Another yes! Yippee!

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“So as you all know by now I asked Emily to marry me over the weekend and she said yes!

We were in Norfolk for the weekend and spent a bit of time in Hunstanton, which has an amazing beach. The beach cliffs are an impressive sight, as they’re formed in two distinctive bands of sandstone and chalk, creating a red and white stripe all along the beach. It’s also an unusual beach, being on the east coast, it actually faces west – so you can watch the sun set over the sea, rather than rise! Well worth a visit if you’re in the area and the sun is out!”
— Ewan

Congratulations from us all Ewan and Emily! (And thank you for the delicious homemade banana bread - it didn’t last long!)

Find out more about Hunstanton here.


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Creative gorgeous-nous!

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“In Croatia I spent a lovely week doing a raku ceramics course where the main activity was sitting in the garden making pots, drinking copious amounts of tea and eating biscuits.”
— Emma McD

Southern sausage breakfast cake

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A savoury breakfast with a twist!

Ingredients

  • 454g Maple Sausage

  • 1/2 Yellow Onion, diced

  • 225g Red and Yellow Peppers, chopped

  • 300g Flour

  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

  • 2 Tablespoons Shortening

  • 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

  • 3/4 Teaspoon Salt

  • 150g Mexican Shredded Cheese Blend

  • 1 egg, beaten

  • 100g Buttermilk

  • 75g Sour cream

Sauce

  • 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup

  • 1/4 Cup Butter

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Spray an 8×9″ baking pan with nonstick spray.

  3. In a skillet over medium heat, add the sausage and cook until browned, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, about 3-5 minutes.

  4. Remove to a mesh strainer in the sink to allow the grease to drain off.

  5. Place the skillet back on the burner, no need to wash it first, add a drizzle of oil and the onions and peppers.

  6. Cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.

  7. Remove to a plate to cool.

  8. In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder, shortening, pepper and salt.

  9. Using a pastry cutter or fork, blend the shortening into the flour.

  10. Add the cheese and mix.

  11. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk and sour cream.

  12. Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the egg, buttermilk and sour cream.

  13. Add the sausage and peppers on top and stir until just combined.

  14. Spread the very thick, sticky batter into the baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until set in the middle and golden brown.

  15. Meanwhile, melt the butter and maple syrup together and set aside.

  16. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes then pour the sauce all over the top and serve immediately.

Recipe from here

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Sausage breakfast cake

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It really just tastes like a spice cake with nuts and raisins - you can't really taste the sausage in it, except it does make it a coarser texture. Serve with coffee. It keeps you full on a cold morning!

Ingredients

Serves: 12 

  • 450g pork sausage

  • 325g dark brown sugar

  • 300g caster sugar

  • 2 eggs, beaten

  • 375g sifted plain flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon allspice or cloves

  • 235ml brewed coffee

  • 145g raisins

  • 120g walnuts, chopped


Method

Prep: 20min   Cook: 1hr30min Ready in: 1hr 50min 

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and flour a 23cm cake tin. Pour boiling water over raisins and let stand 5 minutes. Drain well and dry.

  2. In large bowl, combine sausage, brown sugar and caster sugar. Stir until mixture is well blended. Add eggs and beat well.

  3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, ginger, baking powder and spices.

  4. Stir bicarbonate of soda into coffee.

  5. Add flour mixture and coffee alternately to sausage mixture, beating well after each addition. Fold raisins and walnuts into cake batter.

  6. Pour cake batter into the greased cake tin. Bake at 180 C / Gas 4 for 1 1/2 hours or until skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire cooling tray.


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Staff summer party

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Row, row, row our boat - Splash!

Here are some photo's from the staff summer party bash on Friday. 

SRA Dragons snap and sketch

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A big well done to SRA Dragons who took part in the Dragon Boat Race in Bath on Sunday. 

Here are some snaps and a sketch from Kate.

A visit to the Macallan Distillery

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“Just a few photos from the new Macallan distillery as featured in August’s RIBA Journal. Unfortunately we didn’t get much further than the café/ gift shop as all of the tours were fully booked. ”
— Fiona

If you fancy a visit yourself check out the RIBA feature here. 

 

French frolics

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“Sometime between crashing in to the gates of Versailles, breaking down in rural France whilst towing, getting saturated in a flash flood, smashing my iPhone, having a water pump failure, and having the caravan broken in to, I managed to make it to a supermarket to carefully retrieve some French sweets. They are currently safe and secure in my bag and barring another unfortunate turn of events will be in the kitchen shortly.

Based on this run of luck I opted to stay away from the very tall cliff edge, but did take my chances in a canoe…”
— MIke
 

Camping adventures in Pembrokeshire

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Lizzie has arrived safely back from her camping adventure to the Pembrokeshire coast having battled 40mph winds. Here are some pictures from her travels.

A spot of mackerel fishing in Cornwall

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Chris and Sam enjoying their holiday in Cornwall.  

 

Celebrating the big day!

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Congratulations to Hilary and Ben who celebrated their wedding on Saturday. Here are some lovely pictures from the day. 

Holiday trip to Portugal and a site visit to Faro JLR!

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Here are some of Lizzie's blue sky and sea pictures from lovely Portugal. 

 

Magical Chania in Crete

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Pictures of Adam's recent trip to Chania in Crete. He highly recommends a visit!

And these tasty jellies are pretty magical too! A very traditional treat which remind both Adam and his parents of their childhood.  Adam brought a packet in for us to enjoy: one minute they were sitting on the kitchen table - the next - all gone! (Very magical!). 

 

Team bowling event

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Beer, bowling and banter

With the Friday forecast set to be the hottest day of the year, we all packed up shop early and walked to the local bowling alley, where cool drinks welcomed us.

Split into teams we all had a go with plenty of banter and chips to spur us on!

 

Click on each picture below to view the full image

Dinner, drinks and dancing to finish the evening

We are a friendly bunch at SRA!

Chris and Hilary's 'Last Night of Freedom'

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Thank you to Lizzie and Matt who organised a fantastic send-off for Chris and Hilary at their STEN do.  

STEN do challenge

This card is to be completed throughout the evening. Each successful task earns the points allocated in the brackets. The hen/stag with the most points at the end of the evening wins a cheeky prize!

A selection of images from the night

Larger images for impact!

 

Reflections from Bath Boules

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Some of my favourite moments

“Thanks to all the folks (and cute dogs) that turned up on Saturday and supported Team SRA at a spot of Bath Boules.  Here is a snapshot of some of my favourite moments in pictures and videos. ”
— Karen

La baguette love

A good start

Cute dogs (thanks Cristina!)

It's a family match-off!

Celebrations were in order when Family Rich won!

Creative moments with Elle

It's smiles better in the rain!

Win some - loose some

Boules mostly egg-cellent

 

2018 SRA world sweepstake

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“Having been hounded by various parties (Fred and Ewan) it’s time to unveil the 2018 SRA world cup sweepstake!

Previous iterations have proved successful and whilst there is no need for you to get involved it has proved quite fun in the past and I have proposed that perhaps we should use it as an opportunity to raise some money for charity this year. More details soon!”
— Jonathan

Taking part

  • Print off this form and tick one box in each 'pot' (column) totalling 8 countries. 
  •  Don’t worry, you don't require any particular knowledge of football! The seeding system should make sure you are still in with a chance to win!
  • Ewan and Fred have volunteered to coordinate the sweepstake. Please give your completed form to one of them and your your entrance money of £2. 
  • Jonathan will do some work behind the scenes in setting up the spreadsheets and graphs to check progress.
“I hope you decide to get involved, any and all are welcome and at the very least, it gives those of you who normally couldn’t care less a vested interest in the inevitable wall to wall media coverage once the tournaments starts (next Thursday!).”
— Jonathan

Bath Boules team event - Queen Square

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SRA team day - Saturday 16 June 2018

The Bath Boules Week is a vibrant and fun pop up event in Queen Square, Bath 10-18 June 2018. It hosts activity each day which raise vital funds for local charities including dinners, parties, award ceremonies, talks and more! All culminating in the much-loved Bath Boules tournament weekend. Check out this video to get an in idea of what happens on the day!

Pop by for a bit (or a lot)

Come and join the SRA team on Saturday 16 June from 9.45am. Grab a drink from the SRA chill-box, have a go at throwing some Boules if you like, and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere.

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED! :)

Please confirm if you are coming

“Please can you let me know if you are coming along and bringing anybody with you? It really helps with planning the day and organising nibbles and drinks.
With many thanks!”
— Karen

A trip to Cuba!

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Roberto and his girlfriend, Ana, recently went on a trip to Cuba.

Cuba (officially the Republic of Cuba) is  a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos.  It is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres (42,426 sq mi).

Favourite places...

“If I had to advise someone about the tour to do around Cuba, I would encourage them to visit Habana, Vinales, Trinidad and the Cayo (an island with pure and clear water and beautiful beaches).

Fifteen days is enough time to explore and enjoy these locations, and, if there is more time, I would visit Santiago de Cuba as well! It would be fantastic! It is quite a drive from La Habana. so extra time is needed. It is worth it for the lovely trip, because of the amazing people, incredible places and very nice food. ”
— Roberto

Enjoy some holiday snaps – (many thanks to Roberto!)

Find out more about these interesting places!

 

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