My "Not Going Out" Moment

When I was chatting with someone earlier today (might as well call him Tim) who was telling me about meeting his wife almost 30 years ago, I had my Lee Mack moment.

     Tim: I met her on a Monday

     Me: And your heart stood still?

It fell flat so I needed to share... Where's the canned laughter when you need it?

Vegetarianism: I don't eat meat & I don't like fish

This post is a suggestion of non-meat, non-fish, non-quorn and non-processed food ideas. 

My issue with meat is that I don't like the fleshy texture therefore I don't want a pretend meat substitute. My issue with fish is mainly the taste. Having said that, I try to eat it once a week for the benefits that nutritionists believe in. My third issue is processed food - whatever I eat, I like it to taste fresh! I also choose food that I like the flavour of, however 'bland', because if all you can taste is chilli or ketchup or sugar, etc., what's the point?

My favourite protein-based ingredients are nuts, mushrooms, lentils and beans which go very well with potatoes, vegetable and onion gravy for a Sunday roast. I must admit to getting annoyed with pub menus that don't take into account that cheesy tomato tart or lasagne are not ideal plate-mates for roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and (vegetarian) gravy.

Where nuts are a no-no in the kitchens of nut-allergy diners, they can be substituted by beans or chickpeas. Otherwise, whole cashews are a favourite but other nuts need to be smaller. I usually slice Brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts and chestnuts.

Links to Veggie-roast Recipes

Lentil & Cashew Nut Roast
Easy Bean & Nut Roast
Simple Nut Roast
Cashew Nut Roast in Puff Pastry
Lentil & Nut Roast (cheese may be omitted)

As an accompaniment to leftover-turkey-curry at Christmas, I like to offer a fruity korma. Its basic ingredients are: caramelised onion, sweet potato, parsnip, chestnuts, banana, raisins and coconut milk. Add anything else you wish: carrots, beans, broccoli, etc.

Acknowledgement. Not all vegetarians have the same reassons for not eating meat so don't make assumptions.

♫ Let me tell you 'bout the Manfreds!

In the early-mid '60s, my favourite group after The Beatles was Manfred Mann.

In the late 1990s, I noticed that The Manfreds were performing locally (Manfred Mann, the keyboard player, was no longer in the band but the line up included both Paul Jones and Mike d'Abo, lead singers from both popular eras).  I enjoyed a fabulous evening of all the MM hits plus McGuinness Flint's 'When I'm Dead and Gone' plus 'Handbags and Gladrags' that Mike d'Abo wrote and a couple of Paul Jones solo hits - but not 'Bad Bad Boy' which was one of my all-time favourites.

Recently, I dragged the family out again to see the Manfreds with Paul Jones, who is now 70! Without Mike d'Abo, it was a different set, quite a lot of blues music, some 'B' sides plus a few hits, including 'When I'm Dead and Gone', 'Pretty Flamingo', 'Oh no, Not my baby', 'Mighty Quinn', '5 4 3 2 1', 'Do Wah Diddy' and ... yes! 'I've Been a Bad Bad Boy' (How did he know?)!

Tom McGuinness (guitar, was bass) was thoroughly relaxed and enjoying himself, Mike Hugg (keyboards, was drums) was totally absorbed in the music, 'new boys' were Rob Townsend (drums) who was clearly content on stage, singing all the songs to himself, Marcus Cliffe (5-string bass) who acted as an 'aide memoire' to the forgetful older band members and, last but not least, young Simon Currie (sax, flute, clarinet) who was enjoying his craft and delivering frequent solos.

Paul Jones, experienced front man and harmonica player, engaged the audience with a mix of charm and amusing banter. No wonder he's thin, he works so hard!

Manfreds Tour Dates

RIP Jack Bruce, former Manfred, October 2014

 

Recommended Music Blog: soundsandvision

Thieves & Charity Swap Shops. So Many Questions.

A rising trend of thefts from charity shops is puzzling. Items in the shops are priced very cheaply so what kind of person needs to steal them? If they are so poor that they can't spend £2 on a jacket, surely they would be candidates for receiving the goods free? Is there a charity that provides clothing to poor families in the UK, maybe via swap shops or recycling centres?

What drives people to steal from charity shops? Maybe a 'risk assessment' tells the perpetrator that charity shops are 'soft' targets or that low value theft means less severe punishment. Or maybe it's a short-cut for people who need those items? Many people would rather risk being labelled as thieves than admit to needing charity.

Is it easier to take than to ask? Probably. It's certainly quicker and you're not risking a negative response. Is it less embarrassing to steal anonymously (unless caught, of course) than to be recorded as a 'loser' who needs charity? Certainly in some people's opinions.

It seems that the decision to shun help from 'do-gooders' and resort to law-breaking may be based on retaining what little pride is left by keeping their anonymity. I'm so lucky that I haven't had to find out for myself.

Unwanted Fame

If I ever do something really stupid in my own home, I'd like to remain anonymous, please. After all, the world isn't interested in the many other things I've done.

If, for example, I'd accidentally set myself alight by pouring petrol from one canister to another near a naked flame, I'd be quite happy for the anecdote to be used as a warning to help others to avoid the devastating results from doing the same thing. I would NOT be happy with having my name and photograph on prime time TV, forever associated with one idiotic act in an otherwise uneventful life.

Did the woman (who will remain nameless in this blog) provide the photograph, her name and age to reporters and agree to her '15 minutes of fame'/infamy? Fair enough, if she did. But did she? I wouldn't have thought she was thinking clearly enough or able to speak coherently at the time, let alone rummage around for a nice photograph and give an interview. No one else had the right to publicise her personal information and the public doesn't need that level of detail.

Fire Safety Notes.

• Fuel vapour, as has been demonstrated, is highly flammable and should never be in an open container in the home. Even without cooking on the gas hob, there may be pilot lights on gas hobs and gas boilers.
• Fire blankets are a very useful precaution (more usually for cooking disasters, such as chip pan fires).
• Remember that if you smell gas in the home, even a small spark from turning on an electric light could ignite.

Moving on

Sooo... I decided to re-write this blog and edit out some boring bits in an attempt to make it more interesting for people to read but - how to keep it interesting and original? Not a clue, sorry! I'll do my best so here we go.

I'll start with 1974 when I left 'the shelter of a mother' and father to give and receive 'a band of gold' (unlike the Freda Payne song, this has worked out well as we recently celebrated our ruby wedding anniversary). We bought our first home in the outer North London suburbs, a 2-up/2-down Victorian terraced house which had been lived in for years by a pair of spinster sisters.

Thankfully, they had extended the downstairs to include a modern bathroom. When some friends moved into a similar house a few doors down the road, there was just an outside loo and no bathroom! We saw a lot of those friends for a few months, as they popped in frequently with their soap, towels and rubber ducks until their extension was completed.

One weekend, we invited half a dozen friends round for a demolition party and took down the wall between the small lounge and even smaller dining room (properly, with a supported RSJ and everything) and started to strip the wallpaper off the walls - there were thirteen layers, some coated with emulsion and even a layer of gloss paint. The result was appalling and we couldn't afford a plasterer so - typical '70s - we painted the walls with Polytex, a polyurethane mix with lumpy bits in, a liquid anaglypta designed to cover cracks and imperfections, a sort-of instant artex. I know!! Dreadful idea and it gets better... we then painted the walls chocolate brown and bought a chocolate, coffee and cream coloured long shag-pile carpet, true 70s style. Wow!

Believe it or not, a couple of years later, someone actually bought the house and we moved on and up to a '30s style s'emi-detached suburban' home. This had a hideous plain royal blue carpet that showed every piece of dust, dirt, fluff and crumb in the universe. The house had a long, south-facing garden and the sun streamed through the patio doors. We stayed there until, towards the end of the decade, we moved on again.

To be continued...