Hello There
I’ve glanced back at previous posts and see that I’ve been anticipating spring for several months, I feel that we’re still waiting for it to truly commence. My hopes for April were sadly unfulfilled, it has been bitterly cold and extremely damp. We have had the heating on for an hour most mornings, with the underfloor heating in the kitchen constantly turned up. My linen tops are hanging in my wardrobe, freshly laundered and pressed, as yet unworn! I’m still wrapped in cashmere scarves and gloves on my morning walks with the dog, the sun cream sits by the sink unused, my sandals rest in a basket in the hall, gathering dust.
I have plenty of baking to do throughout May. A couple of family birthdays require cakes. Several of the ladies in my church are hosting the Afternoon Teas for Ham Open Gardens 2024, on May 19th in the church hall (St Thomas Aquinas RC Church, on Ham Common). Although I’m unable to help on the day, I will be baking plenty of cakes for them to sell, in support of local charities.
I’m fortunate to live in Ham, a truly rural village in London. Our electoral ward (Ham, Petersham and Richmond Hill) is the greenest in the whole city. We have meadows, water meadows, some woods, a beautiful Common and of course Richmond Park, with its elegant herds of deer, (both Red Deer and Fallow Deer) as well as the River Thames. It is worth visiting at any time of the year.
I would recommend the Isabella Plantation within Richmond Park, at the moment it is ablaze with the most beautiful blossoms, but it’s fabulous even on the coldest winter’s day. The Gardens at Ham House are a constant delight, (the house itself is worth visiting too).
Walking along the Tow Path between Teddington Lock and Richmond is always rewarding, there is so much to see. There are rowers, sailors, canoeists and paddle boarders on the river, whilst beautiful wild swans, ducks and herons glide past. The tow path itself has walkers, cyclists and runners. There are families with food to feed the ducks, people speed walking for fitness, whilst others are gently strolling, appreciating the slower pace of the gently flowing river. There may be others sitting (catching any rays of sunshine) or eating a small picnic on the occasional memorial benches which face the river. At River Lane you can turn away from the Thames and visit Petersham Nurseries for garden inspiration as well as scrumptious tea and cake.
Ham Common itself is beautiful with a pond, complete with swans, ducks, moorhens and coots. Each spring there are a pair of nesting swans, the “Mind the Toad” road signs, are swapped to “Mind the Swans”, as the parent birds guide their cygnets around the Common (which can involve crossing the narrow local roads.) Ham Parade has a monthly Farmers’ Market, on the first Saturday of the Month, and The Swiss Bakery on Ashburnham Road, is well worth a visit, with beautiful food, in a prettily themed cafe.
Our daughter is away at school, it is now her final term of Six Form, her A Levels commencing this month. During term time it is just my husband and me eating breakfast each morning. We are now both retired and are fortunate, after many years of early starts, dashing off to work, to be able to enjoy more leisurely mornings. Once the dog has been walked, and she has eaten her breakfast, we sit down to eat ours. At the moment we’re eating berries with homemade muesli and homemade yoghurt, followed by a piece of toast, with butter and marmalade (we’re working our way through the 50 jars I made in January, please note some have been gifted and others will be sold at Ham Fair in June, we aren’t eating a jar a week!)
I’m delighted with my muesli, it’s so much lovelier than anything I’ve previously bought. I think it’s because I toast not only the seeds and nuts, but also the oats and of course its freshly made, every few days, in small batches. I bought my yoghurt maker from Lakeland about six years ago, it had seven pots in it, I felt they were too large for one person, but not quite enough for two. I was pleased to find that ten French glass yoghurt pots fitted, I ordered some reusable lids and now we regularly eat delicious yoghurt, the pots and lids being constantly recycled. My Muesli recipe and How to Make Yoghurt are saved in the highlights, under my stories, on my Instagram account.
I’ve been re-reading some of Mary Stewart‘s novels. I remember my mother borrowing them from the library when I was a child. However she didn’t like me reading them, perhaps she thought they were too grown-up for a pre-teen. Reading them now they seem quite tame, but the 2020s are quite different from the 1960s and 70s! (I have them on my Kindle and love the ‘kindle’ covers.) I first read them during the various lockdowns, and think they deserve a second, slightly slower read, if I had to choose a favourite it would probably be ‘Madam, Will You Talk?’
I was pleased to see my first Elderflower recently, I may be able to forage enough flowers to make cordial later in the month, everything seems slightly delayed due to the inclement weather, one can only hope.
I was sad to read that C J Sampson, the author of the Shardlake Historical Novels has died. I read the books as they were published and loved the characters and historical detail. I’ve just been listening to the BBC Radio 4 plays on the Audible App on my phone (I prefer to listen to plays, rather than novels - I love reading too much - and was pleased to find so many BBC radio plays have been collected together on Audible!) I will be watching the new production of the first Shardlake novel: Dissolution on Disney + this month.
My May should be full of scrumptious breakfasts, cake baking, fabulous local walks and cordial making, I hope there will also be some sunshine so I can at last shrug off the cashmere, putting it away, out of reach of the greedy moths!
Until June,
Jude x
Dear Jude, happy Bealtaine! Let's hope for warmer days and more walks in the sunshine! I wish I could have a slice of your homemade cakes.
I so agree about the weather. I love the photos of Isabella Plantation which has reminded me to go and have a look. I would love to go to the Open Gardens but we are going to see my brother in Hampshire that weekend as they have a plant sale in his village. Might have to come back early!