Baking, festival, films, friends and more baking!
Apart from our trip to Prague and mine to Turin (and of course work), the last 4 weeks have been busy with a few things.
First it was the residents' association's Arts & Music Festival which consisted of an afternoon event (art and crafts stalls mainly) and of a music and dance evening.
For the event we provided one cake each (and we were not the only ones of course).
Adrian made a lovely Raspberry and Buttercream Victoria sponge
while I baked (second time) a Chocolate Genoise Sponge filled with Italian meringue and hazelnut praline buttercream.
It took me a few hours (no-one can say that I don't love my neighbours! LOL) but it was very well received.
In the afternoon we were there with our Blooms of Penge stall:
and Adrian was MC for the evening event, which turned out really good!
A few days later before heading off to Prague, we went to the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrave Square
for an evening of Italian silent films, all shot in Turin.
5 movies were about 100 years old, filmed just before Word War I, while the 6th (not listed there) was new. The director of this last film was there to introduce them all, and the composers/orchestra that provided the music for it also accompanied some of the other features.
One of the films showed Turin during the 1914 (or 1913) Carnival and it was very interesting to see Via Po crowded with people and Piazza Vittorio Veneto with a roller coaster (although at the time was named after King Vittorio Emanuele I - Vittorio Veneto in one of the few victorious battles in WWI).
A small rinfresco followed the projection:
(I think Adrian was munching on a hard tarallo, hence the expression!)
Yesterday we entertained a couple of the Italian taxpayers who made that event possible, our friends Carlo and Lucia.
We invited them round for afternoon tea and... well we got baking!
Michael and Christopher gave Adrian a recipe book entitled "80 Cakes from Around the World" and we used it as our inspiration.
I baked Bara Brith (Wales), Macaroons (France) and Helsinki Caramel Cakes (Finland) - pictured below - and added some fruit tarts too.
Adrian made all the sarnies (Coronation Cicken; Cucumber and Cream Cheese; Smoked Salmon) and baked a batch of fruit scones and one of cheddar cheese ones. And of course set everything out just so beautifully.
Our friends were quite impressed and we all had a lovely afternoon/early evening chatting and eating!
First it was the residents' association's Arts & Music Festival which consisted of an afternoon event (art and crafts stalls mainly) and of a music and dance evening.
For the event we provided one cake each (and we were not the only ones of course).
Adrian made a lovely Raspberry and Buttercream Victoria sponge
while I baked (second time) a Chocolate Genoise Sponge filled with Italian meringue and hazelnut praline buttercream.
It took me a few hours (no-one can say that I don't love my neighbours! LOL) but it was very well received.
In the afternoon we were there with our Blooms of Penge stall:
and Adrian was MC for the evening event, which turned out really good!
A few days later before heading off to Prague, we went to the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrave Square
for an evening of Italian silent films, all shot in Turin.
5 movies were about 100 years old, filmed just before Word War I, while the 6th (not listed there) was new. The director of this last film was there to introduce them all, and the composers/orchestra that provided the music for it also accompanied some of the other features.
One of the films showed Turin during the 1914 (or 1913) Carnival and it was very interesting to see Via Po crowded with people and Piazza Vittorio Veneto with a roller coaster (although at the time was named after King Vittorio Emanuele I - Vittorio Veneto in one of the few victorious battles in WWI).
A small rinfresco followed the projection:
(I think Adrian was munching on a hard tarallo, hence the expression!)
Yesterday we entertained a couple of the Italian taxpayers who made that event possible, our friends Carlo and Lucia.
We invited them round for afternoon tea and... well we got baking!
Michael and Christopher gave Adrian a recipe book entitled "80 Cakes from Around the World" and we used it as our inspiration.
I baked Bara Brith (Wales), Macaroons (France) and Helsinki Caramel Cakes (Finland) - pictured below - and added some fruit tarts too.
Adrian made all the sarnies (Coronation Cicken; Cucumber and Cream Cheese; Smoked Salmon) and baked a batch of fruit scones and one of cheddar cheese ones. And of course set everything out just so beautifully.
Our friends were quite impressed and we all had a lovely afternoon/early evening chatting and eating!