Sad news

Last night the banshees finally arrived. The wind had obviously changed direction so now it howled down the chimney.  It seems a bit calmer this morning. That's not to say it's wind-free.

But first I have sad news to report. There's a great pile of soft grey feathers at the base of one of our evergreen trees.  There's no sign of an actual body. I suspect  from the colour & quantity of the feathers, this pile represents the demise of one of our collared doves.  I hope it isn't a sign that the peregrine falcon has returned. Although the latter is a magnificent bird to see, it doesn't alter the fact that it means an absence of other birds for weeks. They don't seem to have been very plentiful of late but I had put that down to the gales that have blown.


Meanwhile I'm back to the last bit of topside. You may remember that last week I had a bit of a culinary disaster with a very tough bit of cooked topside that went into some Durham cutlets. I've been resisting using the other half ever since. Today I've decided it's got to be used up. I'm making a beef curry. I'm hoping the long soak in the moist sauce will help moisten, & so tenderise the meat. Either way it will be that bit used up. It will not be hanging over me all holiday.

We're off to do the food shopping this afternoon. I'm very much in two minds about what to get. We're off away next week. It is already about three weeks since the last big shop so the cupboards & fridge are looking pretty bare. On the other hand, there's not many meals to go & I don't want to get too many fresh ingredients that won't keep before we go. It certainly would be useful to have some food in so we don't have shop immediately when we get back except for the inevitable milk for the all essential cups of tea. We usually appreciate a couple of days to recover from the travelling & to regain our bearings.