A Royal wedding

I am so romantic when it comes to weddings!
I felt so happy to see a trully British wedding unfold when Pippa Middleton, the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge walked down the aisle to marry her longtime boyfriend, financier James Matthews in front of about 150 guests at St Mark's Church in Englefield, Berkshire, at a  11:30am service. May they live happy and well and long! 
And may we be happier!

xoxo
Rena

Feeling racey?

Epsom Downs for Ladies Day at the Derby

via

A young English wedding-The Blairs

 

Speaking of weddings, I so much enjoyed looking at the photos from Euan Blair's wedding. What a lovely young couple! He is 29 , she is 25 and they have been together for 8 years!

 

 

 

An interesting fashion note , indicative of fun pop culture. Fashion commentators noted that half-turkish Suzanne's blue heels were a replica of those worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in the Sex and the City movie.

 

 

 

 

What a beautyful picture by Alan Davidson, capturing a moment of intimacy and pride between Cherie and Tony Blair, the former British PM and his wife.

 

 

The groom's sister, Kathryn Blair.

 

 

The Blair's Buckinghamshire mansion where the wedding reception was held.

 

Read more here.

 

 

An aristocratic wedding

 

 

I like me a good old-fashioned aristocratic wedding. Like the ones Tatler used to show us before it became a big expensive Hello with semi-trashy wannabe starlets. Oh well. Tant pis. because this week saw the wedding of James Meade to Lady Laura Marsham at St. Nicholas parish church in Gayton, Norfolk.

Mr Meade is part of   Prince William’s closest circle of friends and delivered a joint best man's  speech with Thomas van Straubenzee at the Buckingham Palace reception after the royal wedding in 2011.

Ms. Marsham is the daughter of Julian Marsham, the 8th Earl of Romney.

The wedding was attended by, among other, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Princess Catherine's sister, Pippa Middleton.


As the Bishop of Lynn who conducted the service, said afterwards:“Though I say it myself, it was a very happy service".

inside Samantha Cameron's Downing Street kitchen

By Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent,The Telegraph

The cakes were due to be sold to staff at Downing Street at tea time, with the money raised going towards the work of the Comic Relief charity. In the photographs, released by Number 10, the Prime Minister's wife is showing off the moonrocks, flapjacks and tiffin cakes she baked today.



Her children Elwen (left) and Nancy (right) are behind her, helping with the cooking and trying some of the cakes. The Camerons live in a flat above 11 Downing Street because it is bigger than Number 10's apartment. The photographs also gave another chance for people to view the Cameron's £25,000 kitchen, with floating shelves from her mother Lady Astor's shop Oka, a Magimix worth up to £299, an £895 dishwasher and £130 toaster.

Mrs Cameron said: “Baking is such a brilliant and easy way to raise money for Red Nose Day. I know the children are really looking forward to selling our cakes around the offices in Downing Street.




“I hope lots of people all over the country are also baking, or finding other fun ways to support Comic Relief.” Comic Relief wants to inspire the nation to bake cakes and sell them for charity and raise money for Red Nose Day too.

A special baking fundraising kit, with recipe, and the bunting and price labels modelled by Mrs Cameron, is available from www.rednoseday.com/fundraise Comic Relief was set up in 1985 by comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. Since it was established, it has raised over £750million to help people living incredibly tough lives across Africa and here in the UK.

Source, Source

Royal Jubilee

I love a good romantic story.

I love castles and queens, prines and princesses and happilly ever afters.

 Britons are a great nation.

What a greatRoyal Jubilee!

God save royal, Christian Europe!

Friday's Fabulous finds-Blogs about England

From time to time I think of England. 

 Our young years take the patina of nostalgia over time. The things we didin't know we had, the people that were worth spending time with, the trips we didn't make when we could...

But then, I've always loved England. 

The stories of my (late) grand-father, how he and my grand mother were asked to establish a Greek-Orthodox community in the South of England in the 1950s, the flowery slip covers in my mom's sitting room, straight from England, how odd it all adds up.

Anyhow,

I am in one of those moods these days, 

and I have been going through my bookmarks for those special sites that capture fragments of my memories.

See if they tell you something

~place is irrelevant, oftentimes~,

and tell me in the comments, or e-mail me, if you feel like it.

Life on the East End at

Spitafields Life

Stylish pictures with the occasional remarks on life in the big city at

The bottom of the ironing basket

I like India Knight.
I guess you know that by now.
She recently moved here, but I think you'll enjoy most her posts here.

For the English homey feel, with flowers and croshet, I go to
Attic 24.

Enjoy the bloglovin'

Royal Chicken Recipes

Hello, dear friends,

I found today a recipe that I would like to share with you.

I find the story behind it very interesting and evocative of the times that the western world faces today.

It is also evocative of the mentality behind the absolute well off, 

probably more symbolically rather than in real terms,

the kings and queens.

Poulet reine Elizabeth, 

 as it was originally known,

 concocted for the banquet for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 2,1953,

was a deliberate and tactful compromise between the luxurious and the thrifty for a country still under the dreary yoke of postwar rationing.

 Coronation Chicken was invented for the foreign guests who were to be entertained after the Coronation. The food had to be prepared in advance, and Constance Spry, who also helped with floral arrangements on the day, proposed a recipe of cold chicken in a curry cream sauce with a well-seasoned dressed salad of rice, green peas and mixed herbs. Constance Spry's recipe won the approval of the Minister of Works and has since been known as Coronation Chicken.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg/4lb free-range chicken
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 10 whole black peppercorns

For the sauce

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 85ml/3fl oz red wine
• 150ml/¼pint water
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• caster sugar
• 2 slices lemon
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 425ml/15fl oz good-quality mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp apricot purée (made by blending 4-5 stoned, dried apricots with 3 tbsp water)
• 3 tbsp whipped cream

To serve

• 1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
• rice, cooked according to packet instructions

Preparation method

1. Place the chicken into a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, cover with water and add the spring onions, garlic, salt and peppercorns.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, turning the chicken once during the cooking process. Cover with a lid and switch off the heat. Leave for one hour, then remove the chicken, allow to cool completely, and tear the chicken from the bones into rough pieces.
3. Meanwhile, for the sauce, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 3-4 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook for a further two minutes, stirring well. Add the tomato purée, wine, water and bay leaf.
4. Bring the mixture to the boil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then add the sugar, lemon slices and lemon juice, to taste. Reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering and simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine meshed sieve and set aside to cool.
5. Gradually fold in the mayonnaise and apricot purée, to taste. Add more lemon juice, as necessary.
6. Fold in the whipped cream.
7. To serve, arrange the portioned chicken on a large platter, pour the sauce over the top, sprinkle with the coriander and serve immediately, with rice.
   
   

For the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002, another version was made, with a more tangy sauce.

RECIPE FOR JUBILEE CHICKEN

Preparation time: 20 min, plus 2-3 hours marinating.
Cooking time: 25 min. Serves: 4.

INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breast fillets, about 18 oz (500g) in total
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
Bunch flat leaf parsley
1 lime quartered

For marinade:Half lime, juiced and zest grated 3cm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated 1 clove crushed garlic 1 shallot, finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil

For dressing:3fl oz (100ml) creme fraiche 6 tbsp mayonnaise Half lime, juice and zest grated 2in (5cm) piece fresh root ginger

METHOD

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. 

To make dressing, place creme fraiche, mayonnaise, lime juice and zest in a bowl. Peel and grate the ginger, then twist in a piece of muslin, or press through a sieve to extract the juice. Add 2 tsp of the juice to the dressing. Stir, cover and chill to allow the flavours to develop.

Scrape marinade from the chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and place in a roasting tin. Drizzle over olive oil.

Roast in oven (pre-heated to 190 degrees Celsius / 375 degrees Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 5) for 25 minutes, baste occasionally until the chicken is cooked through. Leave to cool completely, then cut into bite-sized pieces.

Combine the chicken and dressing, adjust the seasoning, and refrigerate. Serve with a pasta salad, lime quarters and chopped flat leaf parsley.

THE CORONATION BANQUET

If you wish to recreate the banquet held at Buckingham Palace after the Coronation in 1953, you may be interested in the menu:

Consommé Royale
(Chicken consommé garnished with cubes of royale)

Filet de Boeuf Mascotte
(Fillet of beef garnished with quarters of artichoke bottom tossed in butter with cocotte potatoes and slices of truffle)

Salade

Glace à la Mangue
(Mango ice cream) 

Thus, dear frineds, we may be inspired for a royal banquet.

God bless us all!

Sources

50 facts about the Queen's Coronation

Coronation Chicken Recipe

 

Cath says: Renew!

Remember my posts on maps here, here and here? Maps are definitively a trend!

Classic Kidston, though I'd like to see more bedlinen in the collection. 

The bathroom is my favorite photo of the four. I really enjoy the rose range (paraben-free).

I just finished ironing. I used the ironing spray. Makinf everyday housework fun is just great. Thank you Ms.Kidston!

Hampton Court Flower Show 2009

What would dear England be without the love of flowers and the spectacular flower shows?


I miss them so much that I took a trip to the most famous ones running this year, with pictures of the most beautiful flowers, gardens and arrangements, and I am sharing them with you, dear friends. Enjoy!


The Chelsea.

From The Old Walled Garden, rare plant nursery.

South African Disas from Dave Parkinson for disa plants.

I like the posters, too. So very now, in their own ways!
To enjoy more beauty (be warned, you will be surfing for long!)visit the RHS website.