Scrumptious Tea

Michal, Tonja and I had an intensive baking session starting at 10am and ending at around 10pm. We made bread, a unique battenberg cake, macarons, opera cake, maids of honour tarts, apple tart, cookies... it was a total feast! My kitchen didn't know what had hit it as we had several things on the go simultaneously and took it in turn to use the KitchenAid mixer, which was having its own baptism by fire. I realize that I need to buy certain things like a professional rolling pin and a nice slab of marble on which to roll out pastry and keep everything cool. I'm learning so much from diving in and baking all kinds of things I would never have thought of a few months ago. Michal is very encouraging and he obviously loves baking as he joined us in his spare time outside of his busy job as a chef.

There was quite a serious blip half way through the day. Michal suddenly announced that the fan oven seemed to have gone rather quiet and, with most of the cakes ready and waiting for their space in the oven, it had indeed stopped... PANIC! WHAT TO DO? Keep calm and carry on of course and ask around my neighbours  to see if anyone could help. We had a giggle transporting trays of batter up and down the stairs and next door to my neighbours Joel and Julian who stepped into the breach and offered up their oven. Fortunately I discovered that the bottom oven still worked so we managed to utilize that and bake some of the remaining cakes there. Actually it was a perfect way to get to know my neighbours and the next day with so much cake on the table I arranged a tea party for everyone and we had a very jolly time. Tonja's macarons were a big hit and the opera cake was sublimely delicious and lasted for days... My bid for glory came in the form of the battenberg cake which was a huge version of the usual one and was very satisfying to make. Michal insisted that we make our own marzipan and I have to say it tasted wonderful.

Spring Fling

Yesterday I had a really lovely day at an Open Studio & Garden Party in Hammersmith. There was an assortment of paintings, ceramics and prints on sale, an eclectic mix of musicians, bric-a-brac, stalls, refreshments and a raffle. It was the sort of thing I would expect to find in rural Dorset but was a total surprise in the heart of London.  Although, as someone pointed out, Hammersmith was once countryside too. Anyway the atmosphere was very jovial and it was a lot of fun. The last musical act played Greek love songs and some brave girls even got up and danced as the music got faster and more excitable! The whole event was a delight and I came away with some beautiful ceramics and a real sense of bonhomie.

Spring Fling was organized to raise money for InterAct Reading Service which provides a one-to-one reading service by actors to people who have had a stroke.

Summer

I have been feeling sad and melancholy over the last couple of days and feel the need to remind myself of the good things I can look forward to over the Summer. So here are a few images that I find particularly refreshing... Provence, I love it!!

Loss

Several of my close friends are attending the funeral of photojournalist Tim Hetherington in London today. He was killed suddenly last month on 20th April 2011 while covering the conflict in Libya. Although I didn’t personally know him I have been affected by the tragedy of his death because my friends are suffering and it is a sad reminder of loss which I have experienced in my own life. No family wants to bury one of their children and I feel for his parents who must dread today like no other. My own parents had to bury my younger brother Charlie when he was thirteen years old and died very unexpectedly from lymphoma. To say it turned our lives upside down and inside out is an understatement and I don’t think one ever really recovers from the experience of loss. The pain is immense and the sense that nothing will ever be the same pervades your every thought for a very long time. You just cannot believe that the person you love will not walk through the door and say hello to you again. It’s horrible. And the trouble is that they really are gone – forever – and that is the hardest thing to face. 

I wish we didn’t have to deal with loss in life but it is part of the experience of living and is one of the things I have had to learn over the years to accept. It acts as a sharp reminder to live in the moment and it forces one to seize the day and live life as fully as possible because one never knows when it may disappear. I wish this made me feel heroic but it’s simply the way I approach life. It’s not always easy to be positive as life often throws awful curved balls at one and I have often felt profoundly depressed and overwhelmed by the uncertainty of life. But this aspect of life has definitely taught me to be spontaneous and to run with the ball when it comes my way. These painful experiences, although not welcome, do give a certain depth to my perception of what life is all about and I am deeply grateful and happy about all the good things that have happened to me as well.

Oh yes and Tim’s work was brilliant! He was extremely talented. That’s the other thing that hurts about someone like Tim dying at such a young age. He was 40 years old. As a picture editor I really appreciate seeing good work and his was outstanding. Intelligent and perceptive he certainly knew how to create a powerful image. He won the World Press Photo Award in 2008 for his work documenting a unit of American soldiers in Afghanistan and earlier this year he was nominated for an Academy Award for his documentary film Restrepo, which centred on the same American unit in Afghanistan. According to my friends Tim was a very charismatic and charming fellow and of course everyone who met him was a little bit in love with him. 

This poem by Ben Johnson was given to us by a close friend of the family when Charlie died. Sometimes it helps to know that it is the quality of life that matters and not the enduring length that we normally expect for those we love.

The Turne

It is not growing like a tree

In bulk, doth make man better be;

Or standing long an oak, three-hundred year,

To fall a log at last, dry, bald and sere.

A lily of a day,

Is fairer far in May,

Although it droop and die that night,

It was the plant and flow'r of light.

In small proportions we just beauties see;

And in short measures, life may perfect be.

My thoughts are with Tim’s family and friends today. 

Rome Drawings

I'm back in London and feeling good! Rome was a lot of fun and totally inspiring.. It's so beautiful and I really was exceptionally lucky to stay at such a wonderful apartment with views of the city to die for!! Unfortunately I missed the first day of my life drawing class back in London but I made up for it by sharpening my crayons, getting out my water colours and trying to capture the view from my terrace. The drama of Rome can be felt on the terrace of this apartment, which is a bit like a stage set. It was hard to know where to start but I decided on the terracotta pots and a few of the architectural details in the near distance. If I'd been really disciplined I would have attempted to draw the Colosseum but I'm saving that up for next time...


Everything about this little trip was made possible by the kindness and generosity of my friends. It can sometimes be a little daunting to head off on my own but also quite exciting. In Rome it was incredibly easy to slip into a social life that was far more spontaneous and lively than my own back in London. I fell into a much more exciting social life there than I have in London and seemingly only had to pick up the phone to announce my arrival and I was whisked off to dinners and parties. On my last evening my new friends and I headed off on a surreal journey to the outskirts of Rome and a party in a TV studio that was somewhere between a Tarantino film and La Dolce Vita. Great! Thanks to the warmth and generosity of my friends I have had a fantastic time in Rome and feel like I have a whole new social life Roman style..


It was good to have some time to myself and I enjoyed my walks through Rome. I liked having the freedom to wander around and explore at my own leisure. I suppose that's one of the perks of just having to please myself. I found a garden centre not far from the apartment and managed to ascertain in my basic Italian which plants would be suitable for the terrace and not require too much watering. I got a nice sense of achievement from placing the plants in their terracotta pots and dotting a few flowers around the apartment. I wanted to add a feminine touch to the place and leave a little mark. Although he wasn't present, my friend Kevin made me feel very welcome in the apartment and I felt very relaxed there. So much nicer than staying in a hotel and I got to cook little meals and feel quite at home...


Now I'm back in London it feels good to have been away and I feel happy and optimistic about life.  Of course there are the same problems and challenges to cope with but the change of scene has done me good and I feel bolder and more cheerful.