Windmills Galore

Yesterday I was on Windmill overload.  Rosie and I went to Lincoln Castle and on the journey we passed two windmills that I have not previously included on my bread pages.

Ellis Mill is in the City of Lincoln, surrounded by houses and situated on the Lincoln Edge, the escarpment which also holds the Castle and the Cathedral, making them prominent features in the landscape

Ellis Mill is owned by the Museum of Lincolnshire Life and is run separately by volunteers.  It is a typical 18th century tower mill dating from 1798, though there is record of an earlier windmill on the site.  The mill is only open in the afternoon at weekends.  It mills wholemeal flour when the wind is suitably inclined and the flour can be purchased on site.

On our return journey we passes Tuxford Windmill which also mills flour.  This is a Nottinghsamshire gem, milling a range of flours when the wind is right. It also has an excellent tea rooms and runs home baking classes to inspire the users of its fine flours. The mills website has a list of suppliers, so there may be a local shop that is not too far away. 

This is also a tower mill similar in most respects to Ellis Mill in Lincolnshire.  It is however, a modern business rather than a heritage mill, making it a more interesting visit.

These mills will now be added to my bread pages under specialist suppliers.

Rufford Re-enactments

Today we met up with my brother and his lady to visit Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire to check out the latest event of the re-enactment societies.  The Roman Legions were a key attraction, seen here demonstrating the art of warfare.

The best bits for me are often the out of the way stuff that has to be sought out.  By one tent was this Roman clay bell oven.  By warming the clay dome and a slab of slate on the fire, a loaf of bread can be baked in the field.  Bread dough placed on the slab, cover with the clay dome and leave for a while to bake.  The smell of freshly baked bread will alert you to take the clay dome off and cool the bake.

This Saxon artisan is using a rotary quern to grind wheat grain.  The grain is put through the quern to form a coarse grist.  A second milling is required to grind the grist into a usable flour. (Conroi de Vey, Anglo-Norman Re-enactment Group)

This basket contains baked flat breads for the crusaders.  It was the only instance of baked bread that we saw today.

Sections of the field were taken up by the Napoleonic Wars encampment.  Lots of Riflemen and Hussars were supported by mess and armament facilities.

Closer to home was the Great War representation (just ignore the Napoleonic War girls in the background).  The mix of costume was interesting.  A Victorian rat catcher talking to a Roman soldier and a Tudor bowman could be joined by an American GI.
I was talking to a Roman cook and took her picture with a group of Roman Legionnaires in the background.  She assured me that "the best place for the soldiers was over the hills and far away" - OK!

Warm Spring Weather

 With the advantage of a few days of warm weather we have planted out our saved pot plants around the new garden path.  They should fill the space by summer and give a lush ground cover.

 having grown veg from seeds this year I have started by planting out the sprouts.  With the bare soil being disturbed by both cats and badgers, I have added a plastic net fence to protect the seedlings.

 The pots in the greenhouse are starting to come on.  Tomatoes, courgettes, cucumber, marigolds and a dahlia to name but a few.

 Whilst walking by the lake this week I spotted a pair of nuthatches combing the bark of a tree for grubs.  With the sun behind the tree, this was one of the few pictures that was good enough to show.

 Surprise as we saw a wood sparrow, not a common bird in these parts.

This blue tit was taken using my mirror lens, from a good distance.  It is very satisfying to be able to display a picture that was taken using a manual setting and a manual lens.  Nice to know that I can still do the job without the electronic wizardry of modern technology.

Sunshine returns

It is amazing what a little bright weather will do for the spirit.  An early walk around Trentham Lake this morning was full of surprises.  Around Christmas, I lost the eyepiece rubber from my Nikon 5000 camera.  As it is a special piece, a replacement had to be shipped from Singapore at no mean cost.  This morning I happened to glance down on the path by the Lake and there was the lost eyepiece rubber, dusty but fit for use again.  How lucky was that!

The Maccac's were out in the monkey forest, climbing trees and getting up to gentle mischief.  They don't seem to have a lot of energy to expend when the sun shines.

As we walked, the air was full of bird song. Robins, Dunnocks, Chaffinches, Geese, Ducks, Coots and  this very chirpy Wren.  Of course, the Jackdaws and Crows are always chattering and as a swan flies by, the wing beat whistle can be heared clearly.

By the waterside, the Giant Mace were shedding seeds in ther breeze.  I tried to capture the event and found that much of the seed was lost and out of focus.  This is my best shot.
It is good to be out in the warm again after the sharp cold spell.

Crazy complete

So far, the taming of the "middle wilderness" has been going quite well.  Having completed two parts of the crazy paving paths we have access to all parts of this area of the garden.  With a bit of good weather and following hard on the end of a trip to B and Q for some sand and cement (pensioners discount day), the game is on again.

At the back of the garden shed, under the leylandii, are the remains of the concrete shed base that I broke up last year. Many of the lumps of concrete are fit to make the extension to this path, reducing the pile that needs to be disposed of.  Having removed four bagfuls of soil to level the path and hammered some concrete and stone  hardcore into the path base, the paving bits are laid and levelled to be cemented into place.

The resulting path is quite satisfying and relatively inexpensive.  This is my ideal gardening.  I have some pots containing plants that were recovered from this area and other parts of the garden.  When the weather improves again, we shall put the plants in and see if we have any gaps to fill.

RAF Newton

When I first started using my flight simulator, it was a nostalgia kick.  I wanted to fly the aeroplanes that I had seen or flown in whilst on RAF stations in the 1970's.  One of my keen interests was to fly a simulated DHC-1 Chipmunk from RAF Newton where I flew as an Air Cadet.

 Having failed to find a simulation model of RAF Newton, it was becoming apparent that if I wanted to have one, I must design one myself.  I started with the runways, hangers and control tower - using Airport Design Editor by Scruffy Duck Software and a Just Flight Chipmunk aircraft on Microsoft FSX.

 I was satisfied with my military building layout, but the first version did look sparse from the air.

 Another day and I had a go at the married quarters, billet accommodation and domestic buildings.  Trees were OK, but my roadways were black on the simulator view.  Another technique is needed here.

 Third day on the job and the airfield is starting to look more like a sanitised version of the real thing.

I must admit that the overall impression of my model airfield as very close to my memories as a young air cadet.  Of course RAF Newton was closed and it is now essentially a housing estate.  Very little evidence remains from the original ground plan of the station.  It had to close as its air space overlapped that of both Nottingham Airport and RAF Syerston.

 The paint scheme of these aircraft changed three times during the 1970's.  Here they are seen in dayglo orange bars in 1973. This scheme superseded the yellow wing and fuselage bands.

 This is me climbing out of the rear cockpit in 1975.  I was much fitter then.

Postscript
My version 2 is available to use and can be downloaded from;
Pauls FSX Airfield Add-ons

Hot Cross Buns

Easter is here again and as often, I decided to bake hot cross buns.  The last ones I made were from and 18th century recipe and they were quite solid, so this year I am aiming for soft and spicy.

Out came the ever reliable Bero Book from the kitchen draw.  A quick check that we had all of the ingredients, plus some nutmeg, and off we go......

The mixed dough looks very small for 8 buns and the fruit looks excessive, but I have confidence in these recipes.

Once the dough was divided and marked with a flour and water cross, they looked the business.

Just a quick brush with sugar solution when they come out of the oven hot and they are almost ready to eat.
Four for the table and four for the freezer.  Happy Easter.