Preparedness for when

lobbyludd

I've remembered why I dropped in, can I come back?

made chutney for the first toime last weekend and think the process ahs finally put the last nail in one of my workhorse pans. Am looking to save for a replacement, was going to go for enamelled cast iron again, but in looking I started thinking about copper pans, for jam etc and how copper has lots of antibacterial properties that might be useful - does anyone here use copper pans etc? are they easy to care for/do they impart a flavour? are you noticeably less bacterial

maryb

Teaching young recruits habits of cleanliness and order did a lot to level the social differences between them in the days of National Service. There's a new book out about NS and one chap is quoted as saying it was the first time in his life he had ever slept in a bed by himself. Within a week he would have been as well turned out as the middle class boy next to him - though you could probably still have guessed which one had been well fed in his childhood, especially for those reaching adulthood in the early part of the period who had not had free school milk and good hot lunches. Many of them kept up the habits they learned in the army - they knew it gave them the means of self respect

Margaret54

Yes Lyn and Greyqueen I remember my dear Granny saying many many years ago, that there was no shame in being poor but it was a disgrace when soap was so cheap to be dirty and to have a dirty house. My dh and I often talk about stuff these days and we too are wondering where the pride has gone in being British.( We are from N/Ireland but it is part of the united kingdom) and where is the Great in Britain? As you said Lyn too a sewing kit can be bought for 99p and I do despair when I people watch in our bus station when I am in town at the unkempt look so many have today. I have noticed this for so long now. Even good manners seem to be a thing of the past. I always say thank you for my ticket on the bus and another thank you to the driver when I am getting off it. A woman looked at me one time when she heard me say it and said to me" Huh! what are you thanking him for? He gets paid to drive his bus doesn't he" I said "yes he does but I was brought up to be mannerly and as my wee Granny said it doesn't cost tuppence to be nice to someone". She gave me a look as if I was deranged and strode off

maryb

Lobbyludd, I have a vague recollection that cooking acidic fruits in copper reduces the vitamin content. I had an aluminium preseving pan which I stopped using because the acid in fruits and chutneys leaches aluminium. But I found a giant Le Creuset pan at one of their outlet shops and I have to say it's the most useful pan I own. It's straight sided rather than sloping like a traditional preserving pan but there is still plenty of surface area for cooking down fruit quickly, jam doesn't catch on the base of the pan and a round cake cooling rack fits in the bottom which means I can use it for bottling as well if I use small jars. And it holds a big gammon joint no problem at Christmas. Expensive but so worth it

Margaret54

maryb reminds me of my dear Granda who fought at the Somme and came back injured as so many men sadly did. He always wore a suit and a trilby hat and highly polished shoes, and I can never remember him in anything other even at home wearing a shirt and nicely pressed trousers. He certainly stood out from a lot of folk where we lived but he took great pride in his appearance. My late Dad his son taught us how to clean our shoes after school and our Sunday shoes too. To this day I can't abide seeing dirty shoes. Even when money is very tight you can still polish a pair, or wipe trainers if that is what's worn with a damp cloth. Not the same any more sadly....

the_cake

Yesterday I went to a funeral and sat behind an oldish chap with a very whiskery neck and a clean but very outdated suit. He looked rather nice, and as he was chatting to some friends of ours I asked them afterwards who he was. Turned out he was 'the squire' - had owned most of a village in Oxfordshire and still owned a huge amount of the land round about. He is now an organic farmer. You just can't judge by appearances, can you?!
I really am very touched by all the support you are giving me, and the advice from Nargleblast. Huge thanks. Unfortunately it's actually a much more complex legal situation than I can really put on here, and will probably be a long drawn out battle. BUT we survived the last legal marathon, which was really complex, and eventually filled an entire large car boot with files and boxes of paperwork - currently still out in the garden shed and probably being nibbled by mice .... anyway, it's a sunny day, I've done a bit of work on it this morning, and now need to do a bit of gardening to ensure my continuing sanity. I will be making some spelt flatbreads as an experiment as normal (hm) bread makes me feel really bloated, and will also be making damson crumble as our trees are groaning under the weight of fruit. I've made four jars of damson jelly so far but have very frustratingly run out of jars! Love all round, xx the cake xx

lobbyludd

thanks Mary - the one I'm replacing is a le creuset, but some of the enamel came off in the chutney making (it's 24 yrs old, in my head I thought it had a no matter what 25yr guarantee, but i've checked the website and I'm wrong, there's no hope of me finding the receipt to prove I'm the original owner and I think they'd be able to argue wear and tear rather than a fault ). thanks for the info, I'll just go for a replacement then. mine was oval though - do you mean the largest round one?

nuatha

As a species we do a lot of harking back to golden ages that never were or that don't survive overly close examination. Though if the did, just imagine the earthly paradise Hesiod was writing about around 700 BCE (the earliest Golden Age I'm aware of).
Standards have definitely changed and sometimes its hard to argue that the current standards are an improvement. People shopping in nightwear probably shouldn't matter at all. The general disrespect people seem to have towards other people and their property really does matter because it makes life a lot less pleasant.

VJsmum currently I'd be a shoe-in, but generally I'd be homeless. Though its generally well organised, in that I can lay my hands on whatever I need, it certainly doesn't look it.

ALIBOBSY

Sorry about the bad news "the cake", we went through OH being made redundant twice in two years, but he ended upself emloyed and so much happier in the end. The bad stuff means the good times are so much sweeter when you get there.

In case anyone is wondering about the Icelandic volcano/rift event, it's still ongoing. The rift is so large that the area has been closed even to scientists and the IMO have issued a warning about the possibility of an acidic eruption in the BB caldera that continues to have pretty large quakes.

Video here
http://vimeo.com/105365343 from a recent heli flyover.

Ali x

For scale it is estimated by scientists in Iceland that the lava fountains are 150-200 metres high in places so like Blackpool tower!

jk0

Afternoon all.

I just noticed a new Simon's Cat cartoon appeared yesterday. Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8qOb8mdTTU