The Custards: The Great British Bake Off

So this is what I have learnt: some of you have seen Star Wars, some of you have eaten macaroons, some of you have done both and some of you have done neither.

What a fascinating group of people we are!

A strange old summer: for medical reasons we are not/have not gone away on holiday but have put our trip to Rome/Pompeii on hold until half term all being well (I had a Rome/Pompeii bag all lined up).

We are not boo hoo'ing about it - millions of people on this planet never have a holiday. We have aimed to have a few nice days out instead. If you have read this blog for any length of time you might have guessed that I don't do 'boo hoo'ing' - I have nothing to boo hoo about!

This post is a medley, a meringue, a pottage, a gathering, a collection of bits so far this summer.

By the way this is not an embroidery representation of my good self...or is it....
I bought this 50s hat with a several others from a car boot a few years ago - for the children really as I have the biggest head in all of the kingdom. I particularly like this embroidery as faces are particularly tricky to master and this one is nicely done I think. This embroidery represents summer!

This is THE macaroon box - for posterity you understand

In early August it was Maille's 14th birthday - suitable to post these after the Great British Bake Off I think. Dom baked the cake and it was very moist and chocolatey

I supplied the tablecloth and table setting! As per previous post it was necessary to move the china forward a few decades and make it more 'modurhn' for a 14 year old - just about got this right.......gulp.....

Cake close up

Tea close up

Cake top close up

I could not cater for Dom's needs so he had to have a flowery cup

"Is she still taking photographs?"

"Don't look and she might go away...."

Back to the china

and the end of the cake.....

I have had these cups for years and they used to live in Bronte's bedroom - all different colours, I have the matching plates somewhere too.

Much earlier in the summer I made the usual elderflower cordial - a particularly nice batch this saison if I say so myself.

Not so many insects around in it this year either!

The most simple of recipes

Just cover and leave overnight and in the morning - ta dah

Get side tracked by other nice mixing bowls if you must (I once sold one of these on Ebay and it broke in the post - never again)

Best to have a range....!

TG Green's made a lot of nice kichen bits didn't they

A nice range of bowls....

Anyway - whilst we have been bowl gazing the cordial is all done so strain through some muslin

I leave a few flowers in because they look pretty

and then decant into your original Corona bottles.

You do have some of those don't you?

Crikey I am not sure what we will do if you don't!

Really I am just pretending - I really wanted to show you some nice coastery mats

Then migrate to your neighbour's garden where they have kindly given you free range over their red currants.

A bumper crop this year and no insects there either!

I am ashamed of my Summer Pudding (one of my all time favourite puddings) as here it does not look too pleasant - rest assured it tasted lovely.

Little photographs

Yet another cake...this was my Victoria Sponge for a Sunday afternoon

It takes years to get it looking lopsided like this

And the slightly 'brown' bits take even longer to perfect the art.

It tasted nice anyway. We enjoyed the first episode of the GBBO - Bronte could not watch poor Ruby and her cake show down

We have had some nice days out but each time I forgot to take my camera - good thing really

Here is my backup:

Nice fabricos whilst we are at it don't you think? It even has an image of the only car that I hanker after - an Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite (the green car featured)....one day