I’m all for agile development and iterative deployment. I just wish Microsoft would recognise that many of our end users are resistant to learning new computer skills. One of my tasks, amongst numerous others, is training non-technical teams how to create and maintain content on SharePoint. Sounds easy, but you’d be surprised. These are generally …
One thing always leads to another. I only went in the garage to find some bags with which to take the garden rubbish to the tip. But before I know it, I’ve sorted out the garage, too. So now it’s off to the tip with all that extra junk on top.
In amongst the tangle, hanging bunches of ripening micrograpes!
The first of September carries me into the garden to begin taming the rambling jungle that has sprung up in our absence. It always gets worse before it gets better. Therapy for the soul.
When we have no money, we make mistakes. Or compromises we wouldn’t make if we had better means. Nearly twenty years ago, we bought the cheapest house we could find within commuting distance of London. Though fine for raising a family, it could never be described as a sound investment, for it remains one of …
Not only karayemiş, but also grape vines for making sarma.
Why do we have a feeling of some kind of destiny? Because we moved into a little house in the Chilterns two decades ago and discovered that in its garden karayemiş grew. In my wife’s mother tongue, this bitter black fruit is known as zevar (spelling uncertain). Others call it Laz üzümü, or Laz grape. …
Found so far: Three floppy disks containing backups of old writing. My Istanbul wedding on VHS. Eight Video 8 cassettes. Two Minidiscs. My depressing school reports. A portfolio of design work spanning twenty years. The charger for a 2003 Dell Latitude C400. Annual accounts for one failed business. An oboe and set of sheet music, …
Eat where the locals eat. Good honest food, freshly made on site. Honest, friendly service. Honest, fair prices. Will fill you up. No bad aftertaste.
Just picked from the garden.
Fruits of the English garden. Purple clematis weaving through the karayemiş. A tree full of ripening plums left untouched. Plentiful grapes winding through the hazel tree. Home from home.
It’s only taken me about thirty years, but I think today I finally discovered the secret of non-stodgy rice. You have to rinse off all the starch at the start. When the water turns clear, you’re done. Kudos to some random bloke on YouTube for setting me straight on this one. I wasn’t going to …
Clever lad made a fry up for breakfast today. Eggs and halloumi. Smells delicious. Did he make a serving for me? Don’t be daft.
We’ve been spoilt all this time, not worrying about what we’ll eat each evening. Now it comes to the end of a working day, and I’m wondering what I will cook us tonight. If it achieves nothing else, I hope it will make our lad more grateful for everything his mum does for him. I …
