Sorry OH - refusing help doesn't make anyone 'very special'. It makes them stubborn for whatever reason of their own and it might hurt the person who is offering the help. Doesn't seem like a great idea to me. And there's pride before a fall. It would be better if people just behaved nicely instead ...

I'm pretty much house-bound myself. Haven't been out since we moved house (yet again!) in October. Too many years in war zones resulted in my being a deaf old cripple. I enjoy cooking and various arty things. I also like being friendly with people. :) I suppose I just expect people to smile and say ...

It's all worked out really well! In response to my letter explaining how I like to cook - and have no family or friends here - they gave me a 'Thank You' card and the message that they'd be happy to eat my food any time. :D I didn't expect that! I bought too many carrots. Yes, really - accidentally ...

I like twice baked potatoes. You know, you bake the tattie, scoop out the flesh, add cream or cheese or whatever and bake it again in the oven. It's easy enough but it can be a bit of a faff and it's not quick, ie assuming you're not just microwaving it. In contrast, gnocchi is very quick - and it's...

Does anyone remember Heinz Toast Toppers? They were part of my staple diet when I was a student. I liked the bacon and mushroom version. I spotted a can a few years back and I had to have it for nostalgia's sake. Yuk! They were awful. Apparently they were discontinued in 2015. There's a recipe in Pr...

What are you like, Emperor Shallot the Imperial Man?

Some kind of shape shifter - one moment an allium next he's a caprine creature.

Don't be angry with me. Not having a nice life right now. Thinking of a move (temporary?) to Scotland just to escape all the cr@p we've been facing down here.

I just feel kinda gobsmacked and hurt. But I know how I could get revenge. :twisted: LOL. Their quite chunky son and their grandson who live in the house between us are obviously keen on eating but they don't cook so it's a Big Mac or similar every single night. There aren't many good eateries withi...

Happy Birthday, hope you have a great year ahead!

Well, that didn't go as planned. :-( Husband went to collect our plates and was told that it was embarrassing for them to receive such a gift from us. I ended up writing a letter saying how my parents have been dead for decades. I have no bothers or sisters, and no kids. I like to cook so it made me...

I like to feed people and we invariably have too much food in the house anyway. Now we're back in our own home we know the neighbours on one side. Next door to us is a man and his son, and next door to them on the other side is the man's parents. We've seen nothing of the older ones since we got bac...

Gee, I don't think I would like a No Alcohol party. I even put brandy in my marie rose sauce for prawn cocktail.

Good idea to check, though. Thanks.

Happy Birthday, Clive!

I grew up in a town so we had more that one idiot. They were allowed freedom of the place given that they were harmless, ie posed no danger to the community. One was obsessed with scaffie wagons. (What's the English word for that? Dust cart?) He met an untimely end because the lorry ran over him. Oh...

Happy birtday from me too.

I love to have parties, but this house isn't really large enough. We keep getting newsletters through the letterbox from this local church. I'll not join but their hall is on offer for a very reasonable rent. It seems ideal to me but husband says do I know what these people are like This is not raci...