My favourite place - complete with recipe

BEAUTY SPOT

This is Newhaven Harbour, situated on the northern edge of Edinburgh, and the southern bank of the Firth of Forth.  It was once the focal point of the fishing village of Newhaven, and the long, low red building on the eastern side was the fish market.  Not so long ago, certainly well within living memory, it was a major employer in the locale and bustling centre activity from the early hours of each morning.

Nowadays there are few catches being delivered (there's one being made in the first photo), and most of the boats moored here are for pleasure use only.  The old market building houses a couple of restaurants, which enjoy spectacular views from their and windows and terraces, an excellent fishmonger, and the latter's processing and distribution plant.  They have another couple of fish shops in the city, and supply many restaurants, pubs etc in the Edinburgh area.  So the old links have not completely died away.

There isn't a lot going on nowadays, traffic in and out of the harbour walls is sparse, and an ugly hotel has been stuck up at the north eastern corner.  But this spot has become my favourite place in the world.  I love going there whatever the weather, season or time of day.  On a bright, clear day there are long distance views across to the hills of Fife and up the Forth to the famous bridges, both of which can be seen clearly in the distance (you should be able to make them out in the fifth of the pictures above).  But when the haar descends, the dense fog that blows in from the North Sea, it becomes a world all to itself, suspended from reality like Brigadoon.  You can make out a few boats bobbing, hear the sound of the water slapping against the hulls and harbour sides, but even the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater can be hidden from clear view, becoming an eerie, shimmering finger of white raised in insult against nature.

This is a place I never tire of visiting, of photographing, of sitting watching the gulls and sailors and tourists and locals savouring the beauty of the sights it provides.  I love it primarily for itself, but I also have some roots here.  It wasn't a place we came to much when I was young, as we lived on the other side of the city (although I did go to primary school near here).  Only many years later did I discover the family connection.

For a while that old fish market building housed a Newhaven Musem, which we visited with my parents. There were old photos of workers from the fishing industry, and tt came as a surprise that my dad could identify by name several of the old fishwives, in traditional harbour dress, as people he'd know as a child.  But even then he didn't talk much about the connection between himself and the village and harbour.  It was his death some years later that provided me with the evidence of just how close this relationship was.  He'd been born in his parents' house, one street back from the harbour front.  His mother had worked at gutting the fish coming in, his father was a fish porter (I had only ever seen him as a school janitor).

Now I'm not one to believe in psychic links or suchlike, and coincidences are usually just that, events with no causal relationship.  But there is a weirdness in thinking that this particular spot on the planet, which I revisit constantly, had such close links to my immediate family.  But yeah, still just coincidence!

There are a couple of other attractions beyond the sensory allure.  Up the road is one of best cafes in the city, The Haven, and I already mentioned that fish shop. Too often fishmongers had, have, an off-putting aroma and confused display.  You can forget that in Welch Fishmongers of Newhaven.  Beautifully displayed, fresh, great variety.  There's a tank of live lobsters to your right as you come through the door, and some attractive fishy-related crockery in the window.  And they make their own smoked salmon pate which is irresistible.  No, I'm not being paid to say this....

They also do an excellent, and cheap, fish pie mix, with offcuts of salmon, cod and smoked haddock.  I've used it as the basis for an excellent fish curry, as this recipe I concocted demonstrates.  Go on, give it a go.

MIXED FISH CURRY WITH SPICED COURGETTE

Ingredients (for 2 people)

350g fish pie mix (see above - if making up your own it should include some smoked fish)
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 green chilli sliced into rings
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes
creme fraiche
1 tsp each of ground turmeric, ground ginger, garam masala
salt to taste

1 large courgette
1/2 tsp each of cumin seeds. fennel seeds, chilli powder ground

Cupful of basmati rice

Method

Soften tomatoes in boiling water and seive finely, discard solids
Fry mustard seeds until they begin to crackle
Add onion and celery, fry for 5 minutes
Add chilli and garlic and fry until onions are soft
Add fish (chopped) and remaining spices
Fry for 1 min
Add seived tomatoes and couple of dollops of creme fraiche to get a creamy consistency
Simmer for 5-10 minutes depending on your fish
Add salt to taste

Meanwhile....
Put the rice on to boil and once it's cooking fry the courgette spices for 1 min
Add sliced courgette and salt generously, stir well and keep it moving occasionally
Fry until soft

Serve with rice in middle, courgettes to one side, curry to other

A Viognier goes well with this if your chilli isn't too much of a hot one!

Amateur critic - a review blog

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

It's been a while since I posted anything here.  Lack of inspiration, lack of time, other things to do.  And general indolence.  Especially that one.  But some of the time gets taken up with going out to be entertained.  That includes a few cinema visits, but mostly it's live interaction that I'm seeking. Music, comedy, drama - and ice hockey.  A week doesn't normally pass without seeing some kind of gig, play or match.

Of course the decision on what we (it's mostly 'we') go to see is derived from our own eclectic tastes.  So the music is mostly folk, preferably in small, intimate venues, and you're unlikely to see me at stadium events.  The plays are more likely to be new works than classics.  And the comedy will be in clubs or pubs rather than theatres.  While the hockey, well, that's been documented here before.

I have no qualifications to be much of a critic.  I'm resolutely unmusical, rarely funny, while my amateur acting days are long behind me and would make no claims to anything more than some basic competence.  As for ice hockey.... I doubt I'd stay upright for more than five seconds.

But there might be some people out there looking for new music, or seeking  an independent opinion on a touring play or a comedian who has yet to achiev national fame.  OK, I doubt anyone will be much interested in my uninformed opinion on hockey matches, but you can't please everyone.  So I have a new blog, giving brief reviews of events I've been to.  Don't expect much in the way of depth, but at least you should be clear about whether this individual liked what he saw or not.

The first review can be found here.