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Your e-Mails

Carol Oliver Jacob's Orange Club Review	Dear Nicey and crew Talking of family holidays and what might accompany you in your thermos flasks. My lasting memories of travelling to South Wales in the summertime in the 1960s always conjures up the road side stops, when you pulled into the lay-by (alongside a few other folk travelling to the seaside), opened up the boot, and Mum would produce loads of Tupperware boxes, filled with sandwiches, tomatoes, apples, Club biscuits (generally a bit sticky cos they'd melted), etc.  We generally had a nice bit of Madeira cake too.  It might have been the height of summer, but there was also a thermos or two of soup (one filled with cream of tomato and the other vegetable or minestrone (quite continental for us at the time!)).  Grown ups of course had their thermos of tea - we youngsters had blackcurrant cordial.  Fantastic! Carol PS:   As I recall, our thermos flasks tended to have some kind of tartan pattern on the outside.
	Nicey replies: Yes our flask icon is intended to show some tartan action. Our new flask as seen in the last newsletter is one of those new fangled brushed metal ones but we do like it none the less. Which reminds me we really should write another newsletter.
Aimee Jones	Dear Nicey, Wifey and younger member of staff, Loving the toast rack icon - bordering on the inspired!  The Thermos flask is also a small triumph, but my strongest memories of flask based activities as a child do not include tea.  The beaches here in Wales are indeed fantastic, but can be a little nippy even during the summer months.  So Mam would often pack a thermos full of hot baked beans along with the sandwiches and whatnots when an outing to the seaside was in the offing - does this go against the Thermos ethos?  Also, to return to the toast rack, will this be utilised for other toasted baked goods?  I am thinking crumpets, tea cakes and slightly out of season Hot Cross Buns? Sterling work as ever, Aimee Jones
	Nicey replies: Firstly, yes I fully expect the new Toast icon to crop up whenever the broader issue of toasting raises its head. This is certainly in keeping with the general bandying around of icons such as the butter icon. Secondly flasks of hot baked beans sounds utterly fantastic, I would be thinking of having a tee-shirt made that proclaims that you were raised in this way. Hoorah for your Mum and her bean flasks. I would of course still require a flask of tea to wash them down with. Thirdly at Easter we were sat on a couple of Welsh beaches with our flask. The first attempt was a major disaster, having set out with the younger members of staff to dam up the stream that runs through Merthyr Mawr sand dunes. The stream had dried up, so we struck out for the coast, and anybody who knows the locale will know that this is quite a hike. No matter for I had provisions, or so I thought. On reaching the beach, we had forgotten the Fig Rolls, the Jaffa Cakes and the milk. I tried to console myself with a cup of black tea, which Wifey and Nanny Nicey declined. No, despite the claims of those who like it, black tea is fairly foul (they actually know this but insist that we should all drink it), especially when you really want a proper cup. I tried to amuse myself by attempting to construct a working cigarette lighter from the dozen or so I collected from the shore line, not that I smoke, I just thought it would be a useful survival trick in a sort of useless alternate Ray Mears way.
Theo	I suggest, in true Yogi and Booboo style, a picnic basket icon. The reason is simply that it's nearly summer, which in my house usually means going down to the park and drinking slightly plasticy flavoured tea from a Thermos and feeding ducks with inappropriate chocloate covered snacks. I'd better stop now, before I get started on ducks again... Theo
	Nicey replies: I could do a Thermos icon that would be good. Wifey and I love our Thermos, which we use like a teapot throwing a couple of bags just before we need to have some tea. This makes very acceptable tea in very unusual places.
Emma Forsdick	Nicey, Warmed by the impending British summer treats of Wimbledon tennis and hose pipe bans, my sister and I decided to take our first Picnic of the year over to Kew Gardens yesterday. No sooner had we sat down on our Iceland carrier bags and started on the sarnies than we felt the portentous first spots of rain. Being British and therefore prepared for this eventuality – our picnic was packed up within 30 seconds and we made our way to one of the greenhouses to take shelter just before torrents of Biblical proportions began. I soon become astounded by the brilliance of the average Sunday picnicker. Everybody grabbed a spot to sit down and out came Sunday papers, cushions, and an array of Tupperware clad food stuffs. Being similarly equipped ourselves; I took out my Funday Times and our packet of Crunch Creams. We were passing a pleasant few minutes when our neighbour interrupted us to ask if he might swap some tea from his thermos for a few of our crunch creams. Of course we obliged – and I had one of my most enjoyable cups of tea ever experienced, as I sat in the tropical heat of the greenhouse, listening to the torrents of rain on the glass, drinking a well brewed cuppa, whilst discussing the joys of rambling with an elderly couple from Surbiton. Long may British Summertime reign – and with it Generous Thermos glad ramblers!
	Nicey replies: We had a nice cup of tea and a sit down in the Cambridge Botanic gardens about two weeks ago, again on a rainy day. We were driven out of the glasshouses due to the younger members of staff deciding to be scared of the carnivorous plants.
Jess Mar	Hi Nicey, I'm wondering if you or your fantastic readers could provide some ideas in response my following dilemma? I'm an Aussie PhD student here in America at Harvard University and my fellow classmates and I are having a picnic on Saturday with international flair. I'll be bringing the mandatory ANZAC biscuits and lamingtons but I was thinking of taking a jar of Vegemite along as well, especially given its menacing, mysterious status amongst Americans (unlike you clever Brits who at least have Marmite). So in your opinion, what kind of "base" would best showcase the Vegemite flavour? I usually have mine on toast, but as a sampler, maybe that's not ideal. The ultimate Australian base would have to be the Arnott's sao biscuit but unfortunately I don't have access to any right now. Cracker-type biscuits might be a better alternative but any other suggestions are most welcome! Hope you can help! Cheers from Boston, Jess
	Nicey replies: I've always found that when in France perversely Marmite goes really well on French Bread, especially if its been toasted, it also goes well with those little slices of french toast. So using this as a guide why don't you try Vegemite on Sourdough bread or Bagels.
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