Thrown together

Sometimes we can surprise ourselves. We'll trundle along in our lives and do something that gives us a little pause for thought, makes us think, you know the kind of thing. It can be major or minor. It doesn't matter. A kind of 'thinking outside the box' experience.

So what am I referring to?

Chutney.

I made a kind of Indian style salsa for want of a better way of describing it. Chopped tomatoes and onions with chillies and lemon juice and, I think, coriander. There may have been other things such as cumin seeds but I cannot recall.

It was unused, uneaten, left to languish in the fridge without an objective as to its use.

Mrs AWB suggested a chutney. A chutney! Never made one of those before. She gave me a basic idea; seemed to revolve around sugar and vinegar. I looked up a couple of basic recipes and worked out a rough ratio of vinegar to sugar and then added cloves, cumin seeds, pepper corns and cardamom pods and cooked the whole thing off.

What a strong smell of warm vinegar, But it seemed quite nice, if a little vinegary..........................but the next day.............and beyond.

One of the nicest chutneys we have tasted......................and that is confirmed by Mrs AWB.

Undiscovered Places

Well, undiscovered to us. Years ago we went to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It consisted of a large country house whose park had been given over to sculptures. The signature pieces were Henry Moore works. It was a pleasant place to wander but since we've never been a huge fan of Henry Moore's work we've never been back.

Earlier this month I checked out the website and wow, what a revelation. The whole place has recently been refurbished with new buildings and new works. The photo gives an indication of the kind of work that is there. Fascinating exercises in modern art that have given both of us faith in how modern sculpture can be inspiring.

There was, however, some rubbish too.

The sculptures were set in various parts of an extensive park which also had a large lake to walk around. There was a building with some fascinating works inside too.

Added to all of this there was a good restaurant and shop.

We took Granddaughter. She loved it and after finishing off with a picnic overlooking a lovely view of the park realised that we had found a wonderful new place to visit not far from home.

A Dream

The other night I had a very odd dream.

I dreamt that I had a terminal illness. I don't remember what it was except that I did not have long to live. Weeks I think. The funny thing was was that I had no fear at all. The only downer was that I didn't not know when it would be and my feeling about that were merely of mild irritation.

I woke up feeling quite at peace with the world.

Plans

We sat down and pondered over the future the other day. Well, actually we do that quite a lot. Mrs AWB and I have been talking about where to settle for our autumn years, our retirement.

We've worked out that, financially, we should be fine and dandy and also know that we would want to live a bit further away from the hustle and bustle of a city. We had thought about places like Cawthorne near Barnsley but have kept an open mind.

We think we've found it now.

Beverley

A medium sized place in East Yorkshire far from motorways and the huge conurbations. We went there last Saturday and it felt like home. No aggression or loud behaviour on the streets. Even the teenagers skulking on the corners seemed to skulk in a more civilized way. The shops were varied and the place seemed to have less of those anonymous chains like Subway. It was quirky and individual.

The thing is we are both aware that as we get older we will become more disenchanted with the fast pace and noise of places like Leeds. OK to visit but not to live near when all you are wanting is a slow measured pace.

I worked out that I have eighty nine months to go before I can live a life entirely of leisure.

Not long really is it.

That Corner

Life tends to be cyclical and so therefore it seems only natural that my blog should be so too. I return to themes but each time I do there is a difference.

Take this photo of the top corner of our little private garden at the back. I've taken loads of photos but each one is different. The plants mature, the lighting is never the same and so on.

I spent some time wandering around on that day and have done since, wandering around in the garden but also in my mind. I go to reflect for reflection is best done in familiar surroundings and that little spot is one of my favourites. I never tire of it.

A Never Ending Beach

I'm not normally a beach lover. Last week I was though. We went to Burry Port, South Wales just along from Swansea and opposite the better known Gower Peninsular.

Lovely.

Sometimes you get to a place that is well nigh perfect and in Burry Port and the apartment e stayed in we did. Even down to the bottle of wine the owner had got for us as part of a welcome pack.

We had views over the sand and dunes from our balcony, the weather to enjoy it all and walks along the shore that had something for everyone.

And so peaceful.

Hardly a soul seemed to venture into this little gem of beauty and that peace combined with the vast stretches of sand when the tide was out gave a sense of space rare in this island of ours.

We alternated between lazing around, walking locally and venturing inland to explore the hills and valleys with their gardens and castles. Idyllic. To cap it all we could walk to a popular local pub that had a chef who knew how to cook fish to perfection. We sampled that three times in the week we were there.

Hmmmm.........

I drove into work this morning. A day shift. Normal working hours, whatever they are. When I do that I generally have Radio 2 on with, at the moment Chris Evans.

Fifteen minutes or so of light hearted banter and maybe a decent tune.

This morning I got to hear 'Pinball Wizard'; you know that iconic anthem from 'The Who'

Only this track was on.......................an organ................one of those organs you only hear in history programmes about the cinema or the seaside.

It was the weirdest thing I have listened to in a long time.