seasoning.

While the tomatoes are simmering, chop the tuna up into 1-inch dice. Pour a good couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a large frying pan and place on the heat. Add the tuna to the pan with the pinenuts and cinnamon. Season lightly with salt and pepper and fry for a minute or so to cook the tuna on all sides and toast the pinenuts. Remove from the heat and put the mixture into a bowl. Allow to cool down for 5 minutes, then add the oregano, parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, eggs, lemon zest, and juice to the bowl. Using your hands, really scrunch and mix the flavors into the tuna, then divide the mixture and squeeze it into meatballs slightly smaller than a golf ball. If you dip one of your hands in water while shaping, you’ll get a nice smooth surface on the meatball. If the mixture’s very sticky, add a few more breadcrumbs. Keep the meatballs around the same size and place them on an oiled tray, then put them in the fridge for an hour to let them rest.

Put the pan you fried the tuna in back on the heat with a little olive oil. Add your meatballs to the pan and jiggle them about until they’re golden brown all over. You might want to do them in batches- when they’re done, add them to the tomato sauce, divide between your plates, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and drizzle with good olive oil. Great served with spaghetti or linguine.

This Explains A Lot For Me...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/6621331.stm

Jokes aside... what an amazingly cheerful individual. It's truly humbling... mind you, my hobbit feet are something that *might* make the centre pages of The Histon Crier one day ;-)

Happois Birthdayois!

*HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY!!! bwahahahaha...

Hope you have a fantastic day - shame I am not there to celebrate it with you. Have fun, and whoop it up, girlfriend! Don't worry about getting old... you don't look a day over 46 in this picture. :-D

(*note shocked face of poor husband... hehehehe).

How Soon is Now?

Ok... so haven't blogged for a while, so will have to be a very quick run down!!

Weekends...
Had two nice weekends. The first was spent mainly helping my cousin Robert and Emma clear their garden. We managed to turn a veritable jungle into a quite pleasant little corner to sit in, and (most importantly) drink wine and eat sausages in.... The second was spent doing our own garden (we have a lawn now, thanks to Mark's hard graft - yay!), and going to the last match of the season for Histon FC. This was an away game in Farnborough - great atmosphere, a good win for Histon, but was freshly appalled by the behaviour of men the same age as my Dad, and the way they behave on the back of a bus when out of the sight of their women-folk... seriously perturbing :-

Work...
Work is uber busy at the moment (have a product release soonish), but has been a nice atmosphere at work due to unseasonably good weather. Nice trips into the village for lunch, and looking forward to a night out tomorrow with the boys to an Italian restaurant in Cambridge.

Netball and running...
Well... the netball is going well (start of Summer season last week, and we start playing league games pretty soon - gulp). The running however is going very badly. I have got to pull my finger out!!! Felt like puking after a 3 mile run yesterday. Note to self: SORT IT OUT!

Idle gossip and general chit chat...

• Kevin and Heleen have had baby #2 - a little boy called Oscar Samuel. Great name! (obviously, all babies called Oscar are cute by definition).
• Kurt (our Danish lodger) is wavering on decision to move out into rented cottage. Living a life like Eastenders currently... this would be nicer from a distance, but I don't half feel sorry for the poor silly old sod ;-)
• Old friend Philippa is having a baby which is due in September - fantastic news!
• Adele is blooming - and now only has four weeks left until baby due day. She still has a bump smaller than the average size of my stomach after lunch though!
• Mark (cousin) and Lindsey = sadly off, by the looks of it. Really hoping that Mark is going to be OK, although I think this one has been on the cards for a bit.
• Mia still keeps inviting her boyfriend round to pee all over our house (in case you are unaware, Mia is my cat/child substitute). She should really a) get a better looking boyfriend, and b) should get one with a basic hygiene certificate. His dating days are numbered!
• Sofie is planning her trip to the UK at the end of the month. Am looking forward to playing host to her and her Mum for a couple of nights, and seeing how many bags of hula hoops and boxes of cheesecake she can fit in her suitcase home.
• Helena has not updated her blog lately. If the situation persists, her Mummy will not get a birthday present this week. I have set the parcel I posted to self-destruct on non-appearance of photographs of Jen and John's trip to the UK. Ahem...
• Grandad's last remaining sister (only family member, apart from the kids etc.) is unfortunately in hospital, in a pretty critical condition. Such a shame as I always really liked Aunty Mable. Am wishing her and her family well, and keeping fingers crossed for them all.
• Cousin Liza in the US (West Virginia) has moved home - good luck Liza! We wish you all the very best in your new place!
• Andy and Srey Neath got married in Phnom Penh (Cambodia). See the wedding photo attached - they both look amazing! Wishing you all the very best you two. xxx

Anyway... will try and keep things a bit up to date. Speak soon,
Hayls
xxxx