Birthday Pav

An early birthday cake for my favourite boy. There are a few candles missing but I don't think that he minded. The recipe is one from a famous NZ icon, the tried and trusted Edmonds family cookbook.

Happy Birthday, Dave!!!

Pavlova

3 egg whites
3 tablespoons cold water
1 cup caster sugar
3 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon white vinegar

1. Beat egg whites until they are stiff.
2. Add cold water to the eggs, beat again.
3. Add castor sugar gradually while still beating. I like to slowly pour the sugar into the moving beaters to disperse the sugar evenly.
4. Add vinegar, vanilla and cornflour, again, while still beating.
5. Put greased paper on a greased tray and bake at 150 degrees C (300 F) for 45 minutes. The pav will be a very light golden colour. Cool in the oven (don't open the door until the oven is cool!).
6. Top and decorate with whipped cream and fresh fruits.

I'll next see you in Iceland - we're off on Wednesday. I have to leave you here to do some packing - thermals, thermos, hot chocolate, swimsuit, hot water bottle, passport, check. And no, there is no odd item out! Meanwhile, I'm reading the Iceland Express Blog and sincerely hoping the weather report changes by Thursday...

On a boat on a winter's day...

We had planned to visit the Darwin exhibition at the Natural History Museum on Saturday, but it was heaving with holidaying families, so we went on a long and interesting walk that included a ride on a real Routemaster and running into a large protest march with harassed policemen and helicopters, and finally ended up on a boat on the Thames called Tattershall Castle. It's a boat that's been converted into a restaurant and 5 bars and it's a really neat place to meet up with friends.



Before we retreated into the warmth, I took a few shots of two famous London sights - Big Ben...


...and the London Eye.


Here is the real photographer hard at work practicing for Iceland!

See you in 2009!

Have a great New Year's celebration everyone! Very best wishes, and I'll see you all next year.

Robin Redbreast

There are quite a few British animals that I've always been curious about, and one I really wanted to see was the robin redbreast. Dave's Mum, Kathy has been very kind to me and helped me meet the robin who lives in her garden. On the first day, three of us went into the garden but the robin was very shy. So the next day I took up Kathy's suggestion that I wear her yellow jacket so I that would look like a familiar figure, while Dave tip-toed behind to take a picture of this cute fellow.



After breakfast on Boxing Day Dave, his parents and I went for a short walk in Little Missenden to do some activity and enjoy the blue skies. These are Dave's photos taken with his new camera.







We watched the kites soaring overhead.

Evidence of another famous British animal, though I didn't see one...these are molehills!

A beautiful church in Little Missenden.

A mural of St Christopher and St Catherine.





After the walk, we drove to Great Missenden to join Dave's childhood friend Chris and his family for Boxing Day lunch. We decided to take another walk after another big meal (roast duck, roast beef, veges and Yorkshire pudding, then pear and amaretto crumble with icecream). Chris took us up to the view over Great Missenden. It's pretty cold and the light is starting to fade here... it's not just the big meals, we are well bundled up, do believe me!

Here are Chris and his wife Sarah.

Plus Dave!


Finally here's one of us together. I'll be back to work tomorrow after a busy and blissful week off. I've had a wonderful first British Christmas with Dave's lovely family and friends. There've been lots of new experiences - seeing the robin and my first fox (!) and pheasant, seeing real misteltoe and cutting holly from the Common, Dave's Dad, Ken teaching me how to make tea; learning to play new board games and how to fly a model helicopter, learning about the Christmas cake tradition and that there's a layer of marzipan between the cake and the royal icing (NZ cakes just have the icing), being visited by Santa in the northern hemisphere, going to the West End to see Bill Bailey the comedian....just to name a few. They are memories I'll treasure.

xxx

The Red Lion

The Red Lion, Little Missenden

Dog & Fox, Wimbledon

Cat & Canary

A quick trip to Canary Wharf to visit Clare and Joel's new home. Happy housewarming!



The Cat & Canary.