Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

16 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Late afternoon too!

A chap in a motor boat has just turned up!!!

 

It is getting quite exciting now. There are people pointing in various directions. 

[southern42]

14 hours ago, DaveF said:

The day has gone much as planned.  The service at church was good with a couple of minor hiccups as we had the "relief" organist who plays well but isn't always certain of what comes next, he normally sings in the choir.

 

00

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I won't be going out today, Boxing day shopping does not appeal in the slightest. Running a bit low on bread but there will be very little bread in the shops anyway. Plenty of eggs so it looks like omelette and chips for dinner today. Not having turkey means not much in leftovers, the venison steak was entirely consumed. The one let down was some of the parsnips were a bit woody, even after cooking they were stili a bit tough. Muggatee awaits, be back later.

[Hroth]

25 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

It is getting quite exciting now. There are people pointing in various directions. 

 

I think that bit of re-seeded grass is getting in the way a bit....

 

Quite busy on the water now!

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

It’s currently clear blue skies and no wind at the moment, it looks like perfect weather for a walk, but I think Sheila wants to relax and take things easy, especially with her upcoming eye operation just a week away. So, like yesterday, we won’t be doing much today, probably more reading and listening to music. Thankfully most of the god awful Christmas music being played on the radio has gone and it’s back to playing ordinary music.
 

Back later. 
 

Brian 

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land and Happy 🥊 Boxing 🥊 Day.

Dry and a bit nippy. 5.5C rising slowly.

 

Santa knows what she likes...

 

A joint presie was an air fryer we call "The Turtle". 

 A quick test, yesterday, with the roasties - room for improvement but no doubt we will get it...er...perfect...soon?

 

 

Off to have a toot on the flute.

Take care. Be good. Enjoy your day.

 Polly.

 

[southern42]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I won't be going out today, Boxing day shopping does not appeal in the slightest. Running a bit low on bread but there will be very little bread in the shops anyway. Plenty of eggs so it looks like omelette and chips for dinner today. Not having turkey means not much in leftovers, the venison steak was entirely consumed. The one let down was some of the parsnips were a bit woody, even after cooking they were stili a bit tough. Muggatee awaits, be back later.

 

Re parsnips. One of the tips I came across was a TV chef (forgotten which one!) advocating the removal of the tough centre piece. This means cutting into four, long ways, and cutting off the triangular white bit. It works for me in the microwave and saucepan (in stews).

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by southern42

[The Lurker]

16 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Moroccan tagine dishes are wonderful - though I have no idea how they are prepared. The tagine itself is a lovely presentation as the lid is removed at the table.

I can recommend “Modern Tagine Cookbook” by Ghillie Basan.

 

the recipes are pretty easy to follow and the results tend to be tasty and well received by the Lurker Family- and even MiL. I don’t have a tagine; I just use a heavy bottomed saucepan.

 

there are not too many specialised ingredients either.

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, Hroth said:

Good YAWNing.....

 

iD - the trick with turkey is lashings of thick gravy, made from the cooking runoff...  🤪 (recycling the lost flavour)

 

In store for today is a lazy morning, then out again for a saturnalic afternoon/evening!

 

But first, breakfast...

 

 

I did that: I folded the juices from the sous-vide cooking bag into the onion sauce. The sauce was good, but even this top notch sauce failed to redeem the turkey (in my eyes at least - Mrs iD was most happy with the turkey)

[PhilJ W]

Just now, iL Dottore said:

I did that: I folded the juices from the sous-vide cooking bag into the onion sauce. The sauce was good, but even this top notch sauce failed to redeem the turkey (in my eyes at least - Mrs iD was most happy with the turkey)

A tip I was given about roasting a cluck-bird was to put it in the oven breast down so that the juices go into the breast. 

[Tony_S]

12 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

I don’t have a tagine; I just use a heavy bottomed saucepan.

We don’t have a tagine either. We have a 30cm sauté pan with a lid. I just looked it up on John Lewis’ website and asked Aditi if it really had been as expensive as it stated. She said it wasn’t “quite” that much when she bought it. I will happily consume anything with chicken and chickpeas but I like any lemon flavour to be more subtle than Aditi likes. 

[Hroth]

30 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

A tip I was given about roasting a cluck-bird was to put it in the oven breast down so that the juices go into the breast. 

 

But it needs to be turned over for the last bit of cooking so the breast isn't as soggy as the bottom usually gets.

 

[Tony_S]

34 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

folded the juices from the sous-vide cooking bag into the onion sauce.

I think one of my earlier cooking experiences was similar. I used to go home for lunch as we lived next door to the junior school I attended. If my mother had to go to her mothers when she was unwell she would leave something for me. I was entrusted with cook in the bag meals and recall squeezing sauces out. 

[PhilJ W]

35 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

But it needs to be turned over for the last bit of cooking so the breast isn't as soggy as the bottom usually gets.

 

The alternative is to slash the skin.

[Gwiwer]

Good afternoon all. Special greetings to all named Stephen. Several friends by that name have reminded me that today is their Saint’s Day. 
 

It is also Boxing Day which is often celebrated in one way or another. Its associated Lidding Day is, however, largely overlooked. 
 

℅ a great Aussie cartoonist by the name of Michael Leunig, who I have met on several occasions ….. 

 

[Coombe Barton]

... late starting since the bum was reluctant to leave the sofa. And must remember it’s Tuesday, and tomorrow is black bin day. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/12/26/sounds-of-the-season-2023-24-covid-vaccination-takeup-not-much-above-50/

[PhilJ W]

46 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

... late starting since the bum was reluctant to leave the sofa. And must remember it’s Tuesday, and tomorrow is black bin day. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/12/26/sounds-of-the-season-2023-24-covid-vaccination-takeup-not-much-above-50/

Don't forget that most bin days have been put back due to the holidays.

[PupCam]

Afternoon!

 

A good Christmas Day was had and for the first time the tables have been turned; we were invited to Oldest Junior Puppers for Christmas* dinner so not a lot to do other than play with the Junior Junior Puppers and scoff 😀.      It was the first time Junior Puppers had done a "really big meal" and I have to say he made a pretty fine job of it.  We could get to like being waited on.

 

* Thank heavens, no turkey was involved 😀😀

 

This morning we had another climb up Pegsdon hill with Ms Junior Puppers and very nice it was too.     A noisy young family at the start who were insistent on spotting, assessing and counting cow pats was all that was needed to turn the climb from my usual sedate meander into a medium cardio exercise.    It took about 400 metres distance plus a good few meters of vertical climb to get a  suitable clearance between "Us" and "Them" but we did it.  I'm sure the cardio bit it must have been good for me.

 

As the holiday period seems to have provoked a rash of humour, here goes ....

 

 

Well, it made me smile as it became today's  ear-worm whilst pushing the Fairy Tale of New York back into the darkest corners of my mind.

 

TTFN

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Had a pleasant surprise an hour or so ago. My new (about four months ago) neighbour knocked on the door and presented me with a Christmas card, a bottle of (none alcoholic) wine and a packet of shortbread biscuits. I will reciprocate by buying something each for his little girls, something such as a Rubik's cube each.

[southern42]

And one more previously forwarded to me.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by southern42
uninvited image deleted!

[Gwiwer]

18 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Don't forget that most bin days have been put back due to the holidays.

Most

 

Our recycling, normally alternate Tuesdays, was apparently collected last Saturday. 
 

It was kind of them to tell us today so that we could have our recycling out in good time. Four evenings ago. 

[PhilJ W]

4 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Most

 

Our recycling, normally alternate Tuesdays, was apparently collected last Saturday. 
 

It was kind of them to tell us today so that we could have our recycling out in good time. Four evenings ago. 

Our council sent a flyer out before Christmas detailing the Christmas collections. That was a first as in previous years I've had to look up the council's website.

[Tony_S]

I think our bin collection changes this week are probably the most exciting thing happening locally. I am not complaining, it is quite nice living somewhere where little happens apart from the unpleasant incidents in the 9th and 17th centuries. 

Edited December 26, 2023 by Tony_S

[southern42]

Letter from council dated "December 2023 " saying our bin collection today (Tuesday) will not happen. Food and recycling bins will be collected next Tuesday - the food bin is full already!!! Non-recycling collected-once-every-3-weeks black bin liners - aka green wheelie bins to those not off the beaten track - will be collected Saturday. At least we were forewarned.

 

[TheQ]

I hope you saw us, weaving around in circles

Our sail number being

 Y 

103

Didn't see the motorboat name, but the type of motorboat  makes me believe that was Ron a retired RAF helicopter pilot / instructor.

 

Very well attended event, many faces I didn't recognise, but as it was an "open" i think some members of the host club came out to play.

 

The forecast was 20 to 30mph, we never got above 20, it was also supposed to be westerly  but for most of the time we got south westerly.

The two fleets were Allcomers Keelboats and Allcomers dinghies.

 

 

Race 1, course, 3P, SP, 2P, WP, 6S, 4 laps,

Managed to sail into a hole in the wind and started second to last.  We had 3 Star class boats which are much faster than the Yeoman class. They disappeared off ahead so I'll ignore them, what the results on handicap are though, I don't know.

 

We actually made buoy 3 the first buoy without tacking, a limitation of the broad / starting line, only one other boat achieved this, this meant we arrived on Starboard tack, the one boat in front, cleared the buoy, several others arrived on port, so had to go behind us, that put us up to second. We followed round, then across the top to S, then down wind to 2, then a direct into the wind to W so we did that in 2 racks, across the wind to 6 then start again. 

 

We had followed the lead yeoman at no more than 50 ft sometimes getting an overlap.

When approaching buoy 3 the second time a dinghy suddenly tacked onto starboard and forced us round. He had no need to do that,  he wasn't going to make the buoy on that course, we weren't part of his race it was no benefit to him . We would have cleared the buoy and not slowed him down.

 

That put us back about a hundred yards from the lead yeoman, which we never caught up by the finish.

 

Between races a nice traditional glass of rum punch.

 

Race 2, crowded out at the start, the stars disappeared, we made the top buoy in second to last.

By going to windward of everyone else across the top to S, we gained another place, as the rest  had gone in a pack low trying to be on the inside at the buoy. 

 

On the run down to 2, again most of the pack were going off to windward trying not to be covered, so we did the opposite went off to leeward  gaining clear air and a couple of more places. On the tacking up to W we made it up to second, held that to 6, but were only just ahead of the pack.

 

Rounding 6 the wind started dying, we got over taken by two boats as we chose the wrong course for the wind. Rounding 3,  in a mass of dinghies and Keelboats we lost another place by the time we were at S.

With wind dropping further it was a drift to and we rounded 2 last.. 

The others did an immediate tack up the broad, and you can't pass by going through them so we held our course for some distance across the broad before tacking, it paid off with one boat to leeward of us and two ahead to leeward.

The boat to leeward tacked across behind us, leaving the two boats ahead. Do we tack now and protect our position from behind or go for it and hope to intercept the two boats ahead with us on Starboard?

 

We went for it , managed to intercept the two boats ahead. Pushing them past the buoy, tacking off as soon as we could, we didn't make it back to intercept the boat that tacked early just dipping that boats stern then tacking round W, 

We followed that boat over the finish line.