Byron Hamburgers
I ate in Byron Hamburgers at Islington Green tonight. It was good and it made a nice change for me to have a real gluten-free hamburger and chips.
I also got to thinking about the similarities between my father and Lord Byron.
For a start they were both poets, although my father’s output wasn’t very large and was much less famous and was meant to be spoken with a Cockney accent. But then my father was probably a better printer than the noble Lord.
They both married women with the surname of Millbank, although Byron’s wife had a spelling of Milbanke.
And then just like I am a computer programmer, so was Lord Byron’s daughter; Ada, Countess of Lovelace.
But that’s as far as the links go.
I Don’t Like Polenta
If offered polenta cake, I’d usually say thanks but no thanks.
However, in Carluccio’s in Upper Street last week, because I had time to kill, I popped in for a coffee and asked if they had any gluten free snacks to go with it. The waiter, who knows I am a coeliac and am very particular, then showed me an enormous polenta cake, which he assured was safe for me. Although the slice was quite large, I decided to have one.
I didn’t regret it, as it was very good. It was about three pounds though, but it would have been big enough to share.
So that’s another thing off the list of things I won’t touch!
I did try to buy another slice in their caffe at St. Pancras but they didn’t have one. So if you want to try one, check before going.
Problems with Genius Bread
I like the Genius gluten-free bread, as the texture seems to be just right for me. It also makes very good toast, which I like to have with proper jam or marmelade. I suppose, I’ve been eating it for perhaps a year, since it started to be stocked in Waitrose in Newmarket.
But I’ve been having problems with it lately, in that it tends to grow a spotty mould after only a couple of days, so I have to throw it away. This probably started a couple of months ago.
I thought that it might be me, but then I use the same bread bin as I did in Suffolk, I keep the bread properly wrapped, when I’ve cut it for the first time. I also thought it could be the air in London, which hasn’t been of too high a quality since about CHristmas.
But then in Waitrose in Upper Street, Islington, when I was reaching for a new loaf, a lady was doing the same. So I asked her, if she’d had a problem with the bread and she said yes.
I did report it in store at Customer Services to an assistant, who seemed to know the product well as she said she had a wheat intolerance.
So is this a temporary problem or something more serious?
A First Visit to ExCel
ExCel is an exhibition and conference centre in London’s Docklands. Despite it being opened for several years, I’ve never gone.
Until today, when I went to see Grand Designs Live.
It is certainly a lot better than Earls Court or Olympia, which have been tired for years.
I was even able to get a gluten-free salad and a fresh orange juice.
Gluten-Free Salad and Juice at ExCel
My only worry is the wooden disposable cutlery. It often isn’t strong enough for my hands.
I remember asking for any gluten-free options at Earls Court some years ago and got a reply which was something like. “There is none and anyway if we offered anything, we wouldn’t sell any, as you’re the first that’s asked.”
I got no reply to my letter of complaint.
Pizza Express in Swansea
I made very little progress in finding a gluten-free restaurant in Swansea, so it had to be a tuna salad with a glass of wine at Pizza Express.
It was a great improvement on my dreadful trip to Coventry, where the waitress had learned her trade by watching Catherine Tate videos. But saying that, Pizza Express in Leeds had been very good too.
Swansea is also a Pizza Express with good views of the old Swansea Castle.
Swansea Castle
The waiter also told me how to find the Liberty Stadium, which wasn’t shown on any direction signs or maps.
How To Get Up a Coeliac’s Nose
If there is one thing that annoys me living here, it is the amount of junk I get through my letter box. Most is flyers for fast food restaurants, none of which I would dream of using. As most of the food on offer is gluten-rich, it would do me harm.
I actually had one today from Subway, who claim that all their meat is halal. But their gluten-free offerings can be counted on the fingers of Nelson’s right hand.
I shall be sending a copy of this post to Subway.
Table Tennis at the Duke of Wellington
I did try to play table tennis a few months ago, but my eyesight wasn’t good enough.
Tonight though, I went down the Duke of Wellington in the Balls Pond Road and played a couple of games for charity. I was a lot better.
I also had some very good Wye Valley asparagus with a poached duck egg on top. I did have a chat with the manager and they know their gluten-free.
The strange thing about the pub is that it is a few doors away from where some my ancestors lived in the 1850s. I just wonder if, I’m not the first member of my family to drink in the pub. I’m certainly the first to play table tennis.
Food Use-By Dates
There are reports that food use-by dates are to be changed to cut food waste.
I am a coeliac and am possibly lactose intolerant. For this reason I’ve changed to goat’s milk.
One of the benefits compared to cow’s milk, is that a one litre bottle, lasts a full three weeks and never goes off, which is a great help, as I live by myself. I’ve a little bit left in the current bottle, but the use by date is April 12th.
So I’m healthier and save money!
The Disappointing SS Great Britain
I found Brunel’s SS Great Britain very disappointing.
SS Great Britain
This is the best view you can get of the ship without paying £12.90 a person. That is just too much! Compare with how the Belfast or the Cutty Sark are displayed in London, where you can get a good view of the outside for nothing.
When you only have a couple of hours to visit an attraction, there needs to be some way to get a flavour.
The cafe was a bit of a disappointment too, as nothing was marked gluten free and it took a great deal of time to find out what was OK for me. In the end I had some very nice soup, but I still paid for the bread I didn’t need. Not that I worried about that, as the food was more important, but it would make it difficult for a family of coeliacs.
Immigration and Bad Food Induced Health Problems
David Cameron did one important thing in his speech and that was lay out facts. People will argue he has been selective, but at least he tried.
I live in Inner London and as I’m a double immigrant in the 1800s, I can’t really moan about immigrants can I? But I do get fed up with the proliferation of junk food shops everywhere, often staffed by exploited low-wage earning people with dodgy immigration status. These establishments also are constantly putting flyers for gluten-rich food through my door. I am getting a notice made that politely asks the delivery people to put them in the wheelie bin by the door, to save me the trouble.
So perhaps we should make junk food more expensive for health reasons and to combat obesity. The easiest way to do this would be to impose a high minimum wage for those who work in the fast food industry. And then make sure it is strictly enforced!
The Anonymous Widower 