Silly Water Bottles
I very much dislike water bottles with teats. I got one on the train coming back from Hull.
Silly Water Bottles
So I’ve had a stroke and have a bit of difficulty sucking, but what’s wrong with a good old-fashioned screw cap?
A Dreadful Night
It’s raining hard here and I’ll be staying in for most of the night.
I did try to go up to the Angel to see if I could get some fish to make one of my favourite suppers, but a 30 bus turned up first, so I thought I’d try the littleWaitrose at Highbury and Islington. But they had power problems and the tills weren’t working. So I just bought one item for supper.
A Reduced Waitrose Fish Pie
At least it was reduced to £2,99. As you can see it’s a bit battered, but only in the damaged sense!
I do have some strawberries, so with a drink, it won’t be a bad supper.
Lawyers Attack America’s Big Food Companies
This story from the BBC tells how the lawyers who made billions of dollars fighting tobacco companies have now turned their guns on the Big Food companies.
Given America’s obesity, I can’t say that I’m against their tactics, but I do wonder if the lawyers are motivated by money. Although, the lawyer interviewed says at 68, he doesn’t need the money.
I did notice the foods he was targeting, which did include canned fruits, tinned tomatoes and tea. Canned fruits, I can understand, although I haven’t knowingly eaten any for perhaps fifty years, except for possibly a pineapple-upside-down pudding, that C occasionally made before I went gluten-free. But canned tomatoes and tea. Admittedly, the canned tomatoes in my cupboard are organic, but the only additive is citric acid. My tea is organic too. so how do these get adulterated in the United States?
Professional Behaviour In Starbucks
I walked into Starbucks on Upper Street this afternoon at about five. It wasn’t busy and I was able to walk straight up to the till.
Before I knew it and without saying a word, a tall cappuccino in a mug had been placed by the till. I asked if it was for me and they said yes, as I handed over a fiver. Afterwards, I felt a bit mean, as I had just spun a five pence into the tip bucket. The speedy service deserved more.
I suppose I always have the same, so it’s easy to remember what I have! But even so, it’s rather professional behaviour.
Would You Buy A Bank Branch?
You’re a very rich man and you are the CEO of a bank that you feel is reputable, so would you buy one bank branch let alone 316 as Santander tried to do from RBS, as is reported here?
I think the answer is no. Three hundred and sixteen times no!
They would have been transferring 1,800,000 customers to Santander. I used to have my account at the Woolwich Building Society and when it was taken over by Barclays, I didn’t feel that I wanted to bank there, so I moved to Nationwide, where I bank on-line.
So how many of these nearly two million accounts will move somewhere else, like one of the new banks being started by such as Tesco or Marks and Spencer?
I’m not affected, but I choose which bank I’m with! Not some faceless man in Spain!
I wonder also how many people adhere to one of my friend David’s rules of banking, which is to bank with a bank headquartered in the UK and preferably England.
I think too, that five thousand staff will be transferred with the branches and the accounts too. How many of the good ones will jump ship and join someone else.
But these days with more and more people banking sans branch, like I do, surely the best thing to do would be to convert these 316 branches into places of hospitality?
They could perhaps be converted into burlesque bars , offering good food and drink, with a couple of cash machines to emphasise their heritage. It would certainly do wonders for the image of bankers. They wouldn’t even have to change the signage, if they called them Royal Burlesque Shows.
Back To The Fleet Street Clinic
C and myself used to go here, for our annual flu jabs.
About three years ago, I was unhappy about my cholesterol and went to a private dietician in Ipswich to see if they could help me. They could and did, but sadly they no longer practice at that address.
As a coeliac, I do like to see if I’m doing things right, and as I’d found that the Fleet Street clinic had a dietician, I arranged an appointment for this morning with their private dietician; Ruth Kander.
As I suspected on past experience of the clinic and dieticians in general, I received the quality of professional advice, that I expected.
Allergies
This chicken Provençal from Waitrose was rather nice.
Waitrose Chicken Provencal
But why can’t we have the allergy information on the front? That way, I wouldn’t need to pick up the package and turn it over.
Incidentally, this dish has fish in it. That surprised me, but it was defined as anchovy on the packet.
On the subject of allergies, Waitrose has brought out a range of chilled foods by Heston Blumenthal. All seemed to have added gluten. A pity really, as I recently heard of a sensitive coeliac, who went to his restaurant and had no problems.
Who Ate All The Kedgeree?
This board in the Fox pub on Paul Street by Old Street Tube station tells a tale.
Who Ate All The Kedgeree?
But who ate all the very nice kedgeree?
I did. And very nice it was too!
A Big Hole
This isn’t typical, but I did find this hole in a slice of Genius gluten-free bread.
A Big Hole
It was nice bread though.
Carluccio’s Christmas Menu
When you are a coeliac in a group at an office or other place of work, you are often the only one and when Christmas comes, it is a source of tension and often unhappiness about where you have the Christmas lunch.
Carluccio’s this year have come up with a Christmas menu, that has a choice of turkey, sausage and lentils, cod, steak or two risottos. Only the turkey is not gluten-free. This is the menu for my local restaurant in Islington.
I think they’ve come up with a Christmas menu for everybody.
The Anonymous Widower 