The general chat thread

woodbine

This afternoon i'm off to the hospital for a heart ultra sound scan, takes about 30 minutes.

66Mustang

@MrAllen1976 sounds nice, the kegs of beer are often good value

@woodbine I hope it went smoothly and the results were good

woodbine

@66Mustang I won't know the results till the new year.

chiarieds

@woodbine - My son & I (sharing the same genetic disorder) have an annual echocardiogram. What I've managed to put in place is that we have these about an hour or so before seeing our cardiologist. So, once we know when he wants to see us, we book our echocardiograms (tho most years we've had to change this 2 or 3 times).

The technicians are great; perhaps we stand out as a Mum & son duo....they talk to us both about their findings, as we both ask, & write up a report straight afterwards for us to then take to our cardiologist.

We do a 'sedate' dash into the cardiology out patients to tell them we're there, & usually escape having to also have, in our case unnecessary ecgs, saying we need to go for our echos....get our reports, then often have only a few minutes wait to see our cardiologist once we get back to the cardiology out patients department.

I just said that as I'm in a lot of pain it made sense to have one hospital visit instead of 2, & our cardiologist doesn't mind this one bit, in fact he thought it was a good idea. Perhaps this would help you too.

AlisonNetty

I dont know how I caught this cold but I have one and feeling really bad. I've managed to get all the food and presents for xmas. Although I'm not really bothered about it really. It's only me and me cat Polly. I'm family doesn't bother with me... they'll only come over for there presents and stay long enough to open them then they will be gone... so I dont like forward to xmas at all. 
I could be moving in the new year so I have to get this aching body into gear and start packing this house up... 
Take care all alison 

[Deleted User]

@66Mustang What's Sushi actually like? As daft as it sounds I saw on a Simpsons episode once that if it's not cut in a certain way it can be poisonous!

woodbine

Been reading today that some parts of the country could be in for a white Christmas, I do hope we are in one of those areas I love the snow !
But cold and dry would do me for now as i'm sick of this wet weather 

Ross_Alumni

Also love snow @woodbine, it's such a shame that we don't get much anymore  

dkb123

I have been researching old wartime recipes, It reminds me of the stuff my mother used to make, I came across a Leek and onion suet pudding on the Documenrty Wartime Cooking and Gardening on youtube with Ruth Mott, and gave it a try, it substituted grated potatoes  for half of the fat , and when it was steamed you  couldn't tell any had been used, the pudding was delicious with a pork chop and gravy, and so cheap 

66Mustang

dkb123 said:

I have been researching old wartime recipes, It reminds me of the stuff my mother used to make, I came across a Leek and onion suet pudding on the Documenrty Wartime Cooking and Gardening on youtube with Ruth Mott, and gave it a try, it substituted grated potatoes  for half of the fat , and when it was steamed you  couldn't tell any had been used, the pudding was delicious with a pork chop and gravy, and so cheap 

That sounds really nice

dkb123

I also save the fat when I am baking or grilling sausages and meat and use it to fry anything in breadcrumbs, that way you can discard it instead of ruining fresh oil you would  normally use, Its a pity more people in these austerity times don't know how to make good cheap meals out of the most basic ingredients 

dkb123

substituting Lard for butter or margarine in cakes is also a good way to save money without compromising on taste, grated carrots are a healthy replacement for sugar  in baking 

66Mustang

I agree with you there

I often wonder how many of the people who supposedly can’t afford to feed themselves or their children are simply unaware that they can make meals so cheaply.

Maybe some kind of public education service would be helpful

66Mustang

MrAllen1976 said:

@66Mustang What's Sushi actually like? As daft as it sounds I saw on a Simpsons episode once that if it's not cut in a certain way it can be poisonous!

Sorry only just saw this!

It’s hard to explain what it’s like, it has a flavour all of its own. Raw fish and meat on its own (called sashimi, not technically sushi as sushi has to include rice I believe) is not overly flavoursome, you eat it for the texture as well as the taste, as fish tends to get more tasty when it’s cooked. Also the other ingredients give sushi flavour like the sushi rice which is vinegared.

I have heard some raw fish can be dangerous if not prepared correctly. I’m not sure that it’s to do with how it’s cut but could be, but I think though it’s more to do with if there are microorganisms on it that would usually be killed by cooking the food. Sushi chefs have to go through a lot of training before they become qualified, though. 

I don’t think it has a higher chance of killing you than many foods, unless perhaps you ate something really really exotic. Most sushi I guess is like many foods in that you are taking a risk by eating it and trusting that it has been properly prepared.

dkb123

I think the poisonous  one is Blowfish 

66Mustang

Yes you could well be right!

woodbine

Went into town today first time in a couple of weeks, considering its the final Saturday before Christmas it wasn't that busy, except for m&s the food hall was like a battlefield !
Just been reading that Boris has announced restrictions won't be lifted for xmas now and much of the s. east will be in "tier4"

66Mustang

Yes I saw that too. Luckily for us being in a “tier 4” area won’t affect our Christmas plans but it’s sad for many people

woodbine

15 million people will be in the new tier 4 from 00.01 a.m Sunday morning, that's around a third of the population of England. It's going to upset a lot of peoples plans and of course close all non-essential shops during the five busiest days of the year, but according to the BBC the new variant of the virus spreads 70% more quickly than the original.

janer1967

My understanding was also that all uk can now only meet with 2 other households on xmas day only and not the 5days originally planned 

I may be wrong