Saturday 31 January 2015

Beef plate pie memories



I’m just waiting for the minced beef filling to cool down before I use it to fill a pie for dinner.

This is a meal I associate with my brother. He continued to live at home with my parents until my mother died. Without her to mediate, life became a series of rows with my father – they were too alike, too volatile as personalities to live together. Eventually he found himself a flat of his own.

At this time he took to coming up to visit & cadge a meal from us. In those days money was so tight I counted every penny & bought exactly what we needed for a week’s food for the two of us. Unfortunately my brother would say he was coming on the day he was coming. Often he just turned up out of the blue. We shopped on Wednesday, market day when often there were bargains to be had as far as vegetables at least. He came at the weekend when he wasn’t working & we had no money left to buy extra food. He never volunteered to pay anything towards his food or to take us out for a meal for once. He was like that.

On one occasion I had bought 8oz minced beef for a curry or something. The result was this pie where some potato stretches out the meat making a satisfying meal for three. Ever since I’ve thought of him whenever I make this pie.

I’ve not made it for quite a while. I hope we still enjoy it.

Friday 30 January 2015

Trip to the club



We went along to the golf club for a bacon butty yesterday. We thought we would go while we still could – it had sleeted on & off & the forecast was for things to get worse. We half expected to be snowed in by today - we’re not.

As we went along the prom we could see the snow that had clearly fallen on the Lakeland fells & the Pennines, even some lower lying hills.

We sat in the main room which has windows across the course. Snow heightened patterns in the ground as it stuck to some surfaces but not others. We were surprised by how many oystercatchers had come ashore & seemed to be rootling in the longer grass of the rough, looking for food. They had clearly abandoned the coastal stretches they prefer.

We didn’t stay long. A funeral party arrived. Although we were not asked to leave or to move to the members only bar, we ended up feeling intrusive & a little claustrophobic in the weight of black that surrounded us.

Thursday 29 January 2015

Getting sorted



We’re still here. Yesterday the winds howled all day. I’m not sure when I’ve heard them worse. We went out in the afternoon. The Bay was filled not just with white horses but great rollers coming in. I suspect the ferry to the Isle of Man was cancelled. Thank goodness it seems a bit quieter today.

One relief is that all the fencing & trees are still standing. I’m sure they wouldn’t have done with the old garden. We’re now on the hunt for someone to help in the garden. Al, our old gardener, has now retired. I’m reasonably confident that, although this new garden may eventually be low maintenance, at the moment, before the shrubs etc. have bushed out, it will require more work than I can manage on my own. I know the Fox will help with the lawn-mowing but that’s about it. The weeds are already mounting up. I’ve been onto a gardener to see if she is the answer.

I’ve also tackled Social Services & hopefully my perch stool will soon be replaced.

Our holiday to France is now fully booked. I just need to sort out insurance & booking trains down to London. Now I can turn my attention to Austria instead.

Everything is suddenly coming together & getting organised & done. Even today's lamb curry is plopping away.