Archive for February, 2007
An Angel of a Valentine
Lonely hearts are being advised by the Catholic Church to consult an archangel to help them find love, according to an article in the Daily Telegraph.
The Catholic Enquiry Office (CEO) is suggesting that, rather than enduring rounds of speed dating to find a partner, people could pray to Saint Raphael, the patron saint of “happy meetings”.
Raphael, a Saint?
The only Raphael I knew was very fond of “happy meetings” especially if there were brown envelopes floating in his direction, but you would not call him a saint!
“Now where would you find an archangel?” I hear you ask. I know where you might find an angel with very long arms, alas she is as cold as steel.
Angel of the North
Or you might like to consult me!
A Blind Date
Following a recent Podcast about Nancy’s visit to Belfast Grandad was moved to follow up with one of his own. In it he revealed his interest in politics and elections.
We will have elections up here in March and if he came back well maybe he would get to meet ‘The Rev P’ and then we might have a blind date in the Crown!
Don’t you think we would make a handsome couple!
Grannymar & Grandad
I have a very soft spot for…
Pancakes were one of my early attempts at learning to cook. We had no food processor back then so the flour was sieved into a large baking bowl, a well was made in the flour and the eggs dropped in. Slowly the eggs were stirred into the flour, and milk was added a few drops at a time. It was important not to have any lumps in the mixture. When all the milk was added and the batter looked like thick cream the bowl was covered and left to stand for several hours. Sometimes it was prepared at night and left in a cool place for use the next day.
The job of making the pancakes always fell to me. My pancakes were more like crepes, almost as thin as tissue paper. I stood at the gas stove spreading, tossing and when they were cooked, sprinkling with lemon and sugar. I was part of a large family so the whole operation took quite some time. It was one of the few occasions when my siblings came into the kitchen to see how I was progressing. The unusual thing about these visits was that each visitor carried a plate. They left munching on a pancake. By the time I came to pouring the last drops of batter on to the pan all the prepared pancakes had disappeared.
Years later when Elly was at primary school I prepared the batter on the Monday night and we had pancakes for breakfast on Shrove Tuesday. She learned to vary her fillings, cream cheese, stewed fruit, jam or if I was not looking chocolate spread. I remember one occasion in her teen years a group of her peers were coming round to our house to play music, Trivial Pursuit or some such game. I made pancakes and left them plain with dishes of fruit, jam, cream, chopped nuts & ice cream so they had a choice of filling. At one stage the sound of laughter called my attention. There in the middle of the group was my Elly with a pancake filled to overflowing with a full selection of the fillings.
Nowadays I am more likely to prepare them with a savoury filling of stir fried vegetables, chicken and bacon, or to stack them with Maple Syrup and bacon. They make a lovely light supper dish with a side salad. I batch bake the pancakes and when they are cold stack them with layers of non-stick baking paper, wrap them and keep them in the freezer.
Have I made you hungry? If you want some you better come early!
The Crown Bar
I was not happy with the photos in my last post so I have changed some and moved them here.
Nancy try not to cry all over them as they might smudge! 
Only the windows at the front of the building had to be replaced due to bomb damage.
This one is an original. Nice looking Guy… No don’t ask….
The day Nancy came to Town
This post was originally in the form of a free online Podcast, it has since expired and been deleted. Unfortunately I do not have the story in text form but will re-produce it at a later date and link back here.
And Second Place goes too……
I wonder if realising, makes acceptance of the fact you are in second place any easier. I have known for several years that the eventuality of gradualness has brought me to this place. I am not complaining it is the natural order of events in life. Why am I thinking of it now, I hear you ask. Well the short answer is that my baby is away working in a place where her day is our night and while I am pottering about she should be catching up on her beauty sleep.
I am counting the hours until she arrives back in our time zone. I won’t be at the airport to meet her as that privilege belongs to the Love of her life. Perhaps we shall not see each other for several weeks but hearing her voice on the phone and knowing she has landed safely on this island will please me very much.
I am reminded of the first time Elly went away without her dad and me. It was a school trip to York. She was nine years old. We drove her to Larne to meet with her school pals and teachers for the ferry trip to Scotland. Once in Stranrear they boarded a coach for York. Children did not have mobile phones back then so we had to wait until her return on the Friday for any news of the week’s adventure. The young folk were discouraged from phoning home during the week in case it made them homesick.
We were back in Larne in good time to see the ferry sail into port. My husband’s footsteps and whistling speeded up as we joined the group of parents happily waiting to be reunited with the weary travellers.
Elly looked, happy, tired and as if she had not washed her face for a week! We were given a run down on the trip in the three minutes it took to walk to the car (she still does this and you have to listen well or you may never hear again half the details!).
As we drove home she was very quiet, so I turned round and discovered that she was quietly crying to herself. I asked if she was alright and she said “Yes” I asked if she was happy to be home and she sniffled “Yes!” Confused I asked why she was crying. Through her tears she told us, that as soon as she got into the car with us away from everyone else, she realised how much she missed us!
I have given my baby her wings; she uses them well and often. But that “Hi Mum!” when she returns from a trip puts a skip in my step and a song in my heart.
Roll on Saturday!
On being a prisoner
I seem to be reaching the end of my sentence.
Sunday morning dawned freezing and foggy the end of the garden was hidden from view. I was feeling very hungry so decided to have breakfast before my efforts at beautification! While I eat I debated with myself whether to have a long soak in the bath or a shower. The idea of the shower won because my hair could be washed at the same time. For some reason I think that the shower is easier to clean than the bath, so that had some bearing on my decision.
I went into my bedroom to gather my bits & pieces and realised that I had not turned down my bed. Singing to myself I shook the duvet, straightened the bottom sheet, folded down the duvet to air the bed and then lifted a pillow… Yes! One down & feather pillow and I have not been the same since.
My bed is high and as I puffed up the pillow I was standing upright and not bent over. The pillows are very light and not hard to puff. Suddenly with pillow in mid air I screamed and could not move. A searing pain had gripped me across my back and around my tummy. It took me 10 minutes to get myself onto the bed and pull the covers up. I stayed there for several hours trying to find a few minutes relief from the agony.
In the early afternoon I managed to drag myself to the kitchen where I made a warm drink, some toast and took some strong painkillers that remained from when I broke my wrist. Back to bed where I stayed until the next day.
Monday was not much better. I managed to stay on my feet for a couple of hours but had to give in about lunchtime. Thankfully I had some of my home made soups and dinners in the freezer. On Tuesday I was determined not to go back to bed if possible. I wrapped a hot water bottle in a long scarf and tied it like a belt around my waist. The heat at my back certainly gave me some relief and I was able to move about slowly.
The radio has been a constant companion over these few days. I was unable to listen to comedy programmes because it hurt too much to laugh! The weather warnings for the past day or so are frightening so today I wrapped up well, struggled into the car and went down the town to stock up with food to see me through.
My pain is a little easier, I have a roof over my head, heat and plenty of food so if the snow comes as expected you might not hear from me until next June!
Do you remember when…?
Baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint and the babies were allowed to chew and lick the bars. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles. Babies were given the empty tablet bottles to play with, sometimes with Smarties in them for colour and interest.
As children, we were driven around in cars with no seat belts or airbags - being in the front passenger seat was a treat. We rode our bikes without helmets. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and nobody died from it. We ate chips, tapioca, and bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy lemonade with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. The nearest parent was ‘Boss’ and we took correction when it was handed out.
Hours were spent building go-carts out of scraps of wood and metal and then tested at top speed down the hill, only to find out we had forgotten to add any brakes.
We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no DVD movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, and no Internet chat rooms. We had friends; we went outside and found them. We played elastics and rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt.
We walked to school and to friend’s houses. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls. We played Box the Fox and were afraid of the owners catching us. We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no law suits. We had full on fistfights but no prosecution followed from other parents.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. We were taught that ‘Sticks and stones might break our bones, but that names would never hurt us!’
We had no central heating and sometimes in the winter the frost on the bedroom windows was on the inside. We sat round the fireside at night and while our fronts were roasted our backs were frozen cold. We listened to plays on the radio and pictured the characters inside our heads.
Life was simple, slower and we found entertainment without it costing money.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like my comforts!
Would you like a Bar of Soap?
I have this toilet soap and I am not sure what to do with it.
Having soap is not unusual for me. It is a habit I learned from my mother. She bought loads of Lux Toilet Soap and some carbolic soap as well with the weekly shopping. The carbolic soap had a horrible smell and it was always in the soap dish on the kitchen windowsill beside the sink. I tried not to use it. It was ok for my smelly brothers to use it, after all ‘boys’ are smelly anyway, especially when they wear corduroy short trousers!
The Lux bars of soap were the large bath size and we never ran short of them. This was because my mother was a great believer in “getting another couple just in case…” The spare bars had the covering removed and were then placed in the Tallboy among the ‘in case’ towels, nightwear and her underwear. I soon learned to go to the Tallboy if a replacement was required in the bathroom. I would rummage about until I found one and that was that.
I needed a new bar of soap today and so I went to my store cupboard to get it from the multi-pack I had there. For some reason I turned the pack over and you will never guess what I saw? A sell-by date! On soap? Yes it said Best Before: 05-07. Now since when did this happen? I have enough soap to do me until Christmas. Will it wash me in June, July etc.? Elly will have more than fireworks (See yesterdays post) if I turn up dirty and smelly at the wedding.
As I tidied around I saw the box of tissues beside my bed was empty so back I go to the store cupboard for a full one. Lo and Behold! On the back of it I find yet again it has a Best Before date. How can tissues go out of date? Will they Biodegrade before I wipe my snitcher?
I have discovered a mark on the bottom of my foot. I was never any good at Yoga so it is not easy to see it properly. If I squint at it, I think it looks like BB and then very blurred numbers…. Oh Dear!
