Good ideas

If you have a Wii www.wiifitroutine.com is a fantastic web site. I replaced my gym membership with a Wii two years ago and have been feeling extremely bored. This site has a range of 15, 30, 45 and 1 hour routines that combines what the Wii offers in ways I never would have thought of combining them.


 Every now and again exercise habits need a boost but, as I have realised, the body needs blob time. The festive season for a Jew means Chanukah candles, a few doughnuts and not much else, such calm in the midst of people in pre-Xmas melt down. My inactivity reached it's trough today with  the annual Anne & Sue mid winter slob day. We ate and watched DVDs. In our defense we did watch a PBS documentary series on the American Civil War. This is probably a little more meaningful than previous choices such as 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and was much more interesting than it probably sounds and has inspired me to finally actually look for a American Studies course at the Open U.


The moral of the story: stopping every now and again is incredibly energising. Just don't do it. 

say no to perfection

Tis the season that those of us who do not do Xmas to feel wise and slightly guru-like as the rest of the world seems to go mad.
At this point I would like to make the link between parties, weddings and Christmas celebrations.
Television is full of advertisements and programmes showing the perfect Christmas. Brides want 'the perfect day' and who has not been to an over-planned and somewhat stiff and uncomfortable party. 
People perfection does not exist. How liberating, how joyful to drop any attempt at any time at all to attempt to achieve perfection. Relax and enjoy life and laugh at the mistakes.

My email to Fortnum and Mason

I love living in London and one of my annual delights is to go around the West End looking at the seasonal lights and decorations.
As usual Fortnum and Mason trumped everyone else with your stunning window displays. So on Thursday 8th December I decided the icing on the cake of a lovely afternoon had to be afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason.
Afternoon tea was 18 pounds but this is once a year and Fortnum and Mason.
The menu also states there is a discretionary service charge. I have followed, over the years, discussions on Radio 4 about such discretionary charges and just how discretionary they are. I was interested to see how Fortnum and Mason dealt with this. I told my waiter I did not want to pay the charge. He looked puzzled and took my 20 pound note. After some time no change appeared and I asked what was happening. I got given a second copy of my bill and still no change. When it finally came it was a collection of small coins (was that really necessary) and was scattered over my table some falling to the floor. The waiter did apologise but his general surly demeanor giving me my change said a lot more than his apology.
Ironically my change was 2.25. What did I do with this change? I put it in a Shelter collection bucket.
And the icing on the cake? The undercooked  iced cup cake.

Brighton

We had a great weekend. Hannah went to see Aaron in Brighton on Friday. Ruthie went down on Saturday and Clive and I came down on Sunday. Aaron pointed out that no one from their families come to visit his flatmates. We all looked at him blankly-of course we had to come and see him. It is times like this I really do feel like the Jewish mother.
I also had 2 opportunities to do the wise old aged one thing.
Ruthie went to Brighton with a friend whose birthday it was and was wondering what to buy with a very limited budget. I showed her how to make her first cake explaining that baking is essentially chemistry and measuring really is a good idea. The girl is a natural born cake decorating genius and it looked fab. She now knows the  power of cake making to impress.
Sunday the husband took a hung over Ruthie and a very amused Hannah walking whilst Aaron and I looked at possibilities for his Masters and strategies to get there. I persuaded him to buy a diary. I really believe to do's in the diary stop them floating around in my head and as a consequence make life a lot less stressful. Aaron now agrees. I am the Yoda of NW4.
So what cake? Of course the wondrous One Egg Chocolate Sponge  from the Edmonds Cookbook-a NZ staple. This is my slack version of making it,
Melt 50gm of butter and a tablespoon of golden strup.
Stir in a cup of sugar and 1 egg.
Add a splash of vanilla essence.
Add
1 tsp baking powder
1 and 3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon cocoa
Mix in a cup of milk in which 1 tsp of baking soda has been dissolved.
bake half an hour at 190
I have made this since I was 9 and it has never failed.