How to....start christmas too early

I know there is a rumour that if you start Christmas too early Elves strangle baby reindeers or angels wing drop off but hopefully that's all rubbish as sadly I think that Christmas may have just about started and it's only halfway through November!!! I am trying to get into the festive spirit and believe me I'm doing better then Dr Fred!!!

Today the glorious scent of Christmas filled the house as having soaked the dried fruit for a week in a lethal cocktail of rum, brandy, port and more... I made my Christmas cakes using the time tested and honoured Delia Creole cake recipe. I've tried various different fruit cake recipes over the years but nothing comes close to the Creole one. Its only drawback is as Delia states, is it's too rich to be iced and requires a glazed fruit and nut topping which personally I prefer but Dr Fred misses the marzipan and icing so I'll prob do Delias simpler ordinary cake as well.

But, what really made it feel like Christmas was imminent - as well as baking crimble cakes - was the annual Christmas lantern parade in Amble and as we have a friend visiting us from Australia what better entertainment could we offer!!!! (we really know how to look after our guests).

Wrapping up well we headed downtown - I have never seen so many people in Amble before - and stood amongst the crowds as the parade meandered down Queen Street. I thought it was fab. Four years ago we attended a similar event somewhere deep in the middle of nowhere in the Murray Valley, South Australia and it was a weird experience, snowmen, santa clauses, elves and reindeer against a backdrop of palm trees, blue skies and 35 degree heat! This year was very similar, except the palm trees, blue skies and temperature were not as evident - and somehow it felt a bit more real... the giant Puffin added a touch of surrealism and if it was anywhere but Amble it might have looked ridiculous (ha ha ) -

the christmas theme was Alice in Wonderland and the stilt walkers were dressed accordingly. I love the effort everyone had put into the different floats and costumes and there was a definite party atmosphere so I reckon like it or not Christmas is on us!

I really liked the lanterns, the big Alice ones were really good but I also liked the various little ones and will defo look at how to make one for my window this year.

Oh and we got our first lovely sparkly christmas card yesterday as well so that kinda seals the deal!

I don't usually start christmas until the week before the actual day as it does seem to be a tad over done. I'm not sure I can sustain a festive momentum for five weeks, but in these days of Brexit, Trumpton and controversial X factor contestants we need to enjoy comfort, solace, entertainment where we can so I may dig out the tinsel a little earlier than normal - although the cake still needs a month to mature!

Autumnal Garden Days

I love these (rare) warm sunny late summer days and there is all sorts of lovely things going on in my garden... I counted 12 red admiral butterflies whizzing around the over grown ivy which I had been about to hack down but then left until the flutterbies have finished with it... The late blooms add a dash of colour and the daisy strewn lawn is littered with autumnal leaves, debris from my brief half an hour of slash and burn and the stone wall is covered in glorious soft moss all shiny and tactile with a few late nasturtiums loitering. I've hacked out the brambles for this year, sadly I missed the fruit as we were away, ditto the strawberries, we never seem to get the fruit before the birds so I've made space and moved the plants that were getting swamped and so not performing to their potential - hopefully next year they will literally blossom now they have light and room to flourish.

Total Eclipse Spain 2026

Eclipse day!!!! Most of the photos on here were taken by friends...my phone died... I dont use names on here but you know who you are thank you.... This will be Dr Freds 8th eclipse and my 6th... I have 100% clear viewing and its continued that way. Our friends have this amazing house tucked away on the side of a hill - fortuitously right on the centre line of the 2026 eclipse. And... to make it even better they have a roof terrace which gave us an almost perfect elevation to see the total eclipse in all its glory. Dr Fred wasnt sure at first - he worried that as totality was so close to sunset we might not be high enough before the sun disappeared under the ridge. So, the evenings leading up to the night of the actual event, required a lot of balancing on the roof with spirit levels at various degrees and exact timings for exact positioning of the sun and considerable maths.... yes it was complicated but it p...

Alesund

Our final destination stop was Alesund. This is a very pretty town in southern Norway built on a peninsula. All the houses are painted pretty colours and a lot of the architecture is all very Art Nouveau based. This is because the town itself was completely burnt to the ground In 1904 by a fire for which they never found the original cause. The whole town had to be rebuilt and this became a huge National Effort and a lot of prominent and up and coming architects flocked to the town to stick there 20 pence in. Consequently the town is very heavily Art Nouveau which was very fashionable at the time. There is this wonderful Museum just off the harbour which is a very beautiful Art Nouveau house. It has amazing panelling, doors, wallpaper, and it's all furnished with beautiful art Nouveau Furniture. It also house a collection of of enameled Art Nouveau Trinkets,boxes, spoons, jewellery, very very beautiful. There is an interesting collection of old books and paintings a...

Planet Ruby Starrs

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