It’s half term at the moment, and so Ed and I decided to get out of the city and spend a couple of days in the mountains up in Cumbria. As October half term is split this year and Birmingham doesn’t share the holiday with London or a few other regions, we managed to find space in a couple of hostels. They’re usually booked up months in advance for the school holidays, so this was a bit of luck. We stayed at YHA Honister Hause for two nights and then YHA Helvellyn on our last night.
Ed made me a birthday cake following this recipe for a vegan coffee and walnut cake. I first trialled this recipe back in the spring, and it has taken the place of my old favourite sponge cake recipe. The Rose Elliot recipe is pretty good (it was our go-to birthday cake recipe for nearly fourteen years), but the Veganuary one is fluffier and tastes more like a traditional victoria sponge. I made a few adjustments to it though. Instead of 1tsp xantham gum, I use 2tbsps soya flour, and instead of 200ml instant coffee I use 50ml strong filter coffee and 150ml soya milk.
On Sunday morning I woke before dawn and watched the sunrise over the fields at my parents’ house in Somerset. I can’t sleep very well in the countryside as I find the silence a bit eerie and I’m used to a gentle hum of traffic at all hours. Having been on my feet for ten hours shooting a wedding the day before I was a bit frustrated by the lack of sleep, but the pretty sunrise softened the blow.
One of the many things I love about our flat is the light. Our windows face north-west, which means that in the afternoons the whole flat is bathed in soft, slanting golden beams that illuminate the dust and my imperfect paintwork. From March through early October the light reaches around doorways and paints the corridor gold too. There are few things that make me happier than coming home late afternoon or early evening, opening the front door and walking into a wall of light.
