#1349 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn ProcrastinationLeave a comment
The view from Mount Wise

Time to say farewell to February. Normally one of my favourite months because of its brevity and the first signs of Spring. This year February has been a wash out and if the first signs of Spring are out and about it has been hard to spot them in the driving rain.

The sun appeared a few times this week, enough to show me that some home chores needed to be done. Not quite enough for yard chores.

I don’t know if the water finally got to me or a cleared up kitchen,but after years of procrastination an Air fryer appeared in our kitchen courtesy of some sort of instant decision fairy.

I believe there is only a tissue thin barrier between procrastination and sponteneity

I think she was hiding under these gorgeous little daffodils on the slopes of Mount Wise.

Maybe she was just the Wise Fairy of Mount Wise. Whoever she was the next few weeks will be filled with air fried experimentation. Because the weather is not set to improve greatly once March arrives and a wise fairy would know that.

I am particularly excited to make Scotch eggs. Normally made with a deep fat fryer. I have never owned a deep fat fryer. My mother set our newly built house on fire with a deep fat fryer. Barely had the ink on the house purchase contract dried, when the sparkling state of the art kitchen was just a blackened shell. My mum blamed unfamiliarity, my dad blamed the Cordon Bleu cookery course she was attending. Me and the cat kept out of the way. Probably both accusations were partially correct.

Cordon Bleu cookery was a little bit fancy for mid-week and the cooker knobs were unfamiliar.

Now I have lived fairly contentedly for more than fifty years never deep frying anything. The idea that air-frying is a safer alternative seems just the thing to take my mind off a murky March. If it does not spark enough joy to pull me through more bad weather the wise Fairy of Mount Wise is going to have to think of something else.

#1348 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Baking, Serendipity1 Comment
Lovely laminations

Croissants are my favourite bakery item. I have no idea when I met my first croissant. A first cuddle with my first grandchild was marked when a small crumb of croissant landed on her forehead. Croissants are not a tidy eat.  A croissant crumb is an inconsequential thing, but that one seemed significant, maybe the first stage of a shared love of French patisserie.

Sometimes a croissant fuels one of these blogs either because buying some features in the blog.

#1342 theoldmortuary ponders

Or because the journey to the purchase of Croissants sparks a crumb of an idea for a prolonged pondering.

Croissants are available just a short walk from home at Harman Bagels, formerly The Hutong Cafe.

Good coffee, great croissants, cobbles.

A short drive away takes us to the beating historic heart of Plymouth and Jacka Bakery

Announced this week as one of the  best bakeries in Britain.

My Croissant loving heart was right all along.  The thing I love about a Jacka Pain au Chocolat is the chocolate at the heart of the matter. Proper quality chocolate that is solid when cold.

This blog is often fueled by the best Bakery in Britain.

#1345 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn domesticaLeave a comment
The Cold Light of Day © theoldmortuary

The cold light of day arrived yesterday and with it, sharp light penetrating dark corners.

Our dark corners were an artificial construct. Late November and December were busy months. We had a bedroom and a three storey hallway decorated. ‘Stuff’ was moved out of the way. We went on holiday, had an unexpected pet death and Christmas was upon us. The newly decorated bedroom became a dumping ground for all the ‘Stuff’ that was homeless, moved into the bedroom and the door was closed. Then the rain came and many days of dullness allowed the door to stay closed. Until yesterday when daylight flooded in. Something had to be done. As is always the case the whole process created more mess before two tidy rooms appeared. Things went into the roof. Including a portrait of me aged 40. The one of me at 45 is easier to live with.

45

I had a bookish moment as I rested the painting against a roof truss.

My day of house chores involved no selling of my soul, no moral corruption and my debauchery was limited to a restorative cup of tea. No sudden or unexpected youthfulness in this house.

Sunset after a whole day of daylight.

#1344 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

Day 55 of 2026 and no signs of rain in the air or on forecasts. I did a long morning dog walk with no coat.

Day 55 of 2026 and four Novels finished. Just. No coats ever needed for books

Two of them were book club books, I won’t bother to name one of them which was not a great reading experience. The other, Pirenesi, was memorable, but maybe not as enjoyable as a book needs to be in the dark months of January and February.

Thank goodness for reading for pleasure. Two first novels also by women have filled these two winter months with different landscapes and eras

The Netherlands in the early 60’s.

The Artist

And Provence in the early 20’s.

I am not about to review either book but both of them have been a pleasure to read. I am in awe of both these first time authors for writing such brilliant books.

The first time I do anything I really don’t like what I have produced

Sometimes I feel the same about the 20th time I produce something.

The ponder of these statements is that by reading two brilliant first novels  my reading pleasure of 2026 feels like a really productive two months. Only one complete dud, one challenge and two gold-star books seems like a really positive way to start my reading year.

I regret that my two self chosen books were not from my book club because I would really love to chat about them with my book club buddies. But I am very glad that the two,more difficult books, were book club choices. Talking about an unenjoyable or difficult book really helps to settle it in my head. Sometimes I have gone back to read an unenjoyed book a second time and found it easier with book club insight. One was completely rehabilitated by a second read.

What is left for my day? Home jobs and starting my next book club book. The first one by a man in 2026. Lets see if book reading for the Book Club can improve alongside the weather.

#1342 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn weather1 Comment

There is no sugar-coating of today. It is raining again.

Life is very different for us with only one dog. Hugo was an intrepid walker in all weathers. Heavy rain required him to wear a coat, something he took a dim view of. Lola on the other hand takes a dim view of any walk in weather that is not to her taste.

She was determinedly asleep when I suggested getting a warm, from the oven , chocolate croissant from our local bakery to make a wet Sunday morning a little more tolerable.

@Jacka Bakery

Under normal circumstances I quite like February. It is over in just 28 days and delivers us quite nicely into March which is always a rather optimistic month. By now I would normally have started little jobs in the yard. Tiny tweakments that serve no truly useful improvements but make me feel better about our outside space.

This morning, just before the croissant adventure I peeped out. One of our daffodils is clearly feeling the wet weather malaise more deeply than even Lola. A whole Greek tragedy in our back yard.

The wet weather is getting to us all.

#1341 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn FriendsLeave a comment

In our little corner of the Devon/ Cornwall borderlands we are on day 52 of rain. In search of a patch of dry weather we headed east to the borderlands of Devon/Dorset.

To Lyme Regis, Literary land of The French Lieutenants Woman and Ammonite. and a Fossil hunters paradise.

We were just hunting for a few hours without rain and a scintilla of sunshine.

We promenaded on the promenade and there were tiny chinks of silver on the sea suggesting that the sun was weakly present.

Promenading was stopped for lunch and later for an ice cream.

Pear Sorbet and Damson Ripple. Sunshine for the taste buds, just moments before the rain chased us home.

#1340 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Box, Serendipity1 Comment

Timing is everything in blogging and life generally.

Who.knows how this blog would have gone had I written it six hours ago.

Trick question. I know exactly how it would have gone. Ranty, is the one word answer.

Life got in the way and the intended blog did not get written. Lucky for you the bobbers also got in the way.

They got my raw and furious rant caused by my second visit to the Beryl Cook Exhibition.

I apologised that they got my arty rant unexpurgated. Anne Bobber commented that they had just got an early version of the blog with more expletives.

My second visit to the exhibition was to see the supporting exhibition. Videos, books, newspaper cuttings and private family memorabilia. I was committed to watching all the videos and arrived at opening time because to do that it would be sensible to grab a seat on the solitary sofa.

My ranty pants were enraged by the misogynist questions and attitudes expressed by male television journalists, to a successful woman artist in the 70’s 80’s and early 90’s.  Had I been in the comfort of my own house I would have shouted at the T.V. As it happened In a public space I saved all my grumpiness for when I met the Bobbers and later my Tennis Club friends. On a non ranty note I marvelled at the developments of T.V and broadcast engineering in the last 30 years. Subtitling specifically.

One glorious subtitle blooper that I missed but am almost tempted to sit through the whole hour long broadcast for ran like this.

Beryl and a gay biker friend are off on an adventure on/in a motorbike and sidecar to buy some seafood snacks on the Barbican.  The stall has sold out of Winkles.

The subtitle straddles two sentences and should read

‘ No winkles. Really? Are you kiddingYou wouldn’t ever get that on Old Compton Street’

I realise the wit is lost because I cannot provide an image with the subtitle properly positioned as it would be in 2026.

Old Compton Street used to be the most gay street in London. A heady fug of aftershave and rampant testosterone filled the street with a spirit like no other. Everyone was welcome.

I realise now that it is the lesser known paintings that hold my interest. I am booked to go again next week. This may not be the last you have heard of Beryl.