Now for something completely different

[lyndarra]

12 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I thought it was a type of icing that was baked on, I stand corrected. Either way it isn't needed.

Hot Crossless bun does not sound right.🙄

[NSWP]

On the subject of hot cross buns, OMG what has happened, the world has gone mad !!   Hot Cross buns made with cheese and vegemite in Coles.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 21 by NSWP

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Hot Crossless bun does not sound right.🙄

Fruit buns would be fine, perhaps call them Hot Happy Buns.

[possum52]

23 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Fruit buns would be fine, perhaps call them Hot Happy Buns.

I buy fruit buns all year round from our local bakery. Very yum!

Edited January 22 by possum52

[possum52]

59 minutes ago, NSWP said:

On the subject of hot cross buns, OMG what has happened, the world has gone mad !!   Hot Cross buns made with cheese and vegemite in Coles.

 

 

 

 

I do like cheesymite rolls/scrolls Les but for hot cross buns, no way!  From Baker's Delight

Edited January 22 by possum52

[MMDown Under]

Just now, possum52 said:

I buy fruit buns all year round from our loacal bakery. Very yum!

There must be a demand for them, with the Hot Cross Bun season being continuously extended. I agree it would be nice to have fruit buns available all year. 

[GUT2407]

49 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

There must be a demand for them, with the Hot Cross Bun season being continuously extended. I agree it would be nice to have fruit buns available all year. 

That’s what I keep saying, if people didn’t buy them the shops wouldn’t sell them.

 

Our local Bakers Delight usually start after Australia Day, head office told them they had to start a couple of weeks ago as they were selling so well everywhere else.

 

we buy unsliced fruit loaf year round and cut it in great big door stop slabs.

[possum52]

8 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

That’s what I keep saying, if people didn’t buy them the shops wouldn’t sell them.

 

Our local Bakers Delight usually start after Australia Day, head office told them they had to start a couple of weeks ago as they were selling so well everywhere else.

 

we buy unsliced fruit loaf year round and cut it in great big door stop slabs.

I usually buy the fruit loaf from Baker's Delight too but have it sliced for toast - if I had it unsliced, it wouldn't last very long.

[GUT2407]

7 minutes ago, possum52 said:

I usually buy the fruit loaf from Baker's Delight too but have it sliced for toast - if I had it unsliced, it wouldn't last very long.

Next option is Cafe Cut if your BD does it, not all do, but it’s about 50% thicker than toast.

[possum52]

35 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Next option is Cafe Cut if your BD does it, not all do, but it’s about 50% thicker than toast.

I don't think they do Cafe Cut at our BD but toast is probably thick enough for me. The best fruit loaf toast I have ever eaten was at a cafe on the foreshore at Warrnambool. Very, very nice and came with jam made by the cafe chef.

[MicCanberra]

Cafe cut, toated and lathered with butter.

[GUT2407]

9 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Cafe cut, toated and lathered with butter.

And Golden Syrup.

[Blackduck59]

7 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

And Golden Syrup.

 

We have a product called "Rogers Golden Syrup" are we taking about the same thing? If so maybe not on fruit bread, Like Mic said thick cut, toasted and plenty of butter for that. I like the golden syrup on fresh baked biscuits (or scones) still warm for the oven with butter and syrup. Of course my lovely wife thinks it's sacrilege so I don't get that very often.

[MMDown Under]

4 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

We have a product called "Rogers Golden Syrup" are we taking about the same thing? If so maybe not on fruit bread, Like Mic said thick cut, toasted and plenty of butter for that. I like the golden syrup on fresh baked biscuits (or scones) still warm for the oven with butter and syrup. Of course my lovely wife thinks it's sacrilege so I don't get that very often.

Yes it sounds similar.  Golden Syrup is thicker than American corn syrup.  I like it on toast. Even the name sounds delicious!

[GUT2407]

7 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

We have a product called "Rogers Golden Syrup" are we taking about the same thing? If so maybe not on fruit bread, Like Mic said thick cut, toasted and plenty of butter for that. I like the golden syrup on fresh baked biscuits (or scones) still warm for the oven with butter and syrup. Of course my lovely wife thinks it's sacrilege so I don't get that very often.

Googled it and looks the same, but thought this one might suit you

 

https://www.tasteireland.com.au/products/lyles-golden-syrup-907g?variant=41204946862240&currency=AUD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=Cj0KCQiAt66eBhCnARIsAKf3ZNEhHNLpoNtrYTE0zOiX0yD-svu5GY0xgxkctjOVJf_lC2oHtxIcEqAaAvwBEALw_wcB

[MicCanberra]

I like Golden syrup on porridge. Maple syrup is nice but the thicker syrup is better.

[boeckli]

No syrup or jam on hot cross/fruit buns for me please. I have salami on mine.

[Mareblu]

Back home on terra firma after our first Cunard cruise.  I refused to pay approx. $A32 per day for standard wifi when all other passengers said even the premium grade (much more expensive) kept dropping out.  All that means I'm just catching up with the posts from regular friends on here. 

 

Hope, Les, you are coping with your treatment, and are feeling stronger and happier now.  Also hoping, Lyle, that your procedure went well, and your results are good, as mine were when both my melanomas were in situ.  Eternal vigilance (very regular skin checks) is the price we pay for positive outcomes.

 

Overall, the cruise was a fiasco for Cunard, which seemed to avoid responding to genuine, deeply-felt concerns of so many passengers, especially the Brits who'd travelled so far, only to have the highlight moments of the cruise cancelled.  You've probably all read about New Zealand's biofouling regulations, and the fact that QE was refused entry to Fiordland for the much anticipated cruise-by of the sounds, refused entry to Dunedin, and was also not permitted to visit the Bay of Islands.  The reason for the discontent was that Cunard was aware in advance of this outcome, as we all discovered much too late that its same, previous cruise in December resulted in the same refusals.  The simple reason is that Queen Elizabeth's hull had not passed inspection and undergone the necessary cleaning within 30 days of entering NZ waters.  We think the probable reason for that is that it is due to go into drydock very soon for a complete refurbishment, which would, of course, involve cleaning of the hull.

 

To add to the misery for many passengers who shared their experience, the food offered in Britannia and Britannia Club was just terrible.  Duck a l'orange was served with gravy, not the traditional flambe sauce, and many vegetables were of the tinned variety.  The result was the Captain receiving over 100 letters of complaint, and that was before a petition was circulated, finally presented with many, many signatures.  I think that would have finally snapped Southampton into action.

 

We were fortunate and grateful to be travelling in QG, where the cuisine was superb.  We've also been to NZ many times, and visited Milford Sound and Bay of Islands by land, and it's not too far away to visit again in the future.  However, the Doubtful and Milford cruise-by would have been wonderful, and Dunedin is one city we've never been and were looking forward to exploring. 

Anyhoo, as they say in Lyle's beautiful land, after all that, we really enjoyed the cruise, and would certainly do Cunard again, mainly because the Company has granted all passengers on this cruise FCCs of 50% of the cost, to be used for any future cruise taken during the next 2 years.  We've already booked another one, returning to (you probably guessed it) New Zealand, where we're pretty sure QE will be granted entry to those wonderful highlights, because by then the hull should be cleaned.  Fingers crossed, with a hopeful thought.

 

Sorry this post was so very long. No short way to relate this unusual cruise experience.

 

Linda

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the update, shame about your cruise being port affected especially for the 

non Aussies.

[NSWP]

Thanks Linda, pity about the cruise not being 100%, sad for the Brits.  I am battling along.

[Blackduck59]

Thanks Linda for thinking of me. I have to think this thing isn't much of a concern because I haven't heard back about a schedule for the procedure. Of course with this diagnosis I'm a little paranoid about some other little spots that don't seem to want to heal.

I'm sorry that the cruise didn't go as planned, I'm not sure that Cunard made a very good business decision by not cleaning the hull. I have to believe that drydock period is scheduled after the down under season is over, isn't there a transpacific where she repositions to the Alaska run?

I guess she could drydock here, that would be cool because the original Queen Elizabeth visited our graving dock during the WW 2.

[Mareblu]

Not sure, Lyle, where QE heads before Alaska, but I'm assuming she would be dry-docked wherever Cunard normally does this.  

Re the melanoma:  yes, after diagnosis, we all question every little dot.  It's very wise to have a Plastic Surgeon attend to anything on the face or thereabouts.  My PS for the neck happens to be a neighbour at the coast, Les, but unfortunately he's now retired.  He did a brilliant job;  impossible to spot the line.  For the one on my back, I just told my GP to go for it.

Interesting, Lyle, about the WW2 history.

[Blackduck59]

The RMS Queen Elizabeth (or was she HMS during the war) came into the graving dock here in Victoria BC during the war. It was and I think may still be the largest such facility on the west coast of the Americas. As you can imagine the whole "loose lips sink ships" motto was drummed into the population with the graving dock, a shipyard and the RCN Pacific Fleet all in the same area. The Queen Elizabeth was in the graving dock and yard workers were on her every day. Nobody said anything no news agency reported she was here and it wasn't until after the war that the pictures of her in the drydock became public knowledge. I'm pretty sure the Queen Mary was in that dock at one time as well.

Edited January 30 by Blackduck59

[Mareblu]

QE's drydocking takes place in Singapore, Lyle, from 18 March to 2 April.  This will be before her transpacific to Canadian/Alaskan waters.  The hull will be completely cleaned of all biofoul during this procedure.  She underwent a complete refit, apparently, in 2018.  Considering that was 5 years ago, the ship seemed quite resplendent. That also means, unfortunately, that passengers on this  February's NZ cruise will probably have to endure the same port cancellations as we did.

[Blackduck59]

Thanks @Mareblu that's too bad they have chosen to let this slide until after the down under season. I'm guessing the antifouling is at the end of it's life and a ship moving in the water takes on less fouling than one sitting at anchor. So with her sitting idle for 2 years there's probably a good amount of critters on that hull.