I have a suspicion your idea of ānot goodā tasteā is probably quite chic by British standards. 
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Ha haā¦ it was certainly delicious, so if Turnip Jam is equally delicious you might be right.
Melon dāEspagne doesnāt ring a bell. I seem to recall it was a very particular autumn/winter melon she used and, since she is Charentaise, it is a Charentaise family recipe. Iāll have to check next time we meet.
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Feeling better today because the long running dispute with a Spanish Amazon fr vendeur seems to be drifting to a justifiable conclusion and, after weeks of searching for a new computer that Amazon (preferably fr) both sells and despatches, I have at last ordered a Lenovo that seems to tick all my boxes.
Due Saturday. 
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Donāt know if this qualifies as cheerful news - but what a lovely sight! Big Ben repaired and renovated.
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Looks lovely 
, mind you for the cost it should 
weird seeing it in blue and I have seen some reports of folks thinking itās not so easy to see compared to it being black, especially with the sun on it.
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Worth readingā¦ fascinating.
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To be fair though I can only assume anyone who looks at this particular clock at any other time than at 23:59 on the 31st December is a time traveler from 1922. Itās very beautiful to look at but Iād suggest itās purpose as a time telling device ended the minute mobile phones became ubiquitous 
To be fair I worked around the area in the 80ās and used it all the time during my dinner hour and going too and from work, you can see it from most pubs and restaurants and you used to see a lot of folks looking up at it rather than their watches.
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Thatās me put in my place then 
I will almost always look at a large display timepiece, like a wall clock or indeed Big Ben (if itās in line of sight) rather than look at my watch. As a device for telling the time, a phone is my last resort because of need to activate the display and the fact that itās usually in a pocket when moving around.
If you go to London now itās still as relevant today as it was back then 
folks who stay and work in the area have missed Big Ben during the renovations.
I took this photo of Big Ben with an ancient antique folding camera, from the 30s I think, with a spool of b&w film. About 60 years ago!
Itās nothing special, but there will be, Iām sure, lots of amateur and professional photographers from around the world taking wonderful shots of our new Big Ben.
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Itās still a pleasing pic, nicely framed up with the branches, and a good lead from the tower. All the more specifial for being yours and not a stock photo. 
I donāt see Big Ben as a means of looking up or across to see what time of day it is, but as a symbol, at least for me, of home, despite having lived the last 30 years in France.
Itās the big-ben-booming on BBC radio 4 as Iām falling to sleep, listening to either today in parliament or the news, that keeps me anchored, willingly, to GB.
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Our dog (100% French) gets excited at the chimes of Big Ben as it means itās his dinner time. So now we have to listen to BBC 6pm news whether we want to or not.
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Sun (briefly)! A tiny bit of blue sky! A blistering 8 degrees!
A little warmer than here (Oxfordshire) though skies are cloudless and itās a beautiful afternoon.
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Sunny, blue skies and 10C, itās to be like this for 10 days so grass cut tomorrow and I have 30 sheets of corrogated roofing to take off and replace starting on Saturday, sometimes I wish for a little rain 
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Same here - big blue skies and glorious and set to continue, after also having wonderful blue skies over the last week. Iāve also got a roof to replace which Iāve been putting of, but sounds a bit smaller than yours - will probably be doing it in a t shirt during some hours - start now planned on Saturday - will be wonderful 
good luck
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Because of the weather forecast tomorrow and Saturday, Iām planning on smoking salmon using another āflavourā of sawdust. We are building up our stocks in the freezer - nearly enough for a large party 
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