Whodathought it, we didn't go anywhere today. Not due to tiredness from yesterday, just Ches wanting a break … and to do some shopping.

We had a leisurely breakfast …. Drew eats in stages. A smoothie followed an hour or so later by Hot Cakes His smoothie is addictive.

Breakfast smoothie

Handful of ice cubes
1 cup of milk
Heaped tablespoon of ground almonds
Heaped tablespoon of cocoa
Half an avocado
3 Medjool dates
One third of a cup porridge oats

Blend till completely smooth!

Mid-morning Ches and I made the 25min walk into town. D&K had given her a gift certificate from John Lewis department store. That's the John Lewis that leases the old castle at Poole. While I sat and watched the passing parade, Ches bought a cashmere jumper.

It was so cold (14c) I had to buy a beanie. The locals in shorts and t-shirts, us in jeans and jackets …. and beanie.

Around 2.00 we walked back home and I then drove over to the only Aldi to buy some gin. Aldi actually produce a gin, "Oliver Cromwell", and it recently beat all the popular brands in a blind tasting. …and it L9.95 for 700ml. $AUD16.00. Also bought Salted Caramel Vodka and some beer. It was now "issing down" with rain again. Home for a late afternoon of cards. …. OMG Chorizo Chips!

We played "Up and Doen the River". Llama del Ray (Keith) won comfortably, pressured by Banana-Llama (Drew) till the last round, while Lady Llama-lade (Ches) progressed conservatively and Llamageddon & post-war dis-Llamament (Gavin) made no progress back up the river. Proof that armamant proflifieration is always going to win out.

We also did The Times quizz. Collectively we scored 10 out of 20. D&K usually score around 7, so we at least contributed to a pass.

Thought I'd find you a novel UK recipe to fill out this blog.

Abingdon Buns

Cakes
Suffolk

The town of Abingdon has a tradition of small bread cakes being thrown to the crowds by the mayor and town officials on certain celebration days. The bun throwing on Sunday 3rd June 2012 was in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. It included bun throwing machines made by the BBC's 'Man Lab'.

Abingdon County Hall Museum say that "The first recorded bun throwing was in 1760. An account by John Waite, tells how he managed to catch a cake, thrown from the Market House (County Hall) during celebrations at the Coronation of King George III.

Early accounts record that cakes were distributed to the people. Yet it seems that from early on the buns or cakes were thrown. Borough Minutes of 1831 record that 500 penny cakes were distributed to the populace for the accession of King William III. The Abingdon Herald's account of the celebrations mentions that "500 cakes ... were thrown from the tops of houses into the dirt to be scrambled for, in accordance with ancient usage".

Events celebrated by bun throwing have included Royal occasions and other festivities. A selection include: 1810 Golden Jubilee of King George III, 1837 Coronation of Queen Victoria, 1856 end of the Crimean War, 1887 Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1956 the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Abingdon, 1980 the Queen Mother's 80th Birthday, 1995 50th Anniversary of VE Day.

The Museum has buns from the last 17 bun throwing. These are carefully looked after to preserve them for the future. The earliest dates from 1887 and was part of celebrations for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. A few are on show in the staircase display while others are kept in storage and brought out for exhibitions or for special appointments."

The closest I can come to identifying a recipe is : Lardy cake Ingredients

· 450g/1lb strong white flour

· 1 tsp salt

· 2 x 7g sachets instant yeast

· 75g/2½oz lard

· 300ml/10½fl oz water

· 75g/2½oz butter

· 225g/8oz mixed dried fruit including mixed peel

· 50g/1¾oz soft brown sugar

· extra flour for dusting

Method

1. Mix together the flour, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl. Rub in 20g/¾oz of the lard using your fingertips until there are no pieces of lard visible.

2. Add three-quarters of the water and hand-mix the flour into the water to form a dough. Add as much of the remaining water as you need to get a dough that is soft and leaves the sides of the bowl clean.

3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Place in a clean bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size. This depends on the temperature of the room, but should take 1-2 hours.

4. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and roll into a rectangle about 20x50cm/8x20in and about ½cm thick.

5. Dot a third of the remaining lard and a third of the butter over the surface of the dough. Scatter over a third of the fruit and a third of the sugar. Fold the top third of the dough down and the bottom third up so that the dough is folded in three and roughly square. Turn the dough a quarter turn. Roll out and repeat the out process twice more, to use up all the lard and fruit.

6. Line a 23x23cm/9x9in square loose bottomed tin with baking parchment. Roll out the dough to fit the tin and place it inside. Cover with clingfilm, or place inside a large plastic bag, and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden-brown.

8. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin. Cut into squares and serve warm or cold, with butter.

Jubilee cakes will be thrown again in Abingdon this June. If you visit the museum housed in the old Market Hall, you can see authentic examples from both Victoria's 1887 and 1897 jubilee celebrations. These ancient mummified cakes inform us that the Abingdon Jubilee Cakes were fairly commonplace current buns. They were washed down with plenty of beer. Special beers were brewed for George III's Jubilee celebrations all over the country, an exercise I am pleased to say is being carried out again this year by a number of contemporary breweries. We learn from Preston that the brewers in Towcester, Hadley, Stoneleigh, Northampton and a few other towns, concocted a special commemorative ale, a 'two year old October' especially for the event. The 1809 celebrations were held on October 25th, so the brewers made a special version of their customary October Ale in 1807 and laid it down for two years to mature. Across the country, similar strong ales were doled out to the poor with an allowance of 'two quarts for a man, one quart for a woman, and half a pint for each child.' Preston also gives us some interesting statistics regarding the number of barrels brewed by the large London brewers in the year 1809-10, as a result of the celebrations a much greater quantity than usual.

Free buns also featured prominently at an open air party for children in Hyde Park during Queen Victoria's 1887 Jubilee, though by this time, the kiddies' half pint of beer had been replaced with ginger beer and lemonade. Another contemporary newspaper report in far off New Zealand offered some impressive statistics.

Jubilee buns like those hurled at Abingdon were plain current buns, while the cakes hidden under the giant Victorian fantasies were made of rich fruit cake. There are very few historical recipes for Jubilee Cake, but here is one Plumcake found which you might like to try.


Jubilee Cake

Ingredients: 1 bag of flour (3½lbs.), cost, 6½d.; 1 tablespoonful of baking powder, 1d.; ½lb. mixed peel, 2d.; 1½ pints milk, 1½d.;

Total cost, 1s. 9½d.

Method: Mix the flour and baking powder well together; then rub in the lard till none can be found; add the fruit, sugar, and peel (cut into neat pieces), and mix thoroughly. Stir all well together with the milk, adding a little more if not sufficient to make a stiff batter. Divide into two cakes, and bake about two hours in well-greased tins. This cake is quite wholesome for children, who may eat quite a large piece without harm. I have used it 20 years. I never use currants, as they are very unwholesome for children, for they never digest. It is better to seed the raisins, as they are apt to cause irritation to the stomach of children. This cake may be made by leaving out the raisins and sultanas, adding four eggs instead, or a few seeds. ― W. A. BISHOP

From Favourite Cakes of Rural England, The Cable Series of Farm and Household Books No.2, 2nd ed. [1899] contributed by Country Housewives.