In comparison to last week, this one was very calm. I had some houseguests staying with me on Monday. I cooked them a lasagne (a dish I love but have never made myself before). If anyone ever tries to tell you that it’s an easy dish to make, don’t believe them: they are lying (or using a cheat’s recipe). It was super when we ate it, but by Heavens this one made a mess of every dish, pot and pan, not to mention my worktops. I also made my friends a strawberry and mascarpone tart, which, like the main course, went down well. The only problem was that the recipe for the pâte sucrée (a sweet shortcrust pastry) was for an 8-inch tin, whereas I could only find a 10-inch fluted tart tin. Manchester really could do with a decent cooks’ shop. That said, I have just found out that Lakeland Plastics have a store 27 minutes away from me, so I shall be heading off there tomorrow to while away the Bank Holiday (yes, I have checked they’re open).
The Strawberry Tart
My guests left on Tuesday morning, and I headed off to the BBC in Manchester to first record the second in a series of etiquette lessons with Matt White (@mattyfwhite). Each episode goes out monthly on a Friday night; this month’s focussed on protocol and customs in foreign countries. After recording that I then moved studios to do a live interview with the morning show host, Heather Stott, about Twitter etiquette.
Wednesday was a very quiet day – I didn’t even have to leave the house. I spent the day updating The English Manner’s website, doing some other admin-type jobs and cleaning.
That evening I watched The Junior Apprentice on BBC1. Good programme, but my word the contestants really have no sense of dress or style. I felt suitably moved to write a few hundred words for The English Manner’s blog. You can view the piece by clicking here.
Friday I did a telephone interview for Jonathan Vernon-Smith on BBC Three Counties radio. This time, about caravanning! It made a nice change to talk about something different – I have covered some topics in my time, but never caravanning! I should point out that I have never been caravanning; Jonathan wanted me to be anti it, and so I performed on request.
Later that evening I met up with a group of friends for a birthday dinner for a friend, Imogen, who then made us all go and watch the new Sex and the City film. Now, I have never watched either the television series or the first film, but I have to say, I quite enjoyed it. The plot is that the girlfriends go off to the Middle East for a holiday; they then cause all sorts of faux pas that Westerners would be prone to committing (if one hadn’t done the basic background research before going to a country with a different culture). Ironically, I then came back from the film to turn on the radio to hear the piece I had pre-recorded on Tuesday (about holiday etiquette) go out. I think perhaps the girls from New York could have done with hearing my tips before they went away!
Finally, on Saturday I hosted a tea party for Imogen’s birthday. I made her, on request, a carrot cake, and also did some spontaneous lemon curd and coconut muffins, which went down very well, despite my apprehensions about the latter.
That evening, after the guests had gone, I sat down to enjoy this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which is always a highlight. Graham Norton did a wonderful job in commentating – it wouldn’t be worth watching if we didn’t have the acerbic observations of Graham (or Sir Terry, before him).
Next week I am in Essex (yes, again) and London. This week, as I said at the start, has been quite quiet, so I apologise that this week’s blog wasn’t quite as action-packed as the last, but, yet again, we can’t expect pearls every time.
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BBC, birthday, Britain, British, business, caravan, caravanning, cooking, customs, diary, dress, England, English, essex, Eurovision, Graham Norton, Junior Apprentice, Lakeland Plastics, lasagne, manchester, manners, Middle East, pastry, radio, SATC, Sex And The City 2, social commentator, tart, Twitter, UK, william hanson
Lasagne, Caravans, and Tarts of both varieties
In comparison to last week, this one was very calm. I had some houseguests staying with me on Monday. I cooked them a lasagne (a dish I love but have never made myself before). If anyone ever tries to tell you that it’s an easy dish to make, don’t believe them: they are lying (or using a cheat’s recipe). It was super when we ate it, but by Heavens this one made a mess of every dish, pot and pan, not to mention my worktops. I also made my friends a strawberry and mascarpone tart, which, like the main course, went down well. The only problem was that the recipe for the pâte sucrée (a sweet shortcrust pastry) was for an 8-inch tin, whereas I could only find a 10-inch fluted tart tin. Manchester really could do with a decent cooks’ shop. That said, I have just found out that Lakeland Plastics have a store 27 minutes away from me, so I shall be heading off there tomorrow to while away the Bank Holiday (yes, I have checked they’re open).
The Strawberry Tart
My guests left on Tuesday morning, and I headed off to the BBC in Manchester to first record the second in a series of etiquette lessons with Matt White (@mattyfwhite). Each episode goes out monthly on a Friday night; this month’s focussed on protocol and customs in foreign countries. After recording that I then moved studios to do a live interview with the morning show host, Heather Stott, about Twitter etiquette.
Wednesday was a very quiet day – I didn’t even have to leave the house. I spent the day updating The English Manner’s website, doing some other admin-type jobs and cleaning.
That evening I watched The Junior Apprentice on BBC1. Good programme, but my word the contestants really have no sense of dress or style. I felt suitably moved to write a few hundred words for The English Manner’s blog. You can view the piece by clicking here.
Friday I did a telephone interview for Jonathan Vernon-Smith on BBC Three Counties radio. This time, about caravanning! It made a nice change to talk about something different – I have covered some topics in my time, but never caravanning! I should point out that I have never been caravanning; Jonathan wanted me to be anti it, and so I performed on request.
Later that evening I met up with a group of friends for a birthday dinner for a friend, Imogen, who then made us all go and watch the new Sex and the City film. Now, I have never watched either the television series or the first film, but I have to say, I quite enjoyed it. The plot is that the girlfriends go off to the Middle East for a holiday; they then cause all sorts of faux pas that Westerners would be prone to committing (if one hadn’t done the basic background research before going to a country with a different culture). Ironically, I then came back from the film to turn on the radio to hear the piece I had pre-recorded on Tuesday (about holiday etiquette) go out. I think perhaps the girls from New York could have done with hearing my tips before they went away!
Finally, on Saturday I hosted a tea party for Imogen’s birthday. I made her, on request, a carrot cake, and also did some spontaneous lemon curd and coconut muffins, which went down very well, despite my apprehensions about the latter.
That evening, after the guests had gone, I sat down to enjoy this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which is always a highlight. Graham Norton did a wonderful job in commentating – it wouldn’t be worth watching if we didn’t have the acerbic observations of Graham (or Sir Terry, before him).
Next week I am in Essex (yes, again) and London. This week, as I said at the start, has been quite quiet, so I apologise that this week’s blog wasn’t quite as action-packed as the last, but, yet again, we can’t expect pearls every time.
Like this:
Uncategorized
BBC, birthday, Britain, British, business, caravan, caravanning, cooking, customs, diary, dress, England, English, essex, Eurovision, Graham Norton, Junior Apprentice, Lakeland Plastics, lasagne, manchester, manners, Middle East, pastry, radio, SATC, Sex And The City 2, social commentator, tart, Twitter, UK, william hanson
30 May, 2010
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