Tag Archives: breakfast

Back to Life

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I’ve had a leisurely start to the day, to say the least. It started with a cooked breakfast because I wanted to make sure Julia had something decent before she left for work. The weather is not bad here but there’s a chill in the air and the threat of patchy rain to add to the overnight soaking. As I write, Derrick and Jackie Knight are still under an amber weather warning as Storm Ciaran rips along the south coast. Normally I envy them living n the New Forest, but when the weather is intent on breaking branches and toppling trees I find myself less keen on it. I know there are lots of bits without trees (forest in England refers as much to an area of land enclosed for Royal hunting as it does to a place with trees.

Robin Hood lurking in the Forest

Sherwood Forest and the New Forest, very different places these days, were once mixed areas of heath, farmland and woodland set aside for Royal hunting and under the Forest Law rather than the normal law of the land. To a certain extent, the New Forest still is. If you let your horses and pigs wander free round here people would soon protest. And the pigs would soon be in freezers.

After breakfast I went back to bed to continue my recovery before rising for a second time to do a few odd jobs. The phone is currently squeaking at me to remind me that I have a phone call to make. There is always something to do. For the last ten days this “something” has mainly been sleeping and whining, but now it’s time to return to real life.

Acorn Sculpture – Sherwood Forest

The Great Ledger of Life

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If today were to have an entry in the Great Ledger of Life it would not, I suspect, be totally positive.

I had several interesting and reflective conversations with wife, which would be a positive.

Bacon and black pudding cobs for breakfast would be in the “iffy” column. They are definitely nice for a leisurely breakfast, but from a health point of view are almost certainly frowned on by thin people within the NHS.

Slept through and hour and a half of dull TV before spending a couple of hours awake in front of dull TV programmes. That would definitely be bed, and a waste of life.

“Read a Kindle book on the Vikings” should be a positive but as the entry continues “written with a 21st Century slant” you can probably guess what my thoughts are. The Vikings, it seems, are bad. I can go along with that, as it’s a point of view I’ve heard before. However, when I am  informed that they are bad on the grounds that they had slaves and influenced British Imperial thinking, I begin to recognise a touch of fashionable bias. Bias is OK in historical writing as we all have it, but I do dislike the taint of fashion or opportunism.

These are not, I confess, traits found only in this book, as virtually any TV historian you watch these days seems to be contractually obliged to mention the evils of slavery and Imperialism in relation to British history.

It’s very much like the popular view of the Great War – Lions led by Donkeys and all that, plus Blackadder Goes Forth and the famous drinks cabinet line. “Field Marshal Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin.” It’s a view that has been popular for around 60 years now, to the point where schools are showing Blackadder as a history resource, despite it being a comedy programme. You may as well rely on Oh! What a Lovely War as a source. However, if you say something often enough it becomes the accepted view, and is often accepted as fact, as you can see when reading many WP blogs.

That’s it for today. I’m going to look for some photos and go to bed now. I would say that I’ll see you tomorrow, but at my age you can’t always be certain of that. This is the problem with writing about unhealthy breakfasts and warfare – it encourages thoughts of mortality.

Olympic Breakfast

 

Every Dog has its Day

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I have 57 posts in Drafts. Last night I had  96. They just seemed to grow and so I decided some pruning was in order. If they didn’t have titles I decided they weren’t worth keeping. Same for the ones with time sensitive titles. That still left me with a lot to open and check, though I may just wipe them without checking as it’s so much quicker. It’s just that I can’t escape the feeling I may be deleting a gem. Unlikely, but a worry all the same.

And that was how I came to find and use this post. It seemed good enough to complete, and it saved time. Maybe it’s good to look through old drafts.

Take the one labelled A Month of Months. It’s about all the different months we now have. We used to have 12 when I was a lad, including ones named after Roman Emperors. They seemed to have worked for a couple of thousand years, but we needed more, so we got Pizza Month, Black Cat Awareness Month, Mental Health Month, Family History Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month, Computer Learning Month, Fair Trade Month, Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month and Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Some of them are serious things, and I’m sure the promotion is worthwhile. Others I’m not so sure about. These days you have to have a day, a week or a month to get your message across as, without one, your message will be lost. The trouble is that they start to lose their meaning when there are too many of them. And some just seem absurd.

Have a look at National Breakfast Week. I just plucked it out of thin air, but was amazed at what turned up. We have National School Breakfast Week, National Farmhouse Breakfast Week, National Breakfast Week, National Breakfast Day, National Big Breakfast Day, National Better Breakfast Day, English Breakfast Day . . .

Olympic Breakfast

I could go on, but I’m feeling ill. The picture that accompanies English Breakfast Day is not an English Breakfast. That “sausage” is a travesty for one thing.

After that, scroll down to see how many things share that day – twelve organisations share that day.

A final note – despite my comments on Roman Emperors, it seems they didn’t exist. I know this for a fact because someone on Tik Tok says so. Now I know why the average intelligence of the nation is going down the drain.

A Breakfast Quandary

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If I stop work now (9.55 am) I will have done more than I do on some days, and probably about the same as I did all yesterday. This isn’t an excuse to stop, but it is a reason to start planning breakfast.

I made beans, toast, black pudding, mushrooms and bacon yesterday, because I’m an unimaginative man and that is what I consider breakfast should be. Ideally it should also have eggs, sausages and tomatoes, and I wouldn’t object to hash browns, fried potatoes or bubble and squeak either. Plus porridge, toast and marmalade. The reason I didn’t go for the whole lot yesterday (apart from lack of some supplies) was laziness – I would have needed to wash some pans to do eggs and tomatoes.

In retirement I may try experimenting with my breakfast menu a little more. I may also experiment with housework. It’s never too late to try something different and I may enjoy it.

We really should have cereal or porridge this morning, to keep things light and healthy . . .

I’ve just had a few minutes looking at breakfast omelettes, but I keep being drawn back to the ones that feature  full breakfast with eggs poured over the top.

I’m thinking of soup again for lunch. Yesterday’s tomato soup was very nice, particularly as it is cheap. I may try carrot today and use it for lunch during the week too, as I’m trying to eat healthy lunches again.

The big project of the morning so far has been preparing a short talk on the Memorial Plaque of the Great War. Every year at the Numismatic Society we have an auction and a Short Papers Night to break up the various talks, I’ve decided to prepare one, even though it might not be needed. It’s useful to be one paper ahead of the game, rather than one behind.

Compared to my last presentation this is coming together quite quickly. It’s probably because I’m using it as a displacement activity – I really should be writing poetry and it’s always easier to avoid the pressing work and do something else. In this case I have poetry to finish for the end of the month so I’m writing a presentation I won’t need for at least six months.

My capacity for poor organisation really is quite remarkable.

Olympic Breakfast

Despite the picture, we had porridge. And toast and marmalade.

Old Breakfast, New Trousers?

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It is Sunday breakfast time and the dress code is relaxed. In other words, I haven’t put my trousers on yet. My balance improves as I move around and I find that optimal time for putting on trousers is about half an hour after getting up. In addition, I need to measure them to check the size of a pair of new trousers. You would think that i was easy enough to buy new trousers in he digital age, jus press a button and reorder the ones you had last time. Or the ones you had last time with (possibly) a slightly larger waist. But no, there are always new styles and gaps in the old range. Nothing is simple these days. The current set I am examining have the same size waist as my old ones but the legs are an inch longer and the pockets are almost impossible to unbutton. As the old trousers had legs that were slightly too long, and I have arthritic fingers, neither variation is ideal.

I am now going to put my trousers on and start making breakfast as I can hear Julia moving about. Sunday breakfast usually involves a frying pan and the use of trousers in this scenario makes a great deal of sense.

It will be our healthy vegetarian option with bacon and black pudding garnish. We have some leftover black pudding which is hovering on the edge of perdition and if you have that, you may as well decorate with bacon. Scrambled eggs, toast, tomatoes, beans and mushrooms complete the meal. We have some big mushrooms so I am going to slice them and do them in the frying pans which puts the dark lines on things. There is a chance this breakfast could look quite good, which is more than you can say for the cook.

McDonald’s Breakfast

 

A Few Days in Wales

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I still haven’t tried to trace the missing post, but I have solved my focus problem. I had it on “P”, which was Programmed Automatic on the last camera. Not sure what it is on the new one but setting it to “A” solves the focus issues – it works fine now.

We have been in Wales for the last couple of days. Sunday was mainly travel. Monday was mainly low visibility and wet. Tuesday was very pleasant but we spent half the day travelling back. It’s the first time we;ve been away since lockdown and it was very pleasant. The only problem is that accomodation has gone up. We may have to start looking at B&B instead of cheap hotels. The main advantages of cheap hotels are the ability to come and go as you want, and you know what you are getting before you arrive. When we used to use B&B the accommodation could sometimes be a bit of a shock. As could the landladies.

Llandudno, including War Memorial

We have been having the all you can eat breakfasts again – yoghurt, fruit, cereal, toast and drinks is £7.50 and with the addition of a full breakfast only costs £2 more. That’s sausage, bacon, egg, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, black pudding, hash browns for £2 extra. I don’t actually eat all I can, but I do eat enough to last me through the day.

We ate at 9.00 this morning, had tea and cake when we visited the posh farm shop at lunchtime them had soup at 8.00 tonight when we got home. We didn’t really need the cake I suppose, but I do like fruit loaf and it seemed rude not to have the bara brith seeing as we were in Wales. Having said that, my Mum had several similar recipes, including one that featured grape nuts cereal soaked in tea. I used to make it too. As usual, I didn’t make a conscious effort to stop, it’s just one of those things that petered out.

Llandudno

I seem to have lost the habit of taking photos. I do have a few but haven’t taken them off the card yet. So photos are from old visits. It hasn’t changed much since the 1890s, apart from the cars, so it doesn’t really need new photos.

Places to go – Llandudno

 

Day of Rest

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I fell asleep in the evening, woke, ate, wrote and slept in the chair again, waking stiffly at 2am. So I went to bed. By seven I was ready to get up again, as my back was telling me lying down wasn’t a good idea. I have just spent a couple of hours catching up with other bloggers. Try Growing out of Chaos or Billy Mann. Also enjoyed Matthew Paul and the usual suspects, including Derrick and TP. I always feel guilty adding links, as there are loads of great blogs out there that I enjoy but take for granted. Almost forgot Paol Soren, and some breath-taking views of Tasmania. I read that two hours ago and I’ve crammed so much in that I’ve already started to forget things. If I have failed to link to your blog, I assure you that it isn’t personal.

The rest of the day is unlikely to be quite so productive as I have to stop and cook breakfast now (that’s how we can tell it’s Sunday – breakfast is made by cooking rather than by pouring milk on it). That will involve sitting in front of TV for a while and chatting. It’s what we do. If I had my life over again I would try to eat at a table with no TV, but I’ve slipped into various bad habits and I don’t have the energy to fight them all.

Ideally, of course, I’d have a separate breakfast room with chafing dishes and a footman to serve, but that’s diverging from reality in a significant way.

So, time to make breakfast.

 

Sunday Morning

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It’s mid-day on Sunday and, as usual, or morning has not been marked by a frantic rush. We had porridge with blackberries as a healthy breakfast. It would have been porridge with blueberries but I seem to have hit the wrong button whilst shopping. That may be a good thing, but it might be a bad thing. To some people it may even be a matter of indifference, though to my mind there’s something wrong with people who keep calm in the face of provocation by their internet shopping. I suppose it’s a test of personality.

When your shopping goes wrong do you

(a) curse the evils of modern technology?

(b) welcome the opportunity for new experiences?

(c) blame the Government?

I usually go with (a). None of the new experiences I’ve had from internet shopping – frozen spinach, plastic cheese, sour blackberries – have actually enhanced my life.

There’s no point blaming the Government, or any Government, because with rare exceptions they aren’t really in charge of what is happening. They just talk about how bad the last lot were and shove their snouts deeper into the trough.

I just went off on a 200 word tangent about politicians. It’s clearly going to be one of those posts where much is written but not so much is posted.

I can’t help wondering if this makes it a stronger post and thinking of an article I once read about composing haibun.

It recommended editing until you managed to remove the subject of the haibun, leaving the reader with a feeling about the unspoken subject – the ultimate ‘show don’t tell’ technique. At least I think that was what it said. And I think it was about haibun. I really ought to make notes.

It’s a bit bit like homeopathic medicine where you dilute the cure so much it is no longer there. I’m on surer ground there because that was on Wikipedia.

There’s a big gap on Wikipedia when it comes to discussion on composing haibun. This is ironic when you consider a gap was what I was researching.

close up of eyeglasses on book

Photo by ugurlu photographer on Pexels.com

For details of the afternoon, check here.

Wednesday 8th July Part II

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Breakfast didn’t quite go according to plan. I was going to treat Julia to avocados on toast with poached eggs. It’s not much of a breakfast but she likes that sort of stuff. Unfortunately the avocados were starting to brown and didn’t look good.I cut a few bits off, mashed it up with lime juice and green bits and it is now waiting to be spread on toast for lunch. It is just about acceptable like that, both in colour and as a foodstuff.

Plan B was poached eggs, beans, and sourdough toast. Still a bit trendy for my liking but such is life. Life can’t all be sausage, bacon and black pudding. Well, it could be, but I’d like to retain the use of my arteries for a while longer.

Unfortunately the eggs were also a little past their use by date and the first one spread across the whole pan. The second was OK, but the mess was made. Although one looked like an egg, with a degree runniness to the yolk (again – something she likes)  the other looked like a yellow blot. That’s the trouble with advance ordering in lockdown.

We seem to be commemorating the Battle of Britain this week and there were some insultingly easy quiz questions on TV this morning. That set me off looking at trivia about the Italian Air Force in the Battle of Britain (yes, they were there) followed by biplanes in WW2 (yes, there were some), Jeremy Vine, the Curse of Strictly Come Dancing and, finally, about SMART Planning.

I have to admit that I haven’t heard of all the ‘celebrities’ caught by the curse and, as Rachel Riley and Pasha have just had a child I’m not sure it’s really a curse. As all parents will know, it’s a mixed blessing, but not really a curse.

That’s the trouble with ‘working from home’ (as I am describing today, because I have things to do) – always so much distraction, plus cooking and washing up.

Just before I sat down to start work the post arrived. It contains notice of a planning application from the people next door who want to extend their lower storey half way across their drive to accommodate a downstairs toilet and extended kitchen. It will involve noise, disruption and, possibly, a loss of light, but on the other hand it won’t really affect us in the long run and I can’t be bothered to object.

It took me half an hour to find the plans online (the letter from the council lists a council webpage that no longer exists) download the plans and examine them.

Considering that they have asked me to cut down a tree in the garden because it shades some of their garden for some of the day, I can’t help feeling that I’d like the same concern from them relating to the light in my kitchen. Such is life.

It’s now 12.23 and the last phase of my day has not really seen anything that could be described as work. Oh dear!

Wednesday 8th July Part I

Wednesday 8th July Part II

Wednesday 8th July Part III

Wednesday 8th July Part IV

Wednesday 8th July Part V

Wednesday 8th July Part I

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Today I am going to use my time wisely, and am going to blog about it at the same time. That way I will end the day with a list of jobs I have done and will also be able to get three or four blog posts out of it.

At 3 am I woke to the sound of swearing and argument. I’d fallen asleep in my chair with the TV on and Gordon Ramsay was offering foul-mouthed advice to an American restaurant that needed turning round in 24 hours. I don’t watch the programme when I’m awake. If I need cursing, conflict and criticism I can get all that at home without having to watch a celebrity chef behaving badly.

You can’t deny that he works hard, contributes to charity and is very successful. But he doesn’t present himself well and he did, let’s be honest, run off to Cornwall when we had to go into lockdown, despite the government guidelines telling us not to leave home.

At 4.59 and 7.46 I woke again. My prostate is playing up again. I’m hoping that it corrects itself as the thought of an examination is actually worse than getting up during the night.

I decided not to go for my regular blood test today. I will go tomorrow before work as I like to be there before 8.30 when it opens – you can’t always get a parking space if you get down later.

The Methotrexate seems to be working for the arthritis and I actually got my trousers on this morning and didn’t even think about it until I typed this sentence. The side effects seem to have gone away. Apart from the bent fingers the only noticeable sign of arthritis is that the little finger of my left hand is stuck out and one of the joints in it  is rather stiff. Considering that in March my hands were unusable and I could barely dress myself, this is a good result. I f it means I have a finger like an elitist tea drinker.

I have now checked my messages, read a few links and written 400words. It is 9.16 so I will add photos and post this before making breakfast. (Later – it is now 9.26 after loading a photograph and doing a touch of editing.)

I really ought to take pictures specifically to go with this, but will re-use one of the garden poppies. For one thing, it is a dull day, and for another, I am lazy. I am also adding a layer of complexity to the task by typing without glasses, so will get them while I am up.

Wednesday 8th July Part I

Wednesday 8th July Part II

Wednesday 8th July Part III

Wednesday 8th July Part IV

Wednesday 8th July Part V