Category Archives: Weather

on a wing and a préau….

Posted on April 8, 2016 by

The longing, in this month of April, for the warmth of summer is with me for an unseemly proportion of my waking and dreaming moments. A longing that has me limping along these final few furlongs of heavy going before winter, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016, artichokes, Bay leaves, Cookery Writers, Cooking, Coriander, Cuisine bourgeoise, Digital photography, Dreams, Drinks, Elizabeth David, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Olive oil, Photographic Prints, Photography, Recipes, summer, Thyme, Uncategorized, Weather, wine, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Angry birds…

Posted on September 11, 2014 by

The glow of satisfaction in which to bask at the end of a hard day’s work is as elusive to me as a pretty chicken. After living in the French countryside for some years I am as far from conceiving what … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014, Bad Habits, Chicken, Digital photography, Food photographer, France, Humour, Photography, photography course, Poultry, Uncategorized, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Harry Covair…the third bean

Posted on July 28, 2014 by

I’ve had to quickly write another post owing to the lack of clarity of my previous one which was intended to be read as a universal cautionary tale of the pitfalls of everymans’ summer vacation rather than a declaration of my … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014, beans, Cooking, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Humour, Nigel Slater, Photography, photography course, sea salt, summer, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Hot day, blazing chillies, cold pasta…

Posted on July 3, 2014 by

Eating outside on a hot, still day, in the shade of the house is a pleasure that I keenly anticipate throughout the winter months. Most enjoyable of these moments are the impulsive, unpremeditated occasions when it just seems like the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014, Art photography, Cooking, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Italian food, Olive oil, pasta, peppers, Photography, photography course, tomatoes, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

Eating outdoors at last….

Posted on March 28, 2014 by

Dreams have the unfortunate habit of remaining unfulfilled so it is always a delight to have one come true. As the years have passed I have learnt to keep my dreams simple so, on this cusp of summer time, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014, Cookery Writers, Cooking, Digital photography, Drinks, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Garden, harmony, Kitchens, Meat, Nigel Slater, Photography, photography course, Toulouse sausages, Uncategorized, Weather, wine, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Not a winter wooly….

Posted on February 28, 2014 by

Today is the day when winter, dragging it’s damp and weary feet, limps off the stage for another year. As with trains, the beginning and ending of seasons are subject to a clear timetable, yet they arrive when least expected … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014, Digital photography, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Fruit, Pears, Photography, photography course, Seasons, Uncategorized, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 54 Comments

Brussels demand a green Xmas…..

Posted on November 21, 2013 by

September is long gone, but the leaves of brown show no sign of tumbling down this November although the lyricist would be happy to know that it’s raining. Wherever he was when he penned those lyrics, it wasn’t the Vendee. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013, Autumn, Childhood memories, Christmas, Cooking, Digital photography, Excellence, fashion, fireplace, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, French countryside, Humour, hypocrisy, Illusion, Kitchens, Landscapes, Olive oil, Photography, Religion, sea salt, The Forest of Mervent, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Vendee, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 69 Comments

All Black on Toast…

Posted on November 15, 2013 by

A cold morning found me doing vigorous exercise in the kitchen. I was cutting thick slices off a dense pain de campagne whose bottom crust was putting up a good fight against my bread knife. As the first slice fell … Continue reading →

Posted in Art photography, Cheese, Cookery Writers, Cooking, Digital photography, Drinks, Edouard de Pomiane, Excellence, fireplace, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Memory, Photography, Recipes, Weather, wine, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 61 Comments

It could so easily have become a crock…..

Posted on November 5, 2013 by

“Nuts” I said to myself “my chances of photographing that rainbow are fat and none”. As I ran upstairs to grab the camera I caught sight of the carrier bag full of walnuts which two of our grandchildren had collected … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013, Art photography, Autumn, baking, Cooking, Digital photography, fireplace, food, Food and Photography, Food photographer, France, Garden, Humour, Kitchens, Landscapes, Nuts, Pears, Photography, Rainbow, tarte tatin, tarte tatin aux poires, Uncategorized, walnuts, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 48 Comments

Amazing place..

Posted on November 3, 2013 by

As I stood, bent against the wind this beautiful morning, on the shoreline of the Anse d’Aiguillon, this remarkable place put me in mind of the opening passage of “Great Expectations”, sadly without the appearance of an unlikely benefactor…”the dark … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013, Art photography, Digital photography, Emotion, Excellence, France, French countryside, Landscapes, Photography, Sunday, Uncategorized, Vendee, Weather, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments