Your ViewsKeep your e-mails pouring in, it's good to know that there are lots of you out there with views and opinions. To help you work out what is what, are now little icons to help you see biscuit related themes. And now you can see at a glance which are the most contested subjects via this graph (requires Flash 6.0 plugin). Please keep your mails coming in to nicey@nicecupofteaandasitdown.com | If you like, you can use this search thingy to find stuff that matches with any of the icons you pick, or use the fantastic free text search, Yay! | Your e-Mails |
Leo
Plain Chocolate Gingernut Review |
Hello,
just read your review of the chocolate coated ginger nut - these are perhaps the finest biscuits yet crafted by human hand. Simple and unassuming, they invade the senses with an explosion of finely married texture and flavour. I can't believe it took this long to invent, whoever was responsible for this at McVities should be knighted. However I haven't been able to get any for a disturbingly long time - have they been taken off the market? If they have, I make take my own life. Please can someone provide an update?
Leo
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Nicey replies: Fear not, put down the shotgun or take your head out of the oven, I saw them in Tesco's today.
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Jenny Hughes |
I have lots (well, 5) children and am frequently asked at what age should children be encouraged / taught /forced to make tea. Personally, I think it is an important developmental milestone and far more useful than building a tower out of three blocks. The difficult bit is surviving the stage when
they present you with a cup of luke warm water (out of the tap) and a floating teabag at 6.30 in the morning. (Always have a potted plant in the bedroom).
Most children need encouraging (a doll's tea set in the Wendy house when they are toddlers is essential). Some need teaching, some don't. One of my sons was an advanced child who could produce something passable at about 6 or 7 years old and 20 years on is still a 10 cups-a-day person. The youngest, age 11, still cannot make tea which is drinkable despite intensive coaching from his elder brothers.
All children need forcing from time to time (well most of the time actually) especially when they don't want a cup of tea and you do. Bribery is good but sets a precedent, threats are cheaper and more effective. (Mutter about money they owe you, peeling potatoes, tidying bedrooms or just resort to violence)
Teenagers often have particularly disgusting tea making habits (cold water + teabag + mug in a microwave is not uncommon) and also specialise in under-bed storage of mugs. The primeval life forms which grow in half drunk cups of tea in this alternative under-bed world are just not the sort of thing to go with a nice sit down.
Small children and tea don't mix either. For instance it's almost impossible to have a sit down with a cup of tea until they are about 5 AND under 5's always want to dunk their biscuit in you tea AND they always leave it in too long so that it breaks off.
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Nicey replies: Well the younger members of staff have simulated cups of tea which are actually mugs of milk, as they aren't old enough to make or appreciate tea yet. So it will be a year or two before I have a view on this whole issue. They do however do that dunking their biscuits in other peoples tea thing, luckily the Wife's not mine. |
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Jon Dance
Bahlsen Crumblys Review |
Dear Nicey
As a fellow pedant, I have to agree with your learned friend Alan's comments about the misplaced apostrophe. However, it is common practice in French and German, when faced with an "imported" word so to speak, to simply add " 's" to denote plurality. The ubiquitous "ies" plural formation from a singular "y" in English serves only to confuse them with its quintessentially British idiosyncrasy.
Thus are we faced with a dilemma - deny the British population the chance to savour the delights of this biscuit on the grounds of grammatical sloppiness, or accept that pan-European branding sometimes throws up such issues. (We should rejoice in the fat that the chosen name was not akin to Plopp, or Pschitt, which do exist in other countries, but have failed to make their way to these shores other than via marketing presentations on the pitfalls of branding.)
Fortunately for biscuit eaters over here, we have elected to adopt the second of these two above-mentioned options. However, as a gesture of goodwill and commitment, I shall endeavour to get my wife to change her name by deed poll to Mrs. Vera E. Crumbly. I feel that this compromise should provide an equitable solution to both parties.
Yours sincerely
Jon Dance
Marketing Manager, Bahlsen Ltd |
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Alan Bromley
Bahlsen Crumblys Review |
Hi Nicey
I am sure the biscuits are worth the praise but I question the name and the misplaced apostrophe.
If it's meant to be plural, then it should be Crumblies or Crumblys because Crumbly's, in its possessive form, needs to have something to possess. Crumbly's Citron, as in the Citron belonging to Crumbly, doesn't make sense. And it can't be a contraction because 'Crumbly is Citron' isn't much better. I would accept Crumbly's if Bahlen can come up with a Mr Crumbly, but I doubt whether they can.
No, it's the Germans and French messing with English. I vote for changing it to Crumblies. Please tell them.
Regards - Alan |
Nicey replies: Thats a bit harsh, I do understand what you are getting at, but I think the 'Y' is quite cheerful and slightly naughty. Anyhow there are much much dodgier names such as Lu 'Hello' biscuits. Perhaps we should make something random like an oven cleaning spray called 'Bonjour tous le monde', and sell it in France to demonstrate the error of their ways. |
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Paul Williams
Penguin Review |
Your point about the jokes being a recent innovation is quite true. The issue was certainly the colour of the foil wrapper which caused major arguments between me and my two bothers. Blue was without a doubt the best, followed by green. Red was not to be seen with. The taste of the biscuit was secondary to this.
Paul Williams, Abingdon
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Nicey replies: Really, Green is usually bottom of the list as green things are made from washing up liquid, such as green fruit gums. |
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