Introspection
A Good Day
On January 25, 2023 by Speranza
Earlier in the week, I gave myself permission to do whatever I liked. This is advice I frequently dole out to friends but rarely follow myself. I was free to squander time without paying heed to that mean inner voice which is poised and ready at any time of day or (especially) night to remind me that I should be more productive.
Or more attractive. Or more physically fit. Or more assertive. Or more of a risk taker, depending on the day.
But on this day, I allowed myself some simple, spontaneous “sparkles” one after another – fun, random things that seem too frivolous to happen regularly but really, why not? And we’re not talking white water rafting here or jumping out of a plane.
Just tiny pops of languid reading and relaxing.
Art for Art's Sake . British Stuff . Collecting . Frasier . The General
A Clean Break
On November 26, 2020 by Speranza
I always enjoy my house being clean but I’ve never been able to become excited about the process or to schedule reminders connected to doing certain things. (And I have known these people – though not well, perhaps tellingly.) They have laminated sheets and clipboards; Sunday morning stove scrub-downs and allotted days for vacuuming and laundry. I do not aspire to be part of this group.
British Stuff . Cooking . Nostalgia
Open Love Letter to The Victoria Sandwich Cake
On October 19, 2019 by Speranza
Just for a moment, can we forget about the news and the state of the world and instead talk about cake? I know this seems shallow and possibly verging on the politically incorrect but honestly, it’s starting to turn a bit chilly outside and somehow even the sunlight itself is becoming harsh and brittle – certainly, no longer gentle.
So I need cake.
A Victoria Sandwich cake is a simple iconic sponge cake. ‘Sponge cake’ in itself is a troubling term, since a true ‘sponge’ has little or no butter and relies on egg whites to be poofy which is definitely NOT the case here. Many sources suggest that this cake was Queen Victoria’s favourite and was served at tea parties to help with her endless grief after her husband’s passing. But to me, it was simply the go-to, working class cake of my childhood and was made from my mother’s only cookbook as seen here – a hilarious cookbook in retrospect too, almost Monty Python-ish at times but quite unconsciously so, which of course makes it even funnier.