Anyone for Squirrel?
I always refer to squirrels as American tree rats, because of the damage they do to trees and because they chase our native and much better red squirrels away. They were one of the first American cultural imports, like burgers and baseball caps, that we can well do without!
So to see that Budgens are now selling them in Crouch End is good. As they say in Suffolk, “Make the buggers work!” That was originally said by a farmer and horse-coper called Dick Freeman, when I told him that my business partner and his wife, had been offered a local speciality in Geneva; raw donkey meat. They had been horrified as at the time, as they had had a pet one called Robin. Dick hated donkeys with a passion, as they give worms to horses.
Our housekeeper at Debach was partial to squirrel and told me that young ones were very nice if fried in a little butter.
Remember though, I am of an age, who was brought up when meat was rationed in the 1940s and early 1950s. As rabbit was off coupon and my father had a customer, who could get it, we had quite a few rabbit pies in those days.
I still like rabbit and would try squirrel in a decent restaurant. After all it’s gluten-free isn’t it?
I doubt I’ll ever go again due to my health, but on Salina in the Aeolian Islands, rabbit is the local speciality, as rabbits are wild and plentiful. The rabbit at the Hotel Signum is exquisite. It’s an ambition to go again and a goal to aspire to.
The Weekends Are The Worst!
After C died in December 2007, I found that the weekends were the worst times. That is apart from Christmas, where I volunteered to help in the Bury St. Edmunds Christmas Lunch for the elderly, who had no family or nowhere else to go. But I can’t even do that now, as I’m not allowed to drive.
So in early 2010, I made a pact with myself and made sure that I always had something to do at the weekend. Often that was football at Ipswich or on their travels and I think I hardly missed a match.
Before C died, wekends were full, but not particularly busy. Usually it would mean a meal out or a visit to the theatre or the cinema, or perhaps the shops in London or Bluewater. We also had four weekends away in 2009.
How times have changed!
This weekend from the time my carer/driver left on Friday night, I didn’t see anybody except the postman and the paper lady on Saturday and my stud groom on Sunday, when he delivered the Sunday Times.
It illustrates so well, our decision to think about retirement to somewhere like Hampstead in perhaps 2012 or 2013. Little did we know what would happen with C’s death from cancer of the heart and then my strokes.
Where I live may be beautiful and tranquil, but there is no shop or pub within walking distance, no bus worth talking about and as I can’t drive, the only transport option is a taxi at £25 a time to Newmarket or Haverhill. Taxis round here are more expensive than black cabs in London. I can afford them, but I object to being ripped-off!
And then this last weekend, the weather wasn’t good and the television with one or two exceptions was complete rubbish.
I suppose the solution is to plan them, so that I don’t get another one again!
Something to Look Forward To!
The tour de France it is not, but the Tour of Britain is a spectacle in its own right and it will be coming almost past my door, as it goes from Bury St. Edmunds, through Haverhill, Clare and Cavendish on its way to Colchester on the 17th of September. Read more here.
I note two that it has teamed up with The Prostate Cancer Charity, something that has touched a few of my friends.
The Place To Be Tonight
I am not far away from Stansfield, a small village between Haverhill and Bury St. Edmunds.
What is unique about the village is that its pub, the Compasses, is owned and run by a Dutch couple.
We went on Friday and it looks like tonight will be the night for a visit, especially as they look like they can cope with my dietary requirements and serve Aspalls Cyder.
Tomorrow is Darrell’s Day
The 4th of July means a lot to Americans, but it also means a lot to us here in Suffolk, as on that day in 1667, Nathaniel Darrell and his brave marines at Landguard Fort near Felixstowe, repulsed the last attempted invasion of the United Kingdom.
If he hadn’t been successful, we might all be speaking Dutch!
The Levington Ship
On the way back from Felixstowe, we stopped for a glass of Aspalls at the Levington Ship.
The Levington Ship
We actually arrived at the time I needed to take my Warfarin, so I asked the landlord for a glass of tapwater. IT was no problem.
But then you’d expect that sort of sdervice from a pub that serves beer in the traditional Suffolk way by gravity.
Gravity Fed Adnams
Landguard Fort
Felixstowe was the last place in the UK, to be invaded by foreign forces, when the Dutch tried to capture Landguard Fort in 1667. They failed due to the efforts of Nathaniel Darrell. That is why the 2nd of July is Darrell’s Day in Suffolk.
It is a place well worth a visit with a reasonable entry charge, lots of things to see and an excellent audio commentary.
I also found it a good place to try out my waling and climbing skills after a stroke. In only a couple of places did I need a helping hand.
A Walk at Felixstowe Ferry
Afterwards we had a pleasant walk in the sun along the sea wall towards the golf course and the Martello Towers.
There are some more pictures of Felixstowe Ferry here, taken in worse weather.
Felixstowe Ferry
As a child, I spent a lot of time at Felixstowe Ferry. Yesterday, I was going to the dentist in the town, so before, we went to have lunch and a stroll there. We also had an excellent lunch in the Ferry Boat Inn.
Ferry Boat Inn, Felixstowe Ferry
The pub looks very similar to how I remember it as a child, but then it was a Tolly Cobbold pub, and now it serves mainly Adnams. But the lettering on the wall is still the same.
Inside is rather different, as the barrels of beer are no longer stacked behind the bar and there is a restaurant. But I have a feeling that the clock on the wall is the same, as I can remember sitting there with my father and Pete, who was an usher at my weeding to C in 1968.
Today, we had a glass of Aspalls each, with sea bass for me and proper fish and chips for my companion. Note that the sea bass was wild, not farmed, and apparently landed at Colchester
Lunch at The Ferry Boat Inn, Felixstowe Ferry
They knew their gluten rules too!
It does seem that this part of East Suffolk is doing its best to fight its way out of the recession, by doing things well.
A Coeliac-Friendly Pier
As I walked down Southwold Pier, I saw this notice.
A Coeliac-Friendly Pier
If you can’t read it, it says that on the first Saturday of evry month, gluten-free fish and chips are served in the restaurants. I went to investigate and found that they had Aspalls on draught, coeliac-friendly crisps and that they always have gluten-free cakes available.
If you check the Pier’s web site, they have a Coeliac-UK logo on the front smd here‘s details of their fish and chips.
Perhsps we’re not so silly here in Suffolk.
The Anonymous Widower 