On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 18:20:10 -0000 (UTC), Mike McMillan
<toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> wrote:

>Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> wrote:
>> John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> On 24/12/2023 14:55, BrritSki wrote:
>>>> On 24/12/2023 14:47, John Ashby wrote:
>>>>> On 24/12/2023 12:28, Kate B wrote:
>>>>>> re umra passim
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <sniperoo>
>>>>>
>>>>> ISTT that WIWAL PIB were chipolata (rather than cocktail) sausages
>>>>> wrapped in cheese pastry which looks a lot more like a Witney blanket
>>>>> than a thin layer of streaky.
>>>>>
>>>> Would you prefer to hide your sausage in streaky bacon (down Lord
>>>> Cameron), cheesy pastry (if it wasn't cheesy before it probably would be
>>>> afterwards) or a Witney blanket ?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Why is the word "smegma" reverberating in my brain?
>>>
>>> john
>>>
>>
>> It’ll come to you…
>>
>
>Many years ago, we had a family gathering at which I had prepared jacket
>potatoes as one dish. Some of us like the skins - others are not so fussed
>- I like them! I think I had two smallish potatoes and two other larger
>potatoes had been picked by other eaters who don’t care for the skins, so
>they were donated to my plate. Oh! I said, I have four skins now!….

Reminds me of a playground game about peeling a banana.

Nick

On Mon, 25 Dec 2023 01:07:50 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

>On 24-Dec-23 20:28, Penny wrote:
>> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 12:28:18 +0000, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk>
>> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>> re umra passim
>>>
>>> The Sunday Times reveals that it's all Delia's fault. No wonder none of
>>> us remembered them in our youth.
>>
>> I heard that nonsense on the radio this morning. My mother certainly served
>> sausages wrapped in bacon in the '50s. 'Making' her own, of course, as I
>> do, with carefully stretched bacon so it clung to the sausage. More bread
>> and less meat in the sausages back then - a way to stretch the meal with
>> cheap ingredients.
>>
>>> Sunday Times 24 December 2023
>>>
>>> In the 1990 festive cookbook Delia Smith’s Christmas, you’ll find a
>>> recipe for a little-known delicacy invented in 1957. It involved pork
>>> wrapped in pork, a sausage swaddled in crispy bacon. It was a bit weird
>>> at the time, no one had ever heard of it. Although they weren’t referred
>>> to as “pigs in blankets” in the book, that’s how they ended up being
>>> popularly known. A British icon was born.
>>
>> Not sure when I first saw them ready wrapped in the shops.
>>
>> I like pork-based stuffing too, particularly with chestnuts, but don't make
>> my own these days so have to rely upon whatever strange concoctions I can
>> find in the shops. I couldn't find chestnut this year, just sage and onion
>> (which I've never liked) or apple and cranberry. I had some this evening
>> (froze the rest as balls) and it was horribly sweet. I thought cranberry
>> was sharp, not sweet - why add honey?
>
>It might be different elsewhere, but chestnuts seemed very hard to find
>around here. Chestnut stuffing has always been the most important
>Christmas dish in this house.

That'd be the new chestnuts you'd be looking for.
There are plenty of old chestnuts right here in umra.

Nick

In message <sjhkoiptq3cpos6ejj75tr5jp4mf2sspdr@4ax.com> at Tue, 26 Dec
2023 03:40:37, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
[]
>On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs

I wonder if she takes the raddy-ott-im-eez.

>in their shells can be cooked in a microwave oven to make it safe to
>eat. The problem usually lies in the taste and texture being sub-par
>from the manufacturer's point of view not in the danger to the
>consumer's life expectancy. Whole eggs are the exception whilst
>microwaved poached eggs can be just as bad if you don't cook them
>gently and prick all membranes first.

Quite a few of the special-to-microwave variations on other foods - such
as pies, pizzas, and chips - are similar or identical to their
non-microwave cousins, but come with some piece of grey card - I presume
it's metallised cardboard. I've saved those and used them for the
relevant products with no ill-effects - OK, the micro _isn't_ strong on
_crispy_ things like pastry. (Well, I haven't tried the micro chips
thing with ordinary ones yet, as I'm very disappointed in the "proper"
"micro chips" - they're _very_ expensive, and don't come out how I like
chips.)
>
>Christmas pudding is an example of taste and texture. I can ladle
[]
>nothing like a Christmas pud but nice to eat anyway.
>
>Talking of Christmas pud. I brought one of my home made ones over here
>and we had it with guests for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner -

Those guests were delicious.

>which just to add to the confusion we celebrated on Christmas Eve Eve.
>
>Most of the guests had never seen a Christmas pudding before. Quite
>understandable really as it is rather a relic of wintry northern
>hemisphere Christmases. I think they liked it. I'm not so sure they
>were quite so keen after they had eaten and enjoyed it and I had then
>explained it had been steamed for eight hours then stored for over two
>years without freezing or any refrigeration before they came to eat it
>and was all the better for that.

Doesn't it traditionally have sufficient alcohol that rotting won't be a
problem?
>
>Nick

(Your guests' reaction on hearing about the pud reminds me that there
was some vegetable which my mother liked to serve to German friends, who
enjoyed it and asked what it was, only to be somewhat disconcerted, as
it was a vegetable well enough known in Germany, but only as cattle
fodder. I think it was turnip.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

If you carry on hating, you're the one who's damaged.
- Sir Harold Atcherley, sent to the Burma/Siam railway in April 1943

On 26/12/2023 03:40, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 13:24:04 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver"
> <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
>
>> In message <kuqmf1Fr95uU1@mid.individual.net> at Sun, 24 Dec 2023
>> 12:28:18, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>> re umra passim
>>>
>>> The Sunday Times reveals that it's all Delia's fault. No wonder none of
>>> us remembered them in our youth. As for pigs in blankets icecream, I'm
>>> surprised Tom Archer hasn't foisted that on the dairy...
>>>
>>> Sunday Times 24 December 2023
>>>
>>> In the 1990 festive cookbook Delia Smith’s Christmas, you’ll find a
>>> recipe for a little-known delicacy invented in 1957. It involved pork
>>> wrapped in pork, a sausage swaddled in crispy bacon. It was a bit weird
>>> at the time, no one had ever heard of it. Although they weren’t
>>> referred to as “pigs in blankets” in the book, that’s how they
>>> ended up being popularly known. A British icon was born.
>>
>> My mum certainly served them at cocktail parties in the '70s and
>> possibly '60s; I can't remember whether she called them that, though I
>> think so. I also can't remember them being specific to any particular
>> season, though they might have been.
>> []
>>> It’s unusual for a festive food to break out of its Christmas
>>> shackles in this way. Devils on horseback (prunes wrapped in bacon) and
>>> brie and cranberry parcels rarely show their faces outside of the
>>> festive season. But something about the naughty decadence of double
>>> pork, the softness of the sausage contrasted with the crunch of bacon,
>>> has proven totally irresistible.
>>
>> There's a reason for some seasonalities. I'm not sure about cranberries
>> - are they a winter fruit? - but I didn't think pork - either form - was
>> particularly seasonal.
>> []
>>> Moore believes that pork is unfairly demonised as an unhealthy meat but
>>> it contains monounsaturated fats — the kind we get in avocados or
>>> olive
>>
>> Interesting; so as well as being cheaper than most other meats, ...
>> []
>>> Given our growing aversion to ultra-processed food, now might not be
>>> the time to indulge too heavily in pigs in blankets nuts or crisps. “As
>>
>> I have noticed - or, become more aware of - increasing silly marketing
>> of crisp flavours; by the time they've become the powder that's added to
>> crisps, most things are far from their origin anyway. Cheese and onion
>> is now likely to be "Stilton and spring onion", beef "steak and ale",
>> even salt and vinegar "sea salt and xxx vinegar"; since they almost
>> certainly include the universal weasel-word "flavour" in the
>> description, I doubt there's any difference. Since both parts of PIB are
>> of pig origin, I'd be surprised if "PIB" crisps are any different from
>> what used to be called bacon flavour. But they're all sold in black
>> packaging (seems to be this decade's shorthand for "quality"), at a
>> higher price. (Oh, and "hand-cooked", as often as not.)
>> []
>>> Still, it’s Christmas, so there’s no harm in raising a glass to
>>> Delia and indulging in a sleeping pig or two. Maybe just go easy on the
>>> pork ice cream.
>> []
>> No PIBs here - I like them, but just didn't occur to buy any. Plus I
>> think they probably can't be microwaved, and I don't like things that
>> have to be ovened, just for me. I'd decided I would have something such
>> anyway for tomorrow, and selected beef brisket - but then reading the
>> box discovered that can be microwaved too, so that's nice!
>>
>> (Actually, I grill almost anything that's supposed to be ovened anyway,
>> if I can't figure out a way to microwave it. I've not used my oven since
>> I replaced the combination after the 2020 fire, and don't think I'd used
>> it before that either!)
>
> On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
> them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
> in their shells can be cooked in a microwave oven to make it safe to
> eat. The problem usually lies in the taste and texture being sub-par
> from the manufacturer's point of view not in the danger to the
> consumer's life expectancy. Whole eggs are the exception whilst
> microwaved poached eggs can be just as bad if you don't cook them
> gently and prick all membranes first.
>
> Christmas pudding is an example of taste and texture. I can ladle
> loads of Christmas pudding mix into a bowl, cover it in greaseproof
> paper and steam it for eight hours and the result is a recognisable
> Christmas pudding. If I take the same mix and put it in a container
> and microwave it for two minutes it fluffs up and bubbles and expands
> and makes a delicious, light, spicy, fruity, spongy desert which is
> nothing like a Christmas pud but nice to eat anyway.
>
> Talking of Christmas pud. I brought one of my home made ones over here
> and we had it with guests for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner -
> which just to add to the confusion we celebrated on Christmas Eve Eve.
>
> Most of the guests had never seen a Christmas pudding before. Quite
> understandable really as it is rather a relic of wintry northern
> hemisphere Christmases. I think they liked it. I'm not so sure they
> were quite so keen after they had eaten and enjoyed it and I had then
> explained it had been steamed for eight hours then stored for over two
> years without freezing or any refrigeration before they came to eat it
> and was all the better for that.
>
> Nick

We once entertained an American relative to dinner. In honour of a
special guest we served a Christmas pudding left from six months
earlier. As we were eating it it one of us remarked that the pudding was
over six months old and our guest froze with the spoon halfway to his mouth.
mike Ruddock

On 26/12/2023 05:08, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <sjhkoiptq3cpos6ejj75tr5jp4mf2sspdr@4ax.com> at Tue, 26 Dec
> 2023 03:40:37, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
> []
>> On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>> them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
>
> I wonder if she takes the raddy-ott-im-eez.

And does she watch Jam-es Hen-dry on Freeview Channel 91 (WildEarth).
My family and I are huge fans (of the channel generally and him in
particular for rather different reasons!). If you don't know the
channel, do give it a go if you are interested in wildlife - and don't
mind the gory bits.
--
Jenny M Benson

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 05:08:01 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:

>In message <sjhkoiptq3cpos6ejj75tr5jp4mf2sspdr@4ax.com> at Tue, 26 Dec
>2023 03:40:37, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
>[]
>>On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>>them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
>
>I wonder if she takes the raddy-ott-im-eez.

The Greek philospher who predicted the invention of television.

--
Regards, Paul Herber
https://www.paulherber.co.uk/

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 09:21:19 +0000, Mike Ruddock <ruddock117@btinternet.com> wrote:

>On 26/12/2023 03:40, Nick Odell wrote:
>> On Sun, 24 Dec 2023 13:24:04 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver"
>> <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> In message <kuqmf1Fr95uU1@mid.individual.net> at Sun, 24 Dec 2023
>>> 12:28:18, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>>> re umra passim
>>>>
>>>> The Sunday Times reveals that it's all Delia's fault. No wonder none of
>>>> us remembered them in our youth. As for pigs in blankets icecream, I'm
>>>> surprised Tom Archer hasn't foisted that on the dairy...
>>>>
>>>> Sunday Times 24 December 2023
>>>>
>>>> In the 1990 festive cookbook Delia Smith’s Christmas, you’ll find a
>>>> recipe for a little-known delicacy invented in 1957. It involved pork
>>>> wrapped in pork, a sausage swaddled in crispy bacon. It was a bit weird
>>>> at the time, no one had ever heard of it. Although they weren’t
>>>> referred to as “pigs in blankets” in the book, that’s how they
>>>> ended up being popularly known. A British icon was born.
>>>
>>> My mum certainly served them at cocktail parties in the '70s and
>>> possibly '60s; I can't remember whether she called them that, though I
>>> think so. I also can't remember them being specific to any particular
>>> season, though they might have been.
>>> []
>>>> It’s unusual for a festive food to break out of its Christmas
>>>> shackles in this way. Devils on horseback (prunes wrapped in bacon) and
>>>> brie and cranberry parcels rarely show their faces outside of the
>>>> festive season. But something about the naughty decadence of double
>>>> pork, the softness of the sausage contrasted with the crunch of bacon,
>>>> has proven totally irresistible.
>>>
>>> There's a reason for some seasonalities. I'm not sure about cranberries
>>> - are they a winter fruit? - but I didn't think pork - either form - was
>>> particularly seasonal.
>>> []
>>>> Moore believes that pork is unfairly demonised as an unhealthy meat but
>>>> it contains monounsaturated fats — the kind we get in avocados or
>>>> olive
>>>
>>> Interesting; so as well as being cheaper than most other meats, ...
>>> []
>>>> Given our growing aversion to ultra-processed food, now might not be
>>>> the time to indulge too heavily in pigs in blankets nuts or crisps. “As
>>>
>>> I have noticed - or, become more aware of - increasing silly marketing
>>> of crisp flavours; by the time they've become the powder that's added to
>>> crisps, most things are far from their origin anyway. Cheese and onion
>>> is now likely to be "Stilton and spring onion", beef "steak and ale",
>>> even salt and vinegar "sea salt and xxx vinegar"; since they almost
>>> certainly include the universal weasel-word "flavour" in the
>>> description, I doubt there's any difference. Since both parts of PIB are
>>> of pig origin, I'd be surprised if "PIB" crisps are any different from
>>> what used to be called bacon flavour. But they're all sold in black
>>> packaging (seems to be this decade's shorthand for "quality"), at a
>>> higher price. (Oh, and "hand-cooked", as often as not.)
>>> []
>>>> Still, it’s Christmas, so there’s no harm in raising a glass to
>>>> Delia and indulging in a sleeping pig or two. Maybe just go easy on the
>>>> pork ice cream.
>>> []
>>> No PIBs here - I like them, but just didn't occur to buy any. Plus I
>>> think they probably can't be microwaved, and I don't like things that
>>> have to be ovened, just for me. I'd decided I would have something such
>>> anyway for tomorrow, and selected beef brisket - but then reading the
>>> box discovered that can be microwaved too, so that's nice!
>>>
>>> (Actually, I grill almost anything that's supposed to be ovened anyway,
>>> if I can't figure out a way to microwave it. I've not used my oven since
>>> I replaced the combination after the 2020 fire, and don't think I'd used
>>> it before that either!)
>>
>> On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>> them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
>> in their shells can be cooked in a microwave oven to make it safe to
>> eat. The problem usually lies in the taste and texture being sub-par
>> from the manufacturer's point of view not in the danger to the
>> consumer's life expectancy. Whole eggs are the exception whilst
>> microwaved poached eggs can be just as bad if you don't cook them
>> gently and prick all membranes first.
>>
>> Christmas pudding is an example of taste and texture. I can ladle
>> loads of Christmas pudding mix into a bowl, cover it in greaseproof
>> paper and steam it for eight hours and the result is a recognisable
>> Christmas pudding. If I take the same mix and put it in a container
>> and microwave it for two minutes it fluffs up and bubbles and expands
>> and makes a delicious, light, spicy, fruity, spongy desert which is
>> nothing like a Christmas pud but nice to eat anyway.
>>
>> Talking of Christmas pud. I brought one of my home made ones over here
>> and we had it with guests for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner -
>> which just to add to the confusion we celebrated on Christmas Eve Eve.
>>
>> Most of the guests had never seen a Christmas pudding before. Quite
>> understandable really as it is rather a relic of wintry northern
>> hemisphere Christmases. I think they liked it. I'm not so sure they
>> were quite so keen after they had eaten and enjoyed it and I had then
>> explained it had been steamed for eight hours then stored for over two
>> years without freezing or any refrigeration before they came to eat it
>> and was all the better for that.
>>
>> Nick
>
>We once entertained an American relative to dinner. In honour of a
>special guest we served a Christmas pudding left from six months
>earlier. As we were eating it it one of us remarked that the pudding was
>over six months old and our guest froze with the spoon halfway to his mouth.
>mike Ruddock

And the brandy within was even older!

--
Regards, Paul Herber
https://www.paulherber.co.uk/

On 25/12/2023 18:27, Chris wrote:

> Tee totals here. We toasted each other in fresh orange juice st our
> wedding - and it took some difficulty to make my dad realise we meant it!

The orange juice or the wedding?

--
Ric

In message
<km9loipqiekdf3l6s8n5fl5sg4fcm75nsd@news.eternal-september.org> at Tue,
26 Dec 2023 10:12:39, Paul Herber <paul@paulherber.co.uk> writes
>On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 05:08:01 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
>
>>In message <sjhkoiptq3cpos6ejj75tr5jp4mf2sspdr@4ax.com> at Tue, 26 Dec
>>2023 03:40:37, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
>>[]
>>>On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>>>them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
>>
>>I wonder if she takes the raddy-ott-im-eez.
>
>The Greek philospher who predicted the invention of television.
>
Or soothsayer, who can only see between seven and ten days into the
future.
>
>
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Veni, Vidi, Vomit (I came, I saw, I was ill) - mik@saslimited.demon.co.uk, 1998

J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
> In message
> <km9loipqiekdf3l6s8n5fl5sg4fcm75nsd@news.eternal-september.org> at Tue,
> 26 Dec 2023 10:12:39, Paul Herber <paul@paulherber.co.uk> writes
>> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 05:08:01 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> In message <sjhkoiptq3cpos6ejj75tr5jp4mf2sspdr@4ax.com> at Tue, 26 Dec
>>> 2023 03:40:37, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
>>> []
>>>> On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>>>> them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
>>>
>>> I wonder if she takes the raddy-ott-im-eez.
>>
>> The Greek philospher who predicted the invention of television.
>>
> Or soothsayer, who can only see between seven and ten days into the
> future.
>>
>>

The Joke will be repeated at 16:00 and at midnight but also available at
any time on BBC SOUNDS!!!!!

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 25/12/2023 12:23, Joe Kerr wrote:
> On 25/12/2023 11:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <kut5mfFa2joU1@mid.individual.net> at Mon, 25 Dec 2023
>> 11:00:31, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>> []
>>> Off to eat this, preceded by champagne cocktails, at my sister's...
>>>
>> I was thinking, at the celebrations at the vet practice (sorry to be
>> on-topic!): I don't like champagne, never have: it's far too dry for
>> me. And I wonder how many others there are like me, who feel like the
>> umbrella at the feast whenever some is brought out to celebrate
>> something (at, presumably, some expense on the part of the bringer,
>> or at least provider). [I think I usually sip one glass to be polite.]
>>
> And there I was thinking I was weird (stop sniggering) when it is
> actually "a thing" to not like champagne, maybe.
>
>> I've never knowingly had a champagne cocktail; I might like those,
>> but - when someone is providing it/them for me at least - it'd be
>> cheaper to use a different ingredient to start with.
>>
>> Not meaning to spoil anyone's day given what it is: enjoy and be
>> happy, everyone!
>
>
I don't like champagne either, overpriced and over rated. I'm partial to
a decent quality red wine, but I know why sports people who've just won
something shake bottles of champagne and send the contents fizzing into
the air. They'd rather do that than drink the stuff. I don't like caviar
either, it's just hugely expensive fish paste. Perhaps my working class
roots have maimed my palate.

Steve

Steve Hague <stevehague82@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 25/12/2023 12:23, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> On 25/12/2023 11:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>> In message <kut5mfFa2joU1@mid.individual.net> at Mon, 25 Dec 2023
>>> 11:00:31, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>> []
>>>> Off to eat this, preceded by champagne cocktails, at my sister's...
>>>>
>>> I was thinking, at the celebrations at the vet practice (sorry to be
>>> on-topic!): I don't like champagne, never have: it's far too dry for
>>> me. And I wonder how many others there are like me, who feel like the
>>> umbrella at the feast whenever some is brought out to celebrate
>>> something (at, presumably, some expense on the part of the bringer,
>>> or at least provider). [I think I usually sip one glass to be polite.]
>>>
>> And there I was thinking I was weird (stop sniggering) when it is
>> actually "a thing" to not like champagne, maybe.
>>
>>> I've never knowingly had a champagne cocktail; I might like those,
>>> but - when someone is providing it/them for me at least - it'd be
>>> cheaper to use a different ingredient to start with.
>>>
>>> Not meaning to spoil anyone's day given what it is: enjoy and be
>>> happy, everyone!
>>
>>
> I don't like champagne either, overpriced and over rated. I'm partial to
> a decent quality red wine, but I know why sports people who've just won
> something shake bottles of champagne and send the contents fizzing into
> the air. They'd rather do that than drink the stuff. I don't like caviar
> either, it's just hugely expensive fish paste. Perhaps my working class
> roots have maimed my palate.
>
> Steve
>
>

And I’ll stick to hen’s eggs thanks. (Mine Dew, I couldn’t stomach cod’s
roe when foisted onto my plate at school.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 26/12/2023 16:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
> Steve Hague <stevehague82@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 25/12/2023 12:23, Joe Kerr wrote:
>>> On 25/12/2023 11:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>>> In message <kut5mfFa2joU1@mid.individual.net> at Mon, 25 Dec 2023
>>>> 11:00:31, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>>> []
>>>>> Off to eat this, preceded by champagne cocktails, at my sister's...
>>>>>
>>>> I was thinking, at the celebrations at the vet practice (sorry to be
>>>> on-topic!): I don't like champagne, never have: it's far too dry for
>>>> me. And I wonder how many others there are like me, who feel like the
>>>> umbrella at the feast whenever some is brought out to celebrate
>>>> something (at, presumably, some expense on the part of the bringer,
>>>> or at least provider). [I think I usually sip one glass to be polite.]
>>>>
>>> And there I was thinking I was weird (stop sniggering) when it is
>>> actually "a thing" to not like champagne, maybe.
>>>
>>>> I've never knowingly had a champagne cocktail; I might like those,
>>>> but - when someone is providing it/them for me at least - it'd be
>>>> cheaper to use a different ingredient to start with.
>>>>
>>>> Not meaning to spoil anyone's day given what it is: enjoy and be
>>>> happy, everyone!
>>>
>>>
>> I don't like champagne either, overpriced and over rated. I'm partial to
>> a decent quality red wine, but I know why sports people who've just won
>> something shake bottles of champagne and send the contents fizzing into
>> the air. They'd rather do that than drink the stuff. I don't like caviar
>> either, it's just hugely expensive fish paste. Perhaps my working class
>> roots have maimed my palate.
>>
>> Steve
>>
>>
>
> And I’ll stick to hen’s eggs thanks. (Mine Dew, I couldn’t stomach cod’s
> roe when foisted onto my plate at school.
>

AIAOU?

I like taramasalata, and caviar when I can get it, and I like a good dry
champagne very much - these days English sparklers from Hampshire or
Sussex are absolutely delicious and often better value than the French.

--
Kate B

In message <kv0cpvFsgb3U1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 26 Dec 2023
16:20:14, Steve Hague <stevehague82@gmail.com> writes
>On 25/12/2023 12:23, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> On 25/12/2023 11:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
[]
>>>on-topic!): I don't like champagne, never have: it's far too dry for
>>>me. And I wonder how many others there are like me, who feel like the

I've been most cheered by the number of UMRAts who share my taste!
[]
>I don't like champagne either, overpriced and over rated. I'm partial
>to a decent quality red wine, but I know why sports people who've just

Not keen on red either - far too dry for me. Except maybe port, but that
isn't really wine.

>won something shake bottles of champagne and send the contents fizzing
>into the air. They'd rather do that than drink the stuff. I don't like

Never thought of that!

Though I know the grong pree powers that be have engineered the creation
of a suitable alternative for use in teetotal states - I think they call
it rose water. As since you say it's just for spraying over other
people, I suppose it doesn't matter.

>caviar either, it's just hugely expensive fish paste. Perhaps my

Can't remember if I've had it; I think I have and didn't dislike it, but
couldn't see what the fuss was about. For fish, I like just battered
whatever (if someone else has made it!), or what we used to call
crabsticks but are now called seafood stick (presumably because they
have no crab in them): I eat them as an occasional nibble from the
'fridge.

Another alleged delicacy: truffles (the dug-up fungus, I mean, not the
confection). I was presented with one by a friend of my parents when
about 12 (I think), and gave the honesty of children - i. e. that I
didn't think it was anything special - to the embarrassment of my
parents. (I can't remember if I disliked it or was just unimpressed. I
don't think I've had one since.)
I like the sweets, as I do almost anything sweet! (I have the poor teeth
to show for it.)

>working class roots have maimed my palate.

I wouldn't say that!
>
>Steve
>
John
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The first objective of any tyrant in Whitehall would be to make Parliament
utterly subservient to his will; and the next to overturn or diminish trial by
jury ..." Lord Devlin (http://www.holbornchambers.co.uk)

In message <kv0dv5FrsnuU1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 26 Dec 2023
16:40:06, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
[]
>I like taramasalata, and caviar when I can get it, and I like a good

I like the many-a substance, as a dip for the triangular crisps. (As I
said earlier, can't remember if I like caviar - so long since I've had
it. (Another dip I like is thousand island - and I can't understand why
all of the dips in those selection boxes of four dips are available as
separate dips - except that one!)

>dry champagne very much - these days English sparklers from Hampshire
>or Sussex are absolutely delicious and often better value than the
>French.
>
I'm pleased to hear it! (Purely as a matter of supporting
English/British industry; I don't like anything to which the term "dry"
is applied.)
>
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The best way to achieve immortality is by not dying.

On 26/12/2023 16:41, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

> Not keen on red either - far too dry for me.

Nor me. Pink is my shade. Especially Californian or Australian.

A while ago I swore I would go to my grave without ever tasting
Prosecco, simply because everyone seemed to be talking about/drinking
it. But a family member obstructed that intention.

(Similarly, I will never see Gone with the Wind.)

--
Jenny M Benson

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 16:41:08 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver"
<G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:

>In message <kv0cpvFsgb3U1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 26 Dec 2023
>16:20:14, Steve Hague <stevehague82@gmail.com> writes
>>On 25/12/2023 12:23, Joe Kerr wrote:
>>> On 25/12/2023 11:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>[]
>>>>on-topic!): I don't like champagne, never have: it's far too dry for
>>>>me. And I wonder how many others there are like me, who feel like the
>
>I've been most cheered by the number of UMRAts who share my taste!
>[]
>>I don't like champagne either, overpriced and over rated. I'm partial
>>to a decent quality red wine, but I know why sports people who've just

I quite like champagne and other bubbly wines, as long as not too dry.
>
>Not keen on red either - far too dry for me. Except maybe port, but that

>Though I know the grong pree powers that be have engineered the creation
>of a suitable alternative for use in teetotal states - I think they call
>it rose water. As since you say it's just for spraying over other
>people, I suppose it doesn't matter.
>
>>caviar either, it's just hugely expensive fish paste. Perhaps my

I don't like caviar but like anchovy paste. Used to get it as a child
on bread and vbutter.
>
>Can't remember if I've had it; I think I have and didn't dislike it, but
>couldn't see what the fuss was about. For fish, I like just battered
>whatever (if someone else has made it!), or what we used to call
>crabsticks but are now called seafood stick (presumably because they
>have no crab in them): I eat them as an occasional nibble from the
>'fridge.
I don't mind fish fingers
>
>Another alleged delicacy: truffles (the dug-up fungus, I mean, not the
>confection). I was presented with one by a friend of my parents when
>about 12 (I think), and gave the honesty of children - i. e. that I
>didn't think it was anything special - to the embarrassment of my
>parents. (I can't remember if I disliked it or was just unimpressed. I
>don't think I've had one since.)
>I like the sweets, as I do almost anything sweet! (I have the poor teeth
>to show for it.)
>
>>working class roots have maimed my palate.
>
>I wouldn't say that!
>>
>>Steve
>>
>John

On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 16:40:06 +0000, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk>
wrote:

>On 26/12/2023 16:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
>> Steve Hague <stevehague82@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 25/12/2023 12:23, Joe Kerr wrote:
>>>> On 25/12/2023 11:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>>>> In message <kut5mfFa2joU1@mid.individual.net> at Mon, 25 Dec 2023
>>>>> 11:00:31, Kate B <elvira@nospam.demon.co.uk> writes
>>>>> []
>>>>>> Off to eat this, preceded by champagne cocktails, at my sister's...
>>>>>>
>>>>> I was thinking, at the celebrations at the vet practice (sorry to be
>>>>> on-topic!): I don't like champagne, never have: it's far too dry for
>>>>> me. And I wonder how many others there are like me, who feel like the
>>>>> umbrella at the feast whenever some is brought out to celebrate
>>>>> something (at, presumably, some expense on the part of the bringer,
>>>>> or at least provider). [I think I usually sip one glass to be polite.]
>>>>>
>>>> And there I was thinking I was weird (stop sniggering) when it is
>>>> actually "a thing" to not like champagne, maybe.
>>>>
>>>>> I've never knowingly had a champagne cocktail; I might like those,
>>>>> but - when someone is providing it/them for me at least - it'd be
>>>>> cheaper to use a different ingredient to start with.
>>>>>
>>>>> Not meaning to spoil anyone's day given what it is: enjoy and be
>>>>> happy, everyone!
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I don't like champagne either, overpriced and over rated. I'm partial to
>>> a decent quality red wine, but I know why sports people who've just won
>>> something shake bottles of champagne and send the contents fizzing into
>>> the air. They'd rather do that than drink the stuff. I don't like caviar
>>> either, it's just hugely expensive fish paste. Perhaps my working class
>>> roots have maimed my palate.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>>
>>
>> And I’ll stick to hen’s eggs thanks. (Mine Dew, I couldn’t stomach cod’s
>> roe when foisted onto my plate at school.
>>
>
>AIAOU?
>
no

>I like taramasalata, and caviar when I can get it, and I like a good dry
>champagne very much - these days English sparklers from Hampshire or
>Sussex are absolutely delicious and often better value than the French.

champagne yes, taramasalata and caviar no

Jenny M Benson <NemoNews@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> On 26/12/2023 16:41, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>
>> Not keen on red either - far too dry for me.
>
> Nor me. Pink is my shade. Especially Californian or Australian.
>
> A while ago I swore I would go to my grave without ever tasting
> Prosecco, simply because everyone seemed to be talking about/drinking
> it. But a family member obstructed that intention.
>
> (Similarly, I will never see Gone with the Wind.)
>

Rennie is to be recommended in such circumstances…

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

In message <kv0hntFo9t8U1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 26 Dec 2023
17:44:29, Jenny M Benson <NemoNews@hotmail.co.uk> writes
>On 26/12/2023 16:41, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>
>> Not keen on red either - far too dry for me.
>
>Nor me. Pink is my shade. Especially Californian or Australian.

Sweet white for me. (Hard to find in England.)

Wasn't it a meme - I think maybe Shula? - would ask for a "dray wate
wane"? (Or was it la Bone?)
>
>A while ago I swore I would go to my grave without ever tasting
>Prosecco, simply because everyone seemed to be talking about/drinking
>it. But a family member obstructed that intention.

I suspect the "sec" in the middle means I wouldn't like it.

I've never been sure (or inclined to find out): is it a grape variety, a
geographical area, or a means of production? When growing up, I remember
the area made being far more relevant than the type of grape; I don't
know if that was the German norm, or my parents' way of doing things, or
what, but what I've learnt over the last two or three decades to be the
norm in England - i. e. to describe a wine primarily by the grape
variety it is made from, rather than where it comes from - still seems
odd to me.
>
>(Similarly, I will never see Gone with the Wind.)
>
I think I've seen it (almost certainly on TV rather than in the cinema),
but not for many years. From what I remember it was a well-made film,
and a good yarn, though not as memorable as often alleged; however,
there's so much of it that has seeped into our culture that one probably
_should_ see it, once anyway, so one knows what people are referring to.
(Rather - regrettably, IMO - like Shakespeare.) If only, by modern
standards, its (GWTW, I mean, not Shak) standards and views, very
different to today.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not
weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not
timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly."
(tweeted by Canellecitadelle @Canellelabelle 2023-3-9)

On 26/12/2023 18:15, Vicky wrote:
> I don't like caviar but like anchovy paste. Used to get it as a child
> on bread and vbutter.

I mourn the passing of Bloater Paste, which I loved.
--
Jenny M Benson

On 26-Dec-23 16:56, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

> I'm pleased to hear it! (Purely as a matter of supporting
> English/British industry; I don't like anything to which the term "dry"
> is applied.)

Humour?
The Younger Dryas?

--
Sam Plusnet

"J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> writes:

> In message <sjhkoiptq3cpos6ejj75tr5jp4mf2sspdr@4ax.com> at Tue, 26 Dec
> 2023 03:40:37, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
> []
>>On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>>them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
>
> I wonder if she takes the raddy-ott-im-eez.

I find it hard to find excuses for Nigella, who was once my neighbour in
Chesterton Road W10. In those days she conveniently had a
brother who edited the Spectator and appointed her the restaurant critic
so that she and John dined out lavishly every night on the corrupt
canuck Conrad Black's tab. Domestic goddess my arse! And when John died
she fell straight into the arms of sugar-daddy Saatchi and I bet she
never warmed up a meal in the meh-croh-wah-vee for him either!

All the same, I confess it's long been my practice to pronounce the home
ground of Dundee United¹ (Tannadice Park) as "Tah-na-DEE-chay". After
all, everything sounds better in Italian.

Rosie

¹ As a one-time active pub-quizzer it was expedient to know these things

"J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> writes:

> (Your guests' reaction on hearing about the pud reminds me that there
> was some vegetable which my mother liked to serve to German friends,
> who enjoyed it and asked what it was, only to be somewhat
> disconcerted, as it was a vegetable well enough known in Germany, but
> only as cattle fodder. I think it was turnip.)

I know sheep love them (assuming you mean what we up here call turnips
or neeps, a word which the big English supermarkets refuse to acknowledge) so
they become part of our national dish without having to put up with them
cheppit on the plate. I can't stand neeps (always mashed up with carrots
in my childhood Christmas dinners). I prefer my haggis like most Scots
do, with a wee salade Glasvège and broon sauce.

Rosie

Paul Herber <paul@paulherber.co.uk> writes:

> On Tue, 26 Dec 2023 05:08:01 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
>
>>In message <sjhkoiptq3cpos6ejj75tr5jp4mf2sspdr@4ax.com> at Tue, 26 Dec
>>2023 03:40:37, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
>>[]
>>>On the subject of microwaves - or, as I believe Nigella pronounces
>>>them , me-crow-wah-vez - I'm pretty sure almost anything except eggs
>>
>>I wonder if she takes the raddy-ott-im-eez.
>
> The Greek philospher who predicted the invention of television.

That wasn't Ari-stot-EE-lay then?

Rosie