Hurdsfield's Crumpet

Long time ... No post

2010-01-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while, sorry about that!

Since last blogging, I have knitted several items - baby shoes:

(featuring the tootsies our favourite little Elspeth)

hats and a pillow case which I haven't yet finished. I can even claim to have spread the knitting word and gotten my cousin on board.

Well, I make no excuses for my absence except possibly this: I got a new job and am now a wedding planner, I got a proposal and am now a fiancee and am planning my own wedding as well as others AND we have been trying to crack on with some of the house i.e. renovation...starting with the really bad bits such as ripping down and re-building walls that leads to endless dusting and cleaning (I am not exactly a great housewife!). I am just waiting for the fun bits ... or rather the bits you think are going to be fun, such as painting, but end up being more like PAIN-ting! due to the amount of other jobs that then have to ensure from this act.

Well enough moaning, it's the new year again. Happy New Year! and what a way to start it off, A measured 8 inches of snow this morning, and it's started again. Will it ever stop. Don't get me wrong, as I have said to several people this week already, snow is great as long as you don't have to GO anywhere in it!!! So apart from the endless pictures for this years Christmas Cards, I am staying firmly inside. So here I am. Inside, thinking about this blog post and where it may lead me. Perhaps another cuppa and one of Grandma's very special chocolate butter biscuits.

Learning to Knit with Button & Skein

2009-04-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

In my last post - all be it some time ago - I was saying how excited I was about attending a beginners knitting course at Button & Skein.

I can now tell you that it was worth the excitement! Not only did Claire and I meet some great people

But I also managed to knit an actual purse!

Since then I have joined the Macclesfield Library and I now am a fully fledged knitter! I have to say congratulations to Laura on the birth of her baby Elspeth, which has given me a great reason for knitting! And also congratulations to Rowan from Button & Skein on the birth of her son shortly after our course.

Unfortunately I have some sad news, Green and whites, my other favourite shop in Macclesfield has shut down :(

Give me some (buttons &) Skein!

2009-03-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

I have two favourite shops in particular in Macclesfield

Green & Whites
Button & Skein

These shops are my favourite, not just because they are well thought out, quirky and offer Macclesfield back it's soul, but, Button & Skein in particular offers something new to the community. As well as having a website where you can check out what they sell, and buy certain crafty and gifty things online, they have also developed a programme of craft workshops, brilliant for many reasons: 1) it's all about mend and make do as well as crafts coming back into fashion - see the recent stories of the Women's institute becoming favourable with the younger generation 2) The other current trend it seems - networking, being sociable.

There are a few series of workshops, some for kids, some for adults mainly based around the crafts of knitting and crocheting, and other workshops where they invite external people in for other crafty type sessions such as poetry and sewing workshops.

With the massive boom in the craft trade in recent months, this appeals to me on several levels - the first being that as a home maker, and someone who regularly reads Ideal Home and Country living magazines, packed full of wonderful things I generally can't afford to buy, and secondly as a regular tweeter and generally lover of all things sociable.

I fully intend to go along to their beginners Knitting workshop on Thursday 12th March, to check out how much fun it really is...of course I will also be dragging Claire along to give it a whirl too. Fun fun fun!

MadeWith...

2009-02-26T23:59:00.001-08:00

Last night saw the launch of the new digital arm of the ListenCreateDeliver group. The which both Claire and myself attended was very grandly held in Manchester Cathedral - only the second event other than God's work, held there in the last 1400 or so years!

The evening was off to a good start when we hot-footed it to Harvey Nicks for cocktails, worth every penny as it turns out because on the way back down to go to the launch, we somehow managed to gate-crash a private event in Harvey Nicks, and get some free champagne! Top tip of this week is to hide in a bar of an exclusive department store and only come down at around 7pm when you know the ticket event below will be in full swing, then just assume an air of "I belong here" and noone knows the difference!

Anyway, the launch was cracking. I particularly enjoyed the mood lighting up the pillars; giving it a little finesse, more free alcohol, some tasty nibbles and a little presentation - just long enough to be interesting, but not too long so that it got boring - by Bryan Gray, chairman of MediaCityUK developers Peel Media and also current chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) as well as an introduction to the new company: MadeWith from Nina Mack who will be running the show.

The selection of people there was interesting, though I wouldn't recognise someone from the advertising industry press if they came up and hit round the head with a rolled up magazine, I did spot some fellow tweeters including groovegenerator and Craig McGinty, and it was a very good place to do some networking.

Cupcake's Galore Indeed!

2009-02-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

What would you say if I told you that we have just been privy to the most brilliant of experiences? A course in cupcake mastery at Leah's Pantry.

No joke, the four of us where swept right back to our childhood home economic classes - except for certain folk who went to an all boys school and therefore did CDT or something else particularly manly - and is now one of the most practical people I know happily, even if he doesn't celebrate Valentines Day!

We split into two teams, and one of us got to choose a chocolate cupcake recipe the other team got a Victoria Sponge cupcake recipe. Of course that bit was fun, making the cakes, choosing the filling - we chose the Victoria Sponge cakes, so had lemon as well as blackberry and almond cupcakes. A threatened to bring his industrial mixer, but having a boy on your team isn't actually too bad, when you have to cream the ingredients by hand and they are way stronger - but the less said about that the better. Claire and M got the Kitchenaid...no I am not jealous of it's beautiful shiny redness!

The fun part of the whole experience however, the part where we regressed even further into our childhood, hmmm I would say to about the age of 7, was the decorating! I have to say, Team Catherine was way outstripped by the creative genius of Team Claire, and the wine didn't help with my slightly competitive attitude, but we all came away happy with dreams of butter cream and edible glitter and so many cupcakes that we have had to give a few to friends - seriously sooo much fun!

Leah was a star and, as the regression (and the vino) kicked in, she took on a slightly motherly vs teacher role, and did very well at not getting totally frustrated with us - particularly A's attempt to make an exploding cupcake! funny.

This cupcake course has been recently advertised in the Good Food magazine, and we thoroughly recommend it as a family activity, gift or just a generally good day out.

(pictures to come)

Whatever happened to Everything in Moderation?

2009-02-17T09:58:00.000-08:00

OK, so firstly, congratulations to A's Mum who has just accepted an offer of marriage. We are very pleased for her indeed, though we have had to BEG (and I mean Beg) her not to even think about tying any knots until next year! Seriously, it's February of 2009 and we are already booking weddings for 2010.

Anyway, my point here is that her partner was led to do the most romantic thing - which noone really expected, and asked her in her card on Valentines Day. The fact that he wasn't actually with her was a bit suspect, but the reason - she was at A's brother's wedding and he felt that it was one way to make a happy weekend even happier!

Now, people moan about Valentines Day - and I have this argument with A who claims it's all "commercial claptrap" and "rip-off day", and who doesn't listen to my side, so I am going to have a rant here instead:

I know that V day was brought about by one of the greetings card companies as a marketing ploy, but actually there is something to be said that in a busy world when really, you don't have the time to be romantic, and romance as a general rule, let's face it, is something you find in a trashy novel (Edward4Bella *sigh*) but in reality is a thing of the past (for example, A's idea of romance is to be fit me a cupboard or to allocate me a work area in the house when he re-does the plans for the umpteenth time!) Romance has become practical and penny-pinching just like everything else.

Now I am not saying that I don't agree with doing things this way. I really appreciate having a new cupboard or having some personal space to do my work in, but it would be nice, just one day of the year, to have a romance day, and that is why I don't think V day is a bad idea. Put the love back in. It's just a day. It's a reminder to busy peeps that you have a loved one who needs some, well, love!

So I think I am going to declare a truce - this is to counteract A's argument about the commercial nature of V day - and agree another day which is Romance Day where I will demand some romance! (although stupidly have just shook on Feb 30th as the date...ummm it was a long weekend, all right!)

Anyway, with regard to weddings;

Congratulations to Rob and Rebecca for whom romance is obviously still alive, and were wed on V Day.

We say 1 down and 4 to go in 2009, and what do I say... "Bring It On"!

thrifty challenge no. 3

2009-01-23T06:36:00.000-08:00

OK, so A thinks I have gone mad or am on drugs or something, he wants to know what I intend to wear to the 5 weddings we have to go to this year...then fessed up to being the father of Kylie's love child!! What's going on there?

Well, honestly, it's a good job one of us is being thrifty if the child support agency come a knocking on the door, then how else are we going to cough up enough money to support the sporn of Kylie?

The boy has a point, but having thought it through, there is an obvious answer...at this point I think I will be relying on friends and family for loans of their clothing...hopefully someone will be nice and understand that I can't loose this challenge, but don't want to turn up to the weddings looking like a numpty!

Thrifty Challenge Number two

2009-01-23T06:08:00.001-08:00

So here it is everyone, thrifty challenge no. 3, 2008: Mend and Make Do!

My friend Gemma and I have just laid down the challenge to each other ... we are challenging each other to not buy any clothes for an entire year!!!

This will involve the use of the sewing machine, trips to habidasheries - yes, we are allowed to spend money on small objects that can be added to current clothes to enhance them or change their features in some way, but that is all.

I can't believe I actually just agreed to this, but well, I am strong, have enough pairs of jeans to last me...bring it on!

East Cheshire Hills

2009-01-20T04:33:00.000-08:00

So I was sitting at my desk a week or so ago, when a colleague of mine came over with a bit of the Guardian newspaper, chucked it on my desk and said "recognise anything".

There it was, published on the 6th January, in full bold print...OK, artistic license, it was hidden down an inside column but it was there all the same, the title reading "East Cheshire Hills" by Roger Redfern. The snippet under Country Diary was the walk that you can take from Macclesfield up to Higher Hurdsfield, down past Swanscoe Hall towards Kerridge (the name of which, it reliably informs me, is from the Old English Gaeg Hrycg - meaning key ridge) down into good old Bolly and back to Macclesfield via the canal which once served the flour and textile mills still standing, now part of the Cheshire Ring.

For any newcomers to the area, its a great walk.

Ridiculously Busy!

2009-01-20T04:18:00.000-08:00

Well, first of all I must apologise. Claire and I have been stupidly busy both on the run up to Christmas and the sprint after, so we have not posted for weeks now...I feel like I am sitting in a dark confessional listening to the heavy breathing of a priest in the booth next to me! Right that over, Hail Mary's out...or is that bloody mary's consumed? Let's crack on with some new year blogging.

Happy New Year peeps.

I finally got my goose. It was a Gressingham Goose in the end, but it came from one of my local farm shops - Cherry Tree in Mottram. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. It was not hard to cook - in fact it cooked a lot quicker than I thought it would, and in true Thrifty style (Thrifty it's my new year thing!) I also made several gifts of goose fat to various members of the family! bargain!

The next very exciting thing that we need to talk about - obviously still food related, we just can't help ourselves! - is that before Christmas Claire found us a cooking course run by Leah Stevenson in her very own pantry: Leah's Pantry.

What a treat! we thoroughly recommend that EVERYONE signs up to one of Leah's courses. We started with Champagne and canapes then we drank more mulled wine than you can shake a stick at, while Leah taught us how to cook the next three courses - which we then ate! Yum yum.

Performance & Cocktails

2008-11-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

No, this post isn't going to be about the wonderful Kelly Jones or Welsh rockers The Stereophonics (although they do have a best of out this month which is certainly going on my Christmas list). I just wanted to build up my music credibility slightly with the headline as I'm now about to destory it completely. There is a link though...trust me.

Don't get me wrong, I do have some taste when it comes to music but I do love a bit of cheese. We're not talking cheddar here either...Stilton all the way!

Usually my enjoyment of cheese has left me feeling pretty chirpy, well-danced and content.But last weekend it did something else. It made me feel really old. Why? I went to a McFly concert.

Along with 'Pam'*, first stop on McFly concert night was Manchester Christmas markets for a spot of hot and tasty Paella. Next came gorgeous cocktails (you see, there's the headline link) in the fab Baccanalia on Chapel Walks and a trip to the newly erected 'Polar Bar' outside Urbis before we finally plucked up the courage to enter the MEN.

As you would expect, we were two of the oldest people in there but that didn't matter. What made me feel really old was the playlist! Many of the classic McFly tunes were missing, leaving me and 'Pam' left clutching our delightful 'house wine' in disappointment while the youngsters belted out new tracks with alcohol free enthusiasm. Our cheese was mouldy.

But that's not all that made me painfully aware I'm no longer a spring chicken. In an incident totally unrelated to the aforementioned wine, I also managed to fall down some stairs during the concert . The usher rushed over to help but not in a laughy 'ha ha look what you've done' way, there was a definite 'age concern' tone to his assistance, a fact supported by his "Oh, have you hurt your hip luv" comment.

I think that's it for me and 'youth' bands/concerts. From now on, only respectable activities befitting of a 29 year old. That's why this week, I've booked myself a ticket for something far more suitable - a Christmas cooking demonstration and meal. Those teeny boppers at the McFly gig may know all the words to the latest tracks but do they know how to make perfect pigs in blankets. I think not.

*False name used to protect identity...see, told you I wouldn't tell anyone sis

I am in search of perfection...

2008-11-25T14:15:00.000-08:00

"What" I hear you ask, "am I in search of perfection of?" a Goose!

I am reminded by his Nibs on a yearly basis that Turkey is an imposter, it is not a traditional Christmas bird at all, it is in fact an import from North America, therefore this year, a Goose is the way forward (it also gives me an opportunity to give aditional Christmas presents of Goose Fat to those in the family partial to the odd goose fat roasy, in prettily decorated jars - but don't tell anyone I told you that...I blame the crunch)

Having been a vegetarian for many a year (that's vegetarian, not wild rover although that's a story for another day ;-)), I have now been eating meat for about 5 years. It may sound like a long time, and I have had plenty of sunday lunch practise at cooking chicken, but they do come relatively clean these days without much icky stuff, now I must be brave and face a goose...with giblets! eek.

You might wonder why I am putting myself through this mental trauma? Indeed, it is because I am super excited to be hosting Christmas this year for the first time ever, for some of my dear family, and it must be perfect (a. because I love Christmas and b. because I would like them to come back - or at least spread the word to other members of my family how great it was so that they come next time - Mum and Ru, that's you invited!).

Now the pressure is on, so I will be out scouring the local farm shops and butchers for a goose which might actually fit into my oven!

I shall be going down to have a chat with our butcher - Broadhurst to discuss with them this weekend, but also scouring the net for websites such as: The Guild of Q Butchers and farmshopping.net where I might be able to find more information about which farmers in our area specialise in Goose. I will let you know how I get on.

Tap tap tapping along

2008-11-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I hate it when I can't remember the name of a song(or enough of the words to do a google search), so imagine my pleasure at finding this: songtapper.com. Just by hitting your space bar in time to the part of the tune you can remember, it searches its database of songs to give you a selection which match your song.

It was very amusing trying, but unfortunately, it didn't come up with my song, what it did do, however, while I was tapping and humming along, is jog my feeble memory so I remembered enough of the words to do a Google search :) Good old Google, it never lets me down. Here is the song I was missing: Blind Melon, No Rain

No men in tights - just great food

2008-11-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Last night, me and the better half were meant to be going out for dinner. My lovely mum had spotted an excellent BOGOF deal and had forwarded some vouchers for Pizza Express which we were happily going to use in town. Great! But (as was the case with many other people last night I suspect) my plans were scuppered thanks to some idiot who thought it would be funny to bring Macclesfield to a complete standstill by planting a hoax bomb on Hurdsfield Retail Park! It took me an hour to get back home from Tytherington roundabout - normally a 5minute drive. Rubbish.

Anyway, on making it home - the thought of trying to get back into town was too unbearable. The problem was, unlike a good girl scout, I wasn't prepared. The only other food I had in the house needed defrosting! So, thanks to a genius idea from sparky Mark, up the hill and out of town we went for dinner at The Robin Hood in Rainow.

This pub is fab. Cosy nooks, a separate restaurant area, nice fires and great food. They even take dogs so Baxter got a night out too.

The menu is very nice - a mix of classics and some more adventurous stuff for you foodies out there. The specials board is also always worth a look which is exactly what I did last night. Starters then - for me, green lip mussels in a creamy broth with crusty bread and for Mark, a warm goats cheese and tomato tart. I'd had the mussels there before so knew they were great but it was a first try for the tart which was delicious (like a typical girlfriend I pinched some of his food - purely so I could share comment on here of course!).

For mains, homemade burger for M, Chinese ribs with noodles for me. The burger is everything a good burger should be and most definitely a challenge for those not opting to cut in half before eating. For any girls taking their fellas here - it might be wise to take a bib if they are prone to manly gestures of fitting their mouth round in one go. My ribs were also great - zingy, meaty and not too much fat as can often be the problem with spare ribs. Full marks on taste and for sourcing produce locally where they can (both meat and veg).

Along with two drinks each, this little lot set us back a just over £20. A bargain if you ask me. With food like that, it's no surprise to find 'Merry men' and women at The Robin Hood (sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes).

We're Back On!

2008-11-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

After a small hiccup (soz Claire!this techno-infant can't help but meddle with the HTML coding!!) we are back in normal blog-land thanks to Marvin. Very happy about this. Now owe Marv one of the Bistro's massive cookies and some tea...think I will invite him for afternoon tea meeting at 3.30pm and introduce him into the ways of the Afternoon Tea brigade! Bring it on.

Walk this way

2008-11-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

Baxter the dog has a few real pleasures in life. He appreciates a decent sausage (his favourites are sold behind the counter -dodgy as that sounds - £1.00 for 10 at Creature Comforts pet shop on Queen Victoria Street in Macc), hogging space on the sofa/bed/chair and enthusiastically greeting the postie every morning. But one of his most recent discoveries is the joy of water.

Unlike most dogs, Baxter does not seem to have the natural instinct to swim...in fact, it's more like a natural instinct to sink. He has about as much grace in the water as John Sergeant does on the dance floor. This understandably made him nervous at first, but he has now started to enjoy larking about in the river. For any other dog owners hoping to tempt their hound into similar aquatic activity, I can whole-heartedly recommend Riverside Park in Macclesfield.

The main entrance to the park is situated just off Manchester Road where you will find free parking and toilets. From here, you can head off alongside the river Bollin all the way to Prestbury (the walk continues beyond Prestbury but as yet I haven't ventured that far!). The park is a dog walkers dream, plenty of open space to let the pooch run free and enjoy a swim in the river. For those not too keen on hilly walks the other good point about this particular walk is that it is entirely flat. The drawback of this is that after heavy rain there is mud...a lot of mud.

On a dry, crisp winter weekend morning, a stroll down here is really lovely and what makes it even better is that once you've got to Prestbury (about 2.5 miles from start to finish), you can take your pick of eateries to enjoy a spot of lunch. I can recommend the Legh Arms for atmosphere, comfy chairs, great food and warm fires! So everyone's a winner - dog can enjoy a swim and you can enjoy a guilt free lunch (as any calories you intake will be burnt off by the exercise*). Give it a try.

*This is scientifically false but it should be true!

Get Spooked!

2008-10-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

From the 30th Oct - 1st Nov, ghost tours, run by the Arden School of Theatre, will be availableat Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate, Styal, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 4LA.

The cost of the tour will be £6 per adult. Booking is essential and it is advised that because of the scary nature of them, the tours aren't suitable for children under the age of 9.

For more details and Hallow'een activities, visit: Nationaltrust.org.uk

Representing Good Dog Owners Everywhere

2008-10-29T13:10:00.001-07:00

Sitting here this evening, getting my weekly (very occasionally, daily) fix of Cesar the Dog Whisperer, watching him work his wonders on some very messed up doggies, has inspired me once again.

We have now had our beautiful glossy-coated, black labrador puppy, Dixie, about eight weeks and although she is very well behaved mostly, and we have done some training at home, we have decided that to ensure that we are responsible dog owners, to act like responsible dog owners and take our puppy to training classes to not only get her trained properly, but us too.

Our vet (who I very much recommend, and now has a practise in both Bollington and Tytherington) recommended a labrador specific dog trainer in Macclesfield called: Vic Barlow. Now all we need to do is actually get round to calling him and arranging our first class...We will keep you informed.

Dissapointed of Higher Hurdsfield

2008-10-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

Vigilant readers among you will have noticed something very wrong with the 70s party of the century. I'm not talking about Mark's moustache, although yes, that was wrong on many levels. I'm not even talking about packing so much flammable fake hair and Polyester into such a small space (particularly when the hostess was looking so hot...pay me later Catherine). I am of course referring to the 80s impostor that penetrated security! Banana Man.

Yes, Banana Man may have looked fabulous but an 80s icon he is. Now, this is of course forgivable given that 80s cartoons were way cooler than 70s ones. Here are just a few of my top choices for our 80s favourites:

1) Dungeons & Dragons - does anyone know if they ever got home?
2) Thundercats - Everyone loves the theme tune to this one!
3) Stoppit & Tidyup
4) Danger Mouse (ahhh, another 80s impostor at the party!)
5) Voltron: Defender of the Universe - nice outfits there
6) Tranformers - The most carbon in-efficient cartoon ever
7) He Man (She Ra not so much) - A muscle man with a big sword
8) Inspector Gadget - superb
9)Dogtanion - possibly the best cartoon theme ever!
10) Trap Door - very funny

Why am I disappointed then I hear you ask, (I don't actually hear you but work with me)? Well, talk of these cool cartoons prompted the debate among my work colleagues as to which character you would be. Imagine my excitement when this quiz was sent round to help you find out - love a little Internet quiz.

So, who am I. Bloody Teddy Ruxpin. Possibly the dullest bear ever with the worst dress sense. What's even worse, thinking there had clearly been a horrible mistake in the calculations, I tried another quiz. Pappa Smurf - a short blue man who can't sing. Marvelous.

Happy National Baking Week

2008-10-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have just found out from the BBC Good Food website that it is National Baking Week. Now those of you who know me, know that baking is very dear to my heart, so I am going to give you the latest recipe I tried for Andy's step-mum's Birthday cake to whet your appetite for baking this week. (Unfortunately, the said step-mum was a little too drunk to actually receive the cake, so the members of Fernlea and Myrtle benefited instead ;-) It's a hardship, but we have to do our best to help! ).

[Source: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5819/white-and-dark-chocolate-cake]

Ingredients

175g butter , softened, plus extra for greasing
100g white chocolate (we like M & S or Green & Black's with real vanilla)
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
3 eggs
100ml whole or semi-skimmed milk
175g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
200g self-raising flour
2 tbsp very strong coffee (instant is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and bottom-line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins. For the cake, break the white and dark chocolate into two small bowls, then melt in the microwave on High for 1 min or over a pan of simmering water. Put everything else, except the coffee and vanilla, into a large bowl, then beat until creamy.

Divide the mixture in two, then add the coffee and melted dark chocolate to one bowl, and the vanilla and melted white chocolate to the other. Stir until mixed through, then tip into the tins. Bake for 20-25 mins until risen and slightly shrunk from the sides of the tins. Cool in the tins for a few mins, then turn onto a wire rack.

For the ganache, heat the cream in a pan, then break the dark chocolate into a large bowl. Once the cream is just boiling, pour it onto the chocolate, then leave for 5 mins. Stir until smooth, then leave until thickened and cool. Split the cakes in two across the middle (a bread knife works well), layer up the pieces, alternating white and dark layers, and sandwiching, then topping them with the ganache.

To decorate, spoon the melted white chocolate into a piping bag with a fine nozzle (or use a sandwich bag and snip off the end instead). Zig-zag the white chocolate over the cake, then finish with a scattering of white Maltesers. Serve on its own or for dessert with pouring cream. Best eaten on the day, but keeps in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

ENJOY!

Do The Hippy-Hippy-Shake

2008-10-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well lovely readers, we are certainly happy bunnies here. Our excitement was well worth the build up. The party which we held at the weekend in the Three Crowns was an absolute blast! Brilliant, and I have some pictures to post below for those of you who missed it, but first, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to our lovely DJ Nick Wright of Canal-Side radio who maintained the 1970's theme throughout the night...good work Nick!

So, where do we start? I know, we will start with Danger Mouse...a well know 70's cartoon, although granted he only had Mightymouse to work with, but, well the mouse link was there so he had his 3 mins of fame anyway!

Then we have the locals (dodgy!)

As mentioned, a good boogie was had by all

making the teeny weeny dancing area look a bit like a mosh pit

oh, and Duncan the Dalek, only Duncan could buy and wear a 4 - 8 year olds costume from Woolies!

Even Trev was up for a bit of air-guitar...

and us girlies looking the part (and looking like we are singing along to some Choons)

And finally, Mark. Who I like to think had a good time, mostly because he had to drink all his drinks out of a straw, and who for me, anyway, was Bell of the Ball! and could possibly have later lost his moustache...what do you think?

Another Custard Cream Anyone?

2008-10-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

I like to consider myself a hard working kind of gal! so imagine my horror at being surrounded by the "self-employed"!

Now I would not normally be so cynical about my own friends, but when I find out that the rest of the Myrtle and Fernlea tribe are now calling themselves the "Self-Employed Club" and have been meeting regularly for afternoons of tea, biscuits and a good gossip, you can see why I might be a little peturbed...no, I'm not jealous that I don't get to pick and choose my working days, take holidays when I like and navigate my own path to success...honest! I am just proud to be the only one who has a REAL job to go to and a real boss to please every day!

Secretly, I think it's a lovely idea to preserve the custom of taking afternoon tea, a very british custom which in my view, and if I had time in my busy WORK schedule, I would bake a cake a week especially for it. It is a tradition which I would certainly like to see resurected in companies throughout the UK. Whatever happened to the old fashioned tea lady? (Andy, this one is for you!)

[Source] http://somewhereinthyme.net/TeaTime2.jpg

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

2008-10-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

Little reference for all you Dolly P fans out there...Catherine.

I read today in the ever amusing and insightful Daily Star, that Madge & Guy have finally told us what we've all know for ages - they are getting divorced.

Now, reporting on celebrity divorces does tend to sadden me a little as it seems a bit heartless to take interest in other people's misfortunes, particularly in the love department. I'm sure we've all suffered a bit of heartache in our lives to make us sympathetic to the divorcees in question (unless they are Heather Mills).

However, two little snippets of the report did catch my eye.

"Last night a friend of the couple said: “The marriage has been on the rocks for weeks."

"Weeks" eh, surely a marriage should have been on the rocks for a bit longer than that to warrant divorce. I'm thinking this 'friend' of the couple is clearly not as in the loop and he/she thinks.

Secondly, the same "friend" also informs us: "Guy has decided enough is enough. Now they just want to get it all over as quickly as possible. They want to be divorced by Christmas.”

Hmmmmmm. It's interesting to know that no matter how famous or rich you are that the same rules apply - get out before you have to fork out on any more presents!

Macclesfield Pizza Pan

2008-10-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's difficult, when you live with someone who won't eat any pizza other than Domino's to convince them to try pizza from a new place every once in a while - trust me this is a man with his heels most firmly dug in when it comes to Domino's, it took me three years to get him to try a thin crust!

So it was great work on the behalf of the Myrtle inhabitants to tempt him with a pizza take away that also provided...KEBAB! Ahhhh it's like heaven just landed on the take-away menu.

So the pizza came - speedily actually - and for £26 quid we had two kebabs - Mark succumbed too - and two giant pizzas, garlic bread with cheese and mushrooms - interesting combo which actually worked, potato wedges and I think a bottle of coke or something, but I had succumbed to the booze, so can't quite remember exactly...anyway, the food was Delicious! best pizza's we ever had.

So if you are looking for a really good take-away pizza, half the price of many other recommended pizza places, I suggest you try Pizza Pan.

News hot off the press regarding Domino's, they are no longer the official sponsors of The Simpsons: http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/853742/Dominos-Pizza-ends-Simpsons-sponsorship/. Maybe it's just time for a change.

Fernlea's First Cookery Class

2008-10-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last night at Fernlea, we held an impromptu cookery class with Vegetarian Lasagne on the menu. Cat has become fond of hosting girly sleep over's once a week for her new college friends, one of whom is a lesser spotted Vegetarian much to the others disgust!

Having never really been around this increasingly common species of folk, Cat needed a hand, so off I went and found the most scrumptious recipe for a vegetable lasagne on BBC Good Food's website (which by the way, I rate most highly these days as they have added features where you can build your own recipe lists from the recipes that other people put in, to give you an example, there were at least 20 results for lasagne!)

The first challenge was that Emma had never eaten pretty much most of the ingredients before, so she became chief chef!

Cat as chief stirrer (!) trying to follow instruction *pff* Bung it all in together was my advice!

And the finished article... Looking good! Well done girls.

Mini break?

2008-10-15T02:35:00.001-07:00

Is there such a thing as a 'mini break'? I'm not sure. I'm just back from a 'mini-break' with the better half. We stayed in a lovely little HPB cottage in Askrigg (North Yorks) with my folks and our dog Baxter. We were only up there for a long weekend but in the time, these are just a few of the things we packed in:

1) Visiting a fab craft centre in Reeth
2) Eating Cake
3) Going to Aysgarth Falls (for film buffs, where Robin fights with Little John in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves)
4) Eating Cake
5) Visiting Fountain's Abbey
6) Eating Cake
7) Going to a friend's wedding at the fabulous Jesmond Dene House (photos of this are yet to come but for now be content to know that yes, there was a Greece Megamix and yes, I really can dance like Olivia Newton John)
8) Eating Cake
9) Visiting Richmond
10) Eating Cake
11) Visiting Hawes

Now, you may notice a recurring theme here. The reason for the excessive cake intake is that the Yorkshire Dales must be the world capital for tea rooms. Seriously, every village has about 5 tea rooms (possibly more tea rooms than inhabitants in some cases) all having a 'cake off' to win business. This is my first reason for saying that there is no such thing as a mini break - you eat enough food for a fortnight. Nothing mini about the waistline on returning home. Secondly, if you have a few days, you do get more done! We weren't rushing around or anything but just made the most of the few days off. Don't take away from a good break by calling it 'mini' - celebrate just having the time to enjoy yourself.

Supressed Excitement

2008-10-13T14:25:00.001-07:00

You might well wonder why we are getting excited here in Fernlea house this week. No it is not the imminent announcement of Cat's new boyfriend/girlfriend situation, and no, it is not the pile of ironing that has built up whilst I was away this weekend - how can three people have so many clothes? I swear things are washed just because quite frankly, there is no where else to put them, and here we are trying to be eco-friendly...well, the heating hasn't yet gone on, so I suppose we are doing our bit, and I promise you we would have a thrashing from our in-house plumber if we turned the dial above 30 degrees - Ariel wins again!

No, the reason for all this excitement is that me and the plumber are going to be celebrating our 30th Birthday's on Saturday, in our local, with a load of mad people dressed in 1970's clothing - well that was the year we were born after all!

30! a popular number this year, perhaps we are just, in our own little way, putting the fashion back into it! after all it's not as daunting as I thought it would be...honest!

Welcome!

2008-10-13T04:01:00.000-07:00

At last, I have finally got round to starting the Higher Hurdsfield blog. This is because there is a distinct lack of fun online information for the residents of Higher Hurdsfield.

My only concern is that we do not manage to post very many things and the blog is left to fester, but I think a bit of will power and some kind of routine will help us to keep it fresh, having more than one author will be good too ;-) and the odd boot up the bottom from our respective partners will also come in handy!

We hope you enjoy our general musings and ramblings - and be assured, they will be rambling... here we go!

Love Catherine and Claire. x