What to put on a canape

Like half the country, no doubt, I watched The Apprentice tonight. Though I never normally watch 'reality TV', I'm an Apprentice addict - if only for the expressions on Nick's and Margaret's faces as the teams do dreadful things.

Afterwards M & I sat speculating on what one should produce for smart City people. Even though the girls won the task, the sight of huge hunks of French bread with undressed tuna sitting on top, or virtually empty wraps surrounded by fields of lettuce, left us most underwhelmed. M doesn't know the first thing about catering, but he could see that the guests were uncomfortable with their so called finger food.

Without really being able to work out costings, I thought that smoked salmon should have featured somewhere. I would have produced crisp toast covered with it, with maybe a twirl of creme fraiche on top - just for the look of it. Savoury crackers or pizza bases would surely have been easier to eat than thick bread, and one could put such toppings as ratatouille, avocado pate as well as smoked salmon and maybe the chicken tikka that they mentioned themselves. That way a range of different coloured toppings could be produced. Surely, the important thing about canapes is that you can pop things in your mouth in one bite and carry on talking.

Well thank goodness it wasn't me doing it - and I don't have to worry about that sort of catering until my next Christmas do for the neighbours.

It was a beautiful day today, and the garden is still lovely. The polyanthus are opening up and the daffs are still around. Now we have some pink hyacinths and muscari (grape hyacinths), which, if it's not a contradiction in terms, are a forget-me-not blue. There's also a shrub in the garden photo, whose name I've forgotten. It has white flowers now and will shortly produce bright red leaves - and if anyone can supply the name, I'll be most grateful.

Sorry for boring you with similar photos, over and over again. I feel a little like Monet perhaps, always trying to better his water lily pictures, or perhaps trying to capture something beautiful.

Irene came over and it was good to have an uninterrupted natter about food, families - and of course, our books and writing. We are giving a talk at Guildford library on Saturday at 11 a.m. Do come if you're in the area.