The red shoes

Today I put on my new shoes.

They are red, and very special. Firstly because I don’t think I’ve owned a pair of scarlet red shoes before, although I have always wanted to. Secondly their soles are ‘gel tec’ whatever that may actually mean.

The initiated among you will have guessed by now that I have entered into the world of athletic activities. As these aren’t necessarily in my blood- especially if linked with any kind of bodily punishment I thought red could be a positive colour for me on the days when I might think up an excuse for not going.

It’s not that I’m training for the classic race of ancient Greece yet, although my motto was always- Per adua ad Astra, and my shoes do have a little grey and black in them too. Just so as not dazzle me. They are also walking shoes-first things first.

The appropriate costume for this sport art is also hanging in my wardrobe, one has to be fittingly dressed these days to be taken seriously. Today though I just kept my jeans on,the shoes took courage enough, and I havn’t acquired sticks yet.Might never need them if I’ve got London or NYC in mind.

‘The reds’ stood the challenge well, and my feet too;-five kilometers and no blisters.

My Mum’s Scone Recipe

So for all of you who know what scones are, and for those who don’t- here is a fool proof recipe.

8 ounces of Flour

4 teaspoons of baking powder

a pinch of salt

2 ounces of butter (50gr)

1 ounce of sugar (25gr)

1 ounce of sultanas

1 egg

1/8 of a pint of milk

Rub butter, flour,baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl with fingers or mixer till resembling fine breacrumbs.

Add sugar to the above mixture..

Make well in centre and add the lightly beaten egg and milk.Mix together with rounded end of a knife to form dough.

Roll out 3/4 to an inch thick on a well floured surface.
Cut out scones with a bicuit cutter or upturned small wine glass. Dust tops with flour.
Bake on floured baking tin at 425°F or circa 21o°C for 10 minutes.

They should be well risen and light in colour .

Scones are best eaten fresh, halved. and spread thickly with clotted cream and the best rasberry or strawberry jam.

This Recipe came originally from a neighbour who was one of the best cooks in Yorkshire.

Teatime in London with Scones and Clotted Cream

I was in London again. The city that seems more and more like the ‘Neverland’. A soap bubble that one day will burst and be gone.

But before it goes , and as long as the ravens are on Tower Hill it won’t, I must share my love of Teatime.

What is teatime to less fortunate mortals who didn’t grow up with the smell of Toasted Teacakes in their nostrils?

Afternoon teatime is a ritual that takes place between threethirty and five and where every thing evolves around a pot with a spout a handle and lid. Tastes vary but to me the pot has to be made of porcelain and some may say it has to be Spode,Royal Doultan or at least Wedgewood and the cups matching. What I do know is that out of pottery, or God forgive, plastic, tea does not taste the same.
Satellites to the Teapot are plates or indeed one tiered plate of delicately made sandwiches of brown or white bread, a slice not measuring more than a half a centimeter in thickness, crusts removed. A filling of smoked salmon, egg, or cucumber is well accepted as well as some green decoration in the form of cress.
Small cakes packed with calories , maybe the toasted flat buns known as teacakes. But what musn’t be missing are the scones-plain, or with dried sultanas in them, served with home made jam and and thick or clotted cream,from Devonshire or Cornwall.

Some people talk of death by chocolate,but for me rather by scones.And it could be quite literal because they do tend to sick very much to the inside of the mouth and throat.Probably why their form has become smaller over the years.

Teatime is a British way of life and as enduring as the ravens.

Anyway London wouldn’t be London for me without tea time, and I do have my favourite venue. Expensive it is but the price is more at the Ritz and there you can’t hope for a seat if you are a normal mortal without booking well in advance.

So when you are in London next try tea in the Hotel Lainsborough at Hyde Park Corner. Heavenly- in the truest sense of the word. You see before the building became a very noble hotel it was a very noble hospital, in fact the first British surgeon operated there and the building even has it’s own ghost.

I know because I lived there once. But I didn’t see her serving tea.