Dougal - Going Outside

Dougal says, today when the back door was opened I rushed out into the garden. The big problem was that I could not run around freely, I was on a lead like a dog, only I am definitely a cat.

It was quite cold so I sat down amongst the leaves on the lawn and decided that being outside was not as good as it used to be when it was summer and much warmer and I could run free. As you can see, my fur is now almost, but not quite, back to normal.

Daddy carried me back inside and I have spent all morning on mummy’s lap; she is having great difficulty using her laptop. I hope I will be taken outside again as it might be nice even if I do have to wear a harness and lead.

Dougal - Harness

Dougal says, yesterday I discovered what a harness was, it is a bit like a collar, but there is a bit that goes round my tummy too. Daddy put it on and then I went and hid and did not come out until it was dark; I did not realise that he was going to take me outside for a walk.

Dougal - Check-up

A long time ago mummy said I could write in her blog and because I have been a good boy today I am allowed to do the blog.

I knew something was happening this morning, but I did not know what, until I saw the puppy carrier. I ask you, putting a cat in a puppy carrier; so undignified. It was either that or borrowing my big sister Sybil’s carrier and that is a girly pink.

I yowled all the way to the vets, even with daddy sitting in the back with me, but I was quiet while we waited to see Giunio.

When it was our turn, Giunio took me out of the carrier and felt all along my back; he also waggled my back legs about. Then I tried to hide under daddy’s chair and would not come out even when mummy offered me some Dreamies, my favourite chicken ones too. Giunio did see that I could walk quite well now on all four legs and he also said I had done very well considering the state I was in when I arrived. He explained to mummy and daddy exactly what had been done to me and that jumping up was not a good idea. Then he wished me a long and happy life and when we travelled home again I was quiet for most of the journey.

I can now have a little more freedom inside the house, but I want to go into the garden. I am looking out through the back door, sitting in the sunshine, as I dictate this to mummy, but it seems it will be a long time before I am allowed out; maybe never, except on a harness, whatever that is.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has wished me well while I have been poorly, especially all those people on blipfoto who we do not really know, but most of all I would like to thank Giunio for putting me back together again (although he will probably never see this,) and to thank all the staff at the Dick White Referral Hospital for looking after me.

Thank you and love from Dougal.

Dougal - A Good Night

We checked on Dougal several times during the night and he was sleeping peacefully. He likes to come out of his cage and sleep on the settee or a lap, but he is still not keen on walking on his right back leg, but he does stand on it some of the time.

Dougal - Home Again

We collected Dougal late this afternoon and this picture shows him in the pen I used many years ago when I used to breed and show Birman cats. He has to have caged rest, although he is allowed out under supervision for exercise. He must not jump up or down or play with Florence his sister. He has to go back for a check-up in four weeks’ time.

He had not been home five minutes before he had been in the litter tray for a poo, eaten some Dreamies and scoffed a whole sachet of food; fish flavoured too and he used to prefer chicken. It took Florence longer to eat half a sachet while he was eating a whole one.

This picture does not show the extent of his shaved body. His back and spinal area from tail to almost his neck is bald although the fur is starting to grow back already. He also has other shaved parts on his legs. His right back leg is still quite swollen and he has to have an ice pack on it four times a day. Apparently he is not keen on this procedure, and tries to hide, but it will help the swelling as will the exercise. We have two lots of painkillers to give him so hopefully he will be comfortable.

Dougal - Doing Well

We were told this morning that Dougal is doing so well that he can come home tomorrow afternoon. We collect him at 1600 hours after we have learnt how to do his physiotherapy!

Dougal - No Visiting!!

Last night we were told that he enjoyed his physiotherapy, not sure how they know, but I will take their word for it. This morning the swelling in the leg which was causing concern has gone down a little. He has more physiotherapy today and it looks as though he will be allowed to come home on Friday. We are not allowed to visit him as it will be too stressful for him and might set his recovery back. It would be difficult to make him understand why we went to see him and then left him there again; while it is hard for us it is better for Dougal.

Dougal - Some Concerns and Physiotherapy

This morning the surgeon told us that they were starting physiotherapy today. Giunio is concerned about the swelling in one of his legs although it is still early days and Dougal has been bruised and knocked about. He is eating a little, but still has a fluid drip so it does not matter too much at this stage if he does not eat much; he still has a catheter. I am hoping that we will be allowed to visit him tomorrow.

Dougal - Doing Okay

Last might when I telephoned I was told he had not needed as much morphine as had been written up for him and that he had been eating. He had also been rolling on his back to have his tummy tickled.

When Giunio telephoned this morning he said that he was comfortable and was likely to come off the morphine today; he still has a fluid drip and a catheter. Both back legs are moving, although they are very swollen as to be expected. If all goes well he starts physiotherapy tomorrow and if he makes good progress, he might be able to come home on Friday or Saturday.

Dougal - Update

Giunio telephoned this morning to say that Dougal had a good night and was comfortable. Sounds like the message you get when you ring a hospital about an inpatient. It is too soon to know how successful the operation has been. They ring you twice a day with updates, but only once at the weekend; you can ring them if you wish.

Then just after lunch they rang again and I thought the worst. However, there had been a mix up and I had written down the wrong home telephone number when I booked him in, which is why they had telephoned my mobile. It was the receptionist this time so at least I was able to tell her that he preferred chicken to fish, which I had omitted from the admission form. She did say he would be tempted by a variety of things until they found something he likes, but I doubt they will provide fresh mice!

Dougal - The Operation

 My vet rang this morning and said he had settled as well as could be expected with his injury and that there was no internal bleeding. The other problem that might occur was that he might not be able to urinate; this would mean that the spinal column was crushed and there would be no other option, but to put him to sleep. However, there were no such problems and my vet had spoken to a specialist.

That left us with two options, one was to cage him in a carrier the size of a cat carrier for three months and hope that the spine healed. One false move and the spine was likely to move and cause more damage, which by then would be irreparable. The other option was major surgery to pin his spine together. As far as we were concerned this left only one option.

We collected him from one veterinary hospital in Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire and I drove very carefully to another specialist unit, Dick White Referrals which is in a village called Six Mile Bottom, near Newmarket in Suffolk; we live in Essex!

We left him there to have an MRI and for the surgery to be carried out during the afternoon. He has some damage to his right back leg and there is a thirty percent chance that he will not gain the full use of it. Animals, especially cats are very adaptable and Giunio the surgeon, thinks he will cope well.

We are not allowed to visit him for at least three days and he has to stay there for a week. Giunio phoned during the early evening to say ‘your little boy is fine’. It seems the operation went well although after the anaesthetic he was needless to say, a little groggy.

Dougal - The Accident

My husband had a hospital appointment this morning and when we came home just after lunch, as I was backing the car into the drive, Dougal ran behind me and I ran over him. We searched for him for hours, but he had hidden in the undergrowth. Just as it got dark he managed to come home to the back door. My vets were closed, but we got the duty vet and they thought at first that apart from some soreness he had survived very well. They admitted him to the veterinary hospital to check his red blood levels to make sure there was no internal bleeding. Later that night they rang to say his back was broken, but my vet would speak to a colleague at a specialist hospital.

Another day at the Seaside

My second seaside trip this year, again to Great Yarmouth in Nofolk, with my daughter and grandchildren. We played Crazy Golf, ate ice creams and visited the Pleasure beach. They played in the bubbles; I took the photographs.

 

A Day at the Seaside - Great Yarmouth

Today I went to the seaside, Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, with my daughter and grandchildren. The beach was practically deserted, but the Pleasure Beach was busy and we spent a long time there.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers

We went to Cambridge today and I took lots of pictures but in the end I decided to include this one showing an adult male Great Spotter Woodpecker on the right and a Juvenile on the left.

Coeliac Awareness Week

This is coeliac awareness week and I do not do anything special this week that I do not do any other week. I am always asking about gluten-free food whichever restaurant or establishment that it visit. The coeliac UK page can be found here. If you require specific information about awareness week click here.

On Monday of this week I visited Marks and Spencer in Cambridge and discovered that they had brought back onto their shelves the chocolate and cherry cake, which appeared two years ago and vanished almost immediately. I along with many others complained and it seems that they listened; see their website  for further information.

Yesterday I visited Scotsdales Garden Centre and also visited their Sunflower café, details can be found here. I looked at their menu and decided that it would be the inevitable jacket potato again. However, the server asked if it was gluten-free food I was looking for, the cottage pie and vegetables and chicken balti with rice and a poppadom were both gluten-free, so again someone has been listening to my complaints; see here.

John Lewis, at least the brassiere staff in Cambridge, are also knowledgeable about gluten-free foods and as well as items on their main menu they now offer two types of sandwiches. These are egg and salad and prawn and salad; they are made from Genius bread. They can be purchased in the self-service café or in their brassiere; see here for more information.

Although I have not yet got around to purchasing anything from the Glu-10-3 Cake Company, I have it on good authority that their cakes are wonderful.

I think I have covered awareness week very well, especially as I do it all year round.

A Wet Day

It has been raining all morning and it does not look like stopping, there were a lot of snails rampaging about the garden. In fact there must have been at least a hundred on the old fennel stalks alone.

 

I am not keen on snails, but I was surprised by the variety of snail shell patterns and body colours of the snails. I suspect that they will soon find their way to the front garden where the hostas grow and to the vegetable patch; perhaps they will not survive there very long.

I have ordered, from Sutton’s Seeds, four more fruit trees for the garden, an apple, pear, plum and cherry, they come with a free Queen Elizabeth rose bush.

Today’s Weather

Raining all day and quite cold, temperatures not even getting up to ten degrees Celsius.

Addenbrookes Visit

Today was an Addenbrookes hospital day to see a rheumatologist for my hip and back pain. The consultant believes, as do we that there are two problems.

We already knew the diagnosis for the hip pain, which was diagnosed earlier as Tendonitis of the Bursa in both hips. Physiotherapy and ultrasound had been tried for three years, but this was clearly not working and the problem was getting worse; evidence suggests that this is often not successful.

They gave me two steroid injections, one in each hip, of Methotrexate which may or may not work, with a review in three months. If these do work they may have to be repeated, if they do not work I will be referred back to my original consultant who may remove one or both bursa.

As to the back problem, an appointment will be sent for an MRI scan to check for damage to the spine; I shall not look forward to that, but it has to be done.

After that we looked at tumble dryers, as ours has broken after thirty years. Then as it was lunch time we went to Scotsdales Garden Centre. Their prices have increased a little, but the standard of food yesterday was also very much better. They even had a pudding I could eat, meringue, raspberries, blueberries and cream.

Today’s Weather

Typical April showers.

We have a Pond again.

After the torrential rain yesterday, we awoke to find we had a pond; this is a natural pond which goes up and down with the water table. It becomes a wild flower garden in the summer with a lot of Water Mint growing in it; a haven for wildlife including Red Soldier Beetles, insects and butterflies. The pictures below show the pond as it is today and as it was yesterday.

I took several pictures of the Mallards which were at times fighting over the one female, but this picture shows, I think, which one she has chosen.  

In previous years, once there is a pond, we get a lot of wildlife visiting; often a pair of Moorhens bring their babies to the garden. In the past we have also had ducks and ducklings, usually Mallards, but occasionally other species; sometimes a heron will visit, but as there are no fish it soon loses interest.  

Today’s Weather

After the torrential rain of yesterday, today is slightly warmer and the sun shone intermittently.

Researching Family Trees and Geocaching

No studying today, I thought I would have a day off and I have been working on my family tree. To be more exact my son-in-laws family tree. I am trying to tie up someone from the 1908 London Olympic Games who won a gold medal for rowing. My gut feeling is that there is a connection I just cannot find it. One lead I have is for one of his ancestors who had four wives.

I have also been looking at Geocaching as I hope to do some of this during the summer, maybe with my grandchildren in the holidays if they are interested.

Today’s Weather

Torrential rain during the morning, cold and windy. The wind is so strong that it is blowing the blossom off the trees. The natural pond is still dry so although it has rained a lot, we still need a lot more.

A Soup and Study Day

A cold, wet day again today so I made Leek and Potato soup for lunch. With a Warburton’s gluten-free roll this made a hot and filling lunch which did not contain too many calories. I have found Warburton’s gluten-free bread and rolls to be the best that you can buy, even though they are not the cheapest.

I really wanted to work on my Family Tree today predominantly using Ancestry and Find my Past, but I had to continue to study K260 with the Open University. This module is not quite as I expected it to be, but we are already up to week twelve of thirty-four so one-third of the module completed. One assignment completed, two more to do and an End of Module project to complete. What shall I study next?

I checked out Saga’s medical insurance this morning as it looks better than what we already have; I will have to read the small print to make sure before changing. I also got a quote from them for my car insurance, which is a lot less than I am currently paying; again I need to read the small print, but I have until September to do that.

Today’s Weather

Wet and cold, temperatures around about eight degrees Celsius.

St George's Day

A red rose for St George’s Day. Roses do not bloom in my garden in April so until I looked it up I did not know why the rose should be the emblem, although it is our national flower. However, the 23 April, AD 303, is supposedly the day he died, according to the Julian calendar, this corresponds to 6 May for the Gregorian calendar. It was raining and cold this morning and when I briefly looked outside I could not find any dragons to photograph, something he is supposed to have slain.

Traditionally a red rose, our national flower, is worn in the buttonhole today, so here we have an artificial red rose for St George’s Day.

Unfortunately we do not celebrate St George’s day with fireworks or holidays, although Scouts and Guides parade through the streets and attend special services at their local church on the nearest Sunday to 23 April.

Today’s Weather

Wet and cold

K260 - Death and Dying - The Open University

Today I am catching up on my study of my module K260 - Death and Dying, which I am studying with the Open University. Many people shy away from this topic and think the module must be gruesome or boring; it is neither. To find out more click this link.

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/k260.htm

The lawn needs cutting and it is full of wild flowers, predominantly dandelions and daisies, but it is much too wet to cut it properly. It has not been cut this year as until recently we have still been having frosts; maybe tomorrow.

Today’s Weather

 It is quite cold again today around thirteen degrees Celsius although there is some sunshine. But also a cold wind.

Gardening, Working and Yoga

Another working day marking Open University student’s scripts.

Today we planted some of the plants, which we bought yesterday; it was a joint effort of digging the holes and putting them in. It was dull all morning and we had decided that we would not be able to plant them and then there was a brighter spell around lunch time. However, before we got them all in it was already raining heavily; we got rather wet.

This is one of the flowers on the Ceanothus Skylark, one of the shrubs we planted; if you look closely you can see the pollen. We managed to get all the Rosemary and Sambuca plants in, but the Pyracanthus, which are to go in to fill in some of the gaps in the hedge will have to wait for another day.

This evening I have a yoga class to attend, or have I done enough exercise for one day?

Today’s Weather

  

Again it is dull and raining heavily. The barometer shows a rise from yesterday but only a very small one.

Addenbrookes Hospital and Garden Centre Visit

A rearranged visit to the Lung Function clinic at Addenbrookes Hospital today meant an early start; we had to pay on the Park and Ride bus as we were too early to use our Bus Passes! The visit went well with the lung function test and x-ray, but then the doctor was running so far behind that it was 1245 hours before we left.

We went to John Lewis for lunch, it was not as good as usual and I sent back two plates of cold fish and chips, so they had to cook some more. This is not their usual standard so I am not sure what went wrong, but the fish was cold and the chips tasted as though they had been kept luke-warm somewhere for a while. The second lot were perfect, except I found a lot of bones in my fish, again unusual.

By then it was the middle of the afternoon so we went to Scotsdales Garden Centre in Cambridge, where we bought some more shrubs for the garden. With a garden the size of ours there is always room for a few more shrubs and plants. The photograph was not taken today, but last year on a sunny day!

Today’s Weather

Another day of April showers and sunshine. Early this morning the reading on the barometer was down to 986 millibars from 998 yesterday.  

A Working Day

Spend most of the day marking student’s Open University scripts. I have investigated Geocaching and think I might join the site and have a go at some of them.

Today’s Weather

We need the rain so I am not complaining but it has rained all day although there were brief spells of sunshine. It as been a dull, overcast and cold day with temperatures around seven degrees Celsius. 

A dull Monday

Not much to say about today. I should be marking student’s scripts, or studying my own module, but I have been editing my photographs ready to put on my Flickr account. I have done some work, but not as much as I should have done!

Today’s Weather

It was very frosty in the garden and the grass was still white in places at 0900 hours, but the sun shined brightly some of the time; it has also not been much above ten degrees Celsius in my garden.

Botanical Gardens, Cambridge.

Today was the Blipmeet at the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge; we decided to go early and have lunch in a nearby café we quite like. Unfortunately when we got there it was closed, whether just this Sunday or permanently we do not know.

We should have gone to John Lewis and had a decent lunch, but we decided to try the café in the Botanical gardens. The servers did not speak very good English and it was difficult to make them understand what was required. They produced soup and a roll instead of a bacon sandwich and when it was pointed out that this was not what was ordered, the soup was put back in the pot and the bread back in with the other bread; this does not comply with regulations!

The bacon sandwich came with salad, which we had asked to be left off so it had to go back; they were not happy. £4.75 for two small pieces of bread and two slices of cold bacon is expensive, but then they have a captive audience; my jacket potato also £4.75 was actually good and compared favourably with others in the town. The coffee was almost cold and not very good.

We were early for our blip meet so we went into the glasshouses and took lots of photographs in there before meeting with the blippers at 1400 hours. There were thirteen of us and as soon as we set off there was a hail storm so we retreated into the glasshouses until it passed. Then when the sun came out we walked around the gardens until we all met in the café. Again the coffee was cold as was my ‘hot’ chocolate! My husband’s sticky date cake was good, but they do not have anything, suitable for coeliacs, even their chocolate states may contain gluten!

We then had another wander around the gardens before departing to go our separate ways. Despite the hail, rain and very cold wind I think everyone had an enjoyable afternoon and we hope to meet up again, but probably somewhere else. If I visit the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge again, I think I will give the café a wide berth!

Today’s Weather

Brief spells of sunshine, but with rain, hail and cold winds too.

Formula One from Shanghai, China

The BBC had the Formula One live from Shanghai, China this week. It was a very exciting race, but not quite the result I wanted, Hamilton was third and this still puts him top of the leader board, just two points above Button on the championship board. There are still seventeen races to go, anything can and will happen, but it is a good start.

Three Sad Anniversaries - Eric, Mary and the Titanic

I got up early this morning as the BBC had live Formula one, qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix and they have the race live tomorrow, so another early start. We do not have Sky so now that Sky have some of the races I can usually only watch the highlights on BBC; not the same at all. Lewis Hamilton did not get pole, but got second position, although because he had to have a gearbox change, he has a five point penalty, which puts him starting seventh, between Button and Webber. The circuit is good for overtaking so hopefully it will be an exciting race.

After the F1 qualifying I made a flying visit to Tesco, not somewhere I go often as I usually have Waitrose deliver everything, but I needed some fruit and vegetables and this was the quickest option.

The volunteer group who are tidying the railway station were here today, they now plan to come just once a month. Today they are hacking back a hawthorn hedge, but they seem to have very little idea about how to do it without killing it completely. It seems the station is to be ‘developed’; they are not saying how. However, from the local paper it appears that they are going to turn the waiting room on the London ‘up’ platform into a café. The allotments further along the lane are progressing with an assortment of sheds being put up as well as water barrels in evidence. I am not sure what they expect to get off their plot for all their work, they are not fenced and so I think the deer and rabbits will have a field day.

Today it is twenty years since my father, Eric died, his death certificate is wrong and states it was the 18 April 1992. My grandmother on my mother’s side, Mary Matilda also died eighty years ago, today on the 14 April 1932. It is also one hundred years ago today since the Titanic went down with the loss of 1514 souls; three sad anniversaries.

 

Today’s Weather 

Sunny and bright although not much more than twelve degrees Celsius.  

Friday the Thirteenth!

I spent the morning with my grandchildren and then in the afternoon it was another trip to Addenbrookes Hospital for physiotherapy for my husband. He was pleasantly surprised at how good they were having had a bad experience previously when he was told to exercise until it hurt and not stop even then; that is not the way to do it.

This is one of our Moth Orchids (Phalaenopsis) which we have had for several years. There are about sixty species of Phalaenopsis and this is one of the most popular, produced through the development of artificial species. This one sometimes blooms twice a year and the flowers, like many orchids, remain for about three months.

Moth Orchid - Phalaenopsis

Today’s Weather

A very foggy start to the day, but lovely sunshine once the fog burned off.

A visit to Cambridge and Open University results.

Today we visited Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and then went into town and bought some lovely new bed linen. We had quite a lot of Marks and Spencer vouchers and so we used those and only paid £5 for a new duvet cover and pillow cases, four plain white pillow cases, two bottom fitted sheets and two new duck down pillows; a bargain.

We also ate in John Lewis and had a very late lunch/early dinner; they have a lovely new menu with several puddings which are suitable for coeliacs.

Here we have some plum blossom - variety Opal, the picture is taken through a wire cage as this is a young tree and this is the first blossom it has produced. The wire cage is necessary to protect it from deer and rabbits. If you look very closely the blossom also has some raindrops on it.

I got my results today for my first assignment for the Open University module that I am doing; death and dying. Not a great result, but not the worst I have ever had. As I am also a tutor I know I have to give the reasons why marks are lost, but this is not so here. I have one overall mark for the three questions. My referencing ‘needs attention’ and I was pointed at the referencing guide, no example given. The referencing guide mentioned is nineteen pages long, I have already read it several times and I am still none the wiser! I got lots of ‘yes’ comments, but not much feedback although I was told it was ‘acceptable’; acceptable to whom I wonder?

I should be going to yoga this evening, but have rather too much to do so I will give it a miss tonight.

Today’s Weather

Sunshine and showers, with heavy rain at times.

Wild Flowers

A pretty uneventful day today although I have been working, marking student’s scripts as well as giving telephone tutorials.

Here we have a Green Alkanet flower, (Pentaglottis sempervirens) sometimes called Evergreen Bugloss, it is often confused with Forget-me-not; it likes damp, shady places, woods and hedgerows. The leaves are rough and hairy and the flowers are made up of five blue petals joined at a white centre. The flowers are edible, but are generally only used for decoration in drinks and salads.

This is Bird’s Eye otherwise known as Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) and grows in lawns and grassland; it flowers between May and July.

Today’s Weather

Grey and overcast, but with some sunshine, temperatures around thirteen degrees Celsius; it looks more likely to rain than not.

Two Blogs into One

My gardening blog has now been transferred into this one and the other one will be deleted at some point; this means that some posts may look to be in a strange order.

This blog will now be the only blog were I record all happenings, in the home or garden and anywhere else I happen to be.

Blackthorn Blossom and Lamp

This is one of the lamps outside our home and also a small portion of the Blackthorn Blossom.

A Working Day

Today is a working day with marking and updates to email to students; not a lot else happening except that our granddaughter is here for the day.

Today’s Weather

Bright sunshine but still cold, about 12 degrees Celsius, but with blue sky and white clouds.

A Lazy Easter Monday

A lazy day today, late breakfast/lunch, then we are going to watch the last two Harry Potter films on DVD, which we have had for ages, but not yet watched. Then as I did not cook a roast yesterday, I shall do so today and as it is Easter it will, by tradition, be lamb.

Today’s Weather

 
Steady rain and temperatures of about 12 degrees Celsius.

Easter Sunday

An uneventful day today except we were invited to have lunch with our daughter and her family for Easter Sunday. As always it was an excellent lunch; roast chicken with all the usual accompaniments and Christmas pudding and custard; thank you.

Today’s Weather

Variable with some heavy, almost-sleet like rain, but with sunshine in between; temperatures not much more than 14 degrees Celsius.

Gluten-free Baking

I did the baking this morning and made Gluten-free Soda Bread as well as Gluten-free Banana Cake and a Gluten-free Moist Fruit Cake.

For the Soda Bread, instead of 250 grams each of wholemeal and plain flour, I used 250 grams each of Juvela White Mix and Juvela Fibre Mix. I left out the bran flakes and the optional pumpkin seeds and I added two teaspoons of Xanthan Gum. This gum as well as Guar Gum is used in a lot of recipes for coeliacs and information about it can be found at

http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreecookingbasics/a/xanthanguargums.htm

If you are making this for a coeliac there are two other things you need to be aware of, one, you need to make sure that they are allowed oats, not everyone is and two that the oats you use are suitable for coeliacs, again not all of them are. I found it took longer to cook than the original receipe, but that could be my oven, which is quite old, or it could be because of the gluten-free flours used. I do not know how well the soda bread will freeze so I have wrapped three individual slices to see how they freeze.

 

While the Soda Bread was cooking I also made a Banana Cake from BBC recipe  found here http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7380/banana-cake the only change was to use Juvela flour as above and instead of all white flour I used 120 grams white and 50 grams fibre mix. I also made a Quick Extra Moist Fruit Cake from my Seriously Good Gluten-free Baking book, by Phil Vickery; the book was a Christmas present from my granddaughter.

 

I have not made any of these recipes before and only made the banana cake because some of the bananas were overripe. I shall certainly make the soda bread and the fruit cake again although instead of semi-dried cranberries I might use semi-dried blueberries.

This afternoon I plan to watch the boat race and will be hoping that Oxford sink, apologies to anyone who supports them, but I was born in Cambridgeshire and visit Cambridge frequently.

The original receipe is included below so that non-coeliacs may try it as it was intended to be made. For coeliacs, use my suggestions above or adapt it for yourself.  I would be interested to know how your Soda Bread turns out.

250g wholemeal flour

250g plain flour

50g bran flakes

100g porridge oats

500ml buttermilk
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

45g unsalted butter

A handful of pumpkin seeds - optional.

Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl and rub in the butter. Pour in the buttermilk and mix it in quickly with a palette knife. Bring the dough together lightly with your fingertips. (This results in a sticky mess but worth the effort.) Shape into a flat round loaf and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Score a deep cross on the top - (this apparently lets the fairies out). Bake for 40-45 minutes at 200C Gas mark 6. If it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom it is done; turn out onto a cooling rack.

Today’s Weather

The weather today at 1200 GMT is dull, cold and overcast, the temperature is about 10.5 degrees Celsius; I think it will rain before too long.