Harlequin is 60

Yesterday the venture that the Bonnycastles started to keep the presses rolling turned 60!


To celebrate Harlequin released 16 books from its backlist as FREE downloads. One book from each line currently published in the North American market. I found it impossible to get on yesterday and thought that people from outside North America could not download the books, but this morning, it was not a problem. The list showcases books that the editors feel represent the Best in the Line from recent years. So for historical, there is Elizabeth Rolls His Lady Mistress. For Superromance there is Janice Kay Johnson's Snowbound which won the Rita last year. For Kimani, there is a Brenda Jackson. I am looking forward to them and to trying a few of the lines that I have not tried. You can get the downloads here.


All sorts of other events are planned, including the draw for a Diamond necklace to celebrate the Harlequin Romance Diamond Brides series.

In other news:

I fond a hen's nest yesterday. A dozen eggs. I tested them -- dunk in cold water, see if they float. All stayed firmly at the bottom so all are good. It is a matter of a surfeit of eggs again. Baking appears to be the order of the day. The children have not had egg salad sandwiches recently so this might do as well. I forget if they like egg salad sandwiches. They did once but may have rebeled. The problem with a surfeit of eggs is that you know the hens and ducks will keep laying given the time of year...

The mole continues to elude me. The mole hills are less frequent. Sincerely hope that this does not mean the mole is preparing to give birth...apparently they go deeper then...Much easier to think of the Mole as a he than a pregnant she.

The Jamie Oliver Effect

I understand from yesterday's Sunday Telegraph that do the high profile campaign by Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley Whittonstall against battery chickens, houses where chickens can be kept are becoming more popular.
I have kept hens and ducks for about ten years now. The difference in egg quality is astonishing. Hens who are able to roam have far darker yolks. Nothing beats a freshly laid egg gently poached. Supermarket eggs are a watery pale yellow yolk and don't really taste of anything.
I noticed that the latest Waitrose magazine was offering duck egg recipes. Hooray say I. Other people are realising that duck eggs are good to eat. They suffered in reputation after the war because ducks were fed on fish meal and surprise, surprise the eggs tasted of fish. Feed ducks on corn and poultry layer pellets, and the eggs taste great.
Duck eggs do not keep as long as hen eggs by the way. You want to use them within 2 weeks, where as hen eggs will keep for about 3. Both are best eaten within a few days of being laid.
Mostly you can substitute duck eggs and hen eggs. But scrambled duck eggs tend to be rubbery. Poached duck eggs are wonderful though and they have several recipes for baked duck eggs including one for duck eggs baked in a tomato with a dash of Tabasco.
So are hens and ducks easy to keep? Yes but you have not mind the cleaning out of the houses once a week. The manure is good for the garden. Because my hens and ducks are free range, I have made sure that the vegetable patch is fenced off, and during the summer, we do put netting up to prevent any rogue attacks on the vegetables.
We also have a large enough garden that they do not seem to do any real and lasting damage. They do add character to the undergrowth and I have not seen a slug in years. they are fed twice a day -- poultry layer pellets in the morning and mixed corn in the afternoon. Eggs are collected once a day. Hens by in large are creatures of habit and do lay in the hen house...although I do have to go searching on occasion. Ducks tend to drop their eggs where ever unless they are broody.
Currently I am hoping we will not have ducklings...it is getting to be that time of year...
But hooray that more people are coming to realise the value of keeping poultry.

Easter, eggs and that bunny

Why the connection between eggs and Easter? It is not the chocolate manufacturer's gimmick.

Eggs were forbidden during Lent, but they were also a Christian symbol. An egg symbolises rebirth and renewal. New life. Easter eggs used to be called Pace (or Passion) eggs. Although most people give a chocolate eggs in Britain, people in many other countries still decorate hard boiled eggs for gifts. In Greece, as far as I can recall, the eggs are dyed red to symbolise the Lord's Passion. So there is a religous significance to eating eggs on Easter.

The word Easter most probably comes from the Anglo Saxon goddess Oestre. One of her animals was the hare. It should be noted that the Lord's Passion was more than likely celebrated in Britain BEFORE any rites to Oestre as the Saxon did not arrive until the 5th century. Christianity was definitely wide-spread in Northumberland during the 4th century -- IE the one found at Vindolanda. Another example would be Constantine the Great's acclamation at York in 306. Much was lost when the pagan Saxons invaded. When the Anglo-Saxons were Christianized, the festival's name stayed the same and the meaning changed. Oestre's fertility rites happened in the Spring.

The Easter bunny is Germanic and a relatively recent addition in Britain. As the Saxons were a Germanic people, it is possible that this is a hang over from the Oestre fertility rites. Germanic references to an Easter hare stretch back to the 1500s. Another version of the old hare v rabbit arguement -- is the Easter bunny really a hare?

The making of chocolate eggs of course happened during the Victorian period. This is because of technological innovations. Many people of course give up chocolate for Lent.

This is just in case anyone is interested.

Sold and Seduced went on sale in the UK yesterday (officially) I need to get a photo of it.

Happy Easter to one and all. May you enjoy your Pace eggs, even if you didn't know they had another meaning.