19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 2
March 6th, 1807. George is off to Italy, where I am sure he will have a capital time ogling churches and whores, and buying paintings that might be by Salvator Rosa but are probably not. [more…]
Hobbies
Arts
Postcard from the Algarve, No 4
Ms Geeks and I do love a great escape to warmer climes. The Algarve ticks all the boxes for us: lovely freshly caught seafood, friendly people, plenty of spaces to park anywhere and a population [more…]
Arts
Pistachio Ice Cream
Ingredients : 8oz (225g) unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts 1 pint (570ml) double cream 1 pint (570ml) single cream 4oz (110g) golden caster sugar 8 large egg yolks 1 1/2 tablespoons of custard powder Method [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 1
Cambridge, Novr. 6th, 1805. I did not dance well at the Bonfire Night show on Midsummer Common. Afterwards, Fred said to me, ‘Daisy, me ole dear. Yer knows and I knows yer gettin’ a bit [more…]
Arts
Christmas Chestnut Soup and Bacon Croutons
I have one rule for Christmas Day: Everything must be home made. No pre-prepared shop stuff because it’s naff. This is an easy starter for Christmas Day. I love soups for Christmas Lunch/Dinner because they’re [more…]
Arts
The Geek’s Guide To Distilling Commercial Gin For £2.50 A Litre Bottle
First, for those people in the UK and other countries where it is illegal to distil spirits without a licence, here’s the legal bit: “It is illegal to manufacture spirits in the UK without a [more…]
Animals
Fish and their Chips
You’ve seen the creation of the Aquarium, introduction of the fish and corals and watched it settle in. The set up took around three months from initial purchase, fit out, water conditioning and maturing to [more…]
Animals
Aquarium – Corals
With all the fish in place, the next step up is coral. There are two types generally stocked, soft Corals and Hard Corals – the soft ones are easier to look after, needing less light, [more…]
Cooking
Saucisses en croûte
Dead easy recipe for a midweek treat. Prep time – 15 mins Cook time – 30 – 40 mins You will need: 2 packs of good quality sausages 1 pack of bacon 1 medium sized [more…]