21 Years

Twenty one years ago on Saturday 21st July our second child was born. I remember being in the hospital as he was delivered and holding him in my arms, after of course being made to sit down! Many a night I watched both the boys lying in their beds and wept with joy over them and wondered what they would become. Both are now adults and have chosen their own paths which sometimes takes them in directions we as parents are concerned about. Non the less they are remarkably well adjusted and Tim has a sense of fun about him which is to be admired.
He celebrated the day at the Red Panda The Red Panda Restaurant Group and then the younger ones did their own thing!

The power of words

I am old enough now to have lived through many momentous events and heard many stirring speeches. I can remember the death of Winston Churchill and whether I agree with him politically or morally I still find listening to his speeches very stirring.


At the age of 11 I remember clearly being emotionally charged by the speech of Martin Luther King, a culmination of many horrendous events that we watched on an old black and white TV. These speeches obviously had poignancy because of the times they were spoken (who can forget in Northern Ireland the NEVER, NEVER, NEVER speech?)
The gift of oratory seems to be dead in the era of sound bytes and on line TV, the image now seems to be the means of communication but thankfully these historical words are immortalised for all to hear.

Talent.

I usually watch talent shows to see how misguided some people are. There are so many people who assume they have a gift when it is evident to everyone else that they don't. On Britain has talent a few weeks ago the opposite was seen. An ordinary unassuming man who had an amazing singing voice! I just seen these videos and thought I would share the hair standing on the back of the neck moments.





He eventually won the competition.

Sunday

While waiting to pick my son up I took a walk along the harbour on a beautiful Sunday evening. The mackerel were in and the fishermen where out in force to catch as many as they could. It did however also attract another visitor- a seal- swimming effortlessly around the harbour. As usual all I had with me was my phone so managed to take only a few poor quality photos.

Congratulations

Saturday 8th all of the family were invited to a graduation party for my niece, held in Zozo's restuarent in Carrickfergus. All the greater family made it - an unusual event that usually only happens at Christmas

It also gave us a chance to get an updated pic of our dear children.

The sound of music

On Saturday the 30th of June I left my daughter off at the Northern Educational Boards music camp at Ballycastle High School.
Ballycastle County Antrim Northern Ireland Giants Causeway Glens of Antrim Accomodation Events Scenery
Heather was to stay until Tuesday afternoon when we picked her up after a concert. We arrived with some 200 hundred other children that were then split into two groups-the yellow and the blue. Heather was in the yellow and practiced her flute until the day of the concert. To a full audience they played 9 tunes, all of which sounded remarkably tuneful.

An idiots guide

On a post dated 25th January 2007 I mentioned the fact that I had been at a cookery demonstration for men taken by the singing chef, Raymond Crooks. He showed us how to make pavlova, a fool proof method he assured us. Well as we had to provide dessert for a dinner on Saturday past I had the notion of trying to make this famous pudding dedicated to that great ballerina,

Anna Pavlova - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It was as described a fool proof method and as you can see is!



For those interested the ingredients are: 6 standard eggs(grade3)
10 ozs castor sugar
2tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp cornflour
Method
1. Separate eggs and place whites in mixing bowl
2. Add one tablespoonful of castor sugar
3. Whisk at high speed for 3-4 minutes(approx)
4. Add the remainder of the sugar, one large tablespoon at a time, all the sugar should be added within one minute
5. Mix the essence, vinegar and cornflour and add quickly to the egg whites. Keep mixer at full speed.
6. Whisk for another 5-7 minutes till the mixture has a glaze on it and it becomes noisy while beating.
7. Spread on an oiled foil tray.
8 Bake in a pre-heated oven(100C) for 45-50 minutes.
9. Switch off oven - leave Pavlova base till cold (5-10 minutes).
10. Turn out on a suitable serving dish.
11. Cream and decorate as required.