Badge of Honor

As an Army wife I am very proud of the work my husband does - I support his job despite our disagreements on the legality of western involvement in the middle east. Naturally I have a bias opinion but I believe his work is vital to saving lives of civilians in conflict areas and our own deployed troops. As a searcher he is trained as an integral part of the British armies Counter-IED Task Force. In this modern warfare it is a risky job, we have lost friends and neighbours and many more have been badly wounded - their lives changed forever. Unfortunately unlike EOD specialists and ATO searchers they do not get any extra danger money or recognition for the high risk work they do, but today we had a step in the right direction.

Carver Barracks hosted a parade to award searchers with their own badge, the symbol of the "all seeing eye" aflame will be awarded today with pride. News reports can be found at British forces news and Cambridge news. Despite being 5 days overdue with our first child I attended the parade with satisfaction (and smugness) that our guys are getting at least a little of what they deserve. The new patches are just in-time for the new issue uniforms too! It was really nice to have a parade to celebrate, so often they are memorials or remembrance parades which are understandably rather sombre affairs.

Whilst over 100 of our friends and neighbours are currently on tour, at home participating in the parade were 250 of our own Searchers who either have recently been or are preparing to deploy. We also had some visitors from 61regiment: Private Alex Stringer (who stepped on an IED and lost 3 limbs earlier this year) attended the service to receive his badge. Stringer is part of a documentary "The Bomb Squad" which happens to coincide with our parade about the IED task force in Afghanistan. It is on BBC1 tonight at 10.35pm and is well worth a watch to learn more about EOD and the work our searchers do.

DH receives his badge

Summer means Jam making ^_^

Making homemade jam—or chutney is a great way to preserve the best fruits of summer. Strawberries this year have been amazing, either from your patio, allotment or at the pick your own farms over the south east of England. Later in the year there are plenty of wild blackberries along the lane where I live which are best in the late summer and autumn. Its very easy to make jam and using fresh fruit with no preservatives makes it taste so delicious, you just can't beat it on scones with cream and a pot of tea ^_^ it is simply divine!

The trickiest part of jam making is how much pectin (the settling agent) is in each kind of fruit. The high sugar temperatures can be a little overwhelming aswell but this can be easily overcome. I use a cheat, jam making sugar from silver spoon which has added pectin from apples : D


For soft fruit jam follow this easy peasy recipe!

Recipe:
400g Soft fruit can included strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches and blueberries etc (I use a blender and add vanilla to blueberry jam ^_^)
500g of Jam sugar
1tsp lemon juice
1tsp of butter

Method: For traditional English jam mash your soft fruit with a potato masher, or if you prefer American style jelly you can use a blender to remove lumps, although the later wont work so well with seeded fruits such as raspberries - you still get the seeds!

Using an old saucepan (incase you burn it!) on a medium heat to bring your mashed fruit to a rolling boil, not spitting but gently bubbling over - my husband calls it my cauldron ;)

Add lemon juice, butter and/or vanilla at this time. Add the jam sugar and stir constantly, you dont want any one part of the jam to get too hot and burn. Boil it for a full 3 minutes to ensure all the pectin and sugar are combined with the fruit.

Using a tea spoon take a small amount of the hot jam out of the pan, leave it to cool for a few minutes and if it sticks to the spoon when you stick it upside down then your jam is ready :)

Canning:

If you use recycled jars be sure to sterilise them first or if you prefer you can buy them on-line. Warm your jars gently on a low heat (80') in the oven or in a saucepan of boiling water and then put the hot jam into your clean jars.

Carefully screw on the lids - the hot jars with hot jam will create a natural vacuum seal that will last 9-12 months. With a printer and some adhesive paper you can easily knock up some smart labels, I'm sure friends and family will be very impressed.

For beginners domestic goddess Delia has some very handy tips.

Local fire engulfs entire forest

On Saturday afternoon on April 31st a forest fire was started in Swinely forest in south Ascot near Bracknell and Crowthorne. Arson is suspect of the fire that quickly spread to an area of about 20 acres, burning through the undergrowth and up pine trees as well as spreading through the peat under the ground. Crews from Bracknell and Wokingham Fire Stations as well as four stations in Reading have been fighting all week, with specialists support from Hampshire and Maidenhead.

The blaze continues

more than 40 crews have been working around the clock this week

Families along Woodlands Ride at the edge of the forest were given only 10 minutes to evacuate their homes and have not returned yet, schools closed and the local area is in a general upheaval. The local community has pulled together to support the rescue workers, of which include 350 fire-fighters from more than 40 crews working around the clock. By Friday - 6 days after it started - the hard working crews are still damping down pockets of flame but the fire seems to be under control and nearing its end.

underground peat fires

smoke can be seen for 40 miles around

Traffic in the area has ground to halt, with several major roads closed and the smoke is affecting homes and towns in a 40mile radius. The environmental effect of this catastrophic fire is currently immeasurable, the forest will take decades to recover. Please follow my links to full reports on this fire - I will be keeping a close eye on local news of the drama unfolding in our home town.

Springtime Sunday ride with Rex

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I took Rex my beloved cheap and cheerful cruiser out for a Sunday ride in Essex. Since moving here I have fallen deeply in love with the scenery. There were rolling hills filled with bright yellow rapeseed and fresh green spring grass dotted with buttercups swaying in the wind like an ocean. At the side of the road a hovering kestrel swoops down towards a freshly exposed ditch to catch her lunch, over the hill Thaxted rises into view with its lofty church spire, as I get closer I can see the historical streets lined with cottages and Tudor buildings.

After I pass a building with over hanging wattle and dorb I turn onto a winding single track road with farm cottages, barns and open banks, the road is level with the fields around and I can see for miles. There are a few tulips left in the gardens closer to town and further out on the hedgrows are wild dog roses and late blue bells, as well as flowering weeds on the banks. With an un-obstructed view of the landscape you can watch the clouds shadows move over the fields smoothly and the golden sunshine lights up everything.

A fork in the road with wonky-whitewashed sign leads onto a mottled lane through wooded curves, with a parish church tucked away, hidden from the outside world amongst the pale green leafy trees. At the t-junction we turn onto the road that leads towards the chocolate box inspired Finchingfield; the quaint cottages painted in pastels, the ornamental duck pond with humpback bridge where the road leads up the hill and guides your eye to the Norman church proudly overlooking the postcard scene, the village I have grown to love and call my home.

Tumble Down is burning down!

I've always fancied being a reporter (April O'Neil was a strong role model) and this afternoon I was in the right place at the right time to do some on scene reporting, unfortunately we witnessed a fire break out at a once loved pub - The Tumbly : (

The Tumble Down Dick in Farnborough, Hampshire, has a long history dating back to the 5th century and its name comes from drunken Richard Cromwell who was, according to local legend, a one time visitor of the inn. In recent times it has been a haven for the alternative scene, and intill its closure in 2008 "Dicks" venue next door held weekly Rock Club nights at Quarantine.

Today at 15.30 a fire broke out at the old pub, dark smoke that emanated from the roof was blown quickly away. Within 10 minutes the first fire engine had arrived and fire fighters started to prise open one of the shuttered windows with a crow bar. 2 more engines arrived before they gained access to the building at the rear with a top floor window. It is un-known at this time the outcome of the fire and the extent of damage caused.