Mirthful

Is simply wonderful.

So the birthday of the lovely Jamelah (who cracks me up regularly) has come and gone, but I suddenly remembered a rather good travel-related disaster story which I don’t believe I’ve shared here before, so I’m writing it up anyway.

Well, it goes like this: I was in England with my rather lovely husband. In fact, it was our honeymoon. We’d been to Scotland (briefly) and Wales and had stopped by Worthing and were now making our way up around London in order to get to Stanstead for our flights home. The actual flights were two nights away, so we needed to find somewhere - preferably somewhere nice - to stay for the one night and then another, somewhat closer to the airport - our flights were ridiculously early, as flights are - the next night. We’d been driving (rental car) from place to place without pre-booking B&Bs - well, we did phone ahead most places, but it was a case of “have you got a double for tonight” rather than “can you fit us in next June”. It had mostly worked out well, though we sometimes ended up not quite where we originally intended.

Now, as I said, we were circling round London on the eastern side and heading for Essex, unknown country for me, for some reason I’ve never been North East of London much. We settled on Colchester as a likely place to stay for one night, as it was big enough to provide the likelihood of free rooms and good pubs, as well as some sightseeing opportunities. Rather than phone ahead we decided to go the “get the tourist information to book us in” route, which was our first mistake (unless chosing Colchester at all could be considered a mistake, which the following events might suggest to be the case, so go on then, not phoning ahead and trusting to the tourist information was our second mistake. I think. Unless it was the third or fourth or whatever). We found a carpark down by the station somewhere and proceeded on foot to the main centre of town (being taken aback at the first encounter with - presumably - native Colchesterians, a group of four teenagers we met at a little staircase up from the parking lot. The staircase was narrow, and they reached it first, so we stepped aside to let them descend. This they did, and each in turn said “Ta” or “Thank you” as they passed. Catch a Norwegian teenager doing that! I took it as heartening proof that politeness is not quite dead (yet). Anyway, on with the main story…).

After some initial problems of determining what was actually up and down on the tiny map we had of the centre (in the Rough Guide to England, I believe), we found the tourist information. It was stuffed with people. We got to talk to one of the ladies, but she didn’t even want to try booking for us when we couldn’t tell her where we wanted to stay (uhm, I kind of thought her job was to suggest places to us?), but gave us a leaflet with lots of B&Bs and hotels in Colchester and told us to sit down and see if we could find something we liked the look of. So we did, for a little while, then realised we were probably better off in a pub, making the phone calls ourselves, especially since the tourist information was about to close anyway. So we left, and discovered that it had suddenly gone dark outside. Now, in July in England it’s not supposed to be dark at 5 pm. It was. Then it started raining. REALLY raining, not the messing-about-with-a-little-watering-can sot of raing but the throwing-bucketfuls-of-water-at-everyone-and-everything kind of rain. We tried to stand under a portruding roof for a while, but then decided we’d rather be wet and cold and in a pub than slightly less wet, but still cold and outside, so we ran for it. I was so soaked by the time we got to the corner of the block where there was a pub (thanks be) that when I headed to the ladies to try to dry off a bit with some paper towels or something I actually got a laugh from some of the bystanders. Seriously. Think drowned kitten, except not quite as cute.

Incidentally, between the main pub and the ladies there was a little hallway with a door leading out to the beer garden. Outside there was a step up to the main area. Into the basin created between this step and the walls water was pouring from a - presumably defect - drain off the roof. Since the door in to the hallway was open, this is where the water was heading. Heroically - well, I’d just dried off after all - I stepped into the deluge and pulled the door shut (it opened outwards, so you had to step into the deluge to get a grip on it). I then headed back to the ladies for a bit more paper towelling action.

Onwards with the “place to stay” mission: Over a pint or two we started phoning some of the B&Bs in the leaflet, but they were either not answering the phone or all full. The rain eased up a bit and we decided to head back to the car and drive over to one of the areas where there seemed to be a concentration of B&Bs, as in our experience there are usually more than bother to pay for mention in leaflets. So we did. Once we were in the car it started raining again, so we drove around Colchester in the rain, muddling through roundabouts and trying to figure out ways of getting to where we wanted to go through the maze of one-way streets. Finally, we found the road we were looking for. According to the leaflet and the rough guide, there were at least four B&Bs on that road. We didn’t find them. Not one. We’d have been happy to see one with a “No vacancy” sign at that point, quite honestly. The closest we got was a house with the usual credit card stickers in the window, but there was no sign outside and it seemed completely locked up.

Getting increasingly desperate, we tried a couple of the hotels in the leaflet. We normally don’t stay at hotels because they are A. more expensive and B. less personal and interesting. This time we didn’t stay at any because they were full. At this point we started wondering what it was that was so great about Colchester that everybody and his grandma wanted to stay there, but decided, on reflection, that we would rather have a bed than a good time (if, indeed, such were our choices) and to look further afield. So while the husband drove out of Colchester I started phoning B&Bs in nearby, smaller towns. “Sorry, we’re fully booked” became the refrain. Turns out the world and his grandma had invited their friends from outer space and had filled every bed in Essex. The party must have been swinging.

Working my way through the Rough Guide to England with the help of the map, I found a B&B - or a small inn, rather - in Clavering, a village not too far from the main road leading from Colchester to Stanstead and very close to Stanstead. I phoned. Did they have double? Yes, they did. How much was it? 86 pounds a night. A bit stiff, but ok, we’ll take it for tonight, certainly (I don’t think I actually told the guy on the phone that I thought the price a bit stiff, mind you). Fine, when can we expect you? Oh, in about half an hour I should think.

By the time we arrived we’d decided that 86 pounds wasn’t all that stiff and that we’d be thrilled if they would let us stay for two nights. Now, because of the rain and the soaking (remember the rain and the soaking?) we’d been rather wet when we stepped into the car. By this time we had mostly dried up, but not quite. I was wearing a dress in a olive cotton that turned a few shades darker when wet. When soaked from head to toe this wasn’t a problem because the whole dress was still the same colour, but now the only part that hadn’t dried was the part down around my middle that gets squashed when sitting. So I had a big, wet patch in the middle of the front of my dress, looking pretty much exactly as if I’d needed the ladies but hadn’t quite made it. Classy.

The nice gentleman at The Cricketers booked us in for two nights regardless, which just confirms the overall friendliness of the place. See, this is a travel disaster story with a happy ending. Got to love those.

Good things about the Cricketers (because lists are good):

• Heavenly food. Seriously. I thought I might die when I tasted the carrot-and-something puree I got with my meat the first night, it was that good.
• No rain. Well, not inside, anyway.
• Charming, old pub, with beams that warned you when you were too drunk (i.e. you had to duck, if you hit your head, you’ve forgotten, which probably means it’s time to go to bed).
• Food to die for.
• Four poster bed. Which is what every girl wants on her honeymoon, right? Beats sleeping in the car by a long mile.
• Sherry in a decanter in the room. Ok, the sherry was pretty bad, but still.
• Gorgeous food, and it was reasonably cheap, too.
• Complimentary chocolate a-plenty in a bowl in the room.
• Morris dancers outside the pub. Weird stuff, but entertaining.
• Fabulous food.
• Lots of good beer - kept the husband happy.
• And did I mention that the food was really rather good?

Turns out we’ve accidentally ended up in an inn run by Trevor and Sally Oliver. Sound familiar at all? Know where the naked chef learned to love cooking? Yup.

So. There’s your travel disaster story, and there is a bonus: A recommendation. If you’re ever flying out of or in to Stanstead and need somewhere to stay - and have a car or a generous taxi-budget - this is the place. Or if you’re in the area for some other reason. Or, in fact, if you’re not in the area at all but can get yourself there.

That was the commercial break, now back to our regular programming.

Oh, and happy belated birthday, Jamelah.

I guess it’s a natural byproduct of reading foodblogs that your mouth starts watering… A Spoonful of Sugar has done that before and does it again, as well as setting my heart a-racing and my stomach a-fluttering when I think that in a very short while indeed (though not short enough, never that) I will be in Scotland. Yay.

Anyway, on to the British 100, and the rules, should you choose to play along: 1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions. 2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. 3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

1. Grey squirrel (they’re the invaders, aren’t they? In that case, I would certainly like to try them.)
2. Steak and kidney pie
3. Bubble and squeak
4. Spotted dick (must be doused in proper custard)
5. Hot cross buns
6. Laver bread
7. Toad in the hole
8. Shepherds pie AND cottage pie
9. Scotch egg (being the scottophile that I am, I really should try them, shouldn’t I?)
10. Parkin (I beg your pardon? Ah, I might just have tried it, but I’m not sure.)
11. Welsh rarebit
12. Jellied eels (Uhm. No, I don’t think so.)
13. Stilton 
14. Marmite (And didn’t I wish I hadn’t)
15. Ploughman’s lunch
16. Cucumber sandwiches
17. Coronation chicken 
18. Gloucester old spot (not knowingly, anyway)
19. Cornish pasty (Love it, love it. love it! Still have plans to try making my own.)
20. Samphire
21. Mince pies
22. Winkles
23. Salad cream
24. Malt loaf 
25. Haggis (Mmmmmmmmmmm)
26. Beans on toast
27. Cornish clotted cream tea
28. Pickled egg 
29. Pork scratchings
30. Pork pie
31. Black pudding
32. Patum Peperium or Gentleman’s relish
33. Earl grey tea
34. Elvers
35. HP Sauce (not a fan, though, but the husband is)
36. Potted shrimps
37. Stinking bishop (the pear or the cheese? I’d try either or both)
38. Elderflower cordial 
39. Pea and ham soup (I don’t like peas, so that’s a bit of a non-starter)
40. Aberdeen Angus Beef
41. Lemon posset
42. Guinness  (Why is Guinness on a British 100?)
43. Cumberland sausage
44. Native oysters (Not keen on trying oysters, native or otherwise)
45. A ‘full English’ 
46. Cockles
47. Faggots
48. Eccles cake
49. Potted Cromer crab
50. Trifle
51. Stargazy pie
52. English mustard
53. Christmas pudding
54. Cullen skink
55. Liver and bacon with onions
56. Wood pigeon
57. Branston pickle
58. Oxtail soup
59. Piccalilli
60. Sorrel
62. Chicken tikka masala
63. Deep fried Mars Bar 
64. Fish, chips and mushy peas (though I normally pass on the peas, but I have tried them)
65. Pie and mash with liquor
66. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
67. Pickled onions
68. Cock-a-leekie soup
69. Rabbit and Hare
70. Bread sauce 
71. Cauliflower cheese
72. Crumpets
73. Rice pudding 
74. Bread and butter pudding
75. Bakewell tart
76. Kendall mint cake
77. Summer pudding
78. Lancashire hot pot
79. Beef Wellington 
80. Eton mess
81. Neeps and tatties
82. Pimm’s
83. Scampi
84. Mint sauce (And staying away from it thenceforth)
85. English strawberries and cream
86. Isle of Wight garlic
87. Mutton
88. Deep fried whitebait with tartare sauce
89. Angels on horseback
90. Omelette Arnold Bennett
91. Devilled kidneys
92. Partridge and pheasant
93. Stew and dumplings
94. Arbroath smokies
95. Oyster loaves 
96. Sloe gin
97. Damson jam
98. Soda bread
99. Quince jelly
100. Afternoon tea at the Ritz (on my list of things to do)

Well, something like it, probably. But perhaps not to the office…

I try to avoid buying clothes for the lass that are way too big and will have to lie neglected for years while we wait for her to grow into them, but, really, who can resist a giveaway? While you’re at it, the rest of the Grosgrain blog is worth investigating, too.

We went fleamarketing today, and found this:

It made the lass very, very happy. It also broke her heart twice, once when we had to put it in the back of the car to get from where the fleamarket was to her grandmother’s and once again when we had to put it back in the trunk to get from her grandmother’s to home.

She cared not one jot that it was grubby (I did, though, all the fabric parts are now washed, and hopefully dry by tomorrow morning) and that it is decidedly wonky. You can push it about, you can move the seatback, footrest and roof up and down. You can put things in the net. You can take them out again. You can arrange a doll in there to your satisfaction and then get everyone in the room to come over just so that you can put your finger to your mouth and say “Shush!” because the baby is sleeping.

All in all, a great find…

Are you one of those who believe Nestlé when they say they have cleaned up their act? The Guardian has an excellent article on the subject. Read it.

According to Save the Children’s report, infant mortality in Bangladesh alone could be cut by almost a third - saving the lives of 314 children every day - if breastfeeding rates were improved. Globally, the organisation believes, 3,800 lives could be saved each day. Given that world leaders are committed to cutting infant mortality by two thirds by 2015 as one of the Millennium Development Goals, protecting and promoting breastfeeding is almost certainly the biggest single thing that could be done to better child survival rates.

And after reading all that you might want to check this out - including the list of all the brands owned or part owned by Nestlé. 

Disclaimer: If you’re a mother who has tried to get breastfeeding to work and for whatever reason failed, don’t worry about it. If you’re reading this, chances are you have access to clean water and that your budget allows for spending a little money on formula. 

Apparently, this is a meme: Pick your favourite movie from each year you’ve been alive. And since I haven’t posted for a while (again) I will. Caveat lector - I used IMDB’s view by year and 100 most popular in the main for this. Also my memory, which is very faulty. I may, therefore, have forgotten films that I would have placed higher than the one(s) I have chosen.

1974: Both Murder on the Orient Express and The Great Gatsby are pretty good, but both are better as books. Hm. Emanuelle? No. Perhaps not. I know: Herbie Rides Again. Gotta love sentient VW Beetles.

1975: Ah. It was a very good year. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Those were the days. However, there is really no contest, the winner HAS to be Flåklypa Grand Prix. Dra meg baklengs inn i fulgekassa!

1976: Uhm. Not so much. Of the IMDB top 100 by total votes I’ve hardly seen any. I’ve seen part of The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, but as I quit watching because it bored me, it hardly qualifies for a “Favourites” spot, does it? No, I didn’t think so.

1977: Pete’s Dragon! No discussion.

1978: I guess I’m going to have to go with Grease. I saw it first when I was around twelve, and liked it, except I preferred the pre-makeover Sandy then. Yes, I was probably a bit of a goody-two-shoes. I think I’ve changed my mind, now, though.

1979: I have a soft spot for Moonraker. Not quite sure why.

1980: The Blues Brothers. Though it’s closely followed by Herbie Goes Bananas, the first Herbie movie I saw (and loved). It occurs to me that I probably need a Herbie box set. Really.

1981: Gotta love The Fox and the Hound, I think it’s the first film that ever made me cry, and I was 7 in 1981 and not yet the sappy sentimental fool I seem to have turned into in my old age. Luckily The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy AND Brideshead Revisited are both tv-series, or this year would be a tough one to call. Though maybe not, I don’t suppose I could ever admit to anything beating Brideshead Revisited. (That new movie? Looks like a complete disaster, and no, I haven’t seen the trailer, I don’t dislike my brain that much, when I read that Emma Thompson was playing “a leading role” I knew they had seriously messed up already, as there is no female “leading” role in BR. Nope. Not. Lots of “supporting” roles, yes. But whatever.)

1982: Well, the competition is stiff: An Officer and a Gentleman? Annie? The World According to Garp? Victor Victoria? Perhaps not the latter, though I liked it in my Julie Andrews period. (What? What do you mean “Julie Andrews period?”? Doesn’t everyone go through a Julie Andrews period?) And The Last Unicorn! I had forgotten all about that film. And I think the fantastic going-down-a-cliff-on-a-horse scene was i The Man From Snowy River, Jamelah, which almost puts that film in the top spot. But I think I’m going to have to go with The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, actually. Partly because it has that song. But mainly just because.

1983: Back then: The Outsiders. Now? Either The Big Chill, WarGames or Flashdance, though it’s been a while since I saw either.

1984: Who’ you gonna call? Lots to choose from (Ghostbusters, Footloose, The Karate Kid, Against All Odds, Police Academy, Romancing the Stone)  but the winner has to be Ronja Rövardotter. It made me want to live in a draughty castle or a cave in the forest, and a daughter of the wilderness I am not, so it must have been pretty convincing.

1985: Back then it would have been The Goonies, hands down, no contest. The Color Purple is very good, though. And I recently watched Back to the Future with great enjoyment. Ooh, and White Nights! But still, The Color Purple it has to be.

1986: Children of a Lesser God made a deep impression, I seem to remember, but I’m going with Jumping Jack Flash, because, well, Whoopi Goldberg, you know?

1987: I like The Princess Bride, I really do, but I have to go with Jamelah on this one: Nobody puts Baby in a corner. I loved it then, I love it now (though for slightly different reasons, it must be said).

1988: Oh no. There can’t be just one for 1988, because there were at least three “Best film ever” candidates that year, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, A Fish Called Wanda (Don’t call me stupid!), and Die Hard.

1989: In 1989 I would probably have been willing to bet obscene amounts that Dead Poets Society would be my favourite film forever and ever. Good thing I didn’t. I later discovered Peter Greenaway, but The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & her Lover isn’t my favourite Greenaway film. I can watch Look Who’s Talking over and over, it’s one of those braincandy films that classify with chocolate in the comforting department. However, the best film made that year was probably A Grand Day Out, but since that’s a short, I’m going with The Fabulous Baker Boys, because it’s, well, fabulous.

1990: Die Hard 2 is my favourite Die Hard film (well, ok, so I haven’t seen the last one yet) and a strong contender. Three Men and a Little Lady still charms the pants off me (though not literally), so does Home Alone. I’d go all intellectual and say Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, except I saw an amateur production of it live a few years ago which made the film look rather silly and tame, so Die Hard 2 it is.

1991: This is the year of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Fisher King and Hook.  The latter two are simply really good, the former… Ok, so you have a Robin with an american accent, but then you also have Morgan Freeman. Yes, you do. And Alan Rickman as the sherrif, managing to be quite creepy, absolutely pathetic and yet sexy (well, it IS Alan Rickman) all at the same time. AND you have Sean Connery in a sort of very noticeable cameo.

1992: Aladdin. There you go, that was easy. Except then my eyes continue down the list and find Home Alone in New York and Strictly Ballroom. And at the very bottom, Peter’s Friends. And Peter’s Friends it’s got to be. Stricktly speaking I suppose it’s rather clichee in all manner of ways, but the actors are so good they pull it off wonderfully. Which in itself makes it almost more impressive than if the script had been really good to start with.

1993: This is the period when I really saw A LOT of movies (quite a few of them as “press”), and so chosing just one is getting harder. Schindler’s List was chilling, The Fugitive adrenaline-inducing, Sister Act 2 quite charming, Cool Runnings funny, Shadowlands oh so sad and Trois Couleurs: Bleu impressive. But the film I loved in 1993 and which threw fuel on the flame that was my love of Shakespeare, for which I can only be grateful, was Much Ado About Nothing.

1994: Priscilla - Queen of the Desert it is, but if you’re looking for recommendations you might also like to try Nobody’s Fool, Shawshank Redmption, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Hudsucker Proxy, It Could Happen to You, Leon, Quiz Show, Clerks, Clear and Present Danger, True Lies, The Flintstones (for a laugh), Reality Bites (at least if you’re around 20, or were, in 1994) and The Lion King (if only to watch Jeremy Irons as Scar), roughly in that order.

1995: Well, for once I have the same film in the top spot as IMDB’s voters, namely The Usual Suspects. Toy Story is, of course, also great and I still like Clueless and Sense & Sensibility, too.

1996: Kenneth Brannagh’s Hamlet.

1997: As Good as it Gets.

1998: An increasing number of films that I planned to see one day but obviously “one day” hasn’t come round yet. I’m going with Blues Brothers 2000.

1999: Fight Club made an impression, that’s for sure, but Toy Story 2 just beats it, if for no other reason that I’ve seen it several times, and it stands up to it, whereas I’m hesitant to watch Fight Club again because I fear that it just might not work second time round. Also, the Danish Den eneste ene is pretty much the bees knees.

2000: No big, earth-shattering experiences, out of the main contenders (Chicken Run, The Wonderboys, Billy Elliot and Coyote Ugly) I’ve seen Chicken Run the most times. If that counts for anything.

2001: So much better, Shrek beats LotR - FotR, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Monsters Inc, Bridget Jones’ Diary and Moulin Rouge. I also saw, and hugely enjoyed, The Princess Diaries and Save the Last Dance, but, hush, don’t tell anyone.

2002: Bowling for Columbine totally knocked me off kilter, but it’s hard to call it “a favourite”. The usual suspects may be Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and LotR Two Towers, but guess what? I REALLY like Bend it Like Beckham.

2003: I’m going to go with Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. There may have been better films in 2003, but this was a very good attempt at filming the unfilmable, and I do love Jack and Stephen - with a passion.

2004: Flip a coin: Shrek 2 or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Also, A State of Mind (which I saw in 2006), is VERY good.

2005: I’d waited for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for so many years it seems a pity not to mention it, but Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was better. And Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was good, but not scary enough (it’s much scarier in my head when I read it). Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was good, too. Four of my favourite books filmed and all actually quite good. How often does that happen?  

2006: Another year of films that I meant to se, but somehow… Well, of the ones I did see, I think Ice Age 2: The Meltdown was the best.

2007: Hampered in my movie-going by the lass, I didn’t see very many films in the cinema (or at all) in 2007. I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which was very good. Looking at the IMDB list of 100 most popular now I’m wondering if perhaps I didn’t miss much. There aren’t that many titles that seem interesting. Was 2007 a bad year for film, or what?

2008: I hate to admit it, but so far this year I’ve only seen one (1!) new film: Prince Caspian. It was good, though, so I don’t mind calling it my favourite.

59 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

I didn’t mean to cheat, but I must have, surely? This can’t be right.

No, that’s not blasphemy, that’s a heartfelt prayer.

I just found a link to these. Horses in heels. With tutus. Oh, how I hope they bomb like a piano falling from the fourth floor and are eradicated from the realm of toys - and advertising - before the lass grows old enough to start wanting things.

Horses in heels. *shakes head despondently*

I’ll take a few Disney princesses any day.