Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 

Pain perdu en Francais.  Usually involves milk and vanilla with the egg. The bread should not be 'fresh'. Brioche is popular.

 

I have a (very) small seasonal Panettone which is quite perfect for this application. (It's not really on the permitted list, but I will manage the portion size as a forbidden treat.) I won't be dusting it in icing/powdered/confectioners sugar.

Slices of baguettes that gave gone hard are excellent for pain perdu.

 

Jamie

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Not a lot to report this evening, Arthur Itis and Si Attica are keeping quiet but the eczema is driving me mad with the itching.

[brianusa]

Just had my first and last 'imitation' Mexican food.   It was ghastly!  Never again will I eat plant based anything.  You have  to be crazy to eat such rubbish.  I'm all for animals and their well being but this is not the answer.

     Brian.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[zarniwhoop]

30 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Just had my first and last 'imitation' Mexican food.   It was ghastly!  Never again will I eat plant based anything.  You have  to be crazy to eat such rubbish.  I'm all for animals and their well being but this is not the answer.

     Brian.

As a veggie since about 1978 (I read a book which persuaded me that the world needed to move away from meat to feed a growing population), with the exception of cheeses and milk my diet is plant-based. Most of the recent factory-made vegan foods are unattractive to me (Veg. 'Chorizo' seems ok) - why would I want to be reminded of what dead animals tasted like ?

 

But what were your imitation mexicans made from, or am I misunderstanding ?

 

ĸen

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Despite being very busy, I only managed to clean the top of the cooker today, it was a lot dirty than I’d initially thought. I also cleaned all the utensils that hang on a rail above and behind the cooker, I also cleaned the wall too. The good news is that all my efforts have earned me many brownie points, Sheila says it’s not been that clean since we bought it, but I know that not to be true, as I’ve given the cooker several deep cleans over the years. 

 

We recycle as much as we can, our local council collect the following;

Glass, metal cans, plastic bottles etc.

Garden, kitchen and food waste. 

Paper and cardboard, including drink cartons. 

I take, light bulbs, electrical items small and large, wood and rubble. and waste oil to the local tip. 

Batteries are taken to the local supermarket. 

Soft plastic packaging, such as sweet, crisp, biscuit and magazine wrappers and plastic bags etc are also now taken to the local supermarket, where the have a large receptacle for its collection. 

 

Are general (un-recyclable) waste bin, which is only emptied once every 2 weeks, rarely gets full, now. 

Edited January 6, 2022 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[brianusa]

Sorry Ken, I chucked out the package as well.  I like veggies also, just not the imitation fillers.

  Brian

Edited January 6, 2022 by brianusa

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[iL Dottore]

18 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

Point of order WB, point of order WB !!!!

 

It is no longer acceptable to refer to Poly Bear as Mr Bear!      

 

His Its title, his its gender, his its associations, his its colour,  his its inside-leg measurement must not be referenced or acknowledged for fear of offending someone something.

 

Where's the Tongue-in-cheek emoji when you need it!

Unless,  of course, the individual in question has instructed you to refer to itself as “him”  and use “his“.

Of course, if the individual in question decides to self-identify as Polina Bear (“she/her”)  Who are we to argue?

11 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

LEMON DRIZZLE PUDDING - serves 2 to 4

Or a Bear..... 

 

 

Right, Bear. Turn it over and get a close up of the list of ingredients: I suspect a veritable melange of E-numbers and obscure polysyllabic chemical enhancers and stabilisers await deciphering…

5 hours ago, brianusa said:

Just had my first and last 'imitation' Mexican food.   It was ghastly!  Never again will I eat plant based anything.  You have  to be crazy to eat such rubbish.  I'm all for animals and their well being but this is not the answer.

     Brian.

Nothing wrong with plant based food, Brian (after all, bread is plant based), but I imagine what you are referring to is “plant based meat substitutes”. I eat a lot of vegetarian food (inasmuch there is no actual meat in the recipe) but wouldn’t touch meat and dairy substitutes with a bargepole. Apart from generally tasting foul, there is also the tiny matter of how highly chemically processed, water guzzling and environmentally unfriendly such meat, cheese and dairy substitutes are.

 

I think in his recent post @zarniwhoop alluded to a very provocative question/topic, namely is someone truly a vegetarian if they insist on eating meat “substitutes” (it’s not as though you can’t eat well without meat substitutes).

 

Finally, on a more serious note - and following on the topic of meat substitutes - can any ER suggest a suitable “Work Substitute”? Something that would lead Mrs iD to conclude that I am working and can’t be disturbed when I am actually not working at all

 

Enjoy the day

[chrisf]

It was a pleasure to hear one of my favourite singers on the radio last evening.  Grace Petrie was the studio guest on Mark Radcliffe's Radio 2 folk show.  Care is needed in deciding what she will sing in such situations because some of her songs have the added ingredient of bad language.  She is very much a protest singer, in the finest folk tradition, and worth seeing in concert if she appears near you.

 

In other news - nothing much!

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

Good morning from a dark Charente.  I also love eating vegetarian options in some restaurants.  The sauces can be very tasty. However I have cooked veggie sausages for a friend and they didn't look at all appealing to me.  

 

Here i managed to compleye various tasks yesterday. I also managed some time in the shed.  In the evening we chatted to Martin and Katie for an hour before our usual bit of telly watching.  Beth had been to bowls in the afternoon and was given some ginger and chocolate cake to bring home.  A nice chocolate  sponge with pieces of stem ginger in it.  I had the terrible job of tasting it for quality. I passed it reluctantly  but did say that it needed to be sampled again.

 

Today I am out doing train related stuff.  This morning some modelling activities involving the dark arts of DCC then an afternoon with Andy, trainspotting.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

 

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Quite a frosty start and my phone app is claiming it's -3°C.  It should be dry and bright for a while but this afternoon cloud is expected followed by blustery rain.

I had a good night's sleep but have got up with much aching in the usual joints.  A walk is scheduled but I may pass on that.

Thursday means bins, one lorry only today for food waste and paper & card.  Sainsbury's also due but haven't yet advised what we are or are not getting today. 

Tea has been taken to her Bossness who is stirring and I expect before long I will be urged to "stop sitting there and get a move on."

My parcels arrived late yesterday so there is now glue for chair repairs and both oven cleaning and washing machine cleaning chemicals.  No prizes then for guessing what "get a move on" might entail.  I won't be doing all of it though! 

Have a good one,

Cleaning Specialist (Sutton) Ltd.

Very limited!!

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by grandadbob

[grandadbob]

Having thought about my previous post today I will mainly be  Chair Repair Specialist (Sutton)Ltd.  Appliance cleaning can wait!  

Also just been advised by Sainsbury's that this week there are four items unavailable which is the worst for several months.  Nothing urgent that requires an immediate foraging expedition though. 

Edited January 6, 2022 by grandadbob

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Hare,

5 hours sleep then some intermittent dozing..

 

Ben the missing Collie wasn't in his bed when I came downstairs this morning, he arrived about 10 minutes later having spent the night in SWMBO's craft room in his safe place there..

 

He did want out though, crunchy grass time, and definitely start the car before patrol, so the ice had started melting before I needed the car..

 

Only one set of flashy lighty things left on the way in..  Plenty of frost on the minor roads, plenty of salt on the major roads..

 

Anglian windows or Anglian Home Improvements as they now call themselves, shut down in 2020 for six months completely.. leaving homes half finished , no communications with the householders. Just gone... Then in Sept 2020 they reappeared and slowly started finishing their previous jobs...

 

Zenith still owe me over £1000, but having gone bust there is no chance of that being got... However they still occasionally phone up saying " as an existing customer would you like"  to which they get a very short answer ...

 

So having myself fitted double glazed windows in the mobile home, it's quite easy, so all future doors and windows in the house will be fitted by me..

Currently working on a design for a new front door which is an odd size and shape.. 5ft wide semi circular top, facing the North sea.. So it's got to be weatherproof and well insulated. The previous owners fitted a sliding aluminum framed door of very thin double glaze type, the rollers have long since failed and when it blows a gale from the north, water bubbles round the framework...

 

We had a power failure last night here at work, I don't know when, but it was before the overnight run had started (it was on a 1 hour delay to allow the equipment to settle and warm up). So I'm sat here waiting for that to finish... Just a couple of resistors for that system I can do...

 

Time to.. do something..

[polybear]

8 hours ago, brianusa said:

Just had my first and last 'imitation' Mexican food.   It was ghastly!  Never again will I eat plant based anything.  You have  to be crazy to eat such rubbish.  I'm all for animals and their well being but this is not the answer.

     Brian.

 

Bear will scoff Quorn Mince (usually in pasta dishes) and it's pretty good to me at least.  Dunno about what a Mexican would taste like though - spicy at a guess....

 

7 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Good evening everyone 

 

Despite being very busy, I only managed to clean the top of the cooker today, it was a lot dirty than I’d initially thought.

 

One of Bear's best kitchen purchases (along with the dishwasher) is the Induction Hob; since it's basically a sheet of glass it's dead easy to keep clean with just a wipe with a damp cloth (which you can do immediately after using it as it doesn't get hot to the extent that a "normal" hob does) plus the occasional spray with hob cleaner when you want to restore that gleamingly shiny look.

The oven takes a bit longer, but since I don't cook roast din dins etc. it stays pretty clean anyway.

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Of course, if the individual in question decides to self-identify as Polina Bear (“she/her”)  Who are we to argue?

 

Only on a Friday Night.....

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Right, Bear. Turn it over and get a close up of the list of ingredients: I suspect a veritable melange of E-numbers and obscure polysyllabic chemical enhancers and stabilisers await deciphering…

 

Ok, will do.....just as soon as...yum yum.....I've stopped....yum yum yum......licking the gooey icky sticky lemonly bits off my paws......

 

In other news.....

Another morning of mortar filling is scheduled for this Bear, which should see the last of it.  However, it's below zero outside until 10am according to Mr. Met Office (or should that be Met Office Person?) so the Beary paws (front and rear) are gonna be icy 

 

And finally....

Oh good:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/tennis/novak-djokovic-s-australian-open-hopes-dashed-after-visa-cancelled-at-airport/ar-AASt732?ocid=msedgntp

 

And less than good - it seems that criminal damage is ok now.  F. unbelievable:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-59727161

 

And finally finally.....

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Finally, on a more serious note - and following on the topic of meat substitutes - can any ER suggest a suitable “Work Substitute”? Something that would lead Mrs iD to conclude that I am working and can’t be disturbed when I am actually not working at all

 

 

Perhaps a switch to disable the keyboard so that you can be seen and heard to be typing away when actually you're not........

Of course you'll have to make sure Mrs CC can't see the screen.....

Perhaps a 3d printed CC sat in front of the screen would add to the effect.....

Edited January 6, 2022 by polybear

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Her indoors was up early and off to moreasons for some chopin.

 

Very chilly here but sky is clearing so may be a nice day(although we may have snow according to the seaweed stranglers).

 

I do eat the odd vegetarian meal * but the idea of no meat doesn't appeal to me as a carnivore.

 

* Indian veggie food is excellent but can cause some wind problems.

 

Time to get on and do a bit of wire strangling.

 

Stay Safe!

 

Baz

 

PS feckwit next door reversed his van into the water tank and rubble in his front garden...Good!

 

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Cold this morning but wall to wall sunshine but rain is predicted later. My friend is a vegetarian but doesn't like many fake meats. I have used veggie mince in things like lasagne but its a long time since I've made a lasagne. Thats it for now, be back later.

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup where there are bright blue skies and a heavy frost. It was -1 at the top of Sidcup hill but the car recorded -2.5 between Lamorbey and Blackfen as I took Younger Lurker to school.

 

Work was a bit slow yesterday but various errors that have been made are crawling out of the woodwork - one team insisting that they did not have to apply PAYE to a certain NED's pay - riot act to be read to them today.

 

We had our windows replaced about 5 years ago by a recommended local firm and very good they are too - no draught round the frames like the previous ones that predated us being in this house by many years. When we came to do the conservatory they were having trouble getting hold of the right glass and then were not responsive at the end of lockdown so lost out to another local firm who again did a good job. At the previous house we had a quote from Bryco. They used the lowball quote tactic - loads of add ons that "arise" at the actual survey. They had failed to mention the need for safety glass in one fairly low window as mentioned by another company so they were not in the running. The other company which I think were the same people as the conservatory lot got the job (the middle quote of three IRC!)

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

Zenith still owe me over £1000, but having gone bust there is no chance of that being got... However they still occasionally phone up saying " as an existing customer would you like"  to which they get a very short answer ...

The current Zenith and the old company are two separate companies. The new company is trying to cash in on the name and reputation of the old company. 

[Compound2632]

3 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The new company is trying to cash in on the name and reputation of the old company. 

 

From what has been said above, that doesn't sound wise.

 

[BoD]

4 hours ago, chrisf said:

Grace Petrie was the studio guest on Mark Radcliffe's Radio 2 folk show. 

Mark Radcliffe?

Whatever happened to Mike Harding? 

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, from a wet rock that is 5c feels like 2.  Looks like less, very windy . Feels even worse in reality!

 

Not much to report, other than agreeing with the distaste of many vegan dishes - the nephew served some up last autumn we really struggled to eat.  Mrs NHN is close to vegetarian, but won't eat palm oil laden heavily processed dodgy vegan stuff.  We also cook totally veg when our Jewish friends visit, saves any issues, they're not orthodox though so not too strict.

 

OK, off to the bank to see if we're allowed in today, but after the MRI success on Tuesday my follow up appointment next week has been reduced to a phone consultation - as I was supposed to be having more x-rays then, that is going to be a waste of time I suspect, followed by the surgeon going ballistic - he's known as 'Angry Ross' to staff.....although he is fantastic with patients.

 

Interesting programme on TV last night about carbohydrates versus fat, the medical profession finally getting up to date with carbs effects on diabetics - maybe they read the diabetes.co.uk forum on such things.  Plus the admission that fats have no effect on cardiac health after all, the results this was based on were skewed by smoking - which is the real cause as it turns out.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A slightly dull start to the day, but is quite cold, currently 2C at the moment, but was definitely colder overnight, although there wasn’t any frost visible in the workshop roof. 

 

Charlie is calling round this afternoon for the first time for what seems like ages,  it is probably no more than a few weeks. He’s bringing his new kit with him, so we will definitely be heading for the workshop. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian