The best raspberry jam!

From Flickr

I heard an item on the news this morning about workers going fruit picking on the fruit farms in Tiptree in Essex.  Some go to have a cheap holiday, the rest are mainly students from eastern European countries earning money for their studies.  The fruit farms are owned by Wilkin and Sons who make the Tiptree range of conserves and jams.

That reminded me of the raspberries I used to grow, always far too many of them, until the family was heartily sick of them.  I gave them to everyone in sight.  They became heartily sick of them.  So I started on jam-making, using the recipe given to me by my mother-in-law.  It did produce a particularly good jam which was very popular with family and friends alike.

To make 10 bs jam:

6 lbs washed rasberries
6 lbs warmed preserving sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
Sterilised jars

Place the raspberries in a pan and heat until the juices run.  Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Add the sugar to the pan and stir until completely dissolved.
Add the lemon juice.
Bring back to the boil while stirring.
Boil rapidly without stirring for exactly 3 minutes.
Pour into hot jam jars and seal immediately.

I would add "enjoy", but that goes without saying.

Framed

I was almost spoilt for choice today because I look out for views that are framed in some way. Of the ones I've chosen from an assortment of places, some are framed by arches, but two provided their own frames.

The keep of Dover Castle framed by an entrance archway.

A balcony on a building in Prague, framed by statues and balcony structures.  I don't believe the one above is really a balcony, just put there to finish the frame.

A water feature at Walmer Castle, framed by an arch.  This is the garden presented to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 1997 to celebrate her 95th birthday.

In Prague again,a doorway framed by art nouveau decorative features.  There are so many beautiful buildings in Prague.

Finally a river view taken from underneath a bridge, one late afternoon in December.


Now pay a visit to TNchick's site where you can find more interpretations of "framed".

A walk around Canterbury

The first view of the Norman stone carved gateway into the cathedral.  Normally there are queues of people waiting to go in but this day there were far fewer people than I saw 18 months ago, and who were standing in the pouring rain.  However I hadn't come to see the cathedral, but for a walk around the small and ancient city, where every other building seems to be at least Grade II Listed, historic protected buildings.

The original parts of this one, Conquest House, date from the Norman conquest in 1066, but it has been altered over the years and now appears to be 17th century.  Inside it retains Norman features.  It is said to be where the killers of Thomas a Beckett met to plan the murder.

At every turn there are views of the cathedral.

"... a very old house bulging out over the road ... leaning forward trying to see who was passing on the narrow pavement below ..." Charles Dickens 1849.

The inscription above the doorway I suspect has been added since this building became a bookshop.  It was once the King's School Tuck shop and is still known as that, probably one of the best known in Canterbury.  It dates from the 17th century.

I understand the door has been made to exaggerate the leaning of the building.  It has the most unusual effect when you go through because you lose reference to the vertical.  Quite dizzy-making!  I was brave though, and even went upstairs.

Another glimpse of the cathedral from a side street.

The sign on the building reads: "Sun Hotel formerly known as the Little Inn made famous by Chas. Dickens in his travels through Kent", and adds that the hotel dates from 1503 though the building may be much earlier.  It was the birthplace of John Lyly, a contemporary of Shakespeare.  The top floor has been restored recently.

Walking down to the river you come across the Weavers' House built in 1500. French and Flemish weavers came to England to escape religious persecution and were given special rights and privileges. The leaning house I mentioned earlier is another weaver's house.

The bridge over the River Stour.

Following the river you come to Greyfriars chapel that actually straddles the Stour. It was built after the arrival of Franciscan monks in 1224.  It's in a wonderfully peaceful spot in spite of being no distance at all from the city centre.

That's more or less where I ended my visit, though I do have many more photos.  'll try to upload them to Flickr over the next few days, rather than bulk this out even further, and update the post with a link. 

Canterbury is another UNESCO World Heritage Site but very fortunately, one that has much more to offer than the site itself.  History is oozing out of every brick and stone.  Having looked up the background of many of the buildings, of course I now want to go back and revisit.  Then there's the cathedral itself ....

This evening

The day, water, sun, moon, night - I do not have to purchase these things with money. ~ Plautus

Numerical analysis

A sandy beach, on a Friday before the schools had broken up for the holidays, taken in the early afternoon.

A shingle (pebbled) beach, taken on a Saturday in the early afternoon, during the school holidays.

It seems obvious that, numerically, people prefer sandy beaches.  I am perfectly happy with that distribution of numbers.  I like having a beach almost to myself.

A clock of course has a numerical basis, even if the numbers themselves are Roman.  This one wasn't numerically accurate though, because the photo was taken at 9:30 in the morning, in Pisa.

This magnificent astronomical clock in Prague must be based on numerical calculations....

... because it even has every day of the year marked on the lower face, the calendar.  However the one thing it doesn't tell, is the time of day.

Pay a visit to TNchick's site where you can find more interpretations of "numerical".

PS I'm still struggling with line spacing and sometimes other formatting disappearing when I switch from HTML to Compose mode in Blogger.  It makes posting very, very laborious.  Is nobody else having problems?

From the White Cliffs

The White Cliffs seen from the lookout at Dover Castle, but this isn't about the White Cliffs themselves, just the view from them.

If you were to follow the cliffs around, you would end up in St Margaret's Bay. There is a hair-raising road down to the bay, or a hair-raising pathway. Take your pick.

The main ferry terminal for cross-channel routes. It didn't look terribly busy that day, but of course it was mid-week and the summer season will soon be drawing to a close.  On occasions, mainly if something is going wrong, you can get queues of cars and lorries just waiting to get into the docks area, either all the way down that sloping road, or right through Dover itself.  Best not to venture out on those days.

Although it looked busy enough, some of the ferry operators are struggling. From Dover you can cross to Dunkirk (Dunkerque), Boulogne or Calais.

Looking over Dover and the western docks from the top of the castle keep. There is now a terminal for cruise ships, as well as marinas. Much of Dover had to be rebuilt after WWII.

Another view from the castle keep, this time showing the Western Heights, considered to be some of the most impressive fortifications in Great Britain.  It is asking for a visit of its own. Any day now.

Orange

Better late than never, as the saying goes.  I had the pictures already picked out when I discovered that for some reason all line spacing has gone, but here they are, without much description.
I didn't find it especially easy to find suitable photos and in fact each of these comes from the autumn, even into winter.

Warning sign - harvesting grapes

Chrysanthemums

Leaves in October

Leaves in November

Oranges in December

This last one is a photo I took at a Christmas Fair.  The dried oranges had cinnamon sticks, slices of apple and, I think, some form of red pepper in between, all making a sweet smelling decoration.  Perhaps you could call it a modern form of pomander.
Sorry this post looks such a mess.  Blame Blogger.  I've asked in the Help Forum but there's been no response.

Pisa, more than just a tower.

The Leaning Tower for which Pica is most famous is, without a doubt, spectacular even though it's surprisingly hard to photograph in a way that truly shows the angle.  Tourists flock to it, to take photos of each other standing in front of it, or apparently propping it up.

The Square of Miracles, Piazza dei Miracoli, or the Piazza del Duomo (its original name) is the first thing most people would see in Pisa.  Many are dropped off there by coaches.  The cathedral dominates the square.

The largest baptistery in Italy

The Baptistery is opposite the end of the cathedral.  The Tower isn't the only building in Pisa to lean, they all seem to have their own version of vertical.  At times it's hard to know how to line things up while taking a photo.

On the left is the Monumental Cemetery, the Campo Santo, said to be the most beautiful cemetery in the world.

Tabernacle above the Campo Santo

This was the original doorway, surmounted by a Gothic tabernacle containing the Virgin Mary and four saints.  It dates from the second half of the 14th century.

A panel from one of the bronze cathedral doors, showing where people have touched parts of it: the head of the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus, and unaccountably, the man on the extreme right.  Or maybe it's not unaccountable.

The Cathedral interior is probably less elaborate than some, but beautiful nevertheless.  Take the time to look carefully and look up, those who say it's a disappointment.

And that is more or less all anyone ever sees of Pisa.  Now, if you want to see all these properly, it will take you hours, all of a day trip which is what the vast majority of people do.  It is such a shame!  There is much, much more to Pisa than the immaculately kept UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dare to stray a little further into the city and you will find fewer crowds and a thriving, vibrant city with history at every turn.  Its university students keep it lively, it's small enough to be easily to walk everywhere, and it's a voyage of discovery.

Just a few hundred metres, and you come across the church of San Sisto, one of the oldest
churches in Pisa.

Then you arrive at the Piazza dei Cavalieri, the Knights' Square and sometimes also called the Square of the Seven Streets.

One of the seven streets approaching the square.

The highly selective Scuola Normale Superior, part of the university system.

There are more historic and interesting buildings alongside the river Arno where once ships were built.

There are almost too many things to mention in a single blog post.  I would wish that people spent less time propping up the Leaning Tower** and more time exploring the ancient city.

** I am clearly developing into an old curmudgeon.  People were grouped all over the place attempting to produce "propping up the Leaning Tower" shots.  They aren't particularly easy to get right so they had to stay in position for many times longer than usual resulting in a "traffic jam" of photographers.

I've uploaded several more photos, too many to show here, on to Flickr.