Valentine's

The snap above being lifted from Street View from Terni in Umbria. the town perhaps 50 miles north of Rome where one of the two or three Saint Valentines in the catalogue was bishop. Martyred in Rome, but we are not told what grisly death earned him his free-pass to Paradise. There must be lots of old bits of town somewhere, but in Street View it mainly seems to be fairly new apartment blocks, large and small and I failed to turn up a statue of their famous son. But I did come across this modest bit of old, no doubt left alone by the developers for some good, but unknown-to-me reason. A challenge for the curious reader.

While nearer home, on the basis of a sample of two, we appear to celebrate the day properly one year out of two. See references 1 and 2.

Preparation of lunch was fully delegated on this occasion, while I paid a visit to Epsom. First stop was the new-to-me kiosk in our health centre where I was able to measure my own height, weight, blood pressure and pulse rate. These last two in a remarkably easy to use contraption: a sort of inflatable sleeve into which you shoved your arm, upon which it did the business. From a company, to be found at reference 3, which appears to be headquartered in Australia. A kiosk which was supposed to be DIY, but where, in the event, I did need a bit of help, the business of getting the data from the two contraptions into my medical record on the computer being slightly creaky.

Second stop was Waitrose for flour (from Canada) and chocolates (from Lindt), where I discovered that newspapers were no longer free with purchases totalling a tenner or so (including the newspaper) and had not been for a couple of years. Odd that I had failed to notice for so long.

Third stop was the library to hunt down the Pevsner covering the Chandos visit noticed at reference 4. The first lady I spoke to had never heard of him but she sought assistance from a second lady who had and who also knew that most of them were in a cupboard out back, from where she retrieved the relevant volume - London 3: North West - which was available for loan. Which I don't think it would have been in the olden days when libraries had large reference departments. With newspapers and selected weeklies - and central heating for the greater comfort of visiting tramps. Plus, I wonder how long a place like Epsom library will carry a full set of Pevsners. I don't suppose there is that much call for them.

Pevsner being a chap whom I mention quite often in these pages, perhaps a chap whom I like to have a pop at, but my last visit to the library on his account looks to have been June last year, as noticed at reference 5. Where I am reminded that Yale have got in on the act, perhaps taking over from Penguin, although not in time for the present volume which looks to date back to the closing years of the last century.

The fourth and last stop was the cladding bricks used in some of the new buildings above or in the vicinity of Epsom station, first noticed at reference 6. The upshot was that these bricks are 29 by 9 by 4.5cm, a nominal 30 by 5cm, including cement, while regular, true-British bricks were 8.5 by 4 by 2.5 inches, a nominal 9 by 4.5 by 3 inches, including cement. 22.9 by 11.5 by 7.cm in new money. Which suggests that using the long bricks, one is more apt to be into cutting, a third being more awkward from that point of view than a half. Not clear what is happening in the corner in the snap above, although my guess is that both white and brown bricks stop at the corner, not filling in the corner.

No sign at all of them having been installed in panels, rather than properly laid in mortar.

Home to find the Valentine's fish pie more or less ready for the off. A dish we have reasonably often, a confection of white fish, prawns and white sauce, topped with mashed potato. A dish which I rather like but which I have never cooked myself.

On the plate. Taken on this occasion with a drop of a 2018 Pessac-Léognan from Château de Rochemorin via Waitrose, as previously noticed at, for example, reference 7.

Wound up with a spot of baked apple, English style. At Terroirs, they used rather smaller apples which they peeled at some point, certainly before delivery to table. As briefly noticed towards the end of reference 8, just about four years ago.

With a few chocolates for the very last knockings. Possibly involving a spot of own brand Calvados from Majestic, but my contemporaneous notes are vague on that particular point.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/02/valentines-again.html. Texas style.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-gigot-for-valentine.html. Epsom style.

Reference 3: https://www.andmedical.com.au/.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/02/return-to-chandos.html.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/06/trolley-519.html.

Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/02/modigliani.html.

Reference 7: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/12/festive-sprout.html.

Reference 8: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/02/more-abbey.html.