Remember, remember the fifth of November

No, this isn't a blog about Guy Fawkes and "The Gunpowder Plot".

Despite a hectic weekend I have managed to claw back the lost words and now am 749 words ahead of schedule - whoo hoo - go for it team Rozie!

Maybe because I am punch drunk with tiredness I have decided to reorganise the way I work. I was writing sections in the order I think they should occur in the book. However I've found this to be quite hard and disjointed. It means switching off from one POV and starting another when each "scene" is complete. I'm finding that, at times, that interrupts the narrative flow as sometimes a character doesn't want to let go my attention. Up to now I'm been firm:

"Stop talking, Daniel. It's Shiva's turn."

"But this is interesting, you can't stop now!"

"Yes, I can - it'll keep."

and then later:

"Okay Daniel, I'm back! Now, where were we?"

*SILENCE*

"C'mon Daniel, I've got targets to reach!"

"Go away, I'm not talking to you!"

"Oh puhleeze, you're a character in a book!"

"Hmmph..."

But it gets a bit wearying when you sit there and the words won't come, so from now on I'll let the characters dictate the pace and order - let's face it I need their cooperation and I can always chop and change the order when I'm editing!

Punch drunk but happy

Time for bed.

One and a half hours intense tapping... I didn't even notice the time go by, but my body did - sheesh!

Too tired to know if what I've written is crap yet but it felt GOOD to get it down :)

And we're off!

Midnight has struck! NaNoWriMo is officially begun for this time zone. So far I have written:
two messages on Face Book to commemorate the start; changed the working title from "A Single Stubborness" to "Verity and Virtuality" - catchy huh? - and written this blog...

Hmmm.

Gearing up for NaNoWriMo!!!

Well, I've added the word counter to this page and from tomorrow I hope you'll all be able to see my progress as I toil towards the 50,000 word goal by the 30th of the month!

For those who have no idea what this is about please visit http://www.nanowrimo.org

It isn't too late to join if you want!

This is the 4th year that I have attempted this challenge. Last year I reached my goal and "won", so wish me luck for similar success this time round.

Why I will be wearing red today

http://elizabethwong.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/wear-red-for-burma-this-friday/

My father was born in Rangoon. Though his family - all known relations - left Burma in the 40s (as a result of being Anglo-Burmese and subject to restrictions if they stayed after nationalisation) we have always felt connected to and exiled from that tragic and beautiful country. Though this gives me a personal reason to be interested in the events occurring in Burma at this time that is not the only reason for my blog or public display of support.

Burma, I have never been comfortable with using the name Myanmar, is a land rich in naturel resources. It is the largest country in South East Asia and one of the poorest. The government is by militart junta despite the fact that a free election in 1990 resulted in a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy which won 392 out of 492 seats. Since then the party leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest.

Read more about the plight of the people of Burma, their elected and imprisoned leader and the regime that oppresses them at http://www.witness.org/index.php?option=com_rightsalert&Itemid=178&task=view&alert_id=53 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar http://www.dassk.com/index.php

and then you will see why I wear red in sorrow as well as in support. I hope that, even if you do not choose to do the same, that you will spare a thought and send a prayer to whatever gods you believe in for those brave enough to protest and all the peoples of Burma and their future.


In The Quiet Land(By Daw Aung San Suu Kyi)

In the Quiet Land, no one can tell
if there's someone who's listening
for secrets they can sell.
The informers are paid in the blood of the land
and no one dares speak what the tyrants won't stand.

In the quiet land of Burma,
no one laughs and no one thinks out loud.
In the quiet land of Burma,
you can hear it in the silence of the crowd

In the Quiet Land, no one can say
when the soldiers are coming
to carry them away.
The Chinese want a road; the French want the oil;
the Thais take the timber; and SLORC takes the spoils...

In the Quiet Land....
In the Quiet Land, no one can hear
what is silenced by murder
and covered up with fear.
But, despite what is forced, freedom's a sound
that liars can't fake and no shouting can drown.

Photo of Aung San Suu Kyi and her poem are from her website http://www.dassk.com/

Healthy eating isn't about deprivation, though you do have to compromise sometimes

When I used to think of dieting I always thought of carrot sticks and celery having to be substituted for "nice things". Don't get me wrong, I like carrot and celery, but when I fancy chocolate or cheese then they are poor substitutes.

Fat is one of the main calorie and taste providers in our diets. Fat tastes good. Remove it and food can taste less unctuous and luxurious, and our taste buds can feel deprived. If the word "fat" turns you off, then think butter, cream, cheese...

There are obvious substitutes for butter etc. : low fat spread; yoghurt; quark; low fat cheese. They all have their place and their uses but, if you are like me, your heart will sink into your boots at the thought of them when you want something really pleasurable to eat. Sometimes you have to forgo the pleasure, but at others there are ways to compromise and still end up feeling satisfied with your food.

Here is a good example of what I mean. Smoked salmon risotto with lemon butter sauce. Doesn't that sound fab? It's a recipe by Sandra Tate from Masterchef. When I worked out the calories it came to approx. 1325 calories! That's nearly my daily allowance.
So I've taken the idea and made my own version. It isn't what you would think of as "diet food" since each portion is approx. 540 calories. Not low calorie food but half the calories of the recipe that inspired me and a lot less fat!

Lightly smoked salmon risotto
serves 3 as a main course

Ingredients

235g lightly smoked salmon fillet, poached.
3 shallots, peeled and diced.
160g arborio rice.
1Tbsp olive oil.
1 carton Morrison's lemon, ricotta and creme fraiche pasta sauce made up to .5 litre with hot water from poaching the salmon.
1 glass dry white wine.
2 small plum tomatoes, diced.
1 handful frozen petit pois.
Freshly ground black pepper.
Juice of half a lemon.
Tabasco sauce (optional)



Method

1. Put salmon in enough boiling water to cover it, bring to the boil and allow to simmer 2-3 minutes. Take off heat and leave in pan to finish cooking.
2. Heat olive oil in large saucepan and fry shallots gently until soft.
3. Add rice and stir to mix thoroughly and cook for a couple o minutes on a gentle heat.
4. Add white wine and stir then leave to simmer until wine evaporated.
5. Add a ladle full of water/sauce mix and let simmer until all liquid absorbed.
6. Repeat step 5 until all liquid added - around 18-20 minutes
7. Add flaked salmon, chopped tomato and petit pois and stir thoroughly. Continue to heat until peas cooked (5 mins MAX). Keep stirring so it won't stick.
8. Season with freshly ground black pepper, juice of half a lemon and 4-12 drops Tabasco (if liked)

You'll note that I used a bought pasta sauce in this. I'm a big fan of making my own sauces but there are occasions when that isn't the best option. I knew I liked the taste of this and that it would complement the dish, but more importantly I could control the calories I put in better by adding the sauce rather than making it from scratch. Most importantly I wouldn't have leftovers of cheddar, creme fraiche and single cream in my fridge to tempt me!

This is actually a good tip generally. If you really want to make a sauce that includes high fat items and know of a good commercial make then use it rather than make your own. It may not be the same as home made but if you are the sort of person who can't resist the leftovers then it guards against temptation. A friend really likes bechemal sauce and is used to making her own. As part of her own calorie conscious regime she has started using Maille's bechemal sauce. This means she can have a couple of teaspoons with her meal without having to throw away the rest of the sauce (or eat it!).

Sandra Tate's Lightly smoked salmon risotto with tender herbs served with lemon butter sauce can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/lightlysmokedsalmonr_4878.shtml for those of you who can afford the calories!

Now, I don't pretend that my version tastes like Sandra Tate's. It isn't meant too. What I have made is an alternative that I can eat and enjoy within the scope of my healthy eating regime. I hope you'll enjoy it too.

Morden Hall Park Walk

Well, I did it! A gentle and solitary amble through a lovely park that, though only minutes away from Morden Tube Station, combines the cultivated delights of a park with tree lined rambles and secret copses as well as the wetlands the National Trust preserve here.

Sorry to go all geeky on you but this is about exercise so here are the stats. The walk is listed in Jarrold's Short Walks (bought because it describes itself as "leisure walks for all ages", so I figured even someone as unfit as I could do them!), as being 2 miles long and taking approximately two hours. Well, I'm going to have to take the author's word on that as I was equipped with neither pedometer or watch on this expedition, but it sounds about right.

This has been a lovely afternoon, golden sunlight for the most part and warm. I took an umbrella, just in case but it wasn't needed. In fact it grew so warm, or maybe that was just exertion, that I wished I'd not worn a jacket.

The walk starts in the car park next to the NT cafe and shop and the garden centre. I stoically ignored both and set off.

First stop the snuff mill and the River Wandle. This is a watermill but unfortunately the waterwheel doesn't work. I stood on the bridge to take this rather ordinary picture of the wheel and the water that rushes past rather than through it.

Whilst I was standing on the bridge trying to figure out the shot, I could hear a granddad teaching his grandson the pleasure of throwing sticks and leaves over the bridge upstream so they would race underneath it and rush through the swirling eddies downstream. Grandson wasn't impressed, he much preferred dropping his leaves off the downstream side. I had to grin as they argued the merits of their preferences - take two humans and you'll always wind up with at least two ways of doing something!

If you cross the bridge you enter the Rose Garden. I didn't as the walk goes straight on through the park - wide open spaces filled with humans and dogs playing or just chilling. Some of the dogs were splashing happily in the Wandle, but none of the humans joined them. It looked inviting but I do wonder how safe it is in terms of those delight urban waterway hazards like Weils disease. Oh, it looked Arcadian enough, but that is only an illusion as the river is conducted through the park in a series of man made channels.

As I trekked along the dusty path I came upon a hawthorn bush. I'm more used to seeing these as part of a hedgerow. They are a favourite for hedges as they are dense and prickly so can make a good barrier to keep animals in - or out. When I was a child I seem to remember being told that one of the names for the hawthorn was "the bread and cheese tree" so I looked it up and found that not only was this true but the haws (as the berries are called) are a great cardiac tonic. In fact it seems that the hawthorn is a pharmacopoeia in itself!http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/info/herbs/hawthorne.asp will give you more details.

I love the hawthorn in its spring incarnation when the beautifully scented white flowers appear. In fact spring doesn't really start until these flowers appear according to folklore 'ne'er cast a clout 'til may is out' refers to the blossoming of may, the hawthorn flower rather than the month itself. And for those who might be a tad confused "clout" in this sense means clothing not "a clout round the ear hole".

One thing you must never do though is pick the may and take it indoors. This can only bring bad luck or even death to the household according to one tradition which may be based on the fact that the hawthorn (well one type) is also the "Thorn of Glastonbury" and so credited with being the tree that Jesus' crown of thorns was fashioned from. According to another tradition may blossom and hawthorn are sacred and taking the flowers into the house will be seen as an invitation to the fairy folk... and fairies aren't all sweetness and light, so don't meddle!

After I'd meditated a while on the hawthorn I remembered what I was supposed to be doing and continued my walk. The way led out of the parkland and over the tram lines at Phipps Bridge Tram stop. I don't know who Phipps was but http://web.ukonline.co.uk/honor.m/towns/mitcham/phipps.html shows some of the interesting houses you pass as you walk along the pavement from the tram stop to the bridge. In the guide the buildings shown in that link are mentioned. What isn't mentioned is that the tram stop services a large estate of what look like local authority flats and houses. Just another reminder that for all the greenery around you are still in an urban setting.

Splattered all across the pavement at one point were green globules which I recognised to be unripe figs. I soon found the tree overhanging the wall of "Wandle Villa". It looks like its been a good year for fruiting but I wonder if any of them will ever ripen. My parents live on the Isle of Wight and used to have a fig tree, I think I only ever got to taste home grown figs once or twice as it seemed to take the fruit at least two years to ripen and most of the buds were dashed off the tree without mercy by the wind. Somehow I suspect the fruit from this tree will suffer the same fate, though it looked like they had been knocked from the branches by helping hands rather than the wind. Tccch!

So, back over Phipps Bridge and past the Dean City Farm. I had intended to stop there but a sign on the gate warned that chemicals had been sprayed over the ground as a precaution against foot and mouth disease and that visitors wearing sandals might wish to wash their feet in the bucket of water provided on leaving the farm. I was wearing sandals but after looking at the very grubby bucket of water I decided to forgo the need to use it and passed on by.

And now into the wetlands. Except they weren't really that wet. Sadly. So whilst I saw plenty of rustling dry looking leaves I didn't see or hear any of the wildlife I'd been hoping for. So, I walked through them hardly glancing from side to side but enjoying the sound of leaves and twigs rasping in the breeze.

I did however manage to find a substantial "crop" of nettles, pity this is NT land so must be left intact. If you don't understand this interest in nettles then it's probably best you don't ask. You are unlikely to need or want to know!

As the wetlands flow into parkland again you can see the river wending its way through the trees again. At this point the banks look natural rather than concrete canals and it's a lovely and refreshing sight. I watched a while to see if there were any birds or other wildlife to spy, but nothing disturbed the tranquillity. Yet even here there were signs of human despoliation. I did wonder how this tyre had ended up here - it seemed a pointless exercise to trundle it through the park just to throw it in the water, but it seems someone felt the need. Tccch!

And so back past the snuff mill and out of the grounds. All in all I enjoyed my ramble. Legs were tired but not really complaining, which bodes well for the future.

Final mileage 2.75 miles if you include the walk into Sutton to catch the bus and the walk to Morden station to catch the bus home.

And when I got home... turkey and plum kebabs.

Yum and less than 250 calories too!

Recipe: turkey and plum kebab

140g skinless turkey breast

4 baby onions

2 ripe plums, stoned and cut into 4 wedges

2tbsp plum sauce

2tbsp orange juice

1 spray sunflower oil

1 fresh birdseye chilli deseeded and sliced finely

1 small yellow paper deseeded and cut into strips

115g pak choi

1. Thread turkey, onion and plums onto presoaked wooden skewers

2. Mix 1tbsp plum sauce and 1tbsp orange juice and brush over kebabs. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes

3. Preheat grill on high and cook kebabs 8-10 minutes or until turkey is cooked through - turn over halfway through cooking

4.Heat a wok until hot and spray with sunflower oil. Add chilli and pepper strips and stirfry for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining plum sauce and orange juice and stirfy 1 more minute.

5. Stir in pak choi and stir fry for 1-2 minutes or until cooked to your liking - I like it still crunchy so 1-2 minutes is fine for me.

Serves 2