A hand with red painted nails holds a glass containing a golden liquid front of a vase of flowers.

Chicken breast in a mushroom sauce

Crème brûlée with one bite already eaten

A cheeky little Sunday cocktail, a Life is Beautiful. Enjoying this after a very nice lunch with @melindahaunton.bsky.social at Franc of Canterbury, which lives up to the hype. Photos of chicken and crème brûlée, both taken after I’d started eating! Good to do another nice thing before surgery!

They still exist - usually called gnudi. They’re very good.

I thought of you when I saw the news earlier today - I was wondering if there would be blue drinks!

Cheers to theatre! I have a Lulu White, and it is good. #ConfinedCocktails

Got second biopsy results this week, and they were also inconclusive, as expected. I feel I’ve earned this drink. (Salivary gland tumour, can’t be determined if benign or malignant, if you’ve missed the saga)

A hand with metallic pink painted nails holds a martini glass containing a clear liquid and two olives on a gold cocktail pick, in front of a vase of pink and peach flowers.

Trying my first Dirty Martini - a drink I’ve always been slightly suspicious of, but I like it. Think I’d mostly still generally go for a classic martini, but I’m enjoying this.

It’s only a couple of weeks into a limited trial here, and I’ve already seen several scattered on pavements.

Scooters were tried here in Canterbury and removed, thank goodness, after a couple of accidents. They’re now trying an e-bike scheme, so we’ll see how that goes…

Tried a bit of perfume and that had helped. And I smell nice as well…

I will try that. Biopsy was at the Marsden (and looks like surgery will be too), so was thinking about you.

Had a biopsy on Thursday and took the dressing off today. Anyone got any tips on how to get rid of the sticky residue? Don’t want to just scrub it as it’s still a bit tender, but my hair keeps sticking to it, which is annoying.

Recipe is on the Guardian website if you fancy trying it. It’s very good.

Cheers! I have had too much medical stuff this week, but I have this lovely springlike Pink
Sakura, and am making asparagus and blue cheese risotto #ConfinedCocktails

#LoveYourBoxes - if I’m remembering that one correctly.

New last year. Since other one was unraveling.

A wine glass half full of an orange liquid, sitting on a grey table. Plants can be seen in the background.

Had a frustrating couple of days tangling with hospital booking systems… think it’s all sorted now, and sitting in the garden with a nice (non-alcoholic) drink.

Realizing that some of my inexplicable sadness about the Artemis II stuff is that it feels like a trans-dimensional communication from an America that took a different path and chose joy instead of fear and hate.

Why do some killer motorists get short prison sentences? UK road safety laws are letting them off the hook | Sally Kyd Two court cases last month illustrate how confusion over legal definitions are feeding into a culture of poor driving standards, says law professor Sally Kyd

This is a good piece. We simply accept 1000s of unnecessary deaths because we won't force all of us who drive to accept we have a dangerous machine in our hands.

And then fail to enforce that fact as police have basically stopped policing the roads.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Cannot tell you how much I long for them to bring back laudanum. I just want to be elegantly wasted on a fainting couch.

I’m still going with my spring theme, and a Rhubarb Gimlet, using home made rhubarb syrup (rhubarb from the fruit box) #ConfinedCocktails

A hand with pink painted nails holds a full champagne flute which is resting on a wooden bar top.

First asparagus of season secured. Celebrating with a glass of English sparkling.

Yes, might have to see if I can still log in to my old blog page.

Thank you! I’m slightly terrified, but my consultant (same one as my husband!) is very reassuring.

Brilliant news! I had an appointment at the Royal Marsden the other week so was thinking about you. (Salivary gland tumour; can’t tell if it’s benign or otherwise, removal - not at Marsden- end of month).

A hand with pink painted nails holds a martini glass containing a pale pink liquid, in front of a bar of pink and white flowers.

A Cherry Blossom Sake Martini for the long weekend. Very spring like. Shame the same cannot be said for the weather.

An old oil painting of a dark haired woman, looking to one side out of the painting’s frame.

Really enjoyed Michealina Wautier at Royal Academy. Especially liked this one.

Three wine glasses on a stand. Husband in background drinking wine.

April: surgery this month (eep!). Doing some fun stuff in the meantime. (Fortnum’s followed by art at the RA).

Despite everything that’s going on, spring is still worth celebrating, so this is a Cherry Blossom No2. #ConfinedCocktails

Cocchi Americano Bianco A review of Cocchi Americano Bianco on Difford's Guide - the definitive guide for discerning drinkers.

It’s a kind of aromatised wine: www.diffordsguide.com/beer-wine-sp...

Golden Boy Cocktail Recipe Discover how to make a Golden Boy using Gin, Apricot liqueur, Americano bianco and Grapefruit bitters in just 5 easy to follow steps

No, it’s this: www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/re...