by Fern Shaw | Nov 9, 2015 | Water
Recently I blogged about various dishes with really bizarre names that originate from different cultures. I also mentioned that we Britons certainly aren’t alone when it comes to naming our scoff weirdly.
I said that at a later date I’d be expounding further on more of these dishes found in Britain, so without further ado, I present these to you. I’m going to grade these dishes in the following manner – the more unsightly or unpalatable a dish (in my very unprofessional opinion) – the more glasses of water you need to drink while consuming the dish.
Toad in the hole
Perhaps Britain’s least appetisingly-named meal, this dish of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter is said to have gained its unusual moniker because it looks like toads popping their heads from a hole (yes, I know, I can’t really see it either). Can’t stand the dish? At least you’re not eating it in the Victorian period, when it was common to use any available meat, however old or unpleasant. Mrs Beeton suggests rump steak and lamb kidney. ~ ½ a glass of water.
Bubble and squeak
Once upon a time, thrifty Britons with left-over vegetables and potatoes from a roast dinner wouldn’t have even considered throwing them away – they’d have fried the remnants up to make bubble and squeak. The name comes from the sizzling noise the vegetables make in the pan, though it could also adequately describe the horrified sounds your children emit next time you propose to cook it. ~ 0 glasses of water. Delicious meal if cooked right.
Welsh rarebit/rabbit
Tourists in Wales must be regularly disappointed to find that the traditional ‘rabbit’ they’ve ordered is little more than a gourmet version of cheese on toast. The name is said to be something of an English joke, coined in the 18th century when many Welsh were so poor they could not even afford a cheap meat like rabbit. Hilarious. ~ 0 glasses of water. Delicious.
Stargazey pie
Stargazey pie sounds rather quaint, but this Cornish dish of pilchards baked under a pastry crust won’t appeal to everyone – it traditionally has fish heads poking through the crust, so they appear to be gazing up at the sky. Legend has it that the dish originates from the village of Mousehole, where a plucky fisherman called Tom Bawcock once saved his fellow villagers from starvation by braving the stormy seas to catch a record haul. The fish were baked poking out of the pies, to prove to everyone that there was fish inside. ~ 1 glass of water.
Angels on horseback
This traditional Victorian appetizer of oysters wrapped in bacon and grilled is little known today. But the snack’s dastardly cousin, the devil on horseback (prunes or dates wrapped in bacon) is still a common feature of our Christmas dinners.
~ 1 glass of water.
Stinking Bishop
Anyone who’s been within smelling distance of this particular cheese understands the first part of its name: The wheels are said to have an odour that brings to mind dirty socks and wet towels. But the second half is purely coincidental. It’s actually derived from Stinking Bishop pears, whose juice the cheese is immersed in. The pears got their name from their farmer, Mr. Bishop.
~ 2 glasses of water. And a clothes peg for your nose.
Headcheese
Oddly enough, headcheese isn’t cheese at all. But you’re going to wish it were. The gelatinous meat is made from chopped-up bits of the head of a pig, calf or cow – including the tongue – and sometimes the feet and heart. The origins of its name are unclear, but it’s been suggested the source of the name could be either because the recipe used to contain cheese or because of the connected etymology of the words cheese and moulded (moulds are used to make headcheese).
~ One of our 18.9ℓ bottles of water. Minimum.
by Fern Shaw | Oct 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
That would be … me! Yes, yes, on occasion (usually during the change of season) I don my culture vulture headgear (a jester’s cap no less) and get out there in the World Wide Web and eddicate myself. I was all geared up initially to find out which countries were wearing what jerseys for the Rugby World Cup but after reading about how England’s players had to wear red because Fiji won the toss and are wearing white, I thought it best to step away before the rainbow turned into a hodge podge of colour.
This led me to reading about a dish called Poutine. I like to think of myself as having pretty fair general knowledge, but poutine? Poutinely unclear! Turns out it’s a dish that according to the wonderful Wiki is ‘a British inspired Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec, made with french fries and cheese curds topped with a light brown gravy-like sauce.’ Yum! (not). I have a pathological dislike of anything curd like.
Casting my food net further afield I discovered a few more unusual dishes that may not exactly endear you to your dinner guests. The alternative title for this list of scary is ‘Minimum three glasses of water per dish meals’.
Second up there’s a dish called Surstromming – Baltic Sea herring fermented with just enough salt used to prevent it from rotting. Mainly found tinned in brine these days, when opened it releases such a pungent aroma that it usually needs to be eaten outside. Sounds delightful.
Thirdly, there’s Fugu, made famous by The Simpsons (it’s specifically the ‘One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, BlueFish‘ episode 11 in Season 2 if you care to watch it) this little delicacy has the potential to be deadly if prepared incorrectly. As such, only chefs that have been drilled to perfection are allowed to handle the serving of the pufferfish. Good luck with that!
Before you get all ‘these dishes aren’t anything like what we eat at home, we’re safe’, think again.
What about Singing hinnies? The name for a northern dish of currant cakes cooked on a griddle. ‘Singing’ refers to the sizzling sound of the cakes as they cook in fat, while ‘hinny’ is, of course, a Northern term of endearment.
And then there’s Cullen skink which is a speciality from the town of Cullen on Scotland’s north-east coast. It’s a thick soup made from haddock, potatoes and onions. Theories as to where the word ‘skink’ comes from differ: it may be a variation on the Scots skink, meaning soup made from shin of beef.
There are actually loads more weird and wonderful British born dishes / meals, but that’s for another time. I’d like to say ‘celebrate your cultural differences – embrace the different’, but with dishes like these, my enthusiasm falls a bit short.
Culture vulture out!
by Fern Shaw | Sep 15, 2015 | Water
Of course, it is! And to prove as much, we’re including a photo of one of our environmentally friendly delivery vehicles. Works really well until such time as they encounter a low bridge. Bada-dish!
You didn’t like that? Then may I draw your attention to a selection of the best jokes from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that was held in….. (go on, can you guess?) recently?
I bought a muzzle for my pet duck. Nothing flashy, but it fits the bill. Chris Turner
Recently in court, I was found guilty of being egotistical. I am appealing. Stewart Francis
Went to my allotment and found that there was twice as much soil as there was the week before. The plot thickens. Darren Walsh
You can’t lose a homing pigeon. If your homing pigeon doesn’t come back, then what you’ve lost is a pigeon. Sara Pascoe
When my wife and I argue, we’re like a band in concert: we start with some new stuff, and then we roll out our greatest hits.
Frank Skinner
Surely every car is a people carrier? Adam Hess
What’s the difference between a ‘hippo’ and a ‘Zippo’? One is really heavy; the other is a little lighter. Masai Graham
If you think about it a little more – water is loads funny – slipping in water, falling into the koi pond (I really, really did this once, when I was all of 12) fully dressed; water bombs; tossing a glass of water at someone’s mug … it’s FUNNY. I could of course tell you what I believe is the all-time funniest joke about drinking water (which wasn’t all water as the imbiber soon found out) but this is an R-rated page, so perhaps not.
So perhaps water is funnier in motion and visually than in print, but yep, it’s still funny.
For a look at more water humour, have a gander here. If you have any material or funny images you’d like to share, pop them across to us at shelly.crawford@aquaidwatercoolers.co.uk
by Fern Shaw | Sep 15, 2015 | Health and Hydration, Water
Great excitement abounds as we draw closer to the 2015 Rugby World Cup being held in the U.K. this year, starting on 18 September and the final being played at Twickenham on 31 October. One would hope so, as rugby was invented in England in 1823. Legend has it that during a game of football at Rugby School in Warwickshire, a 16 year old student, William Webb Ellis, caught the ball and ran with it towards the opponent’s goal line, rather than following the rules of the times of catching and kicking the ball only.
From our side, as we’re all about things water, we’ve approached keeping hydrated from two angles – keeping yourself hydrated when playing the sport and how to keep yourself hydrated as a fan of the sport!
Perhaps you’re more couch potato than skinny fries when it comes to your sports participation. That’s why when you go from supine to five jumping jacks in a short time, you feel faint, you’re sweating bullets, your heart races, your face turns an interesting shade of puce and you may just feel like purging your most recent meal. This description should give you some idea of why your hydration needs are very different from your favourite rugby team.
Sports Hydration
As you can imagine, the physical and mental energy expended in a rugby match is monumental. In order to keep an athlete’s body (and mind) in peak condition, hydration and rehydration are of paramount importance. An example of just how important hydration is? A player can lose up to 3 to 4 kilograms during one match.
Although this year the temperatures won’t be soaring like they did at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup in Papua New Guinea, where the thermometer reached a cracking 33°C, players always go through strenuous pre-match tests to ensure that they are properly hydrated.
They are weighed before and after training, they have urine tests every day and they fill in wellness charts. If temperatures tend to soar during matches, additional breaks can be implemented during each half. The good news is that these players, their coaches and managers are all highly experienced. So, that’s them covered – now we worry about you, the supporter.
Supporter Hydration
Being a rugby supporter can also be very strenuous – take it from me – at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, there was a lot of supporting, jumping up and down, cheering and moaning going on, and we won’t make too much mention of the quaffing of the many shots in support of one’s national team – usually a concoction of luminescent coloured alcohol. Thirsty work all round, but quenching one’s thirst in the altogether incorrect manner with nary a bottle of water to be seen. Not the right way to stay strong for your team!
So in order to actually enjoy the entire event (instead of giving it your all during one match and spending the remainder of the World Cup hiding underneath your duvet), be kind to yourself:
If you’re fortunate enough to be attending the matches at any of the stadiums:
– Check to see if you can take your own water in with you.
– If you’re walking long distances to get to stadiums, as always, make sure you’ve plenty of bottled water to drink.
– If you’re staying home and know that your supporting is going to be a steady diet of drinking and fry-ups, try to make sure that before you get into supporter mode you drink lots of water. This will mean that you should have more energy in reserve when it comes to the all-important cheering, jumping up and down and singing mentioned beforehand.
Right, you’re sorted, my work here is done. If you need me, I’ll be the one in the Scotland rugby jersey, singing, ’Doe-a-deer’ and ‘Scoooootttlannnd / Scoooooooootttllannnnnd’.
On a more serious note, if you think you or your company will be thirsty during the World Cup, we are so the right people to speak to. Call us on 0800 772 3003 or e-mail us at shelly@aquaidwatercoolers.co.uk
by Fern Shaw | Sep 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
I’ve always loved adages and how they evolve, but I love them especially when they relate to predictions about the weather and the natural world.
For example, one of my favourites, which I’ve never quite understood is:
‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning’.
The wonder of this is, is there any truth in this old adage?
Red sky at night, sailors delight
When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically, good weather will follow.
Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning
A red sunrise can mean that a high pressure system (good weather) has already passed, thus indicating that a storm system (low pressure) may be moving to the east. A morning sky that is a deep, fiery red can indicate that there is high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain could be on its way.
Mackerel sky and mare’s tails make tall ships carry low sails
This weather proverb originates from a nautical background when different cloud types were used to determine whether sails needed to be lowered. Also referred to as just a ‘mackerel sky’, it is associated with altocumulus clouds while ‘mare’s tails’ refer to cirrus clouds. Both could develop before the instance of a storm which would lead to the lowering of the ships sails. Altocumulus clouds appear when there is a certain level of moisture in the air suggesting rainfall is approaching. The term ‘mackerel sky’ comes from the clouds resemblance to the scales of the mackerel. This terminology is rather lovely if you think about it!
When the wind is out of the East, ‘tis never good for man nor beast
This weather proverb carries some truth if you consider the various air masses that affect Britain and its weather. The air mass coming in from a North-Easterly direction is the Polar Continental; record low temperatures have been seen due to this air mass affecting Britain. This air mass originates in places such as Eastern Europe and Russia to affect Britain with bitterly cold winds in winter and dry, warm winds in summer although it is usually only apparent in Britain during winter (between November and April).
So, now you know. Here’s wishing you red sky nights for the foreseeable future! Or you could do as comedian Tom Parry says (fresh from the Edinburgh Festival): Red sky at night: shepherd’s delight. Blue sky at night: day.
