Lockdown has caused me to be increasingly reflective. As you know, this has also come at a time when I have lost my dad, another event that gives you pause for thought…

In terms of the national situation, I recently read an article (Utopia, dystopia and life after lockdown – Damian Howard SJ, published in The Tablet 28th May 2020) from a friend’s Twitter account that split our response to the current crisis in the following way: Utopian, for those who optimistically hope that we will act on all the positives that have been evident over recent weeks. Dystopian, for those who are pessimistic about our economic, environmental and social future. Steady-state, for those who think that we will just return to where we were before.

On a more personal level, my mother, with whom we are ‘bubbling’, came to stay for a couple of days. Talk turned quickly to my father and the memories we all have of him. My mother shared many stories of their time in Jerusalem in the early 60s…driving down the old road to Jericho in a car with dodgy brakes, trying to arrange a rota of services in the cathedral at Christmas and Easter that kept all the different religious factions happy, taking my sisters to the school which was run by French nuns in a uniform that needed to be pressed and white, using dirty nappies in the back of the car to get through long delays and car searches at borders, family picnics in Gethsemane, cockroaches on the stone floors, closing shuttered windows when bullets were flying around outside, meeting the American pastor from New England and the eye surgeon from Cambridge who would become friends for life, Maria the maid who helped out and taught us all some Arabic (sadly long forgotten!), my father meeting Haile Selassie and helping to train a group of charming Ethiopian priests, the spectacular view as you came in to land at Beirut airport…

We decided, therefore, to have a meal that might bring back some taste memories…

Eating: Preserved lemons and pomegranate were two of the flavours that my mother remembered, so we had variety of dishes – sweet and sour onion petals (recipe from Ottolenghi in Feast 06/19), cauliflower shawarma (recipe from Josh Katz – Berber & Q), Chermoula aubergine with bulgar and yoghurt (recipe from Ottolenghi in The Guardian 01/09/12) and Freekeh, tomato and chickpea pilaf (recipe from Sabrina Ghayour in Vegetarian Living magazine). Apologies, but we were too busy eating to take a picture of the pilaf!

Drinking: As the above meal wasn’t planned much in advance, I didn’t have the red I would have normally put with the flavours above, so we drank this Portuguese red, sourced from ND John, full-bodied and fruity, so complemented the strong flavours of the food.

Listening to: Old school Santana. Just great guitar work and Carlos worked with so many other great singers too! Current favourites the classics One Como Va, Black Magic Woman and Game of Love (feat. Michelle Branch)

Reading: In the era pre-lockdown, I was dragged to see Emma.. Despite myself I loved it and have just started reading the Austen novel…

There has been precious little to celebrate over the last few weeks, but this talk of ‘bubbles’ has chimed with recent events in this gradually ‘unravelling lockdown’ household.

Regular readers may well be aware that we possess a pampered pooch. Originally I was firmly against getting a dog, but years of emotional abuse from the family, including hundreds of cute puppy screensavers ‘accidentally’ left on the family computer eventually persuaded me to give in. She has been with us for over 10 years now and is the second family pet we have had, the first being Harry (Potter), the cat, a beautiful black and white rescue cat who was with us for 15 years until he died three years ago.

I have been on the receiving end of further pressure to get another cat for some time, pressure that increased significantly under lockdown….Reason # 1 for bubbles therefore, is to celebrate the arrival of a kitten. The new arrival, at 8 weeks being clearly much smaller than the dog, has still announced her arrival with some very good claw-laden swipes – pooch’s nose is (almost literally) so far out of joint. It will be a pleasure to see this relationship develop over the coming weeks.

I don’t know if anyone has ever conducted research into the names we choose for our pets and what they say about our personalities, but if all choices that we had on the table had been anonymised, I would have easily known which suggestions belonged to which members of the family. The writer her indoors very quickly went Greek heroine, followed by Greek goddesses and characters from Greek tragedies. Child #1 went straight to Germanic and Norse mythology, before segueing into Japanese anime names. Child #2 made it his job to ensure that the cat got a decent, ‘unembarrassing’ name, immediately vetoing some suggestions, leaving the possibility open to others… Child #3’s suggestions were strong, modern female role model names, zeitgeisty (is that a word?) and feisty. In the end, and after a couple of days of debate, we settled on Lyra (see below for reason).

Reason #2 for celebratory bubbles was the lockdown ‘significant’ birthday of child #3. In the press and on social media not much has been made of the knock-on effects of Covid 19 on many young people, such as a lack of graduation ceremonies or end of school proms, significant rites of passage, or the lack of employment possibilities for graduates…So we did what we could to make the day special. Friends created a treasure hunt round the village in the morning. The weather helped us eat outside in the afternoon and evening, prior to a late night viewing of Sunshine on Leith, the birthday girl’s favourite film. Not the birthday that she would have had in ‘normal’ times, but memorable nonetheless.

Eating: Child #3 loves pasta, so during the week pre and post birthday we had many dishes. Pictured above Asparagus cream pasta, recipe from bbcgoodfood.com I made it child #3 friendly, by using gluten free pasta, garlic infused oil, vegan cheese and Alpro single soya cream.

Drinking: The above Classic cuvée from the Furleigh Estate in Dorset. We first came across it at The Ollerod in Beaminster and ordered directly from the estate. We enjoyed it throughout the birthday celebrations!

Listening to: In the continued search for music that is good to accompany gardening or cooking, I came across Groove Armada. Current favourite songs are: At the river, Dusk you and me and Hands of time.

Reading: The Book of Dust, volume one La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman. Hence the name for the kitten!

Une mort heureuse was the original working title of one of my favourite novels, L’Etranger, by Albert Camus, the tale of a man’s struggle to find meaning in a world that seems to have a set of values that he doesn’t understand – a tale for our times, perhaps? (It is often cited as the second most influential novel for young men, after The Catcher in the Rye.) The main character – SPOILER ALERT!!- goes to his death, ‘happy’ with the choices he has made, the honesty he has shown towards the people he has known and the society in which he lived. Even his name, Meursault, translates from the French as ‘death leap’. I choose the title, though, for very different reasons; perhaps I should have called it ‘a good death’ – ‘une bonne mort’. (The pedant in me requires me to add that ‘une belle mort’ would work equally well here!)

Not long after lockdown started, at the end of March, my father died. Not of Covid 19 (luckily?), as his death certificate states: ‘frailty due to old age’. He was, after all, 102 years old, having been born in 1917, when the world was engaged in a very different struggle. Old, so his death was not unexpected. He died, as he wished, in his sleep, after a long and fulfilled life . After being home educated by his mother, he gained a scholarship to Whitgift school and then a place at Cambridge, where he achieved a double first in Classics and Theology. After training to be a priest and being ordained in September 1941, he worked in several city and rural parishes in England, was vice-principal of Cuddeson Theological College, Oxford, set up St George’s Theological College in Jerusalem, before jaundice forced him to return to the UK. After a period of recuperation, he became Chaplain to the Queen at Hampton Court Palace, whilst also working at Streatham Crematorium. In his ‘spare time’ he proof read as an editor for the SPCK. Then, in semi-retirement, he took up the post of Preacher to the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn. In retirement he continued to officiate, both in Sussex where he lived and at the Anglican church in Marseille, close to the holiday flat where he spent three months a year. He preached in French at a service to recognise the 75th anniversary of his ordination and in English in his 100th birthday and read the Gospel during services for both his 101st and 102nd birthday celebrations. So, a long life, death in the way that he wanted and a firm belief in God… does it get better than that?

To sum up a life in one short paragraph clearly does him no justice. Perhaps more telling are the messages my mother has received from people who came into contact with my father, or the memories his family and friends have of him. I remember his frustration as I struggled with my translation of The Aeneid at O level, his careful packing of the car prior to a camping holiday and even more careful packing away after we came back, his surreptitious stirring of a spoon of sugar in to a glass of white wine that he found too dry and the copious amounts of salt that he added to almost any meal, his encyclopaedic knowledge of almost everything (apart from music and sport, though the day he managed to answer a Sport and Leisure Trivial Pursuits question is still fresh in the memory – Fred Perry, was the answer!), his calm and calming manner, his inability to kick a ball, his ability to deliver a cracking sermon in no more than 12 minutes, the way he was still doing the cryptic crossword in Latin in his 90s, his careful way with money, his eyes lighting up when his grandchildren walked into a room… he was an exceptionally clever yet humble man, sensitive and practical, interesting and interested in others.

It is a measure of the nature of our times that I say we were ‘fortunate’ to be able to attend his funeral – almost the hardest part was the social distancing amongst the 11 of us there, especially as we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. He had planned the service, so he certainly felt ‘present’ and, as he had done for the best part of the last 100 years, he ran the show in his quiet, understated way. It feels like the very definition of bitter sweet, the combination of grief on our part and happiness on his… I feel no greater sense of pride than when my kids say to me that I’m getting more and more like him….

If only…

Eating: Red rice with feta and coriander. Recipes from Ottolenghi in The Guardian last weekend. It had a paella feel to it. I made my usual FODMAP amendments and added more feta than the recipe asked for, and probably more coriander, as we all love it!

Drinking: My dad loved a good red, and the above is full and flavoursome. I sourced it from Virgin Wines.

Listening to: In choosing settings for elements of the funeral, I re-listened to several versions of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, from sung evensong (my father’s favourite service). Stand out versions for me are the Stanford in B flat and the version in G. I also love the Rutter version. In the end we went for the version by Thomas Tomkins, sung by the choir at Hampton Court. I class myself as an ‘indie 80s boy’, but the choirboy isn’t that far from the surface and there is something magical about choral singing.

Reading: Circe, by Madeleine Miller. It took a second attempt at this to get into it, but well worth it. Conscious that my dad probably read the original stories in Ancient Greek or Latin!

As some sort of an end, or at least significant change to our current situation approaches, it is clear that life under lockdown has been attritional for some, challenging for many and an opportunity to flout the rules for a few. My hope was that perhaps, just perhaps, as a nation we would learn lessons about values in our society and change our way of thinking for the good of all; sadly I fear this will not be the case…. But getting off my high horse and to bring this down to a personal level, a few observations about how the last few weeks have gone and what I now know…

1. Before lockdown started, after much badgering from all the family, I went to the opticians, where I was rewarded with a large bill and a pair of reading glasses. But how hard is it to see anything when you open the oven door with them on? The family has banned me from pushing them up onto my forehead, as this stretches them, so they just fog up with the heat and I can see neither the dish in the oven nor where I can put it down safely on the table. Any suggestions gladly welcome!
2. With exercise allowed, I have continued to run. The country lanes, normally relatively quiet pre lockdown, have been quieter still. (The photo at the top is half way up the hill out of the village, between km 1 and 2 on the way out and km 8 and 9 on the way back.) However, there has been an increase in farm traffic and running shortly after a slurry tractor has been on the road means that: there are significant ‘spills’ all over the road to be avoided at all costs for the good of my trainers; the smell, whilst not unbearable, is at best unpleasant, especially at a time when taking on large gulps of air; there is a significant increase in flies and, whilst I am not vegetarian, I’d rather not be swallowing too many….
3. With the family all here with us, I often have an assistant when cooking. I have come to realise that the kitchen is designed in such a way as to make it impossible for more than one person to cook at any one time. This might sound churlish, but it can make for some difficult moments with hot dishes and sharp knives. Added to this, the pampered city pooch has become even more of a scavenger, so is constantly at our feet, hoping for something to drop into her mouth. The only think she won’t have a go at is vegan cheese. We used to say: ‘I bet Jamie Oliver doesn’t have this sort of problem when he’s cooking’, but having seen some of his recent tv series where he is cooking from home, his kids provide a similar level of distraction now, so I can’t blame the dog for dishes that have gone wrong!
4. To a certain extent, having given up full time work to move down here over a year ago, lockdown hasn’t impacted as much as it will have for many. Combined with the good weather, I have been ‘allowed’ to potter in the garden with few interruptions. A very simple routine has become the norm and I can almost ‘lose’ days unless I am to careful . More than once we have said: ‘Is it clapping time already again?’ Part of me feels guilty that I have quite enjoyed elements of this new regime, part of me worried that I am becoming an ‘old man’, or perhaps even slightly institutionalised in this way of living. On the bright side, the garden has never looked so good and the lettuces, cabbages, peppers and broccoli I have planted are still all alive!
5. Zoom, facetime, Skype etc. have been a constant source of contact and I have really enjoyed keeping in touch to a greater extent with people than before. I have also been in much more regular contact with my mother (who is not online) and, whilst what we talk about isn’t substantial – and trust me it isn’t in any way!- I do feel more connected with her ironically…
6. I never realised how much tea some people can drink. We appear ‘single- familied’ to be trying to drink our way through the world’s supply of tea. The upside is that our twice weekly milkman has been able to keep up with the increased demand for milk and we are therefore putting substantial amounts of money into the local economy.

I’d like to think that lockdown has provided us all with the opportunity to take stock, on a personal level – we’ve certainly had time and space to think and that perhaps we all know ourselves a little better… Anyway, another sunny day, so, time to put the kettle on before a potter in the garden to check out how well the nettles are growing!

Eating: Tried a different aubergine recipe this week, from the Guardian 10 best aubergine recipes pages. Not convinced that this moussaka really is, but the tahini, yoghurt and za’atar dressing was a success!

Drinking: Given the warm weather, I love a chilled rosé and this is nice and dry on the finish and certainly evokes times spent in Provence!

Listening to: The Nightfly by Donald Fagen. I tend to listen from start to finish, in the order on the album, as I just love the last track – Walk between Raindrops.

Reading: Sebastian Faulks – Where my heart used to beat. Loving the description of the calanques in the south of France in an area of which I am very fond.

I posted several images of food from Japan in mid-March, when, despite all evidence to the contrary, our long awaited trip there began. It was curtailed all too soon, less than one week into the planned three. Our brief time there reminded me of just how important travel is to us, the excitement it creates, the possibilities it opens and the experiences it offers.

We managed some time in and around Kyoto – long enough, though, to fall in love with Japan. Guided visits to a variety of temples and gardens in and around the city, traveling on the bullet train, drinking in ‘standing bars’ in which the locals were ‘relaxing’ , shopping in the streets and food markets (usually filled with tourists), tea ceremonies, geisha hunting (which isn’t as bad as it sounds!) and a trip to Hiroshima…many traditional ‘tourist’ activities. However, what struck us just as much, were some very basic elements to Japanese life: the balance between order and chaos, law and anarchy, conformity and rebellion.

We saw no homeless on the streets. When pushed, our guide said that in most parts of Japan, they just don’t exist in the way that they do here; they live in their cars in designated areas.

People cross the road only on the green signal, never at any other time and only at the designated crossing points.

Queuing for the bus is strictly ordered, as were the queuers to the lines painted onto the pavement to make sure that you were in the correct queue.

Trains ran on time and each carriage was checked by onboard personnel before new passengers were admitted.

On one train journey I sat next to a young man who would not have looked out of place on stage with Siouxsie in her full punk pompdom, a look which jarred with the J- pop he was watching on his phone….

The novels of Murakami portray an anarchy that lies just under the surface of a quiet, respectful, ordered culture, rooted in the traditions of inclusive religion, ceremonial understanding of ‘place’ and a reverence of learning. This was our experience.

I cannot leave without referring to our day trip to Hiroshima, which, despite the Peace museum being closed, due to anti Covi-19 control measures in place, still possesses an aura and a power to teach us all of the past and remind us of a ‘better’ future. Out of great suffering and destruction has grown a vibrant and modern city which has embraced its past, ‘owned’ it almost and is determinedly forward looking, a sense not dissimilar to that you get when you visit places such as Berlin. The crane has become a symbol of peace and hope and one of the most moving parts of Hiroshima is the place where paper cranes, made by school children in Japan are displayed…

During these times when we are still all questioning even the most essential trip away from our homes, the urge to travel is huge, and, during a chilly day in lockdown England I am reminded of our love of travel abroad, our wish to see more of our own country but also that I should relish being lucky enough to enjoy being at home.

Eating: Those who follow my Instagram posts will have seen that in Japan we ate a wide range of tasty dishes, including: seared beef, seared mackerel, fried chicken, tofu and aubergine broth, macha tea ice cream, shrimp tempura….the list goes on. In homage to our trip, I revisited the Kotteri vegetable ramen from Tove Nilsson‘s book Ramen. I made it child #3 friendly by using garlic oil and then taking out her topping mushrooms before adding garlic to the rest. We had rice noodles as these are gluten free. I also upped the amount of spinach, sweetcorn and mushroom toppings, so that we had plenty for seconds!

Drinking: A bad (or good, depending on your point of view) few days this last week – is lockdown getting to us? With the above ramen, we drank some sake infused with yuzu, from some sake cups we bought in Kyoto. During the hotter weather earlier, we had an exquisite light rosé ( from ND John), as well as a lovely German red wine ( from Virgin wines).

Listening to: I managed not to ‘get into’ J or even K pop when out in Japan. Due to my reading (see below), I re-visited Bill Evans, which was relaxing on some of our longer journeys. Current favourites being: Walk on the wild side, I’ve got you under my skin, B Minor waltz and Peace Piece. We did have one night in a bar in Kyoto, where a young lad was plying acoustic covers – his renditions of Earth Song, Bohemian Rhapsody and Your Song will live long in the memory and fortunately no recordings were made!

Reading: Should actually be re-reading, of which I am a fan…. To be in Japan reading probably my favourite author was an absolute joy. Given the failure of my kindle (other devices are available…), I was old school with a proper book, so chose one of the lighter ones to take with me – Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

In a previous life as a teacher, I was always suspicious of the (usually rather pasty and acne faced) boys who seemingly took huge amounts of time off school and, when the absence note eventually came in, or the phone call from mum, the reason given was that ‘his IBS has returned.’ I tended to dismiss this as a ‘lightweight’ excuse for missing school, a symptom of an unwillingness to engage with some of the harsher realities of academic study. However, since the diagnosis of child #3, I have learnt that:

1. IBS is notoriously difficult to diagnose, especially in girls
2. It manifests itself in various different ways, depending on the individual – child#3’s quirk is that she is also lactose and gluten intolerant
3. There is no easy solution to ease the considerable pain it causes

I have quickly become acquainted with the FODMAP diet, one of the usual ways to alleviate symptoms and help sufferers find out which foods suit them best (or least badly). Due to the restrictions it imposes on a diet, it it is recommended to be followed for 4-6 weeks only. For the uninitiated and apologies if I am preaching to the converted, FODMAP stands for fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols, short chain carbs that are resistant to digestion. The list of ingredients which are ‘bad’ or ‘good’ seems at first glance to a non-scientist like me to be perverse. Wheat is one of the most common triggers for an onset of IBS for many. The Monash university app (paid) is recommended by most doctors involved with IBS. My ‘go to’ list for which ingredients I can use is from the link below and is now a permanent fixture on the laptop.

https://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/

I soon realised this wasn’t about me, so changed my mindset to: ‘how do I make this work?’ There are many challenges to face when cooking for someone with IBS, who happens to be pescatarian. Added to this, at this time of lockdown, I am also cooking for child #1, who is nut allergic and another pescatarian in the family. Below my shortcuts to help produce a variety of tasty meals to satisfy all appetites.

I use garlic oil not olive oil and garlic. This can be difficult to source, so I make my own when I confit garlic (for a confit garlic cauliflower cheese recipe from Anna Jones). Instead of onions I use either celery, chives or the green parts of spring onions. I seek out recipes that use chilli, ginger, za’atar to flavour, rather than garlic, as these all give good, spicy flavour and ‘kick’. And that’s about it interns of replacements. Many pasta recipes work just as well with gluten free pasta. You can get good vegan cheese, lactose free chocolate (some of which is also nut free as well) and lactose free milk. Below some of my ‘go to’ recipes…

Eating: (On the left) Roast sweet potato and crunchy flageolet bean stew. The original recipe is with squash and chick peas, but it works just as well with sweet potato. I could not get any chickpeas, so used the band instead and they worked just as well. I had also run out of spinach, so used some broccoli instead. The harissa and ras-el-hanout provide a good spice and kick. I served with brown rice. (On the right) Za’atar cacio e pepe, recipe adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi. I used gluten free pasta, lactose free spread and a range of different lactose free cheeses, garlic oil and basil leaves from the garden. (Below) Lentil and roast vegetable salad, recipe adapted from Meera Sodha. I used garlic oil and celery to replace the garlic and shallots and then the vegetables I had hanging around – we had as a side salad with the barbecued meats and fish.

Drinking: As always, probably too much. Rhubarb from the garden to make rhubarb gimlets, ideal ‘prink’ in the late afternoon sun, followed by this light but lovely German red, sourced from Virgin wines. Gimlet made from rhubarb syrup, gin and lime juice.

Listening to: As I write in the persistent drizzle of today, the sunshine of the last days seems already a memory, but given how the warmth makes me feel, it has had to be Bob Marley. Lazily I have just ad his greatest hits album, Legend, on shuffle. It doesn’t get better than Stir It Up and Redemption Song.

Reading: Strangely, it has taken me some time to settle into reading in lockdown, despite the time available. This week, though, Barbara Kingsolver‘s ‘Unsheltered’ has been my companion.

No, the title does not mean that this is going to turn into a rant about the leader of the free world, much as it so easily could, nor a reflection on our recovering leader’s approach to the current situation. Rather, just a few thoughts about how we are responding to confinement, given that many weeks have passed since when receiving 4 bottles of a particular lager seemed like a funny idea, many stories of hardship and sadness have appeared in the media and that lockdown looks set to continue…

Horticulture – At least the weather has been dry, so being forced to be at home has meant more time in the garden to start new battles (nettles), continue ongoing battles (brambles!) and consider cleaning out the small pond area. Child #2, at best a reluctant participant in any activities other than sunbathing in the garden, really got stuck into the pond area, inspired to make it a Japanese area of zen tranquility. All was going swimmingly, apart from the leech which attached itself to his arm, until signs of life were discovered. Child #1, the one with a degree in ‘animal shit’ (not really what it says on his certificate, but it best describes the range of things he studied!) was quickly called upon and he declared the animals to be newts and that the project had to be stopped forthwith. As a protected species, habitats have to be retained, so the pond was re-filled and child #2 returned to the easy chair to research all matters newt and to re-design his project.

Culture – The writer her indoors (literally) has been busy writing, responding to the plethora of requests from a variety of organisations for new writing, based on themes such as isolation. En famille we have enjoyed the streaming of National Theatre productions, most especially ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ in which James Corden excels. We have revisited ‘Derry Girls’, as well as Brooklyn 99. It is probably no surprise that these are all comedies, with moments that make you stop and think… we seem to feel the need to laugh. We have also all been caught reading for pleasure at some time or another, and increasingly so. More than one post on Twitter has made the point about the importance of the Arts in helping us all through the crisis and hoping that governments are mindful of this when normality is resumed.

Cooking continues to provide a source of purpose amongst the current conditions, with the challenge of using ‘different’ ingredients in recipes and the chance to empty cupboards of a variety of cans and packets that have probably been there for too long. Mealtimes are all the more interesting given the five of us at home; two pescatarians, one of whom is also lactose intolerant, has a gluten-free diet and is currently on a low FODMAP regime (of which more in my next post), and another allergic to hard shelled nuts and a range of similar foods. I’m enjoying the creative challenges posed!

Countryside – But I fully understand just how lucky I am to have a garden for good access to outside space, a house large enough for all five of us to have our own space at the times that we need this, and that we are all fit and healthy. Social distancing has been relatively easy living in a small village, with social lives continuing online – who had heard of ‘zoom’ before this all started? – and always plenty of space when walking the pampered pooch. But these are strange times indeed…

Eating: Probably too much! Above, both a cauliflower dahl, recipe adapted from a squash and red lentil recipe I have. Onions replaced with celery and garlic oil instead of garlic. I also had my annual go at hot cross buns, this year from Mary Berry’s recipe. Looked very rustic but actually very tasty!

Drinking: Definitely too much! I intended to blag it and just talk about the lovely coffee above, the house blend of a café in Ilminster that I found hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen, but that would have been pushing it too far. Eating plenty of fish at the moment, so the above complements a range of them (and I have soft spot for white Riojas!)

Listening to: Given the title of this post, perhaps I should be listening to The Cure, The Clash, Elvis Costello or Culture Club – you get the point, I’m sure. However, current ‘go to’ song is Dance Monkey by Tones and I, one of those songs that stays with you after first listen and just doesn’t go away!

Reading: Given the time we have at the moment, I thought I’d add this section over the next few posts. Currently, and as a result of our severely curtailed trip to Japan, of which more later, I am re-reading a textbook from my university days – Buddhist Scriptures, a collection edited by Edward Conze.

Buying a house that had a ‘garden with potential’ seemed like a good idea at the time. We sought and received advice from family and friends who saw the garden. Initial responses were characterised by an intake of breath, similar to that you get when a plumber or electrician is quoting for certain jobs to be done…. the pursed lips and sucked-in breath that mean: ‘this is going to be expensive’. However, the most common response, and the one that played very nicely thank you was the: ‘you need to live with it for a year, to see what grows where and what works’ – a tailor-made excuse for pottering and doing ‘a bit of weeding’ here and there, rather than anything more significant.

Priority #1 was to start a herb garden. I say garden, more really just the flower bed that was closest to the back door and kitchen. Sage has flourished, as has rosemary. Oregano and thyme are holding their own. Mint started well but has since struggled, whilst parsley did the opposite. Chives have survived the winter, whilst the dill has disappeared. All in all, though, a relatively successful start – box ticked!

Priority #2 was to try a few veg to see where might be a good spot to develop over time. New potatoes were underwhelming, whilst the kale and lettuce was surprisingly successful….And all I’ll say about the tomatoes is that I was able to make more than one batch of green tomato chutney….So more trialling this year, which is probably just a ‘get out’ to potter more and procrastinate further before serious upheaval.

My current battles, are with brambles. Flourishing isn’t a strong enough word to describe their success. Having benefitted from blackberries galore last autumn, I am loathe to ‘lose’ them completely, but their ability to thrive in all the wrong places is uncanny, as it their ability to hide their roots in the hardest to reach places. I started by judiciously cutting back, but the lack of seeming progress in their ‘management’, coupled with the incorrigible thorns in fingers and hands, ripped gardening gloves and garden rubbish bags, is beginning to get me down. I console myself with the thought that, in the war against them, I am currently winning a few skirmishes.

Eating: Desserts are less of ‘my thing’, so I tried a recipe forwarded to me by child #2 for Little tahini and molten chocolate mousse tarts with mascarpone, from Sweet, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. They were delicious!

Drinking: Lovely alternative to Sav blanc. Very versatile and went well with a roast hake, fennel and orange with almond aïoli recipe from Clare Lattin and Tom Hill, featured in the Guardian May 2018. Sourced from Naked Wines.

Listening to: You know that moment when, at the end of the playlist you have put on, Spotify starts playing you music that it thinks you might like? I generally start a discussion with the service berating its poor choices for me. However, recently, Spotify played a song by an artist called Eileen Jewell, an American singer/songwriter from Idaho and, despite myself, I found that her music really stuck in my mind. Current favourites are ‘Mess Around‘ from an early album called Boundary County, ‘High Shelf Booze’ from Letters to Sinners and Strangers and ‘I Remember You’ from Queen of the Minor Key.

It is now just over a year since our plans to move out came to fruition, a year during which we have, to a certain extent, had to re-invent ourselves. We have left behind full-time work as teachers, living in London and the network of friends and work colleagues, built up over 30 years of living and working there. It wasn’t a decision that we took lightly, but, a year on, was it a ‘good’ decision? Would we do the same again? And what have I learnt from the last year?

I miss London, the buzz and feel of the big city. It is, however, still relatively easy to get there, by car, train or even coach. We have still seen as much theatre as when we were living in London – mainly at the National, but have re-discovered the joy of the Bristol Old Vic and discovered the theatre in Lyme Regis- the Marine Theatre – a lovely, quaint old building. I miss the regular day-to-day contact with friends and work colleagues, but have kept up with all those who are important to me and have spent arguably ‘better’ quality time with them when I see them than before. It has been great fun to introduce them to our local area, which, for most, was previously only a county on the drive to and from Devon or Cornwall.

I have fully realised how lucky I now am to have time….time to do simple things, such as cook, spend time in the garden, not look at my watch in a queue in the supermarket. I can take more time to consider my family and friends. I now finish tasks, something which was always difficult as a teacher and I have discovered the simple satisfaction in that. I have relished breakfast sat at a kitchen table, with the writer her indoors, talking through our plans for the coming day. The ‘to do’ list is just as long, but holds no real concerns anymore – yes, I can recommend doing what we did!

Eating: A recent hankering for cake led me to seek out an old, favoured recipe from John Burton Race’s French Leave – Lemon cake, or Biscuit de Savoie au citron. It is virtually fat- free, which, along with the taste and the bubbles, made it seem an even better idea!

Drinking: Chapel Down – Bacchus 2018. Lovely, light bubbles, ideal with the above. It was on offer in Waitrose, so thought I’d give it a go!

Listening to: Still on my hunt for relatively chilled music to listen to when cooking, I am currently enjoying Ezra Collective, particular favourite songs are: Chris and Jane and São Paulo, both off the album You can’t steal my joy – perhaps appropriate given how I feel!

Autumn unfurls yet more rain on us and the garden is increasingly soaked. Streams of water run down our side roads and the ditches are filling up. Out walking or running, you can hear the water pipes that bring the water off the fields gushing into the hedges. The temperatures have yet to catch up with the season by and large; we have a rose that is stubbornly still flowering, fuchsias that are still in full bloom and a Montana that continues to sprout new shoots despite several and increasingly harsh trimming.

However, despite the relatively warmer weather, it is that time of year when there is much discussion about heating, heating systems, boilers etc. Some families boast about ‘not putting the heating on yet’ and certainly, as a young man growing up, my parents were of the ‘put on a thick jumper’ generation, despite the ice on the inside of the windows in my bedroom. We, though, have been gagging to put the Aga back on… somehow, and you may only really understand this if you have or have had one, it brings the house back to life. As someone said to us recently, radiators only heat the air in a home, an Aga warms the bones of a home. Given our issues in originally getting the Aga going, I was worried that the big ‘turn on’ would be a frustrating combination of a paltry initial flame, minimal heat followed by a deadening ‘cold’ rather than the literally (heart)warming feeling when coming in to the kitchen in the morning with the Aga on.

The big turn on was a great success….. initially. We were back to the glow emanating from the kitchen, warming the downstairs. The writer her indoors was back on her stool by the Aga. Aga ironing and Aga toast were fully back on the agenda. Beetroots were roasting in the warm oven. Electric kettle and toaster packed away into a cupboard; a general sense of wellbeing. Then, one morning, the stone cold disappointment of a cold kitchen and a cold Aga. Too good to be true that we would have an uneventful autumn/winter.

Within a week, though, after a long visit from our tame engineer – you know you are more part of a community when you have a set of connections who you can call on -the Aga is back on and firing on all cylinders. Just waiting for the cold weather to really kick in now…

Eating: For some time child #2 has been badgering me to have a go at ramen, so made this Kotteri veggie ramen, recipe taken from: Ramen by Tove Nilsson. It does take some time but is well worth it… a great way to spend a Saturday if you are happy to ‘play’ in the kitchen. I ran out of time so didn’t make the noodles this time – a future plan! The spicy chilli oil was spectacular and I was pleasantly surprised by the pickled eggs. I added a few fresh mushrooms to the topping as well.

Drinking: A hearty, robust red required to match with the above, so this Rioja, sourced from Naked wines did the trick!

Listening to: I recently made a playlist for a friend’s significant birthday that included all the #1 songs from his birth day and have been enjoying re-listening to this, due to the sheer variety. Classics such as Only the Lonely by Roy Orbison and Walkin’ back to Happiness by Helen Shapiro are balanced by Every Loser Wins, One Day at a Time and Mouldy Old Dough by Nick Berry, Lena Martell and Lieutenant Pigeon respectively. Current favourites are: Baby Come Back, Pato Banton: I bet you look good on the dance floor, Arctic Monkeys: We found love, Rihanna (ft Calvin Harris). Oct 31st since 1959 if you want to check out the rest!