Saturday 31 December 2016
year word
Realising that I'd been working too hard in 2014 I gave 2015 the word FUN, and lived with that in mind during the year. In 2016 my word was SHARE, as I'd recognised a trait of self sabotage in negative self talk, gaging myself in expressing thoughts and ideas. So, in 2016, whenever I had an idea, wrote something, had a response to someone, positive or challenging, I shared it! Praising and naming qualities admired in others, calling others out if their behaviours were destructive in any way. Professionally, the result is 30 posts on this blog, 30 news updates on my website, a successful application for a residency, exhibiting in four exhibitions and developing a new body of work.
Emotionally, in telling my truth I've not allowed assumptions to be made. It was uncomfortable at times and in this discomfort was a new experience, of pushing against a boundary, of misbehaving and not being the good girl. Some friends have drawn closer, others become distant.
December was a relief, as I'd begun to tire of speaking my truth and will relish not telling. Not telling will feel different, it will be my choice if I allow assumptions to be made or allow the emotional intimacy of sharing my inner life, this is me - who are you?
Emotionally, in telling my truth I've not allowed assumptions to be made. It was uncomfortable at times and in this discomfort was a new experience, of pushing against a boundary, of misbehaving and not being the good girl. Some friends have drawn closer, others become distant.
December was a relief, as I'd begun to tire of speaking my truth and will relish not telling. Not telling will feel different, it will be my choice if I allow assumptions to be made or allow the emotional intimacy of sharing my inner life, this is me - who are you?
Wednesday 28 December 2016
hitch
My flat on Leytonstone High Road is steps away from the birthplace of Alfred Hitchcock. He is celebrated locally with a collection of fantastic mosaics along the walkways to Leytonstone Underground station. These mosaics are marvellous, clever in their depiction of characters and places, skilled in design and use of colour. This morning, the view from my flat was blurred with fog, edges softened, timeless, by the time I'd walked to the station this had cleared to become a dull December day.
This work is called The Hitchcock Gallery, opened May 3rd, 2001. The gallery celebrates the life and work of the great film-maker Alfred Hitchcock, born in Leytonstone on 13th August 1899. The mosaics were made at The Greenwich Mural Workshop.
Young Alfred by his father's shop
Number 17
The Pleasure Garden
Hitchcock the Director
Strangers on a Train
Psycho
Vertigo
Suspicion
The Skin Game
North by Northwest
The Birds
Saboteur
To Catch a Thief
Hitchcock with Dietrich
Rear Window
Rebecca
The Wrong Man
Wednesday 21 December 2016
manor park cemetery
On a misty December day my sister and I found our Uncle Andrew's grave in Manor Park Cemetery. 20 years had passed since we last visited, his gravestone now grey with age and lichen, listing to the left on soil that had shifted over the decades. We plan to return in the spring to plant something bright and green for Alfons Dabrowski.
sloe gin
A year ago I posted about making sloe gin & whisky using sloes gathered by my sister's house in Aylesbury. Well, last Saturday we opened the gin & it was wonderful! Waiting a year was worth it!
The whisky has yet to be opened...
Ingredients:
500g ripe sloes
250g golden caster sugar
1 litre bottle of gin
Method:
1. Rinse & pick over the sloes, pat dry. Using a stainless-steel fork or cocktail stick, *prick the sloes & tip into a 2-litre Kilner jar, or divide between 2 smaller jars. (*You can also freeze the sloes after rinsing, this splits the skin, so no need to prick each sloe).
2. Add sugar & gin, seal the top. Shake well. Give the jar a good shake everyday for a week, then put in a cool, dark place & leave for 2-3 months.
3. Line a plastic sieve with a square of muslin, set over a bowl & strain the sloe gin through it. Decant into clean, dry bottles, seal & label. The sloe gin is now ready to drink but will improve & mature over time, so if possible make it one year to drink the next.
The whisky has yet to be opened...
Ingredients:
500g ripe sloes
250g golden caster sugar
1 litre bottle of gin
Method:
1. Rinse & pick over the sloes, pat dry. Using a stainless-steel fork or cocktail stick, *prick the sloes & tip into a 2-litre Kilner jar, or divide between 2 smaller jars. (*You can also freeze the sloes after rinsing, this splits the skin, so no need to prick each sloe).
2. Add sugar & gin, seal the top. Shake well. Give the jar a good shake everyday for a week, then put in a cool, dark place & leave for 2-3 months.
3. Line a plastic sieve with a square of muslin, set over a bowl & strain the sloe gin through it. Decant into clean, dry bottles, seal & label. The sloe gin is now ready to drink but will improve & mature over time, so if possible make it one year to drink the next.
Ruby red
rose hip syrup
Last month I made my first ever rose hip syrup using hips gathered on Wanstead Flats in September, which I washed and put in the freezer. Hips are a winter food for birds, so I only took what I needed. Here are foraging guidelines from the Woodland Trust.
The syrup is sweet, high in vitamin C, good drizzled on cakes & pancakes, in porridge and lovely with a shot of gin or vodka with ice.
You will need: measuring scale, pan with lid, wooden spoon, ladle, sieve, muslin cloth, bowl, measuring jug, funnel, Kilner bottle(s).
Weigh your hips. The following recipe used 350g of hips, so alter amounts depending on the weight of your rose hips.
1. Rinse & cut hips in half, put them in a pan & add half a litre of water.
2. Bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Ladle/pour liquid & hips into a muslin covered sieve over a bowl. Wrap muslin around the pulp and place something heavy on top. Leave to stand for 1 hour.
4. Return pulp to plan, add another half litre of water & repeat process 2 & 3.
5. Give muslin with pulp inside a good squeeze. Measure rose hip liquid, for each litre add 650g of sugar. I had 600ml of liquid, so used 325g of sugar.
6. Return liquid to a clean pan, add sugar & heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil & spoon off any scum. Boil for 3 minutes then bottle.
I gave my bottle a rinse in boiling water before adding syrup. As you can see from my final image I filled 1 bottle plus extra in a jam jar. I didn't rinse the jam jar in boiling water and the syrup developed mould - so do rinse!
The syrup is sweet, high in vitamin C, good drizzled on cakes & pancakes, in porridge and lovely with a shot of gin or vodka with ice.
You will need: measuring scale, pan with lid, wooden spoon, ladle, sieve, muslin cloth, bowl, measuring jug, funnel, Kilner bottle(s).
Weigh your hips. The following recipe used 350g of hips, so alter amounts depending on the weight of your rose hips.
1. Rinse & cut hips in half, put them in a pan & add half a litre of water.
2. Bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Ladle/pour liquid & hips into a muslin covered sieve over a bowl. Wrap muslin around the pulp and place something heavy on top. Leave to stand for 1 hour.
4. Return pulp to plan, add another half litre of water & repeat process 2 & 3.
5. Give muslin with pulp inside a good squeeze. Measure rose hip liquid, for each litre add 650g of sugar. I had 600ml of liquid, so used 325g of sugar.
6. Return liquid to a clean pan, add sugar & heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil & spoon off any scum. Boil for 3 minutes then bottle.
I gave my bottle a rinse in boiling water before adding syrup. As you can see from my final image I filled 1 bottle plus extra in a jam jar. I didn't rinse the jam jar in boiling water and the syrup developed mould - so do rinse!
Rose hips & water
First boil
Liquid after adding sugar
Finished syrup
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