It’s Grim Up North

Foul weather has returned. When we were battening down last night, DH tried to seal the kitchen window,which was whistling through the frame. This turned out to be a mistake, as t he window hinge broke. Clean snapped in two. He enlisted my help to try and get the window locked into place – it took some doing! We were very worried as that window faces south, head-on to the gale force winds expected today. I now have a kitchen window that cannot be opened. I had better not burn anything… while we are saving up for a new window fitting.

We should have been away on the ferry to town today but the forecast, coupled with the knowledge that the shelves would be pretty bare, kept us at home.  So, we have had to revamp our ideas about our Wedding Anniversary dinner (New Year’s Eve), which will now be an Indian meal of sorts. It is all a bit “make do and mend” and we lack some authenticity that might have been sourced in Kirkwall, had we gone. We can rustle together, more or less, the ingredients for a starter of Prawn Tikka skewers, and a main course of Butter Chicken. The part of the meal of interest to this blog will be the Puri (Poori), which I am in charge of. I am also in charge of a side dish of Aloo Gobi or somesuch, and possibly the dessert (Carrot Halva).

That’s a pretty rich meal by anybody’s standards, so we are trying to eat light in the interim. Today I am making a Neep and Barley Broth, and some rolls to go with it. The bread dough is rising and I am away to chop my veg as soon as I have finished this cup of coffee that I have by my keyboard.

Later on, while my bread rests after shaping, I shall be re-listening to It’s Grimm Up North. If you have an hour to spare in the next three days, may I commend this to you if you have not already heard it?

To mark the 200th anniversary of their first publication, acclaimed writers re-interpret their favourite Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales, giving them a modern setting and a northern twist.

A publishing phenomenon, the popularity of the Grimms’ collected folk tales endures with the stories read and loved in more than 160 languages. The stories are as valuable to adults as children; crossing age barriers with underlying moral lessons that are timeless and universally relevant.

In this series of thrilling, humorous and thought-provoking short stories, Barnsley’s Ian MacMillan revisits Rapunzel; Middlesborough’s Harry Pearson revives Rumpelstiltskin; and Stuart Maconie turns The Four Musicians Of Bremen into The Four Musicians Of Bolton. Joanne Harris looks at life through the eyes of an actress cast as the Ugly Sister in Cinderella; Kate Fox adds a suprising twist to Little Red Riding Hood; and Chris Priestley reminds us of the sinister side of Grimm with his take on Death’s Messengers.

The tales are delivered by some of the best voices in the north including Maxine Peake, Kevin Whately, Sally Lindsay, Mark Benton and Elvis McGonagall

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