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 |
Highland coo |
As a keen mountain climber and hill walker i always carry with me my trusty thermos of tea with a seperate bottle of milk as otherwise the milk tastes like that manky UHT stuff one finds in hotels. Naturally i cary some small snack to keep my energy up, normally some shortbread or "digger biscuits" (family recipe, 'nuff said tho when it's basiclaly oats and golden syrup). However, recently i was tihnking of taking a trip further afield with som friends, notably the Andes in South America or parhaps the Alps depending on funds, when to my horror i learnt something that should put every tea drinker from ever going to anywhere of notable altitude. A physics frined of mine told me that according to kinetic theory as altitude increases, pressure decreases so the temperature needed to boil water decreases. This doesn't sound too bad, until you realise that at the top of the Alps water boils at 80 degrees Centigrade or at the top of Everest it is a lukewarm 60 degrees. So no tea to stave hypothermia off and, unfortunately, no trip. It does make you wonder how Edmund Hillary got to the top of Everest tho. In the meantime, Explorers BEWARE, tea at altitude is lacking in taste and heat. |
Nicey replies: The highest I've made tea is about 1800M above sea level. It works well enough at that altitude providing one doesn't use the local tea bags. |
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Emma Jeffrey |
Dear Nicey,
Orange cream biscuits can still be bought this day in Tesco's. Unfortunately they do come in a multipack with a packet of coconut creams and bourbons but I throw thos others away and just eat the orange ones.
Emma |
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Alun Miles
Weston's Wagon Wheels Review |
Nicey,
I've just read your write up of the 'Weston's Wagon Wheel', and have
just stirred up memories of my school days
I was educated at the school which is next door to the Burton's factory in Llantarnam, South Wales and every time my school chums and I had a chance we would scamper down to the factory's shop and buy bags of Wagon Wheels which were not of sufficient quality to be packed up and distributed in the normal way. There would be 20 plus wagon wheels to a bag of various sizes,
shapes and quantities of chocolate/jam. These were then consumed with great gusto during our lunch break.....but unfortunately for every good thing there's a bad one....
One day after indulging ourselves in our Wagon Wheel fest we suddenly remembered that we had double PE after lunch and on that particular day we had to give it our all in a practice game of rugger for a big match we had lined up. I was ok for the first few minutes or so until I was running down the wing at full pelt and was barged into touch by a big bruiser from the upper sixth form. When I got to my feet and drew in a deep breath through my nose (as we were taught by our sports master!!) I got a whiff of the baking odours from the biscuit factory. Well the accumulation of vigorous exercise, 20 or so Wagon Wheels and that sickly pong was too much for me and yes you've guessed it I was talking to God on the big white phone, which of course got everyone else, who scoffed Wagon Wheels that lunch time, boffing too.
As you can imagine the rugby pitch was not a pretty sight and the memory of this ordeal has stuck with me since, especially when I travel past the factory/school on my way to work just as another batch of biscuits are leaving the ovens giving off their sweet sickly odour.
Cheers Alun
PS. Shortly after this incident the factory shop was closed the official story was that some unscrupulous people were selling on the below par biscuits at car boot sales and thus giving Burton's a bad name.....but I think it was my sports master threatening to duff up anyone who sold us anymore Wagon Wheels.
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Sheridan Williams |
Dear Nicey,
I'm new to your page, but not to tea of course. I am 55 and was weaned on tea by my parents.
I am about to buy a new car and cannot find on your super website details of cupholders in cars.
As you can imagine, this is crucially important especially as my last car a Range Rover had a sloping dashboard and nowhere to rest your tea mug. My choice of car must have at least two cupholders in the front.
Can any of your readers help out with this.
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Geoff Cardigan |
Dear Nicey,
Doubtless you are on top of this piece of breaking news, but my panic is such that I cannot wait for a posting from your good self, and so am e-mailing you in a state of urgent breathlessness.
I, along with many other keen followers of the biscuit world, have noticed the change in packaging on boxes of Family Circle (surely the populists choice of selection box). However, has anyone noticed the subtle, indeed unreferred to, change in content? The Orange Cream biscuit has disappeared from the box altogether! Previously two of these citrus beauties could be found on each layer, bringing a total of 4 in each box (a handsome total, to be sure, but still not enough to satisfy all at the society. Along with their berry-based cousin and all-time classic, the Jammie Dodger, the Orange Cream was always first to disappear at the society's gatherings).
Is this a temporary change, or due to a rogue batch? That would be serious enough, but if you were to confirm the complete withdrawal of this satisfying and hugely underrated biscuit, my devastation would be such that I may be forced to consider my position.
This leads me to ask several questions: On what legal basis can a company simply delete a much-cherished biscuit from a selection pack? Surely some kind of tribute would have been appropriate? Most importantly of all however- why the Orange Cream? There is a coconut-based monstosity of a biscuit that has survived in the Family Circle for many years, much to my bewilderment (this is surely favoured by only the most avid dunker).
The attitude of Family Circle's manufacturers toward the heartless betrayal of this core member of it's selection pack is mystifying, and disappointing. I intend to table a motion to the society to withdraw our support for the Family Circle with immediate effect. Any light you could shed on this disturbing and perplexing issue would be most welcome.
I'm going for a lie down.
Yours sincerely,
Geoff Cardigan
Acting Host-in-Chief (while the wife is pregnant)
Bristol Guild of Biscuits Appreciation Society (North West and Westbury-on-Trym Division)
Founded 1996 (at Dave's house)
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Nicey replies: Geoff,
The orange cream is indeed a rare and much underrated biscuit. However I did encounter a triple pack of cream biscuits, in Iceland (not the country) about 2 years ago containing Orange Creams, unfortunately there was a pack of Coconut creams keeping them company. |
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