A serial cereal eater!

We must come clean……it had to  come out….we have an addict in the family!

Lady of the House likes a very regular breakfast…prunes, or other fruit (that’s why it is called ‘regular’), followed by a small amount of cereal, and a cup of tea.  Nothing unusual about that, you say!

………but the worry lies within that short paragraph!

I think she must have shares in one of the companies, or a predeliction for the taste of a certain grain from which the cereal is made.

I refer (whisper it) to cinnamon…….she always has to have what used to be known as ‘Cinnamon Grahams’, but the name has now been changed to the strange ‘Curiously Cinnamon’.

So the kitchen smells of cinnamon, we recycle lots of cinnamon-smelling cartons, and every time we are at the super-market for shopping there always has to be a cinnamon cereal thrown into the trolley!

So what’s the attraction? Is she alone in the world with this addiction? Is there a Cinnamon Anonymous where help can be sought and given? Is there a Cinnamon Monthly, where forums can discuss the relative merits of different manufacturers? Is there a helpline in anyone’s phone directory? Does anyone know of a closet website? Is there likely to be a world shortage if this really catches on?

And I haven’t even thought about any possible withdrawal symptoms if the need to cease munching comes to the fore. Will the NHS provide alternatives which can be used to help at this time? Would patches be better than eating some paper-based placebo?

PLEASE….is anyone out there with the same problem, or must we face the dire consequences alone?…..replies on a cereal packet please, or just reply in the Comments section. Your secret will be kept confidential, I promise!

Why go abroad?

 

Lady of the House, and I have just returned from a marvellous weekend …and under 3 hours by car! I have blogged before about Northumberland, the wonderful scenery, and the endless stretches of empty sands.

This time we stayed at the miniature port of Craster, with a tremendous view over the harbour both from the bedroom and dining-room of our lovely little Bed and Breakfast. ‘Harbour Lights’ looks over the port and is within sniffing distance of the famous Craster Kipper Smokehouse.

Mine host and hostess were in education and both retired to this little haven of tranquility…..so the kiddies’  loss is the tourists’ gain.

But with the wonderful weather we went off to see the massive National Trust property, Cragside House, Gardens and Grounds, with a seven-mile drive round. It had been built by a Lord Armstrong who was a very successful engineer, and who had put electricity into the house using water power. A full-day visit, which includes a labyrinth.

Barter Books is a great place for book-lovers. It is a second-hand bookshop par excellence, and is built in what had been the old railway station for Alnwick.

It’s amazing what you can do in a few days in one small corner of England!!

To relive our weekend, and get some more details about the above, click on…   www.harbourlights-craster.co.uk 

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-cragsidehousegardenandestate

www.barterbooks.co.uk/

www.kipper.co.uk 

I think that size DOES matter!

 

I detest shopping….let’s get that straight!

The thought of wandering-about in faceless malls/shopping centres looking at the same things as can be seen in any of these great cathedrals to consumption, does nothing for my mind. I can vividly remember going-into the St Enoch’s Centre in Glasgow for the first time some decades ago. It looked like a large railway terminal with an enclosed glass roof. Several levels of shops looked for all the world like cells or places where monstrous hens would go to lay eggs! I uderstand from those who know these things, that this is where people come for retail therapy…..good grief!

Within the hour, I had seen representatives of all the major shops with household names, selling clothes, mobile phones, coffee, sports gear, holidays, computers etc, etc……

After an hour of this, I had had enough! I felt cooped-in, trapped in a world of jostling people, bored children, even-more-bored shop staff. I think the problem was that there was too much choice. ‘Let’s try next door, they’ll have a better-designed/slightly-cheaper/more-colourful/better-quality/newer-style, example’ was the cry of the dearly-beloved Lady of the House…..and all I needed was a pair of grey socks, or a pair of underpants!

Going to a large DIY store or furniture warehouse brings the same amount of displeasure!

Where have all the small specialised shops gone? We had a very-good local butcher, whom everyone admired, too-few patronised, and then all sympathised when they heard he was closing up due to lack of business. ‘His quality was very good, but he was not as cheap as Sainsbury’.  Of course he couldn’t beat any of the major stores, where the meat comes from anonymous farms, killed in anonymous abattoirs, prepared by rows of anomymous butchers, packaged by clanking machines and stacked in neat rows in polystyrene containers. But that was not what he offered. He would supply a very small amount of meat for an old couple, give advice on how to prepare a stew, and could tell you where the animal grew up.

We still have a sweetie shop, where we can recall the flavours and odours of yesteryear, and perhaps pass on to the next generation some appreciation of the subtle tastes of rhubarb-and-custard sweets, or the black sticky mess on your teeth when you have some licquorice! He will be busy over Christmas but let’s hope he is still there this time next year.

Over much of my working life I have been involved with small independent businesses. These are often made up of one or two people who have a speciality knowledge, who know a lot about their customers, and are able to give advice. Also, a £100 order to a supermarket may not mean much, but spend that in a one-man  business, and you will make a very-happy shopkeeper, and let him (or her) live another day.

But if you don’t use them, you will lose them. Why not see if you can buy some of your Christmas presents (and maybe even the turkey, or licquorice comfits) locally. You will be saving petrol, hassle, putting back some money into the locally economy, and perhaps saving a local business and his family from ‘going-under’!

THINK ABOUT IT!

P.S. The photo at the top is a Russian supermarket….exciting isn’t it!

Birds and the bees

Yesterday, on our 41st wedding anniverary, Lady of the House and I were determined to find out about the Birds and Bees. ‘What?’ I hear you say, ‘Only now?….after all these years?’

Well, it’s not really as simple as this, or even what you think. We were going out for a meal to celebrate this lifetime together (well, we have to eat!), and were not sure where to go. Daughter, and friend, mentioned that they had recently been to a very pleasant restaurant on the outskirts of lovely Stirling, only a short walk from the lofty Wallace Monument.

‘Seems pleasant,’ we said and got the details. So off we went last night to find this epicurean centre, and arrived at the Restaurant, surprisingly called ‘The Birds and the Bees’.

Great ambiance, even for a Tuesday evening, with a pub quiz in the bar, and very mellow, gentle un-obtrusive music in the background. Decoration was un-deniably dedicated to birds, and bees, but we were also met by a sheep (not real!) in the reception area, and a couple of mangles (remember them?) beside the bar area.

There were several ‘cubicles’, big enough to seat 4-6, and we had one to ourselves. Wonderfully private, but prevented me hearing the conversation of a French couple who were obviously touring the area.

Food available was eclectic, with Indian, Italian, ‘good old British’, and ‘even-better Scottish’, dishes from which to choose. We shared spring rolls, then Lady had pork loin, while I had Oriental stir-fry…impeccably served and presented on un-usually-shaped plates. Unusually I chose a Chilian heavy red wine (14 %), which actually worked well.

After an appropriate rest, Lady had home-made banoffee pie, and I had caramel apple pie…….followed by wonderfully hot coffee…….before heading into a perfectly-clear evening with stars twinkling a welcome to winter.

I know not everyone is lucky enough to live near here, but I’ve put a link below so that you can simulate our delightful meal or pick your own.

 http://www.thebirdsandthebees-stirling.com/

P.S. As I was driving, I could only take a 1/2 glass of wine, so brought it away to have tonight!

P.P.S So now you too know about the Birds and the Bees!

Now, that’s eating!

Daughter celebrated a rather important birthday yesterday, so as a family we all went out for a meal last night.

It was in a lovely town in Perthshire called Auchterarder (quite difficult for non-Scots to say!…..think of it as Och..terr…arr…dur…). It was at one time, on the main road from Dunblane to Perth, but now is by-passed. It was a good example of ‘ribbon-development’ where houses and shops were strung along both sides of the lovely wide road for over a mile.

In some ways it is a rather un-remarkable town (it does have the snooker player Stephen Hendry as an inhabitant!). But there is a wealth of lovely shops, as it is really the market town for the area, and they are well-worth seeing.

However, a few years ago, we were up seeing Daughter there and I suggested she look for a nice eaterie. She knew that we liked Italian food (but not excluding food from anywhere else!) and discovered Cafe Cento. For those with a classical background (or even a bit of common sense) Cento means 100, in Italian, and the address is at 100 High Street….so it is really easy for me to remember the name and the address at the same time!

The couple who run it are obvious very enthusiastic about it and it deserves to be well used as the food, ambiance and the service are second to none. (Which reminds me, I must give Gordon Ramsay a phone to tell him he has some stiff competition up there)

So if you are heading north and see the sign for Auchterarder, take the time to have a nice evening meal at Cento……honest I have no shares there….would just wish them the best of luck!….Buon Appetito…….