In the middle of last year I visited my friend Sonia and discovered a wonderful taste combination.
Earl Grey with Raspberry Flavoured Special K
My first thought was this : You could make a tea out of that! And then I pondered a little longer and realised that the effect would probably just as good without the Special K. Then I'd be left with
Earl Grey with Raspberry
The warm spicyness of Earl Grey would blend perfectly with the tart fruitiness of the raspberries to make what was sure to be the best tea ever.
I decided at that moment that Earl Grey would be my first tea blend. The Whittard's website offers the possibility of producing a personalised blend for you, but to my horror it didn't include raspberry as a possible fruit choice.
My solution was to find the ingredients to make my own. I found dried raspberries at the supermarket. This plan had taken several months to be put into action, so I had considered the problem that the tea is likely to brew much more quickly than the dried raspberries. To get the best taste, I chopped my raspberries into little pieces and added them to the tea strainer. I poured in the water and allowed it to start brewing. I kept the tea cosy on the pot to keep the water as hot as possible (Earl Grey should be brewed with water straight off the boil) and then added my Earl Grey after 5 minutes. 3 minutes later I was ready to try my first ever home-blended tea.
Well, I have to tell you that I was a bit disappointed with the outcome. The raspberries did not keep any of their sourness so the tea ended up being a bit sweet and unpleasant. I was amazed that my incredible idea was not a success.
I am deterred, but I shall try again at some point. When I do, it will be reported here!
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Monday, 6 December 2010
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Collective Forgetfulness
The common cold is a horrific, terrible disease, forcing perfectly respectable people to lose their dignity into a pile of snotty tissues, sipping gingerly on a lemsip and wincing every time they have to swallow. For days at a time they become incapable of doing anything at all. Conversations become blocked by coughing fits and people failing to understand that there are certain words that are impossible to say with a blocked nose. Every hour brings a new symptom, whether it's a headache, blocked sinuses, a tickly cough: I can think of about another ten but I'm not here to write a list. Let's face it, we have all been in situations where we'd be much better off being back in bed, because there is nothing to be gained from being outside it.
But we all feel obliged to pretend that there is nothing wrong. Why?
Because we have all forgotten. I have a cold right now. And yet I, too, am already forgetting how nasty colds are, and I will once again laugh in the faces of people who claim to have "man-flu"
Three or four days into your average cold, it has whittled itself down to one or two symptoms that are a slight inconvenience and no more. Enough to carry tissues with you everywhere, or to have a bottle of cough medicine by your side, but no more. When you think of a cold, this is probably the stage you remember, because this is the stage that lasts weeks or months. It gets incredibly frustrating, but you can look back on your cold with a rosy glow that you could almost call nostalgia. Colds drag on and on with virtually nothing to mark it out from normal life, except a gentle reminder in the form of a sneeze every now and again, and that's no trouble at all!
But you have forgotten those first few painful days. DO NOT FORGET. There are so many victims out there, who are waiting for someone to tell them that they understand. Because the rest of the people in the world have forgotten already, and remember the good times that follow. Feel pity on those poor victims, who are pressurised into leaving their beds by a society that only remembers the second half of the common cold. Stand up for them by remembering.
But we all feel obliged to pretend that there is nothing wrong. Why?
Because we have all forgotten. I have a cold right now. And yet I, too, am already forgetting how nasty colds are, and I will once again laugh in the faces of people who claim to have "man-flu"
Three or four days into your average cold, it has whittled itself down to one or two symptoms that are a slight inconvenience and no more. Enough to carry tissues with you everywhere, or to have a bottle of cough medicine by your side, but no more. When you think of a cold, this is probably the stage you remember, because this is the stage that lasts weeks or months. It gets incredibly frustrating, but you can look back on your cold with a rosy glow that you could almost call nostalgia. Colds drag on and on with virtually nothing to mark it out from normal life, except a gentle reminder in the form of a sneeze every now and again, and that's no trouble at all!
But you have forgotten those first few painful days. DO NOT FORGET. There are so many victims out there, who are waiting for someone to tell them that they understand. Because the rest of the people in the world have forgotten already, and remember the good times that follow. Feel pity on those poor victims, who are pressurised into leaving their beds by a society that only remembers the second half of the common cold. Stand up for them by remembering.
Monday, 11 October 2010
Keeping yourself in suspense
Once you click "Poke" on facebook, you can leave up the pop-up saying "You are about to poke..." for as long as you like
Thursday, 23 September 2010
The kitchen and Why I don't fit in
I just don't understand that when a person goes into a kitchen, they automatically go and nibble whatever's there.
They don't care what it is because it could equally be a pile of chopped vegetables, some raw cookie dough, nuts or grated cheese. They don't care how much it is, because they just pick up/tear off around a finger-full (or 10% of the remainder, whichever is less) and eat it. The only rules are not to finish what is there, and not to eat anything poisonous like raw meat.
If they stay in the kitchen for more than five or ten minutes, they will repeat the process. Why?
It could be straight after a meal so it's not because they are hungry
It could be straight before a meal, so it's not because they are worried that it's a long time before they will get the chance to eat again.
It could be a carrot, so it's not because they wonder what it tastes like.
Why do they do it? It drives me nuts, not because we will run out of food (although if we will, I'll be angry), but because I will have to think through whether losing this amount of food is likely to make us run out. It also drives me nuts because I don't understand them and feel left out of this communion-like event. I'm not at one with the food and to imitate would be wrong.
Yes I'm sorry, I am crazy, and I'm not a chef so I'm probably wrong. But maybe someone out there will read this and think "yes, me too!"
They don't care what it is because it could equally be a pile of chopped vegetables, some raw cookie dough, nuts or grated cheese. They don't care how much it is, because they just pick up/tear off around a finger-full (or 10% of the remainder, whichever is less) and eat it. The only rules are not to finish what is there, and not to eat anything poisonous like raw meat.
If they stay in the kitchen for more than five or ten minutes, they will repeat the process. Why?
It could be straight after a meal so it's not because they are hungry
It could be straight before a meal, so it's not because they are worried that it's a long time before they will get the chance to eat again.
It could be a carrot, so it's not because they wonder what it tastes like.
Why do they do it? It drives me nuts, not because we will run out of food (although if we will, I'll be angry), but because I will have to think through whether losing this amount of food is likely to make us run out. It also drives me nuts because I don't understand them and feel left out of this communion-like event. I'm not at one with the food and to imitate would be wrong.
Yes I'm sorry, I am crazy, and I'm not a chef so I'm probably wrong. But maybe someone out there will read this and think "yes, me too!"
Monday, 20 September 2010
Profound statement
I don't wanna invent no revolutionary sandwich, I just want better bread
- courtesy of Mr X
- courtesy of Mr X
Monday, 21 June 2010
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Saturday, 12 June 2010
They asked for consultation...
And that was all I gave them. But I have wanted for a long time to write a bit about the election.
People have written masses and masses about the parties and the coalition and how the election happened as it was coming up, but I didn't vote for a party, I voted for the policies. Unfortunately my manifesto would never be the manifesto of the ruling party, but I feel very strongly about certain things and wanted to put them down somewhere
The last two posts are two of those points. In addition, I wanted a government that dealt with our high levels national debt by tax increases as much as by service cuts. And I wanted a government that would really put environmental issues at the top of the agenda.
The environment seems to have dropped off the radar. We can't built wind farms because there are too many opponents to having them near where they live. The government has already introduced multiple bins for segregating our waste. But is that really all we wanted from the government? I want to see them tackling power generation, transport, pesticides, over-use of fertiliser, consumerism, industry, home improvements (solar powered water heating, insulation, etc) and developments to technology. Discussion of the environment has fizzled to nothing recently. Maybe it's because I don't have many friends who worry about it, or because I live in the wrong part of the country (I know it's sounds silly), but the problems have not gone away.
None of the parties would have offered me all of these things on education, national debt, finance and the environment, but perhaps the lib dems share at least some of my ideals so if they are in the coalition then I can't be too disappointed. I can only hope that by the next election there will be a party who really fits what I want from the government
People have written masses and masses about the parties and the coalition and how the election happened as it was coming up, but I didn't vote for a party, I voted for the policies. Unfortunately my manifesto would never be the manifesto of the ruling party, but I feel very strongly about certain things and wanted to put them down somewhere
The last two posts are two of those points. In addition, I wanted a government that dealt with our high levels national debt by tax increases as much as by service cuts. And I wanted a government that would really put environmental issues at the top of the agenda.
The environment seems to have dropped off the radar. We can't built wind farms because there are too many opponents to having them near where they live. The government has already introduced multiple bins for segregating our waste. But is that really all we wanted from the government? I want to see them tackling power generation, transport, pesticides, over-use of fertiliser, consumerism, industry, home improvements (solar powered water heating, insulation, etc) and developments to technology. Discussion of the environment has fizzled to nothing recently. Maybe it's because I don't have many friends who worry about it, or because I live in the wrong part of the country (I know it's sounds silly), but the problems have not gone away.
None of the parties would have offered me all of these things on education, national debt, finance and the environment, but perhaps the lib dems share at least some of my ideals so if they are in the coalition then I can't be too disappointed. I can only hope that by the next election there will be a party who really fits what I want from the government
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
They asked for consultation...
ON EDUCATION, I sent the government the following:
We'll see what they make of it. If you would like to add your opinions, go to http://programmeforgovernment.hmg.gov.uk/foreword/, or put them in the comments here of course!
The previous government succeeded in many areas, but in my view it failed on schools. There are four major problems that I see, from talking to teachers around the country (I have a lot of friends and family who are teachers). In no particular order:
1) Exams are getting easier. We need to keep the same standards, and I believe the best way to do it is to sign up to an international programme like IGCSEs and International Baccalaureate
2) Parents do not support teachers. They question the teacher's judgement and do not allow teachers to put children in detention, for example. I'm not sure how you can solve this problem, but it is a big problem and needs to be tackled somehow.
3) Class sizes are too large. Schools need new investment, because they have suffered under previous governments when there were significant cuts in school budgets.
4) There are too many initiatives. Teachers are intelligent people who want to be enthusiastic and creative rather than sticking to rigid guidelines and curricula.
I'm glad to see that your programme mentions some of my points. However, I would like to see these being the priorities rather than the side-notes. Please do not make education a major area for cuts.
We'll see what they make of it. If you would like to add your opinions, go to http://programmeforgovernment.hmg.gov.uk/foreword/, or put them in the comments here of course!
They asked for consultation...
so I told the government this about DEFENCE:
Why do I not think that I'm going to change the government's mind?
We need to give the armed forces whatever they need to finish the job in Afghanistan, and we need enough of an army to defend the country.
But we don't need a nuclear deterrent because it doesn't help us and only legitimises other countries building nuclear weapons. We need to show that we are serious about nuclear disarmament rather than spending billions making new weapons.
The problem with our armed forces is that they are not used for defending our country, just meddling in other countries' affairs and making the problems in those countries worse rather than better. Wars kill people, and they kill a lot more civilians than those in either army. I find it much more tragic that an Iraqi civilian dies than a British soldier because it is part of the soldier's job to put his life at risk but the Iraqi civilian is caught up in a war he has not caused. If we need our armed forces purely to defend the country, I believe our defence budget can be significantly cut, but ultimately there are people who are better qualified to make that decision than I am.
Finally, we should only be calling soldiers "Our heroes" if we start recognising all the other heroes in our society - social workers, carers, police, teachers, doctors, nurses. They are all heroes as much as the average soldier, who is in the army because the lifestyle suits the life they want to lead and not because of a sense of duty to the country.
Why do I not think that I'm going to change the government's mind?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
