Marks Grans Blog

My granddaughter wants to write a book, a few books actually.  She has a theme - bees.  We were watching bees fly in and out of the Hollyhocks in the garden and she started talking about where they'd been, where they could go from here, where they live etc. and she said 'gran, I could write little childrens books about a bee and where it goes and lives.'  I told her there seemed to be a single bee living in the compost heap.  I've only ever seen one bee coming out and going in, I can't tell if it's the same one that goes in that comes out!  She then said 'we could have How Not to Be A Lonely Bee book.  That would tell children how not to be lonely.'  I was thrilled at the way her mind was working yet at the same time I was sad that she even knows what loneliness is.  This lockdown is going to have far reaching consequences for many children in the future I fear.  My own daughter has had to leave her daughter in the charge of her older son to...

I tried to buy a food processor yesterday.  It was sold out everywhere!  It appears everybody has been processing during lockdown and I've come late to the party!  I've never had a 'proper' food processor.  I had one of those mini ones - 'The Magic Bullit' I think it was called and I used it to do some stuff in it but probably not as much as I could have.  It died and the 'New' Magic Bullit had shot up in price since I first got it so I didn't replace it.  I have one of those stick blenders which does the business when I make soup and in 43, almost 44 years of marriage I've got by without a processor.  However, lately I've taken to watching all sorts of chefs and cooks online and I find quite a few mention 'just pop it in your food processor' etc and I feel left out.  Do I need a food processor?  No.  Do I want a food processor?  Yes, at least until I get it and can't work out how to use it and it sits in the cupboard waiting for ...