Wine find of the month....

Casas del Bosque - if you can find this in your local independent off license then buy some, for under £10 it's amazing wine and excellent value.

Locally I found it at Grape Expectations, it's also stocked by the Dorset Wine Company.

I think I was in it momentarily!

Le jardin aujourd'hui

The current status is as follows...

1. Lawn looking better - red thread treatment working. Growing well, needs cutting every other day!

2. Fruit tree's doing very well, lot's of apple's & pear's still hanging.

3. The new extended section of the garden is work in progress.
a. Fencing done.
b. Concrete bases for summer house & workshop completed, potting area base to be done next.
c. Oak sleepers have arrived for raised beds. Bank holiday weekend project!
d. Grass seeded a test area & it's sprouted!

The machines have taken over.....

How the hell did they get up there?

Recent visit to Longstock Water Gardens

Whilst my brother was over from Sydney, a few days out were had. Sunday was one of the nicer days weather wise & so after a pleasant lunch at the (newly extended & highly recommended) Three Cups in Stockbridge, a short wander around Longstock Water Gardens was had. It's not open all year round, so if you want to see these beautiful gardens you need to look here for opening dates. The gardens are part of the John Lewis Partnership & open in aid of various charities throughout the year.

Click on the images for full size versions.

An urban fox in London....

Spiders nursery....

Spring Rhubarb - Roasted with vanilla

If you have lots of rhubarb in the garden - like my neighbours.... (thankyou Phil & Sally!)and you have gone through the Rhubarb Fool, Syllabub, Compote, Flan, Chutney recipes, then try this one, it gives a much better flavour and can be used as is or as a base for better Fool\Syllabub\Compote etc...

Cut into 1" pieces, arrange as a single layer in roasting dish, add 1 split vanilla pod, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons golden granulated sugar, roast for 25 mins at 200'C, stir halfway through.

Anyone seen a small German chicken?

Back to the Future in Andover.....

Freezing rain.....

... it's the start of something cold!

A small part of my mother's legacy to me.....

... is being able to make wonderful things like these! As well as a thousand other recipes. Pearls of wisdom that I will treasure forever.

Let it snow.....

You take photo of me, I take photo of you.....

I presume a student of some description was taking digital video in a car park in Winchester when I went back to my car, so I put my camera out of the window & returned the compliment.

The erections continue

Latest photo of the development next to my house. Things appear a lot closer than when viewed on a piece of paper!

Autumn has arrived...

... with a splash of colour in both vegetation & in the sky. An amazing rainbow tonight over my house & fantastic dark skies with changing light, sadly all over too quickly.

The first of many erections......

.... that will be appearing in the garden of my next door neighbour over the next 8 months.

Yesterday the builders developing the 1.5 acre site into 8 "desirable" (not in my world) homes, installed this fucking huge orange & blue monstrosity on site, so large it can actually overhang other gardens outside the site, particularly when the boom is extended to it's 30 metre maximum!

They have promised that it is at least nearly silent in operation & doesn't have a cab with operator at the top looking over all he could survey from it's 27 metre high point!

Mr Evans & his amazing Ferrari collection....

I popped over to Thruxton airfield today to see the Chris Evans Charity Ferrari run arrive & for the lucky (and wealthy) participants to be driven around in Mr Evans lovely red Ferrari Enzo by none other than The Stig!

Over the past couple of years Chris Evans has built up quite a collection of Ferrari cars, the most recent that was known publically was the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO that he bought in May 2010 for a reported £12m. Today he had a bit of a surprise sprung on him at the circuit when he took delivery of the first UK Ferrari F458. With the registration 1 FAB applied, it really does look fabulous. He has FAB 1 on his Rolls Royce Phantom.

The Stig was thrashing the Enzo around the circuit when I was there, it looked very quick and sounded absolutely fantastic. Later on Evans drove the airfield owner Henry Pelham around in the £5m James Coburn Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder - FER 1.

UPDATE 23/07 - photo of actual F458 now finally uploaded.

The sign at my front door....

This has been up at my door for a couple of years, but it has of late caused great hilarity amongst visitors to my house, including delivery drivers and other bona fide callers. Even to the point where some have made a note of the text, so that they can get their own made up.

It works for the most part, apart from mute Polish artists selling their crappy artwork door to door. It certainly keeps the Jehovah's away!!

Self inflicted drinking challenge!

I've had an idea..... I'm going to consume alcoholic beverages from one of the countries playing in the FIFA 2010 World Cup on the days they are playing - hopefully whilst watching the game - the time difference & schedule is kind for a change.

I plan to Google the national beverage\drink of each country, so for Uruguay it will be Grappmiel - a mixture of Honey & Grappa - I feel a trip to a London Department store coming on!? For Mexico it will clearly be either Sol beer or Tequila - probably in a Lime Margarita, for Brazil it will have to be a Caipirinha made with Cachaca, Germany is a Becks beer or 3, South Africa has to be a Windhoek beer, which although brewed in Namibia appears to be very well adopted - but a drop of nice red wine wouldn't go amis either. Japan is easy with Sake or Sapporo, both very easily sourced. The national beer of Argentina appears to be Cerveza Quilmes, they even sponsor the Argentine National Football team!

The only conundrum is what to have for the first match England are playing vs USA, I hate bitter, so the idea of an English beer is currently losing out to a Budweiser or 6?

Suggestions welcome.