You can tell a person

by the company they keep

 

Or so my mother used to say.

 The same nowadays could perhaps include, the You Tube channels they subscribe to. Certainly, as far as I'm concerned, the things that I watch on a regular basis probably would give anybody a good insight into what I spend my life doing, the kind of people and topics which I love listening to or watching and what I spend most of my retired life aspiring to. and I reckon, if you are a You Tube watcher, then that probably is the same for all of you.

My only problem watching You Tube is that my computer normally  runs out of steam halfway through, and just shuts down and switches itself off with no warning, I think it overheats, it's either that or the content is just so boring that it can't cope with anymore gardening or model railways !!!

 As an aside,

I did think of initiating my own You Tube channel, but sometimes when I watch some of them, it's a bit like watching paint dry, especially those that are just a series of photos, I find it's a bit like the difference between watching the film, or reading the book, nine times out of ten, I prefer to read the book. I don't think that the kind of thing I waffle on about here is the kind of thing that would suit the You Tube format either. Also, I know some contributors to You Tube who get thoroughly pissed off by some people not liking their efforts and giving them the big thumbs down, and these are contributors who produce totally innocuous model railway videos. If you don't like it, don't watch it!!!.

 

 

Changing the subject 

 

 

either the back or the front depending !!

 

That's one view of my front, (or back) garden in winter. I like my garden, but to see it at the moment, you wouldn't believe it. It's either getting larger or I am getting older ! The white shed down the bottom by the way, is my chicken shed (with windows cos I had some hanging about), the chickens seem to like it, but not sufficient enough at the moment to give me any eggs in return for my endeavours. 

 

The house itself was built on top of the rock,  before it descends down into the Dordogne valley, (that's the rock, not the house) with the river below. The river side of the house was originally the front, with a road for access built that side (due south facing, as nearly all houses in this region were). Then a new road was built the other side of the house, putting us and our neighbour on a kind of island, so that has now become the front of the house with our gate and driveway, it's all a bit confusing really. We normally get about a dozen cars a day past our house and as the road is only wide enough for one and a half cars, traffic jams do sometimes occur, usually two tractors !!

 

Life's exciting ain't it ?

Wet and windy

and a bit nippy

 

So I decided today that I'd do some baking and tonight's dinner would be BURGERS. (today being Thursday of course).

I don't buy burgers in a box or plastic wrap, (cos I don't know what's in them) all that reclaimed meat stuff probably, and the French don't do soft bread rolls (except mass produced in a plastic wrap) which I did buy once, and inadvertently left on the side for a couple of weeks after I had opened the packet, and guess what? they were exactly the same as the ones I had eaten when they were fresh!!! HOW DO THEY DO THAT? Full of chemicals I assume, so they are a no no. as well.

 

Here in France, on the butcher's counter in the supermarkets, you can ask for them to make burgers for you. The meat is chosen from the counter and put through a mincer and shaped to the size you want, the only problem being that they are not spiced at all, just meat, which I personally find a little dry, so to make my own.

 

Firstly, the soft bread rolls, a recipe from Michel Roux Jr. 

 

500 grams flour 50/50 bread and plain flour. (16 oz total)

10 grams instant yeast (half oz)

10 grams salt (half oz)

20 gram golden syrup (1 oz)

25 gram butter (1 oz)

350 ml warm milk (14 fl oz) 

 

Place flour, yeast and salt in a bowl, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the cold milk and syrup, warm until tepid, and mix into the dry ingredients. At this point I usually mix everything in my Kenwood, with a dough hook for about ten minutes on a fairly slow speed (or of course you can knead by hand). Leave in a warm place to rise (at least double in size), and then give it a good wallop to knock it back. 

As this makes about 10 nice size rolls, weigh the dough and cut into 10 equal lumps.

To shape the dough  place the measured dough onto a non floured surface, cup your whole hand around the dough lightly and make a circular movement with you hand until the dough is a round ball, place each ball on a lightly greased baking sheet, sprinkle with flour and lightly cover with cling film, let them rise again until they are between 3 and 4 inches in diameter and place in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for about 12 minutes or until brown. 

 

 

 

 

They should look like that (almost good enough to eat!)

 

Next the burger. Put the mince beef in a bowl, add some caramelised onions, herbs and an egg and mix together, before placing in the fridge. When it's cool, divide up and form into the patty size you want. Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the burgers how you like them (please don't incinerate them), cut the buns in two, add the relish your little heart desires and put you burger in. 

 

Open your mouth wide and enjoy.

 

 

 

Mussolini the motor car

Going around in circles

 

 

Today, I have mostly been going around in circles, I seem to have odd days like that, and today was one of them.

 It started off not too bad, managed to get up, feed the chickens,  take all my pills and do a bit of work on the latest model airplane. Had a small lunch and this afternoon, decided to try and find my way around Blogger, a little better than I do at present, so that I could put a few of my airplane builds on a different blog. BIG MISTAKE, It is soooooooooooooo frustrating (for me at least) to read the "how to", do what I think is exactly what I am meant to do, and bugger all happens. Then I read another persons' "how to" try again and bugger all happens again.

That took up most of my frustrating afternoon, until it was time to pick up my lad from the railway station, by now it was dark, my wife was still teaching and had the decent car, so my choice of vehicle is usually our Peugeot 205 (25 year old heap), the station isn't far so no problem as long as it starts, which it didn't !!!!!! that car is parked right up against the camping car,so couldn't use that either. One left, MUSSOLINI the 28 year old heap of a Fiat Panda. The driver's seat has collapsed, but with about 3 thick cushions on the floor, where the seat squab is, they lift your arse up enough to see where your going. Noisy and Smelly but at least it started, after having been sat in the garden for the last six months without being touched.

 Off I go, and promptly forget where the headlight switch is, no light in the car, so pushed every button I could feel, found the hazard lights, fan and lots of other stuff, until I remembered it wasn't a button and found the funny Italian switch which works the lights, when I arrived, I kept the engine running for the two minutes before the train arrived, lad got in and off home. Half way back, on comes this HUGE red light, it was like a fog light on the dashboard BIG AND BRIGHT. I did ask my lad if it had anything marked on it, guess what, NO it didn't. Typical, what's the point of that then? made it home none the less, for  "HAM NIGHT " 

 

 

 

I think Mussolini had a moustache for a while, if he didn't not to worry.

Ham Night, by the way is ham, egg, chips and baked beans, and was named that after having watched the animated film "The Pirates". If you haven't watched it, then you need to take the time to, utterly brilliant.

I don't need to guess what I will have to do tomorrow RUDDY FRENCH cars !!!!!!!!!!

 

Men in sheds

or other bolt holes

 

Let me advise you, RETIREMENT CREEPS UP ON YOU, TOO BLOODY QUICKLY.

 

Don't let it get you down, the problem stems, I think from the fact that you're not getting up each morning with the day already organised for you. Now, YOU have to organise it for yourself. Luckily for me, for quite a bit of my working life, I was self employed, and so I have

  had to make my own decisions of what I had to do any given day. So nothing much changed for me, but I do meet lots of people who see retirement as the beginning of the end, and let lethargy and worse overwhelm them.

 

Just before I retired, one of my daughters bought me a little book called "Men in sheds", I've always had a shed or at least a bolt hole in almost all of the houses I have lived in (there have been quite a few) I think it probably stems from my father who had a shed at the top of his garden, full of all sorts of rubbish, according to my mother. The only problem that he had with his shed, was that it was in full view of mother whilst she was standing at the kitchen sink, and she could spot the ciggy smoke emanating from windows, as he was having an illicit fag, I could see the poor bugger try to waft away the smoke before mother arrived at the shed with her words of wisdom about some of his pastimes!!

 

Anyway, "Men in sheds" brilliant, full of wonderful and sometimes unusual things men get up to in their "sheds". I have often wondered, do women love sheds ?, or is it just a man thing ? 

 

I am lucky enough to have a shed (more of an outbuilding really) as well as a bolt hole (the loft) here in France. The problem I find with sheds or bolt holes is that they soon get filled up with "INTERESTING THINGS" if like me you have more interesting things than are good for you. I've never been a particularly neat and organised anorak so I'm always looking to expand into other underused spaces in the house. NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY if you are a model maker, it will come in useful one day.

 

At the moment I'm in the middle of moving my extensive model railway (every man should have one, cos they are therapeutic) down into what the French call a cave, which in our house is a vaulted tunnel under the house, initially used for storing wine, it's about 20 ft. long and about 8 ft. wide, should make for an interesting new layout. The reason for it being moved is so that I have somewhere to build and store my increasing collection of model aeroplanes and model boats, and the area where the railway is at present, fits he bill perfectly. 

 

I reckon that hobbies, or, and sports, keep the old grey matter active,  My problem is that I just have too many things to cope with at any one time, so I try and organise them seasonally. That's the theory anyway. 

 

SPRING...................... gardening a lot, getting model aeroplanes ready for the good weather.

 

SUMMER....................model flying, boating, cycling, holidays, more gardening.

 

AUTUMN....................more model flying, more gardening, perhaps some stamp collecting (hummm), starting to decide on which models to build next,  model train time.

 

WINTER...................... more of lots of the same, apart from gardening.

 

This, interspersed with house repairs, car repairs, bicycle repairs and model repairs, tends to to keep me gainfully employed and off the streets.   The rest of my time, what little I have remaining, I cook and bake as well as taking photos of what I do for this and other blogs which are normally written in the evening, whilst there is crap on he telly. I have been reliably informed that if you cut the head off a chicken, it runs around in circles. The difference between me and that chicken, is that I still have my head !!!!

 

I do find, that for me, it's nice to belong to a club of like minded anoraks, these are my friends, the people I talk to about all sorts of topics, not just models, it opens up a whole new world in retirement (I think). It certainly works for me.

 

As I have gone to the bother of taking a few pictures of my model chaos, I thought you would like to see them.

 

 

  

 

Loft (playroom) chaos. 

 

 

 

more nearly finished boaty stuff

 

 

 

and finally, a dead model aircraft (the one I planted in the farmer's field) on my half removed model railway. 

 

I love my life, it's good to be an eccentric anorak. 

Friday night

is Pizza night

 

Do you ever watch those adverts on the telly where a group of twenty somethings are all sitting around watching football on the idiot box, when one of them has that brilliant idea that to order 12 pizzas and to get them delivered would be just the best idea ever?

 

 

GET A LIFE WHY DON'T YOU !

 

Did you know, that in the UK. now, they have a phone app. that allows you to search takeaway food outlets in your area, search their menus and order and get the "food" delivered to you door. What the hell is the world coming to ?  As far as I can remember, when I was young, a fish and chip shop was all you got, and you had to get off your arse to go outside (heaven forbid) to buy it. I still do love my fish and chips and am always on a quest to find the ultimate fish and chip shop. My younger brother is quite an aficionado of the fish and chippy and bought a book that rated, by the star system, the eateries of the UK. who provided this sumptuous meal, I've tried a few, and believe me, this particular British delicacy takes some beating.

 

I make pizzas usually here on a Friday evening. It is dead simple and saves you a shedload of money, AND what's more, you know what's in it !! 

 

This Friday, why don't you have a go ? (doesn't have to be a friday by the way) anytime will do. There's plenty of recipes out there, but this is what I do.

 

Pizza base.

 

375 grams bread flour. or I use plain fine flour.

5 grams quick bread yeast

2 pinches salt

about 30 grams olive oil made up to 262 grams with water.

 

Chuck the whole lot together and mix first before you start to knead the dough as you would bread.  I  don't knead too much, just enough to make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed and the resulting dough is smooth.

Let rest to increase in size a bit. Then put your fist in the risen mass to expel the air and then divide into three (about 220 grams each lump) and on a well floured board roll out to your required thickness (my lot like thin crust) mine are about 12 to 14 inches in diameter, place on a metal baking tray, or rather 3 trays and preheat the oven to about 220 deg C.

 

When we were on holiday this year, a pizza van came to the site once a week. This guy made pizzas to die for, he had a largish van with a wood fired oven stuck in the back and he had a menu of all the different pizzas he made (about 20 in all). All the pizzas had their toppings listed, so I borrowed one of these menus to give me inspiration here at home. Usually we just buy the tomato sauce if my stock of home made has been exhausted, cheese, onions, peppers and thin Italian ham and let everybody make their own, usually adding a load more different stuff if they wish (pineapple is a no no !) perhaps a sprinkling of blue cheese lumps or sausage, whatever takes your fancy!! One of my favourites is Creme Fraiche mixed with lightly boiled onions and small chunks of cooked potatoes, together with grated cheese of choice and small pieces of thin smoked bacon, lather that lot on top of your base and get a taste of eastern France. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

10 mins. in the oven should be long enough, just make sure the base is cooked through. I always have a few chips with mine cos I'm English and have no sense of food finesse so I've been told.

 

 

 

That's my lads pizza (cheese, tomato and a few peppers)

 

 

 my dearest wife's with and without rocket ( with asparagus spears)

 

 

 

mine with a bit of black pudding  (thought I'd try it out) tomato sauce, cheese and thin bacon.

 

5 minutes for the base

10 minutes to put the thing together

10 minutes cooking

That is quicker than waiting for the pizza delivery boy !!!!

Have a go, I bet you won't regret it. 

POLITCS, give us a break !!

Politics and religion

 

I think it's probably right to lump these together as both subjects are a bit confused I reckon.

 

Firstly Religion. If you ever get a Jehovah's Witness or a Mormon knocking at your door, tell them you are a Buddhist  they'll go away pretty quickly. That's all I reckon you need to know about religion.  That was quick!

 

Next Politics. On the BBC the other evening was an overview of the American Presidential election, presented from America by a well known and respected news and current affairs  guru Jeremy Paxman. In his typically British and ironic style he interviewed many of the top people in the government, and came to the conclusion that the whole debacle could be likened to one of those reality game shows, where only two of the really unbelievable lunatic contestants are left at the end. 

 

WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON ?

 

We here in what is now the EEC. have our fair share of loonies too, believe me. Who on earth in their right mind could ever have thought that the EEC. would work, (probably some people who made a packet of money out of it). So many countries with different ethics and histories all agreeing on the same thing, it"ll never happen !!!!!  that is why nothing ever gets accomplished, nobody can agree with anyone else, everything seems to me to be a compromise, and so the whole thing rolls along as before; thousands of  bureaucrats on enormous expenses doing absolutely bugger all. I could do that,  "give us a job".

Apparently the Belgian Walloones have just blocked a trade deal with Canada !  That sounds sensible doesn't it ?

 

Yesterday, we heard that a single person, (apparently a Hedge Fund manager), whatever the hell that is, I'm sure the world needs more of those !!, managed to stop the British government from implementing the exit from the EU. Apparently, despite the referendum that was held, the whole of the British Parliament, (which includes the opposition party, each person having their own agenda), not just the government have to discuss and vote on all of the terms and conditions of the exit of the EU. one can only guess how complicated and drawn out that will be and the consequent uncertainty that will follow. Still, I suppose it will give the hedge fund managers an opportunity to make a packet on the international money markets as the pound plummets. Is it just me or do other people agree that these kind of people are just pariahs.

 

BREXIT,   best off out of it I reckon.

 

The only guy I have empathy with is Billy Connolly who said

 

" the fact that someone should ever want to be a politician, should automatically bar them from ever being one "

 

Never a truer word was spoken.  

 

I promise I will try and keep the rest of this blog free of ruddy politics and religion. ( for my own and your sanity )