Royal Coal

I happened to be passing a discount retailer called B&M Stores today and noticed that they were selling domestic coal at £2.99 for ten kilograms.

Is that a bargain?

The supplier is CPL Distribution Limited, coal merchants, by appointment to HM The Queen [Privy Purse].

CPL Distribution is the UK’s largest coal merchant and solid fuel supplier, having merged with two of the country's longest established and most widely known coal suppliers, Charrington's and British Fuels.

New DLs

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY LIEUTENANTS

Dame Mary Peters DBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, has been pleased to appoint the following to be Deputy Lieutenants of the County Borough of Belfast, their Commissions bearing the date the 8th day of December 2013:

Dr Nigel John CARR, Newtownards, County Down

Professor Dame Judith HILL, DBE, FRCN, Holywood, County Down

Dr Philip Joseph McGARRY, FRCPsych, Belfast 

Signed: Gary Smyth MBE, Clerk of the Lieutenancy

The Mushroom Soup

Large flat mushrooms were procured; plentiful parsley; a clove of garlic; granary wholemeal breadcrumbs; butter; and a pinch of nutmeg.

Having slowly cooked this mixture in a large, heavy pot, it was given a blitz with the hand-held liquidiser; then the single cream was added.

The pièce de résistance will be the dried Porcini mushrooms, with will be re-hydrated and sprinkled on top of the soup.

Thus, the gourmand (!) Belmont cream of mushroom soup is prepared for Christmas.

Gourmet Scampi?

Freshly-battered raw king prawns, onion rings, triple-cooked chips, all the trimmings.

Is it worth the effort?

No! Better leave it to the professionals.

I went to a lot of trouble: Making batter, slicing an onion, refrosting raw king prawns, parboiling chunkily cut potatoes.

I deep-fried the chips once at about 250F for five minutes; drained them; cooled them.

I tossed the raw prawns in flour; coated them in batter.

I deep-fried the onion rings, having tossed them in the batter.

I deep-fried the "scampi".

I fried the chips a third time, at a high 350F, for about seven minutes.

The result is above, in the photo.

Despite what celebrity cooks tell us, they have the facilities, the professional equipment, the expertise.

As far as gourmet scampi and home-made triple-cooked chips are concerned, leave it to a good chef.

Birthday

Google has generated a birthday logo for me.

Nonagenarian Aunt

I called over to see my Aunt Elizabeth this morning, the very first time I've seen her for a dozen years.

She is 94 years old and as bright as a button. Her memory is quite remarkable.

I spent about forty minutes with her, reminiscing about relations and family. One of my aunt's sons lives relatively close to the care home she now resides in.

Killeavy Restoration

The BBC reports that the new owners of a dilapidated castle in County Armagh are planning to build a hotel within the castle grounds.

Killeavy Castle was sold at auction for £1.19m in March, 2013.

It was bought by an Australian couple who have strong links to the Killeavy area of south County Armagh.

They have appointed architects to design a 36-bedroom hotel close to the castle and to restore the 19th century listed building "to its former glory". They said it could create 85 jobs.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, are hoping to apply for planning permission for the project early next year.

The castle has not been occupied for more than ten years and was sold in a poor state of repair.

The 330-acre estate backs onto the slopes of Slieve Gullion and includes a farm and woodland. In a statement, the new owners said,

Our vision is for Killeavy Castle and Demesne to be restored to its former glory, within a financially viable hospitality and agriculture business, so that it can be maintained and be available for use by the public for many years into the future.

It is understood there are plans to incorporate the two-storey castle into a new wedding venue.

The couple have appointed a design team which is being led by Newry-based architects P O'Hagan and Associates.

The owners said the team also includes,

conservation surveyors, hotel and hospitality consultants, quantity surveyors, landscape architects, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers, arboricultural and transport consultants. As you can imagine the plans for the site are still developing and are at an early stage. We think we know what will be successful, but the team is working with various statutory bodies, including Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) Invest NI and Newry and Mourne District Council, to refine the plans and ensure a sustainable development for Killeavy Castle and Demesne.

The couple have strong family ties to the area as the man's parents both grew up within four miles of the castle, before emigrating to Australia in the 1960s.

The owners said they have been regular visitors to south Armagh over the last 30 years and have lots of family and friends living in the area.

Killeavy Castle started life as a country farm house, built in a gothic style by the Foxall family between 1810-20.

In 1836, Powell Foxall commissioned the Dublin-based architect George Papworth to extend the building, adding four stone towers, outbuildings and Tudor-style windows.

The extended 4,000 sq ft house then became known as Killeavy Castle.

By 1881, the castle was the home of the Bell family, who owned it until recently. It is located within a government-designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).