SouthseaScene

Article as seen in Portsmouth View, August 2014 As I drove around the Hampshire countryside the past week, I came across a stunning view of lush green hills and fields of ripe wheat waiting to be harvested. I longed to walk the hills and the fields. I read that walking is good for you. Besides the exercise, walking also allows you time to think. So I made a resolution to do more walking for the rest of the summer to improve my health and well-being. We are fortunate that we have such lovely countryside around us for walks. For those who cannot travel far, there is always the walk along the seafront that will invigorate. There is the incentive to stop at the new Southsea Beach café for a cuppa in the middle of the walk, if you need any excuse! On one of my recent Southsea walks (from Camber Docks to Palmerston Road) I had time to think about this column and about attending live events. People, in general, love enjoying shared experience and the opportunity to comm...

My favourite dish if you can find some juicy lamb rump steak. Ingredients: 2 lamb rump steaks about 150g each 2 tbsp orange juice 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp clear honey/maple syrup Marinate for about an hour and then grill for 5-7 minutes on each sides. Best eaten with couscous: 75g couscous 'fluffed' in boiling water for 5 minutes (in a covered dish) 1 medium onion, sliced 1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying 1 medium red pepper, sliced Fry the onion in the oil for about 15 minutes until the onion is caramelised and then add the pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the remainder of the marinade juice to the pan, cook for 3 minutes and then add the couscous. This is one of the quickest dishes you can cook and it's the most delicious!

The Tallis Scholars performed at Portsmouth Cathedral last Friday night. I changed my mind several times over the course of the concert. Each piece proceeded with one more beautiful than the last. The opening piece, Monody's L'Homme Arme, impressed with the unity of the starting and ending and purity of the voices. The Tallis Scholars sang each piece with such great voices, resounding in the beautiful setting of the  Cathedral. The programme selection, some played at royal funerals past, made me think of what I might like played in my own funeral. Some of the pieces were so beautiful and fast paced that it sounded as though death is something joyful. Overall, I thought both the Victoria's pieces were the best and certainly the Tallis Scholar ended the concert stunningly with the Libera me from Missa pro Defunctis. Review: The Tallis Scholars, Friday 20 June, 7.30pm at Portsmouth Cathedral PS: I looked up Victoria, whose full name is Tomás Luis de Victoria and I li...

Portsmouth Festivities opened with a great fanfare, literally, courtesy of John Sampson. He was part of a duet with poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Carol said The Queen gave him to her, which was greeted with laughter and that very much set the tone for the next hour. First, Portsmouth Poet Laureate, Sam Cox, read her newly penned poem Pages of Possibilities. I love her sing song delivery and phrasing.  In this poem I love the line 'tapestry of people colliding' and I thought this is the poem that would inspire people to want to write their own. Carol Ann Duffy read from her book The World's Wife, which was published in 1999. This was a collection inspired by stories she heard in her childhood. She gave a voice to the women involved in the stories. The first she read was from Midas' wife, who recoiled from his great gift, afraid to be immortalised into a gold statue and finally assigning him to a motor home. I was delighted by the twist in the ending of her poe...

The university where I work has just launched its new series of customer service training with a session on ‘The Art of Being Brilliant’ which was run by a man from Derby called Andy Cope. He suggested that by changing your way of thinking, even one little bit, you will feel differently about your life. Andy suggested we wake up each morning and be thankful that we don't have a toothache. I know it seems a small step, but by being grateful that my health is good, it makes me feel positive about the rest of my day. It worked! After that session on being brilliant, I went to a conference about science communication and in one of the discussion sessions, the topic was ‘wellbeing’. So why did we talk about wellbeing in a science communication conference? Apparently wellbeing is very important in science. Our government takes it very seriously because if the population is well, there will be less cost to healthcare. Healthy people are also happier. So, if you are interested, ...

In Portsmouth we mark the beginning of Spring with a series of cultural events across the city.  As we lost an hour to our day, we add a new festival to our calendar. The Lost Hour has proved to be a popular event in the city and long may it continues. At the moment, students are enjoying their Easter Break and probably thinking about how many chocolate eggs they can eat in one sitting. While there are Easter egg hunts organised in woods and gardens, churches spring into wonderful concert venues. Florilegium who played at the last Music in the Round concert has their diaries full of concerts, the biggest being the St Matthew's Passion at the Royal Festival Hall. Historically, the church used to be a big patron of music and that is why some of the greatest compositions are of church music. For me, I'm still hunting for the Golden Egg; the how do we tell the world about the treasure trove of culture we have in Portsmouth? My hunt, so far has led to a meeting with our Creative ...

Have we all had enough chocolates? I have not had a single chocolate Easter Egg. But that's fine, because I ate other chocolates in other shapes. I thoroughly enjoyed the Easter break after what seems such a long three months since the Christmas break. Life seems busier than ever and I have not had much chance in indulging in my passion for cooking. But since a couple of weekends ago, the cooking fairy has returned and I've tried a couple of recipes I really like. Tournedos Rossini was a great success, especially if you live near a good butcher. The cooking is simple, but the taste mile is long. 120-170g of beef fillet per person a slice of bread about the same width as the meat each 50g of duck liver pate per person 25g of butter 250g of fresh spinach 1 clove of garlic 25 g butter 1 medium onion sliced 250 ml beef stock 300 ml Madeira 25g butter a sprig of thyme Slice the onion and fry in pan with 25g butter until translucent (about 5 minutes) then add a s...