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Wetlands
It has been a beautiful day. Sunny and cold early on, warming up as the day progressed, up to about 8 c.
However, after the snow melted last week, there was no where for it to go and the fields are saturated.
These swans were making the most of it
Later today the sun set in a glory of red: so here’s to tomorrow.
Results…..
Sorry to be a little late, but I was called away to lend a hand with a new baby and only returned, rather shattered yesterday : tired but happy.
There were very few entrants to both competitions: in fact only one in the short story section. But what a story, Mr Royal! I’ll never be able to see a giraffe again without thinking of you.
SO, although you had no competitors, you are the worthy winner of the short story competition, and I look forward to a theme set by you for the next round.
There were a few more entrants for the photography side of things – I had expected photographs of little hands clasping larger hands, hands undertaking tasks, such as cooking, knitting, painting…. but no, you had other ideas…
OZ had this contribution: viar amoozing take on the ‘hands’ theme, and viar topical on the equine theme!
Ara posted this a beautifully side lit picture of Alice, Duchess of Suffolk who resides in her resting state in the church where PapaG was Christened, no less!
Christopher posted this, though sadly the hands were not very clear in the size of image.
Last, but not least, JM posted here with a vair amoozing piece, full of puns and several pictures – (the bananas nearly won, hands down, but for the misplaced figure in the background which to my eye spoiled the composition)
But in the end the prize does go to JM for the most unusual take on the theme: the graffiti handwriting of Clarice Cliffe (nee Shorter).
So I hand the baton to you, John: your turn to set the next photography competition.
Oxfordshire sunset, tonight
Snow good…..
We awoke to a white world, with the snow still falling. It wasn’t forecast until tomorrow, I thought. By late morning it was sleeting, and finally it turned to drizzle. There’s very little snow left now – just a line at the bottom of the car windscreen where it had gathered more thickly. From the kitchen window I could see the bushes decorated with sparkles of melted snow.
It’s about 2c out there, but it’s a ‘wet cold’ which gets through to your bones – (the sort of day my Ma always called ‘raw’) – and I am disinclined to go out and take my daily walk. But I should really. Maybe if I put on the heating (which I had only just returned to its usual ‘morning and evening only’ setting) and know I can come back to a warm house, I may then be less disinclined?
Hands up those who are planning to put in a picture or a short story…. closing date on 15th.
See links at right hand corner of the page.
O Zangado, you asked for it….
NEW EVENING CLASSES FOR MEN
ALL ARE WELCOME
OPEN TO MEN ONLY
Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants
The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include -
Ladybirds: have they flown away, home?
Last year we had so many ladybirds. This year I have hardly seen any.
Ladybirds in my clematis last year
I was reminded today of the ladybirds while on a walk with a friend, when I looked closely at the old man’s beard illuminating the hedgerows. No nesting ladybirds. Read more…
Happiness haiku
In depths of sadness
a small glimpse of happiness
- hope for the future
Happiness – finding
a puddle full of sunset
along a dark road
Deep Contentment
I know the subject is happiness, but deep contentment is as close as I could find for the moment.
Icing on the cake
Before I marzipanned the first cake I trimmed it as the edges looked a little over done and gave them to Cyclo who pronounced them dry and over cooked. Since then I have been worried that the cake will be awful. Pretty on the outside, in a rough sort of way, but not so good on the inside….
I decided to have a back-up cake. Both Delia Smith and Mary Berry have a cake recipe made using mincemeat – I didn’t find my versions on-line, but in my old recipe books. I decided to go for Mary Berry and added luxury mixed dried fruit instead of the dried fruit she lists. I made it in my newly purchased round tin, on Friday.
The cake was easy and cooked well, and I had been storing it in a tin until yesterday, when I applied the marzipan. Now, you’re supposed to wait a few days for the marzipan to dry out, but when I considered this option I knew this was really my last chance, and less than an hour after adding the marzipan I had applied the icing. The risk of this is the leaching of oil from the marzipan, which may stain the pure white of the icing. I applied my icing thickly, however and that should stop that problem, at least in the time frame that the cake is likely to last! The icing is less crumbly this time, Christina….
(Since I made the new cake, BTW, we have started the other one and it tastes pretty good…. though I say it myself, but is a touch drier than I’d like, in an ideal world, but still better than a bought one. I shall have to wait to see if this one was more successful)
The weather outside is frightful. Lets stay indoors?
Christmas Wishes
To all aboard the Chariot, Happy Christmas.
Outside it’s raining, but inside, the cake is well snowy….Father Christmas is up to his knees in it 
Photo Winner
Congratulations to Christopher for
Chez Liz
Poetry Winner
Congratulations to Bilby for
Sunshine
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