Bounty of The Earth

It’s farmer’s market day at our local pub The Railway in Streatham. It’s quite a bijou affair but there’s always a good assortment of provender to be had.

Last time we asked Andy from Gill Wing Farm to bring us a box of whatever vegetables were available. I’ve seen some of the organic boxes that the big suppliers (you know who they are) offer, and the prices they charge, but Andy's offering was a huge baker’s tray creaking with scallions, beetroot - with the tops still on! - kale, chard, cucumbers, aubergines, courgettes and lettuce.

That supermarket is getting further and further away.

This is more like my weekly order from Dr. Gwen Egginton when I lived up in Bridlington. She’d call me on Thursday night to take my order, and it would arrive the next day by WWOOFer courier. Occasionally I’d cycle over to Nafferton and pick up my order in person. It was always a joy to stroll around her smallholding as Gwen shared the deep wisdom of her little ecosystem “that plant - Limnanthes douglasii - attracts hover flies which eat the aphids” and so forth.

I’m glad I ambled a while along the path of life in her company. The world could learn a lot from Gwen and would be a better place for it.

Se Voaras Mais Ao Perto

(I have no idea what that means but I love the song)

Today is the national day of Portugal and the Portugese are partying all over the world.

This year the English venue is just up the road on Streatham Common. Since 11am they've been celebrating.

It's a dull, overcast English summer day but sultry. We have all the windows open and the music is wafting through along with the barbecue smoke. The sardine is now an ofishially endangered species.

We strolled around earlier and I've never seen so many people on the common. Huge trucks laden with food and drink have driven from Portugal for today's hooley - and boy are they having a hooley.

http://www.dayofportugaluk.co.uk/

Villains, Schnorrers and Ragamuffins Beware

There's a new crimefighter in da hood.

And today's dose of silliness is...

Well, it all began with this weeks brief for us illustrious members of the PSAD

Cue The Village People Awa-Rich!

Superstition.

I was thinking about the hand signs people make to fend off evil spirits. A really complex one could protect you from anything. Plus fancy prestidigitation comes in handy if you use an iPad a lot.

Then it got daft, so it was time to fire up Comic Life 3.

Linguistic note: The strange language is that of my stepfather (I always feel uncomfortable calling him that - let's just call him Dave, I do.) When he came into my life I couldn't understand a word he said and thought he was foreign.

"Nah then Wizzmob" was a traditional greeting of the menfolk of East Hull.

Out to Lunch

OMG! I can't believe I just said OMG!
(Sqweee! Upspeak? Vocal Fry)

This social networking has infected my brain cell. The next thing you know I'll be posting photos of my lunch!

Ho well, infra penny...

Brown sticky rice and homemade kimchi - utter bliss!
(and it don't half clear your channels)

Ey! What's brown and sticky Awa Rich?

A Postcard from Vector

I can't contain my curiosity any longer Awa Rich! There's not much to do around here.

OK, here's a sneaky peek at the postcard.

It all began with a silly game to better Olivia's name card at the Putney School of Art and Design Illustration class. I started drawing letters based on Victorian pub signs inspired by David Smith's amazing work.

I've a long way to go but it's something to aim for and a journey of a thousand miles starts with... You know the rest.

I tried drawing scrolls in iDraw some time ago for The Bear's Curry label but I didn't have enough experience with vector manipulation. After drawing the letters to spell out my name I felt more confident having another go.

Victorian pub mirrors often contain natural elements like birds, flowers and fruit. I have another project in the pipeline that has some of these elements in the design Oh you tease Awa Rich!

We were out in the country looking after Lucky the lucky Labradog last week and the wild flowers were blooming in great profusion. They were obvious subjects for some drawing.

I sketched a few roses and other wild flowers which became this vector drawing.

I also decided the sun in the needed some crepuscular rays which took a fair bit of tinkering to get them looking the way I wanted. Then, the great thing about vector drawings - they're just a bunch of building blocks - I assembled the components into one image. There's still a bit to do but here's the story so far.

You're supposed to say "Ta Dah!" Awa Rich.

You can say it then.

I just did Awa Rich!

D'ya wanna see it or not?

Show me the picter Awa Rich!

Valentine Vector

One of my current forms of meditation is creating vector drawings using the iDraw app on my iPad. I can loose myself in the intricate and minute details of getting a line, fill or curve just right. Hours can fly by just like that. I believe it's called flow (according to a Hungarian chap with no vowels in his name - Mihály Csíkszentmihályi - i spy a vowel or two Awa Rich! It was for comic effect! Jeez, people are so literal these days!).

I'm working on a postcard at the moment, and learning a lot about how to bend this odd medium to my vision. Stay tuned for the result.

Last week I traced the Celtic Valentine. I've been meaning to do it since I drew it (I'm a poet and I didn't know it). It was quite a puzzling challenge, it took all day but I was pleased with the result.

The Putney School of Art and Design summer exhibition is on at the moment and I've entered a medley of vector drawings as I'm being encouraged to do more of these. I don't know if that's because Carolyn and Zehra think they have some merit or because I finish them.

There's a hint at the postcard in the bottom right.

Food Glorious Streatham

The Streatham Food Festival

gets under way on Thursday. Despite living here for over 7 years we haven’t been to this event. We’re often away when these local jukes are on but this weekend we’ll be around so I’d best get my eatin’ trousers on!

I was noodling around the website and drooling over all the restaurants we haven’t visited - although I was delighted to see that our local pub The Railway was first on the list of great places to eat in Streatham.

There were so many places I’ve seen from the top deck of the 159 bus but never thought to visit, but now I’ve read about them I have a long list for payday suppers (Lamberts again this Saturday).

I was sufficiently intrigued by The Elephant Bakehouse to pay them a visit today. Hidden away in a cobbled mews I didn’t know existed, off Streatham High Road and surrounded by car repair shops (or was it the same car repair shop that had spilled over into the adjacent buildings?). I love it when I find some new place near where I live that takes me off my beaten tracks.

I rolled up around 1 o’clock and spotted Nicole toing and froing between the bakehouse and a car. “Are you looking for some bread?” she asked. I must be in the right place. The half stable door was open with industrial flyscreen strips obscuring the inside. Duncan peered out between them. “Wotcha got?” I inquired. “Just some white sourdough, want to give it a try?” I certainly did. After a brief chat I parted with some cash and went walkabout to explore the surrounding streets. I was surprised by how many large Victorian houses had ‘Sold’ boards outside and evidence of refurbishment going on. Looks like the gentry are moving back to Streatham.

I wandered home across the common to try the bread with some Italian cheeses and salami I’d bought in Lidl yesterday. It was utterly lovely.

I hope the ancient curse I alluded to in the previous post doesn’t scupper them.

Yin Yang

Success and Failure

I sometimes think I carry an ancient curse around with me. I discover something amazing and it promptly disappears. Perhaps it’s an aspect of that universal rule that fills the world with an abundance of something, until you want some, when it promptly vanishes from the face of the Earth.

My delight at discovering Korea Foods in Mitcham was short lived. On most of my visits I was the only person in the cavernous warehouse - apart from the staff. This did not bode well. On the last visit I was cheerfully and politely informed by the young woman at the checkout that they’d be closing on Sunday and I was welcome to visit them in New Malden. “But I’ve just found you!” I wailed.

Either the people of Mitcham have no taste or - I suspect - there were a lot of people like me who didn’t even know the place was there. I wonder how many other enterprises fail due to a lack of blowing their own trumpet. Now think on…

Oh My Seoul!

I can officially declare The Great Kimchi Experiment a success. It’s been doing its stuff for just over six weeks now and I’ve sampled it regularly during the process. It seems to have settled into a stable state - having gone through the “crazy” stage (as one Korean grandmother called it) when I thought it was destined for the bin.

On my last visit to Korea Foods I bought a pack of poggi kimchi to compare and contrast and the verdict was - as usual when homemade is pitched against manufactured - homemade triumphs every time.

The stainless steel milk churn container that seduced me proved to be impractical as long term storage - partly because it took up too much space in the fridge and partly because it’s not entirely airtight and the stench was tainting everything else in there - in the same way an over ripe Camembert does.

I was going to invest in some Kilner (Mason) jars but a brainwave had me heading for Lidl. I have a variety of dry ingredients stored in dill pickle jars but I didn’t have enough to house the kimchi. A jar of dill pickles is half the price of a Kilner jar and you get dill pickles free inside! Bonus! The pickles are now happily resident in the milk churn (which also makes for easy and healthy grazing) and the kimchi is in the pickle jars, in the fridge - which now smells like a regular fridge. Sorted.

Kimchi is great as an accompaniment but fantastic in soup. Plop it in a few minutes before you serve so it retains its crunch. The soup dampens the kimchi’s fire and is suffused with that certain kimchi je ne sais quoi.

I’ll definitely make some more once I’ve munched my way through this lot. It’s one of those things you can fiddle with until you have your own style.