Photograhy Workshop!

Yesterday I got to do something I never would have done if I'd still been working,  I just never would have had the time, and it was just lovely.

I got to spend pretty much a full day with my friends' daughter Hannah, just the two of us.  I've known Hannah and her sister Megan, since they were both born.  I'm actually Megan's God Mother.  Whilst we are not technically related, I'm a bit of an honorary auntie to both of them.

Hannah is 16 now and has just finished her GCSEs, like 'O' Levels to us oldies, so she's pretty much finished school for the Summer and I, of course, have all the time in the World for any activity that may loosely fall into the term of 'Pottering'.

Hannah's not long had a new Nikon DSLR camera and we decided to spend some time together seeing if I could give her any help on getting the best out of it.  I was a bit unsure as to how much help I would be, after all, I'm a Canon girl myself.

Anyway, as it turned out, although they may look a bit different, when it comes to using them, there are lots of similarities that made it a worthwhile exercise.

We were really lucky with the weather and got to spend loads of time in the Garden at Number 27, taking lots of photos of what's going on at the moment.  We even got to do a bit of sneaky picture taking in the Garden at Number 29!

Our main focus for our day (focus, do you see what I did there?) was depth of field.  Once we'd taken lots of pictures, we spent some time on the computer looking at and critiquing what we'd both done.  I think we were both pleased with the results.

After a very leisurely lunch, in the garden, we then got to have a very quick walk down the canal, which is just 5 minutes down the road.  We got to take some more photos of canal boats making their way through the locks.  We were both really surprised at how busy it was, with a queue of boats waiting to traverse the locks for as far as the eye could see.

When Hannah's mum, Jo, came to pick her up, we were both sat in the garden, sunning ourselves and eating ice lollies.  She'd been shopping and doing chores and we just knew that we'd had a far more chilled out day than she'd had.

It was lovely to get to spend time together and I hope we get chance to do it again.  Perhaps next time we can wander into town and have a go at taking pictures of some architecture.  Yes, we do have a castle in Tamworth you know!

Good Bye June, Hello July

I can't believe it's time to do another of these Good Bye, Hello posts again already.  June has just flown by.

Whilst June was as busy as predicted, it didn't quite go to plan.  We had a bit of a curved ball at the beginning of the month and Martin ended up having to work in London over two whole weekends.  Typically, the weekends he was away were red hot, so we missed out on BBQ'ing and just relaxing and enjoying the garden.

It also meant that we've not really had chance to put the CX-5 through it's paces as yet.

We did manage one Saturday night in with good friends and good food.  We entertained Lesley and Tom.  Lesley is one of my oldest friends (by that, I mean I've known her a long time, not that she's ancient!)  We were at school together.

We had a lovely meal, starting off with the Butternut Squash & Red Onion Tarte Tatin, which has become a firm favourite.  We had it with home grown watercress and multi-coloured radishes.  We followed this with a main course of Gingered Beef with Bay, cheese & onion mash and veg, and finished off with a blackberry clafoutie and home made blackberry ice cream.  I'm still working my way through last Autumn's blackberry harvest.

I did manage to make good use of my time whilst Martin was away and I've made a start on decorating the guest bedroom.  I've painted out the airing cupboard and I managed to do the ceiling, twice, on the hottest day so far this year!!

I've also made a start on the worst job ever ...... clearing out the sheds.  I think that will be a long old job and, at the moment, I'm taking it very slowly.  It's not much fin without Martin, though I probably could get away with chucking out all sorts that I wouldn't be able to if he was here.

For one reason or another I've also ended up having to postpone my first big day out on the train and my photography day with Hannah, so I've still got those to look forward to.

The month ended with Martin and I at the School Summer Fayre.  I have now been officially voted in as the Chair of the Board of Governors and I completed my first 'official' activity at the Fayre, by judging the children's fancy dress competition.  Talk about pressure!

Martin and I manned the 'Tin Can Alley'.  I can't believe we thought it would be an easy afternoon.  We both spent the afternoon running around picking up balls, that kept disappearing in to the undergrowth, and building the cans back up.  We were shattered by the time we finished and went for a welcome meal afterwards with another set of good friends - Jo & Steve and their two girls, Hannah & Megan.

I have finally made my first foray into selling on e-Bay and listed my first 10 items.  You can't imagine how excited I was when I sold something.  It took me a while to work out what to do next, but I am definitely inspired to get more active on e-Bay.

July will start off with us on a week's holiday, though we are planning on spending it at Number 27, something we've never actually done before.  Hopefully we won't spend the whole week gardening, decorating or clearing out the sheds, and we will finally get chance to get out and about for a bit of caching and to see how the CX-5 likes the narrow country lanes.

We're also keeping our fingers crossed for more Summer sunshine.

I'll keep you posted. 

School Summer Fayre

The last Saturday of the month dawned and it was our School Summer Fayre.  When I say our School, I mean the school of which I have been a member of the Governing Body for a number of years.

It was a bit gloomy to start, to say the least.  Following the week of glorious sunshine we'd had, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and Martin and I arrived at school to a heavy drizzle.

We maintained our enthusiasm and helped set up. The grounds looked great, with lots of the children's artwork hanging from the trees.

There was loads going on with a display of Birds of Prey, lots of stalls, including - Beat the Goalie, Hook a Duck, a set of stocks, a Tombola, a Bottle Stall, an archery competition and a skittle alley.  There was also live music, children's fancy dress, the school choir and plenty to eat and drink with a BBQ, a cake stall and a Pimms & beer tent, which were right next to ........ Happy days!







We were in charge of the 'Tin Can Alley'.  Sounded straight forward enough.  3 balls for 50p, knock all the cans over to win a prize.  We managed to obtain a number of large umbrellas as our stall seemed to be one of very few not covered by a gazebo!!

Well, after a quick Pimms in the rain to get me in the mood, 12.00pm came and the Fayre was open for business.  Luckily the drizzle cleared up and the weather did it's best for us.

After a slow start the 'Tin Can Alley' really got going.  Note to self - take a wind break if doing the 'Tin Can Alley' again.  Martin was in and out of the bushes, chasing after balls constantly, all afternoon.  What with that, and re-stacking tins time after time, it was the most exercise he's had in years.

By the time we'd finished, at 3.00pm, we were both shattered.




The day had been a real success for the school, with lots of visitors getting chance to support the school and have a really good look round the grounds and our narrow boat library, Discovery Deck







We manged to make £38.00 on the 'Tin Can Alley', which may not sound like a lot, but that's 76 people having had a go.  Based on the fact that I was quite generous with the number of balls allowed, that was a lot of running in and out of the bushes for Martin - he's a star!

Once we'd finished and helped pack away, it was off to The Ash Tree for tea, with Jo, Steve, Hannah and Megan, who'd come to join us for the last hour.

I'm volunteering for 'Hook a Duck' next year.

Quick & Easy Strawberry Jam

Honestly, I can't believe how easy, yet successful, this turned out.

We hadn't picked the strawberries for a few days and some had started to go over.  We were never going to eat all we picked, so time to make some jam.

Martin went off to Sainsbury's for some jam sugar and a lemon and I sterilised the jars.


Makes sufficient jam to fill 4 small jars
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 15 minutes

Ingredients
500g fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and cut into pieces
500g jam sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1. Place the strawberries and lemon juice in a large pan and heat through until strawberries have begun to go soft.
2. Add sugar and heat until thoroughly dissolved.
3. Once the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear, boil steadily for about six minutes, or until at setting point.  To test if the jam is at setting point, spoon a little onto a cold plate, leave for a few seconds and then push the jam with your finger.  If the jam crinkles and separates without running back, setting point has been reached.
4. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
5. Spoon into sterilised jars, label and seal.

It really is that easy!!