How's your day?

[philmayfield 6,153]

We kept five sheep in the orchard some years ago to keep the grass down. They gnawed the barks and killed most of the trees. One had a foot problem so we had to isolate it in the stable and one escaped. I was pleased to give them away. Goats are considerably worse because they stink and eat everything. All goat products smell decidedly ‘goaty’.

[benjamin1945 16,166]

Lovely World globe for sale in the 'Heart'' charity shop this morning......Lady called 'Shirley'' served me....Black Lady originally from Antigua.....she bet me i couldn't show her where Antigua was on the Globe......I said you mean where the famous footballers...Viv Richards and Curtley Ambrose are from ?.....

                    She laughed her head off even before i showed her where it was....completed the purchase with a short rendition of ''By the sunny Caribbean Sea''........nice encounter..........

[nonnaB 4,895]

Margie I will have to try the rice/pasta in a bottle for my daughters dog. We look after her when she’s at work ( lunch time and evenings). She’s used to being with company when she’s at home but when we’ve got her she’s a full time job. She’s a miniature pinscher and lets you know what she wants in no uncertain terms. Lately she’s been scratching everything, cupboard doors front door , kitchen door even the dish washer. I’ve been spraying her with water but even though she retreats it doesn’t stop her. She does mind water at all so a while ago we had to keep the gate to the pool firmly locked as a couple of times she leans over and gets ready to jump in. She did manage once , we’d just got out and heard a splash . We were at the furthest end and we didn’t know how to get in to get her out the quickest.

 

[nonnaB 4,895]

2 hours ago, Jill Sparrow said:

I like goats, too. Goat's milk and cheese are delicious. 

We had goats cheese at lunch time.  Wrapped in Speck or even Prosciutto crudo. Grilled and served with drizzled balsamic vinegar. Delicious

[philmayfield 6,153]

Last night was the weekly ‘disgusting foreign food night’ in this household. It’s just so we can appreciate how those in other lands have to suffer. My wife had an innocuous ‘chicken chow mein’ but I boldly went for a ‘fiery chicken curry’. Heaven knows what they’d put in it but the feeling is just returning to my tongue. It also required four bottles of Peroni to extinguish the flames! Salmon en croute tonight, not quite English but getting closer to our shores. Longing for steak and kidney pie night to come round again.

[nonnaB 4,895]

Phil I don’t know how long you had to suffer at our restaurant but I’m so sorry . I feel so sorry for you not to be able to enjoy all those Gourmet Evenings that were so popular and half Nottingham restaurants copied. I enjoy my Forrin food.

[philmayfield 6,153]

Italian food is the best in the world. I don’t count it as ‘foreign’. I’ve been to gourmet evenings at La Bucca. I even hired the whole restaurant for a gourmet  meal one Saturday on behalf of the flying club. The only complaint I heard was to do with serving rabbit. Apparently the secretary had too much of it during the war years!

[nonnaB 4,895]

Shame Phil because rabbit is very popular here cooked in every way possible. But to each his own I suppose. 

[philmayfield 6,153]

I enjoyed it but have not eaten it for years. An old friend was held in an Italian POW camp during the war but he escaped by walking out! He was taken in by a friendly Italian farming family. He spoke the language as he’d lived there before the war. After a delicious meal of what he thought was rabbit he was alarmed to see cat skins hanging to dry on the clothes line. Is cat still eaten as a delicacy? 

[MargieH 7,608]

As I said in my previous post, goats milk from carefully fed goats is lovely - if they are allowed to browse on cabbages etc, then it’s a different matter!    And it’s only the billy goats who smell bad, especially when they are getting interested in nearby female goats……  The females have a mild distinctive smell, the same as all animals do.  I find it fascinating that horses and dogs especially have a lovely distinctive smell - probably cats as well but I’ve become ‘nose blind’ to them.

[nonnaB 4,895]

Didn’t know it ever was a delicacy. I’ll have to ask locally. Where was he in the south? I’m sure it wasn’t in this area as we have a lot of wild animals that the locals hunt in the season. Wild boar, miniature hares, rabbits and the small mountain deers. Chickens , everyone has them if they live in the country.

[philmayfield 6,153]

Googling tells me the magnagati (cat eaters) come from Vicenza. In the northeast but not close to you. Apparently it comes from wartime when food was scarce so my friend’s story is plausible

[Beekay 5,162]

My dad ate cat during the war, while travelling through France. A family invited them in for a meal. As dad and his few mates were starving they  gratefully accepted. Thinking it was rabbit stew they tucked in, with bread and wine. When dads mate found out it was cat he dashed outside and threw up. Not my dad, he had seconds  !

( Mentioned before on here).

 

[nonnaB 4,895]

When I came here before we were married my mother in law made me so welcome and we sat down to a delicious meal. Afterwards I found out that it was rabbit in fact THE rabbit I was cuddling earlier that day. Living here I’ve got to like everything but the only things I will not touch are snails however they are cooked and tripe the same. I’ve learned to eat all sorts of things that being English wouldn’t have thought about eating such as Truffles. The smell of them is disgusting and until a few years ago  I refused to even try them. Having heard so many saying how good they are I plucked up courage and decided I would try them. But only a few very thin slices. I hadn’t known what I had missed, they were delicious and every year I look forward to the truffle season.

[trogg 2,017]

A workmate use to breed rabbits and he talked the rest of the shift to have rabbit that night for the evening meal. One made us promise that we wouldn’t show them him the rabbits before they were killed and cooked. I promised that I wouldn’t. As soon as they finished the meal I walked in with a little white rabbit in my arms talking to it saying that these nasty men have just eaten your brothers and sisters. One of them was not impressed, but at that time I could run faster than him.

[mary1947 2,085]

I remember having a white rabbit named Snowy, I got home from school I went over to Snowy's crate, The door was open and there was no Snowy, tears flowed freely. Well for years I thought that I had left the cage  door open and that it was my fault that Snowy' was missing.

Later, much later when I was in my late teens, and my father had one two many pints he told me that he had given Snowy to the next-door neighbour because I never wanted to clean Snowy's cage out. 

Mr haycock from next door had killed Snowy and put him in his stew-pot.

I never did  forgive my father.

 

 

 

[Oztalgian 3,302]

12 hours ago, Jill Sparrow said:

I like goats

I do too, they make a lovely curry. I found out when working in India most of what they call lamb/mutton is actually goat.

[philmayfield 6,153]

I just don’t fancy eating goat. Having said that I’ve eaten horse meat in France and that was quite acceptable as were snails and frog’s legs. I also like haggis and it’s anyone’s guess what’s in that! The only things I could never eat are eggs.

[nonnaB 4,895]

Goats meat at Easter . We see this on a lot of menu’s . It’s not the older goats but the baby ones so it’s very tender. Only eaten it once and then felt cruel and guilty. In fact don’t eat much meat now there are so many different things which are a lot more tasty.

[philmayfield 6,153]

I feel the same about veal. I could never eat a baby cow but I’m quite happy to eat steak and roast beef.

[DJ360 6,733]

Well.. the last few days have been interesting..

 

A few weeks ago we ordered a new gas fire, of the modern fab trendy 'letter box', 'in wall' style. This to replace a very ancient cast iron back boiler and wall hung gas fire of 70's vintage which has been in place since this house was built. Both boiler and fire have been redundant for donkey's years but we've only just got around to 'getting shut'. The idea is to have a relatively economical heat source, totally independent of electricity, for those many times a year around here when the electricity goes off and thus the 'Combi Boiler' and central heating shut down. Or just for light use in spring or autumn when a bit of evening warmth is required. It should also look much better.

 

So, the fitter supplied by the fire retailer didn't turn up on the first appointment which just happened to be the day after the Bank Holiday.  He said his Dad was terminally ill.. which it turns out he is.. but he wasn't on his 'last knockings' then...nor is he now...

 

So, the lad turned up as appointed the following Monday and turned off the gas supply to the fire/boiler, and I set about removing same from the fireplace aperture... as you do..  Not difficult and it saved me £100. Frankly, I could have turned off a simple valve, then unscrewed the gas pipe, just as he did, but I'm not 'Gas Safe' registered, so was just being cautious.

 

Next day the fitter turned up just after 9 a.m. complaining that he'd been to the fire supplier to collect the fire, that they weren't yet open and he'd texted them to get them to deliver the fire to my address. Meanwhile, he started 'prepping' the fire aperture.  Eventually, complaining that the 'fire shop' was ignoring his texts, he made the 20 minute each way journey there and back, arriving with the fire.  He then spent some time looking like he knew what he was doing.  Did a 'smoke test' on the chimney, spent time ensuring that the fire would be correctly positioned in the aperture etc, then connected to the gas, did a 'manometer' test to check the integrity of the gas system.. all good... but for one little doubt in my mind...

I found a small metal cover plate on the floor and when I asked him half jokingly if he'd 'missed a bit', he came up with some story that it was 'just part of the packaging' and was not needed.  I wasn't convinced..

 

Anyhow... he next set about installing the four 4" wide pieces of slate, known as 'slips', which we had ordered as a surround for the fire. He seemed increasingly rushed and panicky, claiming he had to get away to collect his kid from school because he was a single parent. Finally, sometime around 2:30 he was gone, saying he needed to come back Saturday when the adhesive on the 'slips' had hardened, "just to do a bit of caulking and tidy up".

 

I looked at the four pieces of slate in disbelief.. Not one was parallel with the wall they were stuck to, or in the same plane as the others, so that every joint was twisted or misaligned. There was also 'adhesive' all over the place, including many parts of the fire where it didn't need to be.

 

So.. next day, armed with photos I went back to the Fire Shop to look at the slate installations they had on display. All looked fine.  There followed a discussion with the shop proprietor who, looked at my pics and said "They all need to come off and be re-fitted properly...  I'll speak to the fitter".  I asked about the issue with the fitter getting the fire and was told.

"We don't deliver.. He knows what time we open.  It's quite normal for fitters to go to the property first, as early as they or the customer like..then come and collect the fire from us."  So why did the fitter need to lie to me?  Next I asked about the little missing cover. "Not part of the packaging" I was told..so another 'Porky' from the fitter.  I called the Fire manufacturer and they confirmed it was an integral part of the installation.  Since the fitter had left all of the cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, his own used up wipes, rubber gloves etc, but not the little cover plate behind, the manufacturer agreed to send me one.

 

When I got home the fitter called me.  He clearly wasn't happy and insisted that he'd said he'd be back to 'tidy up'. When I asked, then why did he leave wrongly fitted slate slips to set hard,, he blustered.

Next day, the fitter texted to say he'd had a concellation for Friday and could come back then instead of Saturday.  I reasoned he'd possibly have more time to do the job properly so agreed... But then, on further inspection I found a slight issue with the sizes of the slate pieces and went back to the shop yet again...

 

This time, the shop proprietor agreed that their 'stone guy'. should follow me home and assess the issue.  He turned out to be a very decent chap, who pulled off all of the slate and took it back to the shop.. for cleaning and a slight adjustment.. agreeing to return Friday to re-fit it. I told him the Gas Fitter was supposed to be coming at the same time and he advised me to put him off.  I did.  I then called the shop yet again and told them I don't want that fitter back in my house and that I've lost all faith in his 'installation'.  I told them I want another fitter sent out to check the installation.  They agreed to do so..but said that the original fitter 'has a right' to return and check his own work if necessary.  I repeated that he's not getting over my doorstep.

 

So Friday, the 'stone guy' turned up and it was a revelation to watch him work. First he offered up all the stone pieces and marked where there were rivets and other projections on the fire pushing the slate away from the wall.  He then used a grinder to cut out recesses in the back of the slate to fit over said rivets. Next, he used a fast setting two part bonding alongside slower setting silicone to bond the slate to the fire surround, holding each piece in place until the fast setting stuff 'grabbed'. Finally, he 'caulked' the remaining gap between slate and wall.  Difficult to describe how much better it now looks, even though there's still some plasterwork and decorating needed.

 

And at present, I still have no 'Gas Safe' Certificate, Serial No. for the appliance etc.

 

 

 

 

 

[MargieH 7,608]

What a few troubled days you’ve had Col !  But pleased at least one person did their job properly.

[Jill Sparrow 10,307]

Where's NBL when you need him?

[Cliff Ton 10,474]

1 hour ago, DJ360 said:

When I got home the fitter called me.  He clearly wasn't happy and insisted that he'd said he'd be back to 'tidy up'. When I asked, then why did he leave wrongly fitted slate slips to set hard,, he blustered.

 

Do you have details of the fitter ? Name/Phone etc.  At least you'll be able to warn off other potential customers.

[The Engineer 614]

What about the small metal plate that is integral part of the installation?  If the fitter did not install as per manufacturer's instructions, he probably needs reporting to Gas Safe.

 

Did he leave the installation and servicing manuals with you (as should be the case)?