What I Need Is A Chip Hoe Or Hook!
I have always liked fried new potatoes. Earlier in the week, I boiled a small packet of Charlottes and fried the remains with my supper tonight.
I’ve always had difficulty turning them in the pan. C used to use a slice and a fork, but that method needs two good hands. And I only have one! So I’ve tended to rely on making sure that only firm chips go in the pan and then using a bit of tossing to turn them.
What I Need Is A Chip Hoe Or Hook!
It was whilst I was frying them tonight, that I felt that a miniature hoe, as used in gardening might do the trick. Obviously, the shape of the end would be the key to a good design. Effectively, it would just lift the chip to see it was cooked on the underside and then flip it. A simple hook in an appropriate material might do the trick.
I am reminded of a very old joke.
A visitor was being shown around a monastery. He came across this monk with a large pile of potatoes, which he was peeling and cutting into pieces, before dropping them into a large saucepan of boiling fat.
The visitor smiled and said to the monk. “You must be a chip monk!”
He got an immediate reply. “No! I’m a friar!”
Sporting Trophy Of The Week
The Tour of Britain cycle race started this week in Ipswich. The first stage took them from the county town of Suffolk to Norwich.
Kristian House was listed as the winner of the King of the Mountains for the stage!
I Don’t Like The Cutty Sark Either!
The Cutty Sark has won the Carbuncle Cup and the Victorian Society doesn’t like it either.
For what it’s worth, I don’t like it either!
I much prefer the Tenacious, which is a real ship with a purpose and not a collection of timbers put together after a disastrous fire.
The Hackney Stations Link
The councillor involved in transport has replied that Network Rail and Transport for London are actively pursuing plans for a possible pedestrian link between the two Hackney stations, similar to that, that existed before the Second World War, with the aim of completion in 2014. They included this old photograph, taken in 1928.
The amount of steel in the bridge was probably the reason it was taken down. After all there was a war on!
This could be the same bridge today.
The Bridge Taking The West Anglia Main Line Over The Overground
The track layout is slightly different and there is no trace of the footbridge. Judging by the modern-looking support at the right, it could have been rebuilt.
Haggerston Espresso Room
This cafe is close to my new doctors.
The coffee was good, but the gluten-free polenta cake was brilliant.
The Inter City 125 On BBC4
There was a documentary last night on BBC4 about the legendary High Speed Diesel Train or Inter City 125. It described how the politics, finances and some clever thinking produced a real icon.
Catch the documentary before it disappears from the BBC iPlayer!
The programme said that they’ll still be running in the 2030s on some routes. I wouldn’t bet on them still being running long after that.
Because of their speed and acceleration, they have proven that they can mix it on lines with both slow and higher speed traffic, so unlike heritage units like steam trains, they don’t cause pathing problems. Since they have now been updated with new engines, they produce a lot less noise and emissions too.
It is still proposed that they will be used for services to the far south west for many years, as electrifying the route from Exeter will be very difficult and expensive. They even did the journey from Plymouth to London in well under three hours recently. I reported it on this post.
But if they did a bit of marketing and perhaps uprated the catering, they could create a line, that would be a must-ride one for all visitors to Cornwall from London.
I have believed for a long time, that these trains will never go quietly. They’ll be like Routemasters and even if they’re not in main line service, they’ll turn up in the most surprising of places. The ghost of Jimmy Saville will see to that!
The Anonymous Widower 