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| Janice Scott |
Dear Nicey and Wifey,
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your wonderful book. As an ex-pat living in Australia for the past 20 years, we recently returned from a visit (with my husband and three children) to old 'Blighty' and on one of our many days out, my daughter pointed out your book in a very small National Trust Giftshop in Robin Hood's Bay on the North East Coast of England (my husband and I originate from Durham City).
My husband and I are avid tea drinkers, he - a perfect 'T'; myself - it depends, mostly 'T1'. My husband (a shift worker) can drink up to 16 cups a day, our kettle is never cold! Our three children, aged 9, 11 and 15 (all born in Australia) have inherited the English taste for tea and all drink it often much to the amusement of our 'Aussie' friends and neighbours.
The book made me smile and laugh and brought back many memories of afternoon teas with my mum and aunts, and of course the compulsory plate of assorted biscuits (my childhood favourite - the Lincoln). I now take part in many morning and afternoon teas with my 'Aussie' friends and take much pride in providing teacups and saucers and teapot on a tray, keeping alive the English tradition.
The book will now take pride of place on our bookshelf for 'special' books; kept safe to be passed on to my children and hopefully connoisseur tea drinkers of the future to hopefully enjoy as much as I have. I will of course take it down to peruse when I am having my 'nice cup of tea and a sit down' which is very, very often.
With many thanks and my very best regards.
Janice Scott |
| Nicey replies: Janice,
Thanks for your mail. The National Trust do excellent work preserving the nations heritage as well as selling our book in their gift shops. Around us for some reason they also have a few water mills where they grind excellent wholemeal flour which makes glorious brown bread, and oatmeal which makes equally glorious raisin and oatmeal biscuits.
Quite frankly I don't know what we would do with out them.
Regards to all your tea drinking family
Nicey |
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Bob Sheed
Garibaldi Review |
I have 3 points to add to Ian Ashcroft's email concerning the link between the G biscuit and the 19th century Italian Patriot of the same name.
1) This year 2007 is the bicentenary of the birth of Guiseppe Garibaldi. Not quite sure what to do about it.
2) I once heard that the first Garibaldi 'biscuit' was in fact bread soaked in horse blood (Garibaldi constantly ran out of food on his campaigns and occasionally had to bleed his horses to nourish his men) mixed with berries. Given their fondness for all things nasty, it seems highly likely that troops of flies volunteered themselves as ingredients as well.
3) 'Garibaldi' should be pronounced to rhyme with 'Renaldo' and not with loss of hair.
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| Nicey replies: 1) Well the descendants of Garibaldi got in touch a while back to tell us about their project to create a website celebrating the bicentennary of Garibaldi's birth. It's very Italian but that's to be expected.
2) Ahh the joys of camping.
3) But it doesn't rhyme with Renaldo |
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Janice Galvin
Bourbon Review |
No doubt you are already aware of the fact that there are biscuits currently on display in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. If not I attach a nice view of Canary Wharf.
Janice
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| Nicey replies: Yes the YMOS have been bringing all their artistic masterpieces created over the last year back to NCOTAASD HQ this week in advance of the summer holidays. I'm sure most them are up to the the obviously high standards of the Tate Modern. Although the artist here seems to have scraped some of the chocolate cream out of the Viennese fingers of the surrounding buildings, causing them to lean a bit.
Also I would like to see little post-it notes on it pointing out where Alan Sugar has his pretend office and where the Daleks fought the Cybermen. |
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Karen Renshaw
Dip It Review |
Hi!
I just came across your site. I happened to be watching Richard and Judy the other day and caught the item on the Bahlsen Dip-It Biscuit.
I had to investigate this! You mention that 30 Asdas are stocking these biscuits. Well I'm based in Derbyshire and have today done an online grocery shop with Asda - so you might like to pass on that Dip-Its are available via an online shop with Asda (my nearest stores will be Sutton in Ashfield or Sheffield) - so they must be stocking them! I'll report back on how I find my packet of milk and crispies when they arrive.
Karen Renshaw |
| Nicey replies: Thanks Karen that's handy isn't it. Actually when Wifey did her customary hauling off of biscuits to her work the Dip Its went down a storm. |
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| Dan Smith |
Hi,
Having recently spent some tea-breaks in Iceland I thought you might like to know about a couple of the local delicacies:
Mjolkurkex - kind of like a triple thickness rich tea biscuit but square, fine aroma on opening the packet, resists dunking well. Quite a rugged biscuit with real structural properties. Rumor has it these were invented for trawlermen. Available in regular and wholemeal.
Maria - circular thin biscuits with a chocolate coating. Remarkably dunk resistant (still firm after 20 seconds).
These are both made by Fron and they do a range of others that I haven't managed to try yet.
If you want further info on Icelandic biscuits I can put you in touch with some people who are spending several months there doing voluntary work (between biscuit breaks) who have a wider experience of the local baked goods.
Dan Smith |
| Nicey replies: That's all very stimulating. What I know of Icelandic cuisine is that they once tried to give my Uncle Richard some fish that had been buried in a hole in the ground for a few weeks. The biscuits, even a reinforced rich tea sound better. |
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