A Dessert to 'Dai' For

One of the many, many things I enjoy doing in the kitchen is to create udderly artery-clogging desserts to die for - literally, if you were to eat this kind of food constantly. This should carry a health warning unless you don't mind filling your gut with lactose, saturated fats, sugar and additives-oh and let's not forget alcohol.

Now please bear in mind that I'm an 'intuitive' cook, which means I hardly measure anything, I just touch 'n taste so all measurements are vague rather than approx.

I've yet to find a suitable name for this so for now let's just call it......

FGS' TIA MOCHA MARIA

Ingredients:
Cup of Tia Maria
Sponge fingers
2 sachets of chocolate blancmange mixture
Milk
Squirty cream or whipped cream
Grated chocolate or choc decorations.

Method:
Line up 6 sundae dishes
Crumble the sponge fingers into the sundae dishes up to ⅓ of the way up.
Pour Tia Maria over the sponge fingers until it’s thoroughly soaked in.
(If you want it less alcoholic, mix some Tia Maria with cold black coffee.)
Make up the choc blancmange according to directions on the packet using the recommended amount of milk.
When cooled, pour this over the sponge, up to ⅔ of the way up the dishes.
When this is set, or just before serving, top the dishes up with the cream and sprinkle over the grated choc or decorations.

Warning: Do not attempt to drive after eating.

Touch Me

TOUCH ME

If I am your child . . . please touch me.
Persist; find ways to meet my needs.
Your goodnight hug helps sweeten my dreams.
Your daytime touching tells me how you really feel.

If I am your teenager . . . please touch me.
Don't think because I'm almost grown,
I don't need to know that you still care.
I need your loving arms; I need a tender voice.

If I am your friend . . . please touch me.
Nothing lets me know you care like a warm embrace.
A healing touch when I'm depressed assures me I am loved,
And reassures me that I'm not alone.
Yours may be the only comforting touch I get.





If I am your life's partner . . . please touch me.
You may think that your passion is enough,
But only your arms hold back my fears.
I need your tender reassuring touch,
to remind me I am loved just because I am me.






If I am your grown-up child . . . please touch me.
Though I may have a family of my own to hold,
I still need mum and dad’s arms when I hurt.
As a parent the view is different; I appreciate you more.

If I am your ageing parent . . . please touch me.
Hold my hand, sit close to me, give me strength;
And warm my tired body with your nearness.
Although my skin is worn and wrinkled,
It loves to be stroked,
Don't be afraid.

Author Unknown

November Morning - Swansea Marina

I had to laugh when I downloaded this onto my PC. When I took the photo I didn't realise how squiggly the reflection of the masts would be. I almost had to go and take a Stemetil

Out of sight here on the right are a few coffee shops and such like. I had the most subliminal hour or more sat here drinking espressos watching the world go by - also texting Huw the Rock in his stuffy office, "Wish you were here!"

There's nothing exceptional about this next one except that the colourful reflections of the water caught my eye. It also looks like a ghost -town but believe me there were plenty of people out for an early morning stroll; I guess they were all like myself on the sunny side of the dock.

Of course there's no point talking about or showing pictures of Dylan Thomas' 'Ugly Lovely Town' without mention of the bard himself. Here he his looking a bit ....ummm.........not quite as he usually looked. Wonder what he'd make of Swansea Docks' old Pumphouse behind him being turned into a Restaurant owned by one of the National Chains?

They don't sell the same beer as in Browns in Laugharne, maybe that's the reason for the wistful look. Oh how the world has changed eh? with its synthetic food, synthetic designer wines.......synthetic lives?

Surely they must be the eyes of the young Dylan, the ones from Fernhill, reminiscing.....

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,

And not the passionate, angry voice protesting......................

And death shall have no dominion
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion!

Maybe he was reflecting on the weird reflections such as I captured here ......

Two more of the Pumphouse before I dragged my heavy legs back up to the town to catch a cab home....

Here's St Mary's church next to the Taxi rank......litter bins everywhere these days. Shame that they go unused thus defiling Paradise .........................


..........aaaah but the warmth and welcome inside with cheap cups of tea, coffee and chicken soup to those in need of both physical and spiritual sustenance.

"Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest" ~Matt.11.28

Unless

UNLESS

Unless we can hear each other singing and crying, unless we can comfort each other's failures and cheer each other's victories,we are missing out on the best that life has to offer. The only real action takes place on the bridge between people ~ Anon.

(Picture:Michelangelo's the Creation of Man depicting God reaching out to Adam)

Mid Wales in Autumn

Guess where?

Yspytty Ystwyth

Devil's Bridge

The Legend about Devil's Bridge

There are three bridges over this part of the Mynach Gorge, each one built successively over the others, as they needed to be improved for traffic. The lowest of the bridges and the original one, is associated with a legend that is common in Britain with minor variations from place to place.

A woman and a cow got stuck on one side of the gorge unable to cross over. The Devil appeared and said that he would build a bridge over the gorge in exchange for the soul of the first living creature to cross it. The Devil finished the bridge and waited in anticipation for the first thing to cross it. The woman cunningly threw a piece of bread across the bridge and her dog ran after it, meaning the Devil had to be satisfied with the soul of a dog.

Mynach Gorge

Nostalgia????

Road from Devil's Bridge to Llangurig (B4343)

Autumn in Pembrokeshire

CALDEY ISLAND from Lydstep

LYDSTEP CLIFFS

MANORBIER

Towards SAUNDERSFOOT from AMROTH

'Wotcha looking at?' by Huw

MANORBIER CASTLE

SAUNDERSFOOT HARBOUR

SAUNDERSFOOT BEACH

Huw at Amroth

AMROTH BEACH

PEBBLES - Manorbier

St. CATHERINE'S ISLAND, TENBY at High Tide

SAUNDERSFOOT HARBOUR by Huw

Pride before the Fall

Of course when we talk of Paradise, there's always a Fall of Man scenario. In this case it was the Fall of MSer. This pic was taken bout 10 secs. before I had one of those 'tripping over thin air' experiences. I performed a Skydive from an altitude of a mere 5ft (my height) onto hard tarmac- SPLATTT!

Thankfully no damage was done except for a broken nail ...but you don't half feel a right tit at times, talking of which,I swear that those attributes of mine are what saved my specs, nose and head being smashed.