Your Views

Keep 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!

Type some key words here to search the feedback section

Your e-Mails

James Rudall	Dear Nicey, My house mate has foolishly undertaken a 2 week stint on the Atkins diet which means he can't indulge in biscuits or even have a cup of tea for the entire time. Are you aware of any Atkins-Friendly biscuits or Tea substitutes that he can have to help him through this extremely difficult period? Also we're planning a long trip up to Scotland on the train in August - what would you recommend for the journey. Some sort of shortbread I presume? Cheers Jim
	Nicey replies: Unfortunately there aren't really any biscuits that are going to aid your friend as he chews his way through two weeks worth of bacon. I fail to see how drinking tea is going to interfere with his diet unless he is in the habit of taking three sugars in it. Still given how bad his breath is going to smell, all of this is merely of peripheral concern. As for train journeys, I understand it is possible to buy Fruit Shrewsburys on the train to Scotland which is one of the few places where they are generally available. However, the last time I undertook the journey from Peterborough to Edinburgh I simply made do with four tins of Stella Artois, and some Digestives, having had a cup of tea at the station.
Greg and Dawn Bodam Carlsbad Spa Wafers Review	Eastern Europe several Hello. I live in Europe and travel to Czech Republic several times a year and think I can add more on the wonders of the spa wafers than the person who wrote the first review. Currently have several cases of them in my home now. Children esp. love these 'cookies' (size matters to children) and they come in several flavors with the chocolate being our personal favorite. If you were to travel to the town of Karlovy Vary (west of Praha)you will find them in a large range of flavors. The town is known as a spa town with healing waters thus spa wafers. The wafers were ment to be light, delicate for ill people to get nourishment from and swallow, digest easily. On the promenade you can watch them being made fresh and enjoy a warm one for less than $0.50. They have been enjoyed in that area since 1856. Edward VII( king of England) and Johann Strauss are just a couple of the noted eaters of the wafers. I would also like to note the Czech Rep. has also joined the ranks of the European Union as of late and in addition to the beer, it is a great place to purchase Bohemian crystal, fine china, and garnet jewlery  as garnets are mined heavily in the Czech area. While in Praha, a walk across the Charles bridge to the castle on the hill or around town, a visit to the Jewish ghetto are a few of the must do's when in town. It is a place with history, puppet shows for the children, continental menu selections and great night life if that is your thing.
	Nicey replies: Thank you for all of that useful information. I'll also be careful not to drive into the river if ever I visit.
Mark Rea Ginger Nut Review	Dear Nicey, If I dunk a Ginger Nut in a hot cup of tea it becomes soft almost immediately.  If I dunk a Ginger Nut in a glass of cold milk it retains its crunchiness for quite some time.  Why is this? If I reverse the experiment and try dunking in cold tea or hot milk will the Ginger Nut keep its crunchiness or not in these liquid refreshments? Is it the temperature of the liquid you are dunking into that affects the crunchiness of the Ginger Nut, or is it the cellular composition of the liquid?  I look forward to hearing your answer.
	Nicey replies: Yes it is the temperature. Basic chemistry tells us that the rate at which a solute dissolves in a solvent, is tempreature dependent. The Gingernut is mostly sugar and really wants to dissolve. Temperature is a factor in any dunking situation and can often be the reason for breakage as hot tea works faster.
Jim Williams Romany Creams Review	Dear nicey, Just found your site and saw your review of Romany creams. I remember as a kid during the 60's, here in the UK,  wolfing down packets of 'Gypsy Creams'. I can't remember who made them or what they were like and I don't know if they are still about. A Google search for 'Gypsy Creams' will yield some interesting results. Apparently they are the favourite biscuit of TV quizmaster Richard Whitely (channel Four's 'Countdown') and recipes for them abound. I suspect that Gypsy Creams are the non-PC equivalent of the South African 'Romany Creams'. Regards, Jim Williams
	Nicey replies: Yep, we are up to speed with all of that including the dodgy Google search outcome. Typically when using Google to search for biscuit stuff it either brings up dubious stuff or our site. Interestingly Arnotts in Oz make Romany Creams under licence from Bakers, and call them Kingston. I picked up a pack a little while ago in the Australian shop in Covent Garden.
Geoff Cardigan	Dear Nicey, May I begin by offering my congratulations on the continuing high standard of biscuit reporting in your esteemed organ. A quick glance at the previous correspondence between ourselves may serve to refresh your memory of the forward-thinking nature of our venerable society, and I am pleased to report that this continues to be the case. Indeed, after a recent trip to the southern fringes of our continent, the society has never been more pro-european. Our exciting investigations into Iberian biscuit varieties continue with gusto (full results upon request). However, an alarming recent development in my private biscuit enjoyment has left me in a state of temporary biscuit flux. Allow me to elucidate. My place of work is a charmless, dreary office, populated by automatons who simply stare goggle-eyed at their PC screens (when not discussing episodes of reality TV shows featuring cranially-challenged members of society who have not the first iota of appreciation for the smashing orangey bit in a genuine Jaffa Cake. Surely the time has come for a biscuit-based reality TV show? Perhaps a biscuit-themed version of Hells Kitchen? Just a thought. But I digress). My one small measure of solace was the daily replenishment of a Family Circle selection box, allowing one a plentiful and varied offering of biscuit combinations. It was through these private considered munchings that I would table my now-legendary "Bourbon and Orange Cream at the same time" motion to the society at our AGM last October. To step into the storeroom at work while the boss was out, and witness a bounteous supply of row upon row of Family Circle wholesale boxes- each containing a full twelve tubs- was a rare and heartwarming sight indeed. Imagine my devastation therefore, to read a recent e-mail from the Managing Director informing us, in a disrespectfully jocular tone, that we as a "team" (bless her naivety) were consuming "too many biscuits" (it had never before occurred to me that such a concept existed. Is there any scientific evidence to support this ludicrous claim?) and that the treasured supply of Family Circle was being CANCELLED and replaced by a FRUITBOWL!!! A fruitbowl??? If I wish to survive solely on semi-ripened tree products the means exist to do so in the 21st century (airfares to Guatemala have never been cheaper, for example), but surely this is an affront to my civil liberties? An undermining of the very fabric of the British Constitution? After such a slight on my mental well-being, I took the understandable action of immediately lobbying my GP for 12 months stress-induced leave (on full pay), but he refused to acknowledge the extent of my malaise (curse these enthusiastic, newly-qualified doctors- lets see if 20 years as a GP leaves them so keen!). The Citizens Advice Bureau, the Samaritans, and my MP were similarly unwilling to help. I am therefore left staggering through the arid desert that is my new, biscuitless working week (pausing only occasionally to pick over the carcass of a Family Circle selection box that has gone before), and can only bemoan Britain's draconian working laws that allow an employer to simply discontinue a vital biscuit supply line without fear of a stern ticking off from some higher authority. What is the matter with these people? Don't they realise that THIS COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON BISCUITS??!!! 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)
	Nicey replies: We all like a nice bit of fruit, and too many biscuits on a regular basis is not a good plan. However, this is clearly a case of an ill judged unilateral decision that will antagonise the work force rather than improve their diet. Strike a compromise and switch to fruit and fruity biscuits like Fig Rolls, Garibaldis, Fruit Shortcake, Jammie Dodgers, HobNobs and Ginger Nuts. Alright some of the last ones weren't that fruity but you might sneak them past your boss.
	<< Previous | More >>