Cheerfulness

There's a phenomena I don't understand - that in climates where you don't need cheering up, people eat cheerful food - whilst in damp, dismal climates, people tend to eat depressing, stodgy food.

Anyway, today not as damp as yesterday, but still pretty grey - so decided to make Delia Smith's roast tomato soup to go with M's "Tartin" bread for guests we had coming for lunch. Just laying the tomatoes out cheered me up. If you've not got the book, it's dead easy - put them like this with chopped garlic and olive-oil drenched basil leaves in a medium oven for almost an hour; then whizz with a potato you've been cooking in some stock and tomato puree - and voilá - cheerfulness in a bowl.

Lots of talking from our friends, who have just returned from 3 months in Mozambique, curtailed by M and I having to go give blood.