Product Test.

I fancied some Fish Fingers for supper, but there were only TWO left in my freezer. Not enough!

Inside the freezer cabinet at Sainsbury's there were two very similar looking packets, which I'd not noticed before. One was for Cod Fish Fingers (the type I had at home), and the other was for Pollock (which I'd never previously tried). They could easily have been confused.

As I'd heard Rick Stein going on about how we should all be buying Pollock rather than Cod (to save Cod fish stocks), I plumped for the Pollock, which were also considerably cheaper; I think less than half the price.

I fried them in the same pan, but kept them apart. As above; the Cod was on the left and the Pollock on the right.

Frankly, taste-wise, I could hardly tell them apart, I had to really concentrate on finding any difference. If anything, I found the Cod to be very slightly 'sweeter', but overall they were much the same. Both very nice.

I served them with some simply fried 'Little Gem' lettuce.

Verdict: Pollock Fish Fingers, 10/10. I shall certainly be buying them in future! 

I'll leave the Cod to swim another day.

 

Starmer in the poo again.

 

Poor old Starmer, I'm almost beginning to feel sorry for him. Whatever he does; he gets wrong.

Tru*p isn't happy with him; nor is Tony Blair. He's being attacked from all sides; even his own!

The US President recently said "We'll never forget the lack of support, from a once great ally". He also told Starmer not to bother with his little warship as the war was almost over! Macron has now helped-out in Cyprus instead. The French President told the residents of Cyprus that if they couldn't rely on the UK, they could always rely on France.

Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves..... Sadly not any more under Starmer. We are now a piss-poor naval nation!

Blair also rebuked him for not having backed the US right from the very beginning.

Of course, with such a huge Muslim population in the UK (who I expect are Labour voters) he doesn't wish to rock the boat. I'm sure both Churchill and Mrs T would never have considered such trivialities; but elections are looming, and he needs EVERY vote.!

This dreadful inditement of UK defence policy comes just as The Army holds a referendum about the wearing of makeup and hairstyles amongst the rank and file. With their new 'Woke' policy on 'gender', they are asking ordinary soldiers if they think they should be allowed to wear makeup and have their hair permed. I have yet to hear the results.

Shadow defence minister, Mark Francois noted "Replacing facial camouflage with mascara will hardly deter Putin". Well said MF! 

I believe that Starmer has now phoned Tru*p to apologise, and to attempt to repair the damage he's caused to the UK. Some bloody hope!

As further response to the Iran war, Starmer is to strengthen laws concerning 'Hostility towards Muslims'. They will create laws against 'Prejudicial Stereotyping', and general 'Disrespect'. It looks as if the pro-Hamas lobby has won yet again. I shall obviously need to be more cautious in the future, of what I say about terrorist groups. 

Oh dear oh dear. 'Will no-one rid us of this turbulent lawyer'???

p.s. I see that our little boat has now left harbour, and is heading for The Med'.

So, how's it going?

 

The new Green Waste bins system (that I was slightly dubious about) is now in operation, so I thought I'd have a look inside my nearest one.

It's been 10 days since they were 'open for use', and I suspect that, just like the nice little plastic boxes that were delivered to every home, the system is being ignored.

I have just looked inside my nearest bin, and there was NOTHING inside, not even the vestige of a rotting lettuce leaf. Rien de tout!

It's not that people here are anti composting or methane-ing. Most people, like Lady M, are very conscientious about recycling, etc. It's just that this is a recycle-too-far, and people can't be bothered.

We already have to sort through all our rubbish, and picking out that cabbage leaf or potato peel is just too much.

Maybe in time they WILL be used, but for the moment they remain unloved. I'm even wondering if the interior stainless steel bins won't soon attract the 'light-fingered' brigade, and they disappear just to end-up in people's gardens (not that I'm suggesting such a thing).

Butter

I'm very keen on butter. 

I think my very first awareness of butter as a product, was in France as a young 10 year old boy; I noticed that not only did it have a totally different taste to my usual post-war butter (which came from NZ), but it was also a different colour; it was almost white. Even so, there was something very 'haunting' about its flavour.

This has now changed and French butter is very similar to standard English butter, and equally uninteresting.

In France I always used to buy the excellent 'Buerre d'Isigny', but I don't see it on offer as much as I used to. It was excellent.

Meanwhile, here in the UK I have become bored with the blandness of the Sainsbury's butter that I usually buy.

In a recent Sunday Times, there was a breakdown of the very best UK butters, and the one that came out on top was Sainsbury's (yes, them again) 'Taste the Difference', West Country Farmhouse Butter with Maldon Sea Salt. The difference in quality is noticeable at once. It's more expensive of course, but you get what you pay for! You could almost eat this stuff by the spoon-full.

I also always have a small pack of Garlic & Herb butter in the freezer. I'm lazy, I know!

People tend to think of butter as just plain 'Butter', but it's not. Look around and you'll find some really nice butters; it's worth having at least one really good one in the fridge at all times.

 

Abandoned!

 

I feel abandoned. 

OK, I have one grandson studying in Oxford, and another studying in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's just me who's representing the Magnons in the UK. All the others are overseas.

Kimbo and Susie are in Egypt, Lady M, Wills, Boo Boo, and The Cherub are in Thailand, my daughter Tenpin is in Oz with her two boys, and my sister is in NZ; leaving just me to hold the fort, here in our ancestral home of England.

Like many families these days, we do tend to spread our wings. Even I (the stay-at-home-lad) have managed to live more than half my life abroad; even though it was not far away in Southern France. I quite expect that very few families have all the members 'at home' these days.

So, I've been making sure I descend the stairs carefully, cross the road cautiously, and do not pour boiling water over my feet. I don't want to be found having 'passed-away' without anyone knowing.

Lady M has been away for over a week, but will be home in a couple of days!

Eddie the Eagle.

With The Winter Olympics and The 'inspiring' Paralympics now coming to an end, it's timely to remember England's (very amateur) Ski Jump hero; Eddie Edwards.

Regardless of being someone who came LAST in most of his competitions, he was seen as a 'National Treasure'.

He represented England's attitude towards sport of all sorts. 'It matters not who won or lost, but how one played the game'.

Eddie may never have stood on a podium, but he stood high in everyone's esteem.

There's even now 'The Eddie the Eagle Ruling', which states that competitors in the Olympics must have reached a certain high standard in their chosen sport before being allowed to compete. So, no more Eddies. What a shame.

These days Eddie has returned to his original trade, and is a Plasterer!

Eddie, we salute you!

National Mourning.

I suppose the most iconic UK Radio 'soap' of all time must be The Archers; a simply story of country folk. I believe that it is also the world's 'oldest soap'.

The action takes place in the village of Ambridge, where the Archer family run a farm; 'Brookfield'. As with all UK 'soaps', much of the activity is centred around the village Pub'; The Bull.

The BBC programme's mythical Pub', is based on a real one; The Old Bull in Inkberrow, Worcs. England at its finest!

Sadly, like so many Pub's in this 'New England' of ours, The Old Bull is about to CLOSE. This lovely old 17th Century Public House will close its doors thanks to excessive taxation having made it uneconomical. New taxes imposed on businesses everywhere have forced unimaginable chaos, and closures, and The Old Bull is one of the latest victims. Pubs are closing by the dozen all over the country, and no-one in government seems to mind. Let's just hope that its closure is only temporary, and that it will re-open when we have a more realistic government; otherwise it would make the most wonderful house (I do hope not).

It is a strange inditement of government policy that these days, the more a Pub' stays open, the more it loses money. Most only survive by providing 'Pub Grub'.

The Archers radio programme started on 1st January 1951, but The Old Bull had been serving beer since the early 1600's. Its closure is a GENUINE national tragedy. 

High Taxation is a vicious circle. Increased unemployment has to be paid for. To pay for it we have to increase taxes. The increased taxes causes more unemployment; and so it goes on. The enormous ensuing 'Benefits bill' is said to be rising by an extra £18 Billion this year alone! Dreadful.

Quad erat demonstrandum. RIP The Old Bull.