You will all no doubt already have read about the Asia earthquake that took place early on Boxing Day. The impact of the earthquake has been devastating – so far more than 140,000 people have been killed (death toll still rising) and more than 500,000 injured.

IMPACT OF THE EARTHQUAKE

1. Indonesia: 94,081
2. Sri Lanka: 30,196
3. India (inc Andaman and Nicobar Is): 9,479
4. Thailand: 5,246
5. Somalia: 150
6. Burma: 59
7. Maldives: 74
8. Malaysia: 68
9. Tanzania: 10
10. Seychelles: 1
11. Bangladesh: 2
12. Kenya: 1

Foreign tsunami victims include the following:
Germany: 60 dead, 1,000 missing
Sweden: 52 dead, 2,322 missing
Britain: 41 dead, 159 missing
France: 22 dead, 99+ missing
Norway: 16 dead, 91 missing
Japan: 21 dead
Italy: 18 dead, 540+ missing
Switzerland: 23 dead, 105 missing
US: 16 dead
Australia: 12 dead, 79 missing
South Korea: 11 dead, 9 missing
(Figures include those feared dead but not all unaccounted for. – Sources: Reuters, AP)

One of the world’s largest relief efforts is currently underway in a major effort to help not just survivors of and the families of those killed in the tsunami itself (first aid, evacuation, provision of emergency supplies etc.) but also to manage the communicable diseases that will undoubtedly be caused by the extensive damage to water and sanitation systems.

You can help by giving generously to one of the following agencies carrying out relief work in all the affected countries. Please give as much as you can.

Cafod
Care International
International Federation of the Red Cross
Medecins Sans Frontieres
Oxfam
Save The Children
World Vision
Christian Aid
Islamic Relief
UN World Food Programme

Alternatively, you can give through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group of UK charities including, among others, British Red Cross, Cafod, Oxfam, Save the Children and Tearfund: donate online or call 0870 60 60 900.

Further information on charities and ways to donate is available at the BBC website

Prayers are with all those suffering at this time.

Follow-up to Merry Christmas!

Do you know anyone else who gets a hangover after one sip of (good) champagne and a glass of alcohol-free wine (0.05% ABV)? Five minutes after drinking it? Our walk at Coundon Wedge had to be postponed in favour of a painkiller and four hours’ sleep…

Bah. I can’t decide if I’m actually allergic to alcohol or whether I’m just a lightweight.

I am on my way to world domination in my guise as Domestic Goddess. I made lemon sponge cake on Christmas Eve which Him has given his stamp of approval by proceeding to eat half the cake. Wahey!

Courtesy of the lovely Gill, here’s the recipe (NB: I have modified this slightly):

Juice and finely julienned zest of 1 lemon
150g (5.5 oz.) caster sugar
150ml carton of low-fat plain yogurt (approx. 200g pot)
150ml (5 fl. oz.) sunflower oil (I used olive oil)
250g (9 oz.) self-raising flour
2 large eggs

and possibly a pinch of bicarb of soda, though I haven’t tried that yet.

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to Gas Mark 3/170 degrees c./325 degrees f. Fully line a 20cm (8″) round cake tin with greaseproof paper (spray tin beforehand as well if not using a non-stick tin).
2) Put lemon juice into a bowl and add one tsp of the caster sugar.
3) Put the lemon zest into a large mixing bowl and add the remaining sugar, yogurt, oil, flour and eggs. Mix thoroughly.
4) Pour mixture into prepared tin, transfer to middle shelf of oven, bake for approx. 1 hr or until risen and springy when lightly touched.
5) Stand cake tin on cooling rack and while hot, slowly spoon the lemon juice mixture over the cake. Allow to cool in the tin.
6) When completely cooled, cut cake into 16 portions.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. It’s freezable too – just wrap individual portions in cling film and freeze for up to two months.

Plus you’d never know it was a low-fat cake (I certainly didn’t when I first ate it. Out of the Weight Watchers mag I think – for those so inclined, values per serving are: 190 cals, 3 points. Not, of course, if you eat half the cake, but then some people aren’t quite so bothered).

Not with Christmas songs, of course. How tedious.

We’ll all sing the Happy Little Vegemite Song!

We’re happy little Vegemites
As bright as bright can be.
We all enjoy our Vegemite
For breakfast, lunch, and tea.
Our mother says we’re growing
stronger every single week.
Because we love our Vegemite.
We all adore our Vegemite.
It puts a rose in every cheek!

Oh…Pinky and the Brain

They’re Pinky and The Brain
Yes, Pinky and The Brain
One is a genius
The other’s insane.
They’re laboratory mice
Their genes have been spliced
They’re dinky
They’re Pinky and The Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain.

Before each night is done
Their plan will be unfurled
By the dawning of the sun
They’ll take over the world.

They’re Pinky and The Brain
Yes, Pinky and The Brain
Their twilight campaign
Is easy to explain.
To prove their mousey worth
They’ll overthrow the Earth
They’re dinky
They’re Pinky and The Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Narf!

&c.

MERRY CHRISTMAS one and all!

It’s been absolutely wonderful so far. Midnight Mass at St Peter’s was beautiful, Him loved his present (I think!), I loved my presents (Him got me the Miller Harris perfume!! WAHEY!! Not before giving me a lovely toiletries bag for my ‘vast’ collection when we go on hols (NB: Must make note to disabuse Him of the notion that my collection is huge - should see the collections of some of the people I know; suitcases have nothing on them) as my ‘decoy’ present and sending me on a treasure hunt around the house (and laughing himself loopy at my complete lack of ingenuity)). MMMMMMM. It’s such a make-your-knees-melt scent (Him thinks so too, wink wink). Plus Sarah got me cool stripey knitted monkey socks and sparkly hair accessories and earrings, mwahahahahaha (Sarah, if you’re reading this, I love my present – thank you!)

Not to mention the fact that I’ve already got most of the other things I asked for on my Christmas list

Then we stayed up till the grand old hour of 4am (I tried, honestly… I’m too old and decrepit for these all-nighter sessions! Just as well, because if we had I’d still be in bed now) before falling into a Very Sound Slumber.

Today we’re going walking on Coundon Wedge – hurrah! After pork roast – in the oven now – um yum.

Santa, if you’re listening, I would love the following for Christmas:

Safe and happy family and friends back home
A wonderful first Christmas for Allie and Hongliang, recently married
Crisp, cold and bright days for walks with Him far away from the milling crowds
Snuggly evenings under the duvet with my pile of unread books
Rejuvenated plant life at a certain address
Miller Harris Feuilles de Tabac Eau de Parfum.

I’m so low-maintenance, me.

These are Him’s verdicts on the Miller Harris scent samples I collected today (I’ve paraphrased).

Fleur Oriental

Miller Harris: A classic reinvention of the Oriental perfume family, its lasting power comes from amber, vanilla and musk, lightened and animated by fresh orange flower, heliotrope, spicy carnation and Turkish rose.

Him: Spice. Baby powder.

Feuilles de Tabac

Miller Harris: Complex Cuban cascarilla oil and pimento berries contrast with a cooling heart of pine needles and velvet sage. With its base of tonka bean, tobacco and Malay patchouli, Feuilles de Tabac may seem profoundly masculine, but its haunting, addictive quality makes it a sensuous choice for both men and women.

Him: Smells like what over-30 ladies who put too much perfume on usually wear. Men’s cologne. (Spot the incongruity there)

Coeur de Fleur

Miller Harris: Coeur de Fleur is a day perfume from the Floral family. A base of Florentine iris, amber and Madagascan vanilla supports a heart of sweet pea, mimosa, Egyptian jasmin, raspberry and peach to make a warm, but intensely feminine impression.

Him: Cool Water.

Figue Amere

Miller Harris: Figue Amere was inspired by the bitter green figs of Ibiza, a curious contrast of fleshy fruit and astringent salt. Top notes of bergamot and mandarin contrast with a heart of narcissus poeticus, rose and green violet leaves on a heady base of cedar, amber and seamoss.

Him: Ink.

He’s right though, you know. Mostly. (I don’t think Coeur de Fleur smells anything like Cool Water.) So I have now narrowed down my choices to smelling like a pungent over-30 men’s cologne wearer and smelling like ink.

Seriously though, I suspect most perfumery (akin to much of wine-tasting) is a study in how much flowery (pun intended) language one can fit into a paragraph. Either that or Him and I just have sadly uncultured, one-note noses.

No prizes for guessing who the two childish people in St Peter’s on Sunday were who were guffawing at the lyric ‘Walls made of living stones’.

I bought a tropical plant at Tesco this morning – one that sits in orange gel thingy and which you don’t need to water or feed and that needs warm and shady conditions to thrive. I think I may finally have found the ultimate antidote to my serial plant killer status (pending a foray into air plants, though those you do need to mist with water every so often so this one seems far more idiot-proof on the face of it), seeing as I am currently killing plants that are supposedly virtually indestructible:

(My living stones look slightly more shrivelled than this remarkable specimen.)

(Regrettably my version is also a somewhat less handsome specimen.)

by misinterpreting ‘Much light. Little watering. Keep dry and cool during period of rest. Fertilise sparingly.’ as ‘Put plant in England. Do not water. Ever.’