It’s already Twelfth Night and I’ve been a little slow off the mark with my good wishes for 2023. I woke this morning thinking “38 years ago today...” and could go on to tell stories of making our way to Stroud Maternity Hospital and bringing home our beautiful son a few days later. Happy Birthday Edward.

Can it really be 38 years ago?

Whilst he celebrates his birthday with Amy in London, we are at home enjoying the daily deliveries of Christmas cards, in greater numbers now than in December. I have a beautiful vase of Spring flowers from Cornish Blooms who very generously immediately offered a replacement for the door wreath which spent a week in the Bristol sorting office also thanks to the postal strikes. About five minutes ago I heard the doorbell and found a Made in Oldstead box on the step containing a three course dinner in apology for our missing Christmas dinner mentioned in my last post.

January is bringing quite a few lovely things then.

The occasional Facebook “memory” for this time of the year is always interesting too, because we’ve frequently celebrated Edward’s birthday somewhere far away and today’s photograph was typical of those that have popped up in the last few days. This one from India, which has always been a favourite January destination, our last visit being in 2020, immediately pre-Covid. I remember reading about the “mystery virus” in the papers there, never dreaming what that would all lead to (or how long it would affect all our lives).

Though actually, it was a previous Indian birthday trip which I was thinking about this morning. We were in Mumbai during January 2018 and spent a morning in the market shopping for spices. Having bought the spices, I decided we needed the “masala dabba” in which to store them.

So whilst the rest of the family went back to the hotel I went off on my own, finding just what I needed in a row of local shops in a nearby street.

I bought a couple of tiffin tins whilst I was there too - very handy for picnics!

Anyway, the masala dabba was out on the worktop this morning because whilst out shopping yesterday, I was thinking of India and craving biryani.

I have a favourite tried and tested recipe and a quick call home prompted my Hero to remind me of those ingredients I might need to get whilst I was in the supermarket.

The book falls open at that spattered page. In fact, that’s the only page that’s marked at all, because it’s the only recipe I’ve ever cooked from that book!

So, the chicken is marinating in the spiced yoghurt and the kitchen is already filled with the aroma of Mumbai. The original spices bought there have been replaced by fresh “supermarket” supplies though - how lovely it would be to buy from a local market in India this year.

I’ll simply enjoy an hour in India via my blog, feel thankful for such fun times spent there and look forward to another new adventure soon! Oh, and since the chicken biryani recipe makes far too much for the two of us, we’ll enjoy the company of a friend who’ll join us this evening to share it.

We’ll raise a glass to the birthday boy as well.