Blog Archives

Bananas in Pyjamas

30/7/2026

Above: the Caramel Tomato plants (donated by a friend). They're definitely odd looking but large, very sweet and the flesh is firm and dense. Yummy with olive oil and balsamic!

Do you remember, Bananas in Pyjamas? I had to look it up but it originated in Australia and in 1992. Who'd have thought... I thought it was older than that. Anyway and actually, in this case, it's more like Stripey Tomatoes, but it doesn't quite scan as well! Look at my latest achievement. It has to be said, these 'achievements' are few and far between at the moment and the garden is reminiscent of the Gobi Desert. And we are fortunate because - believe it or not - despite being in an officially designated area of drought, our postcode means we are still allowed to water the garden. Go figure. Naturally, we are very mindful of our water usage and are focusing on the greenhouses - tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, and outside the beans and sweetcorn. To be honest, I might turn into a bean or cucumber soon - they are incredibly prolific and there is only so much flash freezing or Gazpacho creation that I can do!!

0 Comments

Lake Garda

27/7/2026

1 Comment

Believe it or not, I haven't stopped since we got back from the second half of our Italian holiday - which was based at Lake Garda. The next few days are equally jam-packed so I thought I would just add some photos to whet the appetite! It's also a good reminder for myself.

There are more photos but I need to organise or find them.... what is it with all the Cloud storage?! It's so confusing what with OneDrive, Google, Android/Samsung and WhatsApp .. I have no idea what I am doing most of the time!

1 Comment

Significant Birthday at Castello di Brolio

19/7/2026

3 Comments

In keeping with the general theme of Italian food, drink and cultural hot-spots our accommodation was, fortunately, located very closely to Castello di Brolio (Castle of Brolio), in the municipality of Gaiole in Chianti.

The castle has been linked to wine production since 1141 – which is when the Ricasoli family is recorded as being the owners of the property – although a ‘broglio’ “a small, wooded estate enclosed for a lord’s residence” was on site in the tenth century. The Ricasoli family still owns the Castle and its vineyards and estates.

The Ricasoli and Castello di Brolio are synonymous with the development of “Chianti Classico” with the Sangiovese as the main grape for production – blended with other grape varieties - typically reported as 70% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo, 10% Malvasia Bianca Lunga. This formula was spearheaded by Baron Bettino Ricasoli (1809 – 1880).

The Ricasoli family are significant in the politics in Italy too and, in the 19th century (approximately 1848 – 1871) central to the unification of all territories as The Kingdom of Italy. This is called the Risorgimento (and is very convoluted) however, Bettino Ricasoli led the Moderate Party and was Prime Minister in 1861 – 2 and again between 1866 – 67.
Bettino Ricasoli’s private life and public career “were marked by the utmost integrity, and by a rigid austerity which earned him the name of the Iron Baron”.

As I said, all very convoluted. however, the perfect venue for a surprise Significant Birthday celebration!

For Paul's birthday on the 16th June, Rudi and Barbara had kindly organised a surprise tour of the castle followed by a meal at the 'tavern' on the estate -the Osteria di Brolio - which far from offering simple and homespun dishes associated with the term osteria - presented a contemporary menu with an emphasis on "a cuisine of great balance". .... "oils of character, tasty meats, fish from the nearby sea, vegetables from our gardens, cheeses from the local master cheesemakers".

And, of course, each course partnered with a wine selected from their own Ricasoli cellars.

A fabulous birthday celebration with fabulous friends!

Antipasto - zucchini flan, pecorino sauce and truffle

3 Comments

Italy: Chianti, Tuscany

17/7/2026

0 Comments

View from the villa across towards Sienna

So, we are back from our fabulous holiday in Italy. Actually that was two weeks ago and the first week was pretty awful so we will avoid thinking about that.

I managed to catch up with most of my work-related stuff quite quickly however, the same can not be said of the garden!

Despite the scorching temperatures everything became very over-grown and looked a right mess. And it still does despite emergency ministrations. Mind you, it could have been a lot worse but thankfully friends and neighbours kept up with watering duties and the tomatoes, beans and cucumbers look remarkably healthy. Fingers crossed! The same people also did a stellar job looking after CtC who, in his indeterminable and unique character, welcomed us back by delivering a dead mouse to the top of the stairs, in the bedroom, at 3am and proceeded to chomp and devour his catch!

Charming.

So here are a few photos and recollections from the first part of the holiday - a week in Tuscany.

From our villa in the Tuscan Hills we visited the nearby estate - Badia a Coltibuono - Winemakers since 1051. Badia translates as Abbey and was established by Vallombrosan monks and they cultivated the land specifically vines and olive trees already practiced since the third century BC by the Etruscans and Romans of the nearby village of Cetamura del Chianti - an important archaeological site - see
https://www.cetamuradelchianti.com/
Cetamura del Chian

Long, orderly rows of vines define the area of Chianti, amongst the hills separating Siena and Florence.

Badia a Coltibuono is now a 2000 acre estate which also includes ancient vineyards, olive groves, a hotel and spa, restaurant and gardens and also offers a range of activities such as trails and trekking and cycling, history talks and walks, cooking classes and 'introspective photography' [whatever that might be]. Naturally we just headed for the cellar door and the opportunity to taste the Chianti Classico wines and sample the Tuscan IGP extra virgin olive oil.

Check out: Badia a Coltibuono

ABOVE: The Black Rooster is the symbol that represents all the wines of the Chianti Classico appellation

Information from the Visit Tuscany website: Chianti Classico is one of the best-known wines in the world, represented by the famous Gallo Nero – Black Rooster. The history of this symbol has its roots in the Middle Ages and in a curious legend – including the story of warring factions from Siena and Florence duping each other whilst establishing territorial boundaries by using a white cockerel (Siena) and a black one (Florence) and their location as the dawn rose and the cock crowed. Amongst trickery and underhand play, the two birds and their knights met only twelve miles from the city of Siena (at Fonterutoli, near Castellina in Chianti) where peace was made and the boundaries of their respective domains were defined once and for all.

This is one of my favourite photos - showing the rest of the gang leaving the Badia's Cellar Door with two cases of wine and a tin of olive oil. We had an excellent deal on both - with a 'buy one, get one free' on the boxes of wine! It was (apparently) a limited offer usually given to the staff.

Well, it worked for us!!

0 Comments

Italy 2026 (Pisa)

12/7/2026

0 Comments

Anyway – this is the first travelogue in the Italy 2026 series (!) just to start with some of the 194 photographs actually taken (good grief) and general meanderings

We had a marvellous couple of weeks visiting Italy in June. It was just over two weeks because we wanted direct flights and, weirdly as it is such a tourist destination, flying to Pisa was easier than going to Florence! So, we decided to make the most of it and did a whistle-stop visit to the Leaning Tower, stayed over night and then got a train to Sienna to meet our friends. We originally met Rudi and Barbara in Australia (Adelaide) and they moved back to Germany a few years ago – having been Down Under for about 20 years! Fortunately - for us – they both worked in the travel industry throughout their careers and therefore have a lot of experience, contacts and – certainly not to be sniffed at – Rudi spent many of his formative years living in Italy. Oh – and incidentally, he can speak five or six languages too!

0 Comments

80th Birthday Surprise Party

10/7/2026

4 Comments

Whilst I am typing this in the relative cool of No.6 when it is 34C degrees (96F) outside, it seems a bit mad that a month ago my sister and I were worried about the cold breeze and potential rain showers which threatened to overtake our Mum’s Surprise 80th Birthday party.

Obviously, the number of candles wasn’t a surprise, but elements of the ‘get-together’ were! Not only were parts of it a surprise to Mum, quite a bit of it was a surprise to us too!! Not least for the number of potential guest arrivals insofar as when Ali and I totted up the figures attending each of both of the two ‘session options’ [lunch and/or afternoon tea] there seemed to be a just a few more coming for lunch than originally anticipated. We had estimated a possible 23 people when initially making plans in January but, following the production of hard-copy invitations, regular email contacts and local chit-chat that number had almost doubled!

So, we re-calculated lunch for 45 people and an additional 20 for the truly “surprise” element of Afternoon Tea!

GULP (literally)!

Therefore, it was a case of few more trips to various supermarkets and pulling a few more favours from friends and family. Thankfully we are a resourceful lot and coupled with the purchase of a new tea-urn (posing the question, why have we waited this long to get one??) and some canteen-style hot-food trays, re-jigged and added to the lunch-options and voila! food for plenty..... chili con carne, vegetarian chili, pulled pork, jacket potatoes, various salads, breads, quiches, dips and relishes. Yum. Afternoon Tea...and lots of cake and sweet treats. Oh, and decent coffee for those reliant on hard-core caffeine consumption. I think there was beer and wine and bubbles too, but I don’t think I saw any of that.

A number of the family started on-site preparations on the Thursday prior to the Party (7th June) and this included the last-minute resourcing and erection of a large gazebo and large ‘service’ tent. This was because the weather forecast looked pretty grim, and the potential for extra shelter was needed – especially in light of the increased numbers too! Isn’t that typically British though – planning for thunder and lightning when it should have been a pleasant, gentle early summer’s day?

Subsequently we spent hours fetching furniture, sorting cutlery, cups and saucers, plates and collecting cakes, doing more food shopping, and then chopping and mixing and baking - prepping, prepping, prepping.

Everything was under control... until the morning of the party when we lost power first thing in the morning (8am). However, after flicking a few switches and isolating a couple of potential circuit breakers, we signed with relief and the 55 jacket potatoes popped into the oven and began baking away. Phew…or so you’d think. Instead, at 10.45am – with Mum and some guests arriving from noon-ish – all power cut out! Frantically contacting the neighbours it was ascertained that the whole area was subject to a power outage and the utilities people were working on the sub-station. What a palaver!

Something shone down on us (not the sun, it has to be said) and thankfully the electricity was restored as people arrived. A big PHEW!

And, again thankfully, family, friends, ex-work colleagues, ex-pupils and a whole motley crew of acquaintances started to trickle though the gates… a lot of which were unexpected to Mum and, indeed, to each other. There was a lot of gasps and “gosh, I haven’t seen you in years” or “decades”, and “well, you haven’t changed a bit” or even (embarrassingly from myself) “hello… but who are you?”.

Great fun with stories, reminiscent memories and anecdotes.

Alison and I are so grateful to everyone that made such an effort to attend, driving or getting trains or taxis from all over the country – from Exeter, Cornwall, Kent, Cambridge, London, Oxford, Manchester, Warwick, Bristol, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Herefordshire, Wales, Leeds.

It was such a joy to celebrate Mum’s significant birthday with some significantly wonderful people! Thank you Xx

4 Comments