The City of London at night

I love the buzz of London; an exciting, vibrant city with stunning architecture that I sadly don't visit often enough.

While daughter was enjoying her dinner, I took my camera for a walk.

Night photos are not really my forte & walking the streets alone is not my preferred time but I kept to well lit routes & just enjoyed the time when The City changes from work to pleasure ....

I really love London visits & am hoping next time I will have loads more time to spend tramping the streets, exploring & of course taking photos.

Thanks for stopping by, I always enjoy your comments,
Dee ~♥~

London calling ....

Hi everyone

Sorry that I have been absent but London was calling last week & that is a call that could not be refused!

StacySparkle needed to be in London for a formal dinner so we met up at her university to make our way from Shropshire to London - with some time to spare only to find at the last minute that our booked train was cancelled due to a tree on the track at New Street Station ...

I know - when you really have to be somewhere & that announcement comes on, your heart really sinks! Virgin Trains directed us across to Moor Street Station where we managed to board a later Chiltern Trains to London.

Nice enough but it was bringing us into Marylebone Station at rush hour instead of our original Euston Station at an earlier time.

We calculated our time & with 2 tube changes across rush hour London, we would just about get to the hotel to change then make the 3 blocks back to her event.

So plan B was hatched with some lovely co-travellers. She changed into everything except her evening gown, then 2 lovely ladies found a mirror for her to do her make-up while another helped out to curl her hair on the train. A business lady who was working on her laptop worked out exactly which tubes we needed & from which lines so that we were ready when the train stopped in Marylebone.

A rush to the busy tube stations to join the crush of those starting their homeward journeys, do our 2 changes, find an obliging taxi driver to give us directions to our Apex-london-wall-hotel, a quick 20 minute change then off to the very plush Grocers Hall for her ....

She looked stunningly elegant in her elegant Coast dress & jacket - perfectly elegant & conservative for the event.

She met up with me afterwards & we did some photos then off to our hotel for some much needed rest.

My littlest one had become a confident young lady - perfectly at ease in a very formal setting & knowing she looked good!

How proud we are as parents when our fledglings are able to take on challenges & new situations with ease & poise!

Thank you for stopping by; I always enjoy your comments.

Dee ~♥~

Applesauce cake

Apple season - what a joy. Although I have no apple trees of my own, I have been enjoying the generous apples given by friends & family. So many interesting varieties from pink & sweet to some tart ones ...

I always skin, peel & lightly stew some chunks & slices to use over the winter because they freeze so well.

I came across this fabulous blog debs dust bunny & she shared her almost-grannys-spiced-applesauce-cake recipe. I had never heard of an applesauce cake but when I read the ingredients, I knew I would like it as it has all those lovely winter spices of cinnamon, ginger & cloves; they combine to fill the house with a comforting, familiar smell.

I also knew that I had some applesauce in the freezer so that was our Sunday treat!

Quick & easy to make (especially as my foodies did it - thanks guys)

Finished & ready on the sideboard for slicing ....



We had run out of cinnamon by the time we made the icing so used allspice instead.

The proof is always in the eating & with cold rainy weather, we couldn't wait for it to cool properly (so the icing started to melt) before tucking in with a cup of tea.

The verdict - it is simply heavenly, something that could easily be served as a pudding if the need arose. It was quick & easy to make & really yummy.

Thanks for sharing your recipe Debs, it is most definitely a 'keeper'

Thanks for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated
Dee ~♥~

Celebrating apples ....

 

It is that time of the year again - the nights are drawing in & we all look for comfort food.

What more do you need than to head out & pick some of the wonderful apples that are about or just try some different ones at the supermarket or farm shops.

There are so many local varieties that are just much nicer than the few that the supermarkets stock.

While in Dorset, I picked some off the family apple tree & just knew they were perfect for a traditional Dorset Apple Cake

My friend has an orchard at her lovely Stone Cottage & we picked some apples for cooking & collected the fallers for the pigs to enjoy at our local farm shop - too precious to just waste or leave to rot ...

Lots of different varieties, colours & flavours - perfect for Autumn cooking

These are some of our recent apple recipes

I always cut up lots of apples when there are so many about, peel & gently cook them, then freeze them in manageable portions to use over winter in cakes, for apple sauce or to combine with other fruits for crumbles.

 

So folks - try some home-grown / local apples to celebrate our magnificent Autumn fruits & please share your recipes so we can all try something new.

 

I always enjoy your feedback & comments & your links mean I can return the visit.

 

Dee ~♥~

Street photos in Ludlow

As many of you know, I am seldom without my compact Sony handbag camera or my large Canon 40D with my 24-105 lens.

I love nothing more than to wander about taking photos of towns & places I visit.  My visit to the pretty south Shropshire town of Ludlow with friends was no exception. These are some scenes I captured around town ...

I love the beautiful colours of these bottles

I am always striving to improve my food photography

Autumn colours on the market

Hot chocolate time ...

Fabulous Tudor buildings

 

 

My photography bugbear - street clutter - signs, boards, vans, scaffolding ... not good for photos ...

 

 

Do you have a particular subject you enjoy photographing? Animals, like my friends cats, are hard because they just don't pose long enough.  Do you take photos of places you visit?

 

Thanks for stopping by, I always enjoy your feedback

Dee ~♥~