At the beginning of the summer holidays I drew up a To Do List. This is how I got on.
Cycle to Bath along the railway path
Having been knocked off a bike aged 18 and not ridden again until last summer on Colonsay, I was more than a little anxious about my ability to reach Bath without incident, but it proved to be much easier, and far more enjoyable than I'd feared. We hired Bromptons from Temple Meads station via
Brompton Dock, whose service I thoroughly recommend. The path was a delight, taking us out behind back gardens and parks into the open countryside where we rode through wooded areas, along causeways with views out over the fields and following the river into Bath. There, after a pot of tea in a cafe, we folded our bikes (albeit with a few teething problems) and carried them on to a train back to Bristol. I enjoyed the experience so much that I'm planning to do it again.
I managed two. They were the Screaming Desperado (chilli con carne in a rough puff pastry) and Porkie Buns (Vietnamese flavoured sausagement in a hot crust pastry). I loved the filling in the first and would eat it again on its own (the pie had a 'soggy bottom'), but the buns were a sensation. We at them on a picnic at Tyntesfield with coleslaw and my daughter's boyfriend's mother's(!) piccalilli.
We caught the bus and claimed our 20% discount at the ticket office, cafe and shop. It was a glorious sunny day and we spent a couple of hours wandering round the grounds, admiring the sculpture exhibition, exploring the outbuildings and the kitchen garden and eating our picnic, before entering the house. Restoration is ongoing and given the quality of what has been achieved thus far, the finished article will be truly amazing.
Make falafels
I used
Jamie Oliver's recipe. They were alright but not nearly as good as ones I've eaten from street stalls; more bean burger than falafel. So I'm going to try out
Yotam Ottonlenghi's recipe which I'm certain will be more authentic.
Read 5 books
I read three (well almost three!) -
Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gayle,
A Death in Tuscany by Michele Ferrara and
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran. A varied selection but all good reads.
Create a sourdough starter
My starter is well and truly established and has been used to make three loaves.
Get up early to watch Bristol Balloon Fiesta Dawn Ascent
I've watched many an evening ascent, but whether it's the satisfaction of making it up the hill that early, hot cups of tea from a flask, the absence of the fairground noise, the soft light or the anticipation of a bacon butty on our return, but this one was extra special.
Bake 5 new breads
I managed four - irish soda bread, flatbread, cornbread and sourdough. And if I count the kanelbullar (technically buns, but made with yeast!) then it would be five.
Picnic at Bristol Zoo
I spent a leisurely day at the zoo with my younger daughter and picnicked on the lawn. There's always something new to see and the promise of even more to entice you back.
Visit the Jeremy Deller exhibition
I'd never heard of Jeremy Deller but found his work very thought provoking. I particularly appreciated the huge paintings on the wall.
Visit St Werburgh's City Farm, eat meatballs @ Ikea and shop at
Bristol Sweet Mart
We had to go to Ikea to buy a table for my younger daughter. I like to make the most of my £4 day rider bus ticket so we combined it with a visit to St Werburgh's City Farm and a short walk through Boiling Wells. We enjoyed our meatballs at Ikea but sadly didn't have time for a cuppa at the farm.
Make rhubarb & ginger jam
I managed to get five jars from our new rhubarb plant. I took a chance with a bag of jam sugar that was four years past its best before date, but we're still alive and kicking!
Take advantage of podiatrist appointment to window shop in Cotham/Clifton
I popped in to
Kitchens and bought a banneton for my sourdough breadmaking and two pie dishes for my Pieministering. Having drooled over
The Philosophy of List's madeleines I'm kicking myself for not having bought the baking tin I saw on my way out. Still, I'll be back that way on Saturday so ...
Swim and lunch at the Lido
Although I haven't technically done this during the holidays I did book our visit during that time. We're swimming and lunching there this weekend.
Make a start on a recipe folder
Our house is littered with piles of magazines and boxes of cuttings but, with no way of knowing where any of them are when I need them, I rarely use any of the recipes I collect. So, armed with a ring binder, an A4 pad, a pair of scissors and a Pritt stick, I went to work on the pile of Guardian 'cook' supplements. I was ruthlessly selective and have ended up with a folderful of recipes that I might very well use. Indeed I've already cooked two of them.
Make pizza
I made a couple of the best pizzas I've had in a long time.
Walk: Leigh Woods
I dragged my younger daughter and her boyfriend round the second longest trail, stopping to admire the view across the gorge and eat banana bread. Despite being the weekend it was unusually quiet.
Picnic on Brandon Hill
We ate tortilla and salad and watched language students play frisbee under the trees. Rain and the absence of the
Vee Double Moo van prevented us from lingering.
Finish crocheting my daughter's quilt
It's almost there. When I started to crochet the granny squares together I discovered I didn't have quite enough of them, so I had to rustle up a few more. There's only five to go now and the border to add.
Walk: Bristol Old City
It's amazing how often we walk past building without actually looking at them.
So I didn't hold 5 dinner parties, visit Oxford, make tomato ketchup, take a proper look around the M Shed, watch the Night Glow, walk round Snuff Mills or Blaise Castle, shopped for clothes for work, swim in the outdoor pool at Street, make icecream, crak Prashad's khokla recipe, preserve lemons, make lemonade, have a barbecue or take the ferry boat to Beese's Tea Gardens.
But I did have lunch with friends at the Tube Diner, follow the Secret Cemetery trail around Arnos Vale, attend Amnesty's Goldney Garden Party, eat kebabs and jalebis at the Islamic Cultural Fair hand out leaflets at Temple Meads protesting about the increase in rail fares, run a Bristol Pound stall at the Tobacco Factory Market, see What If and Two Days and One Night, oppose the Metrobus proposal at a council planning meeting and generally enjoy not having to go to work.
