a small act of kindness

I was on the way home from work last night and arrived in Nottingham city centre about 6.45pm. I had a bit of time to kill before my bus connection at 7.30pm and the remainder of my journey to my warm and comfortable home and food and drink. As I walked down one of the side streets on the way to the busy Market Square I saw a guy in his thirties laying on cardboard on the street. It was a very cold night and my legs were cold enough just walking through town. I couldn't imagine what a life would be like living on the streets especially in this extremely cold weather. I continued on my way...

The look on the fella's face as I handed him a cup of hot coffee and a cookie from a local cafe a few minutes later was very rewarding. As I wished him well I realised how lucky I am to be in work and have the security of a roof over my head.

image from the internet.

PS: It was shocking enough to witness this homeless man but even more shocking was the fact that several people were queuing at the cash machine a yard away from the supine man and I got the impression he was almost invisible to them.

Merry Fishmas

smoked salmon with lemon

It was a bit of a last minute decision but I decided to have a fishy Christmas this year. Smoked salmon with lemon and a dusting of ground pepper for breakfast (and two boiled eggs) and a salmon en croute for Christmas lunch with roast potatoes cooked in goose fat accompanied with mashed carrots and potatoes with garden peas and a chiffonard of fresh basil. Just kinda made it up as I went along. Somewhere along the way two bottles of French red wine have been imbibed and I watched Rick Stein's Cornish Christmas on bbc iplayer as I cooked. This afternoon I watched Patrick Stewart as Scrooge in a channel four film of A Christmas Carol and then went for a doze before catching up with the Christmas edition of Doctor Who tonight. A cool Yule so far. The cats from next door have been in and out for treats and Christmas cuddles.



My Christmas dinner 

Cosy Christmas



some news from the past and Happy Christmas

Yesterday I heard from former work colleagues that the cafe that I worked as a kitchen porter is to close due to the  improvements to the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre in early January 2011. I am so pleased that I made the efforts to get out of there and start my journey in getting work with Tesco. It cost me two thousand pounds plus of  my savings to exist off the dole for a few months and with some trepidation but all along I was convinced that I would work with Tesco as a butcher and lo it came to pass. What follows are a series of pictures showing my parts of my journey.

The kitchen.

my kitchen porter corner

some of my work friends

my poorly hands

cafe cup cakes

the cafe in July 2010

I have now been employed by the much more secure firm of Tesco for over two months and I look forward to starting 2011 by studying for a meat counter diploma. In the meantime I am relaxing for two days for the Christmas holidays and want to wish all my readers a Very Happy Christmas and Happy New Year.

Phil xx

garlic and rosemary leg of lamb with cous cous

After taking out the two leg bones out of the leg of English lamb recently bought half price from Tesco I punctured the lamb flesh with a sharp knife about twenty times over it's surface. I inserted slithers of pre-cut fresh garlic bulbs and fresh rosemary leaves from my garden and trussed up the leg with some butcher's string. With the remainder of the rosemary and garlic I made a paste by adding some mustard seeds and ground the combination with my wooden mortar in my wooden pestle. I bathed the lamb in plain olive oil and cooked in the oven at gas mark 5. The lamb got cooked for two and half hours and for the last half hour I added a knob of butter to the roast. Two or three times during the cooking I basted the lamb to keep the flesh succulent.

trussed lamb and annointments

Meanwhile I used some Moroccan style cous cous from a packet (Co-op) and some haricot vertes for a simple yet very tasty meal. The joint itself will last at least three days. I am considering buying another leg and making a tagine style dinner for Christmas.

message from planet cat

The handsome Mr Harris

Hi, we are the cats. My name is Mr Harris (named after the former capital of the volcanic isle of Montserrat in the West Indies) and my sister is Miss Soufie (named after the Soufrir hills - the actual, still active, volcanic range). We is da catz from next door to Phil and we were very privileged to be rescued a few years ago from the torrid, hellish lava flows of Montserrat. Well actually, life for us, was somewhat less dramatic in reality but, we have suffered getting grey volcanic ash in our fur and paws and have killed rats for our keep in our kittenhood. Nowadays we love having loving owners who adore us and who like to travel. A lot.

We know that we have been mentioned in this blog. Blog- now that sounds like the word dog, non? Not happy about that. That - now that is a word that sounds like cat - much better. We cats are ace at abstract thinking.

Anyway, moving on, Phil and friends, Anna, Jon and Sue are looking after us whilst our real owners (Jo and Mick) are away sunning it up in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Envious us? Not a bit of it. Hiss! Spit!

Note to Jo and Mick: You'd better bring us something decent back or the furniture gets it bigtime and we would consider multiple peeing in the bath in order to express our ill feelings. Think on. And ... btw litter trays are for wussy kittens!!! Yeah!! Even in the snow! We is hard moggies who, nevertheless, like soft soil for our soiling not compact ice and savagely cold minus temperatures. Numbingly cold cat bums do not make us happy pussies.Ok, keep the litter tray situation for a bit please. It may be like an English Summer in NZ cobbers, but not here in below zero land.



The inquisitive Miss Soufie


So anyway readers,  we are  now getting used to titbits from our kindly neighbour Phil (neighbor- for those with English spelling difficulties in  the USA). Unca Phil  is unconditionally generous with food and gives us beaten raw egg and sumptous scraps from his roast pork joint plus warm chicken treats. We love it!

Sadly, the other day, in an unusually random moment, he 'tried us out' with cold Vietnamese river cobbler fish bits. Urgh!!!! Frankly we felt that packets of Sheba are much more preferable. Incidently, Philip, the tuna chunks  you keep 'treating us with' are sooooo last year, don't ya know? Tuna is for losers.

When we come to visit Unca Phil and drag ourselves reluctantly away from our fab cat tv system with suround sound ( the new cat flap, next door) we love to cover Phil with our spare hairs and hang around his house looking cosmically trendy and interesting. He seems to like this, even when he drags himself  home from work at 11pm on Thursday night. He may be knackered, can barely lift a beer bottle to his parched lips. but he still gives us a fuss and plays with us. One night he even let Harris stay over and sleep on his bed. Is there no end to his love and patience?

This morning we turned up, a deux.  musically caterwauling and growling outside his front door at 5am. Well, no problem there as Phil was planning to go to work at 6am anyway and was just aching to stroke us as he woke up with his brandy and beer induced hangover. He is a star. Occasionally we cats like to scrap with each other for no particular reason. It's great to be vocally noisy, tussle and be a nuisance - purely in a festive feline way.

Tonight we have been chilling on his cat distressed furniture and taunting him with our 'not been fed for weeks' looks. We are both very accomplished at the wide eyed and pitiful gaze. All we really want is a firm chuckie under the chin and a roaring log fire to relax in front off. Both of us are really looking forward to Christmas and unexpectedly attacking Phil's bare feet in bed as a token of Festive joy.
                                   

Happy Catmuss and here's hoping for no fleas from Santa.

Love and dribbles from Mr Harris and Miss Soufie.

something a bit different

Lately, and whilst I have been off for two days with my poorly heel I have been expanding my cooking with some simple dishes. Both of them took only fifteen minutes to prepare and cook.

• Vietnamese river cobbler fish with a  tangy lime and coriander sauce (one of the Schwartz range) with new season new potatoes and sugarsnap peas.

• Spicy pork and chilli sausages (from the Co-op) and mashed potatoes made from sweet potatoes (a first for me) with a drizzle of hand made quince sauce by my friend Lisa. This was a previous Christmas present and I just added it to finish off the jar.

Ouch that hurt. I mean really hurt.

He took me into his private room and asked me to take my left shoe and sock off. Then he smiled and explained exactly what he was going do to me – step by step. I got all hot and sweaty. I had never done this kind of thing before. Then I had to stand up, bend over his table with one knee on the table, my bare foot facing toward him. He chuckled in a sado- avuncular sort of way.

“This may hurt – a lot.” He said. He started to massage my heel. What had I let myself into? An Asian uncle foot fetishist? “Just a small prick,” he warned, and then the deeply throbbing pain started. He stayed there behind me for three or four minutes comforting me in my discomfort. I was advised to stand still and it wouldn’t last long. This was my first time and hopefully my last. A short, eye watering time later he pulled it out and asked me to get dressed. He said that he’d done this many times before and promised to call me next week.

“Thank you doctor,” said I. He seemed to like that.

I was expecting another painful needle injection but he said he had done them both – the local anaesthetic and the steroid injection in my heel to help the discomfort I have put up with ~ in varying degrees ~ with plantar fasciitis for months.

Hang on. What did you think I was talking about?

I’m not needle phobic but it blummin’ well hurt and hopefully I won’t have to go back ever again. As I type the local anaesthetic hasn’t worn off. Gee, am I looking forward to that. Time to cook something nice whilst I can still stand. Have a good day.

comfort food, roast pork and spuds

a relaxed and chilly day, but then ...

Sunday lunch. Roast beef with and onion gravy and veg

All started OK with the promise of re-heating some boneless rib beef I cooked on Sunday and an easy warm winter meal. Today started with a lovely walk enjoying the natural beauties of a hoare frost and some life enhancing photography around my village and Nottingham.
See: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frenchyphil/sets/72157625549396134/.

blocked kitchen sink

lagged pipe

brute force and ice particles

Then I discovered that the kitchen outflow pipe that had frozen on Sunday and had been lagged by yours truly had decided to freeze again. Reluctantly I took it all to bits, banged out the ice and re-assembled the piping in my amateur way. Now it drips both ends and I think that I may have broken the seal. Bugger. Meanwhile the cats from next door (oblivious of the tension) are constantly mooching bits of beef from me. I have phoned the plumber and await his call.

Harris and Soufie begging for food. bless 'em.

Ah well more medium dry Amontillado sherry and hot mince pies for me then. I look forward to the ice flow feature outside my kitchen tomorrow morning.