First Eating of our Beetroot..

Finally got round to making my beetroot salsa and we eat it tonight with some rather nice fish on roasted courgettes (again from the garden) and peppers. I didn't think that I liked beetroot but actually I rather do. Next up will be the two yellow beetroots that we have just picked.

New Phone, Lions Lose and I forget the rest..

The only good thing about the storm on Friday was that it forced my hand with regard to getting a new phone. I'd been umming and aarring about buying an iPhone; was it worth it? or Did I really need one? Was it all just a gimmick? Anyway my old phone was now buggered so off to the Orange shop I went and got myself a brand, spanking new iPhone 3GS! It was then off to the pub to watch the Lions who played well but ultimately lost. After that the effect of too many beers drunk far too quickly kicked in and I really can't remember another thing about the day!

The Radar Picture!

This was the rainfall radar picture taken at 14.10, the circle shows Kaiseraugst!

What a Half an Hour

Just thought I'd make you all feel a little better with a tale of my last 30 minutes....

I left the gym on my bike around 1.30pm in wonderful sunshine and gently cycled alongside the Rhine on my way home without a care in the world. As I approached the industrial area just before Ikea I could tell a "storm was a brewing". The wind was getting up, the clouds were getting darker and the first flashes of lightning appeared on the German side of the river. I only had 3km to go but I was hitting every red light and it didn't look good for my chances of arriving home dry.

With around 1k to go the first drops of rain appeared, they were those big, heavy, storm induced rain drops and I thought I'd quickly put on my rain jacket - oh what a beautiful waste of time that was. Within seconds the heavens descended, it was raining stair rods, cats & dogs - all in one go. The lightning was very close and the road had turned into a river. Before I reached the Augst/Kaiuseraugst boundary my shorts and shoes were already drenched. In fact as I got off my bike it is doubtful if I could have been any wetter if I had just jumped in the Rhine.

Then the hail came and it hurt, hurt like hell and made so much noise as I finally put my bike away and then swam to the front door of the apartment. I though I'd take a photo/video of the deluge with my phone but that had given up the ghost (it was in my now soaked trouser pocket - it now lies in bits trying to dry out). Then as I climbed the stairs I realised I had left the windows a little open, not much but we've seen before how little it takes when a storm hits. Sure enough as I entered the flat the paperwork on the table and recipe books looked a little sodden and the floor was one big puddle. Upstairs I (well and truly after the horse had bolted) closed the windows and went to do the same in the bathroom. Luckily for me the floor was sodden here too and I went "arse over tit" (I'll explain that one day) and cracked my elbow, arse and head on the floor....

Having dried off and cleaned up I'm going to have a cup of tea now and relax!

How does your garden grow?

So the allotment is really looking like a garden now. The courgettes are looking like marrows, the salad leaves are everywhere and I think we're looking good for produce. So far I've made tarts, stir fry and roasted vegetables with the zucchini and we've given a few away. Also made raspberry and redcurrant sorbet with the fruit but I need to work on my ice cream making.

Hot in the Garden!

With Claire still in Copenhagen I needed to see how much work was needed to be done up at the garden. I was in for a shock as the recent rain followed by the warm weather had got the weeds growing like mad. With temperatures in the high 20s it was a warm day for this work but four hours later and there was still more to do tomorrow! Later at home I also realised that I'd missed a spot or two witht he sun cream and now have aching red shoulders...

Twenty20 at Lords..

I booked these tickets a long time ago and, of course, I had to get tickets for a Lords game but looking at the crowds I could have got tickets for most games (except England) on the day. Despite the cold weather (but no rain) it was still a thrill to watch this sort of cricket at the home of the game. Shame neither game was particularly thrilling (despite the closeness of the NZ game). What is so unusual about Lords is the fact that it's the ONLY ground where you can still bring alcohol in, albeit a limited amount - well played the MCC. They do, of course, then charge you more for their beers! Sorry the picture is only from a mobile phone.