WoodClan

Don't Panic! - It's only snow

Here at Wood Manor we have lots of snow coming down at the moment. Earlier this afternoon (around 3pm and before any snow had arrived) and after the media scare stories about the weather, Waitrose, Tesco's and other supermarkets were selling out of vitals. As reported by my mother-in-law, Waitrose doesn't even have mince or chickens!

@ 19:15

It's now close to 10pm and we have a few inches of snow, we are trapped, society is falling, with no means of escape we now have to wait until the spring for the thaw - if it ever comes - maybe we should have done a dance at the winter solstice, a load of deities must be pissed at the UK.

@ 21:16

This is of course unlike Norway where my wife and mother-in-law are from and would walk in a couple of metres of snow with society working perfectly well, where the school bus stops on the side of an icy road half way up a cliff to put on snow chains to avoid slipping further down the road and off the side of said cliff.

Now that being said and all things being equal the likely hood of me getting into London tomorrow is slim, but what's the point of being English if you can't complain about the weather.

But to keep you warm tonight and keep your spirits up I will now impart to you the only thing that will stop Stoke-on-Trent for being someplace you pass on the M6, I am of course, talking about Oatcakes.

The reason for this random part of the post is thus, it's snowing and when it's snowing you need a something warm and something filling - a hot oatcake.

It was one of the things that kept me going at uni each weekend, a great hangover cure and I lived just down the street from the "Hole in the wall", the last surviving front-room oatcake shop in Staffordshire - cooking the best oatcakes in Staffordshire. It was under threat of closure from the re-development of Stoke-on-Trent, but will be re-homed when they get around to that area.

Now however, for all those who have left Stoke and want a bit of oatcake goodness, you can buy online from those very great people who own the "Hole in the Wall" Glenn and Sue at www.oatcakes.org order by wednesday night and they will be sent out to you on thursday!

The way I have them is with sausage and cheese (as Glenn would say 'soss and cheese') or bacon and cheese or all both and cheese without sauce, however, apparently you are not a muppet, no matter what I say, for having a bit of red or brown sauce according to Pritch, the gent who introduced this food of the gods to me.

Anyway, here is what you do

1. Buy said oatcakes from www.oatcakes.org
2. Wait for delivery on the Friday after order
3. Remove from packaging
4. Layout



5. Grate Cheshire Cheese (NOT Cheddar it doesn't taste right and goes rubbery)
6. Add your selection of meat if desired



7. Place on oatcakes



8. Grill - open
9. Fold in half once cheese has started to melt
10. Grill some more - folded
11. Ready to eat!

Well, enjoy and I wish I still had some in the freezer as I think we may be stuck in the house for some time!

Bad luck comes in three's

Well this week has been interesting, what with the credit crunch, petrol prices and Gordon Brown telling us that we should stop buying food, the last thing i needed before our holiday is extra expenses.

No such luck for me; First our washing machine's control board blew up. Luckily, it did not burn down the house and I was able to find a replacement part online at a 50% discount on what was quoted by the manufacturers.

Secondly, Our computer decided to not recognize the keyboard, mouse or monitor - typical... well another expense as it's needed for work.

Today however our front door no longer opens. Now I agree that is better than not closing, however it really is a bit much!

I feel like I should just smack my head against a brick wall. This week Gordon Brown, the PM and ex-chancellor said that we should cut back on the amount of food we throw away in an attempt to combat spiraling energy and food costs.

Well Thanks Gordo, I didn't notice that my food bills have increased by close to 10% in the last month or two - I must have also missed the fact that my petrol costs are going up daily. He suggesting that i should cut back on the luxuries in life like food and water is a bit much when its his government that got us in this situation in the first place.

Don't worry Gordo, the rate things are going, i wont have any food wastage soon, due to the fact i wont be able to afford any food in the first place.

MPs have voted to keep their £24,000 second home - well thats more than a lot of people have to live on in total and they have the balls to say we should stop wasting food. How about stop taxing us into the stone age and start running the country.