You don't have to be Welsh to eat these..but if you are, thas great mun!

Been experimenting with making Welsh Cakes recently. I used to think I could not make them as we did not have a genuine bakestone, but I forgot that we are in the 21st century now and we have electric griddles instead! Seems to work really well. Heres the recipe we use:

WELSH CAKES

8 oz (225g) (2 cups) self raising flour pinch of salt 4 oz (100g) (1 stick) butter 2 oz (50g) (1/4 cup) sugar 2 oz (50g) (1/3 cup) raisins 2 small eggs (or 1 medium egg plus 2 tablespoons of milk) 1. Mix flour and salt, and rub in butter until like breadcrumbs. 2. Stir in sugar and currants. 3. Add eggs and mix to a fairly stiff dough. 4. Roll out dough to approx 1/4 inch thickness (slightly thicker works well, too). 5. Use small/medium diameter pastry cutter to cut into rounds - don't forget to re-roll the trimmings! 6. Place rounds of dough on a moderately hot griddle for approximately 3 minutes each side - the heat of the griddle is critical so as not to over-brown the cakes! Experiment to find the correct heat. 7. Eat hot or cold - sprinkle with sugar or serve warm with a dollop of brandy cream! 8. Can be stored for a few days in an airtight container

England riots - so shameful

So...what to say about the riots that have occurred in England over the past few days. A few thoughts and my message to these rioters...

(note: my opinion only, I realize that many others think differently. Don't complain to me about what I think, its my blog and I'll say what I like on it. If you don't like it,  create your own blog and express your opinion there):

- you have no real grievance, you are just looking for the chance to loot shops and get free goods

- OK, so its sad that you cannot get a job. Boo Hoo. Life is hard...but there are many unemployed who don't feel the need to riot and steal to express their discontent. Stop dressing this up..you are just a thug. You are not starving or living on the streets. You are nice and warm in your hoodie and you are a thug. 

- The chances of getting work are increased if you have qualifications or skills. Don't complain that you cannot get a decent job when you could not be bothered to work hard at school to get qualifications that would've helped you.

- You complain that jobs are being taken by immigrants. But lets look at the immigrants from eastern europe. They want to work and they will do whatever they can to get a job. They don't whine about their lot in life..they get off their backsides and do something about it. They will start work before the sun comes up to serve breakfast in a hotel, they will clean windows, they will do whatever it takes to earn an honest wage. Who would you prefer to employ? The youth with a chip on his shoulder and an "I'm entitled" attitude, or the hardworking immigrant willing to do whatever job is available ?

- And what about the parents of these thugs? They know that their kids are going out on the street at night with their hoodie wrapped around their faces. They know that they come back with goods that they could never afford. Don't they have a responsibility in all of this? Or are parents nowadays so ineffective that all they do is all sit around in a group holding hands discussing their feelings and singing kumbaya....

- And lastly, I have to comment on the British police force,  I am not a supporter of guns, but these riots have proved just how ineffective they are with their truncheons and polite warnings. They need to be given more power. This cannot continue. It is shameful for Britain and for the millions of decent people who live there who unfortunately will be tarred by the same broad brush as these thugs.

The Woodlands Tavern - don't bother

When we were in the UK, we went out for a family meal one evening to the Woodlands Tavern in a village called Llanfair Discoed, in Monmouthshire, South-east Wales, between Chepstow and Newport.

It looked nice from the outside, and we were shown to our table in the dining area, which was empty of other patrons - not a good sign. To add to the imposing atmosphere created by an empty dining room, we were shown to our seats by a 'hostess' who can only be described as a dragon. She had obviously been at the back of the line when personality and sociability were given out. Her facial expression could curdle milk. 

We were given a basket of fairly ordinary bread rolls while we were waiting to order. However the wait for our food became so long (close to an hour) we asked for more bread. The waitress looked shocked when we asked...I expected her to say "MORE!!! you want MORE boy!" but instead she declared that it would cost 60p (about $1) ...per additional bread roll. You have to be kidding me!
 
When the food eventually arrived it was good (or was it just that I was so hungry...). Anyway, bottom line is I would not recommend this place however good the food was, because of the dragon-like nature of the hostess, the lack of atmosphere in the dining area and the petty penny-pinching for the bread. Thumbs down from me I'm afraid!

Life without kids

The kids have been staying with my parents in the UK for the past 2 weeks. I am experiencing a strange conflict in my mind between missing them and enjoying the freedom of no kids. We went out for a quiet meal on Friday night, had a lie-in on Saturday, relaxed on the deck in the sun this afternoon, and now am relaxing with a glass of wine, contemplating which I like best....

A right good read

Isn't it wonderful when you are in the middle of a book that you just can't put down? I have been gripped by a book called "Before I go to sleep"  by S.J.Watson. Its a story about a woman who, after an accident, has terrible amnesia problems such that she cannot retain memories from one day to the next. So each day she wakes up next to her husband not knowing who he is, in a house she doesn't recognize, in a body that is 20 years older then she remembers. She has to rely on what she is told to know who she is. The story develops as she finds out that all is not what it seems and she is not always being told the truth. Its a fascinating book, highly recommended. But now I have read it I feel a bit lost and I now need to find another that can take its place. But that's the good thing about books...you think there will never be a better one but there always is.

When the cats away...

Who would've thought that clearing out the shed could be so entertaining?!
When we were away a couple of weeks ago my neighbor was feeding my cats. I put out a feeder full of dry cat fod in shed as an "emergency backup". She emailed me and said that the food was all gone and suggested she get some more. I was amazed as the feeders contain enough food for a herd of cats for a month! Anyway, I was clearing out the shed today when I came across a large flowerpot full to the top with dried cat food! Whats going on I thought? Has my neighbor ignored the cat feeder and loaded up the flowerpots with food? Possibly she was setting a challenge for the cats to keep them amused?...

Anyway, all became clear as I moved the pots out of the shed. There in the corner of the shed was a tiny mouse. He'd obviously been doing some food hoarding ready for the winter. I screeched and hopped around a bit (I was only wearing flip-flops after all!), then called Tony to come chase it out of the shed. This he did then went to the store. After he left I sorted through more pots in the shed, only to discover the remainder of the "House of mouse" nestled in the corner of a large flowerpot, three pairs of eyes all staring up at me. A few shrieks later and they were deposited at the back of the garden. The cats were watching me with a confused expression on their face, probably thinking "Aw, come on! You're not suggesting we should work for our dinner are you?! Can't we just have Fancy Feast like we normally do?"

The good, the bad and the ugly

Here’s my list of the good, the bad and the ugly from old blighty.

First the good:

Marks and Spencer clothes
Marks and Spencer shoes
Marks and Spencer sandwiches
Pub meals
Pubs
Chip shops
Roast Chicken flavor crisps
Sunday Roast dinner with meat, gravy and lots of veg
Turkish Delight chocolate
Battyburg
Real Cheese



And now the bad…

Speed cameras
Crowds
The cost of living
The cost of Petrol/gas
Paying for parking
Trying to find a parking spot in a multi-storey carpark
Trying to park any car larger than a Mini in a parking spot



..and finally, the ugly

No, not Abba...the litter that was everywhere...in the town centers, in the parks and on the beach.

Bournemouth in the sun

Back from a 2 week stay in the home country. We spent the first few days in Bournemouth to allow us to unwind a bit before facing the onslaught of family visits. Overall we enjoyed Bournemouth. The weather was wonderful, we had a "heatwave", which in British terms means it did not rain for 24 hours and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds (just kidding!). However the heatwave did bring out all the worst in a British beach vacation. There were crowds of people wearing socks huddling behind extensive windbreaks, reading the Daily Mail. At the end of the day the beach was littered with Carlsberg lager cans ("probably the best beer in the world") and drunken louts with bare chests. Thank goodness the UK does not get many heatwaves...

Don't pass me...I'm not in your age group

Inspired by Tony's 10K run, the Veale family decided to run in the Sharon Timlin 5K at Hopkinton on June 18th; to be specific, Robert, Tony and I ran the 5K and Emma ran the 1 mile kids race. It was a fun day out, only spoiled (in my opinion) by the fact that I had to run 5K. I must say I was exhausted and was just glad that I was still vertical when I passed the finish line. Not sure I'll be doing that again in a hurry (or even slowly). No pictures unfortunately, apart from the copyrighted ones taken by a photographer. But they would not have been pretty anyway so probably for the best

Rather him than me

My husband Tony has been doing a lot of running recently. He started by signing up for a couple of 5K runs, then challenged himself in a local 10K race. The weather was perfect for the run, not too hot, dry etc. I took the kids along to cheer him at the finish line. He did a respectable time of 51mins 42 secs, not bad for an old guy :)

Phew! What a scorcher!

No, I'm not referring to the new guy at the gym. The only steamy thing here is our weather forecast for the next week. I hope its not building up for another tornado!!

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas

Massachusetts is not known for tornadoes. Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma; states in what is known as "Tornado Alley" get tornadoes. California gets earthquakes. In Massachusetts we get snow. We always thought that the worse that could happen to us was to get snowed in or slip on ice. This past week has proven us wrong as a total of 7 twisters struck Massachusetts on Wednesday evening. I was first alerted to the tornado warning while in a meeting in work. I immediately called home to my kids to switch the TV to the local weather channel and to listen for warnings and headed home as quickly as possible. The traffic was terrible - obviously everyone had the same idea as me. The twister had already touched down in Springfield, a city about 30 miles west from where I live and was heading east at an alarmingly fast rate. The weather was terrible on the drive home; forked lightening and torrential rain. The radio said to get off the roads and go to the basement - kind of difficult when you are stuck in a traffic jam. Luckily for us the tornado passed just south of us and we suffered nothing more than a very bad thunder and lightening storm. It was exciting and scary at the same time to sit in the basement waiting for the all-clear from the TV.

The people in Springfield were not so lucky. There were 4 fatalities and many people lost their homes or businesses. Here is a  local news report showing the tornado and it's aftermath. Scary stuff.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Happy birthday to my favorite girlfriend. Hope you have a wonderful, relaxing, wine and chocolate-filled day. See you in a few weeks!

Family Feud - not on my wavelength

I've been playing an online version of "Family Feud" (I think it was called Family Fortunes in the UK). Basically you get asked 5 questions, and you get more points if your answer aligns with the majority of the audience when they were asked the same question. I think that the "online audience" for this game were definitely from the US not the UK.

For example, name a New Year TV host ...the most popular answer was Dick Clark...err, who? "Name something served over rice"...so obviously I answered 'curry' (duh, what else is there?). Well...Chicken apparently..which was the #1 answer with curry getting a big, fat zero.

And the one I felt sure would get me lots of points "Name a food that can be stuffed". I answered "Chicken". Would you believe the most popular answer was Peppers! What?! That audience have obviously been watching way too much Nigella....huh? who?

An "Exemplary father"?

Just read a news report about an Italian father who left his daughter in a hot car after forgetting to drop her off at daycare. His 22 month old daughter died. The mother appealed for understanding for her partner saying he was an "exemplary father".

I think you will find, if you look up exemplary in the dictionary, that it means "worthy of imitation; commendable". Sorry darling, I don't think I agree with your description. 

The "Best of England"

Apparently Barack Obama has told the BBC that The Queen symbolises the "best of England" to the whole world. How interesting. Just the best of England is it? Not Wales or Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Arrival delays due to dancers on the line near Antwerp

Here's a cool clip from YouTube filmed in Antwerp train station - it was actually done as a promotion stunt for a Belgian television program, where they were looking for someone to play the leading role, in the musical of "The Sound of Music". So glad I wasn't racing to catch my train that day...

The end of the world is nigh...or is it?

Just read an amusing mini-article in "The Week" - an excellent magazine that gives an unbiased roundup of the week's main events. I quote:
Good week for the human race after the world did not end on May 21st, as Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping had predicted. [Editor's note: We filed this item several days early, but will print a correction if its wrong.]

Ours is not to reason why...

After 3 more sessions of acupuncture I can report a huge improvement in the state of my back pain. It has not entirely gone, however I can now move and bend and stretch like a normal person. I have been doing gardening, walking and even running! I actually look forward to each session, its incredibly relaxing. I have no idea how it works or how those needles in my legs and arms affect my back. All I know is that my back feels close to  normal again, I have more energy in general and feel much happier. Amazing...hats off to those Chinese!

Bye Bye Twin Towers

I was at Aston University, Birmingham in the 1980s studying Computer Science and Math. For 2 out of the 4 years I stayed in the "Halls of Residence", which consisted of tower blocks. In 1981-82 I stayed on the 17th floor of Dalton Tower, and in 1984-85 I stayed on the 11th floor of Lawrence Tower. Kind of sad to see that both towers were demolished this year to make way for a new student village. Here's a video of the demolition...end of an era.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Mam! Hope your present arrived safely. Enjoy your day!

A little prick does the trick (ooo-err Missus!)

Back from my first session of acupuncture...well...to be truthful, the treatment had to be cut short. I suffered from the very rare condition known as 'acupuncture fainting'! Yes, I passed out. I've no idea why. I remember telling the acupuncturist that I was starting to feel faint. Next thing I knew he was gently slapping my hand saying "Heather, wake-up...you are in the acupuncturist office...". Apparently I was out cold for a few minutes.

So having said that, here's what I can report from what I do remember. The needles didn't hurt (apart from one, but not much). The reclining chairs were incredibly comfy. My back does not feel much different but my stomach's been gurgling all day...must have done something but I withhold  judgement for now.

Its a pain in the back

For the past few years I have suffered from back pain, sometimes mild, sometimes not so mild. Its been a constant source of frustration for me, making me feel old before my time and preventing me from doing the exercise that I once enjoyed. I have tried many things to relieve the pain; I gave up exercise, I took up exercise, I did walking, swimming, yoga and nothing. I had X-rays and I had MRIs. I went to a chiropractor and a back specialist and I had steroid injections in my spine. Nothing worked. A friend has persuaded me to try acupuncture, so I have my first appointment this coming Friday. Not sure whether this will help at all, but I'm willing to give it a try. I will report back after my appointment. Watch this space...

A birthday rap

My son Robert wrote a birthday rap for Emma today. Not bad...

Yo, yo, E you were born today
Eleven years ago, just like yesterday
When you walk in the room, always gotta smile
Play B-ball and soccer, can run for miles
Got some prezzies for ya and I hope you're happy
and I'm sure there's more coming straight from yer pappy
Choosing what to buy you was no less than a dilemma,
Some chocolate? A stuffy? Happy Birthday Emma,
So sit down, relax, don't let your birthday go to waste
Blow out the candles and STUFF YOUR FACE!!
*WORD*

Happy Birthday Emma!

April 2011 - on the bumper cars in Busch Gardens

April 2011 - Busch gardens, Tampa, FL

Happy 11th Birthday to my daughter Emma. Growing up fast. Heres a few pictures from our recent vacation in Florida. Enjoy your sleepover party Emma!!