Bring me sunshine…

May 4, 2010 in Day to Day | Tags: , | 1 comment

Cowslips in Leicestershire this morning

The cowslip is protected here in the UK but you wouldn’t think that it was in decline if you came across this field whilst out walking.  In the heart of Leicestershire we have several hot spots of cowslips, and this has to be one of my favourites. It’s tucked away. My boys call it the ‘magic field.’ It is where I have based a chapter from my book ( a mere work in progress).

This morning Nicky Campbell was talking about  Morecambe and Wise’s theme song, ‘Bring me Sunshine’ on Radio Five Live and how uplifting it is.  It seemed rather fitting to be humming the tune this morning as I took these photographs!

Bring me Sunshine, in your smile,
Bring me Laughter, all the while,
In this world where we live, there should be more happiness,
So much joy you can give, to each brand new bright tomorrow,

Make me happy, through the years,
Never bring me, any tears,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.

Bring me Sunshine, in your eyes,
Bring me rainbows, from the skies,
Life’s too short to be spent having anything but fun,

Bring me Sunshine

We can be so content, if we gather little sunbeams,

Be light-hearted, all day long,
Keep me singing, happy songs,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.

Words – Sylvia Dee, Music – Arthur Kent

Kitchen Project: and so it begins..

April 29, 2010 in The Kitchen Project | 1 comment

Hmm, one day it will look like one large kitchen.

Finally, 8 years on and we have a new kitchen on the way. I have tried wrecking the other one to move things on a bit but it back fired slightly. Instead, I have spent the last two years looking at a few gashes in the current kitchen cupboard doors and wished that I had not been quite so heavy handed (or footed as in one case).

Each child was given strict instructions to use all force with any indoor bike or fire engine to make scrapes and bruises but alas the kitchen was rather well made and didn’t succumb to their bad driving.  But now its days are numbered.  But rather than have a new kitchen, which was never really  justified, we have instead decided to move it to a completely different place in the house altogether, thus improving our ‘quality of life’ in the process.  If someone had just told me that this would have happened, then I would not have had to put up with a couple of broken cupboard doors for all this time. Read the rest of this entry »

Rhubarb Crumble – fresh out of the ground today!

April 11, 2010 in Recipes | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Can’t beat it – fresh rhubarb, a little sprinkling of sugar, topped with crumble topping (see here) and in it goes until golden brown! Now, where’s the double cream (or custard, but never both…) .  Sid was the gentleman who lived in this house for over 40 years before he passed away. He has left us with many beautiful plants but this rhubarb has his name on it. We have given crowns to several neighbours but our plant has perperuated for what seems like decades. And it is still going strong. If you want some just call in! Thanks Sid.

Writer’s Block. I blame the HRT Coulibiac

March 2, 2010 in Day to Day | Tags: , , , , , | 2 comments

This is tough. Really tough. I am absolutely stuffed.  I have written two chapters in two months and my son is giving me grief because he thinks that I should rewrite them both. ‘It’s all been said and done before!’ he declared. He’s ten. And what’s worse, he’s right.

I have a ‘bestseller’ on the shelves already. Well, if you like academic text books that have a very limited market, one could call it a bestseller. Somehow I felt that writing the next Hollywood blockbuster on the back of a book about age related macular degeneration would flow naturally.  But I may have over-estimated my ability.  And sitting here with writer’s block my most recent creation has come down to the to The boy, the Dragon and the mother with HRT who all live in a tiny rural village.  Oh yes, and they have Springer called Bertie who smells really bad.  Nope, that’s not in the book, that bit’s real.

Now, it doesn’t really flow now, does it? Read the rest of this entry »

Blackberry Gin Time!

August 27, 2009 in Recipes | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

'Our House' Blackberry Gin

'Our House' Blackberry Gin

Unbelievable. I have searched high and low for my recipe and can’t find it anywhere.  It’s not that I have a particularly large or disorganised kitchen but I know that it was on a sheet of paper somewhere and it appears to have disappeared. Anyway, here it is – from memory. If I have left anything out then be sure to let me know.

Blackberry gin it is.

I was originally given this recipe form a neighbour and this time I have not fiddled with it. Given the number of ingredients there is not really that much to fiddle with. We don’t actually drink it as a liqueur (we have the sloe gin for that) but instead pour it over ice cream or drizzle it over other desserts. Always goes down well when we have people over to dinner. Read the rest of this entry »

My ‘rare’ Common Blue spotted on the edge of the Shire

August 24, 2009 in Day to Day | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Common Blue

Common Blue

‘We got to Calais and I said, which way, left or right?’

Inspired by a friend recounting a recent trip to France in their camper van, Callum and I headed out one morning  with the dog along our usual route, with the idea that at some stage, we would take a new turn and do a spot of ‘adventuring.’  Halfway up a hill towards an a old railway line I made the suggestion that we turned right instead of our usual left and go exploring in the ‘dark woods.’  We had a while until David and Alex returned from tennis lessons and it was a lovely day.  Callum was quite sceptical at my suggestion as the dark woods (as we called them) seemed so uninviting, and as the trees were now hiding most of the old gate, it was clearly somewhere where nobody dared to venture at all.  In the hope of  awakening his sense of adventure, something that he had clearly lost following an hour in front the of the TV earlier, I quickly jumped the gate and began battling the undergrowth, following the dog down a hill towards a brook.

So, two Hobbits left the comfort of the Shire, entering the dark wood imagining strange encounters with previously unseen beasts. Read the rest of this entry »

Rounding up the children for tea

August 24, 2009 in Day to Day | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Copper hunting horn

Copper hunting horn

This is still fox-hunting country, whether banned or not. There are several active hunts here that still survive following the Hunting Ban, namely the Quorn and the Belvoir Hunts. I have no opinion on hunting either way and although I do ride, it is not something I have the slightest interest in taking up. I don’t believe that I am cut from the same cloth as those that do.  For one, I clean up after my family and other animals and get very frustrated at those who do not – so I can’t imagine that the Master of the Hounds would be happy with me dismounting to fill up a pooh bag every ten minutes or so. More likely he would leave me behind instead.

Often in the early morning, I come across a hunt, that either stops me from taking my usually drive across the Vale, or I am caught up in one when out walking the dog across the fields. The former is simply infuriating, particularly if I am on my way to the station to catch a London train, whilst the latter can be terrifying, particularly if the sound of the horn starts getting a little too close.  But worst still is cleaning up the mess in The Village after they have all trotted through, either blissfully unaware or blatantly ignorant.  I don’t grow roses and we have other sources of manure to dig into our vegetable patches, thank you.

Ok, so perhaps I have no particular view on the sport of hunting per se but I admit having a mild irritation with those that do. That’s not to say that the sight of a hunt trotting through our Village is not spectacular. It only happens two or three times a year and it is indeed a sight to behold and always exciting to watch, particularly if the dogs are fox hounds. There is something so thrilling to see a pack of fox hounds; as most live in large packs, it is not a breed that is often seen on the end of a lead in the local park.

So, whether you agree with the sport or not is neither here nor there, but I was curious to come across this old hunting horn yesterday in one of our local charity shops. Read the rest of this entry »

Apple and Blackberry Crumble

August 16, 2009 in Recipes | Tags: , , , , , | 1 comment

Apple and blackberry crumble

Apple and blackberry crumble

I am not a great one for puddings but with three boys in the house, I am very much outnumbered.  Most of the puddings I make are simple and are made to accompany Sunday lunch.  Furthermore, most of our puddings are really straightforward and usually involve fruit that is either from our garden, a neighbour’s garden or found during a walk with the dog.   Today we had an apple and blackberry crumble.  We have a variety of preferred accompaniments, such as ice cream or double cream.  Today it was custard.  Lots of it. Read the rest of this entry »

One home baking, Rayburn cooking and food BC

August 16, 2009 in Day to Day | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

wild cherries

wild cherries

I am not a chef and will never claim to be anything else but a lover of simple home cooking.  In my life BC (before children) I had no interest whatsoever in cooking. I rarely had little else other than a good white wine and some cheese in the fridge.  And milk for tea.  I ate out most of the time, especially when I lived and worked in central London and when I did have to cook for myself, cheese on toast was just about it.  And even then it was cream cheese.  No wonder I complained of having no energy all of the time!

My passion for cooking has developed over the years but primarily as a result of two events.  First of all I was bought a copy of Nigel Slater’s Real Cooking. It certainly transformed my thinking about cooking – it suddenly all seemed so easy!  Read the rest of this entry

Would you like them here or there?

August 5, 2009 in Day to Day | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Green-eggs

Green Egg without the Ham

The boys went over to a friend’s today so that I may finish an article that was (and still is) way past its deadline.  No, I didn’t finish it and yes, I am writing this instead.  Writer’s block notwithstanding, I find on these occasions it is worth switching off totally from the piece in hand and write about something completely different.   Ok, most of you would have taken your children to the park, but here I am still at the PC, this time writing about an entirely different subject matter.   Given that the other article is about the importance of nutrition on the health of the eye, there is surely a tenuous link in there somewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

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About Jane

Disclaimer: This Rural Wife is a partly fictional tale, exaggerated nuances of hapless events that occur within the Village on a daily basis. They express the opinions and mad ramblings of the author only. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental, so please dont feel offended if you are not mentioned

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