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Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
I love chestnuts, we eat them regularly, in stews, nut roasts, cakes… especially since discovering the vacuum packed french version. I heard something on the radio last week about a man who only liked them in Mont blanc pudding (mostly meringue and cream). (there was also an idiot on Breakfast TV telling the viewing public…
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Festive Spirits
Christmas is all about singing for me, either performing, or in the audience. This year was no exception, starting with a superb workshop of traditional folk carols with Lester Simpson on the 1st December. We learnt Adam Lay ybounden (15th Century), Dunstan Lullaby (very simple, very effective) and a couple of variants of While Shepherds…
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getting a cover for a book
This is a strange way of going about things, but I’ve just chosen a cover for a book that I haven’t finished writing yet. We’ve been running a competition over at Arachne Press for the covers of the next two books, and I got down to three gorgeous, wonderful designs for the reprint of Mosaic…
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Nostalgia for christmas past
There’s nothing like being ill just before Christmas. We dragged round to get the tree, and left it in the hall long enough for Julian to spray it in protest at the Burnham wood aspects of the yule branch. I washed the cat pee off, cut the bottom off to get it in the stand,…