Pork soup with all the trimmings

About ten days ago, the main course chosen for Sunday lunch was pork soup. Last outings of which seem to have been July (reference 1) and February (reference 2).

The day started with a spin around Jubilee Way, with the soup being kicked off on return, getting on for two hours before the off. Three ounces of pearl barley in three pints of water. Bring to the boil and simmer.

After half an hour or so of that, add 12oz of coarsely chopped pork tenderloin, that is to say about two thirds of one. Bought shrink wrapped in plastic, presumably the way that they are delivered to the butcher from his wholesaler.

A bit after a small amount of celery and a few small onions, also coarsely chopped. For a change, about three quarters of an hour before the off, some potatoes. A few mushrooms to finish off with, about five minutes before the off.

Taken with some white wine from Majestic, King's Favour, first noticed at reference 3. Rather dearer than what we usually get from Majestic.

Rounded out with an Eve's pudding, a confection of apples below and sponge above, not really a pudding in the old sense of the word at all. That is to say involving using innards, for example stomachs, as containers. But very good, nonetheless. A pudding which comes out of the oven nicely domed, but cools down more or less flat. The remnant of blackberry and apple left for another occasion. Napkin ring a BH family heirloom. Glasses from Leightons.

Interrupted by a flier from the estate agent's Cairds being pushed through the door. They alleged that the market was very busy, chock full of people wanting to buy a house just like ours. Why don't we get in touch with them? Little did they know what it looked like inside; what a surveyor might have to say about the wiring and plumbing and stuff like that. Getting in touch with them will have to wait for a while yet.

Later on, a round of Scrabble, during which, for once in a while, we broke through the glass ceiling of 550. I won, maintaining what I guess to be a 2:1 lead in the matter of winning. It probably helps me that I started playing the game at around the age of 10, whereas BH did not start until she was around 20. Very late to be learning such a serious game.

PS: we did about two thirds on this first outing. The remaining third served as supplement rather than mains a day or so later. It stood better than some of our soups, the lumps not going all soggy.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/07/naturally-thinking.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/02/pork-soup.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/05/still-life-with-bottles.html. I had completely forgotten that back in May, I started to re-read Tomlinson's 'The Sea and the Jungle', quite possibly prompted by renewed interest in Lévi-Strauss and adventures in the Brazilian interior. A re-readng which was never finished and the book is now back on its place in the main bookcase.

Reference 4: The Sea and the Jungle - H.M. Tomlinson - 1912. My edition of 1930 from Duckworth, illustrated by Clare Leighton - a representative of the inter-war Renaissance of the art of wood engraving.

Reference 5: https://www.leightons.co.uk/. With the Epsom branch we use being once known as Linwood Strong, this last being a chain which looks as if it was sold up piecemeal around 2000. With our Epsom branch still more or less an independent, but with the second Mr. Leighton now in charge, an operation made up from the merger of a couple of mid-sized chains and into franchising. My understanding being that the cost of today's equipment makes starting out as a sole practitioner quite impractical. You have to join a gang. In any event, entirely satisfactory for our purposes. Dearer, but better service than Boots or Specsavers.