Channel Swimmer, Brigg. Separating Eggs.

Thanks to a blogging friend in Whitstable, England, I have found out who the lonely Channel swimmer was, Ted May. She sent me a link to a web page about him. He was from Kent which is the county I called home for many years, but he was working in Lincolnshire where we lived for a few years, and where he practiced swimming in the canal where we lived. Having been doing some googling the canal was part of the River Ancholme which seems to have been split into the new and old rivers, I am not quite sure on which we lived, but I do know the town of Brigg was where our barge was actually moored, or just outside. If you look at the map, Ted May would have swum from Brigg to the South Ferriby Lock and back again when he was practicing.

These are two pictures of our Thames Barge, Iota, when she was at Brigg. The second barge belonged to a friend of ours. In fact both he and my father had moved to Brigg in order to be civilian instructors for RAF pilots and they used to travel to the aerodrome at Kirton Lindsay (we used to call it Kuala Lumpur, no idea why other than the initials) every day. My father used to ride a motorised bike or what we called a put put. We were pretty broke at the time as he had lost money (not sure if he went bankrupt) on his factory in Kent. I cannot, for the life of me, remember the name of the other barge although I can remember the name of the guy who owned her.  To get to Brigg we sailed from the river Medway up the East Coast of England to the Humber and then down the Ancholme to Brigg. Gosh that’s a long time ago. I guess the photo which was obviously taken from the air, was taken by my father or his friend. I remember I used to cycle to school from there. It was the first time I had ever been to a Grammar School (i.e. a government school) and I remember being horrified that we all got inspected for head lice.

Did a couple of things which made our vacation come closer, bought some US dollars and stocked up on drugs. The latter is no joke either, we have to take so damned many between us that we carry a special bag just for them. Like carrying a pharmacy on our backs. The exchange rate is pretty favourable for us at the moment so we figured we’d buy our currency whilst the going was good.

A friend sent a link to the following video, absolutely brilliant way of separating an egg. Its in another language, but you can see what she is doing. Only trouble is, I don’t have plastic bottles. She tried it later on and says it works.

This salad seemed to me to be somewhat different and sounded rather refreshing.

Tropical Cucumber Salad

Source: © EatingWell Magazine
4 servings, about 1 cup each

Combine cucumber, avocado and mango with a salty-sweet dressing for a taste of the tropics.
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 hour.
INGREDIENTS
3-5 teaspoons fish sauce (see Shopping Tip)
1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 medium English cucumber, cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 avocado, cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 mango, cut into 3/4-inch dice (see Kitchen Tip)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Tip: Fish sauce is a pungent Southeast Asian condiment; find it in large supermarkets and Asian markets.
To peel and cut a mango:
1. Slice both ends off the mango, revealing the long, slender seed inside. Set the fruit upright on a work surface and remove the skin with a sharp knife.
2. With the seed perpendicular to you, slice the fruit from both sides of the seed, yielding two large pieces.
3. Turn the seed parallel to you and slice the two smaller pieces of fruit from each side.
4. Cut the fruit into the desired shape.

DIRECTIONS
Whisk fish sauce to taste, lime zest, lime juice, oil, brown sugar, vinegar and crushed red pepper in a large bowl until combined. Add cucumber, avocado, mango and cilantro; gently toss to coat. Serve garnished with lime zest, if desired.

Have a great day

New Bowling Season, Books, Swimming the Channel,

One week today we start the winter bowling season again, we miss three weeks though because we never bowl on Labour Day, the one day of the year when the woman who runs the place is always off, and then we will be on vacation for two weeks. No doubt we will be doing some 10-pin bowling whilst in North Carolina. I follow MacDaddy’s on Facebook which is where we go when we bowl down there. They have been having all kinds of lunch or dinner specials on with specials on shrimp appearing once or twice. We occasionally have lunch there with our friends before we bowl. Their food isn’t bad.

Over the weekend I finished my second Alcatraz book, Alcatraz versus the Scrivener’s Bones. The funniest thing, to me, was an extra two pages after the end of the book for those who cheat, detailing how someone died who didn’t actually do so in the story. If you did cheat you would have been upset to read about the death of the character which is intended to be a punishment for cheating. I think Brandon Sanderson is totally zany with these books. They are intended for a much younger audience but I am thoroughly enjoying them I am impressed with his totally different humour.. The next book is Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia.

At the time of writing there is a teenager attempting to swim Lake Ontario. It set up a train of memories in my mind. When I was about 14 we were living on a canal in Lincolnshire, England, and one morning, before I went to school, a man went into the water and swam to the beginning and back (don’t remember how far) but basically he was swimming all day and didn’t get back til late evening. I vividly remember my mother saying that, all day long, whatever she had been doing, she kept thinking about him still swimming. I don’t know much else about him other than he was practicing to swim the English Channel which he subsequently attempted towing his own supplies and completely unsupported. Unfortunately he went missing. I started wondering who he was and whether in the intervening years anyone else had attempted the same thing and had success or otherwise. I tried Googling without result. I have emailed a Channel Swimming group who may have records. Whilst trying some research I came across videos of people actually doing the swim, dunno why they do it, they are nuts. Here’s one of the ones I found. I had never thought about the problem of crossing the shipping lanes.

I don’t often snack between meals or when travelling, but this recipe sounded good and as we will be driving to NC very soon, I just thought it might be useful. One thing I am not quite sure about, do you shell the edamame or not?

Spicy Lemon Edamame

South Beach Diet

Frozen edamame in the pod are easy to find in most supermarkets these days. This recipe will make them your new snack favorite on any Phase of the diet. While the edamame are best served warm, they can also be chilled for a take-along snack.

Ingredients

3 clove(s) garlic large, smashed and peeled

1 medium lemon juiced (use 2 teaspoons), and 2 large strips of zest, cut into thin slivers

1/2 teaspoon pepper, red flakes

16 ounce(s) edamame, frozen in pods (1 bag)

1/2 teaspoon salt, sea coarse

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, combine 6 cups of water, the garlic, the lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, partially covered, for 3 minutes to blend the flavors.

• Add the frozen edamame. Return the water to a boil and cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes.

• Drain well and transfer the edamame to a serving bowl. Discard the garlic. Toss the edamame with the lemon juice and sea salt. Serve warm.

  Each serving is 1 cup.

Have a great day