Bees & butterflies

I was about to write 'last Sunday' but I really don't know where this month has gone and it was actually the Sunday before last that we attended an introduction to bee keeping taster session organised by the West Norfolk & King's Lynn Beekeepers Association.

Bee keeping is something I've thought about for years but it wasn't until we visited friends earlier in the year, who now keep bees, that I decided to do something about it. Although bees don't bother me (as opposed to moths!) I have never been close to an open hive so we thought the taster afternoon might be a good start. We were a little worried about the weather as the previous day had been very thundery, which leads to unhappy beees, but we were fortunate that the rain dried up and the temperature dropped a little.

After being kitted out in bee suits and a short, but important, health and safety talk we headed out to the hives. I'll let the photographs do the talking.

Bee proof

Off to the apiary

Lighting the smoker

A big thank you to all the association members who gave up their Sunday afternoon (and I suspect a lot more time in organising the event) and showed such enthusiam for bee keeping.

So what next? I'm hoping to do the theory course next February, followed by the practical. My only concern is that I start my own hive just as we think about moving to France, but as Andrew said you can put things off forever.

We've noticed quite a lot of bees and butterflies around this year. On Sunday we came across a section of overgrown hedgerow in the orchard covered in butterflies and I managed to photograph two.

Finally, something I don't usually do, a plug. Anthea is an interior designer friend of mine who has just opened an online home accessory store - if you love dogs you'll love some of her items! So have a look at Anthea's Home Store.

Too darn hot!

No, this isn't a post about the hot weather that we're experiencing here in the U.K, it's way more convoluted than that. Just stay with me…

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/444589794434790019/

Andrew and I both enjoy the Rick Stein food travel programmes and we've been re-watching the Spain series on the BBC iPlayer. One of the things he's been raving about is Spanish bread, those lovely crusty, chewy loaves with the big holes. Like this:

http://www.elclubdelpan.com/es/formulas/formula_entusiasta/pan-grande-con-masa-madre

So I went in search of a recipe and this one from the Hairy Bikers seemed to fit the bill, promising chewiness and that slightly sourdough taste I was after. I'm a competent bread maker and love baking so off I went, making the starter in advance, kneading & stretching, stretching & kneading. It looked and smelled good when it came out of the oven but I was disappointed. It tasted great but it didn't have the holes and chewiness I wanted. So if anyone out there has a perfect recipe or technique tips then please let me know.

Looks OK

Not what I'd hoped

All this watching of Spanish food put me in mind of my brief recce into Andalusian property that I undertook at the beginning of the year (remember all that cold,wet weather we had? I was drawn to the sunshine and colours of the south). Was I wrong to be considering northern France? Was my heart really in the olive and orange groves of Spain? One town that I had really fallen for was Iznajar, a pretty town by a lake, good for tourism and a great location. I had another look and found this for €55,000 (£45500 at current exchange rates) in excellent condition. Who could resist?

Iznajar property for sale

I started to persuade myself that we could sell up, buy a couple of properties to rent out and live a simple life in the sunshine. Sunshine I thought - what's the weather like there now?

At 7 p.m. - yes it's in centigrade

At this point my dreams fell apart, there's no way I could live here. Anything over 25c I start to go limp,  I can't do it. I really think I'm just a northern European at heart. I stopped my Andalusian property search and went back to Montreuil, so much nicer. So there we have it, just too darn hot.

Talking of hot, Mortimer cooled off on the beach the other evening. Anyone want to give a home to this horrible hound?

Wet & sandy - but happy!