No, unlike my sister, Sylvia, I DON’T have a rescue male sheep.  Here’s my Lamb here (in sleepy mood!):

John, my husband, known to me as Lambie!

John celebrated his 50^th birthday last month,

so what better time to immortalise him in a blog entry?  (Well, a better time would have been earlier than this, but I’ve been writing essays…  And acting as his secretary…  Something’s gotta give!  But he wanted me to get on with it as he said it was a strain being on his best behaviour for so long, in case I said something nasty about him!  So, here we go…)

You’ll have noticed the candles?  Yes, true to form, I forgot to check the candle situation beforehand… 

When John and I first got together, I was part of the junior management in the Civil Service office where we both worked and he was (and still is!) 13 years younger than me and a member of the clerical staff.  Although he was very clever, he hadn’t gone to university, as his father had been ill and the family needed John’s income.  I knew he was very shy…  What I didn’t know was that he fancied me!  (Yes, dear readers, I was slim but curvy and quite fanciable in those days.  Luckily he thinks I’m now curvier and even more fanciable, a piece of rose-tinted-bespectacled-ness, but I’m not complaining!)

One evening, at an office ‘do’ for some people who were leaving, we found ourselves sitting next to each other.  I was recently separated and in no rush to get home, so when he told me that he hadn’t brought his car, had missed the last train home and didn’t have enough money for a taxi (!!!), I offered him a lift.  We talked for hours, both on the journey and after I stopped near his house.  We liked the same books and films and most of the same music.  He loved the 60s and was very impressed that I’d seen the Beatles live!  We supported the same causes.  We had the same sense of humour.  I was a Quaker at that time and he knew Quakers were pacifists, not just pictures on a cereal box!  This time I was the one who was impressed!  A couple of days later we walked my dog, Sammy, together.  A couple of days after that I took him to an Amnesty International meeting.  Soon after that he moved in with me!

Earlier that year, John had seen an advert for the Open University in the Radio Times and had started studying.  He had also given up smoking, thank goodness, or this love story wouldn’t have happened!  Since then he has completed his BA honours degree with the OU, a Masters degree in Education at Stirling University and a diploma in Philosophy at Glasgow University.  He was promoted in the Civil Service and then, a few years later, decided to change career and become a teacher.  He has become head of his department, a lecturer with the Open University and, one day a week, he trains student teachers at Stirling University.  And he’s the principal exam setter and marker in Scotland for one of his subjects.  He’s done all his studying while working fulltime and looking after me and our babies.  In fact, he sat his first Open University exam the day before Johnny was due to make his appearance.  He expected to be called out of the exam room at any moment, but our boy waited!

He is an adoring husband and father, which is nice, because we’re pretty fond of him, too!

John loves his allotment where he grows lots of vegan-organic fruit and vegetables but so that he could bring stuff on nearer to home, the extended family clubbed together to buy him a greenhouse for the garden.  John is NOT handy, but here he is, pleased as Punch, after having built it up all by himself!  He says it’s the best 50^th Birthday present he’s ever had!

He is and has been devoted to all our cats and dogs, past and present, but his favourite companion animal of all time is …  Bobby!

John is a thoroughly modern male, but feels that it’s his duty to be the main bread winner, since I’ve raised and home educated the offspring and looked after our home.  He works very hard for us all and is loving, kind and considerate.  He’s also great company and VERY funny!  He makes us all laugh A LOT!

Happy (very belated!) birthday, Lambie!

Oh, sorry, did you want the chocolate cake recipe?  OK!  Here it is!  I adapted it many years ago from a muffin recipe sent to me by an American omni friend.  It has graced most of our birthday celebrations since then!

Penny’s chocolate cake:

Ingredients:

130g margarine

130g sugar

1 ½ teaspoons egg replacer

26g cocoa powder

224g self raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

166ml soya milk

 Method:

Set oven to Gas mark 5/375F/190C

Whisk the egg replacer into the soya milk and put to one side.  Mix together all the other ingredients and then add the liquid last.

Because this recipe uses margarine instead of oil, the mixture is stiff, so I prefer to start it off in the mixer, as I get a very sore arm otherwise – but it can all be done by hand. 

Once everything’s mixed through, I get a silicone spatula and wallop it about in the bowl a goodish bit, to get plenty of air in there, to make the cake nice and light.

Divide the mixture between two round cake tins, lined with baking parchment (I use round cake tin liners from Lakeland) and bake for 35 minutes, until the top is cracked and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the cakes in the liners.

Once they’re cold, spread jam on the bottom one (blackcurrant jam is nice and sharp and contrasts well with the sweetness of the cake) and then sandwich the cakes together with ‘butter’ icing.  Slather more icing on top.

Now, I’m afraid you’re on your own with the ‘butter’ icing, but you know how to make it, don’t you?  I never measure it; I just chuck together margarine, icing sugar and cocoa in vast quantities and blend them together.  I’m sure you’ll manage…

Well, for goodness’ sake!  How on earth did that picture slip in here?  Sorry about that…. 

Today’s smoothie (Yes!  It’s smoothie time again, folks!): orange juice; kale; rocket; lettuce; apricots; apples; broccoli stalk; celery.  Mmmmmm……

 Todays’ title:  I won’t insult your intelligence!