Welcome

Reaching the final of Masterchef 2007 was a rollercoaster of emotion, with huge highs and lows, but I loved every minute and learnt a huge amount. I owe a great deal to John and Gregg who had faith in my ability when I did not believe in myself. Since competing on the programme my life has changed considerably. I now write cookery columns for two magazines, give cookery demonstrations and am just working on my 13th cook book - unlucky number for some but not for me!!! I love all forms of country cooking, using seasonal and locally sourced produce. This blog is to enable me to share with you a few of my recipes and baking ideas. Enjoy Hannah xxxx

Tuesday 6 May 2008

Our May Day celebrations continued yesterday and we were blessed with a glorious sunny day here in Bedfordshire. We finally made it back to the Ickwell May Day celebrations (I had not been since I was a girl) and it was so special to see so many traditions that have long since been forgotten in other places. May Pole Dancing, the May Queen was crowned, Folk Dancing by Men in Smocks, decorated hoop competitions and some Morris Dancing - a short video for those of you who have not seen this traditional English dancing before! We took our picnic hampers and rugs and had a delicious picnic of lavender and fennel salad with roast chicken and a spicy chorizo pasta salad, followed by fresh
strawberries and ginger beer. A truly lovely afternoon.

2 comments:

Shell said...

I love all the pics and video of the
may day celebrations.
When I was kid we use have a May Day celebration in elementary school. All the classes had to learn a dance then we perform it at the end of May. I loved that. Sadly, they stopped doing that.
In NYC, we really don't have nice May day celebrations like you have. One day, I have to take a trip to England to see it in person.

Marie Rayner said...

What lovely pictures Hannah! I love, Love, LOVE Morris Dancers! I was thrilled the first time I saw them and am still thrilled to see them! Sounds a lovely day and wow, that picnic lunch, sounds delicious!