Lent

I missed the day before Lent at work because I was away in Cardiff and Bath. But when I returned I noticed a long list of things people were giving up stuck on the window. It's funny how Christianity has permeated the lives of Brits even though we're no longer a Christian country. It's meant a couple of conversations being struck up about the C of E calender (which I don't know much about!) and the traditions of lent.

So for my office, according to Wikipedia...

In Western Christianity Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Saturday [the day before Easter Sunday]. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter", a celebration of Jesus' victory over sin and death.

And because the Sundays are a day of celebration, my office will be pleased to hear you don't have to fast on that day!

So there have been numerous promises made - to buy only one luxury item per month, to give up fizzy drinks, give up smoking, stop wearing skanky shoes, give up Facebook... I decided mine should be to stop spending my disposable income. Working near St Stephens with nowhere pretty to go at lunchtime makes this difficult and overspending has become a bad bad habit. I've made a temptation box on my desk and in it I'm putting a slip of paper with the things I think of to buy that tempt me.

In the first couple of days I've added about 20 slips, one of them appropriately being to see the new Shopaholic film... not that I would have actually bought most of the stuff but it's things that go round and round my brain until I cave and buy them. The box idea is really helpful to help me stop dwelling on the item. It reminds me of Bree...



I'm not sure if anything spiritual will come out of my abstinence, but if it starts a habit of being more responsible then I'm sure God and Ben will be pleased.

Bath

Bath is quite simply the most refined city I have ever visited. Above is the Circus (Number 8 is Nicholas Cage's pied a terre) and the Royal Cresent, home to a £300+ a night hotel.

While Ben was off mountain biking in Wales for the day I wandered around the city soaking up the sights. The Mayor of Bath has volunteers who provide a free guided walking tour which was a brilliant way to see everything of importance. I need a week there to go and do everything I heard about, like a trip to the Thermae Spa and cream tea in the Pump Room (which would set me back £17!) I'd also need a day just to do the Jane Austen things as well, walking tour and museum.

My weekend was filled with lots of interior design inspiration and Bath is a fantastic example of Georgian architecture. There are numerous bylaws protecting the outer appearance of the buildings which has created a beautiful and historic city. I highly recommend a visit to Bath if you ever have the opportunity, I can't wait too go back one day.

Every time I travel back to Norwich from other parts of England it reminds me how much of a backwater Norfolk is. I love our county and its fine city but sometimes I crave more excitement and opportunities than it can offer. Ben blogged on a jazz bar we stumbled across and we've resolved to seek out more culture in Norwich - we know it's there somewhere!

I need to blog on lots of things...

Bath (the city, not the noun)
My New Dressing Gown (yes it's cool enough for a blog)
Castle Museum exhibition
Alpha
Lent at work
Sewing boxes
Weddings
Patchwork quilt which is nearly finished
Eternal Sunshine
Culture

If some or all of that interests you check back in the next few months!

OMG

Found this open when I was reading my husband's latest dedication to me...

http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=mind&typeofrhyme=perfect&org1=syl&org2=l

Chicken with garlic and rosemary potatoes

During November and December I made more roast dinners than usual to practise for Christmas, so now I'm feeling more confident and able to experiment! Chicken seems the cheapest and most versatile meat as we usually have one roast dinner then use the leftovers for a curry, stir fry or chicken pie.

Normally I melt some butter in the microwave, baste it all over the chicken, sprinkle salt over and just cook it for however long it says on the packet.


Today I did the same and also added garlic cloves chopped into chunks to the bottom of the tray around the chicken and put it in the oven. Then I cut the potatoes into small cubes, par boiled them for about 5 minutes and added them to the chicken tray with a sprinkling of dried rosemary (fresh would probably be better though!) I basted the potatoes occassionally during cooking.

When the chicken was done I took it out of the oven and left it to rest (it's easier to carve then). I scooped out the potatoes and put them on another tray and put them back in the oven on the highest heat to brown. They went more crispy and than they look in the picture.

Meanwhile I made gravy - the potatoes being in the tray had made more juices than usual, so I used my superduper gravy jug to get rid of the fat, made a rue with plain flour and added chicken stock and seasoning.

It was all really tasty! Next time I want to try Jamie Oliver's Spanish chicken which looks more exciting.

Mack and Mabel

14 February was Torvill and Dean Day in our house last year as that was when they danced their famous Bolero in 1984. Here's another of their awesome dances - they look like one person!