Long time no see – Department S

I was recently channel hopping (well, more TV guide hopping) and discovered a new TV channel on FreeView – Rewind TV.

I was surprised – and pleased – to see one of my old favourites, Department S, which originally aired in 1969 and 1970.

I loved the far-out stories, the devilishly suave ‘Jason King’ and the superb theme music.

For UK TV viewers of a certain age, check out Rewind TV (FreeView channel 95).

Department S on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_S_(TV_series)

Listen to the Department S Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejhxalmO9bM

Too Good To Go – from Greggs!

In my previous post, I had tried out the ‘Too Good To Go’ food-saving app, with some success. I had noticed in the YouTube videos on this app, that there was (mostly) praise for Greggs, so I thought I’d give them a go!

I selected and paid for a ‘Cold Food’ (Morning) bag from my nearest and most convenient (for parking) Greggs, collection between 07:00 and 07:30.

Here’s what I got!

On the day, collected the bag, quite a huge and heavy bag, in fact!

4 x Caramel Custard Doughnuts in a box.
A bag containing 3 Novelty Buns.
A Honey Roast Ham and Egg Salad Roll.
A Roast Chicken and Bacon Club Baguette.
One Triple Chocolate and one Cherry Bakewell Muffin in a bag.
Two Sausage, Bean & Cheese Melts in a bag.

To say I was impressed would be an understatement! I’ve always had a sweet tooth and love chocolate, cakes, etc.

I think I got lucky with the Roll and Baguette – I don’t like fish (unless it’s Cod in Batter with Chunky Chips and Mushy Peas!) and so I was hoping NOT to get a Tuna sandwich – success!

The bag cost £2.59 (approx USD 3.32). I priced up the items individually, and if I were to purchase all the above items it would total £25.75 (approx USD 32.98)!

I’ve just tried the Too Good To Go food-saving app!

I recently saw a YouTube video about this app, and as I’m very fond of food, and equally fond of saving some money, I thought I’d give it a shot!

Where I live, luckily there are quite a few eateries to choose from, and for this first try, I selected and paid for a ‘Cooked Breakfast’ from the local Farmhouse Inn.

Collection time was between 11:00 and 11:15, and, on the dot, I was entering the doors of the eatery.

The server explained what I had to do on the app, and moments later, I was homeward bound, eagerly clutching my spoils!

The box contained: 2 sausages, a rasher of bacon, 2 hash browns, some scrambled egg, 2 fried eggs, baked beans, a black pudding slice and – loads of button mushrooms! There was also a separate bag that contained a slice of toasted granary bread.

It was a good volume of food, and nothing appeared to be either over or under cooked, and I quite enjoyed it!

Minutes later, I’m left with this:

The toasted bread was rather hard, and there was no butter on it. I also left the black pudding slice and the button mushrooms (they’re not to my taste!), and the rind off the bacon – that one rasher supplied was very tasty though!

All in all, that cost me £3.33 (approx USD 4.30) – that’s a bargain in my books!

It’s not something that I would use regularly, as I’m not wanting to put on any more weight, but it’s good for the occasional treat!

And what will I have later today – indigestion, I guess!

Homes Sweet Homes!

My memories of houses that I once lived in, with the assistance of Google and Bing Maps, photos and an old street map.

House

House

House – I ‘think’ this was the first house, of course I wasn’t born then and anyone who remembered is now long gone. I do have memories, in 1969 the family visited our home town and stayed in this very same house (friends of the owner from the beginning and they still lived there) for 2 weeks. That memory is of having to sleep on a small cramped camp bed in a small cramped kitchen. Oh, and it was in July and it was very HOT! I also remember that ‘Zager and Evans – In the Year 2525’ was being played constantly on the radio!

House

House – Our next house, it was I recall on one floor of the building. I remember that the house owner (a Portugese man) and my father liked to go hunting, so I remember going in the cellar and seeing rabbits hung from the ceiling and a wine press. I don’t recall this particular episode, but one night a burglar broke into our apartment (through into MY bedroom) but scarpered quickly after the noise of the breaking in alerted the household!

House

House

House – We moved out of the city into the countryside, and I was then of an age where I was out and about exploring! I recall one winter when the snow was really deep, and my father took me out on a toboggan to get milk from a nearby farm. This was also where our world was turned upside down, when my father died in the house. My mother couldn’t afford to keep the house and, as she couldn’t drive either, a decision was made to move back into an apartment in the city.

House

House

House – As you can see in the photo, the house no longer exists. It was similar to the house on the right of the photo, I recall it being a pale blue colour. My memories here include my sister screaming the house down one day, as she suddenly discovered she was becoming a woman – if you understand my meaning!

House

House
House – additional photo

House – We weren’t in House very long, we moved back into the countryside, but not as far out as House – we were at least on (or not very far to walk) a bus route – my mother had attempted to learn to drive and bought a Ford Falcon, which on one occasion she managed to get wedged between 2 trees on the driveway! I guess some people never get the hang of learning to drive, and my mother certainly didn’t! Another memory from this house is earwigs, there were LOADS in the cellar, which I found very creepy.

Update: The additional photo of House shows more detail. When we lived there, the building didn’t have the Dormer attic extension, and there wasn’t a deck at the side of the house. We did have a deck at the front of the house, with a nice view across the valley, but the decking was old and rickety and was likely soon condemned after we moved out!

At this point, it was decided that the family should move to England, to be back with my mother’s family.

House

House – old street map
House – current street map

House – Our first house in England, a small terraced house, with coal fires, and an outside toilet and coal shed (the coal shed was formerly a bomb shelter) which was, in all honesty, a real culture shock for my sister and myself. But of course, still being young we eventually adapted to our new style of life!

Unfortunately, there’s no photo (that I could find) of our house – I’ve indicated, by a green dot, the exact location of the house on the old street map, and the approximate location of the house on the current Google Maps.

Update: Well, I managed to find an old photograph of House !

House photo

House

House

House – After a few years, House was marked for demolition, due to the local council rebuilding of the area. We were moved into a newer terraced house, near our local secondary school, but a bus ride into the local town for shopping, etc.

House

House

House – After another short stay, we upped sticks again. This time to a new-build block of 3-storey flats – we had a flat on the top floor. My main disturbing memory here, I was looking out of the window – at the main road – and a woman waiting to cross the road. She had crossed one side of the road, and was standing on the central reservation, waiting for a gap in the traffic to cross. Then as she started to cross the road, she was hit by a car, and I remember her body flying up in the air, and then landing on the road. I don’t recall whether or not she survived that, but would assume not.

House

House

House – Again, another short stay and we were on the move again, this time to another new build – a terraced house – more central to the town, and multiple choices of bus routes.

My sister got married and moved out, and I lived here with my mother until she passed away, when I then took over the tenancy of the house.

My house is the one with the silver car on the driveway.