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The case of the Missing French Sole Shoes

17 Aug in Brush Cottage | Comments (2)

What you won’t do to keep your child entertained during the summer holidays…..

Sainsburys – Bishops Waltham

15 Aug in Brush Cottage | Comments (1)

We live nestled between beautiful, historic Winchester and the quaint market town of Bishops Waltham. It’s the best of both worlds for me – all the bigger shops and conveniences are available in Winchester, while Bishops Waltham provides small, individually owned, unique little boutique shops and restaurants – that and far less expensive parking!

Over the last year or so, the Bishops Waltham community has been all abuzz with the pending planning applications by Sainsburys to build a store in the town. The question for me has always been - “Do we need it?” Within 10 miles there is one (and sometimes 2) large store of every supermarket chain in the UK. How many more do we need?…….But then I can get in my car, whenever I want to and drive to wherever it is that I want to go.

Bishops Waltham has an individually owned, green grocer, butcher, fishmonger and deli as well as a (okay, I admit…frankly dismal) Budgens and 2 Co-Ops…. isn’t that enough? I have no doubt that these businesses will not survive for too long after the arrival of Sainsburys.

There are other issues for me as well… there will undoubtably be an increase in traffic and will this traffic do as the locals do and grind to a halt, patiently waiting for the swans and ducks who live on the pond to cross the busy road?

How will the building works and increase in traffic affect the medieval palace ruins – just a stones throw from the proposed site?

As fas as I know, most people are against the proposal – the Community have formed an action group and the Liberal Democrats have been very active in their campaign against it. But sadly, most people I know seem to think, that regardless of this and the petitions we have all signed, it’s a forgone conclusion.

I went into Bishops Waltham yesterday morning , for the first time in about a month. I was sad to see that 2 really wonderful shops have closed. Jannaways was a unique little shop, always filled with decorative items and small pieces of vintage style furniture – the perfect place to pop into if you were looking for that little something special.

Mad Max has also gone – this was a little womens clothing boutique, again filled with clothes that you would not find on the high street. Mad Max was the first boutique that bought my jewellery from me when I started Twinkleberry and was selling through boutiques, before I had my site. I will always be grateful to the lovely Jan – who owned it at the time – for always chatting to me over a coffee and giving me, a fledgling business owner, advice and encouragement.

Did these shops close because of the imminent arrival of a Sainsburys store… I don’t think so, I don’t know why they closed. But the sight of 2 empty spaces in a small shopping district made me all to aware of how this little town will change – I think for the worse – with the arrival of a large and undiscerning retailer.

Style vs Substance

15 Aug in Brush Cottage | Comments (0)

Over the last little while, through some of the blogs I follow, I have become aware of the seemingly contentious little issue of Style vs Substance in Blogland.

How do you feel about it? Personally I like to have a little bit of both ….. sometimes, when I have the time to sit and read, I like a long, wordy, issue laden, thought provoking post – in the case of the eloquent Mr Fry I need about half a day! At other times, when life is busy, an inspiring or just pretty picture and a couple of words does the trick….. Do you think there is place for both in this big ol’ interweb…?

Ardingly 2010

21 Jul in Brush Cottage | Comments (3)

Yesterday, my friend Suzie and I set off to Ardingly in West Sussex for the International Antiques and Collectors Fair. Suzie is a hardened antiques collector and car booter of note… I am not… so I thought that she was an excellent choice to go with! It’s a daunting first impression when you get there – masses of stalls and seemingly miles and miles of things to see in one short day – I hate to feel like I am missing out on anything.

I love old silver and antique damask linens, so from the word go, I knew I was in extremely dangerous territory…

These were the first things that I saw, that I really loved – old shoe lasts – beautifully arranged:

Quickly followed by these charming dovecotes.

I loved this – I don’t know what it is … but I want one! I think it might be a dried bit of seaweed actually?

I came across the perfect colour to paint my garden furniture:

(Yes! The decision has been made – I am going to paint it!)

We had a lovely day, just 2 girls wandering around looking at beautiful things – I didn’t buy much, I came home with a wad of beautiful white damask napkins – did I need them? No, but they are pristine and we only use cloth napkins, so you can never have too many – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I also bought a beautiful monogrammed cloth – none of my linen collection is monogrammed, and I couldn’t resist this.

Just look how beautiful a place setting would be!

It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

14 Jul in Brush Cottage, Links | Comments (1)

If you follow me on Twitter, you might know that I was chosen as an Official Cupcake Tester for Genii Cupcakes. As you can imagine, this made us very happy because:

I never win anything
Cupcakes are becoming my nemesis

The lovely Laura spent a lot of time in her car on Thursday, delivering to the chosen few, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to meet with her then and so she arrived on friday, clearly nervous that mine were delivered a day later than everyone elses.

Dave and I knew that we would be in trouble if we started without Tessa, but we’re not scaredy cats and so immediately tucked into the Lemon one.

We’re perfectly matched, Dave and I. He likes cake and I like icing. He found the lemon cupcake had too much icing, but I liked it that way. The little droplet of lemon curd hidden in the middle also broke the sweetness and gave it that lovely lemony tang – we liked this cupcake 10/10

As expected, we did get into trouble on T’s return home from school – she promptly launched herself into the Oreo Cupcake – 10/10 for ingenuity – who would have thought of an Oreo cupcake? We particularly liked the creamy frosting on this one – a surprise as you expect to get a mouthful of sugar and then it’s actually soft and dreamy creamy. The only comment from T was that the little Oreo perched on top was soft and not crunchy….

She liked the Oreo Cupcake 10/10

Next up was the Vanilla – I liked the little pink and white spotted cupcake paper of course.

We liked this one too – perfect sugary frosting and the lightest of sponge – personally I don’t like those little pink dotty bits on the top – they look nice, but who wants to eat them? Tessa and David have no such qualms though – we liked the vanilla 10/10

It couldn’t be avoided any longer … the Jaffa Cake Cupcake….

Personally I think that whoever decided to combine chocolate and orange should be flogged – that is dangerous talk in the country that the Jaffa Cake and Terry’s Chocolate Orange calls home, but I live on the edge. While visually, this cupcake is quite something, David and I stayed well clear of this one. Tessa of course, was not going to pass this opportunity up. She thought it was very ” masculine”, liked the chocolate sponge texture, but thought that the flavour could be more chocolatey. She liked the frosting both in appearance and flavour, but it’s very rich and she couldn’t eat the whole thing. We gave this one a solid 7/10

You might think that our enthusiasm was waning by this stage but you would be wrong, we were taking our responsibilities very seriously and so next on our list was the Cherry Bakewell.

This one was a dilema for us…none of us like Cherry Bakewell. We didn’t like this one …. out of the 6 cupcakes we tried – this one was our least favorite, but I think that it was just a matter of individual tastes. The sponge was – as with all the others – perfect , visually it was lovely and I think if you do like Cherry Bakewell, you would probably love it! I also thought that the litttle slivers of almond might be nicer if they were toasted and crunchy

We gave this one a 5/10

Are you ready for this?

Behold the magnificence of the Strawberry and Pimms Cupcake!

Laura clearly is a genius for thinking this one up – we loved it 11/10. Perfect for Wimbledon fever and the English summer time. Light as air Pimms infused sponge and frosting with a strawberry that has lapped up all the Pimms it can before being wrapped in dark chocolate … who could ask for more?

We would like to thank Laura very much for selecting us to test her wonderful cupcakes, we loved them and would not hestitate to recommend them:

www.genii-cupcakes.co.uk

Chris and Albion Together Again!

14 Jul in Brush Cottage | Comments (3)

Chris and “Albion” (His name comes from the Brighton and Hove Albion football team… apparently) were reunited at last today!

Peace and Quiet reigns again at Brush Cottage!

Sweet Peas

06 Jul in Brush Cottage, Flowers | Comments (0)

Sweet Peas, such unassuming little things… their scent gives their secret away though….

Summer Pickings

04 Jul in Brush Cottage, Flowers | Comments (2)

Isn’t it great when you can wander into your own garden and pick flowers for a vase? My garden is loving the summer sunshine as much as I am!

Introductions are necessary

20 Jun in Brush Cottage | Comments (5)

Yesterday, Dave, Tessa and I took Poppy for our usual daily walk – we were on the recreation ground when we saw something in a tree. We stopped and went a little closer – and in no time at all – an African Grey Parrot launched itself out of the tree and landed on David’s arm…. honestly – I’m not having you on!

We brought her home – popped her in our old hamster cage and set about looking for the owner. This is one of the tamest parrots I have ever seen – She likes to sit on my shoulder and have me stroke her head. Some poor person out there has given this bird a lot of love and attention and must be devastated to have lost her. I hope we can reunite them. In the meantime we have nicknamed my husband …. The Parrot Whisperer!

Elderflower Cordial

12 Jun in Brush Cottage | Comments (0)

Elderflower Cordial is something that epitomises English summer time for me and we love it so much that I try and make loads every year, so that it lasts me into the winter as a reminder of warm days and blue sky.

The hedgerows of full of creamy, white elderflower right now, so it’s the perfect time to get out there and pick some – don’t wait too long as before you know it, the flowers will have gone and the berries will have started to form.

Ingredients:

20 heads of elderflower

1.8kg granulated or caster sugar

1.2 litres water

2 unwaxed lemons

75g citric acid ( available from a pharmacy or asian supermarket)

Method:

1 : Shake the elderflowers to expel any lingering insects, then place in a large bowl

2: Put the sugar in a pan with the waterand bring up to the boil, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.

3: While the sugar is heating, pare the zest of the lemons off in strips and slice the lemons.

5: Add the lemon slices and zest to the flowers and pour the boiling syrup over. Stir in the citric acid. Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.

6: Next day, strain the cordial through a sieve lined with muslin and pour into thoroughly cleaned or sterile glass bottles. The cordial will keep for a couple of months in the fridge or can be frozen in plastic bottles.

To serve:

Dilute the cordial to taste with sparkling water and serve with ice, a slice or 2 of lemon and a sprig of mint.

Elderflower cordial is also fantastic in gooseberry fool, or

Vinaigrette:

Mix with wine vinegar, a touch of mustard, salt, pepper and a light olive oil – delicious with a courgette, lettuce and broad bean salad.

Try it with sorbet or just spooned over vanilla ice-cream.

Last year I struggled to get hold of citric acid, so froze the flowers and used them a couple of weeks later – perfectly good!

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