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My Bucket List – What’s the Score?




 

 

 

Our Cruise Ferry for Sardinia

I have had a Bucket List in my head for many years, but never actually written it down or analysed how many items on my list I have in fact ticked off. Now is the time to put that right and put together some sort of organised list. I give you below my more or less definitive list, with an indication of whether or not I have managed to achieve any of my ambitions. I shall then include a selection of items on friends’ bucket lists, once again using my  Archers’ Appreciation facebook group as the sample of people surveyed. The picture above represents the nearest I have ever got to going on a cruise; the ferries we take from Portsmouth to Bilbao or Santander and from Barcelona to Sardinia, are like little cruise ships with not quite as many facilities, and you cannot stay at sea for longer than one or two nights.

  1. To travel beyond Europe before the age of 40 – I managed this at the age of 39 and a half. I married Paul (second marriage for us both) and booked a honeymoon in Cuba! Yes, this holiday did live up to my dreams, and I do intend to return to the Caribbean one day!
  2. To go to America before the age of 60 – I keep moving the goal post for this one, as I am 52 now and did not manage it before I was 50! We did have a holiday planned to Florida to see a dear old school-friend of mine next year, but this may not happen as I carelessly lost my job this year!
  3. To go to America by boat – yes, this one is separate from the general one about seeing the USA. I love travelling on ships, and think that sailing into New York by ship would be so romantic. Paul and I also have a strong aversion to flying and airports in general!
  4. To go on a world cruise including seeing Australia – yes, I am a bit obsessed by ship travel!
  5. To go on a shorter cruise, maybe around the Caribbean.
  6. To go on a long rail journey, maybe across India. I am forever drooling over the Jules Verne holiday brochures when they come through the letterbox. A trip on the Orient Express would be perfect.
  7. To travel first class on a train, preferably to somewhere interesting with good scenery. Paul had the really helpful suggestion that we could go first class on the Marlow Donkey from Maidenhead to Marlow, but I am not sure that this would really hit the spot!
  8. To run out into the middle of the road and shout ‘taxi!’ – I did this when with some friends in Cardiff.  Of course you have to make sure that you only try this with licensed Hackney Carriages, not private hire taxis, as doing it with the latter is not legal!
  9. To jump into a taxi and shout ‘follow that car!’ – this one is a bit of a flight of fantasy, as I am not planning on a life of crime or a new career as a private detective.
  10. To jump off a moving vehicle film-star style and land gracefully on the pavement! In my early 20s as a student in London, I did jump off a routemaster bus, as the bus conductor told me to (we were not stopping at my requested stop). Unfortunately my landing was anything but graceful, and the bus stopped so that the conductor could check if I was okay!
  11. To own a house and be able to design a new, huge kitchen of my own – not sure if this one is achievable or not really!
  12. To use a talking telescope on a cliff-top tourist destination – Paul adamantly objects to my spending a pound or a euro to have this experience, so this one is a bit of a standing joke between us now!
  13. To travel on a tourist open-topped bus or a tourist train – this is another one that Paul is not keen on, so I’ll have to find a way of doing this one (we do most of our travelling and sightseeing together).
  14. To go the Edinburgh Festival – I have never quite managed this, and we have been in the habit of going on holiday in August to sunnier climes in the past few years. It would be a shame to never go though!
  15. To meet Nicholas Parsons – I adore Nicholas and Just a Minute is one of my all-time favourite radio programmes. I have been to a recording, but have not actually spoken to him. Now I really had better hurry up and organise this one, as he is in his 90s…… maybe a book signing session would be best for the chance to actually speak to him!
  16. To speak on Radio 4 – for this to happen I shall have to make more of an effort with phone-in programmes I suppose, as I am not going to do this any other way! Related to this, I have been interviewed for local radio and I have had letters/e-mails read out on Radio 4!
  17. To take part in a film or television programme – this one I have achieved by appearing in a Heston Blumenthal cookery programme on Channel 4! Okay, I did not speak live, but you can definitely see me, and we did all get to chat to Heston during the recording. I should like to make more appearances though, and to this end I have registered with an Extras agency – watch this space!
  18. To learn Spanish and Italian enough to be able to converse with local people – I speak French, but am finding learning languages so much more difficult now that I am older….
  19. To improve my piano-playing skills. I can read music and play to a very basic level, but it is one of my huge regrets that I did not start learning younger. I think that this one should be possible if I work at it.
  20. To play another principal singing and acting role in the theatre – preferably one of each. I have appeared live on stage in principal roles and numerous times in the chorus, but I’d like to have another chance at playing some principal roles before I shuffle off this mortal coil…..

 


How does my list compare with that of my Archers’ Appreciation friends? Such a diverse range of ambitions that people have on their lists. Some people have questioned the point of having a bucket list at all, and some responses were to suggest I might like to buy some brightly-coloured buckets.

Many bucket lists include far-flung places to visit or dangerous sports to try out. Places people would like to visit include: New York, Canada Rockies, Australia, New Zealand (Andrew Gosling), Nambia (Jane Baker), the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, where apparently you have the chance to eat breakfast with giraffes! (Jane Kirkham). Rachel Blanchard has a long list of places she has been planning to visit for a number of years and has so far only managed Japan from the list! The complete list is: Tibet, Taiwan, Japan, Chile, Terra del Feuago, Buenos Aires, South Pacific Islands, Myanmar, Sumatra, North Vietnam, Moscow, the Trans Siberian railway, Las Vegas, Alaska, Canada, Peru, Hawai and New Orleans! Good luck with that Rachel! The Northern Lights is popular (maybe I should add that to my list!) and is mentioned by Gary Cavie, Jon Mitchell, Joan Shoesmith and Berni Anderson.

Jane Walker has a list of pieces of music she would like to play in the orchestra pit, including most Mahler symphonies, Shostakovitch 5, Sibelius 7 and any opera. I might consider something like this for my list had I progressed a bit further with learning musical instruments.

I do like some of the more mundane items such as Cecilia Potten’s which is to ‘live to a ripe old age and become a rich widow.’ June Coles would like to visit all the piers in the UK. That is something that I think would definitely be worth achieving! Annette Harris would like to retire – okay not right now, but she rightly points out that many people are not lucky enough to have a long and happy retirement and do all the things that they don’t have time to do whilst working full-time.  In the same vein Pam Pummell would like ‘to live at least 10 more years (to the age of 78) and not be doolally.’ I love the word ‘doolally!

There are a few people who have dangerous or possibly exciting  things on their lists such as Penny McElhinney wanting to kayak up the Amazon, Sally Owen wanting to learn to surf, Melissa Seymour wanting to skydive and Jemima Green wanting to handle snakes and Ian Williams wanting to walk with mountain gorillas (he has ticked this one off his list already!)

Finally I love the honesty of Jude Platts who says, ‘I’d quite like to see my house tidy. Just once.’

Thanks for all the contributions. If you read this all the way through, it would lovely to have some more feedback or comments on what you think about my Bucket List!

 

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My Food Diary Sunday 10th-Saturday 16th September




You may have spotted by now that I cook proper meals every day, and that I use a fair number of recipes from cookery books and magazines/newspapers, as well as devising my own recipes. I thought it would be interesting to sometimes write a diary for the week showing you what I have cooked for dinner. I am not including breakfasts, as my breakfast is usually the same each morning – Greek yoghurt with fresh fruit and honey. I have not photographed every meal, especially as sometimes we eat left-overs of a previous meal.  For lunch I usually make sandwiches or have left-overs of some dinner which needs eating up. I’ll include the lunches if they were particulary notable or if I made some bread from a recipe that I’d like to share. Sometimes I shall also include some home-bakes for afternoon tea or pudding.

Sunday 10th September

Dinner: Roast Chicken and Potatoes with Apple Stuffing, Carrots, Peas and Gravy

Although I have no photo of this meal, I’d just like to tell you about the stuffing. We have three apple trees in our garden, all of which produce reasonable crops each year. Having not had time to make an apple pudding, I decided to make an apple stuffing. For this I mixed 4oz breadcrumbs, 2oz melted butter (you could use suet instead), a handful of freshly chopped herbs such as parsley and thyme, a beaten egg, two grated apples and a little lemon rind and juice. On this occasion I stuffed the body cavity of the chicken, but you could also make stuffing balls. To make this meal easier, as we were sitting in the living room having drinks and nibbles with relatives whilst it was cooking, I put some unpeeled maincrop potato pieces in the tin with the chicken whilst roasting it.

Later on I cooked fresh carrots and peas together in a pan with a small amount of water, rosemary, vanilla extract, a knob of butter and a teaspoon of sugar. I cooked the carrots for about 10 minutes before adding the fresh peas and then cooking them together for another five minutes. I always make my gravy by adding some vegetable water, wine, dijon mustard and a spoon of home-made jelly to the juices in the roasting tin.

Monday 11th September

I unexpectedly went out for an early dinner/meeting, so made pizzas for Paul and Jess.  My dinner is pictured below. We went to the Black Boy pub in Shinfield:  https://www.baronspubs.com/blackboy/

Fish Tortillas at The Black Boy in Shinfield

The meal was excellent, and the staff were really helpful and available with accurate information for a colleague who is gluten intolerant.

Tuesday 12th September

Pork Osso Buco with Aubergines, Apples and Chickpeas, served with mash

Okay, confession time! This recipe was not one of my best! I wanted to leave something for Paul to put in the oven whilst I was out at yet another meeting. I could then make the mashed potato on my return. The dish would have been perfect without the aubergine, but it was in the oven too long and was of too soft a texture to go with the other ingredients, particularly serving it with mash. I cooked the meat in some lovely cider which we bought on holiday in Spain this year: http://www.agroturismoarratzain.com/

So in future, I’d leave out the aubergine and use some fennel instead for a crunchier texture.

Wednesday 13th September

Ratatouille and Melting Mozarella Crumble from Sainsburys Magazine September Issue

This dish was a real winner! We eat vegetarian food at least a couple of times a week, and this dish fitted the bill and satisfied Paul, who misses the solid taste of flesh more than I do! It is a fairly standard ratatouille recipe with the addition of spinach. It is piled into a baking dish and has mozarella torn over the top before adding a crumble topping made with breadcrumbs, rosemary and toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds. You then bake it until it is crisp and bubbling. I think that my breadcrumb mixture was particularly tasty, as I was using up some mini bruschetta topped with tomatoes and olive oil. They had gone soft, but were perfect blitzed into crumbs, tomatoes included.

Thursday 14th September

Indian-spiced Celeriac Rosti with herb yoghurt from Sainsburys Magazine September Issue

Indian-spiced Celeriac Rosti with Herb Yoghurt and Left-over Aubergine Sauce

In the picture you will see that I did also eat up the remains of the aubergine sauce left-over from the pork casserole, so for me this was not quite a vegetarian dish. Rosti are a fun dish to make and to give a different texture to vegetables. Apparently celeriac is also very low in calories. The suggestion was to serve the rosti with mango chutney, and I just happened to have made a couple of jars of that recently – so much better home-made!

Friday 15th September – Fish Pie made according to a Jamie Oliver recipe (The Return of the Naked Chef 2000)

Fantastic Fish Pie from The Return of the Naked Chef

I have made this wonderful pie many times, and have adapted the recipe to suit my tastes and preferences. The best tip I learnt from Jamie by making this pie was that it is not necessary to cook fish before putting it into a pie. This means that you use fewer pans, and that the fish holds its shape better. Jamie includes spinach and carrot in his recipe. I have always used more carrot than he suggests, and I also add fennel and celery. Originally this was a way of bribing my daughter Jess into eating more vegetables, as she has always loved fish pie. I continue to make the pie with these additions even if I am not trying to deceive children.

 

Saturday 16th September Chicken with Chorizo, Chick Peas  and Kale from Davina’s 5 Weeks to Sugar Free

I was not particularly looking for sugar-free recipes, but I spotted this book in my mother’s house and noted a few really good recipes in it. Chorizo and chick peas are two of my favourite ingredients and I could happily just make a meal out of these ingredients. This went really well with a jacket potato and butter.

During the week I also made Portuguese Custard Tarts using this recipe: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/portuguese-egg-custard-tarts 

Apple and Rosemary Loaf, using an Alice Hart recipe in the Waitrose Magazine September Issue, and Jaffa Cakes using one of Felicity Cloake’s Guardian recipes: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/27/how-to-make-the-perfect-jaffa-cakes

These are more like cakes than the commerically made variety, and have to be consumed fairly quickly! See my photos of the home-baking below:

Jaffa Cakes
Apple and Rosemary Loaf from Waitrose September by Alice Hart
Pasteis de Nata or Portuguese Custard Tarts

 

 



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Autumn Cooking – some recipes by Rosie Birkett in BBC Good Food Magazine

 

Blackberry Doughnut with Custard and Strawberry and Balsamic Vinegar Ice-cream

I enjoy cooking with my daughter Jess, although it is unusual for us to find time to have a cooking session nowadays. She is a chef in a local pub and on her days off is not often in the mood for long cooking sessions with her mother! I managed to tempt her with this enticing-looking recipe for Blackberry Doughnuts in BBC Good Food Magazine. Personally I give doughnuts a wide berth if commerically made, but home-made they are completely different.

Cooked Doughnuts

Rosie Birkett includes a recipe for quick blackberry jam for filling these doughnuts, and suggests serving them with  Bay Leaf Custard. In the end we went for home-made vanilla custard, and I had one serving with a portion of Strawberry Ice-cream with Balsamic Vinegar (a Delia Smith favourite recipe of mine).

Home-made Blackberry Jam

Jess, my daughter, insists on having a proper deep-fat fryer, so we had to give that a good clean up before using it; I don’t like the stickiness of fryers, so insist on keeping it in the shed!

Cooked and Filled Blackberry Doughnuts

We did find that it was difficult to get the frying temperature right for cooking the doughnuts all the way through but not burnt on the outside, despite heating the oil to the suggested temperature of 180 degrees C. In the end, we put them in the oven for about 7 minutes, after frying them.

The verdict was positive all round, and we would definitely make these doughnuts again, maybe using different varieties of home-made or good-quality bought jam to suit the seasons. We were lucky enough to have some freshly-picked blackberries for making the jam.

The other recipe I made from Rosie’s selection was Slow-cooked Marrow with fennel and Tomato. I love marrow, although many people seem to either treat it as a joke or a burden, or an over-grown courgette. I do think that stuffed marrow is good, but that it is great to ring the changes, having marrow as a side dish or main course vegetarian dish. Rosie describes this dish as a little like caponata. She serves it with some sourdough bread and soft goats’ cheese. On this occasion I left out the bread and cheese, but I think that it would be great served in this way as a first course.

I have no photo of my version of this dish, so you will just have to imagine it! I shall be making the other dishes featured in this article sometime soon: Braised Squid with Fennel and Tomatoes , Devilled Prawns and Corny Polenta and Cacio e Pepe with Runner Beans.

I am seriously tempted to buy Rosie’s book, which is featured below. She uses seasonal, fresh produce and simple store cupboard ingredients.

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Happy Anniversary! Is it Paper or Trash for 10 years together?

This very attractive blackboard notice was the one source of useful information in our holiday apartment in Sardinia. We were impressed that it was written in English, given that our host’s mother, who was local and available to help us out with any issues, spoke very little English.

It was indeed remarkable that there were so many refuse collections during the week. Only problem was, someone had to remember to take the relevant bag to the collection point on the road the night before. Waiting until the morning would usually mean that we had missed the boat! At home in the UK we don’t have to put out our bins, as we are able to leave them in a spot from which the bin men can collect and return them.

Putting out the rubbish is never a popular task, so it became a bit of a game! ‘Who fancies putting out the organic and glass tonight?!’ (don’t all shout at once!) Organic is not a great one to miss, as you don’t want rotting peelings and scrapings from the dinner plates festering for too long. How convenient that they collected this cateogory of rubbish three times a week!

Paul had this clever idea that the blackboard could double up as suggestions for Wedding Anniversary gifts! After all, for the 1st Wedding Anniversary, paper gifts are quite traditional (we have a paper category on our blackboard) , for the 2nd Anniversary, fruit and flowers are suggested (trash category?) and then there is crystal or glass for the 3rd year (empty wine bottles only on Mondays for some reason).

Are we the only people to have these ridiculous flights of fantasy?

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Cooking the Ottolenghi Way: A Review of ‘Plenty’ by Yotam Ottolenghi

 

 

This is the kind of cookery book to persuade meat eaters to eat more vegetarian food! I am a confirmed omnivore but love vegetables and meals without meat. Yotam Ottolenghi is a particular favourite of mine, with his Middle- Eastern slant on food. He was born in Israel, and is Israeli-British.  I probably identify with Yotam as he is not a vegetarian either, but was asked to write this book by The Guardian.

This book is beautiful in itself, and, like all of Yotam’s books, is a high-quality hardback with a substantial cover rather than the traditional boards with a dust-jacket. Inside there are beautful line drawings of vegetables as well as really enticing photos of every dish.

As a non-vegetarian I make no judgements on the views of others, but personally am not a fan of tofu, quorn and other specific vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes. Maybe ‘meat substitute’ is the wrong expression to use, but I am not sure how else to explain what I mean. Yotam includes very little of these ingredients in his recipes, which for me is a definite plus point. Two of the recipes which include tofu are Gado Gado and Mee Goreng. My answer is to substitute halloumi or paneer, which I love (vegans may not approve!)

Before I go on to list some of my favourite recipes from this book, it is probably worth assessing which recipes are suitable for vegans. I was discussing this subject with my fellow-blogger Niki di Palma (https://westslidestory.com/) who is indeed a vegan! Apparently lots of vegetarian cookery books are not great for vegans, as the recipes tend to use a lot of cheese and yoghurt.

I can see some recipes which could certainly have the cheese or yoghurt removed to make them vegan-friendly. I have made the Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad on a number of occasions, and I see no harm in leaving out the yoghurt, or maybe using coconut milk instead. There are some other lovely salad recipes in the book, such as Beetroot, Orange and Black Olive, Green Bean with Mustard Seeds and Tarragon and Mango and Coconut Rice. On a warm day I think that a selection of these salads would make a substantial meal.  Main course recipes which are vegan without adaptations include: The Ultimate Winter Couscous (ingredients include pumpkin, carrots, parsnips and chickpeas), Gado Gado, Mee Goreng (both already mentioned), Broad Bean Burgers, Black Pepper Tofu (despite my aversion to tofu, this one might even have me converted!), Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Salad and Soba Noodles with Aubergine and Mango.

I am particularly keen on the recipes for: Lentils with Grilled Aubergine (this satisfies my constant cravings for puy lentils and yoghurt), Chard and Saffron Omelettes (did I mention that I also adore eggs?), Very Full Tart  (filled with sweet potatoes, aubergine, peppers and tomatoes), Chickpea, Tomato and Bread Soup and Tamara’s Ratatouille (also vegan!)

This book is very adaptable and would also suit a confirmed meat-eater who would like some more interesting ways of jazzing up meat meals. Many of the dishes would go well on a buffet table or work as accompaniments to roasted and grilled meats.

 

I

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Making Tapas, and another lovely Fig Recipe



I am still enjoying cooking with figs, although our crop from the garden is nearly finished. I indulged in some shop-bought figs recently and tried this recipe from the Waitrose Magazine. I show you below the recipe from the Waitrose Magazine and my own version. I used soft goats’ cheese instead of taleggio on this occasion. I do love taleggio, but surprisingly had none in the fridge when I decided to make this as part of a selection of tapas last night. It was so good, and I shall certainly be making it again as a first course or on a big platter as canapes. There is something really satisfying about hot canapes.

Split Figs, stuffed with Taleggio, walnuts, thyme and honey

Split Figs, Stuffed with Cheese, Walnuts, Thyme and Honey

The other tapas I made were streaky bacon-wrapped halloumi and chilli crostini topped with finely chopped tomatoes, mixed with olive oil and fresh basil. In the picture you can also see my favourite sweet-pickled herrings and a dip made from Greek yoghurt, home-made mango chutney and smoked paprika.

A Selection of my style Tapas for Sunday evening
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Cooking the Nigella way: a review of ‘Nigella Bites’

 


I have a whole bookcase dedicated to cookery books, and I do actually use them. Apparently this is not always the case; I am told that many people own cookery books and do not cook any recipes from them. This is not to say that I do not sometimes change and adapt recipes or invent my own recipes. You may be thinking that I spend an awful lot of time in the kitchen, and you would be right! I am going to share some of my favourites with you, and am starting by reviewing a selection by specific writers.

Nigella Bites was published in 2001, although I am not sure how long I have owned it. A quick skim through the book and I can count at least 21 recipes I have cooked from this book, many of them on numerous occasions. I love Nigella’s chatty, descriptive style and her suggestions for changing, adapting and even (dare I say it?!) improving the recipes. She is also one of the chefs I enjoy watching on television. My one rule for watching chefs on television is that the content of the programme has to be the pure pleasure of food with no competitiveness. Thus I am not a fan of Masterchef or The Great British Bake Off. Anyway, I digress.

I know that not everyone enjoys Nigella’s style. She is very sexy and attractive and enjoys her food very much. I must admit that I do love gazing at other peoples’ kitchens. I have a very small kitchen, and sometimes try to do too much in it.

The format of Nigella’s recipe books is to organise by themes and menus rather than conventionally grouping together all the starters, main courses, puddings and so on. Some of the chapters in Nigella Bites are: All-Day Breakfast, Comfort Food, Trashy, Suppertime and Slow-Cook Weekend.

There are some recipes in this book which I shall probably never try. I am not a fan of pomegranate seeds: I have tried them and find them completely bitter and indigestible. Pomegranate molasses is a different matter – I love it and use it frequently. I am also not keen on the Jewish way of making chicken soup, so I’ll not be trying the version in this book. Another recipe I am not tempted to try is the Ham in Cocoa Cola, however much it might be recommended! Some of my favourite recipes are:

Welsh-Rarebit Muffins – cake-style savoury muffins which are wonderful for breakfast.

Double Potato and Halloumi Bake – a really excellent vegetarian dish which is good for everyday as well as being special enough for a party dish.

Chocolate Fudge Cake – one of many chocolate cake recipes by Nigella; this one has a lovely squidgy chocolate icing made with plain chocolate. At this point I need to show you the evidence that I have made this cake on many occasions. See the state that this page is in, in my book!

Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe

Thai Yellow Pumpkin and Seafood Curry – this is one recipe I turn to again and again. I sometimes serve it with basmati rice, or I have made it more soupy and just served it in big bowls.

Bitter Orange Ice-cream – again I have made this on many occasions. It is the easiest orange ice-cream ever to make, being completely made from cream rather than from a custard base. Nigella also helpfully has instructions for making either with seville oranges (only available for a short time in the winter) or with sweet oranges and limes.

Soft and Sharp Involtini – this is a wonderful Italian vegetarian dish of stuffed aubergine slices. It is easy enough to make for a mid-week meal, although some may dispute this (I spend a reasonable amount of time preparing evening meals and am also very quick at putting meals together once I know a recipe well).

Bream with Anchovies and Thyme, served with the following recipe of Chick Peas with Chilli, Garlic and Thyme. Nigella uses two of my favourite ingredients in this medley – anchovies and chick peas.

Chocolate Pots – I show you below the photo of my pages, which have been stuck together with chocolate. A good thing I more or less know the ingredients! This is the easiest of cold chocolate pots to make and can easily be adapted for larger quantities.

Chocolate Pots recipe

I hope that you enjoy this cookery book as much as I do. It really is worth having a look at, and none of the recipes contain ingredients which are difficult to get hold of. Simplicity is the key in this book.

 

 

 

 

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Tutto quello che mi hai dato è spazzatura completa! (Everything you have given me is complete rubbish!)






 

We are staying in a small but very modern and clean apartment in Lu Bagnu in Sardinia. This year I found the property through Airbnb, rather than the usual Owners Direct. I had to make some compromises, as property was more difficult to find at a reasonable price than on the mainland. I suspect too that there are more apartments than villas, and so we have had to go with some shared facilities, including the pool. I do love my swimming, and prefer a private pool. This time I could not find anything suitable, and, before we arrived, I had no idea how many apartments we would be sharing the pool with. No matter, we are also a short walk from the beach, and I do love sea swimming.
Anyway, back to the apartment itself. It is basically a kitchen/lounge/dining room with a separate bedroom and a shower room. This in itself will be a challenge, as my daughter Jess will be arriving for the second week of our holiday here, and so we’ll have to get out the sofa bed. There is nowhere for her to store her clothes and other belongings – could be interesting!

What is it about the Italians and kitchen equipment, in particular, sharp knives for cooking?! Five years ago in our villa in Tuscany I wrote a blog piece about the lack of sharp knives and the fact that I was given short shrift when I enquired if some could be supplied! I thought that the average Italian loved cooking and would demand the best equipment! Admittedly our host in Sardinia is a businessman who does not spend much time on the island. He has been very helpful and relaxed, and assured us that his mother would be here to meet us. We were also advised to let them know if anything at all was lacking in the apartment.

First problem is that my Italian is almost non-existent, Paul’s is limited and Mrs Alberto’s is practically non-existent! (I still have not found out her name! We do not even know Alberto’s surname). Well, I could write a long list of what I could do with in the kitchen, but that would seem rude and not my style at all. For me the bare necessities lacking were sharp knives and wine glasses. There is a picture in this piece of the steak knife I tried to use (miraculously not slicing off any fingers in the process, as it slipped) for chopping vegetables, and of the carrots consequently very badly cut.

I duly rang Alberto, who expressed surprise that I had not asked his ‘mom’ for help. I then explained about the language barrier, and he became much more relaxed and willing to help. I have to say again though that I only asked for knives and wine glasses, not pointing out, in typical British fashion, that the corkscrew was also inadequate! The next day, he e-mailed me to say that his mother would be calling by with some new equipment, and that he did not want her to leave it outside the door as it was all very expensive. Oh goody I thought! Lovely Sabatier chef’s knives!

I opened the door on Monday morning to find a whole pile of equipment in boxes outside the door, and Mrs Alberto soon appeared to show off the shiny, new purchases. What had arrived then? A big box of saucepans, a cruet set, two salad bowls, two packs of glasses, both tumblers and wine types, a new set of cutlery, salad servers, a kitchen roll holder and an iron and ironing board! (no cuddly toy!) The ironing board did come in useful, as you will read in a later blog post! Where were the knives? Confusion arose, as Mrs A was extremely crest-fallen that I seemed to be disappointed. Luckily I know how to say thank-you in Italian, indeed I can say ‘Grazie Mille’ (many thanks). She then resorted to google translate on her phone to try to find out what we needed. We had to pass the phone back and forth between us, as we could not get any wifi on our phones! I was somewhat aghast when she wrote on the screen ‘tutto quello che mi hai dato è spazzatura completa’ (everything you have given me is complete rubbish), indicating that this is what I was trying to convey to her. ‘No, no’ I said. I then had the phrase, ‘I just need some sharp knives for chopping meat and vegetables’ translated into Italian: ‘Ho solo bisogno di alcuni coltelli affilati per tagliare carne e verdure’ (in case you ever need that phrase!) She showed me the steak knives in the drawer, and we told her that they were no good. Does this Italian lady cook anything at all, or has she bucked the trend? I decided to use body language to indicate a preference for small, medium and large.
One consequence of having to wait for the knives was that we ended up with an extremely stale loaf of bread, as we could neither tear it with our hands nor cut it with an eating knife! No matter, I am a dab hand at making delicious food out of stale bread.

The positive end to the story is that later that day Mrs A brought some brand new knives for me, and all is well. However, the wifi is still pathetic, and I have a long list to make of other equipment that Alberto needs to buy for his apartment (a can opener for instance would please many visitors!) I get the feeling that he is quite new to this business.
If you read the link to my review of his property on Trip Adviser which I shall be writing later on, you will understand that this is a good property and very pleasant, as well as being in a great location.

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Maison Ailleurs – A Real Gem of a Hotel in Chartres


Maison Ailleurs

The pattern of our long jaunts in Europe for the past few years has been to spend a week travelling and staying in hotels (we did try camping a few times, but have reverted back to hotels now!), two or three weeks in a self-catering villa or apartment and then another week travelling home staying in hotels.

I am always responsible for booking the self-catering accommodation, as I have exacting requirements regarding the kitchen and swimming pool. Paul plans our routes using the Atlases and Google maps, so he books the ferries and hotel accommodation. He always books a range of hotels, some of which are very cheap and some of which are mid-range or upmarket. Booking several months ahead means he can find some excellent deals and discounts. He has been in the habit of booking somewhere really special and more upmarket for our last night. For instance, last year we stayed in a Parador in Spain, which was an incredible experience!

We arrived at Maison Ailleurs late afternoon on Friday 25th August. We could tell immediately that this was going to be a completely different kind of experience. Yes it was our treat, our posh hotel, but this was not a hotel with a restaurant or bar or grand public areas. There was no pool or spa. This was truly a home-from-home, although nothing like our modest cottage! Madame Valerie Genique came out to meet us, and we were able to park the car very conveniently in the courtyard. She explained to me the next day that they do not believe that it is good practice in a small hotel to have reception staff sitting at a desk, rather that the greeting process should be more personal.

The Staircase at Maison Ailleurs

Valerie showed us our suite, which is one of three in the hotel, Chambre Le Jardin. As you can see in the photos, the decor is beautiful, and the colours happen to be my very favourite, a blue/turquoise reminiscent of the sea. The suite comprises a large bedroom, a walk-in wardrobe, a separate toilet, a dressing room/shower room and a kitchenette. The ceilings are very high and the beautiful turquoise curtains are floor-to-ceiling- maybe about 15′ high. As we live in a cottage in which we can touch the ceilings without standing on a ladder, this was a bit of a novelty. There are such beautiful, personal touches everywhere: proper glasses and a welcome bottle of water by the bed; large towels, dressing gowns, a choice of seating and a writing table and beautifully wrapped soap. In the kitchenette you could make yourself a decent cup of coffee with the machine provided, or even prepare some simple snacks before going out for dinner. I do welcome fridges in hotel rooms. It amazes me how many hotels in the mediterranean provide extra blankets, but no fridge. What I really want after a hot journey is a long, cold drink and the facility to chill more drinks.

The Dressing Room in Chambre Le Jardin at Maison Ailleurs

The Bedroom at Maison Ailleurs

Valerie explained to us that breakfast would be served either in the room or out in the garden if the weather was fine. She also told us that in Chartres throughout the summer season there is an amazing festival of lights around the city, and pointed out on the local map the best place to look for restaurants.

We had a wonderful night’s sleep, and were pleased to make use of the excellent shower twice; many hotel rooms have really inadequate showers, and many a time have I flooded floors or stood under a freezing or too-hot jet of water. By the morning Paul had persuaded me that I should interview Valerie for my blog piece. I was feeling more confident about my French speaking skills, as always happens when we stay in the country. In fact the owner of the previous hotel had complimented me on my language skills.

We had a delicious breakfast; yoghurt, granola, a superior strawberry smoothie, a small, delicious cake, croissants and plenty of good quality bread with butter and jam. We turned down the offer of eggs. Oh, and not forgetting a generous cafetiere – I do love my coffee! This was all served by Monsieur and Madame in the garden.

Paul enjoying his Petit Dejeuner dans le Jardin de Maison Ailleurs

I chatted to Valerie in French for about 20 minutes after breakfast.  We sat in the beautiful garden. What is most appealing about the garden is that it is divided into little rooms, rather than having an expanse of lawn with beds. It was a great compliment to me that it emerged from the conversation that her husband is in fact English! He made some coffee and left us to it, and she did not speak in English at all. Maison Ailleurs has featured in magazines and guides, including some of the Alastair Sawday guides (excellent source of high-quality hotels and B and Bs).

The couple have four young children; we did not see them at all. They obviously take up a lot of time, but Valerie still has time to run an amazing establishment with her husband. They bought the house in 2012, and started living there in 2013. They completed many renovations and redecoration of the house and have three rooms for paying guests. Chambre Le Jardin, the suite we stayed in, is in fact the smallest. There are two other suites, Chambre L’Eveche on the same floor as ours, and a family suite, Chambre Charles V. This suite apparently occupies most of the second floor and is very extensive and ideal for a couple with a baby.

Maison Ailleurs is open all year round, but there is a quiet period from November to May. Usually the family takes a holiday for one week in July and one week in August.

Valerie and Sarah in the Garden of Maison Ailleurs

During the conversation, the other English couple who were staying came over to say good-bye, and I had a friendly conversation with them. I felt I had to tell them that I had photographed their car, as for us it was a rare event over our 4 week holiday to see another GB registered car!

Obviously the Geniques employ a housekeeper and gardener, but it is clear that they are very hands-on and that this is what makes the hotel so personal and unique.

By the way, we did go to the Lumieres show, which was spectacular. See the pictures below.

Chartres Cathedral – Les Lumieres

Les Lumieres by the water in Chartres

If you travelling through Chartres or even plan to stay for longer, I cannot reccommend this hotel highly enough. It is a little bit of luxury that I think we all need from time to time! Have a look at the website to make a booking: http://www.maisonailleurs.com/index.html