Chocolate and Martini Rosso

The weather’s improved today, and we’ve been out to lunch for a traditional roast. I had a Martini Rosso with lemonade, which is probably desperately uncool. First had it on a date many decades ago. I rapidly went off the male in question, but I continued to enjoy the drink. I don’t understand why food and drink should be fashionable or otherwise. Either you like it or you don’t. Like Black Forest Gateau, for example, of which I heard mention a day or so on the radio, in a discussion about the seventies and Life on Mars. It’s out of fashion, even though it’s delicious (when baked by a proper patisserie). Dark chocolate, black cherries and cream. Yum.

Having lunch cooked for me meant I came home energized and inclined to do something other than sit at the computer.

With M happily ensconced in front of the rugby on TV (Six nations? But there only seemed to be two playing!) I embarked on an apple cake. I always try to have a couple of apple cakes in the freezer, because all my family seem to like them. Funnily enough, I’m not a great fan – I prefer anything with chocolate (see above). However, the time to make them is while I still have apples in store from our fabulous tree.

While cooking, I turned on the radio and listened to The Mahabharata - I’m sure this is something that Irene (http://www.thisthatfromireneblack.blogspot.com/) will know about being something to do with Asian gods and myth, as far as I could tell. I was enjoying it, but disappointed to find it was a serial, as it requires me to remember to listen next Sunday. I collected a few more apples for dessert and listened to Open Book, while peeling and cutting.

My Writers’ News (www.writersnews.co.uk) magazine arrived a couple of days ago. There was a good profile about me in Members’ News, giving details of my recent success with Virtual Tales (www.virtualtales.com) and the short stories which were placed/broadcast/and shortlisted. Now I’m working on a second story for a WN competition. One is ready to be printed out for a March deadline and the other is under way for mid-Feb. Cutting it fine, but with a bit of effort, I hope to get it done.