24th December 2020

 I am waiting for my fingers to tap out thoughts.  What news this morning, a deal on the table, we will wait and see.  Long lines of lorries sit stationary in Kent their poor drivers starved of food and loos.  We have just found out that the little bit of sea that isolates us from Europe, can also isolate our food supplies.  All those exotics, such as peppers, aubergines and courgettes will not be in the shops in the near future, and what about tomatoes.  I contemplated the small bowlful of Piccolo tomatoes this morning and wondered about cut and freezing them.  Then watched a podcast of an Israeli cook chopping with a certain lavish air two Romaine lettuces for a salad she was making and remembering I still had a little 'Gem' lettuce in the fridge.

Then the thought flowed, well we do live in the Northern half of the world and it is winter.  There are sweet parsnips to mash and roast, swede of course, leeks and onions to reduce to a sweet mush.  Red cabbage to simmer gently in the oven with apples.  Green kale and spinach to chop and add to those stir fries and then mushrooms.  

I noted that the Sikh organisation, Khalsa Aid are cooking meals for the lorry drivers stuck in Kent, and I remember when the Calder Valley was flooded in 2016 when the self same organisation fed the people in the towns there.  Community and compassion go together and that is what we have had happening all through the last year.

And then there is Lucy, my plump dowager cocker spaniel, who sadly has had I think a couple of minor strokes.  She finds eating  rather difficult, so I feed her with a spoon and throw her biscuits for her to catch, she enjoys this game.  She won't eat dog food anymore, but fancies what I eat.  I find at the moment rice and a boiled egg fills in those days when she cannot eat my food.  She is in fact trying to take over the house I think, our one to one relationship pleases her little heart and for the moment I am being ruled by her.  Why? well I suspect these are her last few months on earth and she should dine as she sees fit ;)

Peace to everyone.