Cornflower

Postcards from Penguin

     Postcards from Penguin: 100 Book Jackets in One Box is a small treasure store of images, some familiar, some nostalgic, some strikingly modern for their age. I've chosen a few of the most attractive non-fiction covers here (you can see a sample of the poetry and fiction ones here), 

 

for instance, this 1957 knitting book (design by Heather Standring) - sixty patterns for 5/-!
 

This is A Book of Scripts from 1960, cover by Jan Tschichold.

 
I like this fresh and jolly 1946 cover.

 

The privations of the war years must have seen a run on practical manuals such as these!

Now, which to send to friends and which to keep?

Don't let it get away!

    Back to pantries for a moment and do read Catherine's comment here, then if you want the book grab it while you can. You can get it directly from Catherine, or through Amazon or The Book Depository.

    Any secret 'pantry scoffers' out there? I have one here - Mr. C. is notorious for depleting the stash of chocolate in our pantry so that when I fancy a modest square or two I find there is none, and my grandfather was of similar stripe, disappearing into the pantry to polish off any cake which happened to be on the shelf leaving only a plate of crumbs.

Gritty realism

     If you've followed Cornflower for a while you may know that in August last year we had a bit of a flood. Despite having had what seems like every plumber, builder and drain specialist in the city here since then (remember this?), no-one has actually managed to find out where the water is coming from, so every time it rains heavily it's on with the wellies and out with the mop and bucket and we clear up as best we can.

   As expert after expert tries to pinpoint the source of the trouble, the two lots of remedial work to have been done have been minor in their relevance to the true cause of the problem. But today things took a turn for the worse as with relentless rain, water has been coming in as never before. We have spent the last few hours trying to stem the rising tide, even going so far as to rig up a makeshift drain with a length of flexible pipe, the kitchen tongs to 'hairpin' it in place and a basin to collect the water which - and we know this because we knocked a hole in the wall - is flowing freely from at least two points in the stonework. So I've been heaving buckets of water and sopping towels, mopping as fast as I can, bashing the wall about, and feeling like King Canute (and all this when a certain husband went out on a short errand and was away for forty-five minutes*). 

   The buckets are still being emptied and the soaking towels replaced about every ten minutes, but you have to laugh, and worse things happen at sea, and a quiet day of reading, baking and knitting (which is what I was planning), wouldn't have given me nearly as much exercise!

* Mr. C. asks me to record that he has been working tirelessly since he got back. I can confirm the fact.

On the Aga: which colour would you choose?

 
 

     Just for fun  - and before we leave the subject of Agas for a while - what about colour?

     They currently come in six 'Traditional' colours and eight 'Signature' ones (you can play around with all of them here), but then there are special edition ones such as Emma Bridgewater's Polka Dot up at the top. Mine is British Racing Green, and I discovered the other day that Dame Agatha's Aga was a fetching dark blue - did she mull over her plots, cup of tea in hand, leaning on the rail, I wonder?

    

O my goodness!

    Do you remember the 'O'? Follow the links here to discover what it is now a small part of. I'm very pleased it's that!

Turning over a new leaf

     Reading Sarah's post of two days ago got me thinking about changing the way I do things, because like Sarah, there is a lot I have to do and want to do and trying to fit it all in isn't easy (perfectionist tendencies don't help, either!). At this point I ought to say that if you've emailed me and haven't had a reply, I do apologise but I have a backlog, and other things have had to take precedence.

   I'm cutting this short and asking for advice - which will no doubt be of benefit to more than just me: what's the trick to time-management, or balancing all the calls on our time and the many commitments, from work to domestic ones? Have you turned over a new leaf and become more productive, or less stressed? Have you read a book which has helped particularly? Are you constantly spinning plates, trying to keep everything going - as I am doing - or have you learned how to put some of those plates down so that the rest get proper attention? If you're not too busy, it would be great to hear your thoughts!

   By the way, I found the leaf still damp with dew, but its colour was so vivid that I had to pick it up and bring it home. It's dry and papery now, curled in on itself. Turned over.

Later: thankyou to everyone who has commented on this post and given such good advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it!

     

Fireside

    The first fire of the season!

    I put down my book (though it was very appropriate for a cold evening), took up my knitting and for once we watched some television - pretty rare for me. All I lacked was special hot chocolate. Next time...

As to fireside reading - what do you think that should be?

A conversation in photos

    Anyone who has visited 3191 will be familiar with the eloquence of the photograph. Well, Mary and Lisa who work for the charity SOS Children's Villages have had the good idea of using a diptych - similar to the 3191 girls' style - to illustrate a daily post about their work. You can visit them at Two Talk and enjoy their 'conversation in photos'.

Warmth

     With the weather turning perceptibly cooler, our inclinations are making subtle seasonal adjustments, too. Log fires will feature here before long, I'm planning a very slow-cooked casserole of beef in Guinness for supper tonight (so I'd better get a move on), and cosy sweaters have come out of the drawer.

     There will be soon, but variously, special hot chocolate, crumpets toasted on the fire, and - if I get my way in the face of strong opposition - cauliflower cheese with plenty of mashed potato!

    What are you looking forward to?

The quiet kitchen

 

    I love the kitchen when we're all together in it - cooking, eating, doing homework at the table, reading the papers or just passing through. But I also love it when it is absolutely still and quiet and there's only me there with, perhaps, a sleeping dog or two.

    With Mr. C. away on business and children getting up later than me, I've been having breakfast with Monty Don - or with his latest book, to be exact. Twenty minutes or so spent sitting in the warm, toast and coffee to wake me up, and Monty's stimulating prose to do likewise, makes for an excellent start to the day.

  

     Then there's later on before the rush to put supper on the table. The only light is the low afternoon sun giving everything a homely glow, and I can take my time with the preparations.

During the colder months the kitchen is usually the warmest place in the house, so I'll often sit there to read - in an Orkney chair hard by the Aga. As workplaces go, it's a pretty good one and I'm very glad to have it.

Fish and chips

   

     For those who say they enjoy the mixture of topics on these pages, well today we have .... a chip shop!

    This is not just any old fryery, though, this is The Anstruther Fish Bar, winner of Fish & Chip Shop of the Year 2008/09, and patronised by Prince William when he was a student at nearby St. Andrews. Right on the harbour in the attractive East Neuk fishing village of Anstruther, it's a destination in its own right for tourists and locals alike, everyone drawn by the quality of the food.

    Not exactly a slimmer's meal, but once in a while fish and chips just hits the spot! But what to put on this traditional dish? Salt and vinegar? Salt and sauce - that Edinburgh 'condiment'? Tomato ketchup? Tartare sauce?

And the winner is ....

.... Stacey!

Stacey's name was the one to come out of the birthday hat, so her prize will be on its way to her soon, but thankyou to everyone who left a comment on that post.

Trouble looms

    If I have a child at hand to show me how to get BBC4 on the television I'll be watching this programme tonight (the first in a series).

Thanks to Dark Puss for alerting me to this or I wouldn't have known about it - at the moment all I watch is Dragons' Den, although I'd certainly have switched on for the new Nigel Slater series except that apparently it isn't being shown in Scotland!!! (Have to make do with this meanwhile).

Coffee with Cornflower

    In the birthday post the other day (and thankyou to everyone for the lovely comments) I was touched that several people say they have their morning coffee with Cornflower. Not that a visit here is likely to take more than a few seconds, or a sip or two and a nibble of a biscuit, but still, it's nice to think that this site forms some sort of brief break in the day.

    Having coffee with Cornflower herself yesterday morning were the members of the Mindroom board, and for them I baked another version of  The Nice and the Good cake, this time using plums instead of raspberries. Just as nice and every bit as good as the original, and very welcome in a warm kitchen on a day of relentless rain and louring skies.

    Today I'll be having coffee at my desk, getting on with some work, and eating this (which I love - thanks, Sophie!), but 'in another life' when I worked in an office, my all-female colleagues and I always bought cakes to have with our Friday morning coffee, often getting extra to give to a junior partner who lived alone and looked as though he could do with a good feed. Fridays were usually pretty hectic days for us so a stop for something sticky and sweet was welcome and provided the fuel for much frantic work. Later, when I spent a lot of time at court, I had my coffee in the crypt of St. Giles' Cathedral, conveniently next door to Parliament House where the courts are housed. Perhaps we lawyers absorbed some spiritual balm from above as we ate our scones and took a break from nerve-wracking litigation.

   Nowadays, it's most likely to be coffee in the kitchen - which is fine by me - but wherever you are and whatever you're doing, enjoy your coffee!

  

The power of three

    It is Cornflower's third birthday, and for me that is something worth celebrating!

    Writing this blog - and Cornflower Books as well - is the best fun, and I'd never have believed when I began it that it would take over my life - in a good way! - quite as it has done, but it would be nothing without everyone who stops by daily or from time to time, who leaves comments, answers questions, gives helpful information and generally becomes a part of it all. It may not be the biggest, most famous, most influential website in the world, but it is hugely important to me and if it gives pleasure to other people as well, that's very gratifying.

   Time, then, for a birthday present, so let's have a draw and if your name comes out of the hat you'll get a prize. To enter, just leave a comment on this post - you can ask me a question, suggest something you'd like to see here, tell us your favourite topics for posts - anything you like, really. I'll pick the winner in a few days' time and then get the prize off to them (distance is no object, by the way).

   So thankyou, all you nice, kind, clever Cornflower readers, for staying with me thus far!