We celebrated the beginning of our week with a breakfast feast of hot bacon rolls,a treat we all enjoy. Actually I always use panchetta rather than bacon as getting decent dry cured bacon in these parts can be tricky. Most of the bacon sold today is wet cured which means that it spits and makes the devil of a mess while cooking,refuses to crisp, is cut too hitch and tastes awful. What is not sold as panchetta is exactly like the old fashioned streak bacon we had for breakfast as a child. This was trade for by my father with a couple of rabbits or a brace of pheasant, our local pork butcher was always willing to barter and had a taste for game.
We enjoyed the meal very much and while we ate the days bread baked in the oven making the kitchen smell wonderfully. I delivered a loaf to a friend and picked up some food for the birds and while I was out I met with a series of friends and acquaintance and we found a warm spot in the garden centre to indulge in a good old natter. The morning was bright and cold, perfect for me but a number of my friends dislike cold weather, I cannot think why. Perhaps as I was born and raised in the North on England I am more used to the cold than these (nesh southerners) as my Granny would have called them.
I arrived home seconds before a very good friend arrived and I was so pleased to see her as I have been unable to get in touch for a while. Her husband has recently had the same operation as I had myself two years ago almost to the day and from what she had to tell us he fared no better than I. He was discharged on the same day when he should have had a three day stay due to an error, two days later a severe infection set in and then it was discovered that they had also neglected to give him the necessary antibiotics on his release from hospital.
What followed was a grim performance on the part of the NHS and now two weeks later he is still in pain and cannot walk. I encountered very much the same problems to years ago and I ended by being rushed back in as an emergency case the day after being discharged, it makes you wonder what the hell is going on.
I cheered her up with a big hug a slice of lemon drizzle cake and a bottle of orange brandy for the invalid, who will shortly be off to visit the children which will I hope give my friend a chance to rest while someone else looks after him for a time. It was lovely to see her, we are old acquaintance but have become very close during the past couple of years. We have similar problems as carers are both keen gardeners and we have the same sense of humour. She was very kind to me last year and helped me through some difficult times so I would do anything to return the favour.
In the late afternoon as the sun went down behind the trees in the churchyard making them appear to be alight with flames and it quite became quite suddenly bitterly cold, so cold that even I noticed the change. A thick rime of white frost was settling upon the grass and the bushes in the garden, Twiggy came running down the garden path and jumped into my arms the better to tuck her cold little paws inside my sweater, and how she did purr!
In the kitchen however all was cosy and snug as I prepared and early evening meal of melted Camembert served with hot apricot sauce and some fried Haloomi with salad. Pa came in from the garden where he had been filling the bird feeders just as darkness fell and just in time for our meal, which we all agreed was perfect for tonight.
Already my son is bathed and safely in bed, tired after being up all night, he will sleep late tomorrow I hope and then....let the fun begin!
No comments:
Post a Comment