Christmas Books (basically a thank you letter)

Technically one of them is a birthday book but I'm so delighted with it that it clearly needed to be included in the picture. I'll say it again - I love books, and I love getting a well chosen book as a gift. Actually books are a hard present to get wrong if you know somebody reasonably well, but when someone gives you a book you really wanted, or better yet a book you didn't know you really wanted until you see it, it's just heaven. I've done pretty well this year.

My mother picked a bunch off of my wish list without telling me (a very safe way to give books, and much appreciated) the star of them so far is John Sutherland's 'A Little History Of Literature'. I generally enjoy Sutherland's books anyway but this one is a peach. It's a series of essays that deal with different aspects of literature, I've read about half a dozen so far and all of them have been informative and thought provoking. The book itself (published by Yale) is particularly attractive - nice paper, nice type set, and attractive decorations at the head of each chapter. It doesn't need to be read in order and where chapters relate to each other Sutherland mentions it (very handy). This book is a splendid addition to my library. 

Mum also gave me the Private Eye book (entertaining) and most of the paperbacks (hours of fun ahead). 'The Prisoner of Zenda' came from my sister, I started it last night and am enjoying it immensely. So much in fact that I searched town today for 'Rupert of Hentzau' (no success which makes the free ebook version even more tempting). 

'The Oxford Companion to English Literature' was the birthday book and came from my friend L who is an English teacher. I've been flicking through it with great pleasure, it's one of those books I've wanted for ages but never quite got round to getting so it was perfectly picked. 

The new edition of 'The World Atlas of Wine' came from someone I worked with back in Oddbins days and is another book I wanted but hadn't bought myself pre Christmas. It's great to have it so soon and this is a particularly handsome copy (slip cover dontchaknow). It's useful for work but better yet a good read.

Perhaps the best book though came from my friend R - best because I was basically unaware of it's existence until I unwrapped it. It's 'Scottish Books The Penguin History of Scottish Literature' which makes it not just a book that I'm going to be interested in but is perfect to come from R because she's a reference book goddess. 

So there you go - I had to share, I hope you all got great books for Christmas too.

December is here...

It might not look that good but it looks so much better than the last lot

And I'm having another go at making my own mincemeat. I last had a go back in 2009, it wasn't really a success - the recipe was an Elizabeth David one which turned out to use such vast quantities of ingredients it overflowed from the largest mixing bowl I could find. After that it sat in jars looking immensely unappetizing and sort of oozing a bit (and I think we can all agree that oozing isn't really a good look). Unfortunately it didn't actually go bad so I've been dutifully using it (mixed with far more appealing shop bought mincemeat) ever since, there's still a jar left but after 4 years I think I can bin it with a clear conscience.

The recipe I tried today is from Fiona Cairns 'Seasonal Baking' it undoubtedly looks and smells better than the Elizabeth David version and is measured in much more manageable quantities, it's fig and almond so will be a little bit different. I'm hopeful that it'll turn out well but I have a large jar of Waitrose's most reliable to see me through just in case.

December is an odd time of the year in so many ways. Working in retail makes it quite stressful - it only takes one rude customer to ruin a day and if you only get one you're doing well. Sadly only one pleasant customer doesn't have the same effect - though happily there are dozens more nice people than nasty. It also shocks me how much people spend, the more so this year because we're organising a food bank later in the month. That food banks should be necessary in a country as rich as the UK is frankly disgusting, and though it puts my own problems into some sort of perspective - well sometimes you just don't want that much perspective do you.

On a happier note it's been one of those beautiful blue and gold winter days when it's impossible to feel

anything but festive. My friend R and I ventured out into the villages in search of craft fairs and bric-a-brac. We did well finding lots of good stuff including Elaine of Random Jottings, a conversation with Elaine is always a joy and today I'm very grateful that she reminded me that Frances Hodgeson Burnett's works are mostly free for kindles. I don't have a kindle but I do have an app on my phone and now I have what I hope will be some fun light reading for the next few weeks. The day also yielded some fantastic Christmassy tea towels from good old M&S and the first batch of mince pies of the season (shame on me though, I bought shortcrust pastry which feels quite odd compared to my home made sort). Now the next challenge will be to make myself write Christmas cards (love getting them, don't exactly love writing them, but feel strongly that it's a tradition that should be kept alive.)

Finally keep an eye on Reading Matters who's running a book bloggers advent calender - there will be lots of bookish inspiration. 

Christmas Cake - Was it a Success?

Having almost finished the mince pies my mother made me (I think she makes the best mince pies ever - I have never ever had better - and fear I have no chance of rivalling her prowess) it was quite clearly time to start on the Christmas cake. 

A few weeks back I read somewhere (I can't remember who or where) one of those really obvious things which somehow you never consider until it's pointed out to you and which boiled down to practice makes perfect. It was an observation that restaurant cooks make the same dish over and over which is why they get so good at them, and not so many years ago we cooked at home in the same sort of way - a few dishes that appeared again and again and lack of variety aside there's something to be said for it; every time I make bread it gets better because every time I do it I know a little bit more and the same is true of the Christmas cake...

Last years effort was the first fruit cake I'd ever baked - there's nothing very challenging about it - but it was all a bit new and mysterious especially as every recipe is different, second time round I felt I could mess around with it a bit; I found the glacé cherries rather too sweet last time so this year substituted half of them for dried apricots soaked in whisky which for me is a big improvement - next time I might dispense with the cherries altogether. This time round I had a much better idea of how long my oven would take to cook the beast and just generally it all seemed altogether more satisfactory - perhaps because I've discovered that a fruit cake made the way you like it is an altogether more enjoyable proposition than any other sort.

Fruit cake is a recently discovered enthusiasm, or at least the enthusiasm is recently discovered, a nice slab of it (though moderation is necessary) is just the thing to have with a cup of tea; it's rich spiciness transforms even the dullest winter afternoon, I put it down to the solid Victorian comfort of the thing, and the way it feels like it's been built to last and urge the unconverted to have a go... I like the tradition of it too, both in the idea that it's a throw back to the 13th Century crusaders returning with new flavours and ideas, and that my father loves a good fruit cake - they strike me as a very gentlemanly sort of snack and something that calls for further experimentation.   

Sunday

I know this is stating the obvious but it's amazing how much a day of doing things you enjoy, and can afford, will cheer a person up. I've been feeling a little low recently but after spending last night watching utter rubbish on television, and today doing Christmas cooking and catching up with friends I feel like a new woman. 

The baking consisted of mince pies (pastry somewhat too short as some of them disintegrated) two kinds of fudge, and the final dipping of candied oranges in chocolate - basically my favourites from the last couple of Christmases. I'm particularly pleased with the fudge as I find it all too easy to burn and this lot didn't even come close to catching. I had meant to make some sort of biscuit as well but didn't get up early enough to organise that so they'll have to wait. The second batch of fudge was the chocolate and walnut from 'Sugar and Spice' the first lot was a universal hit, second time round I like the recipe even more which fills me with enthusiasm for further experimentation with this book. 

There has also been a gathering together of all the other things I've made over the last few months with Christmas in mind. The Russian Plum Liquor, and Apricots preserved in Muscat (though I've used a fortified moscatel - same grape, Spanish name - partly because it's unfashionable enough to be slightly cheaper, partly because I think the extra alcohol will be good for the preservation process. It's a luscious and lovely wine anyway with clean grapey flavours that will be perfect for apricots) are from Diana Henry's 'Salt Sugar Smoke' - still my book of the year for it's wonderful combination of the unusual and brilliantly simple. There are also all the jams and jellies from the same book - the shelves will look bare when they've gone but it will be licence to start again and I'm obviously looking forward to that...

Other reasons to be cheerful this week have been bumping into Fiona Cairns at work - she shops with us semi regularly but whenever I've spotted her before I've been far to busy or she's looked far to harassed for me to be able to buttonhole her - not this time, and so I got to hear a little bit about her new book (coming out in September) it's about seasonal baking and is apparently the book she's always wanted to write. I especially loved 'Bake and Decorate' and am really looking forward to this one. 

Finally Reading Matters has posted a round up of bloggers books of the year (including mine - the excellent 'Island Years Island Farm') I've just spent a happy half hour browsing through titles, adding both to my wish list and blog list - the latter certainly fits my criteria of enjoyable and affordable occupations. 

Christmas Cake

Well my birthday came and went - not a very bookish one this year but it bought plenty of other good things, and then it was back to work and after two days of Christmas mayhem (no we don't sell an alcohol free mulled wine, and if you consider adding this sachet of spices to fruit juice and heating it up too much trouble I really can't help you... No, I know we don't have it in stock, my climbing four flights of stairs to get to the store room and having another look won't change that... And I'm sorry madam I don't know where you bought that wine, but you didn't buy it here, or indeed anywhere in the last decade, so I'm not going to replace it for you no matter how much you try and tell me you got it here a week ago - and if you don't like my attitude try and imagine how I feel about yours...) it's like it never happened.

At least I finished work at a very reasonable 5 o'clock tonight and so have had the chance to decorate my Christmas cake, I'm not quite as pleased with it as I was last years effort but had fun with the stamp thingys making snowflakes and the liberal sprinkling of glitter the kitchen has acquired is very festive.  

More New Books

Back home from my mother's (she does the best turkey ever - fact) and have had a peaceful boxing day playing with my new books and anticipating an evening eating too many mince pies whilst watching Poirot. Having got a whole pile of readable presents I still felt compelled to hit the Waterstone's sale today which I'm slightly torn about, I feel quite strongly that there are days when everything should close down and boxing day is one of them. It's not a religious thing, although religious festivals are as good an excuse as any, it's that I think life would be so much nicer if there were more days we could all spend with family and friends. I'm lucky in that I currently work for a company that does close on boxing day which is becoming increasingly rare in retail. Truthfully though we could all wait to shop for another twenty four hours in favour of a bit more time contemplating things more important than the pursuit of a bargain.

So yes, I came home and then I went shopping and managed to come home with Dan Lepard's 'Short and Sweet' (half price) 'Private Eye the First 50 Years' (half price) and 'Great Expectations' - probably won't watch it but do plan on reading it - it's long overdue that I try and have another crack at Dickens and I'm a little bit in love with the idea of Miss Havisham although I have no idea if the reality will match the myth. To make myself feel better about it I'm telling myself it was good to spend money locally and in supporting the high street - which it is.

I'm particularly pleased to have a new dictionary of quotations - the rather magnificent Oxford edition from my friend L, she gave me (at my request/hint both times) a dictionary of quotations for my 18th birthday so there's a neat symmetry about getting this one twenty years later. 'Let's Preserve It' is just a brilliant little book that I look forward to spending more time with, I'm also quite excited about getting to grips with 'River Cottage Veg Every Day!'. The remaining paperbacks are crying out for more investigation but look like an inspired set of choices so more of those in the future.

I hope that you all had as good a Christmas as I did with excellent company, a little bit to much to eat and drink, and presents that make you feel lucky and generally privileged in the friends you have (mawkish I know but it's the season for it).

Christmas cooking (well it’s an excuse to use my Kitchen aid)

Today I have finished the candied oranges dipped in chocolate that have been in the making for the past week – chocolate stage which was messy but satisfying, made fudge, finally used the star/tree cutters I was given last year (mine are small tree’s but I’m pleased with the results, and also couldn’t imagine eating a biscuit as big as the biggest star in the set). We also tried what has now become the week before Christmas cake.

It’s a cake that my father (winner as you may remember of ‘Best Fruit Cake Baked By A Gentleman’ at the Walls agricultural show) can be proud of – he’s clearly passed on the fruit cake baking gene, he also reminded me that my mother makes a darned good cake as well which I guess is where the gentleman bit comes into the equation (she does too). Either way it tasted good and come the New Year I’m definitely getting ‘Short and Sweet’ I think Dan Lepard may be the way forward.

All this kitchen activity combined with a heavy week at work has meant not much reading but there is a book post coming soon...

Humbug or Another long week at work.

Ahh, Christmas – a time of good will to all and such like, unless you’re shopping. I haven’t had much time to open a book this week partly because everything is now in full swing for the big day and even when I’m not actually working I’m mostly tending to the days cuts (two new ones because the cardboard boxes hate me) and bruises (a cracker across the back of my hand where I trapped it between a rolling cage and an immovable object – possibly another cage, possibly a wall, maybe a shelf, I was too busy swearing to notice which isn’t good because the same spot will inevitably get me again until I identify it to avoid.) After all that excitement all I really want to do is try and scrub off the dirt and sleep.

It has been a trying few days and I can’t help but feel that it’s in the public interest to share a few don’ts with you. Don’t for example ask your harassed wine merchant for a bottle of wine you think is called “Chateau de something”, adding that it may be French and probably red doesn’t actually narrow the field much. Accept that if you don’t actually know what you want you’re not in a position to ask for it, I can and will recommend something I think you might like but can’t promise that it’s the same thing you don’t know the name of.

Don’t keep asking the same question, the answer will inevitably remain the same. For example lady proffering a miniature bottle of Bailey’s “How big is this” me “it’s a miniature so 5ml’s”, “That’s quite small” “yes (not saying it but the clue’s in the name MINIATURE), “Have you got a bigger bottle?” “why yes, we have bottles and litres.” “Oh, do you have anything smaller?” “Just the miniatures.” “you see it’s for a present and I want something bigger than this but smaller than that.” “I’m sorry we only have these sizes.” picks up a bottle of something else “do you have anything in this size?” “Well we have that.” “Do you have Baileys in this size?” “No.” “But I want it in this size, are you sure you don’t have any?” “Yes, we only have the sizes I’ve shown you.” “But it’s for a present and this size would be just perfect.” “.....Can I help you with anything else at all madam?” In truth this conversation went on for a lot longer than you could believe possible and happens many times a day. I will eventually snap and say what I’m thinking and get sacked.

It’s not appropriate to say to a total stranger who’s putting bottles on a shelf that you like to see a woman on her knees. It’s really not appropriate to explain that you want German wine because it’s lower alcohol content means that you can drink a lot of it and still maintain you enthusiasm (the customer was more explicit) in the bedroom.

It’s all very well asking your wine seller to “Check out back” but out back today I had 16 cages of stock and a full cellar, each cage weighs about a third of a ton and at the moment each one is surrounded by a whole lot of other stuff. It’s not easy to find anything amongst that lot so come back later and stop bothering me be nice when you’re asking and don’t get impatient if you have to wait. We all have better things to do and whilst I’m on it “Can you show me your Chardonnay” is something that’ll take a while.

Mulled wine, Glühwein, and Glögg are essentially the same thing, we happen to sell mulled wine, if you don’t like the mulled wine we sell please consider making your own. It’s not hard and will be better than tearfully insisting that Glühwein is very different – I can’t actually do anything about it. It’s not ‘too much trouble’ to make bucks fizz. Adding fizzy wine to orange juice is unlikely to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Truthfully adding a sachet of pre mixed spices to wine isn't a big effort, and if you want a non alcoholic version adding the sachet to red grape juice isn’t a killer either.  

The answer to ‘Where is the £10 bottle of gin?” is Asda, I can’t remember what wine you might have bought from us sometime in the summer when it was on an offer, wanting something reduced because the label is slightly damaged AND YOU WANT IT FOR A PRESENT makes you sound cheap, I’m glad you’re not my friend. I look forward to Christmas being over – although before it is there will be a lot of harassed men who suddenly realise that it’s the 23^rd of December and they’ve done nothing about it, and I will have said we had it until yesterday about a thousand times. 

Preparations / Procrastinating

I had good intentions for today which involved Christmas card writing and some festive baking but got off to a bad start after an epic oversleep wiped out the morning and a big dose of apathy put paid to cards (tomorrow or maybe Tuesday I swear). On only a slight tangent I've been canvassing my friends about Christmas decorations and whether to bother. Once upon a time when I still lived at home we had a tradition of no decorations before my birthday (just over a week away), when I started living alone I made an effort for the first few years because I like decorations but recently it's seemed pointless. Ironically although I no longer have to work 60+ hour weeks over the festive period I feel like I'm at home less than ever and much as I love putting decorations up I hate taking them down. Everything seems so dismal without them and January doesn't need much help with being dismal, also with no one in to see them it's increasingly hard to find reasons to do it.

However the consensus seems to be that decorations are the way forward so I'm aiming for a compromise. My  Fair Isle bunting has gone up - it's not tinsel so it can stay up indefinitely as far as I'm concerned, and the stick tree my sisters boyfriend gentleman caller made has come out. (I drenched it in pine essential oil to make it smell festive but it mostly smells like disinfectant now so that wasn't one of my best ideas. Whisky might have been more appropriate - it's working for the cake.) More concessions to the season are on the way but need some consideration, chief amongst them being what to put on the tree. I've thought about meringues to look like dollops of snow which I think is a pretty idea but may look a bit silly in this case, biscuits or gingerbread are another option but I'm worried that it might end up looking somewhat like I knitted the whole thing out of yoghurt, and then there's the proper old fashioned sparkly but specifically Christmasy baubles which will have to come off. What to do? 

The C Word

On the warmest October day on record (or somewhere near it) when I’m in a sticky heap by the window hoping for a cool breeze and cursing freshers week – excited 18 year olds newly emancipated from any sort of parental supervision are right bloody noisy - I’m mostly thinking about Christmas. I know it’s early, and hot out (which coincidentally has made defrosting the freezer a far speedier than expected job, Saturday night’s rock round my way) but I’ve already had a lecture at work from an old lady who wasn’t happy that she couldn’t buy her mince pies yet.

I know it’s the done thing to protest that Christmas crap gets in the shops earlier every year but I’m not convinced and I like these next few weeks when it’s still kind of subtle and there’s no pressure to write cards or spend. I love thinking about what I’ll get people or make for them whilst it still feels like there’s all the time in the world to do it. I love seeing what shape Christmas is going to take in the shops – it looks like it’s going to be retro again. I really love having something to look forward to – that’s partly Christmas and partly the week off at the beginning of January that’s already turning into the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is because already work is all about Christmas; a stock pile of Frangelico is on its way – last year’s lessons have been learned and this time the customers will get there monk shaped hazelnut liquor. They will not appreciate the forethought and effort that goes into this – things I hate about Christmas include people who leave everything to the last minute and yet imagine that anything they want to purchase will be available to them instead of having been bought already by other much more organised people. To be fair this happens all the year round, there’s just more of it at Christmas.

Another thing I don’t altogether enjoy is how physically demanding the whole thing is. 23^rd December last year (traditionally the busiest day) we sold a generous 5 tonnes of booze, at the end of the day the shelves were as full as at the beginning – the difference being several bruises, cuts, and aches everywhere as well as dirt that feels it will never scrub off your skin, the impression (by which I mean reality) that you have said the same thing a thousand times over, dreams about bottles, and the desire not to deal with anyone again for a very long time.

But just for know and despite the sunshine I can daydream about the gingerbread tree I WILL make, the relaxed time spent with family where my sister and I WON’T fall out over what to watch on television and a general sense of good times and new beginnings ahead. 

The Haunted House – Sort of Dickens

I had a plan to do some sort of round up of 2010 reading with my top ten books (you know the sort of thing) but time is getting away from me and as it’s always possible I’ll read a book so damn good that it couldn’t reasonably be left off any half ways decent list in what’s left of the year... Well it’ll wait until the New Year. (Which is the catch all phrase covering every part of my life for the next 3 days.)

For some reason unknown, but most definitely exacerbated by a ‘career’ in retail I don’t really like Christmas very much, I should perk up about in time for the Dr Who special, will enjoy boxing day (hopefully mostly from bed with a pile of books), grit my teeth through a further few days at work (both bank holiday days thank you very much) until finally fingers crossed I will get on a train on New Year’s eve that will reunite me with the Scottish one in Scotland where we plan to spend quality time by the aga or by the fire. Leisure activities will basically revolve around whisky and books. Sadly it will be an all too brief break from the everyday but I’m really, really, looking forward to it.

Meanwhile in-between trying to keep warm and trying to stay sane (that would be Christmas in retail again) I’ve been trying to get into the spirit of the season through mince pies and a flirtation with Dickens. The mince pies have been great, the Dickens a little more mixed – he’s one of my literary blind spots (don’t dislike what I’ve read, never seem to muster the enthusiasm for more) but I’m not prepared to give up just yet so thought short stories might be the answer.

Hesperus have bought out collections ‘conducted’ by Dickens from Household Words (I’m guessing as they mostly have a Christmas theme that they come out around this time of year). I’ve had ‘The Haunted House’ for years but never paid much attention to it until I got a copy of ‘The Holly Tree Inn’ back in November. I like short stories generally and have been loving all things Victorian recently so here I am one (and a half) collections later wondering if I’ve been converted to the Dickens side or not yet.

‘The Haunted House’ is a little bit wintery and doesn’t have much supernatural activity but does have contributions by Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell. It also has a long (to me very dull) poem by Adelaide Anne Procter which I had to force myself to finish, it was a touch too Victorian even for my taste. Otherwise this collection scores on all points. Humour, romance, adventure, just a touch of horror – all present, correct, and splendid reading for dark cold bus journeys. I’m also quite pleased to say that I really enjoyed the Dickens contributions; the way he sets the scene and expounds on the problems of keeping servants in a haunted house is just joyful.

It seems Christmas is still coming...

I realise I’ve been a bit quiet over the last few days, and online anyway am probably going to be a bit quiet for a while longer. Blog writing has taken second place to Christmas card writing – love getting them, a bit ambivalent about writing them. It shouldn’t but does feel like doing my homework; however they’re almost done now which means I’ve actually achieved something on a day that started out by my being totally incapable of finding my favourite jumper, sticky tape, and credit card bill. Amazing how long it can take to find something to wear, find a way to seal a parcel, and meet one’s financial obligations...

It’s also my birthday on Monday but due to work a fair amount of celebrating is being done tomorrow so I think I’ve got 6.5 waking hours left to get organised to a point where I can let people over the threshold without being judged a domestic disgrace. No pressure there then. Meanwhile the books I want to talk about are piling up and I’m beginning to think some sort of list is in order, the sort of thing that will give an illusion of order until I inevitably lose it.

If there was a list top of it at the moment would be ‘Tea at Fortnum and Mason’. This was an impulse purchase that I pretended would probably be a present but I’m telling you now that this little beauty won’t be leaving my kitchen. Afternoon tea is something I love and something I’d like to indulge in far more often. I had one book dedicated to the art already and very inspiring it is too but ‘Tea at Fortnum and Mason’ is both beautiful to look at and full of good stuff to bake – how could I not find space for it on my shelves?

I was initially attracted by the green and gold cover and then further seduced by the very pretty illustrations (fine china, fine fabrics, and fine looking cakes) I didn’t even pay much attention to the actual content at first but now I have and can report that there is an interesting history of tea drinking, a history of Fortnum and Mason’s (which is one of my favourite shops anywhere – partly for the window displays, mostly because walking through those doors is like walking into a fantasy of English gentility. It’s the Mitford sisters in shop form.) Excellent and useful tea tasting notes (they appeal to the wine geek in me – a good tasting not will always impress!) and of course some very nice recipe’s. I’ve made the marmalade which has been uniformly enjoyed and have earmarked some excellent looking rose biscuits (with almonds and crystallised rose petals), honey and lavender loaf cake (flavoured with tea as well), and a coffee and walnut cake as immanent future projects.

There’s also a suggestion for meringues filled with lemon curd and cream that are a welcome update on a favourite from circa 1990 – Claire MacDonalds lemon curd pavlova. It was a great pudding (as well as very efficient – the egg yolks went into the curd, the whites into the meringue) but currently not very fashionable, little meringues on the other hand are having some sort of moment... Anyway if I was prepared to part with this book (or bought more copies) it would make the perfect stocking filler and anyone else with a passion for afternoon tea really ought to have a look at it (I’m thinking of you Cardigan Girl Verity!)

Sunday

Sunday the 5th December and have I been writing Christmas cards? Have I finished my Christmas shopping? Have I had a good and thorough tidy round my flat? Caught up on book reviews and read any of the pile of books clamouring for attention? Finished the Christmas rota for work? Of course not to any of the above, instead I’ve made biscuits, mince pies, and fudge – all very nice and I’m telling myself useful preparation for the next few weeks. I feel very festive (as well as slightly sick after over sampling the fudge) up to and including the seasonal sense of panic that comes from not having started Christmas cards, not knowing where many of my friends live (because now I’ve left it quite late to find out), not remembering the names of most their spouses (far, far, too late to ask), and knowing I’ll be in exactly the same position in a week’s time...

Thanks to a day spent in the kitchen I have a stack of recipes I want to share, and a similar stack of cookbooks I want to rave about – it’s all terribly exciting (for me), indeed I’m so excited I hardly know where to start. Perhaps with an apology to the lovely delivery man from DHL. Gary (that’s his name) got back to me this afternoon after the dozens of dropped calls I left on his mobile to say he was outside my door. I was a good quarter of an hour away but the dear man promised to wait if he couldn’t get someone to take charge of my parcel. He even phoned me back to give me a progress report, so I take back everything I said. Someone who’s prepared to come out on a cold icy Sunday making sure I (and others) don’t have to go to Loughborough is someone who deserves the highest praise.

And now back to the kitchen – I’m quite proud of having made a successful batch of fudge today. I’ve tried before and ended up with a gritty, sticky, sugary mess. Not very nice. This fudge however is really pretty good, in the manner of an obsessive fudge maniac I’ve been comparing the recipe I used before (Nigella) and the one I used today (Hope and Greenwood). Today has much more in the way of detail and that’s clearly the way forward for a recipe pedant like me. The fudge is smooth, creamy, and sweetly delicious with just a hint of saltiness at the finish (I don’t even like fudge very much, more than a very small piece gives me a horrible headache, but none of that’s stopping me feeling ridiculously pleased with this stuff).

The Hope and Greenwood book ‘Life is Sweet’ is one I got last year, was hugely enthusiastic about at the time and then totally failed to use, I plan to spend serious time with it in the new year. I also used my sugar thermometer (a present from my dear dad last year) for the first time – turns out it makes all the difference.

Salted Vanilla Fudge

8 inch shallowish baking tin lined with baking parchment

700g granulated sugar

75g unsalted butter

200ml evaporated milk

200ml double cream

Seeds scraped from a vanilla pod

Maldon Sea Salt (or similar)

Place the sugar, butter, evaporated milk and cream in a heavy bottomed pan (one with good deep sides) and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved stirring all the while with a wooden spoon.

Introduce the sugar thermometer to the pan and turn up the heat to medium, bring the mix to boiling point, stirring regularly to make sure it doesn’t stick on the bottom. After 15 minutes it should have reached 100°c (212°f) at which point lower the heat as this is the danger point for burning.

Keep heating until it reaches 115°c (240°f) (soft ball...) this took far longer than I would have believed possible. When temperature is reached take off the heat and start to beat with an electric whisk – carry on for about 7 minutes and then add the vanilla seeds, carry on beating for another 5 to 7 minutes or until the fudge loses its glossy look and gets grainy round the edges. Just at the last minute add a good pinch or two of salt and whisk that in to.

Dollop into the prepared tin, smooth down and leave to cool. After about an hour score into squares and when it’s finally set (another couple of hours at least) snap into bits ready to share round else you go into some sort of sugar induced coma.

It really is quite cold outside...

And to prove it good old radio 4 unearthed some Norwegians tonight who were happy to confirm all our suspicions and state that it is indeed chilly out. I’m inside and it’s chilly here too, I’ve been at the Scottish ones place in the country most the weekend sitting by his nice warm radiators drinking mulled wine and the idiosyncrasies of my central heating means that now I’m home I’ll have to wait for hours for the heaters to heat. I’ve washed up for the pleasure of having my hands in warm water, baked to heat the kitchen, and am even considering ironing something when I give over huddling around my laptop for warmth.

In fact it’s so cold indoors that I was forced to go shopping this afternoon (bread, milk, extra hot water bottle...) and suddenly I’m feeling like I might be winning against Christmas. Today’s purchases, a trip to Nottingham yesterday, and a whole lot of stuff turning up in the post and my mindset has moved from panic to the sort of pride in my organisational skills that normally comes before a fall. I do apologise if I seem Christmas obsessed, but I’ve not really thought of anything else for the last month, and for now can’t see much beyond the big day. It’s a feeling that wears off but if I don’t do the preparation now I won’t be ready (or able) to enjoy myself when I actually get to stop. I think on the whole this is just how I want it – retail at Christmas can be as exhilarating as it is exhausting, any lack of a leisured Victorian idyll of Christmas is more than made up for by being part of the madness of so many people’s real Christmases.

And now I’ve got that of my chest – today festive cheer is being bought to me via Michel Faber’s 'The Crimson Petal and the White'’ (and that extra hot water bottle) as you can see from the picture I’ve amassed quite a collection of these – unusually it’s a one book fits all affair. I loved ‘The Crimson Petal and the White’ when I read it earlier this year, am quite excited about the upcoming adaptation, and think it’s the perfect present. Looking back I’ve read books over the last year which were probably better and which have certainly touched me more deeply, but none which has absorbed me so much or which I’ve been as keen to share.

A gripping story about a prostitute’s rise from the gutter (very festive) it’s an absolute page turner which should allow any grateful recipient to escape into Faber’s extremely believable version of Victorian London. There’s just a hint of salacious trashiness about it – enough at any rate to make it feel like a guilty pleasure (In the same way that ‘Peyton Place’ or ‘Valley of the Dolls’ are) but also, and like that pair, more than enough substance to justify the amount of time that needs to be spent reading it. Winter is the time for stories and the more epic the better so anybody out there who gets a copy of this is very lucky indeed!

Christmas comes sooner than you think

The twinkly lights and irate shoppers are making Christmas hard to ignore and it’s time for me to face up to the fact that I’m even less organised than usual this year. Number of Christmas cards to send – 60ish, number of cards bought – 0, number of presents to give – not even calculated, number of presents already procured 2 ½ , number of days off left – 8, and it’s all complicated by quite a few birthdays (including mine – number of years I’ll be reaching to remain undisclosed).

It seems likely that I’ll be doing my bit for festive cheer via books and wine (again) and if I mean to order online it should happen before the post goes crazy – so probably by the end of the week, but goodness knows I’m finding it hard to raise any enthusiasm for the idea. My online excursions have resulted mostly in book orders for me (well I do have a birthday coming up) and very little in the way of hard present buying. In truth I want to spend my money on the high street where the cash is really needed but I’m struggling to find much that inspires in the book direction. Finding wine is a lot easier but feels a bit cheekier because it’s also work.

Presents (giving and receiving) are important to me – getting things, even things I’ve ordered for myself is hugely exciting, choosing things for people is even more thrilling but it takes time to do it properly. Hmmm time – this could get tricky... especially when budget requirements call for some imagination and creativity. Still despite feeling (and knowing that I look like) a limp dishrag, being busier than I’ve ever been in my life (this year is something else entirely), and getting a fresh coating of bruises and grime every day this is still by far and away my favourite time of the year. I think it’s a combination of thinking about the people I care about and being surrounded by sparkly things.

I’ve got a proper break coming up in January and can hardly wait; I’m already planning a stack of reading and even more baking. It should be good, now all I have to do is make those lists and source something fabulous for the blond, make mince pies, get some cards, tidy the flat, decide on a tree....