Outside, the bees are swarming. Busying themselves around the chimney pots, drowning out the sound of bird song. Every year the bees build a nest in the same chimney, and we’re alright with that. We’ve wondered how we might be able to fit some kind of honey tap, and been relieved that when a young jackdaw fell into the chimney, and had to be rescued via an air vent, he’d been able to survive on a protein rich diet of dead bees.
Beneath the buzz we are tending to the plants in the conservatory, waiting to be let out to play in the bank holiday sun.
Now, let me introduce you to the best pork pie I’ve ever come into contact with. Thank you Pork Pie God’s (AKA Baked by Romanos) for this generous gift.
After our awesome Cambridge Eat Up! pot-luck lunch, everyone came away with a goody bag heaving with foodie treats (see Jin’s photo!) My top five highlights, after this delicious pork pie, were: the salt water taffy from Canesmith, caramelised red onion marmalade from Hibiscus Lily, biscotti from Apricot and Fig, chocolate from my chums at Willie’s Cacao, and the tomato and tigernut relish from Bim’s Kitchen ( I used mine as a pasta sauce by adding an egg and some rocket).
The flyers for the Shutter Hub OPEN have arrived, and they are just beautiful. (The image is by Kit Martin, and the design by Tim Jukes.) I’m so happy with them. The full programme is available here, if you want to check it out and come along. I’d love to see you there!
Early in the month I gave a talk with The OGC in London at a symposium called ‘Photography. Not Photographer.’ On the 9th floor of the Digital Catapult Centre, we stood in front of a wall of glass, the view over St Pancras, like some kind of super news reporters. It was a brilliant event, inspiring, and spent with some wonderful people.
Afterwards I trotted back to Kings Cross, and was still so full of joy that I didn’t really mind when I saw I’d missed my train by just one minute, and had another 59 minutes to wait for the next one. Somehow I managed to fill that time quite easily, but accidentally enabling a sex pest and spending half an hour with the police reporting it!
I’d felt sorry for the man as he tried to follow me through the turnstile to the loos. He looked ill, a bit off his face, and ill. I gave him the 30p so that he’d be able to use the toilet, in case he was going to be sick, I thought it was kindest on everyone. I was wrong. As I washed my hands, the man walked out of the cubicle behind me. Two other ladies looked at me uncomfortably and I apologised for giving him the 30p. He must have followed me in by accident, I thought. Seems not. Seems he went for a ‘pleasure’ in the ladies and then told me he’d seen me in the toilet, and some other stuff, that I’m not going to share here for three reasons, (1. My mum might read it, 2. Your mum might read it, 3. Google might shut me down!) but I am sure you can imagine, if you really want to. I was just going to leave it, because I’ve had worse experiences, but then I thought, ‘What if he does it to someone else, or thinks that because he got away with this he can take it to another level?’ So, I reported it. It was the right thing to do. The police took it very seriously, more seriously than me.
Probably the most important thing I learnt from this experience, and why I am sharing it with you, is that British Transport Police have a special number you can text to report a crime on your train or at your station discreetly. That number is 61016. Store it to your phone, and find out more here.
After the sprint at MIRA, we went to Blyton Park with Lotus on Track for a track day. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I went backwards through a field. Here’s the onboard video, I was doing about 90mph when I took the detour! Obviously not fast enough.
In other car related news, I was asked if I’d be interested in writing about a super car experience, in relation to Father’s Day. I don’t have a dad, so I was going to hire in a fake one, but seems that’s not what they were after. Never mind. I’ll just keep driving my own car into fields!
And I did an interview (for a publication) with a chap called Tarquin. He asked me how old I was, and if I was from the West Country. I told him to eff off. He then he asked me what was the worst thing that could happen on a sprint, and I said ‘dying’ and I don’t think he thought that was a real answer, so I changed it to ‘being maimed’ and he seemed much happier.
All is well in chicken world. Patty Slipper is still sleeping in our house, and that’s just the norm now. She is so much happier and healthier. Margaret has gone broody, so we are having to turf her off the eggs and send her out into the daylight, and April, well, she’s a funny one – take a look at this!
I met up with Jackie at The Brampton Mill the other week, and having not been here for ages, I was really pleasantly surprised. We both had delicious salads (fries and aioli just out of shot!) and looked out across the river.
It was a beautiful day, and it reminded me how important it is to enjoy the seasons while they last.
I mentioned before how I’ve received some lovely post lately, and I wanted to send more. Whilst out on one of my rummaging missions I came across some postcards of Bordeaux, by a photographer named Marcel Delboy. (Alright Trigger!) Without much thought I picked them up for Jaime, who’d recently made a trip there, and popped them in the post. Little did I know it would make her ugly cry! Apparently it was good-ugly though, and that’s alright. She even wrote a lovely tale about receiving them here, and reading that gave me goose pimples, so I think that was a fair exchange!
Let me know if you want me to send you something in the post that will bring you to tears!
(Don’t worry, I didn’t pick that rat up!)