Do you have a blog?  Are you thinking about it?  If you are, I would say DO IT, because magical things will start to happen.  During the Vincentennial year, when celebrations were going on to mark what would have been Vincent Price’s 100th year, I embarked upon a project to cook one of Vincent’s recipes per week.  I wrote about it over here – The Vincentennial Cookblog.  It was quite an adventure.

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Gaz, who is the Director of the Abertoir International Horror Festival of Wales found my blog, and got in touch.  He asked if I might share some Vincent Price recipes with him, so that he could make something to give out to festival-goers, which of course I was more than happy to do.  He made the legendary brown and white cookies.

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Gaz finding my blog, set in motion a domino effect ripple in the universe, which led to me going to the fabulous Abertoir festival, meeting Victoria Price, telling her about my cooking exploits, and a few years later, Victoria asking me to write something for the introduction to the new edition of the Treasury…

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did I mention that before?  What an HONOUR!  I wrote something for the introduction to the new edition of Mary and Vincent Price’s The Treasury of Great Recipes – GULP!

Ultimately, my blogging has led to me getting involved in all of the adventures I’ve been writing about here when Victoria came to the UK in November.

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None of this amazing stuff would have happened were it not for my blog.

So this year, Abertoir was celebrating its 10th anniversary.  Victoria attended, giving a wonderful talk about her father’s life, which followed a lovely presentation by Peter Fuller about Vincent’s work here in the UK.  

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After these, we had a brilliant Treasury of Great Recipes themed dinner, complete with a menu in Welsh.

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I’d been sending recipes backwards and forwards to Gaz for consideration, and the resulting dinner was SO GOOD!  The chefs at the Arts Centre did an amazing job, the beef was utterly delicious, I had seconds.  There were of course, some cucumber crocodiles around the place.  For me, it was like catering for 75 or so people, without having to lift a finger – ha ha!  That’s the kind of supper club I like.  

I also like the fact that there was special Vincent Price BEER at Abertoir…

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Now as the year is coming to an end, I’m thinking what a humdinger it has been, and how grateful I am for all the things my blog has made happen.  But the very best thing about writing a blog, is making kindred spirits.  I am so pleased to have cyber-met Brian from Caker Cooking (my all time favourite cooking blog, sadly now put to bed…) and Yinzerella from Dinner is Served 1972 (my all time favourite still-going cooking blog!).  Recently I’ve had lots of cyber-fun swapping movie star recipes with Greg over at Recipes for Rebels too.

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What is even better is meeting those e-chums IN PERSON.  I’ve met Lauren from the lovely retro cooking blog The Past on a Plate a couple of times now, when she has visited London.  

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I met the fabulous Sally from My Custard Pie and lovely Amanda from Glamorous Glutton at the Food Bloggers Connect conference in 2012.  And as I mentioned in a recent blog post, it was just brilliant to meet Miriam of Cine Gratia Cinema and her mum at the Vincent Price Harrods event.

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…and thanks to serendipity and good things in the universe, I met Annie from Kitchen Counter Culture, on the way back from Aberystwyth in Llanidloes.  Annie got in touch with me in October about the Vincent Price Treasury Cookalong, we’d never been in touch before.  Then just a couple of weeks later, we met in person.  What kind of magic made this happen?  I have no idea! Me and Mr R had arranged to visit his lovely friends Andy and Mel in Llanidloes, 30 miles away from Aber, and who should also live in Llanidloes?  Annie from Kitchen Counter Culture.  And so it was, we met at a fabulous drinking den hideaway called The Old Mill.  Annie arrived brandishing a gift wrapped in a lovely tea towel.  An Angel Food Cake Cutter!

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As Annie rightly said, “we are both much more attractive than any of these photos” – so true.  Really lovely to meet you Annie!  I’m going to make a Doris Day Angel Food Cake soon, so that I can use your gift.

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So finally, one more example of the magical things that happen when you have a blog.  At the Abertoir Festival, I was chatting away to Peter Fuller who was the powerhouse behind all the events to celebrate the launch of the 50th Edition of The Treasury of Great Recipes here in London.  

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Victoria Price said, “you two didn’t know each other before all this did you?”  I said, “no, it’s all thanks to you Victoria!” and it is.  I didn’t know Peter before all of this, but I sure do now!!  Thank you Victoria, thank you internet, and thank you to the wonderful, wonderful world of blogging.

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