Bill Bailey, and Ginger Scones

It's been a very mixed week.  Not only the weather,  that's certainly been confused,  but my diary too.

Monday started with our campervan having new brakes, and me, a trip to the dentist.  Both were relatively painless on my bank balance,  but equally both were necessary if not emergencies. 

Tuesday was much more fun.  We had tickets to see Bill Bailey and he was clever and funny.  Barnstaple is not my town of choice but the show was a brief respite from the worries of the world, I haven't laughed so much for a long time 😄.   Thank you,  Bill!   His political observations are spot on.

We had thought we might start our Christmas Shopping but Halloween was everywhere.   I don't get Halloween at all.  When I was a child I don't remember it being mentioned.   We made Guys out of old clothes,  built stacks of wood for bonfires on allotments and waited for 5th November, with anticipation,for the fireworks 🫣.  That's all changed.  No bonfires,  few fireworks,  even displays,  and friends worrying that their pets are afraid of loud bangs.  How times change.  Halloween to my mind is a plastic nightmare, with items being shipped half way around the world in containers, as well as children consuming copious amounts of sugary sweets.  Neither help the environment 🤷‍♀️.   Perhaps we need to celebrate Harvest more than we do.  It's certainly the more important event, and a whole lot healthier for everyone. A celebration of healthy produce.

Wednesday,  a really much needed walk, the weather forecast was thankfully off and for a few hours I ambled along the coast with friends and sat in Kitnors Tea Garden, chatting, without getting wet.  Kitnors leave blankets on benches to put over your knees, a nice touch, but not needed on Wednesday morning.  The afternoon was altogether different!  It poured, but I was home by then.

Thursday, the beginning of a cold.  I felt shivery  and a bit weak kneed.  We are expecting a busy weekend and a cold is the last thing I need.  I stayed at home, vacuumed (exciting, no, but again necessary) and even dusted picture frames and furniture, just in case our visitors did arrive.  Completely shattered by the evening,  I had an early night!

Friday,  feeling better,  bit flushy, but stronger and with a list of things to do.  Top of the list, Scones.  I'm very careful with my diet now, I admit I haven’t  always been.  Although I'm told that there is nothing I can do to prevent relapses, I do need to stay as healthy as I can to cope with the treatment.   To that end, after having steroid induced diabetes a few years ago, I'm a sugar free fan.  And Scones, I've discovered,  can be made without added sugar and still be tasty.   I always use the BBC Good Food Classic Scones recipe, I like the warm milk with lemon juice trick, and I just add crystallised ginger or glacé cherries, or dried apricots etc, and leave the added sugar out of the ingredients.  For my tastebuds, they’re sweet enough.  I serve with cream cheese.  No arguing about putting the cream or jam first here 🤔😂.  

I really don't Bake often enough! ❤️  I always feel better, after I've baked 😊.

No added sugar ginger Scones. 

A last minute reduced sugar fruit cake, just in case!🤔.

 Same principle, classic cake recipe but leave out the sugar.  For me, there’s enough in the fruit!