A weekend of chips and eclairs!

Sat the 21st June: Vinegar Day

I enjoyed some salt and vinegar flavoured crisps on "Vinegar Day" which were served to me by a naked butler (OK so he was wearing a skimpy apron). But still, it was an interesting experience and one I thoroughly recommend! I followed this up with some chips drowned in vinegar from a dodgy north London chip shop in the early hours of the following day!

Sun the 22nd: Eclair Day!


I found myself at the forefront of the 22nd June London train nightmare (in summary - power line on main line north from London went down at 1pm. At 4pm first trains started to leave London via an alternative route. At 4:10 and some 3 miles from the centre, power lines on alternative route failed. 4:30pm trains arrived back at Kings cross. 6pm two diesel trains arrived at kings cross. 6:30pm all 500,000 travellers attempt to get onto trains. 11pm after cramped conditions and stopping at ever station between London and Durham - I arrived home). Hence, the Chocolate Eclairs (the sweeties not the cakes) that I had bought earlier formed part of my dinner during this traumatic time. And enjoyable they are, unlike gummy sweets (e.g. haribo star mix) the chocolate eclair is difficult to eat. The result is prolonged enjoyment and a sore jaw!

18th June 2008: World Sauntering Day

Saunter - a verb, meaning to walk in a slow, relaxed manner or a noun, to describe a leisurely stroll (Oxford English Dictionary).

This day was created in the 1970's by W. T. Rabe at Mackinac Island, Michigan while he was the Public Relations Director for a hotel on the island. Rabe was well known for his publicity stunts. It is a day when jogging, running, sashaying, fast walking, trotting and so forth are highly discouraged.

After watching Mark saunter around the department is a most relaxed fashion, I am now off to saunter into town to absorb the atmosphere of Durham! I have no idea where I am going, or how long I will be!

Although I have to confess that I did start the day badly, having jogged around Bearpark at 7am for 20 mins. And I will end the day badly by completing a speed session at the athletics track - I feel guilty but in a week of celebratory days, sometimes you have to make compromises!

International Picnic Day

The Durham weather didn't quite play into our hands as much as we could have hoped for to celebrate this glorious day, however this did not stop us enjoying the grass outside the Early Learning Centre lecture building. People brought a variety of items to lunch on which reflected the multi-national diversity of the assembled throng; there were folk from as far afield as Switzerland and Italy!

After enjoying our lunch we all got stuck into an improvised game of "volleyball" with a giant tennis ball. All was going well until Emma Waterhouse decided some rules needed to be made so people were "out" if they failed to keep the ball airborne. This unncecessary addition to the game came back to bite her however as she was the first player to be sent packing from the game arena.

Thanks to all those who braved the chilly breeze for an enjoyable lunch break.

17th June: Eat your veggies day

This required a trip to Tescos! I managed to get my 5 portions of veg - covering the full spectrum of colours and made a salad to accompany my cheese baguette! I thought it would be inappropriate to plough into some meat on eat your vegetables day !

I ate: Green salad leaves, yellow mini corn on the cob, red tomato (yes technically a fruit but up for debate), white garlic, gold vegetable oil disguised as olive oil and brown potatoes in the form of the hula hoops (which are disappointingly now cooked in sunflower oil and not veggie oil)! I also conclude that blue vegetables are hard to find! This delicious vegetable feast was followed with a fruit medley for pudding - a perfect ending!

Veg & Fudge

Well I nearly got this right. I bought the fudge cake on Fudge Day, but I ate it on Eat Your Vegetables Day. I even tried saving some for International Picnic Day but Kate had other plans for it (also, rumour has it that she went around the block three times when the Bike to Work campaign were dishing out cake). Both other Mark & myself had a vegetable curry which contained a splendid variety of vegetables. It was delicious. Kate seemed to have a jacket potato with beans on, but actually I think it was just more cake hidden in the skin of the jacket.

I have a feling that I might not hear the last of this message.

Mark

16th June 2008: Fudge Day

Fudge is made by mixing sugar, chocolate and milk and heating it to the soft-ball stage at 240 deg F, and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it aquires a smooth, creamy consistency!



There was a distinct lack of homemade fudge in the Usahw Moor co-op at 8am this morning. I was faced with a bag of cheap horrible looking co-op fudge that failed to tempt me. So I opted for the individually-wrapped, cadburys, chocolate coated 15p fudge fingers instead - always a winner, especially at morning coffee time!!