Cold feet

I’VE BEEN somewhat remiss about my postings of late – no real excuse for it except a kind of lethargy which has been upon me for weeks now.

I seem to spend more time asleep than fully conscious.

We’ve been dogged by a certain amount of ill health, too – again, nothing major, just the usual seasonal coughs and colds and the like.

But it just adds to my winter moroseness.

Oh, what I wouldn’t do for a few weeks in the sun! I tell My Good Lady so this very evening as we recall the glory that is the Caribbean, or the wonder of South East Asia.

Not for us at the moment, alas. Maybe later next year. We shall see.

Anyhow, the Big Day is nigh upon us and we’re about as set for it as we’re likely to be.

Little or no cooking involved for us this year, we’ve been invited by some friends for Christmas lunch – and I have to say even this has been something of a trial.

PD, our host, has certain mental health problems, and in the space of the last few weeks has been getting himself more and more worked up about our now immanent arrival.

At first he was really keen, but now I fear he may be in the edge of some kind of breakdown on our account.

Were it not for the fact that Lin, his wife, is really enthusiastic about our coming to their home, I think I might have tried to extricate us from their invitation.

Far too late now, of course – we’re committed.

But I approach the day with a certain feeling that the old feet are getting well and truly icy!

Of seasonal wine and rather a lot of turkey

AND STILL in the spirit of the fast-upcoming festive season, we’ve just taken delivery of some Christmas wines.

Quite a good selection this year – albeit an expensive one – ranging from a Châteauneuf-du-Pape to go with the roast turkey, to a premier cru Chablis to go – well, anytime really.

Also included is a bottle of Champagne with which to welcome in the New Year.

I always feel a little more celebratory when our Christmas case arrives, and the promise of all that delicious supping!

Meanwhile I turn my attention to today’s dinner – turkey, by coincidence – in the form of a creamy stew with mushrooms and mustard and a good dollop of dry white wine.

I misread the recipe, though, and by accident I make a sufficient quantity for 4 to 6 people.

And because there’s cream in it, I can’t freeze it. So, what to do?

There’s far too much for 2 people, and it’s too late to ring round and invite some guests.

I end up serving half the portion and the rest I put in the fridge and keep fingers crossed that it doesn’t go off before we can get round to consuming it.

Actually, it rather good with My Good Lady’s only criticism being that the coarsely chopped meat could have been cooked for a little longer.

She clears her plate, though.

Sausage day

IT’S MY big cook day, and I’m doing us old-fashioned curried beef sausages.

And, as usual when attempting something new, I’m a little nervous.

The fact is I’ve never even tasted beef sausages before, let alone used them in slow-cooked curry sauce.

They turn out to be pretty good; less fiery than the more normal pork verities, they nevertheless go well with the warmth of the curry.

All washed down with a very agreeable Australian Durif-Shiraz wine.

Excellent.

Christmas plans and pea soup

I CANNOT believe that the run up to Christmas has already begun.

But yes, we’ve already booked the table for our group festive dinner at the Pub, and our plans for the Big Day are firmly laid.

We’re dining at the home of some friends this year, as a change to eating out which, to be honest, has got a bit tedious.

We’re looking forward to a good, homemade Christmas dinner – a roast turkey with all the trimmings… Promises to be good, especially since PD and his wife Lin always go to the trouble of getting a premium quality bird from Marks and Spencer’s.

Meanwhile, I’m busily soaking some split peas, ready for my pea and ham soup done in the slow cooker tomorrow.

I really do enjoy using our “Big Ears” – the aromas as it plops away, hour after hour, fill the whole house.

I have to admit to a certain apprehension about this soup, though. My mother used to do it to perfection when I was a lad, and the recipe I’m following is definitely not the same as hers.

For example, with mine, everything goes into the pot at the same time; my mother used to boil the ham first, then use the stock to make the soup.

The ingredients are a little different, too.

I guess I shall just have to keep my fingers crossed.

Cruising down the river...

I AM lying in my fold-down bunk of a bed, with the ship gently rocking to and fro in the wake of a passing barge, and with the sound of water outside our cabin window sighing gently.

All very soothing and restful.

The little cabin is warm and rather muggy, and a kind of delicious, heavy languor is upon me. My eyes just keep closing of their own accord.

My Good Lady, I know, is safely ensconced up on the sundeck with her puzzle book and her novel, while I attempt to catch up on a couple of very broken nights of sleep in a post-lunch snooze.

It’s still only about the third day of our holiday but already the pattern of shipboard life has established itself.

An early breakfast – thanks to the alarm clock that is Wi-Fi set to ring at seven-thirty every morning, heaven only knows why – maybe the most consistently good meal of the day.

Then, depending on day’s itinerary, we either set out for a morning’s sightseeing, or more likely, settle ourselves to down to watch the Rhineland scenery floating by.

Lunch is at 12 o’clock sharp and consists of soup, a small main course or a salad, and a dessert.

The afternoon now stretches ahead; My Good Lady and I often take a bit of zizz at this time, although, too, we sometimes disembark and have a potter round one of the ports we’ve come into: Remagen, Koblenz, Rüdesheim…

At 1900 hours dinner is announced and we brace ourselves for another assault on our stomachs – the food on this cruise is definitely sub-par to what we might have expected – and our table dining companions, Ray and Margaret, are as bemused as we are as to what is presented to us.

Evening in the salon is something of an ordeal, too, with a deafening performance of the man at the musical synthesiser, sometimes accompanied by a strangulated, ill-pronounced song, booming at us through giant loud speakers. No place for a quiet conversation, this, and now, as darkness has fallen, it’s a little too chilly to sit out on deck.

So we endure it for as long as we can, although it is mitigated by the conviviality of another couple we have met, Esther and Bernie. Bernie, indeed, has a sense of humour that rises above even this musical torture.

And so to bed.

But it is a good holiday break, despite the shortcomings of the food and the entertainment, and one to which we should not be too loath to do again. River cruising has some definite advantages over the ocean variety. So, maybe next year, who knows, a sail down the Mekong River perhaps, or a trip along the Amazon?

Sleepless and on the eve..

MY EARLY night is as sleepless as I expected.

We’re off on our German travels in the morning, so naturally I thought a good night’s sleep would be just the thing…

But I find myself wide-eyed and awake, lying rather restlessly in bed, and trying not to disturb My Good Lady, snoring softly beside me.

Oh, to sleep as a baby! I find as I grow older sleep is something of a luxury – if, on the odd night, I can sleep without disturbance, I count it a blessing, a boon.

The Hindu scriptures describe death as a “deep, dreamless sleep” – and oh dear, how I sometimes long for that! At least for a night or two.

Anyhow, we’re packed again and ready for the off; the taxi is coming for us at 9-ish in the morning, and by this time tomorrow we should be aboard the M.S. Alegria, and floating up the Rhine…

Everybody tells me it should be a fantastic trip – I hope they are right.

Sorry if I sound a bit grumpy – to be honest I’m a little nervous, what, with my lack of sleep and the difficulty I’m still having with my leg.

No doubt it’ll be fine.

See you when we get back!

Until then, auf Wiedersehen.

Autumn holiday plans

SEPTEMBER has come in with a roar!

Torrential downpours, window-rattling winds and creeping cold are all conspiring to give us the autumn blues.

And guess what, we’re off on our holidays in a couple of weeks’ time – a Rhine cruise in northern Germany, maybe the one area of Europe that’s even colder and wetter than England!

I’m certainly planning to pack some thick woollies to take with me.

It’s given us something to look forward to, though – both My Good Lady and I have been feeling the need for a change of scene.

Our normal holiday destination – France – is a little out of reach at the moment because I don’t want to risk a long drive; my leg is still giving me some trouble.

The idea of a river cruise seems just the thing.

And for once, too, we’re splashing out on a taxi to get us to and from Manchester airport rather than driving down and staying over, although it would have been nice to meet up with family and friends perhaps…

Anyhow, incongruous as it seems, we’re getting ourselves ready for the off.

I’m just keeping my fingers crossed for a late Indian summer!