AVIE ON THE WARPATH

  RIP OFF BAKING PRODUCTS 

Times are hard, and in such times sweet treats such as cakes and biscuits can be among the first casualties of belt tightening. One of the few good things to come out of his fact has been the dramatic rise in home baking, suddenly everyone is making cakes and cookies at home:often with the help of their children. A whole new generation has learned how wonderful home baked produce is,how much satisfaction can be gained from presenting the family with a home made treat;and most important of all,the joy of involving their children and turning a necessity into a pleasure the whole family can share.

It sounds wonderful,and it is,but recently there have been signs that the suppliers of baking sundries ans the supermarkets that sell them are cynically cashing in on the home bakers. While we are ,by doing more of our own cooking spending less,well of course that is our aim, they are finding ways to tickle the money from our purses and in my opinion folk,it sucks!

Let us take as an example the baking of a few simple cakes or cookies,and let us suppose that the recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda,baking powder or cream of tartar, all commonly used in baking and until recently always available in good sized tubs for a pound or less. These tubs contained enough to bake a dozen or more cakes,cookies,what you will.

Not any more, I ordered my usual supply of these items from Sainsburys recently and what arrived instead were small packets each containing six tiny sachets which in turn contained level tea spoon of the ingredient. That equates to 1 level tablespoon,enough for about three dozen cupcakes. The real catch is that these tiny amounts are being sold for the same price as the large drums.

OK,I hear you say, buy the large drums and ignore the small sachets,and that is exactly what I tried to do. I found that neither Sainsburys,Tesco or Morrisonmy local supermarkets stocked the larger containers any more. He smaller amounts were,they told my handy for the occasional baker.

I, am not an occasional baker and I resent having this extra expense thrust upon me under the pretext of it being of benefit to me to pay so much more for so much less.

This is by no means the only product which has been subject to change. Packets of dried yeast now contain fewer sachets and each sachet holds less yeast. I now buy my yeast in bulk on line as the supermarkets no longer sell the Doves Farm yeast which has remained excellent value and which will make around twenty loaves instead of five or six.

The solution to this rip off is simple,patronise your local corner shop where they still stock the better value products at a realistic price. These days whenever I come across any of the above products I but at least two of each.

We are all trying to economise many of us out of necessity, if in the face if the current climate all the Chain Groceries can do is find new ways to rip us of we should boycott the offending products.

There are online sources which even with a postage charge are better value.

Above all,don't let this sneaky tactic put you off home baking and cause you to by bought cakes and cookies again,if you do,they will have won!

Today I am pleased to report that after an absence of several months the larger drums are back on the shelves at my local TESCOS on the same shelf are the other smaller packets judging by their relative prices I think it is obvious why we have not been allowed to compare.

The consumer fights back!

MANNER UNFORTUNATE!

If you have had any contact with your Local Government Office, your Local N.H.S. Trust, you G.P.'S Surgery or ,in fact anywhere which performs a public service and has a receptionist,you cannot fail to have noticed that recently there has been a “Gradual increase of upishness” from the person at the other end of the phone.

On enquiring(more politely than the situation warranted) of my G. P’s receptionist why my prescription which should have been ready on Monday was still not ready on Friday I was informed that “Doctor has been fat too busy to deal with prescriptions!”

Now hold on there just a moment,just what has a doctor to do that is more important than ensuring that his/her patients receive their medication, especially when the absence of that medication could proved dangerous.

Having collected the prescriptions,this in spite of the fact that they had been sent with a stamped envelope,I discovered that several items were missing. Again I was obliged to enquire tentatively if there was any possibility of getting the Doctors mistake rectified. Once again I was treated to a sterling display of bumptiousness from the receptionist who informed my in an exasperated fashion that.”Doctor will be busy all afternoon,come back this evening or better still tomorrow.”

I expressed my lack of enthusiasm for her suggestion and explained,,AGAIN, that I was in urgent need of the medication as it was already, (through no fault of my own) days late.

She examined me as if I were a small unpleasant looking bug and replied with a very bad grace that she would see what she could do.

I waited....................................................................finally she returned with the prescriptions,done she told me,not by my own doctor but by the locum, and would that be all! I checked the prescription,one of the items was incorrect. I timidly asked the receptionist if there was any reason for the change in my prescription as the drug she had prescribed was one to which I have a severe allergic reaction.

The receptionist now surveyed my as if I was a nasty little bug that she wanted very much to squash. She snatched the prescription from my trembling hand and marched,stiff backed with pent up rage in to the dark recesses of the surgery, I waited again........................................at last she returned with yet another prescription,this time all was well, except for the fact that my blood pressure,always too high ,was now reacting to the stress of the situation so a Doctor was called.

It was at this point that my own G.P arrived on the scene and concerned by my appearance asked if all was well,before I could speak the receptionist began to complain that I was being difficult, me,difficult,please!

I appraised him of the situation as quickly as I could ,under the circumstances and he shook his head and took the prescriptions from my hands. “It's just as well I took a look at these,”he remarked, “They haven't been signed!!!!!

I know that Doctors receptionists have always been inclined to be more dragon than damsel fly but as I said at the beginning these days every encounter with these “ladies” is a contest designed to sap the strength of those already sick.

I have now subscribed to the on line prescription ordering system recently put in place............I await the result with trepidation.....pass the tranks!

BLOGGED OUT.

What a week ! I have written so many letters that I lost count,mostly concerning the ongoing siege with the Estate about the work to be done in the kitchen. Let me pose a few questions questions.

I your company employed fully qualified and very experienced carpenter and joiner on site would you send a new employee who has no qualifications in either carpentry or joinery to make and fit new worktops,sink and cooker hob?

If your company had a large extremely well equipped workshop in which to make the afore mentioned worktops and breakfast bar,would you insist upon making these items in the home of the people for whom you are making them?

If you could be certain that the work on site could be finished in a day,necessary as a gas fitter has been booked for a specified time on a specific day , would you insist on leaving the making the work surfaces until the day they were to be fitted?

If the gas fitter you were employing was also a qualified plumber,would you insist the the unqualified numpty I mentioned earlier do the plumbing work needed to connect the new sink and reconnect the washing machine?

I suspect that your answer,like any other sensible individual would be a resounding NO,to all the above questions.

Believe it or not the Estate Manager has not chosen the sensible option,for reason of his own he has decided to cause my family as much trouble as possible and employ some one totally without qualification to do the job.

He is insistent that the work tops are to be made in my kitchen ,on the day they are to be fitted(We have no date as yet) and they are to be fitted and plumbed in by the unqualified employee I mentioned before.

He has only been here a few months and is a;ready known to all as “Superman” he professes proficiency in all things,without a single piece of evidence to support these claims;and ,it must be said displaying plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Add to this toxic little scenario the fact the two of the three residents in the house are disabled,one of them severely and you have a recipe for disaster

My last letter,sent on Friday has not yet received and answer,I did not expect to receive one as of course Friday is POETS day (piss off early tomorrows Saturday). No doubt on Monday I shall receive yet another ill considered reply fro the Estate Manager.

At present the Facilities manager is on holiday,so we have something to be thankful for, unfortunately he has left “Superman”in charge.........WHY? IN Gods name why? When they have better qualified men on site,it beggars belief.

I have worked in some weird and wonderful places during the course of my quite eventful life. Ye God's, I once worked for the late Lord and Lady Hanson,certainly no job for the faint hearted. I have worked with Directors who were ego maniacs and some times sex maniacs....never,never have I encountered such a set of complete cloth heads as those in charge of this estate.

With this in mind I can only say that it comes as no surprise that the Estate is losing money hand over fist and that His Lordship is practically pot-less!

Woe to the man who employs an idiot, thrice woe to the man who listens to his advice.

LUGHNASADH

Having listened to the weather forecast for today we decided as a family the today we would all do as little as possible,we adhered to our resolve and today has been the laziest I can remember.....it was lovely.

Pa has not been well these past few days and his leg has become so badly swollen that falling is inevitable if he attempt to walk. My son is recovering from a writing marathon in which his first novel was completed, he is recuperating by doing research for his next book! A combination of the heat ,stress and a work overload has caused me to have a minor wipe out,it could not have happened at a worse time.

All these things triggered our decision to have a lazy day and I am certain that we are all the better for it.

Today is the start of Lammas Tide,or Lughnasadh, depending upon your belief. One this day the festival of the first fruits was and still is celebrated. It is also the Festival of Lugg,one of the old Gods and a talented individual who was reputed to be able to turn his hand to anything from shoeing horses to delivering babies...the original Jack of all trades.

We celebrated Lughnsnadh with a pasta meal made with the first of our courgette crop and the first fruit cut was given as a thank you to good old Lugg.

I am so glad that I was able to prepare this meal and watching the boys tuck in to one of their all time favourite meals of the years made the effort worth while.

Now that the harvest has begun we shall soon be picking our apples and damsons for the last of the winter jellies and chutneys and many of our neighbours will share our crop;as we have shared their cherries and other earlier fruits. This way of life is,sadly vanishing and often a gift of fruit or bread is viewed with suspicion which is a pity.

To share as we do here ensures enough fruit far all from the first green gooseberry to the last quince or medlar fruit,nothing is wasted,in short it makes sense to share.

I am so looking forward to making more goodies for our winter store and I hope to add pickled walnuts to the list of produce as I recently discovered a walnut tree full of green fruits.

In view of all this fruit conserving to come a few lazy days to conserve my energy will not come amiss. Sorry about yesterday.

Moth's Home!!!

Moth got back from the vet's today, and is up and about like nothing has happened – for which relief much thanks. Avie, I fear, is out for the count, however; it's been a very long day.

Normal Service To Be Resumed Tomorrow,

Son of Avie

MISSING MOTH

As soon as I awoke this morning I was aware of a sense of dread, the reason for which I was , at first unable to comprehend,but as the blissful fog of sleep thinned and vanished away the grim reality of my situation began to loom large. This day, the day the cat was to be neutered,the day I had been dreading for weeks had arrived!

Breakfast was more subdued than usual as we were all dreading the events to come,my son because he is a soft hearted soul and adores the little minx,Pa because he hates the idea of us being unhappy and myself; because as the person elected to get the cat in to her carried I knew fine well that by nightfall I would be in tatters! I still carry the scars from her last trip to the vets for injections.

I could settle to nothing, all day I wandered around the hose occasionally bumping in top my son who was even worse than I. Just as I began to feel that time had stood still and five O clock would never come a friend arrived with a huge bag of green gooseberries in need of being dealt with,a job I normally dislike. Today I pounced upon the carrier bag full of fruit with glee and soon the rhythmic snipping of tops and tails lulled my trouble mind and my thoughts wandered far for the days trouble.

Throughout the day the cat in question had viewed us with suspicion and seemed to sense that something was afoot.........the time arrived for the dreaded deed to be done, put on heavy duty trousers, a thick parka and a pair of leather gloves and went forth.

The identical moment my son went to get the carrier she knew what was coming and began to cower in a ,corner of the bathroom, my heats smote me as I looked into her terrified eyes. It was pointless to tell myself that it was for her good,I felt like the Judas which her eyes accused me of being.

Wonder of wonders, I caught her with no difficulty and got her in to the carrier at the first attempt! After a small protest she discovered the tuna fish loin left in the carrier as and enticement,ate the morsel the curled up on an old t shirt of my sons and awaited with patience what was to come.

A short taxi ride to the vet,an examination and then my son left her and came sadly home,alone.

Of course we all know that what is being done is for her good but believe me a heart of stone would be needed to withstand the pleading look on that scared little face as the door of the carrier closed on her.

We are already planning the welcome home tomorrow,her favourite treats, a fur rug and the biggest and best cuddle a cat ever had.

Twiggy has searched the bedrooms several times and is now sitting miserably on the landing,Harry too is disconsolate,we are in fact a sorry set of miseries tonight.

Tomorrow,it will all be over and we shall have our smallest and sweetest little cat at home again,it cannot come too soon.

DIFFERENT FOR GIRLS

You know how it is? There I was flitting about on u tube,listen to a few songs,leave a few comments, I never know where I'll end up, well last night I ended up listening to the one and only, the very talented Joe Jackson.

It was so long ago I had almost forgotten how good he sounded,he made it sound so easy,mellow,I think that's what I mean. My favourite was and still is “Different for girls” it was the sound of the decade for me and an interesting part of my life played out with this song somewhere in the background.

As I listened it was almost as if I was watching a video of myself as I was over thirty years ago.It was a time of excitement, intense happiness and just as intense heart wrenching pain. In fact it seems to me that we all spend most of our adult lives in one of those states or another.

Before I realised it I was visiting places in my mind that I had avoided ,with grim determination for years.

None of this is at all relevant to what I wish to say,and don't ask me what I was thinking about because I shan't tell!”

What I really wanted to say is that while reading the comments on the site I was visiting I realised that,as the song says “You're all the same” men that is,now as then. If you want to know what I mean watch the clip and read the comments,honestly ,flippin' fella's!