29 July

I just realised that I haven't put anything up on my web page since early July. You have probably all fallen asleep with boredom, or are still sitting glued to your screens with breathless antici... pation, waiting to hear what I have been up to. Sigh... who am I kidding? There are probably 3 people in the world who check out my website with anything resembling regularity. I know that there are some people checking out the foodblog, but my lack of IT ability means that I don't have any way to allow comments on the website so I am never sure if anyone is actually reading it or not. But then (grin) when have I really ever needed an audience to give my opinion?

So I flew to London the weekend before last to catch up with friends who came out from Australia. It was so nice to see familiar faces from home, it got me quite homesick. Believe me, if I had a couple of weeks, and a couple of grand, I would so be flying home for a visit right now.

Anyway, as well as getting to have huge hugs and updates on the goss from Jeremy and Robyn and Dawn, I also got to have an amazing experience. To go behind the scenes at the Museum of London and see some of the real period textiles. I can't put the photos I took up on this site, because while I took them, I signed over the copyright on them to the Museum as a condition of getting to see them. Now I just get to drool over my photos for study purposes. I can, however, post up photos that I took in the museum itself of some of the funky stuff on display. Check these out:

Frame for a tudor head-dress	Lovely clay jugs	Frame for a tudor/elizabethan head-dress
	Pomander	Rings

 I also got to see and photograph a chunk of the Cheapside hoard. For those in the know, no explanation is needed, but for those who aren't familiar with this bundle of goodies, it is basically a hoard of 230 pieces of renaissance jewellry that was found in a building site. Much of the jewellry is at the Museum of London, though other bits of it are in the V&A (next visit perhaps!). They were a bit of a surprise to me, as although I had seen photos of the hoard, I really didnt have a perspective of how small and fine the chains are. Sadly they don't have all of them on display, and the display case is quite big so there is a long distance between you and the detail, but some of my photos are still useful.

		Earrings
	Pendant	Pendant

 

There are some extra images from the hoard here, but you need to be aware that they are copyright to the MoL: http://www.museumoflondonimages.com/viewCollection.php?collectionId=319

I had a busyish week last week; had some friends over to visit on Wednesday night for a theoretically early dinner followed by a concert in the park. I cooked my gunpowder green tea salmon again and it was a total hit - to the point where my friends Emily & Paul made it for themselves last night. I am chuffed. Its one thing to invent a recipe and be happy with it, but then to know that other people like it enough to do it themselves is really gratifying. Maybe there is a future out there for me as a food inventor! So you know if you see a green tea semi-cured salmon recipe anywhere out there in the future, you saw it first on MY foodblog.

Anyway, then on Friday night I met up with friends in the park again for a free concert and picnic. I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked, but we still had a pleasant time sitting on the grass eating spanikopita, quinoa salad, potato salad and some fig and apricot coconut cake for dessert. Saturday I decided to defrost my freezer, which meant inviting friends over for dinner - soup, beef rendang and trifle for dessert. I have realised I have no dessert glasses - oh darn. I must buy more food toys. oh darn. (grin)

The fete de Geneve starts this weekend, so it will be a week of late nights, concerts, interesting foods and general partying for me! But I can't spend too much money, as I have to save up for my holiday in August.

You see, late next month I am off to Finland once more, for my friend Aida's wedding. I intend to do a side trip to Talinn, Estonia, which is only a ferry ride away from Helsinki, and I hope to get back to the Finnish national museum to re-take some failed photos from my last visit, and take some new ones of the things that I ran out of battery for last time! Any requests? http://www.nba.fi/en/nmf_exhibitions They seem to have lots of early period stuff, which is of no interest to me, but I know gets other people all excited, and I am happy to photograph. My photographs of an early period necklace in the Finnish National Museum helped someone in another Kingdom document their Kingdom A&S competition win, which is great. That's why I take so many photos - being over here has given me such amazing opportunities to see things that I just want to share them, and it is no sacrifice for me to spend a day wandering a museum ooh-ing and aah-ing over shiny things.

6 July

Geneva is a great place in Summer but there are things about it that SUCK! I just went to the gym, which usually opens till 5pm on Sundays... so I headed out there at 3.30pm. What do I discover when I get there? They are only opening till 4pm on the weekends now "summer hours" apparently. So just when people need to get in shape, the damned gym is limiting their hours! 5pm is annoyingly early as it is, but 4pm?! The place was packed, so it is clear that there is the demand, but what does demand have to do with Geneva business? Nothing. Believe me. Sigh.

1 July

A trip to England to be sub-cook for Drachenwald's 15th year celebration. It was great fun for me, as yet again I was not in charge, which meant all care and no responsibility! Well, ok I had some responsibility, but ultimately Alaric was the man in charge. We split the menu so that both of us had dishes to do in each course. We were both happy: I got to do cute pie type stuff and he got to do big meaty stuff. It was less stress for me too as I didn't feel worried about his dishes, and I had the time to research and redact my recipes to my satisfaction.

It was not all smooth sailing. We had a bit of to do with a rabid vegetarian (maybe two) who before the event looked at the posted menu and said that they were going to ask for their money back because there was not enough vegetarian food. Out of an 18 dish menu, 12 dishes were vegetarian (not counting all the stuff sitting on the tables before hand), and yep they complained. Can you believe it? They said too that the meal wasn't balanced. There was protein, carbohydrates, outright vegetables... I was not only insulted but bewildered! There were 5 vegetarians booked into the event out of almost 150 people, and apparently we (the cooking team) were expected to cook separate vegetarian dishes for each of the meat dishes, that would be served solely to the vegetarians! I told them if they ate the food we served and were still hungry then I would cover their money back because I was 100% sure I wouldn't be paying a cent.

As it was, a vegetarian came up to me after the first course and told me that they were rapt because of the fantastic range of vegetarian food they had on offer, and that in fact it was the best feast they had ever had. In fact, quite a few people said the same. All Alaric and I could do is look at each other and say "they've never been to a feast in Lochac" (Actually I said "Politarchopolis" {grin}).

The event was fun though: I started singing in the kitchen which prompted more volunteers and a lovely little singing session. Then after the feast was finished, I got to play a bit of dance music, and then after midnight, hooked up with another musical lady and made ourselves a bardic crescent. It was supposed to be a bardic circle but there weren't enough of us! But we did attract a few people to join us, and I sang a few of my chorus songs to seduce them into joining in. Apparently there isn't much of that sort of stuff going on in this Kingdom... that may just have to change and the fact that the newly crowned King was one of our crowd is a very good start.