Black and White

I met up with the girls for knitting on Friday, at our most recent regular venue in Hertford.  I probably shouldn't name it, but I did blog about it's beautiful decor a couple of months ago.  

It's just a shame that the service is not on a par with the wallpaper.  There were only the three of us in the place when we ordered breakfast, and it was a fairly simple order.  

1. Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, no toast or muffins.  

2. Poached eggs on toasted muffins

3. Toast with a selection of preserves.

All these were on the menu, and didn't, on the face of it, push the chef's culinary skills to the limit.

First to arrive was number 1.  It was served on toast.  It was sent back.  Ten minutes later it returned, this time on muffins.  Sent back again.  Another ten minutes and finally it was right.

Number 2 - arrived on toast, sent back.  Probably only five minutes this time (easier to scoop poached eggs off toast, than scrambled with smoked salmon, maybe?)

Number 3 - I ordered the toast.  It arrived, on a plate, naked with no sign of butter or jam.  The waitress said "Do you want anything else with that?"  There may have been just a touch of sarcasm when I said I find dry toast a tad bland, and was there any chance of butter and jam.  It only took four requests for the butter to arrive.  Well, three requests, plus a "If you tell me where the kitchen is, I'll go and fetch my own butter"

The Manager did apologise and said that they were experiencing 'staff training issues' and that next time we have breakfast there, we can have a free Bucks Fizz.  I guess that will be to celebrate, in the unlikely event t hat they get the order right.

I've been doing a bit of printing 'homework' - still on the black and white theme, but this time on fabric, with a view to making a stitched sample.  

I decided to go for the fabric on the right, which is based around footsteps over a bridge (you'll just have to take my word for it).  I'd printed white on black fabric, and vice versa, and I've cut them up to patchwork them.

I've tried various arrangements ...

And I've settled for this one, which is now stitched together

And which, when I feel so inclined, I will quilt or stitch somehow, in time for the next Spectrum meeting in May.  All very well, but I'd rather be making a frock.

Do you ever find yourself with a long list of fairly important things you should be getting on with, but in fact, find yourself doing something that isn't, strictly, essential?  Yeah me too.  I saw a picture in a magazine of soaps wrapped in pretty paper.  Hence this now graces my bathroom.

Sometimes, you just have to do something because you want to.

There was a great programme on Radio 4 this week about protest songs, and I love this quote from Billy Bragg.  "For political songwriters, a Tory Government getting elected is like putting fat balls out for the birds on a frosty morning.  You just have to sit and watch and you know they're gonna come."

Black And White - ~Deep Purple