Friday 13th November

[Kath Mulligan]

Well, it sounds from the forecasts that it is indeed going to be Friday 13th with a vengeance for some parts of the country later today and overnight. Just been looking at the Minack webcam and it already looks a bit wild in West Penwith, so hope all our Cornish friends are tucked up safe, warm and dry.

It's supposed to be getting to us later this evening and tomorrow. Hope tomorrow is not too horrendous since we are all going out for lunch at Wyevale Garden Centre and I do NOT want a repeat performance of having to almost swim to my flooded car afterwards!!!

Kath

[jane jackson]

Just back from Tescos and nearly turned around and came home when I first got there as it was torrential but it did ease off so I braved it. Lucikly it wasn't too bad for unloading but is now throwing rain at the windows horizantally. I did park on The Prom (foolish maybe?!) on the way home and before I could get out a huge wave swamped the car. However I got out (there were folk walking around and not falling over or being blown into the sea) and just pointed the camera and shot 3 photos but as yet not sure how well they came out. Got back into the car and another wave swamped us ~ quite exciting really but wouldn't have been if there had been any pebbles caught up in the wave. Seaweed all over the road. A Coastwatch lady who lives on the front had fish in her garden as well as seaweed last time it came over.

Hope you stay dry tomorrow Kath. Wyevale will be full of Christmas so have fun!(Viel Spass!):rain::rain::rain::rain::rain::rain:

[gloria townsin]

Have just spoken to Patricia who is all strapped in against the storm. She's going to keep a watch to see if our greenhouse goes flying by....I reckon it will end up in the field!! While we were talking Monty began barking and when Patricia went to see why her porch door had blown open.....so Monty got lots of praise for his watchfulness.

[adesmith]

Saw on the news that the sea was coming over the promenade at Penzance and that it had been closed. There was a picture of Mounts Bay with a very grey and stormy sea. I expect that lady may be getting a delivery of fish again tonight!

Hope that your greenhouse survives Gloria.

We were planning a drive to the beach tomorrow, Southerndown or Ogmore on the Heritage Coast but I am not sure we will if the forecasted weather arrives here! Its Rachel's birthday and we wanted to go out for a family trip.

Take care everyone!

[adesmith]

PS Enjoy your lunch at Wyevale Kath. Our Wyevale closed down recently in favour of the Blooms just down the road. Its the same company but not quite the same atmosphere.

[Kath Mulligan]

Our Wyevale has changed its name recently and is now just Marple Garden Centre, but it has been Wyevale to us for so long that old habits die hard!! The rain has arrived here now and the wind is starting to get up - very glad I do not have to venture out tonight. I saw the warnings on the news to people in the South West not to go out unless absolutely necessary - could be a scary night in prospect.

Hope your greenhouse survives to tell the tale, Gloria. It would be a bit draughty in your lounge at Bryher tonight, wouldn't it?!

Kath

[jane jackson]

Happy Birthday Rachel for tomorrow! Hope you don't get too blown away whatever you decide to do for your outing.

Blowing a bit here but it has stopped raining. We will wait and see what tomorrow brings.

[gloria townsin]

Sure would be drafty, we'd probably think we were sitting in the garden.

Happy Birthday Rachel for tomorrow, have a lovely day whatever you do.

Oddly our Wyvale took over one of our garden centres a goodly few years ago, I preferred it before it became Wyvale I have to say, possibly because the previous owners were local people and used to loan the Pony Club wonderful floral decorations for our Summer Show. I used to take a horse box or big vehicle there and they just used to load it up. After it had became Wyvale they looked at me as though I was mad when I asked if they would carry on as previously. Needless to say the answer was No!!

[jane jackson]

That wasn't very friendly of them Gloria but typical of a large Company I suppose. It's always a shame when a local business is replaced by a large Company.

Bryan wrote to Lloyds Bank in PZ and Stevensons at Newlyn to ask if they would consider a donation to the Coastwatch and didn't even get a reply. He didn't necessarily expect a donation as I'm sure they both get lots of requests and already donate locally but a brief reply would have been nice.

The weather today is dreadful as the forecast predicted, very strong winds coming in gusts and heavy rain. Our lawn is rapidly turning to mud with Rosie and Jessie running around on it. Bryan has the 2nd day of his Skippering course today 9-6 so I'll run him down to the Sailing Club shortly or he'll be soaked all day if he walks. I shall be hibernating here writing my Christmas cards and hopefully we wont have a power cut ( lights have been flickering) or I shall be rather chilly even though it's 10c outside and that's the lowest it's been all night.

Have a good day everyone!

[Kath Mulligan]

Once again we have got away very lightly, with a bit of wind and rain yesterday evening and overnight, but this morning it is quite calm again and fairly bright and dry. I was watching Spotlight on BBC Cornwall last night and it sounded as though there could have been some flooding during the early hours of this morning at high tide, so hope it hasn't been too bad.

I take it Bryan's skippering course is indoors, rather than practical today, Jane?!! Can't imagine that anyone will be venturing out onto the water today. And you, writing Christmas cards - haven't even bought most of mine yet, let alone thought of writing them. You are putting me to shame!

Kath

[jane jackson]

I love choosing Christmas cards Kath and have always started early although I never seem to finish in one go so have to put everything away and start again which is why I'm using this opportunity while Bryan is out all day (but yes he is inside!) I've always enjoyed corresponding and having penfriends so another reason I so enjoy this forum. At the moment I'm on here as I'm printing off my Christmas letters so killing 2 birds with one stone ~ I'm sure you don't mind being called a bird? I keep up with lots of my parents' friends who are still alive and who still enjoy this letter. I stopped one year and had all these folk saying how disappointed they were so I carried on. One reason is I think because I don't have children my letter doesn't consist of a list of exam and Uni results but instead it's about animals especially when we had the smallholding with the lambs and chicks being born and stories about the B&B visitors. Cornwall and the sea comes into it a lot nowadays.:typing:

Sorry to all those who write or did write christmas letters full of their childrens achievments!!!!!:tape::israel::sorry: the flag waving one is supposed to be a "white flag" not "israel" !

I'm sure the Christmas letters you all write are full of interesting subjects like Minack ~ I'm crawling now...........or digging myself in deeper..............:fie:

[Linda]

I would love to be at Lamorna Coveand watching the sea's rage as it comes over the harbour wall and climbs into the air and crashes down...yes I know about the damage it causes but the excitment of standing nearby and watching it...its amazing, scary and powerful.

[gloria townsin]

Jane how lucky for us you love to write letters........I'm pretty keen, but do it all on computer now....shame on me....but my handwriting goes to pot after the first page and I do like to be able to go back and alter spelling, grammar and anything I think might be better left out!! I've fallen into the Christmas letter thing. I used to write on my Christmas cards a brief how the boys and we were getting on, then friends and family either moved away or sadly got less and I thought a fuller letter would be a once a year get together for us. My letters now consist of Cornwall, dogs, health (ugh!) not so much to say about the chaps now they are all grown up. Would love to say we're grandparents,but I think that's passed us by.:cray:
Am packing up Christmas things to send abroad, I always set off with such good intentions then find myself frantically rushing to get in the post before the last day. This year will be different (where have I heard that before?)

My UK based Christmas mail will be started in a week or two.....I used to love writing Christmas cards to carols and Christmas songs.

Horrible stormy night, overcast, windy, wet day....that's the weather for this bit of Herts. though it might be sunny and warm in Janet's more Northern bit.

[jane jackson]

My letters are done on the computer Gloria for the same reasons plus you can send the same one to everyone. If I had to write by hand they would get briefer as I went on!

I had The Lord Mayor's Show on TV while busy with the cards and the weather there seemed not too bad thank goodness. From the local News I think it hasn't been as bad down here as was feared. The sun came out a couple of hours ago and we have a bit of blue in the sky, still a bit breezy though.

[Barbara]

I'm starting to get the spirit of Christmas listening to all of you talking about cards, etc...and wintry weather. I've always wondered what it would be like to have Christmas in winter...thoughts of cosying up in front of a warm fire and Christmas stockings.
I haven't started writing cards yet...takes me a while to get my skates on in that department but I usually get there in the end.
:yo:

[Janet Swan]

[QUOTE=Kath Mulligan;48778] Hope tomorrow is not too horrendous since we are all going out for lunch at Wyevale Garden Centre and I do NOT want a repeat performance of having to almost swim to my flooded car afterwards!!!

Oh dear, how did you get on Kath? I too was going to take my Mum to Wyevale today, but we called it off as she couldn't face going out in heavy rain and winds. Just want to stay home in weather like this, but have to go out tonight to a friend's housewarming party, so just hope I get back again :fear::ohwell::scared:.

Janet

[Janet Swan]

Horrible stormy night, overcast, windy, wet day....that's the weather for this bit of Herts. though it might be sunny and warm in Janet's more Northern bit.

Same here, Gloria, although the sun came out for an hour this morning and I dashed out for a short walk and to buy a newspaper, just getting home again before the next deluge.

Janet

[Kath Mulligan]

Managed to get to the Garden Centre just as the rain was starting again. Had an absolute deluge whilst we were eating, which in a conservatory made hearing conversations a bit difficult, then by the time we came out, although still raining it wasn't too bad so just got damp rather than soaked! Good job I had booked a table, the place was packed so didn't do too much shopping, will go back on a Tuesday when I get double points on my Gardening Club card and it will be much quieter! Have now had my first turkey dinner of the season - and very nice it was too, but I am so very full now! Doubt I shall want to eat again today.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Janet love the frightened emoticon and the hair raising one - hilarious.

No cooking tonight then Kath, just sit in front of the TV and watch the dancing......'Four Weddings....' is on as well later, the classic rom-com. Watched 'Sliding Doors' last night another I can't resist. Keep warm folks.

[Linda]

our weather was calm today after last night...re did some fot eh string I have put up to try and keep deer out of the garden...one of them has even found a way through the leylandii!

We had a beef casserole tonight...used my crockpot I have had for over 20 years for the first time for ages...brilliant, no cooking just left it to do the work...

I too usually do a Christmas letter and thoroughly enjoy putting it together...and often get back a letter telling me how others have fared , what they have been doing etc...makes for a nice January....

do you know there are six weeks to Christmas...well in fact just slightly less as today is Saturday...
:)

[adesmith]

Goodness me we are getting Christmassy! We were actually pleased with ourselves because we had chosen and bought some cards early, so Jane I am really impressed that you are writing them already!

It was very stormy here yesterday and the forecasting was not terribly reliable. I was woken up during the night with the rain and wind (that means it must have been bad!) and the forecats said that by the afternoon the rain and gales would be clearing. We drove into Cardiff so that Rachel could have a look at the shops and we thought that Rupert might like a trip to the museum. We arrived just in time to hear the gun salute for Prince Charles and for the weather to suddenly take a turn for the worse. It was terrible! The wind was howling down the streets. But we did enjoy our day.

This morning is much calmer with some blue sky and a bit of sunshine. Not sure how long it is going to last for though.

We have a favourite Garden Centre out at Usk (10 or 15 minutes drive from us) and it is family owned. There is a nice cafe and it just has a friendly atmosphere. The trouble is that it doesnt always stock everything that you want to buy (thinking of bedding plants etc) and so whilst I like to support it, it is easier sometimes to go to Blooms.

[gloria townsin]

Reasonably sunny here today, though blustery. Must make tracks to the allotment and put it to bed for the winter. Have got some 'green manure' to sew, will be interesting to see how it does, that is as long as the mice haven't feasted on it while it's waited in the greenhouse to be used. Also an onion set and some garlic to put in, I know I'm late doing it but it will doubtless grow.

[Kath Mulligan]

It's been a nice, fairly sunny day here today, although a bit on the nippy side. Apparently though, it is our turn for the wind and rain tomorrow - oh joy!

Kath

[gloria townsin]

The bright weather made a trip to the allotment really enjoyable. Sewed the 'green manure' and got the onion and garlic in, although they should have been planted a few weeks ago.
Dug the last of the Jerusalem Artichokes, had so many we left a bagful on the 'sharing of produce' bench. Took the rest home with two large cabbage. Think we'll move the strawberries to the next raised bed as they've gone mad and it's hard to weed between them. The chap on the next plot gave me a Jocasta Berry plant and we swopped some Jerusalem Artichokes for a Petitpan squash. Suddenly got chilly and it was almost dark by four thirty.
Supposed to be warmer than usual this week, but looks somewhat wet later in the week.

[adesmith]

It must be lovely to have such a harvest of home grown vegetables Gloria. I have often thought about applying for an allotment but I have to be realistic and I find it hard to cope with our front and back garden with the time that I have. I have filled the big canvas tubs/bags in which I grew lettuce and runner beans down the side of the house with daffodil bulbs for the spring. I just bought a big bag of cheapish bulbs and thought that I would grow some that we could cut and bring into the house (there are of course some planted in the flower beds but it always seems such a shame to cut them). I think I must have been inspired by the Minack Chronicles.

Just checked the weather forecast on the Met Office site and we have another weather watch for heavy rain tomorrow and then one on Thursday. Spare a thought for me tomorrow because I don an outdoor lunchtime duty for 45mins. Will take my waterproof coat!

[jane jackson]

You've done really well Gloria with your allotment. It's been a lovely day here too so I've been cutting down the dahlias and planting bulbs in tubs. So good to see blue sky and sunshine but raining now.

Adrian, do you really have to stay outside if it's raining? Don't the children go indoors or is it perhaps that if it starts to rain you have to wait until they're all in?

[Barbara]

Hope you all managed to stay cosy during the recent bad weather. We had a thunderstorm last week with big hailstones but apart from that the weather has been okay.
Hearing Adrian talk of outdoor lunchtime duty got me thinking about the lunch arrangements for school children in different countries.
Australian state schools do not cater at lunchtime. All children usually bring their own lunch and have to eat it outside - this goes for highschool as well. The only time I can remember having a hot meal provided was in my first year of primary...never encountered it since.
I remember many days when it would be raining and blowing when all the school children would be huddled on verandahs trying to keep out of the wind while eating their lunch.
My daughter never accepted that children were made to eat their lunch like that while the teachers were tucked up in their lounge. She whinged about it right through school.
Anyway, Adrian, hope the weather was kind to you.
:playball:

[Kath Mulligan]

Gosh, that seems a bit harsh, Barbara, making the children eat their lunch outside regardless of the weather! Over here children have the choice of a cooked school lunch or they can take a packed lunch from home but it is always eaten inside, then they go out to play afterwards. When my girls were at school, if it was wet the children went into their classrooms with a playground supervisor or dinner lady to keep an eye on them, or at senior school the form prefects were on duty to try to keep control.

After a nice day yesterday the forecast wild, wet and windy conditions have arrived with a vengeance this morning. It is at times like this that I am very glad that I no longer have to do the morning commute to work. I watched Elizabeth going off a little while ago and shall be glad to know that she has got to her course in Crewe safely. It is windy enough to bring trees down at the moment, and the rain is coming down in torrents - horrendous driving conditions.

Kath

[Barbara]

We do have tuck-shops at schools where the children can buy something like a pastie or pie etc, but there is nothing like a cafeteria. Children either sit on the outside benches provided. or the bitumen playground or, when the weather is nice, on lawns. However, even though we live in a sunny country, winters can be very cold, windy and wet. I suppose there must be some schools that make arrangements in very bad weather, but I can't remember it happening to me.
:rain:

[jane jackson]

I tend to think of Australia as always being hot and sunny and forget that you do have winters with rain as well!

The Primary school where I was Secretrary had its own cook who happened to be one of the local Mums and the smells coming from the kitchen were lovely as they wafted through to my office. I enjoyed those cooked school dinners especially the sponge puddings and custard whereas I hadn't been too keen on the ones when I was a pupil and so took packed lunches.

When I married Bryan ( in the church next to the school ) we had the Reception in the School and Julie, the cook, and her Mum who was also a school cook did all the catering for us.:hungry::tea::hungry:

[gloria townsin]

Nina flew back to Glasgow yesterday evening for another week of her course. It was a bumpy flight thankfully only a short one.

Rained heavily in the early morning here, now just overcast.

I will miss the allotment when we move to Mullion, there doesn't seem to be a local allotment group there, although I've seen the odd poster asking for allotment land. We have some really good fruiting trees and bushes at the moment and I'm going to take the step-over apple tree and the Minarette with us, I think they will move o.k. as they were birthday gifts, one being my Mum's last birthday present, I really don't want to leave them. In the meantime will continue caring for the one we've got, with the house market so iffy who knows how long it will take us to sell at a price we find acceptable. In fact have thought about going down the rental market, although with solid wood flooring and all the other things we've done would be really fed up if it was ruined.

Did you get married in Chorleywood Jane?

[jane jackson]

No Gloria as I'd left the Bank by then and was at the school at Great Gaddesden which is a very small village by the River Gade not far from Hemel Hempstead and only 10 mins drive from Berkhamsted ~ the shortest commute I'd ever had.

The housing market is certainly a problem and I see your concern re renting. Would it be possible to carpet over the wooden floor to protect it or would that in itself cause a problem?

[gloria townsin]

I know Great Gadsden and the river.

No we couldn't carpet without damaging the floors as there would be no way to fix the carpet without putting gripper down. The very thing we removed when we came here. When we viewed this bungalow it had very old fashioned carpets down and it was a complete surprise when we lifted them to discover it was wood block flooring all the way through....so we had it restored where the gripper had been and when the hall was extended during the rest of the renovations we had to completely re-do the floor, why we spent so much on the property I'm not now sure, we pretty much knew we would re-locate to Cornwall, but during a flat period when nothing seemed to be coming to fruition in that direction we just ploughed ahead with renovating this bungalow, also at that time Jeff who had been single met Nina and so we were in a 'will he need a roof with us or not?' situation. I know he's quite old enough to make his own arrangements but for me to rest happy I have to be as sure as I can that what we are planning doesn't have any detrimental knock on effect for anyone else. This bungalow is one that can be googled and you see an actual road side shot, the only problem is it isn't that definite as to which bungalow it is - if you want to give it a go, we are the creamy coloured bungalow with green garage doors, the old fashioned kind that open rather than go over the top. Plus we have two wide steps up to the front door which is oak. We've recently altered the front side garden but other than that it's how it is now. If I can find a pic of what it looked like when we bought it I'll put in the the pic album.

[Linda]

I googled it ages ago Gloria and thought what a lovely area....liked the bungalow too!

;)

[adesmith]

Well the pupils in our school can buy hot food and eat in one of the school halls which is all set out with tables etc. They can also buy sandwiches etc to eat outside. When the weather is bad they do open up another one of the halls for a shelter but the pupils often just hang around outside. There are a couple of sheltered areas. If I am on a lunch duty during a rainy day I normally just go and shelter under one of those but yes I have to stay outside. It is worse when it is really cold rather than rainy though. Anyway the good news is that briefly the sun came out and so it wasnt too bad at all today.

Isnt it funny the ideas that we have about other countries. When I read Barbaras comments about Australian children eating lunch outside I thought to myself 'I should think so, why would they want to be indoors with all that sunshine!'. You are right Jane, you tend to forget that there are winters and rain there as well! Thinking about it, being in the heat outdoors can be almost as uncomfortable as being in the rain as well.

Barbara, didnt you comment on here earlier that you thought what it would be like to celebrate Christmas in the cold winter? It is lovely and I really cant imagine celebrating Christmas in the heat of summer. I asked Rupert what he wanted for Christmas the other day and he said snow! Not sure how I am going to work that for him yet because we dont tend to get snow until January and February. The best we seem to get at Christmas is a sharp frost and maybe some cold foggy weather. I would love a real Dickensian snowy Christmas!

[Kath Mulligan]

We had a snowy Christmas about 4 years ago Adrian, and apart from the travel problems it caused us getting to my sisters-in-law on Christmas Night, it was quite special. Elizabeth's friend, Heather was up here with us from Dorset and had never experienced a white Christmas before. All through lunch she couldn't take her eyes off the snowflakes tumbling down! When we eventually managed to get to my sisters-in-law, there was a houseful of other relatives and most of us ended up outside in the back and front gardens having a wild snowball fight over the roof!! Very juvenile but great fun!

A street just below them goes to town every year and every household decorates the outside of the house and gardens with lights, inflatable Santas, snowmen, ornaments etc. I suppose to the purists it is quite garish, but we always drive through and marvel at their ingenuity. It just brings a smile to everyone's face when they see it all. If they do it again this year, I will try to get some photos and post them on here. The year it snowed looked even more magical, a real Disneyesque scene.

Kath

[jane jackson]

I had a go Gloria but Street View seems to have changed a bit since I first used it months ago. I couldn't see the green garage doors or the steps ~ perhaps I wasn't doing it right this time. Will try again when it's not so late in the evening.

[adesmith]

Yes please to the photos Kath. I always used to be a bit snobby about outside Christmas lights but then we put some in the windows of the flat. Last year (first Christmas in this house) we bought some lights for one of the conifers in the front garden.

Christmas lunch with snow falling!!!! How fab is that! I guess the downside is that people need to travel to see family and friends in but I would love it.

I am starting to get a bit excited about Christmas now. Its Stir Up Sunday this week so I will be making the Christmas Puddings (its Rupert's birthday as well so it will be after his party and probably whilst I listen to Phil Archers demise on R4!) We bought Delia Smith's new Christmas recipe book the other day and there are some nice recipes in there, as well as some classics. I always make her Christmas Puddings.

[Kath Mulligan]

My Mum has beaten you to it by several weeks with her Christmas puddings, Adrian. She made them while I was in Penzance with Jane and uses a recipe that she has had since her schooldays that her aunt used to make - so must be well over 100 years old, but they are always delicious. She is absolutely teetotal though, so there is never any alcohol in them!

Kath

[adesmith]

I usually keep one back and have a pudding that is a year old - nicely matured but we used them last year and I didnt bother to make any more. The Delia recipe isnt teetotal and beside the Rum you put in Barley Wine. It took us ages to find it but apparently it was a fashionable drink once. Its very strong! If the pudding is teetotal does that mean you dont set it on fire with Brandy? One of the most memorable Christmas lunches was the one when I put too much Brandy on and it spilt all over the kitchen surfaces and floor and then the table cloth. Panic ensued but it didnt do any damage (dont think Brandy gets hot enough). We still laugh about it!

[nashie]

Barley wine was a popular drink with ladies of a certain age when I was a lad, Adrian. It used to be served in a glass like a large wine glass - I remember trying it and it was certainly strong, but I think it I remember it was quite sweet as well.....yuk.

[gloria townsin]

I've got one of the original 'Delia's Christmas' ( from the TV series ) and it is a very good book, but the cake baking book that I like best of mine is an old Mary Berry book, every recipe I've tried, which is a lot as the book must have been with me for over 20 years, works well. The scone recipes are good and there are some good tray bakes which I've made and taken for various get togethers and events I've been helping organise.

[Liz]

Its good when you find a recipe book that works - I still dip into a very old and battered Stork cookery book which was my mothers. Although quite basic it has some very good cake recipes and I've yet to have a failure with anything I've tried when using it, even though I don't use Stork margarine anymore.

I have found that many of the newer books (written by folk with very large ego's and more thought for the profit to be made than the success of the dish) have often proved to be unreliable. I usually finish up adapting the recipe in some way.

I haven't made Christmas puddings for many years now, I usually finish up buying a good quality one instead - M & S are very good but not quite the same as home made though.

[Kath Mulligan]

My dad used to be partial to an occasional glass of barley wine. I tried it once and found it utterly disgusting (but then I have never been a beer drinker).

I've still got the little, very old Bero cookery book which used to be my Bible when I did lots of home baking. I hardly ever bake cakes anymore, tend to use my pressure cooker book and the Women's Institute's Best Kept Secrets book of soup recipes most often these days.

Kath

[adesmith]

I have to admit that because the Barley Wine only comes in packs of 4 I end up drinking the left over cans and I have actually grown to like it!

Gloria, I am sure that I bought a Mary Berry cook book recently. Its basically cake recipes and I got it from one of those book companies that leave samples in the staffroom at school. It has a delicious recipe for Key Lime Pie.

We get lots of our recipes from BBC Good Food magazine which we subscribe to. There are always lots of reasonably healthy every day meals as well as baking and special meal recipes.

[gloria townsin]

I definitely have a Mary Berry recipe for Key Lime Pie but it's along time since I made it.

I've got my mother-in-law's Stork recipe book, is it the small soft cover one you have Liz?

Bero was that a flour company? I seem to remember the name, but can't quite think what they produced and sold.

[Annette]

I remember the Bero cook book, I think my Mum had it. For me its always Delia or Mary Berry.

I have Delias original Christmas book but had to buy the new one :redface:. In the 1980's we used to do quite a lot of dinner party type entertaining with our friends and Delia recipes always turned out as described. Looking back over her books brings back happy memories. Mary Berry's Christmas book is lovely too.

I have a stork recipe for coffee and walnut cake torn from a copy of Womens Owen. I first made that cake as a newlywed in 1977. :hungry:

[Kath Mulligan]

Spooky, we had key lime pie for tea last night - but afraid mine was a bought one from Tesco.

Yes, Gloria, Bero was a flour company, it was the only flour Mum would use at one time and to get the recipe book I think you had to send off so many tokens from the flour bags. She had had one for years, and when I got married she sent for one for me too and I used mine for years too, in fact, I have still got it, just don't bake like I used to.

Kath

[jane jackson]

We use Delia's books too and agree they're very reliable. I still use my Mum's Radiation Cookbook which came with her gas cooker so these old books cannot really be bettered they just didn't have the colour photos in which entices you to buy them. I really must make my Christmas cake with all this talk of baking, I'm far later than usual but I'm sure it will be fine and it is only us! Bryan isn't even all that keen on it but I just have to make one. I'm sure friends will help me out. When we had Jason our blacksmith apprentice lodger on Exmoor, he always took a piece with his packed lunch so it soon went down.

[Janet Swan]

Does anyone remember the books we could buy from our milkmen ages ago? I still have 'The Dairy Book of Home Management' published in 1969, though confess it has been hidden in the bookcase in the spare room for many years. But what a useful book it is - recipes for good plain cooking in pounds and ounces, and chapters on household budgeting, doing the laundry, keeping pets, caring for children, gardening, decorating, sewing, first aid, looking after a car and so on - all for £2.10p. What good buy - must have a look at it again now I've found it. Somewhere I think I might have a 'Dairy Book of Cookery' too ...

Janet

[gloria townsin]

My Mum used to buy my sister and I a copy of 'Dairy Diary' every year. They were very good, lots of things of interest as well as recipes. Don't think I ever had the 'Dairy Book of Home Management' though, I'm sure I would have remembered it. Another set of books Janet. Pity we don't all live close to each other we could have a cook up!!

[Linda]

wow! Gloria the Dairy Diary...I have a copy of that from years ago and still use it today...had a good lot of recipes and never had a failure from it yet.
An old friend bought it for me back in 1986 I think it was.

[adesmith]

Jane, I chuckled at the name of your Mum's cookbook! I cant imagine that a 'Radiation' cookbook would be a bestseller today!

I hope that he doesnt fall into Liz's category of folk with very large egos (I suspect he might) but Rachel and I like Jamie Oliver's recipes as well. We have got lots of his books. In one of his books he gives the recipe for his version of Chicken Maryland and it is both delicious and very easy to make. I think we will probably buy his latest book about American cooking because I quite enjoyed the television series.

[adesmith]

PS Jane we have also had the discussion about whether to bake a Christmas Cake. I enjoy making it but after I have had a slice it sits around forever and we gradually send chunks of it over to Rachel's Dad (Rachel doesnt like the fruit). In the past couple of years we have made the Nigella chocolate Christmas cake with coffee beans on top and that has been slightly more successful. However the combination of a couple of glasses of Baileys, a large slice of Nigella's cake and a persistent chesty cough resulted in an incident on the landing which has put me off that cake for a while (I am sure that you get the gist). So this year we have decided to try and make a chocolate log and have that as the main Christmas cake. I am sure that that will go down well with everyone!

[gloria townsin]

It does make me wonder how many people actually enjoy eating Christmas Cake as the same applies to my family. I used to like heavy Christmas Cake but with IBS can no longer eat it, although to be truthful I was going off it a long while ago. Eddie hates it, in fact the only one who really likes it is Paul and he's in Washington State!!
I had to laugh at your coffee bean cake Adrian and can quite understand why it's probably off the menu.
There are some quite nice sounding 'light' Christmas Cake recipes in my Mary Berry I think and also in my River Cottage book

[Barbara]

The Radiation cook book made me laugh as well...I've "nuked" a few things in my time but I didn't realise there was a book that told you how to do it.
:boom:

[Liz]

I've got my mother-in-law's Stork recipe book, is it the small soft cover one you have Liz?


Yes Gloria that's the one, its held together with tape and there are several rather sticky pages but I wouldn't part with it for the world.

I adore Christmas cake and always make the royal icing with lots of lemon juice which I find is a good taste contrast for the very rich cake.

I also have my grandmother's original 'Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management' complete with fold out colour plates of various recipes and also very grand table layouts.

It always makes me giggle when I read it, especially the very first chapter which sets out the duties and aspirations of the mistress of a Victorian house.

Paragraphs entitled
'Early rising is one of the most essential qualities'
'Frugality and Economy are Home Virtues'
'The choice of aquaintances' - apparently a gossiping acquaintance who indulges in scandal and the ridicule of her neighbours should be 'avoided as a pestilence.'

All good stuff and some of the recipes are really excellent.

[gloria townsin]

Love the last one.........:haha:

[adesmith]

We have got a Mrs Beeton and I love the recipes that are so basic (almost bland) and yet have such grand names. They are probably more healthy than modern recipes though! Mrs Beeton apparently wrote the book to help middle class women that did not know how to deal with servants. Its a fascinating glimpse of social history.

Did anyone get the Delia Smith recipe book Frugal Food? I bought it for Rachel at Christmas because she liked the look of it. We were full of good intentions about saving money and not wasting food but we havent cooked many recipes from there.

[gloria townsin]

I got the Cheat's one.....several good recipes in there which you can throw together from stuff in the cupboards.

[Kath Mulligan]

I'm going to whisper this very quietly, then run out of here and hide! I cannot abide Delia Smith, Vin used to watch all her programmes and I'm afraid I used to leave the room while she was on. There is just something about her that I find pompous and patronising - don't know why, I know most other folk think she is great. Sorry. :redface: He had loads of cookery books, including all of hers but I gave hers to the local Oxfam shop when he died.

Kath

[adesmith]

Kath, I think that you may have just committed culinary treason!!! You may end up in the kitchen version of the Tower of London if you are not careful! (I do know what you mean though)

The one that Rachel dislikes is Nigella Lawson. There is something irritating about the way that she cooks in such an effortless and classy way. I like the bit at the end of the program when she goes to the fridge in the middle of the night and gorges on the rich (and fattening) food that she has made. Sometimes I wish that I could do that but 1) I never wake up and 2) I would need to take Gaviscon afterwards!

[gloria townsin]

It's not that I'm a huge Delia fan but I did like the Christmas series she recorded. I have to say I do like Nigella.......although the last series stretched belief when she hopped on and off local transport. So many of the things she uses in her recipes are not available in lots of smaller stores, although the first place I found 00 Flour was in Plymouth and there is a MacDougal's sponge flour that I can't get locally anymore but it's in Helston branch of Tesco - crazy. Fed up with Gordon, if he could just talk without shouting into the camera it would be better, but have had my fill of watching him sort out restuarants, it's the same story repeated over and over. I'm watching 'The Restuarant' but that will soon have had it's day, I must be very fickle. Another programme I used to watch daily 'Ready, Steady, Cook' I didn't watch at all last series.

[jane jackson]

I was really into the last series of The Restaurant but this time the contestants don't seem to have the same appeal. I did agree with this weeks couple being Restaurant of the Week.

I agree re Gordon, I stopped watching him turn around restaurants a while ago now, got fed up with his continual use of the F word, began to get boring.

Nigella is good fun to watch but rather over the top. Sorry Kath, I like Delia! We have only one of her books but we do use it a great deal and it is well thumbed.

[adesmith]

I am glad that you both said that about The Restaurant and I agree. I feel like I have seen it all before and have got a bit bored of it already. In fact when it was on the other night I came on here half way through and then went back for the result. I felt sorry for the army guy (the one that didnt want to quit).

I also agree about Gordon. Really dont like his swearing and as I say to my pupils 'I dont swear, I wont have it in my home and I wont have it in my classroom'. Thats normally quite a novelty to them because it seems that everyone they know usues bad language!

[Linda]

Kath, You may not like Delia but she made it so easy for peope to realsie that they too could in fact cook. She came 'out' at a time when cooking was no longer vogue in schools and being from a family of cooks I for one was so pleased that she brought this to millions. I think its through her that a lot more became available in the supermarkets where before it was only in specialists shops.
Today i cannot stand Jamie Oliver or Gary Rhodes..the latter being a complete buffoon when it comes to following the recipes from people in India and China when he says 'what all of it' when they tyell him to put the spices they have prepared into the dish he is cooking.....no doubt his food tastes as bland as he is.
I love Gordon but I too have got fed up with the sameness and the shouting and swearing.
The Restaurant was a great idea but thats also become much of muchness...I couldnt stand Anthony W+T programme as with Jamies when the camera kept jumping about....as in the famous words of the late and brilliant Keith Floyd...the food is the star, not me...

My only regret in life is that I didnt take up cooking as a career and when I had the chance to after leaving the Pavilion...

I used to like watching Madhur Jaffrey because you were shown where the herbs and spices came from and how they were grown and collected.

Jeff still cannot get used to the way I cook and use herbs and spices without any measures, simply by a bit of this and a bunch of that, no spoons/scales etc...but then I only ever used these at school when we had to do it that way. Guess I got a lot of it from my Dad who often cooked like that.
:girl_wacko:

[Kath Mulligan]

I had an absolute surfeit of cookery programmes when Vin was alive, so must admit I hardly ever watch one nowadays, apart from Celebrity Masterchef which I do enjoy. Wouldn't soil my eyeballs on Gordon Ramsey as anyone who effs and blinds as he does puts me right off. I used to love Ready Steady Cook when Fern Britton was presenting it, but went right off it when Ainsley Harriott took over.

We do sometimes watch Come Dine With Me and have a laugh at that. It amazes me just how rude some of the participants are to each other.

Kath

[Linda]

the weather is howling outside while I wrote that last post and I heard this tapping at the window...turning to see a small bird bashing itself against the glass...realising that the light had attracted it and its obviously looking for somewhere the shelter I went out and managed to get it to fly off and hopefully into one of the hedges nearby...poor thing would have exhasuted itself...

...the roof repairs seem to be holding up but we are still sleeping downstairs until we can repair the ceiling...thank goodness for reclining seats! :):)

[Kath Mulligan]

Jeff still cannot get used to the way I cook and use herbs and spices without any measures, simply by a bit of this and a bunch of that, no spoons/scales etc...but then I only ever used these at school when we had to do it that way. Guess I got a lot of it from my Dad who often cooked like that.
:girl_wacko:

I tend to add herbs and spices by eye rather than by exact measurement too, Linda. I think after you have been cooking for so long you just get used to what looks the right amount. About the only thing my kitchen scales get used for these days is to weigh baking potatoes so I know how long I need to "nuke" them for!!

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Yes I thought it very sad the 'Army' chap couldn't go on, think they probably had something good going but obviously something didn't work for the chap who wanted to quit. Generous of his cooking mate who didn't throw a strop though he must have felt squashed by the whole thing.

The first week of the show had me putting my hands over my eyes when the Mother and Daughter duo were using the knives.......I thought any minute now someone will be on their way to hospital.

I quite like 'Come Dine .... although you do wonder what some of them are thinking when they retire to bed and let their guests carry on without them.

I'm not a great 'instinctive' cook, tend to weigh everything out, although I do carry forward some recipes in my head and do my own thing.

[Janet Swan]

There is something irritating about the way that she cooks in such an effortless and classy way. I like the bit at the end of the program when she goes to the fridge in the middle of the night and gorges on the rich (and fattening) food that she has made. Sometimes I wish that I could do that but 1) I never wake up and 2) I would need to take Gaviscon afterwards!

... and have you noticed that Nigella seems to make quite small portions of her dishes - and then proceeds to offer them to a large number of "friends" at her table - sometimes I've thought they would only get a spoonful each! So how come there are leftovers in the fridge for her midnight feast?!!! Must add that I am a Delia fan - have never had a disappointment with any of her recipes.

Janet

[adesmith]

I had never noticed that Janet. I will watch out now! I remember one episode when Nigella made some cinder toffee for a friend but she ate it all in the taxi! I thought that if she had done that for me I would have been really upset!

[Kath Mulligan]

My other half used to have quite a "thing" for Nigella. :girl_wink: I could have said anything to him during one of her programmes and I doubt he would have heard a word I said. :haha: Mind you, I was just the same when Alan Titchmarsh used to present Gardener's World, so I couldn't complain!!

Kath