What an amazingly sunny and warm day we had today !! The lovely weather inspired us to have a long walk through the Hastings Country Park which was stunning; more on that in a minute as we shall begin with the start of the day.
I knew weigh day was not going to be great due to a very sociable weekend and a holiday. To try and limit the damage I went swimming last night and I went again this morning. The weight gain was not too bad – I put on half a pound which is acceptable after the week I have had. Disappointing but ok. I did receive this certificate which I was pleased about. I should have received it in September but better late than never.
Having been weighed I could go home and have breakfast; a banana, some grapes and 15 cashews (HEX B).
Soon after that I had lunch.
Last night Rebecca joined me for supper and I made 2 recipes from the Jackie Kearney cookery book I bought last Saturday after the cookery class. I made a savoury vegetable pancake (cheela) using gram flour and which included peas, spring onion and leeks. The pancake batter was spiced with freshly roasted and ground cumin and coriander seeds. I also made a coleslaw with red cabbage, carrots and kohl rabi, dressed with fresh mango, lime zest and juice and soy sauce. Each pancake was 8 syns and the coleslaw was free (mainly made up of speed foods).
I had the pancake and coleslaw with raw tomato, celery, carrot and cucumber, a boiled potato and 100g steamed basil tofu (4.5 syns). It was very enjoyable and provided some fuel for the long walk I had planned for the afternoon.
I was going to do some chores today but having seen the weather forecast, Lucy suggested we did the walk we didn’t manage last week due to predicted heavy rain. It ony took half a second for me to shelve the list of chores and grab my walking boots!
We started at Barley Lane and walked up a steep hill to the Country Park. That got us to the Eastern side of the Old Town, which you can see in the valley below. We have not done this walk before but were aiming for the tea-rooms near the Coastguard’s cottage.
The weather! It was perfect.
We had to make a slight detour due to a landslide and that took us out on to a road near a holiday park.
Good views of a part of Hastings I have not seen before.
We walked in open spaces and through woods.
We didn’t go to the naturist beach today although the sea looked so calm and it was so warm we probably could have stopped for a swim.
There were a lot of uphill parts of this walk which was challenging but good for cardiovascular exercise and it all helps burn some calories.
We walked on 
and on. It was glorious.
The green grass was incredibly vibrant; such a bright green. The Belted Galloway cows seemed to be enjoying it.
We walked for just over 2 hours.
Supper was a very quick stir fry which I made with a red onion, red cabbage, leek, red pepper, half a block of smoked tofu with almonds and fresh coriander. 8.5 syns for the large bowlful. I seasoned it with light soy sauce and served it with dried chilli flakes and 1 tbsp hot mango chutney (2 syns).
I also had 2 bananas and some black grapes as I felt hungry after a swim and a decent walk.
The light was stunning tonight on the hill opposite my house.
Daily Syn calculation
| Gram Flour Pancake (Cheela) With Peas and Leeks | ||
| Ingredient | Syns for total recipe | Syns for 1 portion (1/8) |
| 2 tbsp cumin seeds | Free | 0 |
| 1 tbsp coriander seeds | Free | 0 |
| 350 g gram flour | 56 | 7 |
| 2 tsp baking powder | 1 | 0.125 |
| 2 spring onions | Speed | 0 |
| coriander | Free | 0 |
| 2 tbsp vegetable oil | 6 | 0.75 |
| 3 baby leeks | Speed | 0 |
| 100 g peas | Free | 0 |
| Syns per portion | 7.875 | |
| Mango and Lime Vegetable Slaw | ||
| Ingredient | Syns for total recipe | Syns for 1 portion (1/4) |
| 4 limes, juice and zest | Speed | 0 |
| mango | Free | 0 |
| Light soy sauce (1 tbsp) | Free | 0 |
| Red cabbage | Speed | 0 |
| White cabbage | Speed | 0 |
| Carrots | Speed | 0 |
| Mint | Free | 0 |
| Syns per portion | 0 | |
| Tofu stir fry | ||
| Ingredient | Syns for 1 portion | |
| Coconut oil, 1 tbsp | 6 | |
| Red onion | Speed | |
| Red cabbage | Speed | |
| Leek | Speed | |
| Red pepper | Speed | |
| Tofu, Taifun smoked with almonds and sesame seeds | 2.5 | |
| Coriander | Free | |
| Syns per portion | 8.5 | |
| HEX A | 400 ml soya milk |
| HEX B | 15 cashew nuts |
| Breakfast | 0 |
| Lunch | 12.5 |
| Dinner | 10.5 |
| Total | 23 |
I really liked the lightweight bicycle with the upright riding position. And the large and comfortable saddle.
We went to Paper Island to visit CC, the Contemporary Arts Centre and the Street Food.
We ate in the central station and this was our view.
We went to Tivoli because I thought it was part funfair (which I am not interested in) and part gardens. Unfortunately these days it’s just a funfair. 
It is very well laid out and charming and there was a good Halloween theme and we enjoyed walking around but did not stay for long.
We only ate 2 meals each day; the meals were not on the Slimming World plan and I definitely did not eat enough fruits and veggies. However, they were only ever one course and apart from some salt licquorice, there was no snacking. I didn’t drink much alcohol either but I do feel as if I have put weight on. That will be a shame because I have exercised a lot this week.
For lunch on Thursday I made a huge salad, using as much as I could from the garden. I began with the green stuff: lettuce, mizuna, cucumber, celery and alfalfa sprouts. Go greens!
Red for danger.
Plus some chick pea “tuna”.
Some vegans claim this tastes like tuna so I decided to make it. You drain a can of tuna, add some vegan mayo, some paprika, seaweed, spring onions and gherkins.
It didn’t taste at all like tuna but it was very tasty.
In the evening I did another walk, across part of the Hastings Country Park. I found this field of sunflowers.
I had some company on this walk which was lovely.
Hurricane Brian has not damaged my garden which is just as well because the slugs, snails and caterpillars are annihilating it!
I did another lovely walk on Friday in Surrey with Sally and Michelle. We had lunch in a country pub first (nut roast for me) and that evening I had supper with my Dad and step-Mother which was fun.
I made a yummy breakfast; a tofu scramble with chick peas and rice. It was delicious.
I then hopped on a train up to London where I met Lara and we had a bite to eat at Arabica in Borough Market. I had quite a light lunch as I was still full up from breakfast.
I went to London because Lara and I were going to the Waitrose Cookery School at Granary Square near King’s Cross. We were attending a vegan street food lesson, given by Jackie Kearney, who was a Masterchef finalist in 2012.
It was very well equipped.
It was a bit like being in a stage set as the building was actually huge !
Jackie was great. She showed us what to do and then we got to have a go.
Lara was complimented by Jackie for her dumplings and it turns out that she regularly makes gyoza which are the same shape. 
Hers were far neater then mine.
But mine tasted great too. We ate them with 2 really hot sambals that Jackie made while we shaped and cooked our dumplings.
Ta daa
Jackie also showed us how to make a Thai green vegetable curry and then a vegeball sub with a fabulous cheese sauce.
This was completely delicious and I will definitely be making this. We all helped make enough for everyone to have one to take away.
I really enjoyed cookery school and came away with one of Jackie’s books so brace yourselves for many street food recipes.
I planned a substantial breakfast because the plan today was to do a very long walk in the Hastings Country Park but the forecast was rain so we didn’t go. Then it didn’t rain which was very disappointing as it meant we could have done the walk. Instead I did a lot of tidying and clutter clearing which was very satisfying but I would have preferred to walk.
This afternoon Lucy and I gave up on our planned walk and went to the gym instead where we swam (I swam 50 lengths/1 km) and then relaxed in a sauna and then the outside jacuzzi.
I got home from yoga at about 7:30 and fancied a simple and low syn meal. This was very light, took about 5 minutes to throw together, tasted fresh and looked vibrant and I enjoyed every mouthful.
15 cashew nuts (HE B) which I munched while I chopped up 1 pink grapefruit, 1 orange and half an avocado.
Did I manage to keep under the 15 syns today? Oh yes I did. I only had 7 today so half my allowance.
Stupid people are regularly seen on the cliff tops here which is so dangerous as huge chunks regularly fall off and crash in the sea.
That was the view I came for.
Hello lovely ladies.
You may recognise the coastguard cottages as they were used in ‘Atonement’ and ‘Luther’. The lighthouse on the cliff at the far end was used in ‘The Life and Loves of a She-Devil’ and also featured in ‘Changing Rooms’.
I love that milky sea.
We spotted 3 people on what looked like motorised paddle boards, moving quickly up the Cuckmere River. What a fun thing to do!
The views did not disappoint.
After our walk we needed coffee and lunch so we went in to Seaford to Front Room. They didn’t have any vegan options on the menu but they were happy to leave the halloumi out of the falafel burger. 
I enjoyed my lunch; I didn’t eat any of the burger bun or the mayonnaise but I liked the actual burger, the salad and those big fat chips. I thought that as it was not a huge portion, it wouldn’t have too many syns – I was wrong. I would estimate the burger to be 6 ( based on 1 falafel ball being 1.5 and I think this is equivalent to 4 of those). I think the chips would be 7-15 syns but hard to say as I don’t know how much they weighed. Thick cut chips that are deep fried are 7.5 syns per 100g.
Once home I decided to cook a meal that involved a little more effort than I usually make. I have recently been enjoying Anna Jones’ cook book; ‘A Modern Way To Eat’. I flicked through and chose to make ‘Dhal with crispy sweet potato and quick coconut chutney’. Oh my goodness, the dhal was incredible.
I could easily have eaten twice as much as I did as this was a very modest portion but I want another loss this week.
This is one of the tastiest things I have eaten for a while and I will enjoy another portion another day.
As I drove back to Hastings from St.Leonard’s at 9am this morning, I pulled over to look at the sky which was stunning. It was very cloudy but there were gaps in the sky where you could see rays of sunshine streaming though. It was beautiful.
Last night I had soaked 1 cup of buckwheat groats in water so they were softer and easier to cook this morning. I fancied making a porridge with cinnamon and a fresh orange.
I made sure I was well hydrated all day and sipped plenty of water.
I spent the day doing paper work as it needed doing and was a sedentary activity. To make my room smell lovely I burnt palo santo which I love.
These two kept me company all day. I love how Beryl finds the sunny spot to sit in.
For lunch I made a salad from an Anna Jones recipe book. It was really good but can be better and when I have made it again I will share the recipe. It was slices of cucumber, with crispy garlic slices, broccoli stir fried until crispy in soy sauce, maple syrup and sesame oil with chilli and a peanut dressing made with peanut butter, fresh ginger, lime juice and maple syrup. It was good but I had converted a recipe for 4 in to a recipe for 1 but made several mistakes. So I will make it again and then share the recipe.
I am not sure why this one is pink as it should have been orange.
For supper I made a simple salad with cucumber, tomato and alfalfa sprouts. I heated up 2 of the mini burgers (there were 8 in the packet) and I made sweet potato fries. I rubbed the fries with a little oil, seasoned them with salt and pepper and added 1 tbsp polenta to add crunch. Served with 2 tbsp humous. It was very tasty.
I donned my HBBS sweater (it was too hot for the jerkin so I carried that) and my members badge and set off for The Stade where the marshalls had to meet up for briefing. (I don’t have puffy eyes but I had just been swimming and you can see my goggles imprint). I thought I needed the exercise but as I then went on to walk 20,000 steps I didn’t but I always like a swim.
I walked along the seafront and was excited about the evening ahead, particularly because we were so lucky with the weather. It was warm and with no wind which is perfect for the bonfire and fireworks. This is the massive bonfire.
The huge guy HBBS will be pulling round the procession.
An effigy of ‘Popeye’, an affectionate nickname for local, Ron Everett, who died this year. This was made with papier mache, over a chicken wire and wooden frame. It was packed with fireworks and set off during the evening event as a memorial to a much loved and popular member of the community.
I was to marshall the procession with a fellow member called Ken and we were asked to work at the America Ground, which is the start of the procession. I liked this image of one of the drumming groups, taking an opportunity to rest before the procession began.
The jerkin and high vis are now on so I am ready for duty. I found myself a guy !
I enjoyed watching the different societies taking their places in the procession. This group were very glamorous. The couple told me they attend an event every week for 10 weeks every year.
An advantage of being a member of HBBS is that you can go in to the bonfire site, as do all the members of all the visiting societies.
It was a warm and mild evening anyway and it became very warm with such a huge fire.
Seeing all the different societies, in their varied costumes, backlit by the fire was quite a spectacle.
The crowd was enormous, partly because the weather was so clement and also because there were no other bonfire events in nearby towns this evening. Estimates have varied from 25,000-40,000 people. It was incredible looking around and seeing how many people were sharing the spectacle.
This morning I was down on the beach at 8am to help clear up. Thats the downside to being a member of HBBS; it’s the same as the morning after the night before at a party you have hosted. No hardship on such a sunny day though and with so many volunteers helping we finished before lunch time. Harvey came along to help too – he did brilliantly.
All this has to be dismantled.
The barriers were all stacked up and loaded on to lorries, the bonfire remains cleared away, the beach was litter picked and the various banners and fire trucks cleaned, emptied and stored, ready for the next event. The beach was open to the public again by early morning.
After clearing up I was really hungry as I had missed dinner the night before. So I made one of my favourite meals; stir fried broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and onions with Taifun smoked tofu with almonds.
Simply seasoned with soy sauce and ginger it’s delicious and very healthy. I started the stir fry with 1 tbsp oil and then added a small amount of water, whenever it began to stick. So simple but so good and very quick to prepare. 
I felt tired and achey after the previous day’s excertions so we went out to The Stagg for a late lunch. There was a lunch for all the HBBS helpers at the White Rock Hotel but I haven’t spent much time with Harvey this weekend so I had a lovely lunch with him instead.
Followed by the vegan roast. That did me for the day and I didn’t need anything for supper.
That was followed by a long snooze on the sofa at home! I had walked 10,000 steps tidying up this morning so did not feel bad about my lazy day. I shouldn’t have shared a bottle of wine with Rebecca this evening but some things are worth the calories and that was an enjoyable end to a very sociable and hugely fun weekend. I will have to spend the rest of the week behaving myself to lose more weight this Friday.
They provide shelter from sun or rain. And lots of lines.
Most shelters are whitewashed but some have charming mosaics with a sea theme.
While I walk along the promenades Milton has to be on the lead but when I can,
I let him off the lead so he can run along the beach. He does tend to spend more time searching for mussels, or other edible snacks, than running these days.
These colourful steps and padlock stump is at Warrior Square.
Do you see what I mean about the lines? Walkways, pier supports, railings, groynes and the horizon to name a few.
Rows of lines everywhere.
I like it.
The lines are in contrast to the constantly moving sea and sky.
The lines are replicated by the shadows. As a neat and tidy person, I like the sense of order the neat rows provide.
I returned to Sissinghurst on Thursday and had a hilarious evening, playing cards and chatting with my old neighbours. I haven’t laughed so much for ages or eaten so many snacks (!!!!!) so I was very anxious about weigh day. I had also had a bad previous weekend so was dreading the scales. I did go for a swim before going to Slimming World and swam 60 lengths which is 1.2 km.
I was delighted to receive my certificate.
On Friday evening I did not do anything to set me up for a loss in the week ahead. I went back to Sissinghurst and thoroughly enjoyed a gin tasting evening. What happened at the gin tasting stays at the gin tasting ! Needless to say I blew the entire month’s syn allowance in one night so I need to work very hard this week to ensure another weight loss. It was brilliant fun though and so lovely to see my dear friends. Thank you Annette and David for letting me stay; it was brilliant.
This week I will have to swim a lot, walk a lot and eat very strictly to plan.
I had Mick helping me in the garden today; he mainly cleared the area around the old compost bin (no mean feat! ) and set up the new bin.
I am happy with that because it had become quite a mission to get to the old compost bin every time I emptied the kitchen waste in to it. I am also pleased that all the compost from the old bin has now been dug in to the flower beds.
I weeded the vegetable beds and planted some brassicae. This is emerald kale which has very pale green leaves with darker green edges. Well, it will do once it has grown. It should grow and produce leaves all winter and through to Spring.
I popped them in next to the radishes.
In the top bed I put some black kale and some purple sprouting broccoli. They are next to the leeks.
The apple tree is an unusual shape (!!!!) but has produced some of the nicest apples I have ever had. They are crisp and sweet and juicy. Perfect.
I think I ate all those so will need to pick some more tomorrow. I ate them with some cashews, about 15 I think (7 syns).
I was able to pick quite a lot of today’s lunch from the garden.
I shredded the kohl rabi and a large carrot.
I mixed half of it with 1 tbsp Vegenaise (4 syns) to make a coleslaw and the other half was cooked with the rice and beans.
I “fried” the pre-cooked rice in water, with the carrots, kohl rabi and beans and seasoned it with smokey paprika, salt and pepper.
Enjoyed with the salad greens, radishes and coleslaw.
Yummy and really nutritious as its fresh picked from the garden.
Supper was a hash I made with potato, butternut squash, courgette and green pepper, cooked in 1 tbsp oil (6 syns) served with half a can of baked beans. Simple and satisfying.
18 syns today which is over the 15 I aim for which is a shame. The cashew nuts tipped me over. I should have eaten more apples!
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