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[Travelcat2]

what are cobnuts

and why are they the harbingers of autumn?

 

I wondered the same thing -- especially because they looked identical to the hazelnuts/filberts that my DH picked in our backyard last week. In fact, when I forwarded the picture to him, he thought I put his in a bowl and took a photo. So, the answer is either hazelnuts or filberts:)

 

P.S. Just Googled the subject and apparently a filbert is a type of hazelnut.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Travelcat2

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi,

 

My apologies, hadn't recognised the interest in cobnuts. They are a member of the hazelnut family but are completely different. Whereas hazelnuts can be kept, cobnuts are eaten when they are fresh. The nut is white, sweet and "milky". When those outer shell husks go brown, almost within two or three days then they really should be eaten. The reason why they are so important to Brits is that because they are eaten freshly - they dry very quicly- and not stored, and because of when they mature they are a real first sign of Autumn and therefore also Winter. We have hundreds of wild cobnut trees in our village and at this time of year the squirrels are very busy. Commercial crops are largely grown in Kent.

 

I've just taken some ipad pictures for you to show you more closely.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2014 by UKCruiseJeff

[lincslady]

Jeff - wondering what a 'northern gal's' champagne cocktail would be, as opposed to any other? As a northern gal myself (from Cheshire, as I believe Sophia is) my interpretation is cognac and champers, and think the other recipe is bitters over a sugar lump and champers. Since we have never had bitters in our house, it is always the cognac. On ships the champers is usually not top notch, so if I have it at all it is with cognac, peach schnapps (sort of Bellini) or cassis as a Kir Royale.

 

Love the piccy of Ena Sharples and chums - I fear I am beginning to look like her. I didn't watch Corrie in those days, but now with a bit more spare time I am, to my husband's disgust, somewhat addicted. The funny bits are wonderful, and some of the acting is top notch. Unlike Eastenders, which appears to me when I see 5 minutes of it, nothing but shouting and whining. What say you?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff - wondering what a 'northern gal's' champagne cocktail would be, as opposed to any other? As a northern gal myself (from Cheshire, as I believe Sophia is) my interpretation is cognac and champers, and think the other recipe is bitters over a sugar lump and champers. Since we have never had bitters in our house, it is always the cognac. On ships the champers is usually not top notch, so if I have it at all it is with cognac, peach schnapps (sort of Bellini) or cassis as a Kir Royale.

 

Love the piccy of Ena Sharples and chums - I fear I am beginning to look like her. I didn't watch Corrie in those days, but now with a bit more spare time I am, to my husband's disgust, somewhat addicted. The funny bits are wonderful, and some of the acting is top notch. Unlike Eastenders, which appears to me when I see 5 minutes of it, nothing but shouting and whining. What say you?

 

All of the soaps have lost their way. It's the scripts. They seem to be writen by children. And because they cannot think of anything they keep repeating "what is going on" to whoever next enters the scene. "Do you know that Deidres lost her dog and it's been taken to the vet in a stolen car" etc. etc So everything get's repeated as if it were the chorus of HMS Pinafore.

 

I am very clear about what cocktail I expect Northern Ladies to drink. It must be a Lincolnshire Milk Stout with a Cherry.

 

 

 

Or on special occaisions ...... A Cheshire Sublime 'specialy invented for you and S by me! :)

 

A shot of Whiskey, Baileys and a milk stout .....

 

 

[specialcruisegirl]

Good Afternoon......from a very cold and wet Cheshire! brrrrr...

 

My champagne cocktail yesterday was indeed the sugar lump with cognac topped with the fizz.....it was so delicious l had three....Hic!! Very moorish ;)

 

The Chinese dinner was lovely as was the Sancerre we chose to go with it.

 

Crikey....I haven't seen a milk stout in years!! Don't think l could stomach that cocktail Jeff...:eek:

 

We had breakfast out this morning....pancakes with maple syrup ...very nice, but if l had those every morning I'd end up like a two ton tess!!

 

As the weather is so bad we've decided to stay in this afternoon and have dinner in later. Both the kids are working early in the morning and I need to be on the road by 9am so it makes sense to chill.

 

Minnie, Martha and Ena.......what a trio they were....l do watch corrie but can take it or leave it, I rather like the documentaries best.

 

I see we have said goodbye to old Dickie Attenborough.....may he rest in peace.

 

Sophia :)

[lincslady]

How very dare you!! Suggesting we northern girls are not the pineapple of sophistication indeed.

[specialcruisegirl]

How very dare you!! Suggesting we northern girls are not the pineapple of sophistication indeed.

 

Guess we are expected to down a pint of bitter with some pork scratchings LL...:eek:;)

 

S:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Gawd!

 

Flatter a gal on her sinews and muscles and you get an earful! :eek:

 

All I'll say in mitigation is that I have dumped Dublin Guiness Girls for Northern Stout Girls and I think it was a good move.

 

Just to let you know .... I'm still trying to get to Singapore in October but The Boss has told me not to to try too hard as I've also booked January/February and just booked another trip in June. No amount of shaking the china piggy is going to fund all this.

 

 

 

So I know you are all waitinjg for this .. there will be a daily NutCam and "Spot the Cashew" competiton starting in January and runnning on! Our suite has been reserved and The Boss is satisfied with "The Arrangements" I have made ("just make sure you get free laundry ...." etc )

 

Anyway. A touch of Bavaria today.

 

[spinnaker2]

i think i need a plate description, i recognize the potato, cukes and toms, greens, the chicken...what is stuff in bowl???

the dreaded or highly touted salad cream? tartar sauce??

[bissel]

Another morning, Coolers!

 

I sent an earlier message but I must have pressed the wrong key. I had asked about these obscure ( to me) English soaps and their characters and also inquired, along with Spin, what is in the bowl please?

 

Carolyn

[specialcruisegirl]

Could it be sauerkraut Spin....as Jeff mentioned a touch of Bavaria....I'm puzzled also...!

 

We have so many soaps over here now it's hard to keep up with them all...so l don't try!

When DH was alive we hardly watched television, preferring to talk instead.

These days l have the TV on mainly as background.

 

S:)

[bissel]

For us too. We watch a few things, my husband watches some sports and I watch things like Boardwalk Empire, Last Tango in Halifax, PBS News Hour. Otherwise we have on Sonos for music that fills the house.

 

Where are you going in october, Sophia?

[specialcruisegirl]

Hi Carolyn,

 

Most of our soaps are regional based, Coronation St is about a fictional town in Manchester....Emmerdale similar, based in the Yorkshire Dales.....the horrid Eastenders being in London.....that is the most depressing of all the soaps IMHO and I've never watched it!

 

I'm going on the Whisper in October....NY to Barbados with a couple of days tagged on before and after, particularly the before bit in NY for some shopping:D

 

S:)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good morning!

 

The questions about The bowl!

 

You never buy a relish or sauce that is aboslutely right! Right? I'd been thinking about this for some time, so made it.

 

I blitzed some (quite a few actually!) green jalopena chillis, chopped some sweet dill gherkin fairly finely, mixed it in with salad cream and a touch of sugar. Mayo would have been too wishy washy. This was for the chicken. It was much hotter than it looks - packs a bit of a punch and was exactly what I had in mind. Hit the spot exactly. :)

 

Another non-walking day to day as I fear it is just going to rain and rain and rain ....

 

Jeff

 

 

.

Edited August 26, 2014 by UKCruiseJeff

[lincslady]

A piece in today's Times about whether or not it is a good idea to have breakfast. Apparently Liz Hurley just has hot water, and occasionally a coffee! The theory being that, whereas it used to be the idea that you should have a large breakfast, medium lunch and hardly anything in the evening, for both your health and weight, some guru has now decided different.

 

Since you (Jeff) seem to have fairly large lunches, I wonder if you and others have any breakfast? We could not eat so much at lunch, but do have a goodish dish of fruit with a dollop of greek yogurt, followed by toast some days, a croissant others,and a boiled egg or bacon sandwich occasionally, for breakfast. And when on a ship I make the most of a half portion of blueberry pancakes or egg benedict, or an omelette after a big plate of fruit.

 

How about all of you? Apologies for no photos.

[bissel]

Sophia, Your itinerary looks very nice. When you're in New York, do you plan to go to the Frick Museum? There is an El Greco exhibition then which looks good.

I always love the Frick!

 

Anyway, it looks like a great trip!

 

Carolyn

[UKCruiseJeff]

A piece in today's Times about whether or not it is a good idea to have breakfast. Apparently Liz Hurley just has hot water, and occasionally a coffee! The theory being that, whereas it used to be the idea that you should have a large breakfast, medium lunch and hardly anything in the evening, for both your health and weight, some guru has now decided different.

 

Since you (Jeff) seem to have fairly large lunches, I wonder if you and others have any breakfast? We could not eat so much at lunch, but do have a goodish dish of fruit with a dollop of greek yogurt, followed by toast some days, a croissant others,and a boiled egg or bacon sandwich occasionally, for breakfast. And when on a ship I make the most of a half portion of blueberry pancakes or egg benedict, or an omelette after a big plate of fruit.

 

How about all of you? Apologies for no photos.

 

Hi,

 

Basically, it's just one meal a day. Lunch. It started when in the entertainment business when I couldn't eat at night because I was working and obviously later when finished too hyped to eat after and then after widing down and to bed, obviously I always slept through breakfast. So that cycle sort of got locked in. Then when I worked more traditional hours it was always still lunch. Evenings is rarely more than a sandwich. No breakfast at all. Just tea at around 10am. Even when we travel it is always main meal is lunch and nothing much else..

 

Today, stuffed breast of lamb and a reprise of the peas!

 

[mw8811]

Good to see the peas are back again! Was delighted to find some frozen broad beans somewhere on my travels - something I've missed over the years.

 

Can't say I'm too impressed with this weather - we have resisted putting the heating on and bought a fan heater in Argos - seems to do the trick and heated the room quite quickly (I wasn't watching the electric meter though :rolleyes:).

 

Still getting to grips with a few of the last boxes - only one left now - I keep pushing it around my "office" hoping it will go away LOL

 

The next big project will be replacing all window coverings throughout the house but that can be done gradually when I finally get to grips with these ridiculous metric measurements.

 

Mary

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good to see the peas are back again! Was delighted to find some frozen broad beans somewhere on my travels - something I've missed over the years.

 

Can't say I'm too impressed with this weather - we have resisted putting the heating on and bought a fan heater in Argos - seems to do the trick and heated the room quite quickly (I wasn't watching the electric meter though :rolleyes:).

 

Still getting to grips with a few of the last boxes - only one left now - I keep pushing it around my "office" hoping it will go away LOL

 

The next big project will be replacing all window coverings throughout the house but that can be done gradually when I finally get to grips with these ridiculous metric measurements.

 

Mary

 

Hi Mary,

 

The peas begged to be let out again - good to see you getting everything organised!

 

You need an open fire!

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

There's been a bit of heat on another thread about group bookings on upper crust lines and it seemed to me that some had this odd idea that lines accepted these bookings in a sort of reticent begrudging way. Of course the opposite is true with a large amount of resource directed at attracting this business.

 

Many may be unaware of the size of team and resource directed at this market in Silversea, so I've enclosed a link to their special charter and groups booking web site with a chance to "meet the team" digest some prices and understand exactly what they offer. The question of course is how what is offered to a large incentive group can be reconciled with the expectations of their other customers on board.

 

Lot's to read and digest, and possibly even debate:

 

http://www.silversea.com/corporate-incentive-cruises/

[Perfectionistcruiser]

Thanks Jeff, they certainly have a team their and overheads to cover. Fortunately I have never, (famous lat words) come across a group on S S, yet !!!

 

Incidentally the group previously discussed re Seabourne was from Fujitsu Australia.

 

Ref Singapore, I,love it their and will be arriving off The Wind on 1 December and have a few days before flying back to London, so all restaurant or hotel recommendations truly appreciated.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks Jeff,

 

Ref Singapore, I,love it their and will be arriving off The Wind on 1 December and have a few days before flying back to London, so all restaurant or hotel recommendations truly appreciated.

 

Hi,

 

Do you have a budget in mind and are you a couple? Also any detail of interests and I'd be happy to make some suggestions.

 

Jeff

[Perfectionistcruiser]

Yes two of us and we are pretty flexible on budget, don't mind splashing out for a few days and especially love Chinese food, Asian Art, gardens and all things botanical.

 

Hotel wise we do like those with a club floor and lounge as it does save on the bar bills, especially after you get off S S where one does not have to pay. Well we do but it's over and done with in the fare price!,

 

With thanks for your advice.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Have a look at the Shop House Club Suites at the Intercontinental. There's a great club lounge. Try and get one of the suites with a private garden.

 

Enjoy your trip.

Edited August 26, 2014 by UKCruiseJeff

[specialcruisegirl]

Good morning!

 

The questions about The bowl!

 

You never buy a relish or sauce that is aboslutely right! Right? I'd been thinking about this for some time, so made it.

 

I blitzed some (quite a few actually!) green jalopena chillis, chopped some sweet dill gherkin fairly finely, mixed it in with salad cream and a touch of sugar. Mayo would have been too wishy washy. This was for the chicken. It was much hotter than it looks - packs a bit of a punch and was exactly what I had in mind. Hit the spot exactly. :)

 

Another non-walking day to day as I fear it is just going to rain and rain and rain ....

 

Jeff

 

 

.

 

Travelled home today and the weather over the Pennines was cold, wet and dismal!

You need an air walker Jeff for the non walking days...I have one here...it's been in the loft for over two years...:rolleyes:

 

S:)