Wednesday 21 January 2009

My kind of 5 a day

With the onset on January, good clean living and the depression of post holiday dieting, I find myself fantasising about what my ideal 5-a-day would be...

An obvious starter would be a LARGE glass of red wine! There has to be at least one portion of grapes in there.

Second in line would be a large blueberry muffin to go with my morning coffee, again crammed with many 'good for you' blueberries.

In my younger days a toffee apple would have been on the list, but nowadays, my evolving palate woulde always go for 'Eton Mess' - for the uninitiated out there, Eton mess is smashed merangue pieces, held together by whipped double thick fresh dairy cream and garnished with loads of fresh strawberry pieces.

To satisfy my savoury taste buds, a healthy dollop of home-made ketchup on a large hot-dog would definitely do the trick.

Next in line would have to be the old favourite, the cacao bean. This has many uses, not least of all being a prime ingredient of CHOCOLATE, which all my lady friends consume with guilty pleasure as often as they dare. Not me however!

I would always revert back to real fruit or vegetables..... so to top it all in a manner of speaking would be the classic 'Ham and pinepple pizza loaded with garlic and cheese' - in fact, with a little imagination, you could get more than 5 of your daily fruit or veg rations in a single pizza.

The conclusion is therefore that pizza cannot be bad for you if you choose the right ingredients.... Go diet go.

And on that note, I am off to Pizza hut - 'sayanara amigos'

Monday 19 January 2009

When did I take that first step to being a Grumpy Old Man

I have been wondering about this for some time. There must have been some watershed moment that tipped me over the edge from being a reasonable rational adult to what I seem to have become.

I get grumpy when teenagers drive past in their cars with boom boxes blaring out the usual monotonous bass beat that cause their cars to hop along rather than roll along smoothly. Similarly, when somebody queue hops in front of you at your local when you are after than long awaited swift half a lager after a brisk 2 hour cross country walk, hounds in tow, that I turn into a crazed moaning patron that all publicans dislike.

Reading the weekend newspapers evokes similar outbursts of grumpiness, usually followed by 'it never used to be like this when I was younger' or something else to that effect. We won't mention latent road rage at all. That might jeopardise my carefully guarded 'points free' license. Who teaches these young kids to drive anyway?

I think that it all happens well before we reach this state..... back in the mists of time when we were all left wing students spending our tuition fees on watered down lager at the students union perhaps? Nope! after that.

It begins with your first mortgage application form. The sudden impending burden of 30 years of financial stability is what tips you over the edge. No more rounds of drinks at the pub on a Friday chased down by exotically named shooters. No more spur of the moment holidays to distant shores.

In fact, the defining moment is when you buy your first garden shed! We should all blame the likes of B&Q and Wickes stores for turning the nation into grumpy old men and women.

It is time for action! I will make several placards and posters, rally my friends and picket the nearest garden shed supplier this coming weekend. Well maybe not, the weather will still be shite and no-one buys sheds in January anyway. Save this thought for Spring.

Adios till next time.....