All Things Considered

Fete Brought Us Here...

There haven't been many British Bank Holidays over the past few years that have been dry, sunny and warm but this weekend proved to be just that. We stayed in the seaside town of Wells-next-the-Sea and attended the last of the summer's festivities. Sunday's outing took us to Stiffkey, where lining the streets were an array of amusing scarecrows. At the fete we ate delicious Thai food and watched dogs race against their look-a-like owners. Old fashioned violence had the children in stitches as they sat in front of Punch and Judy and in the distance, roars of approval were heard every time a ball hit the target in 'soak-a-bloke' or 'drench-a-wench' event.

Following on with wet events, we headed to the beautiful harbour village of Blakeney for the annual Regatta. It wasn't so much the sailing races the hundreds of quayside spectators were really interested in, but the greasy pole competition that had every one rooted to the spot for two hours. Children and adults attempted to glide, slip, slide and bash their bodies along an axle greased pole in an attempt to reach the end before falling into the sea. The spoils were shared between two locals (both past winners) after the sudden death 'slide off' failed to separate them. Excellent to watch but I expect quite terrifying to do. Watch the moving image to see if you can be tempted to take part in the 2008 challenge. Rather you than me.

Download greasy_pole.mov

Spelt

Recently, I've been cutting down on my wheat consumption in an attempt to become more energised and less sluggish. I have been replacing the favoured British grain in my own baking of bread, biscuits and pastry in favour of wholegrain and white spelt flour.

How different spelt is to wheat I'm not too sure. There seems to be some debate over it's species classification. Some say it's related to wheat but has different properties which makes it easier to digest. In baking terms, the two have similar charactaristics however, spelt contains more proteins, vitamins and minerals but less gluten hence it's revival in our wheat intolerant society.

The ancient spelt grain or farro as it's also known in some countries, was once an extremely popular crop but lost it's appeal with farmers due to it's slow growth. The husk of spelt is tough and requires the grain to be de-hulled and broken away from it's husk making it expensive to mill - hence wheat's stalwart presence in the shops and bakers today.

Although spelt is slow to grow, making a loaf with just spelt flour is quick and needs (pardon the pun) little kneading. The resulting loaf is delicious dense, moist and nutty - often difficult to buy but simple to make.

Contagious Toys

Buying a silicone teddy bear which resembles a large jelly baby, which also contains the chicken pox virus, is an odd purchase. I have heard of parents holding chicken pox 'parties', where children are encouraged to drink from their spotty friends beaker for the 'itch' to take over, so perhaps administrating a teddy with a flavoured tummy button for your child to 'taste' isn't that different.

The designer of PoxTeddy, Mikael Metthey, is exploring design technology with a scientific twist and creating some very exciting products, visit his website to view more inventive concepts.

Yurts

We're off to Devon and Cornwall next month. One week will be spent with extended family in Torquay and the other, somewhere of our choice. We always thought we would camp but having taken two cars piled high with tents, equipment and sundry items last week for just 3 days camping, fitting all our gear into one vehicle will be problematic and quite possibly, a little tense.

Searching the web, we've been lured by Yurt holidays. A cross between camping and not camping - the best of both worlds. We would have a wood burning stove, space and hopefully no packing issues.

These nomadic round shelters, originally made of tree saplings, leather and felt were built to withstand harsh and extreme weather conditions in central Asian countries. The modern yurt is made of timber, canvas and felt and by all accounts from what I have seen, look perfectly luxurious and highly appealing. If you like the idea of yurting without the vagaries of an English summer then how about this Andalusian Yurt Hotel although Cornish Yurtworks and Plan-it Earth look pretty comfortable too.

Allotment Gardens

Allotments have a magical lure. As I drive about Norfolk, I always slow down and stare at my favourite communal gardens where the tenants grow a wonderful array of seasonal fruit, vegetables and flowers. It's the rambling sheds that also grab my attention, quiet hideaways to ponder and cultivate.

Community gardens have been around since the 18th century and were set up as a place for factory workers who had been forced off the land, to still grow fresh produce. In the 1960's, food became cheaper and allotments became less favourable, offering local authorities the chance to sell off the land for development.

The popularity of 'growing your own' has really taken off in recent years, coinciding with our ecological stance on the food we consume and the effect food miles have on the environment. Having an allotment has so many advantages, it brings together a cultural mix of communities who share tips on recycling, improvising, organic methods as well as it being a garden space many don't have. It's the sense of pride, wonder and achievement of planting a tiny seed, watering it and watching it grow to then eating it that never fails to disappoint even the most dismissive green fingered people amongst us.

This coming Monday sees the start of National Allotment Week which is aimed to promote the awareness and availability of allotments both locally and nationally. Many allotments are being earmarked for development as is Manor Gardens in the London district of Hackney Wick. This much loved  plot is being bulldozed for the Olympic games at the end next month despite fierce campaigning to stop it happening. Check out Jane Perrone's blog and her allotment predicament.

Road Runner

Following on from Kate's post about the Hemingways, commited cycle commuter Wayne Hemingway has designed a £100 folding bike called the Road Runner. A search on Google has failed to find photos of the bike but I'll post some as soon as I do - it's due to be launched in the next couple of months.

The introduction of this folding bike is a natural extension to the scheme recently launched by Hemingway at his Staiths South Bank housing development in Gateshead. Residents can make use of the cycle route into Newcastle using one of the pool of 10 bikes. And every household has been supplied with a £57.50 voucher to spend on accessories.

You can find out more about the Cycle@Staiths scheme in this YouTube video.

I'm also keen to see photos of the forthcoming Shack Up bike shed. Not sure about the water butt though...

Thorpeness

Back in May we had a damp family holiday in the spooky neat village of Thorpeness. I say spooky, as we hardly saw a soul in or around the tidy manicured gardens or the clean streets of the Suffolk seaside town. If I had done some researched before our holiday, I would have known that this village is and always has been very much a seasonal place.

At the beginning of the last century, a Scottish Barrister called Glencairne Stuart Ogilvie purchased a chunk of coastal Suffolk. Most of this land was used for farming but he kept the then small fishing hamlet, Thorpeness, and developed it into a private fantasy holiday village as a destination for upper middle class families.

Mock Jacobean and Tudor architecture dictate the style of the village making it appear austere and affluent. Even the water tower known as The House in the Clouds was clad in wood to try and make it less of an eyesore and has now become the landmark of the village.

The large man-made lake known as the Meare sits in the middle of the village and is only knee deep - enough for boating but safe for men overboard. The lake was created with numerous islands including Crocodile Island, Peter Pan's Island and The Fort - a reference to J. M Barrie's children's story Peter Pan.

The house we stayed in had a beautiful rickety boat-house with fabulous views of the water and it was strange to think we were only five minutes from the sea and yet the main pull to Thorpeness was the Meare. This is still the case and in August, Thorpeness plays host to the hugely popular regatta and fireworks display on 23rd and 24th.

Peter Green

We've been busily putting together the work for our 'Impressed 2' printmaking show in September.

The run up to these mixed exhibitions is always a sociable time as artists stop by the gallery to drop work off. Last week saw a visit from Peter and Linda Green - so we're really pleased to have some new pieces of Peter's work that will make up part of this show - celebrating the best in British printmaking.

A former Head of Art Teacher Training, Hornsey College of Art and Dean of Art and Design, Middlesex University (Emeritus Professor), Peter has written a number of books on printmaking and is a former member of the Crafts Council of Great Britain.

With work in many public collections, including the Art Council, Peter also exhibits throughout the UK, Europe and Asia.

He also collaborates with his wife Linda producing the stencil prints that we exhibit - including their annual record of the Serpentine Pavilions.

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