2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

flowerofthewest

Jay1 wrote: »

Please can you reassure this English girl that a dumpling in Scotland isn't the same as what I think a dumpling is. Or did they run out of gravy?

LOL
For those of the non-Scottish persuasion, a dumpling (or clootie dumpling) is a "cake" made from suet, flour, fruit and spices, and boiled in a cloth (or cloot). Basically it's like a huge suet pudding that gets cut into slices.
It's what we always had in my family as a pudding for special occassions - birthdays, christmas, easter etc.

It's really difficult to describe, but trust me it's gorgeous served warm and sprinkled with sugar or cream (or both).

Fi

MarkyMarkD

When we were students we lived on very little money for food.

We got mince (not "beef mince" but definitely just "mince" from a dodgy butchers for 30p/lb.

We got potatoes by the sackload for about £2.

We got bread by the sackload for £1 - literally - because we lived around the corner from an artisan baker who chucked everything out at the end of each day (and obviously took pity on poor students).

But we never starved and I'm still alive to tell the tale!

flowerofthewest

For any Scot who has lived 'down south' - did anyone miss dumpling, sliced sausage, tattie scones or plain bread? _Nyk

Hi Nyk, although I was born in Scotland I was brought up in Corby, Northamptonshire. This is basically a town full of Scots transplanted to England due to the local steelworks recruiting from the Greenock/Glasgow area in the 60s.

Growing up there meant that I had all the things you mention on a regular basis, plus good floury rolls like they make at Aulds in Greenock (and I managed to find in Moffatt on my way home (along with scotch pies) - yay).
My mum used to make tablet for us to sell at the school fetes, and she was always baking things like pancake, crumpets (think crepe), and lots of lovely cakes and scones.

I now live in Peterborough and the only place I can get plain bread is Farmfoods Suppose I could got to Corby once a month and stock up on things.

On the subject of square sausage, my dad once managed to convince an English workmate of his that they were made that way specially to fit onto a slice of plain break (the slices were the perfect shape and size for a sausage piece).

OK - time to stop rabbitting.
Fi

Frugaldom

flowerofthewest wrote: »

I now live in Peterborough .... Fi

:eek: I was there during the 'big storm'... almost ... I was actually stuck on the A14 for about 4 hours trying to go collect a friend off the train at Peterborough. She'd come down to visit for a holiday... neither of us had ever seen roads shut by snow as quick as that. It took over 6 hours to get from Peterborough to Newmarket.:rotfl: I do remember a pretty goode shopping centre there, but our 'frugal shopping sprees' involved a day trip to a place called 'Downtown', if I remember singing the correct song. Massive big centre that sold bargain everything.

nevadagirl

nykmedia wrote: »

'down south' has no butteries!

:rotfl:

I'm from England originally, and had to post my mum some butteries a few months ago. She was watching a TV programme about a woman in Edinburgh who was 5 stone overweight because she was addicted to butteries. Mum thought if they were good enough to make you put on 5 stone, she HAD to see what she was missing out on! :eek:

sharronloves2spend

longtime lurkio here. MMMMMMMM tablet, love it!! i was born in scotland and moved here when i was five (mum a true scot) absoultly loved going back just for the tablet, i used to eat it untill i felt sick. Would love the recipe floweofthewest!!

elantan

the best tablet i ever had was called bothwell candy....the guy that made it came from bothwell and sold his stuff to the local shops (where i used to buy it from) he then got that big he opened a wee shop just outside the barras and sold his bothwell candy there ...ohhh man that stuff was amazing

whitewing

Stop it! I'm starving.....

Having an itty bitty busy day. Have packed OH and MIL off to the temping agency today. Hopefully they will be focussed today and circumstances will conspire to enable them to actually achieve something.

Having a day of doing absolutely nothing on Friday and I can't wait! But got lots to do before then.

Need to be looking into my company pension scheme. Tried to ask my colleagues some questions about it, but no one knew anything. None of them have one as none of them expected to be there long enough!

Back later, have a great day.

FunBrum

I did a shift last night but, I'm off for another four days due to annual leave, that has to be taken before the end of the month.:T

I have to force myself to the shops as I've put it off for the last few days:D but I need to buy some hair dye as I can't put it off anymore:o I'm getting some strange looks from my BF and DS!:eek: It's just that I HATE shopping! It is such a chore. I don't mind food shopping so much but I'm not that good at buying anything else. Thats great for this challenge but not so good when you end up needing stuff!:o

I'm only planning on going to the shops once this week so I must make a list and hopefully remember everything in it!:D

I have loads of soup made up and I'm making a chicken curry for tea tonight. My BF has had a dicky tummy for the last few days, and secretly.....shhhhh....I'm glad,'cos that means our food will go further!;) :rotfl: :rotfl: Only joking. I'm not that cruel!:rolleyes:

andromache_2

What's tablet? Some kind of fudge?

sophiesmum wrote: »

This extra cash will be used towards birthdays and xmas etc to try and be money neutral ( and save me using my £4000 budget:D )
What does everyone do about extra "free" money? Do you add it to your budget or keep it separate for other stuff?

It's going in my holiday fund! I'm trying to be extra-strict with myself and not cheat but I think lots of people are using it in the same way you are