Romford Market

I shall use this post to show what this thousand-year-old market town is like in the gloomy days of winter. The celebrated market has been going three times a week for the past 750 yearsThe sprats in this picture are a local delicacy. Lightly dusted with flour and quickly fried in olive oil they are very tasty and very nutritious (full of omega 3 fatty acids)

Autumn in the garden

Fully ripe and half-ripe crab apples

One writer said that gardening is the only hobby or interest that has not been affected by the Fall. It is a reminder of man and woman in their innocency.

I have recently bought a Macro lens for my camera. Apart from its ability to take close-ups it is also excellent for portraiture.

The two images above are shots of crab apples as they ripen on my John Downie tree. Crab-apple trees are a must for the garden. In spring they are covered with a delightful white blossom and in the autumn the berries gradually turn a brilliant red. When they are fully mature we harvest them and make bottles of delicious crab-apple jelly. This can be used either as a jam or as a very tasty accompaniment to ham or various meats.

The following recipe can be found in Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables published by the HMSO ( ISBN 0 11 241321 8). This unpretentious booklet is a mine of culinary information, so I am told.

Wash and cut up the apples (use a food processor for speed); add just enough water to cover (2-3 pints of water to 4 lb of fruit) and simmer for about an hour. Strain the juice. . Bring to the boil and reduce if necessary; then add the sugar and boil rapidly till the setting point is reached. If other flavours are required, for example ginger or cloves or lemon peel, they should be cooked with the crab apples

Crab apples always remind me of a poem by Shakespeare

that has remained in my memory from school days. I remember it simply as Winter, It goes:- When icicles hand by the wall, and goes on to mention roasted crabs hissing in the bowl. Evidently, in Shakespeare's time crab apples were roasted till they were very hot and then they were used to heat drinks that otherwise would chill the stomach.

Romford Market

Romford is quite famous for its market. Shoppers come from miles around to buy fruit, vegetables, fish, clothes and many other items. It takes place three times a week and there has been a market here for over seven hundred years. In days gone by the stallholders, many of them thoroughbred cockneys, were known as costermongers. The above shot was taken at dusk on an autumn day.
It is possible to buy fresh fish straight from the central fish market at Billingsgate in London. On the left are some sprats, a traditional fish popular with older people. They are a sort of miniature herring
Probably the most popular stalls in the market are those that sell vegetables. They used to come from the most famous market of all - Covent Garden, but that has been closed for many years.
You can buy lots of colourful and attractive flowers as well.

Aldeburgh in Suffolk

These monochrome images were taken at Aldeburgh in Suffolk. Aldebugh is a quaint seaside town that was once well-known as a fishing and boat-building town. All that has changed, though there are still lots of small boats that venture out each day and supply day visitors and hotels with fresh fish. There is nothing flash or superficially attractive about the town, but there is an undefinable late Victorian charm about the place that never seems to change.

I include these shots because monochrome images are so rare these days of digital photography.

I took this pictures with my old Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera. Then I scanned the negatives so that I could use them on my computer. I know that you can transform colour files into monochrome in photoshop, but I think you can't beat the the quality and tonality of the old technology. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to get films processed these days. So many printing houses are going out of business. Even laboratories that do digital prints are struggling. Many photograhers never see their images in print; they are happy just to share them on the web or to view them on digital frames.

Down the river to Kew

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The above view is of the London Eye from the boat that goes regularly from Westminster up river to Kew. It is one of my favourite summer jaunts. It's lovely just to chill out slowly drifting upstream, leaving the congestion of London behind.

A typical view of the river is the middle picture. It reminds me of that comic classic Three Men in a Boat. I think this is the best way of getting to Kew Gardens if you have the time. Getting there by train is boring and laboriously slow and by car can be a bit of a hassle at peak periods.

If you are ever in London a trip down to Kew is well worth while if you have the time. The Botanical Garden, founded over 250 ago, is probably the best in the world. It has a fabulous collection of trees, shrubs and flowers all set out in a most attractive manner.he eminence of Kew today is thanks to a succession of avid collectors, visionary scientists, inspired landsche eminence of Kew today is thanks to a succession of avid collectors, visionary scientists, inspired landscape architects and redoubtable gardeners who, over the centuries, have grown and developed the gardens, and the collections they contain.ape architects and redoubtable gardeners who, over the centuries, have grown and developed the gardens, and the collections they contain.

Audley End House

As my blog is concerned with both thoughts and events I shall mention a few recent events that might be of interest. My wife and I went to Audley End House, a stately home near Saffron Walden in Essex. My son-in-law's parents came over from Bern and accompanied us for the day. They love these historic buildings and especially the beautifully landscaped meadows and wooded vistas.