Friday 28 August 2015

Changing world of food



I’ve just been listening to “The Reunion” on BBC Radio 4. Today it featured a group of food writers, so influential in post war Britain – Pru Leith, Mary Berry, Claudia Rodin, Rose Elliott & Katherine Whitehorn. They discussed how food in this country has changed.

It has to be admitted as they described the beige food with mushy overcooked vegetables of the immediate post war era, I was taken back to my own youth. My mother was never that bad a cook. We had a very limited diet, the same thing on the same day of the week, the only exception being Christmas time. Vegetables were always cooked al dente, to the point when there was still something to cut into but not something hard to bite into.

The world has changed so much. These days most people have tried foreign foods, to the extent that Chicken Masala, Spag Bol, Lasagne, Pizza, Burgers, are almost treated as British dishes. In those days you had to grow your own, or travel miles, especially if you lived in the north of England as we did, to get exotica such as courgettes & aubergines.

The sheer range of herbs & spices is unimaginable today compared to then. When I started to learn to cook, it was to the chemist you went for dried herbs & spices, not to mention olive oil (only available in tiny bottles for ear problems). Now all these things are everyday items.

Technology has changed. Most home didn’t have fridges, let alone freezers, yet now few would be without them. The same could be said for food processors, blenders & microwaves.

I wonder what new lies ahead. There has been suggestions of insects becoming the new in-food. I’m still having difficulty with that one.

The one thing I do agree with was Pru’s statement of horror when she saw a “Tomorrow’s Word” programme in the ‘60s that suggested in the future we would be all having pills as it saved people having to cook. What a world of pleasure would be lost? Not just in the satisfaction & relaxation of cooking, but also in the textures, smells & taste sensations of eating, and in the enjoyment of good conversation over the meal. I pop enough pills as it is without doing so just to get the food I require. Pills or intravenously may become necessary if I was seriously ill, but until then I want real food, with all its variety, & preferably food that has been prepared with love by a person.

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Going doolally



There are times when I think I’m going well & truly doolally.

Yesterday as the Fox’s appointment at the hospital was cancelled – the physio’s ill – we decided to do our usual supermarket shop. We didn’t need much as the Austrian holiday will soon be upon us, but there were a few things we still needed.

We decided as we now had time we might as well buy some of the non-perishable items we would need as soon as we came home while we were at it.

In the car, as we came home, I suddenly realised the two things we had particularly wanted to buy before we go – a puzzle book to keep me occupied on the plane & some antiperspirant – we’d forgotten to buy. And those were the main reason for even going shopping!

I’m now telling myself when I go to have my hair done tomorrow, I can pop into the local Coop supermarket & get something there. Or will I just forget again?

I have to confess neither of us are really in holiday mood. We’re both feeling too drained to have the energy to feel any excitement. We’re telling ourselves once we’re on that train from Salzburg to Vienna, travelling through some fabulous scenery, our spirits will lift.

I think part of the problem is having the wedding to worry about too. We’re still dithering about what to wear for that! We’ve tried a couple of times to get into Lancaster to buy something but the traffic jam to get to Lancaster has stretched for miles so we’ve just given up. Maybe something will appear in Austria, Vienna maybe. At least the present’s been decided on. It’s not been helped being distracted by all the recent flooding, an extra pressure we could have done without.

Tuesday 25 August 2015

Holiday companions



We were at the golf club yesterday, talking to our cruising friends. Among other things the subject of holidaying with friends came up. We were all agreed. It’s a risky business, often the cause of the break-up of a good friendship.

It is a difficult problem. It can work well. We have a friend who regularly came to stay with us. We even had a couple of holidays in Scotland with him. There were the odd niggles I’m sure on all sides but on the whole it worked well. A good time was had by all & I now look back at those times with unalloyed affection.

However, we have, too, been on holidays which have involved a lot of frustration as we’ve all wanted different things from the holiday. That wouldn’t have mattered if we could have all accepted that we parted from each other some of the time to do our own exploring.

This has particularly affected me since disability has become a factor in my life. Normally friends only see me well, for a few hours a day. They don’t see me when I’m in a lot of pain or when I’m overtired as I just don’t go out to see them. However, when you are on holiday there is no getting around the fact I flag out & need to take things slower. I end up feeling bad about holding everyone else up; they feel frustration about not doing whatever they want but at the same time feel guilty about just leaving me to rest up a bit.

No, the only way I would consider going on holiday with friends/family for any length of time, is if it was clearly understood beforehand that we each go our separate ways if that’s what we want to do & just join up for meals or part of the day.

Maybe it’s just as we are getting older we are getting more set in our ways, less flexible in adjusting to the needs of other people.

Maybe what’s more surprising is that we can still enjoy each other’s company all our waking hours. Indeed we positively relish it. Though it has to be admitted we do each appreciate a bit of own time, time to do our own thing, to think a bit & sort out our ideas. We can happily sit together & read our separate books. We both want to see the same sort of thing. I can see Vienna as a visit of art galleries, a cathedral, a palace, & general interesting corners. The lake part of our trip will be relaxing with a book looking across the lake, or trips to the local villages & to explore the other nearby mountains & lakes by car. It should be good.