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Monday, 6 August 2012
Slow Boat Reaches London! .(scribbled at 20:20 )
After a staggering trek over 100 miles, Britain's coolest narrowboat (ahem, slightly biased) finally reached London after 2 weeks of not exceeding the 4mph canal speed limit.
Celebrations were due to be underway that Saturday afternoon, so I went over to the New London Architecture Centre on Tottenham Court Road that morning. Which was absolutely beautiful, I spent about half an hour just admiring Pipers Central London model (and searching in vain to see whether Finsbury Park had made it onto the 1: 1500 scale centrepiece. Alas, it only reached King's Cross...darn)
It wasn't just this display that was utterly brilliant though, the centre was filled with a wide selection of scale models of London's finest buildings, skyscapers and outdoor spaces. And if that wasn't fascinating enough ( I'm an architectural model obsessive so I won't waffle on too much about those...) the basement was filled with scale models of home that focused on the ideal energy efficient home. Okay, as I'm typing that it doesn't sound too thrilling but you just have to see it! It's so refreshing to see an organisation that really understands our needs for the future, and does its utter best to illustrate that through this media of beautiful models and displays (the mini solar panels were rather adorable too!)
Anywho, moving very swiftly back to tillers adorned with kingfisher decorations...
 |
Too cute to eat, surely?
A selection of sweet stuff prepared by the Chisenhale Crew |
Slow Boat is now in London until Saturday, so if any of you are around this area you should bloody go see it! It's not everyday that you see a floating radio station-come-art space. It's moored just behind Chisenhale Gallery, who have programmed an intense series of events between now and its departure this weekend. There's a film screening at the gallery on Thursday evening which I'll undoubtedly be heading off to see straight after work. Oh, and there's a talk about radio stations with the brilliant boat master (and canal extraordinaire!) Graham Fisher, who famously appeared on Julia Bradbury's Canal Walks last Summer. I also happen to know from experience that Graham is brilliant to talk to about the waterways over a nice brew...
After seeing the boat, I went along to Victoria Park with Ikon Gallery's youth programme and Propeller (Chisenhale's Youth Programme) to catch a bit of the Olympic screening on their huge screen... and engage in a but of public sculpture discussions, obviously...
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| Entrance at Victoria Park |
 |
| What I Wore Today: A breton top, because I actually have a Helmsmans Certificate. |
Anyway, things in Victoria Park were pretty cool. I've got such an urge to try out the (£15!) zipwire there, although I imagine I'll have a Boris Johnson moment and inevitably get stuck halfway...
The ska band by the main entrance were pretty awesome too, although this photograph I took doesn't quite show the capacity, the audience were fairly huge.
http://ikonslowboat.com/2012/
http://www.chisenhale.org.uk/
http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk/Labels: AAD, ART DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Breton Tops, Chisenhale Gallery, Hertford Union Canal, Ikon Youth Programme, London 2012, NLA, Propeller, Slow Boat, Vermeer's Sponge, Victoria Park
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Lemon Drizzle Ca(ck) .(scribbled at 20:00 )
Perhaps I
had a deprived childhood, but I often think to myself ‘I’ve yet to taste a good
lemon cake’.
Solution?
Bake one myself.
Decided
to have a bake-a-thon in good ole’ Stourbridge earlier this week. Rather than just bothering with
a lemon drizzle, I tried-and-tweaked a banana cake recipe from AllRecipes.co.uk, to allow for more of
le gateau to be packed in!
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Ingredients:
- 225g
unsalted butter , softened
- 225g
caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- finely
grated zest 1 lemon
- 225g
self-raising flour
Drizzle
Topping
- 2 lemons
- 85g sugar
Method
- Heat
oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Beat together 225g softened unsalted
butter and 225g caster sugar until pale and creamy, then add 4
eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through. Sift in 225g flour,
then add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon and mix until well
combined. Line a loaf tin (8 x 21cm) with greaseproof paper, then spoon in
the mixture and level the top with a spoon.
- Bake
for 45-50 mins until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake
comes out clean. While the cake is cooling in its tin, mix together the juice
of 2 lemons and 85g caster sugar to make the drizzle. Prick the
warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle - the
juice will sink in and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping. Leave
in the tin until completely cool, then remove and serve.
Will keep in an
airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
Does Lemon
cake not take your fancy? (Bloody understandable I say!) Try a banana cake…
Ingredients:
- 125g
butter
- 150g
caster sugar
- 1 tsp
vanilla extract
- 1 egg,
beaten
- 3 very
ripe bananas, mashed
- 190g
self-raising flour
- 60ml
milk
- Raisins,
sultanas etc. (optional)
Method
- Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
Melt butter, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Remove
from heat and add the mashed bananas, mix well.
- Add the egg, mix well.
- Pour into
the prepared tin, sprinkle with a tablespoon of Demerara sugar to give a crunch
topping if liked (tastes heavenly if you do!)
- Bake at 150 C fan oven (or 170 C
regular, Gas mark 3) for 35 mins, until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool
and enjoy!
Will keep for no longer than 1
day, as you will have demolished this beast within the hour.
Sorry.
The citrus still ain’t doing it for me. This will now form an open
challenge/invitation for all… anyone feel free to impress me with your lemon
treats!
Feeling a
Victoria Sponge next! V x
 |
| Battle of the sponge! |
Labels: Baking and Patisserie, Baking Blog, Banana and Fruit Bread, Banana Cake, Lemon Drizzle Cake, Stourbridge, Vermeer's Sponge
Dress of the year? YES. .(scribbled at 15:30 )
The Great Gatsby is
looming closer, with now 8 months until Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire grace
our local Odeon
, imaginer
la splendeur de
mes yeux vu when I saw I came
across this delight at my local Oxfam when I was back home earlier this
week. ..
Well, here’s a sneak preview anyway. A ravishing beauty of
all things flapper, it’s rather inevitable that come August, this dress is
going to be donned for all birthday party/fancy dress night/pub outing happening next season!
Labels: Art Blog, Blue Flapper Dress, Carey Mulligan Tobey Maguire, Odeon Cinema, Sartorial, The Great Gatsby, Twenties, Vermeer Blog, Vermeer's Sponge
Perhaps I
had a deprived childhood, but I often think to myself ‘I’ve yet to taste a good
lemon cake’.
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Ingredients:
Will keep for no longer than 1
day, as you will have demolished this beast within the hour.
The Great Gatsby is
looming closer, with now 8 months until Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire grace
our local Odeon, imaginer
la splendeur de
mes yeux vu when I saw I came
across this delight at my local Oxfam when I was back home earlier this
week. ..
Well, here’s a sneak preview anyway. A ravishing beauty of
all things flapper, it’s rather inevitable that come August, this dress is
going to be donned for all birthday party/fancy dress night/pub outing happening next season! 
