At home on the range

It is of course derelict thursday so an exploration was needed. Very generously, I thought, I offered to show Himself one of my haunts. Fascinating actually - a group of four or five houses and barns now much consumed by undergrowth, but at one time they would have been quite posh and comfortable. They had ranges, fireplaces, loos and at one point electricity was installed - the old bakerlite switches are still swaying forlornly. It's all very mushroomy and mildewy now and you wonder how they became abandoned and disused. The old range here has not been used for many years - we had one like this in our old house and would occasionally light it up. It took ages to get going but once fired up would give out a great heat.

This particular spot is a haven of decrepitude for nearby are the remains of a fortified house (permission will be required for this one), a ghost estate put up in the last 10 years and now abandoned and a hotel, vandalised and forlorn.

Changing the subject - there have been requests to see the cake and for the recipe. I am not a great one for slavishly following recipes and tend to bung in what I fancy. This is it roughly:
225 g/ 8oz plain flour
225g/8oz butter
225g/80z dark brown sugar
4 eggs
mixed spices
950g/2lbs dried fruit - this is where it gets interesting for I don't just use raisins but add dried apricots, figs, dates, cherries and cranberries.
My secret ingredient is a tin of pineapple chunks!!
Soak the fruit for a day in something alcoholic - brandy, whisky, Guinness
Cream the butter and sugar.
Sieve the flour and spices.
Whisk the eggs.
Add everything! Then fold in the fruit.
If you want to be really authentic you can add a dried bean at this point but warn anyone who's going to eat it or they might break a tooth - whoever gets this bean though is destined to have brilliant luck for the rest of the year.
Put the mixture into a tin - cover with tinfoil or greaseproof paper, with a small hole cut out of the top to let air out. Bake for at least four and a half hours at 140C/275F. Take the tin foil off for the last half hour. You'll know it's ready when you can slip a knife in and it comes away clean.
Once cool wrap in tin foil and leave, feeding now and again with something alcoholic. Traditionally you then add a layer of marzipan and some royal icing and whip up a snowy scene!! I'll leave this pic on Flickr for a few days. Seriously delicious.