The Basingstoke Canal and other delights

Mr Used-to-Bees and I went for a walk along the Basingstoke Canal yesterday morning. It was quite early, almost frosty and so peaceful.  Nobody had yet been along the towpath - we know this because suspended in mid-air right across the path was this oak leak, caught on a single thread of spider's silk.

Even a wonky barbed-wire fence looks good on a dewy, sunshine-y morning.

Ditto the ricketty stile.

There were rosehips and holly berries in abundance.

 Season of mists...

I love this little chap who was fishing at the end of one garden...

And I love the old mangle in the garden of his home...

Later on we returned home for a mad rush at Sunday lunch for seven. 

Roast beef, Yorkshire puds plus assorted veg, followed by either

Limoncello Pannacotta with Summer Berry Sauce (served in the lovely Gisela Graham ramekins my sister gave me for my birthday) - possibly the easiest and fastest to make dessert in the world...

...or 'Between the Seasons Pudding'...

... so called as it was a mix of summer fruits from the freezer and apples and pears, and because it was meant to be crumble, but it didn't turn out very 'crumble-y' probably due the fact that I tried to ram too much mixture into each dish!  And this mistake after I'd completely incinerated the pudding I'd really planned on serving!  

A quick clear-up and then Mr U-t-B and I headed off in the car, Camden-bound, to attend a friend's  debut CD launch (for these are the circles in which we now move...) leaving Miss U-t-B at home with the lunch guests to carve pumpkins.  And what a success they made of them!  Look at these beauties...

Tears of happiness from Miss U-t-B's first attempt.

This snaggle-toothed specimen is one of our home grown pumpkins.

As is this one...

Master U-t-B's very talented girlfiend created this lovely scene...

 Whilst Master U-t-B made this 'alternative' carving. .  Tractor, giraffe and exclamatory flashes - it's a definite first in the history of pumpkin carving!

All these achieved with a set of three 'safe pumpkin carving tools' bought last year from Asda. They look like they are only up to carving a bit of blancmange, but actually do a great job, with no trips to casualty required! 

Meanwhile Mr U-t-B and I were at The London Irish Centre, at our friend Peter's album launch!  He is a very talented tin whistle  player (one time all-Ireland champion, no less), so we (and a large crowd of others) were treated to a reels, jigs, aires and laments aplenty - a real foot-tapping evening was had by all!  By the end of the evening, Peter had assembled pretty much a full ceilidh (can't believe I just spelt that correctly first time!) band - fiddles, banjo, flute, tin whistles and keyboard, and it was, as they say, great craic.