After the Storm.

After a couple of early showers the day has been mostly sunny and mild.

Very different from last night when the 0.5m storm surge on top of the high tide sent foam and water over the sea wall and down the road leading to the railway station. I stood out on the terrace at 12.30, an hour after high tide and even in the dark I could see the foaming waves reaching the top of the beach. I expect some of the houses that sit right on the beach would have had waves and stones in their back yards too. Driving along the High Street this morning we had to go carefully over the stones that had been left across the road wherever the sea had come through the little passageways or by the station.

(Photo - Borth Coastguard.)

FB video taken by Ruth Watkins

We were driving to Mach to meet up with our friends in the library for our Welsh practice but had to turn around at the end of the village as the road by the golf course was flooded. The road undulates and there were a couple (that we could see) of flooded stretches. After watching a lorry coming through and then a 4x4 we decided that the water was too high to risk taking our little car through. Instead we turned around and took the long way back through the village and up to the main A road at Bow Street.

In Mach we had our usual lively time going through this week's homework and what we think will be the homework for half-term. It doesn't hurt to be prepared.

We were able to go to Mach as the builder had sent a message to say he wasn't coming today but should be here later in the week. (Fingers crossed.)

When we got home I had a truffle making session as I need to send some as a birthday present by the end of the week. Today it was just the middles, two kinds- one with chopped pecan nuts and one with crystallised ginger. While I now have the dipping technique mastered I'm still not quite there with the best way to get nice round middles. I tried two ways, one with two teaspoons and one using a measuring spoon to scoop out the ganache into equal blobs which I then chill before hand rolling. The teaspoon method wasn't that good and the middles look more like lumpy asteroids that have been spinning through the universe for thousands of years. The measuring spoon was better but I've written a note on the recipe to remind myself to scoop out while the ganache is still soft. Once portioned out I chill the middles before hand rolling, a messy business. I've also tried something else which if it works will be very helpful at Christmas when I like to make quite a few truffles. That is to freeze the rolled middles. If successful I can spread out that stage of the process instead of doing it all in a rush and if it doesn't and the middles go grainy or something I'm sure they will still taste nice enough for me to eat. 

Photos of some things that caught my eye on the beach yesterday.