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 |
James Robinson
Custard Cream Review |
Hello, congratulations, your website has just lost me more man-hours at my work computer than any other biscuit-based website.
I'd like to trace the raspberry cream, feared missing in action. I last saw them in a shop called Finefair which, in a succession of mergers and acquisitions, became Gateway and then Somerfield. I refuse to believe that such a close relative of the custard cream no longer exists on the shelves.
Can you or your readers help me?
Many thanks,
Jim
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Nicey replies: Jim,
You'll probably be best advised heading to the Republic of Ireland, and getting hold of some Bolands Raspberry Creams. I had some back in the summer. They weren't that nice actually a bit like raspberry blancmange flavouring that had gone a little astray. You may just be lucky enough to spot some in a corner shop type establishment which is where I think the pack I had emanated from.
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Keith O'Kane |
Dear Nicey and the Wife,
I notice that there have been a number of comments on your site recently regarding the use of a single tea bag to make two cups of tea.
Although social conditioning prevents me from attempting this myself, I can see the merits of this method and would quite happily drink a "secondary" cup of tea, provided that the tea was of a reasonable strength and I had not been witness to the double dip.
I think that most objections stem from the fear that a single tea bag is simply not strong enough to make two cups of tea with an acceptable level of flavour. This surely depends on the type of tea in question.
I myself am a recent convert to Tesco Fair Trade tea which, in my opinion, is easily up to the task of providing two full strength mugs of tea from a single bag. Tesco have very thoughtfully provided a strength indicator on their own brand tea bags which shows the strength on a scale of 1 to 3 with 3 being the strongest. The bags I use are rated as having a strength level of 2, so with even stronger tea available there should be no reason to stick to the 'one bag per cup' rule (except for the aforementioned social conditioning).
I hope this has been of some benefit to those who may be considering double dipping.
Keith O'Kane |
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Emily Hopkins |
Hello Nicey,
Thought you might be interested in this story about police officers getting free cups of tea from an unnamed motorway service station.
What do you reckon, is it outrageous or does it prove that the police are human too? I live in Cheshire, so do you think I should investigate which one it is, and see if they could perhaps extend the service to NCOTAASD 'members' travelling on the M6? Maybe some of those little packets of biscuits too? I had a nice little packet of Fruit Shrewsburys on a course in Liverpool the other day.
Emily |
Nicey replies: Well in Balamory PC Plum finishes off a plate of Miss Hoolie's Custard Creams whilst on his rounds, as well as a cuppa. This evidently means he is a bad-un, on the take and up there with the likes of Don Beeche of the Bill (although he seems to be in Eastenders now). |
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Tim Mosedale
Custard Cream Review |
Firstly, good job on the custard cream slot yesterday. It's encouraging that such important things as how to eat a custard cream are brought to the television watching masses.
Secondly, I witnessed a concerning event at work today. As you can tell from my appreciation of your programme yesterday, and from the fact that I appear to be a sensible chap, I'm perfectly happy with dunking. When the dunking is biscuits in tea, that is. I don't have a problem with dunking certain biscuits in, say, hot chocolate either, though I wouldn't do it myself. However, this morning I saw someone in my office dunking a weetabix into a mug of milk. While on a surface level this is no different to a nice bowl of weetabix, it just seemed wrong. It makes me uncomfortable to even think of it.
yours,
Tim Mosedale |
Nicey replies: Hi Tim,
Yes the Custard Cream thing went well. Mind you I was alarmed that completely out of the blue Linda Barker interjected in that way she does, just when I was apparently getting into my stride. I hope they pay that poor girl from Curry's who does all the work in the adverts telling you how much the tellies and dvd players cost and so on, more money than the Barker woman who just comes on and does something annoying with her fingers. Plus she's started sending us junk mail trying to convince us to buy her settees.
Any how most mornings I have to scrape a goodly sized amount of Weetabix of the facilities here at NCOTAASD HQ thanks to the younger members of staffs dubious spoon handling. Failure to do so and it sets into a hard implacable lump, which requires a pair of pliers to detach. Dunking them into milk with out protective plastic sheeting every where seems foolhardy.
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Frances Dunlop |
Dear Nicey and Wifey,
I am so grateful to you! I have started reading your book, and already it has been of great help in removing some of the stress from my life. For the first time I now feel able to admit that I am a two-mug-per-bag user. I inherited a thrifty streak from my mother, and also have always found that one bag gives two perfectly good mugfulls. But when I have visitors I try to hide the fact that I am giving the bag a surreptitious second dunk. You have given me the courage to “come out”. Thank you.
I am enjoying the book. I look forward to the chapter on Sitting Down. I note that there is a section on sit down technique. This is something I have always felt rather good at, but I hope to learn some hints to improve my technique.
Frances |
Nicey replies: That puts me mind of a charming letter I received this week from a gentleman who had been a POW in Italy during WWII. He recounted how his last pinch of precious tea leaves were offered up in an enamel mug to a passing driver of an Italian steam locomotive. The British chaps gestured that would like some hot water in their mugs, with much mutual denouncement of war as a bad thing between both parties. The kind engine driver then used jets of steam to blast out what he took to be bits of old filthy stuff in the bottom of the chaps mug and returned it to him nice and clean and empty. He didn't get another cup of tea for two and a half years. |
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