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 |
Desiree Thorpe-Fairall |
Hello again,
Just thought I would put a stop to all this 'hooha' about whether the milk goes in first or last.
It has nothing to do with solidifying milk proteins, or many of the other theories abounding on the subject, but is down to pure and simple 'snobbery'! and the 'upstairs/downstairs' culture.
Quite simply them 'upstairs' drank their tea from bone-china or porcelain cups, these could withstand heat, thus the hot tea could be poured directly into the cups and milk or lemon [another reason not to add the milk first come to think of it] was added.
However, them 'downstairs' only had 'pot' mugs and cups to drink from, these could not withstand the hot tea being poured directly into them, [cos the would break] thus the milk was added first to lower the temperature of the tea. [also them downstairs rarely drank their tea with lemon]
Thus posh people take tea with milk added, and plebs with milk first.
There is the added argument that adding the milk last makes it easier to control the level of milkiness of the tea. Nothing worse than meek and whilky tea.
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Nicey replies: Hmmm I'm not sure about all that broken crockery.
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Carolyn Bailey |
Dear Nicey
just to add on the bickie peg discussion , you can still buy bickie pegs today (of which I have a packet in my cupboard ), they have been going since 1925 and were desgined for teething babies to strengthen the jaws and sooth emerging teeth presumably in preparation for a lifetime of chomping biscuits . I gave them to my daughter and although she is only 2 has already developed a preference for bourbons and digestives depending on mood. Even at her tender age she splits the bourbon and licks the cream before eating the whole thing in two parts . This is not something I do but is obviously is instinctive and adds to entertainment value. She is a dunker of digestives however and I do admit she has learnt that skill from mummy.
Also any tips on how to keep fig rolls and the sponge in jaffa cakes fresh ?
ps anyone remember those really huge biscuits from the 70s that were like a large milk digestive the cholcolate was heavily ridged and was very sweet . It was of wagon wheel dimensions??? |
Nicey replies: Yes we thought you could still get Bickie Pegs. As for keeping fig rolls and Jaffa cakes fresh we simply don't have that problem, as they all get scoffed so quickly. Other than that I would suggest a very small air tight tin. |
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Jane from High Wycombe |
Dear Nicey - I emailed the other day to warble on about my early biscuit memories but so far no place in your hall of fame. Maybe this is because I incorrectly named Bickie Pegs as Toothy pegs. I've been worrying all week in case they were really a rusk. Someone out there must remember them. They were for teething babies - skinny and about two inches long with a hole at the end (the biscuit not the baby). This hole had a dual purpose. Firstly for threading a ribbon through which was then pinned to the child's matinee jacket. Secondly as an early Health and Safety device where the ribbon (still attached to the biscuit - pay attention) could be deployed to haul said biscuit out of gullet in a choking situation. Marvellous - we were tough in those days. Also I've just thought of Playtime biscuits. They were iced in attractive colours and had animals and toys on them in white icing. Also Morning Coffee. A bit boring if the truth be told, but they had an impression of a steaming coffee pot on the top and it was quite fun to nibble round the shape. We always had them with tea which was strange. Finally - something more up to date. What about Cafe Noir? Rather sophisticated I thought. Ooh and the Toffee Yo-Yo. I could go on but I won't. Your site is a form of biscuit porn and I am on the Atkins diet. Crumbs!
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Nicey replies: As a child I had bickie pegs, I remember my Mum telling me about them, she used to just hang them round my neck. This could explain a lot.
We have some biscuits in from South Africa that sound like Playtime biscuits that we will be reviewing in a week or two so watch out for that. |
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Rachel Glombek
Garibaldi Review |
A tribute to Garibaldi biscuits.
When our family goes camping we always pack plenty of Garibaldi biscuits. They're robust enough to withstand the journey rammed into the boot of the car, all the family enjoy them and, most importantly of all, if you inadvertently leave them outside the tent after an evening of star gazing (which requires biscuits of course) they still taste good with your morning cuppa (although you no longer need to dunk them !). |
Nicey replies: Yay! for biscuits and stargazing. |
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Rachel & Duncan |
Hello Nicey (are you?),
this is a mug related story. A tale of mug obsession, nay, mug torment.
I used to work in a barn (the doors were always left open) and the barn had a tea room for the comrade workers. Outside of the barn, by the tea room, were very large greenhouses. When it rained the run-off was collected in a little, deep and manky reservoir inbetween the greenhouses and the tea room.
Margaret cleaned the barn tea room. Margaret was particularly obsessed with cleaning mugs. She knew every mug in the tea room cupboard. People regularly hid their mug on a friday so that she wouldn't clean it over the weekend as she cleaned them with toilet bleach. The hiding of mugs infuriated her so much that if she found one in your locality she would really explode, hug
the mug to her chest and run off to the sink with it.
One friday, the tractor drivers decided to play a little game. She'd managed to find all of the mugs, except one. She looked everywhere, she accused everyone, she raged. She couldn't find it in the barn and started to search about outside. Then she found it, the look of abject defeat on her face, the tantalising closeness yet impossibility of reaching it, she had been beaten.
The tractor drivers had floated it out on a pallet into the middle of the reservoir.
It stayed there a very long time.
Rachel |
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