Eat Out to Help Out

The Eat Out to Help Out portal is finally working.   I am surprised to see some restaurants are not signing up for it.  I cannot wait for all the half price food!

Fire Pit Pork Knuckle

I was going to cook the pork knuckle in the oven,  then it occured to me to utilise the amber from my barbeque,  so I did.

Result:  burnt ends on every ends,  not in a good way.   Fire pit flame is so much harder to control than the trusted oven and slow cooker.

No.1 Ecuador Dark Chocolate 90%

Tucking into my Christmas chocolate and got the Waitrose No 1 Ecuador chocolate.   It is a 90% dark bar.   It is very nice and smooth,  the flavour is nice and complex,  but it does not linger.

Kite Fight

There is a family of three red kites where I work,  I saw them often.   The other day,  another two turned up.   There were a lot of squawking and some funny flying,  one bird fell out of the sky and made a thud noise onto a building,  moments later,  it was back in flight.

The whole time,  a kit of pigeons just stood and watched,  only too flight when one of the kite fell in their direction,  thinking,  we are just some innocent bystanders.

There is no need to fight,  there is enough pigeons for a few family of kites,  just start eating them!

Bluebird Bakery

We have been meaning to try some Bluebird sourdough from the Post Box Deli but never had the chance.   So when we went to York,  made a trip to their shop to get their seeded sourdough,  their best seller.

It tastes nice,  but I think we like Leeds Coop more.

Ripley Ice-cream

We finally stopped for the "World Famous" ice-cream in Ripley,  as claimed on the brown sign.  We were surprise to find the town being so busy.

To be fair,  the ice-cream was very average,  enhanced by the Sun to become better than average.

Sad Lavender

The lavender we bought a couple months ago now looks very sad in the garden,  I hope it can be strong enough for its first winter.

Escarpment

escarpment noun
es·​carp·​ment | \ i-ˈskärp-mənt \
Definition of escarpment
1: a steep slope in front of a fortification
2: a long cliff or steep slope separating two comparatively level or more gently sloping surfaces and resulting from erosion or faulting

Synonyms
barranca (also barranco), bluff, cliff, crag, palisade, precipice, scar, scarp

Potted Shrimp Tasting Session

We had already tried the Edmondsons, but we wanted to have a comparison, so we got one from the Glasson Dock Lancaster Smokehouse to compare.

Edmondsons' is spicier and more accessible, Lancaster Smokehouse's is butterier, saltier, shrimper, shrimps were bigger and juicier.

Edmondsons

Lancaster Smokehouse

West Coast Grand Tour Day 5 - Clapham

Just when I thought we were done with the Lancashire coast, we had a little walk at Sunderland.  Another reminder of Lancaster's slave trade tie was evident in Sambo's Grave.





We drove to Clapham and had a walk up to Ingleborough.  Yet more raspberry on the path,  another free snack for Sarah,

West Coast Grand Tour Day 4 - Bowland Forrest

Before we head for Forrest of Bowland ANOB, we had a little walk up Heysham coast.

Then we had a little walk around Lancaster.  There was a sculpture marking their new world trading aka slave trading history.  On the walk to the Lancaster Castle, Sarah saw a loads of raspberry canes on the side, so we harvested along the walk.

We finally rode to Bowland, stopped at Slaidburn for lunch and stopped at Gisburn for the view.  On the way back, there were lambs on the road, so it took a long time to ride back.



On the way back, we stopped at Hest Bank for a refreshment break.  The sea was out, so we had a little walk into the sand.

On the final night, we decided to have a little fish and chip by the sea.  I was curious enough to order a fishcake.  I must say, I prefer Lancashire fishcake more than Yorkshire fishcake.  The potato was crispy, and the fishy was plentiful.

West Coast Grand Tour Day 3 - Blackpool

We finally had a lie in after a long and exhausting day.  By the time we got to Blackpool, it was noon.  When we entered Blackpool from the North and rode to the South Promenade car park, we could not believe just how big the water front is.

I was tempted to go into Pleasure Beach to try out my action cam on the roller caster, and only if I knew to buy the ticket the day before, the advance ticket was a lot more reasonably priced.  At the end, we didn't go.

We walked head wind all the way past the Central Pier, and all the way back.


We took a country side detour to start our foodie journey back to Lancaster on the B5272!  We started at Dewlay for some cheese, the Special Reserve Lancaster was quite nice.

Drove past the Wallings, but we didn't stop, they should have had more and bigger signs to catch unsuspecting passerby.

Finally, we got to Glasson Docks to check out the Lancaster Smokehouse, picked up some smoked fish and yet more potted shrimp.  We stopped at the Lock Keepers Rest for a rest.  Apparently it is a biker hot spot.

West Coast Grand Tour Day 2 - Honister

We were already in Morecambe, the Lakes was just stone throw away, so we went for a day trip.  I took the opportunity to do the Honister Via Ferrata that Sarah mentioned.  Sarah went for a walk instead.  Both of us were exhausted, scaling height either way was hard work.

On our way back, we stopped at the Lakeland flagship store to be amazed by their range of gadgets.  Followed by a stop refreshment stop at Arnside before going home.

Knackered!

West Coast Grand Tour Day 1 - Morecambe

Our long awaited holiday is finally here.  The weather was meant to be good, but it was rainy windy morning as we made our way cross the Pennine.  It was horrendous on the motorbike.

We made a stop at Rivington to break up the journey.  When I got there, I was cold and kept my jacket on for the walk.  We walked straight up the tower, that's when I realised the jacket was a bad idea...  Up at the tower, it was covered in mists, there was no view for the hard work.  It took me a long time to recover, I was just back to normal when we made back to the car.

After Rivington, we made our way to Morecambe.  I made a stop at Edmondsons for some potted shrimp before parking up.  We were relatively early, so we checked in, then walked to pick up the groceries.  The neigbourhood was interesting.  We even had time to walk up and down the promenade before making dinner.  After dinner, we even brought a tea to sit at the beach to listen to the sea, not a bad day.

Dragon Touch Vision Lite 4

I bought another action camera after my trial with a really cheap one.  Dragon Touch is still cheap, but not the cheapest.

The video is acceptable, the photo is reasonable, the accessories is good, the battery life is pretty shit.

Sandbathing Birds

I found it very amusing to see sparrows sandbathing, my battery died so I didn't get a picture.

Dog Acupuncture

We were watching Highland Vet and saw a vet applying acupuncture to a dog, how interesting...

Ginger Bread

Ginger bread, one of the many things that I bake for others, never for my own consumption.   I adapted the recipe from my dessert bible, it worked well and Sarah liked it.

Red Rice Pudding

I bought a bag of red glutinous rice from London.  I have tried to use it on savoury dishes, and absolutely did not work.  I finally made some red rice pudding and it is as nice as I remember them.

Nidd Gorge Invisible Cave

I was excited see the cave as marked on the OS map.  We kept our eyes out, we saw a rock face and I hiked up there, still no cave.  Misleading mapping!

Challenged Paddy

Full resolution video can be really depanding,  and Paddy is only a little cheap tablet.  I was setting Paddy up with the new action camera,  and Paddy is very challenged.   I hope Paddy has enough power to do the job.

Phishermen Reporting

There are definitely more phishing these days, even the email services don't manage to filter them effectively.  And I am a good Samaritan and I always report them to an official channel rather than letting them slip.  I got one from "TVLicencing", the same one Amy got, I reported it, hopefully fewer people will come to harm.

Clipper's Return

I was eyeing up a pretty looking Wahl clipper set, but it had been out of stock the whole time.  At the end I opted for a more basic model, which was only 2 quid cheaper with fewer attachments.  Now it is back in stock, I felt I should have waited the extra three weeks...

Wormy Roses

So I thought it would be nice to bring some roses into the house.  I always think they look sad, but I never knew why, so when I clipped this down, I noticed holes and spotted a caterpillar, I shook it off before bring into the house.  I am not sure I will continue to bring the flowers in...

Yeadon Tarn

We finally went to check out Yeadon Tarn.   It is a nice little tarn,  loads of wildlife,  the same reason why I will not be signing up activities with the watersport centre.

Buckwheat II

After a year of trial and error since I last play with buckwheat, I am just getting a hang of it.  Yesterday's batch was just perfect.

Slow Cooked Gammon Hock

Round two of the Mackenzie gammon hock, this time I slow cooked in the slow cooker and dry up in the oven.  All the sinew has melted and the gammon hock falls apart, delicious.

Social Distance Road Works

The best way to keep people from town,  apparently is to schedule all the road works and make the diversions incomprehensible.

Mini Mint III

Some of the transplanted mint is not doing well.  I should not be so harsh on my horticultural skill, considered the mint was declared dud since the beginning.  They need to speed up growing, otherwise we may have to get some mint teabag at full price!

Decanted Flour

Like small bakeries and other food outlets, M&S has also started selling decanted flour in bags.  Their 1.5kg strong bread flour is unbelievable value, so I picked up a bag.  Maybe I should stash up.

Death of Hong Kong Human Rights

Goodbye my beloved Human Rights.

Free of fear from torture.

Right to liberty.

Right to a fair trial.

Free of fear from punishment without law.

Right to freedom of thought.

Freedom of expression.

Right to protest.