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Autumn in Arundel!
Here are a few photographs taken on a brisk, autumn walk in Arundel. The chilly autumn air encouraged me to keep warm and take some snapshots on my Canon!
Arundel is a beautiful town, peaceful and idyllic, located in West Sussex. The main attractions include but are not limited to: Arundel Cathedral, Arundel Castle, WWT Arundel (Swanbourne Lake) and numerous pubs and restaurants to enjoy.
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Recipe: White and milk chocolate muffins
My sweet tooth has definitely been alerted after reading this BBC article on sweets. It questions the nostalgia/novelty surrounding our most loved sweets and I for one, have a strong craving for sour boiled sweets now!
Therefore for all you chocolate lovers, I thought I would share a recipe that I have perfected. It is really simple and takes about 20 minutes preparation time and 30 minutes cooking in the oven (total time = 50 minutes). Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon or mid-week treat.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 200g caster sugar
- 130g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 50g cocoa powder
- 160ml whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 160g unsalted butter
- 70g white chocolate
- 50g milk chocolate (or I use Galaxy Counters)
- 12 hole-muffin tray with paper cases
- Preheat the oven to 170°C
- Mix the egg and sugar until well combined and pale in colour. You can use either a handheld or electric whisk.
- In a different bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and add the pinch of salt.
- In another bowl combine the milk and vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the two mixtures to the egg mixture. Beat until all the ingredients are fully mixed together.
- Stir in the melted butter.
- Chop the white chocolate into small chunks and half the Galaxy Counters (or chop milk chocolate). Then add all the chocolate to the mixture.
- Using an ice cream scoop, add one scoop to each case and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Tip: Ice cream scoops are ideal for ensuring each paper case contains a similar amount of cake/muffin mix. It saves using two or three spoons to scrape the mixture. Simple and easy giving a professional finish to your end baking results.
- After 30 minutes check to see if the sponge bounces back when touched and use a skewer to see if all the mixture is cooked.
- Leave to cool before turning out onto a wire rack.
- Enjoy your sweet, moist muffins avec a cup of tea!
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Calamity in Clovelly: flash flooding
The beautiful, quaint fishing village of Clovelly, situated on the North Devon coastline was totally unprepared for the devastating flash flooding that cascaded down the main cobbled street on Thursday 11th October 2012.
This privately owned village suffered extensive flooding to several of its picturesque cottages. Also severely affected by the water damage were the popular tea room owned by Bill and Pauline Legg, meaning they will not be operational over the half term October holiday.
Having been a frequent traveller to North Devon this is a great shame. Surrounding areas such as Tiverton, Holsworthy and areas of Cornwall were also affected by the deluge of rainwater.
The flash flooding caused by the private stream overflowing may need to be reassessed. This leads us to question the water structures of streams and rivers within the UK. Only eight years ago the Cornish village, Boscastle, suffered millions of pounds damage due the banks of River Valency bursting. These are becoming common occurrences causing economic and emotional devastation.
What measures can be taken to ensure these floodings do not escalate?
Those affected by the floods can seek online advice to cope with the aftermath and know what steps to implement to reduce flood damage in the future.
Useful links:
This Is North Devon article
The Guardian article
Rebecca Craft (me) photographed under Clovelly Waterfall last month.
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Rebecca's Rambles... 
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