View Full Version : where is everyone
hi, just thought i'd post a letter as no-one else has for a few days, we seem to only post stuff when someone new joins the site shouting for help. then there's a mad dash to help them before we all sink back down quietly!
so thought i'd write one to say hello and hope everyone's half terms going well. i'm getting to see my daughter a couple of times over the holiday which is great. the only problem i have down here in the new forest is the damn tourists.
they drive extra slowly then slam on the brakes because they've seen a pony. not doing anything just a pony and god forbid they get out of the car in a carpark they just stop in the road to take photos!
but apart from that things plodding on.
probably covered elsewhere but sainsburys soft cheese, still available??? couldn't find it when i went the other day. slowly going through the varieties of scheese and cheezly, llocal health food shop happy to order them in.
been trying to make my own bread and biscuits, as i'm gluten free aswell. varied results.
right have a good one. must go.
I keep wondering where everyone is too Matt. It's been very quiet here recently.
Do you have a breadmaker or are you making the bread by hand? Can you just replace normal flour with gluten free flour or do you need to add other stuff as well? I'd like to try cutting out wheat for a while to see if it helps with the bloating but if I couldn't have bread, pasta or couscous I'd start to struggle a bit. It only leaves potatoes and rice so I'd probably be restricted to an even more boring diet than at present as I'm not very inventive.
I've been planning a chocolate taste testing session for this week. I've got bars of Tesco, Sainsburys and rice crackles free from chocolate so I'm going to compare the three and see how we rate them. My daughter and I are both dairy free and miss milk chocolate but I know that the Tesco one is a very good substitute so we'll compare it with the others. My boys are also chocoholics so I'm sure they'll want to get in on the act. However, I refuse to let the kids have sweets when they don't eat their tea, so I don't know how long it will take before we get to the chocolate.
We might have a couple of days away this week, weather permitting (trailer tents are no fun in the rain) so if I'm not sticking my nose in to answer other postings you'll know the reason why.
astra
02-06-2004, 10:03 AM
matt, give me your email addy by pm m8y, i collated a few recipes for all sorts of stuff, including bread and biscuits for my dairy free and gluten free sister in law and will happily pass this on to you to browse through. it is a word document.
anyone else that wants it is welcome too, just give me your email addy in a pm :)
linny
02-06-2004, 08:38 PM
Hi, I haven't been on the net lately as a storm damaged our modem (phone as well!!), although we had an anti surge cable thingy! I had about 100 new posts when we reconnected! I found a recipe in the Asda mag for coconut milk rice pudding. I've got the ingredients and am hoping to give it a try, maybe not this week being half term. I'll let you know if it's edible.
Matt, the Sainsburys soft cheese has a production delay of 6 months (about 4 months now I think). It is made by Swedish and they are moving their production of the cheese.
Bye for now, Lin. :rolleyes:
Copper
02-06-2004, 09:33 PM
I am still here lurking :)
I work at the local college and we don't have half term. When not at work I am busy shopping and hoovering for my mother. I am also busy trying to sort out her garden. I have managed to dig up some of those nasty evergreen trees - they were about 2 feet tall. I then had to dig up a couple of large heathers - all in the blazing sun. It must have given her neighbours much amusement to see me at just under 5 feet tall, jumping up and down on the garden fork in an effort to get the heathers out of the ground.
My mother is quite poorly and needs a heart by pass as a matter of urgency. She should be having this op in late July, so I will be "missing "then too.
Oh Matt the season is upon us in Bournemouth now. No signals, cars moving at 20mph and general chaos. At lunchtime the sea was calm, the sun was shining and the Purbeck hills were stunning. How I love that view - pity about the Imax on the seafront :(
Hayfever is with us too :(
i've got a bread machine, panasonic older version. there are slight changes to ingredients but if you get the doves farm gluten free bread flour it's got the receipe on the back, and the new panasonic's even got a gluten free setting apparently.
there's lots of gluten free stuff in the health food shops, pasta, bread and so on. the difficult bit is finding it in other products. basicallly if it's processed food then it'll have eithr milk or gluten. does restrict a bit but no more than we're used to.
it has helped my ibs alot calmer these days, though doctor insists it's not wheat intolerance god forbid that he might have to prescribe gluten free stuff for me!
i love chocolate but unfortunately it's the caffeine with me. if i have any say goodbye to sleep and hello to panic attacks. hence no choc and only decaf tea and coffee. god i'm a wreck!
amen about the imax. the largest white elephant on the south coast. damn waste of money and space and view. how about we fill it with all the damn tourists then do the decent thing and tow it out to sea and sink it.
lets keep this up and use the site to just chat away about odds and sods.
Hi all,
I thought it had been quiet recently and wondered why? Was going to post a message but have been extremely busy.
Hope everyone is ok and healthy and good to hear from you all.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :hug:
Hi Lan
Where are you with your exclusion diet now? Have you re introduced everything? At the last count you had brought milk back in but weren't too sure about the effects it was having so you were going to limit your milk intake but allow the occasional treat.
Hope you're well anyway.
Pam
Hi all,
Hope all is well with you? I have completed the elimination diet in some shape or form and came to the same conclusions, I have a problem with dairy, caffeine and citrus.
Still have to bring all 3 back in as recently have had bouts of upset stomachs constantly, and was unsure whether it was the foods or just my sensitive tummy. Does anyone else suffer with constant bouts of upset stomachs since having allergies, or is it only me?
Oh well, will at least enjoy bringing the milk in as can eat some things I haven't had for 8 years. A bit wary about doing so at the minute though as have just had a clear patch with very little stomach upset (fingers crossed) and hope it stays that way.
I will state one thing mind the dairy food does not not taste half as good as I remember, as something I ate that I used to love just seemed to taste quite bland. I think over all these years my mind has just got carried away that they would taste so good, and when I got down to it, the foods just didn't match up to my expectations.
Kind Regards,
Lan.
:hug:
P.S. Still prefer cheesley to normal cheese!!!!
You strange woman. You're the only one I know who actually likes Cheezly.
Copper
06-06-2004, 04:39 PM
I have tried cheezly and it is the most disgusting food I have ever tasted - it went in the bin :)
i know what you mean lan. trouble is when you anticipate trying out the dairy stuff etc you then set up a psychosomatic reaction. ie you make yourself feel ill whether the food does or not. anyhow that's how it is with me.
i know that i don't challenge myself enough because you get a status quo when everything is quite quiet and you don't want to rock the boat. it's why i'm 6'7" tall and only weight 9'8" just a little underweight.
what you need is for someone to prepare your food for you and not tell you when they have put some milk or something in it. blind testing to see if the reactions are really due to the item or your mind. easier said than done though.
i'm trying the various cheezly's and scheeses as i'd like to find one which i like. no success yet. i'd love to find one though just because i used to love cheese sandwiches etc.
Hi Matt,
Great idea about the blind testing, but will definitely wait until I am feeling better. I know Steve will probably enjoy giving me some food, but may not be happy with the symptoms afterwards.
Hope all is well with everyone else.
Take care all.
Lan.
:hug:
i don't bother testing myself, the trouble is you need to get nice and settled before trying as otherwise how do you know if it affects you? then i ask myself is it worth feeling ill again now i've settled down! trapped!
i just binge out on little treats, i've found a great little sweet shop nearby which has rows and rows of the glass jars full of sweets. that's all they sell. sugar almonds and barley sugars are my weakness. but if i let myself i'd walk out with most of the shop!
it's just like being a kid again.
so what we need is someone who lives in the middle of the country who wants to host a summer picnic for everyone!!
we can all meet up with our little picnic boxes full of food we know we can eat and not feel embarrest or worry about someone being offended that we've come with our own food!
just don't let the authorities know or we'll all be locked away in one go shipped off to the local funny farm.
if nly the weather was half predictable. tell you what when i win the lottery i'll book a floor in a hotel for us all to go to! until then keep praying to the twice weekly god of camelot!
hope this finds everyone happy. :beer:
Oh, if only.....
I have one line on Wednesdays and Saturdays and hubby has 2 lines on saturdays, I buy the tickets for a 5 week period, therefore spending £20. This is the first time in many years that we have actually won enough money to pay for the next set of tickets (2 x 3 numbers).
Double roll over tonight..... it could be you!
PS. I'll hold you to the hotel booking, maybe you could have a real splurge on the goodness direct site and we can all sample every type of dairy free product available.
just need to find a hotel with nice kitchen and bring in a chef to cater for us and our quirks! won't have to scan the menu for things that are safe just order whatever we fancy. that'd be nice. money doesn't bring you happiness. rubbish, a myth put about by the rich to keep the masses happy! i can think of lots of things that would make me happy and require money. it's lack of imagination that doesn't bring you happiness!
here's hoping.
and it all goes quiet again.
so the summer holidays are almost upon us. along with the tourists and all the kids milling around bored out of their heads.
can't say i've much planned for the hols. trip to exeter to stay in friends house for a few days. can be such a drag either having to ship out all the stuff i need or risk not buying it when you get there.
don't know how you guys cope going abroad etc.
anyone got anything interesting planned?
i intend to do mainly day trips. like off to kew gardens this week on thursday. it's easier to only need to plan two meals!
right, have fun
Matt, are you nocturnal?
I'm not doing much at the moment as I work full time. I've got some time booked off in August but if the weather continues as it has been recently there's no way that we will risk taking the trailer tent out - too much trouble to get it dry again. My eldest child is going on a camping trip this weekend for 4 days, so the reduced fighting at home is going to be like a holiday for the rest of us. Fortunately he has no food problems so we don't have to worry about what he will be eating - as many sweets and crisps as he can get his hands on, knowing him.
Have fun at Kew.
Copper
20-07-2004, 12:25 PM
Pam has beaten me to it, I was going to ask if Matt was nocturnal too :)
I am still trying to sort out my mother's garden :( My "baby" will be moving out next month so until then chaos reigns! I am unemployed until September so at least I don't have to battle my way home through the crowds. The downside of living by the coast.
My daughter has promised to take me to Monkey World at the end of the month. I just love the orangutans. When I was 4 my parents took me to London zoo and I insisted that I had my photo taken with an orangutan. We were both sat close together on a box, ahhh. I guess Monkey World would not approve.
Hi all.
I have been wondering where everybody was. I thought you'd all abandoned me. :headbang:
Hope everyone is ok? Everything here is fine and am still adding all the information from the Allergy Show. Thanks for the tickets Matt.
Has anyone seen the baby foods I added on? Am really pleased with all them I should be, they took me 5 hours to complete.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :woot:
no not quite nocturnal. i used to be a real night owl, not going to bed before 2am and nightmare getting up. now i'm the opposite i'm dead to the world at 10pm but wide awake at 4am. yes i've tried going to bed later but still wake up at 4 so doesn't achieve anything other than being even more tired. still means i get to go online without distraction.
used to go camping and so on but as so underweight can't at moment. i just get too cold too easily. i feel cold on sunny days with a light wind!!
get ready for the hoards to descend upon bournemouth. i think i did my last bournemouth trip last week. might not bother again til sept. combination of high parking costs and the huge number of visitors.
never been to monkey world, let us know if worth the entry fee. that sort of thing is either very good or rubbish no middle ground.
have a good one
Copper
21-07-2004, 04:32 PM
Matt did you pay a visit to the Jewish deli shop up at the Lansdowne? I love that shop :) I have so much choice with ice cream there mmmm. They also do some frozen dairy free pastry things which contain mushrooms. A bit like sausage rolls without the sausage :) They are very nice although they don't contain a lot of mushroom.
Steve
21-07-2004, 07:34 PM
Hi Matt,
I know where you're coming from with sleeping problems. Most of last week i was getting around 3 hours sleep a night and even when i'm sleeping normally i would say 5 hours sleep is the average for me.
haven't been to that jewish shop yet but will do. the problem with those dairy free mushroom slices is they;ll have wheat!! i a wreck! wheat and dairy free makes for really good eyesight checking out all the small print.
i'm really going to have to try to do something with my sleeping. the trouble is apart from the odd things i have to eat when i see my friends is when i eat. breakfast at 4:30 i'm ready for my lunch at 10:30 at latest and hence main meal at 4:30 or so. so i find myself not eating the same stuff as others but also at different times. makes for highly unsocialble habits.
thankfully i have a few good friends who don't take offence easily, plus they know they can invite me round and not have to think about what to feed me as i always turn up with packed lunches!!
Copper
22-07-2004, 11:18 AM
Sorry Matt, I was in a hurry when I wrote my last message and so forgot about your gluten problem :(
I am allergic to eggs but thankfully I can eat things with egg in them. I don't push my luck too far though.
I hate shopping at the best of times and manage to get in everybodys way when trying to read the small print. I wear varifocals and the small print is a real test of my patience. I have just got new glasses and feel like a nodding dog trying to find which part of my glasses I should be trying to look through. The Argos catalogue was so bad I gave up!
If you like crisps maybe these would be ok for you. Walkers salt and vinegar. They claim to suitable for coeliacs. Ingredients
Potatoes, vegetable oil, salt & vinegar flavour [flavouring, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium 5'-ribonucleotide)], salt
At least they don't have lactose them in which is a start.
hurrah a flavour of crisps other than plain. do i like crisps? is the pope catholic. i know they're meant to be bad for you but who cares. i mean every other day the claim some food or other is bad for you. my favourite recently was salmon etc... you must eat 3 portions a week but no more than 2 a week because of heavy metal poisoning or something! how does that work then?
i may try to re introduce wheat into my diet at some point but the trouble is psychosomatic reactions. i invariably will make myself react because i'll be concentrating so much waiting for a reaction. if that makes sense.
barley sugars and sugar almonds are my major weakness, have some everyday. if i was on the you are what you eat program she'd tear me to shreads. as opposed to my dietician, next seeing her in sept, who looks at me, decides i'm just nuts and there's nothing wrong and then says eat more. well why didn't i think of that. and she gets paid for that pearl of wisdom!
Sounds like our dietician, her answer to my daughter's poor diet (milk intolerant and very faddy) was to put additional sugar and fat on everything to 'fortify' it. Where was she trained? No way was I going to follow that advice and set my daughter up for a life time of obesity, tooth decay and heart disease. We just plodded on and she seems to be doing fine thank you very much - a bit on the slim side, but so is her elder brother who can eat for England. Stupid woman ought to be struck off.
Hi all,
Matt regarding the Sainsbury's cheese I have gone into my local branch and been told, they have withdrawn it from sales. So anyone who likes it, please get writing to your local branch if they have done the same.
Talking about Sainsbury's, has anyone tried the crisps from there? They are great. They come in 3 different flavours Cheese & Onion, Salt & Vinegar and Prawn Cocktail. All details are available on the products list, including ingredients. They are wheat, gluten and dairy free and very tasty.
If you've tried them let me know what you think.
Glad to hear everyone is happy.
Lan.
:hug:
well here's the idea. everyone go to their local sainsburys and ask them to get in free from cheeses again. the go online and do the same. we've got a few hundred members so if we all do it they might well react and do it. may just be that they've not had many complaints since withdrawing it. if we don't ask we won't get and i for one liked the soft cheese from them.
so it's down to us, how many will be bothered to go and ask? like i've said in other threads we can make a concerted effort and get things done because they wont do it otherwise.
meanwhile summer's finally here! i've been out scaring people looking like a skeleton wearing a tshirt and shorts! sorry i'm sure you didn't want that image. i might not like the look of my body but don't see why i should be the only one who gets to see my thin legs. we get so little sun i feel oblidged to expose them when it finally does shine.
well on that note. talk to you all soon.
Unfortunately my legs are rather on the large side and also a whiter shade of pale. I don't do shorts and my summer dresses are all ankle length, I wouldn't want anyone else to see my lumps of lard. I shouldn't worry too much though, there are some pretty horrendous sights out there in this weather.
Copper
05-08-2004, 08:50 PM
We have been to Monkey World. It was very busy and I noticed that some small children were moaning and the word boring was heard quite often. I have to say it was usually boys that were bored :)
We had a great time - the highs for me
1 Actually spotting an orangutan (see picture)
2 Walking in the lemur enclosure - the lemurs ran around our legs when we were in there
3 Charlie (a much abused ex Spanish photographer's prop) came to the window of his "house" to give us the once over :)
The kids do have a wonderful play area and at times it was difficult to tell if the noise you could hear was from the kids in the play area or the chimps having one of their many turns.
Steve
05-08-2004, 11:27 PM
Hey, you found a photo of Lan :D
She's going to kill me for saying that.
you beat me to the obvious joke steve. not that i'd have said lan of course!
monkey world sounds fun but not for my little horror. she sometimes gets freaked by ducks around her feet. don't know how she'd react to lemurs. going to take her to marwell next week. i haven't been since school so quite a while. be interesting to see what it's like now.
Hi all,
Isn't the monkey joke a bit old now? Steve your banned from now. Being website owner certainly has it's good sides.
On second thoughts you do all the updating so you're reinstated for now.
Hope all is well with everyone.
Kind Regards,
Lan (or should that be King Kong?) :bleh:
the old jokes never get too old. keep them going.
i've said it elsewhere but i'll say it here aswell. stop lurking everyone. it should be a requirement that you should post a reply atleast once a month. it's not much to ask and you never know you might like it. i know some will just join then be too shy to comment thinking they don't have anything relavent to say.
all i can say is have you read anything i've written? i'm suprised lan and steve don't boot me off for being so totally off topic so much.
get involved this is meant to be a community in the old sense not the modern commuter village sense. rant rant rant.
JDArsenal
07-08-2004, 03:54 PM
Hello
Long time since I've posted but reading everyones mails it made me want to - or was the heat and a couple of G&T's !!
I have been under a psychiatrist (I sound as though I'm loopy !!) and he has prescribed Prozac for the foreseeable future and to be honest I feel really good on it ?? My weight is still my problem - only 9 stone 5 pounds but it sounds as though I may have a disorder which only allows me see negative in most things mainly myself. I am coping with the dairyfree life very well until I go out !!!
I love reading all postings and do check daily as a viewer - very rarely reply but feel thta Lan, Steve, Pam, Matt and Copper are part of my daily life !!
Love to here you all chatting about daily things it keeps me sane.
Take Care and thank you for a wonderful website............xx
Hi all,
I could never boot you off Matt as you seem to keep the site going, along with Pam and all the others. I actually like this thread as it allows us to talk about daily life, rather than the sometimes depressing topic of dairyfree and that is what it was originally set up to do. I quite enjoy and obviously class you all as friends who share the very same problem I have.
I'm so glad that we have helped you JD Arsenal and thank you for the compliments on the website. Helping and meeting people was the main reason I set up this website in the first place.
Maybe we should have a jokes thread. Cheer us all up (but no rude ones please, unless they're very funny). I think that's such a good idea I'll start one tonight and hope you all join me.
Kind Regards,
Lan.
Steve
07-08-2004, 07:28 PM
get involved this is meant to be a community in the old sense not the modern commuter village sense. rant rant rant.
That's a good idea. I need to start posting more often on here.
If anyone has any ideas for getting more people to post more often, i'm willing to hear them.
Steve
07-08-2004, 07:30 PM
Hello
Long time since I've posted but reading everyones mails it made me want to - or was the heat and a couple of G&T's !!
I have been under a psychiatrist (I sound as though I'm loopy !!) and he has prescribed Prozac for the foreseeable future and to be honest I feel really good on it ?? My weight is still my problem - only 9 stone 5 pounds but it sounds as though I may have a disorder which only allows me see negative in most things mainly myself. I am coping with the dairyfree life very well until I go out !!!
I love reading all postings and do check daily as a viewer - very rarely reply but feel thta Lan, Steve, Pam, Matt and Copper are part of my daily life !!
Love to here you all chatting about daily things it keeps me sane.
Take Care and thank you for a wonderful website............xx
Nice to hear that you check the site so often :)
Feel free to post anything that you would like to talk about, it doesn't have to be related to fairy problems. After all, we haven't banned matt yet :naughty:
Copper
07-08-2004, 10:36 PM
Nice to hear that you check the site so often :)
Feel free to post anything that you would like to talk about, it doesn't have to be related to fairy problems. After all, we haven't banned matt yet :naughty:
Fairy!!!! What have you been drinking Steve? :unsure:
drat copper beat me to it. so this is now the fairy free uk website! such a shame what have you against fairies!
jd keep visiting, been there got the tshirt, i just can't take the prozac so i have st johns wort instead. doesn't it show?
whatever steve's been drinking i'll have a double.
Steve
08-08-2004, 06:49 AM
That's what i get for not paying attention to what i type.
:drunk:
yeah what's with the haven't banned me yet?!!!
if i've got away with what i've written so far i thought i was bomb proof!
so if it wasn't the drink what were you paying attention to?
well i think it's raining this morning. that's not on i'm going to get wet going for my paper in a minute. i would get them delivered but i like reading it the day it comes out not when the paper boy finally gets up and delivers it.
so do i take it as a challenge to see how much i can get away with? nah i'm not that bad/ill mannered. my own editing suite cuts in before i say anything too bad. more's the pity sometimes as some people really need to be told some home truths. not here i hasten to add.
have a good monday, once it's gone you're one day nearer the weekend!
you see it's wednesday already, half way to the weekend.
bearing in mind the thread's title i still haven't had a good reply. it's been viewed 1010 times!!! with a huge 43 replies mostly from the same small group.
would it be too much to require people to say hello once a month or two months? could the system be set up to send them automatic reminders to log on etc.
i do understand that some people just want to browse, are too shy or whatever to write on the site. but not all of you surely?
do i get the prize for the most viewed topic? i think the only way to top it would be to start a topic called free chocolate or similar.
right must dash.:bleh:
Copper
11-08-2004, 11:25 AM
I must admit it is so easy to just scan the messages without logging on. I do this sometimes if I am in a hurry.
Quite often I have nothing to say :( I am hoping to try out the lactase tablets soon - just need to pluck up the courage! Then I can tell you all about my experience.
Things are a bit hectic here in the Copper household as daughter 2 is leaving home on Friday. I am still working hard in my mother's garden as she is still waiting for her heart bypass. The 3 month waiting list has slipped to at least 5 months now. Yesterday my mother told her neighbour that "we" are removing a border and then will get the gardener to put gravel down. The "we" is me of course. I have moved bucket loads of earth in the heat so I must be very fit. I can't tell you how relieved I was when she said that she would ask the gardener to get the gravel and deal with it. We can't afford a gardener for anything more than mowing the lawn and pruning the hedges - hence my earth moving job.
Steve
11-08-2004, 11:25 AM
I have installed a newsletter system which has the nice feature of being able to generate some stats about the site and include it with the newsletter. These include things like the last x posts topics, most read topics, and things like that.
I anyone is interested in seeing this you can enable the newsletter options in your UserCP. If you go into the edit options and just select the "Receive Community Bulletin Updates" option. and i can generate a test message.
The attached screenshot shows some of the user activity on the site.
Copper
11-08-2004, 05:25 PM
Ok done that :) Look forward to a bulletin sometime.
well went to marwell zoo the other day. and yes my six year old was as interested in the blackbird as the cheetahs! could have saved the money and taken her somewhere with wild animals!! but she had good time so that's ok.
will be doing some geocaching today or tommorrow with her. think treasure hunting for adults. you use a global positioning system to locate hidden containers that basically contain a log book and a few trinkets. sounds daft but it's a reason to go for a walk and i've found some really interesting spots whilst hunting. great views etc. see www.geocaching.com (http://www.geocaching.com) if you want to know more as i'm hopeless at explaining things.
i like it anyhow and as i say when you are lacking motivation and suffering from chronic fatigue you need a reason to go for a walk. it provides that.
my daughter loves it as it's just treasure hunting for her.
i'm really going to have to put the thinking cap on and come up with some user titles for people. i would love to say i get divine inspiration every now and then but truth is i get maybe a good idea a year if i'm lucky! most of what i do is mindless rambling, as most of you have probably noticed, then you have to sift out the rubbish to see what's left, not much!
B)
I've read about geocaching before, it looks really interesting, I love the idea of picking up treasure in the caches, have you ever won anything really good? We have GPS for the car (a sort of DIY one that links to the lap top) but don't have a hand held unit which it seems you need to take part. It conjures up all sorts of pictures of Anneka Rice in the Treasure Hunt programme - remember those boiler suits?
We ended up going to the coast yesterday. My car has sprung a petrol leak and had a full tank so we're trying to run it dry and a 180 mile round trip seemed like a good idea. It is only a little VW Polo and three kids in the back means trouble (that's why the other car is a 7 seater). Anyway, they enjoyed playing on the beach and got a bit wet with a few unexpectedly high waves, but they were happy, the fish and chips were good (so much for the diet), so a good time was had by all.
Guess what I'm getting as a pressie for my 15th wedding anniversary? A new petrol tank!!!! and they say romance is dead :lol2:
geocaching is loads of fun. not really got anything super special. you don't tend to get that many really good things as they do get stolen too regularly by people not involved in the sport who stumble over the container. i do it because i need an incentive to carry on walking when tired, good therapy for chronic fatigue! some of the locations for the caches are really great you would never go to them otherwise and the views are worth the effort. you do need either a portable gps or be very good at map reading. go to the website and read up more see what's around your way. or ask any specific question which i'll do my best to answer.
i went to the seaside aswell yesterday along with 30000 others in bournemouth where it rained. so a wander around the shops before heading home. only a 20 mile drive for me so not an epic like yours and only one child. how do you cope?
your hubby just sounds like the most romantic fool ever, getting you a new tank. is there no restraining the romantic devil? he knows the way to a woman's heart.
just thought i'd post another here.
we had a little dip in post numbers. keep looking and talking people. from how i understand it this is a website for the group of people with similar problems and forms a community. that means we don't only have to talk when we have problems. let's hear about positive things aswell. did you have a good weekend? done anything good? been to anywhere that you'd recommend? what were they like for dairy free food etc or locations of good shops.
don't forget there are 400+ of us so the chances are someone lives near you who could take advantage of your local knowledge, or if one of us is visiting then they might get pointers as to where they can get supplies when there.
anything that gets some of the lurkers more active on the site has to be good. we all have something to say. don't be shy afterall you are annoymous and aren't standing up infront of everyone.
anyone who wants to know more on geocaching just send me a private message and i'll help as much as i can. or anything else for that matter.
hope you agree with my sentiments lan/steve. or shoot me down if not!!!
have a good one.
We had a muddy weekend in Flamborough (East Coast near Bridlington). We'd been in 2 minds whether to go or not and had actually had our trailer tent advertised for the 2 weeks previously, but as we still had it we thought we'd make use of it. It rained all day on friday so just getting the thing packed was a nightmare and it rained on our journey over to Flamborough but had more or less stopped when we started setting up. We had a couple of heavy showers on Saturday though and the field we were camping in got extremely muddy, with a couple of vans and cars getting stuck in the mud. Fortunately we dried out on Sunday with the nice weather and had a good time overall. We had a communal corned beef hash on Friday night (provided by me) and communal BBQ on Saturday, all washed down with plenty of falling down water.
The trailer tent is hopefully going tonight, then we can do some saving and go back to a caravan next year (less space but more home comforts).
We managed the dairy free bit ok, sausages can be a bit dodgy but these were proper butchers sausages with nothing unneccessary added. Our only real problem was when the kids had ice creams, the dairy free options were a bit limited as even most ice lollies have some ice cream in them. My daughter eventually got a Walls Shots thing, which is lots of little flavoured ice balls in a tub that looks like a dalek without the arm.
On the subject of ice cream, I've tried two parlours:
My local ice cream parlour "Charlottes" in Whitley sells ice cream or ice cream - no dairy free option - big thumbs down.
However, I can thoroughly recommend Beacon Farm ice cream parlour and tea room near Whitby, they do some fantastic ice cream creations with lots of flavours for dairy eaters, but also do a range of fruit sorbets which are great for those of us who avoid milk, though they tend not to carry the sorbets in their ice cream vans or their stalls in the resorts.
So that's what I've been up to. Next weekend I shall be going to the Traction Engine rally at Temple Newsam which if the rain continues as it is will be another muddy event.
we've a couple of really good award winning butchers in fordingbridge who obviously make their own sausages. i've found most traditional butchers will more than happily chat and discuss your needs and if possible help. they can certainly let you know the ingredients so you know whether there's anything in the food that you can't eat. filler for sausages etc.
bit more expensive but far better quality than the rubbish you buy from supermarkets.
well the bank holiday weekend looking potentially good for most. sorry if that doesn't include you. about bloody time. i'm off out to find some geocaches today. so better not rain!
hope you've got good weather and you get to do something nice over the weekend. where has the time gone the kids are back to school next week! the whole year's flown by, it's nearly september! did i blink and miss a couple of months?
have a good one.
ellsie
28-08-2004, 10:50 AM
Sorry to appear ignorant but what is a geocache? Also is the little doll museum/cafe still in Fordingbridge?
second point first. yes the little dolls cafe museum still here somehow! you never seem to see anyone in there and he's now saying you can go in and use it as an internet cafe!! bizarre.
geocaching- you get a handheld gps unit. one of those things that link in with the satellites to say where you are. then you go on to www.geocaching.com (http://www.geocaching.com)
on this site is a list of places where people have hidden containers that contain a log book and some goodies (mainly cheap trinkets). using the coordinates and clues you go out and about trying to find these containers. it's a way of finding some really lovely spots as the tend to be placed where there are good views or some other reason not just at random. i suffer from chronic fatigue so for me it's a good reason to do some exercise. once you've got the gps the only other expense is the petrol to get to the next cache. relatively cheap hobby.
keeps me occupied! did three yesterday shaftesbury gold hill. the place where the filmed the hovis boy walking up the cobbled hill to deliver bread years ago. and a couple of hill forts in the area. great views.
i think i should rename this topic. change it to matt's diary or matt's ramblings.:bleh:
ellsie
29-08-2004, 02:09 PM
Sounds an interesting hobby,I shall take a look.
Can't imagine a batch of computers in that tiny shop stuuffed full of dolls though! Still He has to make money somehow I guess.
Do you like sunflower seeds? I tire quickly and have low energy but I find they help a lot. It may be they have the minerals I am short of but worth a try. The other option I would suggest is reflexology which has helped a couple of M E sufferers I know of. Stop me if you've been down these routes b4.
never tried reflexology, have done accupuncture, chiropractor, hypno.....very little result. trouble is i think alot of results are from within. ie you convince yourself that it'll work and amazingly it does. unfortunately, i'm an open minded cynic. i'll try most things but don't rely on faith i want it proved!
re. sunflower seeds. i've tried them without much success. my big problem is that i've restricted my diet too much and have lost too much weight. my appetite is severely reduced and i tend to give myself psychosomatic reactions to new or larger amounts of food. i have a few head problems aswell!!! basically i'm a wreck. no point going into full details. but the problems are somewhat ingrained having got steadily worse since they started back in 97 as a result of being attacked by a nutter with a stanley knife! enough said!
i may well try reflexology, don't suppose anyone knows of one in the new forest area? prefer to go by recommendation.
ellsie
30-08-2004, 08:06 PM
I don't but I will call a friend who lives nr Fordingbridge as she might. I will let you know if she does. It is very relaxing. I had it done mostly at the peak time of my problems and all I wanted to do afterwards was curl up into a ball and go to sleep!-_-
thanks any recommendations gladly accepted.
well, off to kew gardens this weekend on sunday. means having all the hassle of packed lunches and something for tea as i don't think they do dairy free but worth the hassle as the gardens and greenhouses are just so good. last trip of the summer though might go again in month or so just to see autumn colours etc.
where has the summer gone? or the year for that matter. poor little bugers are back at school (thank goodness) and all the tourists will be gone again by the weekend. hurrah.
so i've noticed that people have started to slack again in the forums. like has been said good news/gossip/mindless rambling all allowed. doesn't have to be requests for help. it's good to hear when good things happen or when the diet works and some form of normallity resumes.
don't forget the management know your email address! you can hide but not escape!
B)
My little boy starts senior school today - he doesn't seem big enough! So I've spent the last few days sewing in name tapes and preparing school uniform etc. The youngest two also go back to school today so their dad will have some peace (he's at home/self employed whilst I work full time). I expect we will have 3 very tired, grumpy kids by tea time.
We sold our trailer tent last week so had to commute daily to the steam rally at the weekend so no major drinking sessions. But we have our drive back now (no huge trailer in the way) and some money in the bank. My car still has its leaky petrol tank but that is due to be replaced next week.
I'm feeling old these days though, my thumb joints are aching and I've got a very stiff shoulder, not to mention my creaking knee, I've also got to have some blood tests next week due to my blood sugar problems (the level drops in an afternoon and I get very shakey and flushed). This is probably made worse or even caused by my cravings for sweet foods so I will have to make a determined effort to eat more healthily. I'm tempted to buy "You are what you eat" which is on offer with the Book People at the moment. The diet is a bit extreme but it gives lots of information about good and bad foods and what causes various problems.
So those are my mindless ramblings and moans, bet you wish you'd never asked now Matt.
ramble and moan away, it's not my website, and it means we get a more fuller picture of everyone else.
i used to have a trailer tent but gave it up as nowhere to store and also because i've lost so much weight i feel the cold even on the hottest day! any breese makes me shiver. i get all the aches and pains aswell trouble is i'm only 35!
i too crave sugar which isn't meant to be good for you causing all the mood crashes and blood sugar level weirdness. i've heard bad things about that gillian mc whateverhername is. you are what you eat author. people saying she's an unqualified quack stating the bloody obvious most of the time. eat less move more you'll loose weight!
i think it's a risk of dairy free that we can eat things not good for us as we don't get many treats and have to watch ingredients so much.
well all i can say is it's not rocket science. we all know how to eat sensibly we all just lack the discipline to do it.
well that's my 2p worth anyhow. not that i'm qualified, life's too short to deprive yourself of everything you want. the guy who bought us jogging diet young of a heart attack and atkins died overweight so everything in moderation and enjoy them. time to start eating the jaffa cakes slowly to make them last and see if you can get all the choc off the orange! or try a kitkat that's really hard to take apart.
Can't do kit kats these days - they contain milk, but Co-op and Tesco value jaffa cakes are dairy free so I can still try those.
From what I've heard Dr Gillian whatshername bought her doctorate rather than qualifying for it and she looks far too scrawny to be healthy, so there's no way that I'd take everything as gospel, but there is a lot of good general info in her book. She also advocates a dairy free diet so she can't be all that bad.
yeah that's roughly what i'd heard. borrow the book from the library. save your money.
i think i'd respect her opinion more if she did a program on herself, be damn interesting to know what her digestion's like! makes amusing tv though.
it's often the way that people who are really into the health food lark look pale and ill all the time, just look next time you're in the healthfood shop. they can't all be like me and not eat properly. not enough junk in their diet.
you can be as healthy as you want and still get run over by the bus, more likely as you'll be so weak you'll probably fall infront of it!!
have a good weekend everyone. enjoy the sunshine.
Copper
05-09-2004, 10:29 AM
I just thought I should post to say that I am still here :) I have been washing my carpets with my new cleaner - wicked. I have also finally finished removing a flower border for my mother. I just have to sort out her fish pond now. My mother is still waiting for her heart bypass - the waiting list gets longer and she even managed to go down 2 places in a week :(
I have even found time for family history research. I have managed to find loads of census information so I now have about a ream of paper to file. I like family history as it keeps the brain active. It is detective work really. You also have theories which you then try to prove.
copper, you definately need to get out more. describing the new carpet cleaner as wicked! it might well be but only in the way that it's evil to have to do housework!
must be a nightmare worrying about your mum. i swear they knock people back on these lists just for the fun of it, unless you're from some other country or are frauding the system in some way you just get knocked back. phone them up and write, make them want to get you off the list but being irritating. i can't hurt to try.
well, is that the summer over? rain setting in, can't complain i suppose we did have a couple of good weeks. i hate this time of year, wet gets colder and gets darker and tends to be windy. then everyone starts getting colds etc. i can't anything that gets within ten feet of me. and the national pastime is now to see how many people you can infect with your illness! rant rant.
right, hope evryones ok. i'm off to think what to do today. it's wet, the boatshow's on in southampton so too busy and the autojumble's on in beaulieu so the forest will be full of idiots. salisbury it is then! we'll see.
Hi all,
Hope everyone is doing well? Steve and myself are going on holiday today (Sunday 12th September 2004) and will be away until next weekend. So sorry Matt, no posts for me during the week.
I'm hoping it will dry up in Tenby as we are staying in a caravan. Just a nice relaxing holiday, then 2 weeks in work and I start my new job. I'll be working in the cabinet & Senior Member's secretariat (hope I spelt that right).
Take care and will speak soon.
Lan. :D
i wish them a nice holiday but i don't think it'll be dry. mid sept, tenby ie england, caravan it's a disater movie waiting to happen!
we'll find out soon enough. right the cats away so now the mice can play! a week to do anything we want. late parties loud music and so on. who's first?
ellsie
13-09-2004, 04:58 PM
Apres vous!
well you're going to have to imagine the loud music and not tidying up etc. apart from that my imagination is somewhat deficit. we can't gossip about them as they'll just read it when they get back!! not fair it's like having surveillance cctv installed so that we can't do much.
got some edam style scheese from health food shop yesterday so i'll let you all know what i think later. can't say i'm looking forward to it as much as the chocolate drops. it's less likely to make me go hyper though!
being good son today and making some bread for the parents. i use bread machine so not much hassle. just pain because i love the smell and taste of bread but i don't need to feel ill that badly. a couple of plain loafs then one with olives in just for variety.
i'm a rebel me. what a laugh!!
later
right tried the scheese edam yesterday. why they call it edam i don't know! tasted nice but i wouldn't say much like edam. still way better than the cheddar version.
so would i recommend it? well we all like different things but i'd say worth a go when you fancy something savoury and different. might try it with marnite or something or toast it with worcestershire sauce like real cheese, but then that's lots of effort when i can just eat it on bread wheat free of course!
well that's the first time in ages i've logged on to find no new messages. mind you i couldn't get online yesterday.
hope everyone's ok and that i'm not the last person alive in the country!! day of the triffids etc. soon find out when i go out to get my paper in a while.
well this afternoon should be fun. having some reflexology, i'm an open minded cynic. i'm willing to try these treatments but do not have the blind faith that some have. shame really because it's probably the blind faith that provides the cure!
more ramblings later.:bleh:
Hi all,
Had a great holiday and the weather wasn't all that bad. Have had two long walks along the beach and today (Friday17th September 2004) we had a paddle in the sea in Tenby. Mad I hear you shout? Good fun though.
Feeling really refreshed and only have two weeks left in my present job, before I go onto bigger and better things. Am definitely looking forward to that.
Hope all is well with you.
Take care and kind regards,
Lan.
P.S. Sorry so short, but only got back an hour ago and am tired. :bleh: Will post more tomorrow when brain is working.
Glad you had a good time Lan, who looked after the cats? I hope you managed to find plenty of dairy free goodies whilst you were in Tenby.
Matt, this is the first opportunity I've had to get on here for a day or two as well, but I was surprised at the lack of messages. We'll have to start some scandal!
I wander if we typed "free chocolate" a few times people might come running? We'd have to put this right in the next line though ....free from chocolate.... just so we didn't get the trade descriptions people onto us.
edam scheese growing on me. i'll get it again at some point. it is quite nice. that or my taste buds are being destroyed on a daily basis!
reflexology.....interesting, will have another session next week can't say it was a life changing experience but got to give it more than one session. pleasant as long as you don't mind feet being touched.
must get the stuff needed for xmas cakes. make them every year. then slowly drown them in brandy for a couple of months. end up making more each year. can't think why.
Hi all,
My father-in-law looked after the cats. He's great and very reliable. He feeds and makes a fuss of them as well. Better than a cattery anyday. Also have a very nervous cat so it's better to leave him at home. We just arrange our holidays around Clive.
I was fine with food on holidays and even enjoyed another lasagne, with no ill effects. Plenty of tablets though. It was a very unique holiday in that Steve had an upset tummy not me.
We went out for a meal on the last night and a couple just down from us complained. It turns out they found a big slug in his lettuce. Ten minutes later they served Steve a curry with icey chicken. Won't be eating there again. Just makes a change from me being ill. Poor bugger.
Kind Regards,
Lan.
so the only question is: is clive the father in law or cat?
name and shame the resturant or atleast let trading standards know. if they can't heat chicken up till it's hot they shouldn't be trusted with anything!
glad to hear you had a good time, any highlights or just a good few days away?
we thought about having some parties whilst you were away but couldn't face the hassle of gatecrashers or the tidying up so we didn't bother!
went out to a pub last night with ma, pa and daughter got there to find they didn't have anything that i could safely eat. even the chips were "seasoned". so i ended up leaving them there and going to a nearby sainsbury's to buy some salad and crisps! was i extremely annoyed? damn right i was. normal worst case scenerio is i can eat chips and veg. such is life.
Copper
19-09-2004, 03:21 PM
Hi all - Yes I am still here :) My mother had a phone call from the hospital on Thursday to say that somebody had cancelled their op for this Tuesday - would she like to go? Well no really is the answer but she said yes.
We are all running round in a complete panic organsising ourselves. I have the job of driving mum to the hospital in Southampton - sister will navigate. I can't do driving and navigating these days as I get migraines.
I will be busy for a few days as I am the next of kin so all calls will be via me. I still intend to go to work some days too. I will try and read the messages but don't promise to post much.
Lan - I was pleased to hear that the lactase tablets still work and that you enjoyed your holiday. Now if we were in America Steve could sue the place that served up the icy chicken.
best wishes to your mum copper. get to the general hospital early as parking there rubbish. and damn expensive. fairly easy to find though.
well, i've a new gps unit to do my geocaching, nothing wrong with old one just wanted anew toy! i'm just a normal bloke ie part magpie. shiney flashy things tend to make us not think too clearly!
off to salisbury today, will probably pop into my favourite health food shop on the market square and might even get some more of that edam scheese! steady now, it's got long shelf life and if it's in the fridge it gives me another option when i can't decide what to have. mind you having options is often the problem. decisions not being my best feature at the moment. tempted to get one of those dice that have answers printed on them. or just live life as the diceman ie decide based on whether odds or evens and so on. probably be quicker than trying to make them myself!
i see we're back to the old faithfull crew on the site again and most have gone back to lurking. the sites what you make of it. i know i just ramble away but there are plenty of opportunities for anyone else to post anything. must be 400 members who have never posted a damn thing, why register and not take part? seems a bit odd.
ellsie
20-09-2004, 08:34 AM
Good luck with your Mum's op Copper. I am sure it will go well.
I have recently found out that as I have a latex allergy, if I need an op, that I would be first op of the day and they would have to ventilate the op theatre for 2 hours before taking me in. This means that they would be less likely to cancel me I hope! Just as long as they remember to use plastic gloves!;)
Copper
20-09-2004, 07:24 PM
Thanks all for your best wishes.
Matt my mother is in the BUPA hospital in Sotton - paid for by the NHS - no comment. It is a real eye opener into how the other half live. She has the usual bell push for a nurse but there is also a grey teacup button, press it and a lady turns up dressed in a waitress uniform complete with little white apron. We tested this out and she took our order for a coffee and a tea, sadly she could not cope with the lactose free - so can't have milk comment. Luckily I had thought to take a carton of lactolite with us. It took some doing to get somebody to put it in a fridge :(
I do feel bad about leaving my mum with tears in her eyes :crying: Her op is late tomorrow morning so things can only get better from then on.
sad though this is. that's one of the reasons that i do the lottery. so that if i ever needed it i could go private. a completely different world clean rooms, good food and service etc.
not having to worry about mrsa and so on. when you're ill you don't need to worry about other stuff aswell! try to not worry too much, she's in good hands in the best location. pass on my best thoughts etc.
Thinking about you and your mum, Copper. I hope everything goes to plan and she makes a speedy recovery.
Copper
21-09-2004, 02:32 PM
The surgeon phoned at 2.45pm to tell me that mum's op went to plan and that she was ok. If things carry on as they are she would be woken up in four hours :) We are all relieved especially my sister in Australia as it was midnight there when I phoned - the poor woman has to go to work tomorrow and funtion as an accountant!
I have the day off tomorrow so I can visit and see that she is ok for myself. I will have a perfectly fit mother in 3 months time.
Hi Copper,
Hope all is well with your mother? You are in our thoughts.
Hope everyone else is doing good?
Matt, Clive is my father-in-law and the cats are named Cammie, Dexter (My 2), Lister and Rincewind (Steve's 2).
The holiday went really well and thoroughly enjoyed it. Was just a few nice days away before I sart my new job on 1st October. I am so looking forward to getting out of the dump I'm in now.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
now i know why we think the same way. lister and rincewind, that's got to be red dwarf and terry pratchett? i think i've read nearly all pratchett's books and used to be great fan of red dwarf. my other online avatar id is nobby.nobbs for obvious reasons.
dexter? as in laboratory? did you not consider pinky or the brain. god that brings back memories!
everyone else reading this will not have aclue what i'm going on about. i just hope you do. mind you nothing new for me to ramble on without anyone understanding me.
Copper
22-09-2004, 08:56 AM
Ooo yes Red Dwarf, loved that prog. Eldest daughter has a Red Dwarf video collection. Both daughters read TP, I am not that desperate yet :) I tend to read social history books for obvious reasons.
Anybody into Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? You are probably all too young
:( We stumbled upon it when it was on the radio - it was brilliant. At least the eldest (a baby at the time) stopped screaming by 8pm when it was broadcast. She is into that now too. As you can see we have done our best to educate our children :D
Steve
22-09-2004, 03:03 PM
lister and rincewind, that's got to be red dwarf and terry pratchett?
Well spotted matt :D I have all the discword books and read them all the time.
@Copper
Not too young for Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy at all. I have the TV series on DVD, Books and even the record of the original radio series.
I, unfortunately, am not too young for Hitchhikers Guide either, though it was never my cup of tea, nor was red dwarf. I'd rather go for "real life" tv - like Coronation Street etc (ha ha)
too young for hitchhikers,yeah right, i wish. have read the books numerous times have radio series on tape and tv on dvd and started to listen to radio 4 this week for the new series. doesn't have the same manic feel as the original mainly due to not being written whilst broadcast, which was the case in the original.
i have to admit my sense of humour and favourite reading material is adams, pratchett, robert rankin etc closely followed by science fiction, iain m banks, frank herbert, larry niven and so on. when i read it's to escape!
trying to stop myself going into quote mode now.
ellsie
23-09-2004, 06:56 PM
I read 4 hitchhiker books and loved them at the time,but I am a big Corrie fan like Pam. I do read and have tried to read some of the top 21 from last year's programme. I loved His Dark Materials and Birdsong was very moving, but Captain Correlli's Mandolin was hard work and written very strangely in some places.
Copper
23-09-2004, 09:50 PM
I feel as though I am banging my head against a brick wall. I visited my mum in intensive care yesterday and a nurse asked if mum would like a cup of tea. They seemed concerned that all she had was water. Mum had said she couldn't have milk. I told them again that she is lactose intolerant so the nurse said "we have semi skimmed" :headbang: The senior nurse asked the same question about half an hour later so we told her about the lactolite that we had taken in, which was in the fridge in the ward upstairs. She then said if mum had told them that they would have popped upstairs and fetched it!
I hope that I never have to go in for anything major, how would they cope with somebody allergic to sticking plaster, eggs, tea and lactose intolerant!!!!
What can we do if people in a hospital have no idea what lactose intolerant means?
i would love to say pay peanuts get monkeys. which is the normal case, but in the private hospitals they tend to pay a bit extra so maybe they're up to neandethal level.?
it does make you wonder how these people have survived this long without doing something stupid enough to kill themselves and earn a darwin award. but there you go. hope you're mum is feeling better and is getting over the op ok. all my best.
on a lighter note, reading books....i have to say i've read some classics and weighty novels etc and find them heavy going. i read purely as escapism and relaxation hence comedy and science fiction. i can switch off and just let the implausable story lines wash over me. read for enjoyment not for education unless that's what you find enjoyable!
hitchhikers 5 books not four, you missed one. and if you liked them try terry pratchett. i know they're for kids, so what?
Steve
24-09-2004, 09:05 AM
Matt, Have you read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman? That's a very funny book. Another good author if you like that style of books is Tom Holt.
yeah read that twice atleast. never tried tom holt. you tried robert rankin? his new stuff bit odd but the brentford triangle and the books in that series well worth picking up. mainly read science fiction at moment, alastair reynolds and just waiting for the next iain m banks book, due out in oct, hurrah.
something to loose myself in. that and anything by pratchett. not read a hatfull of sky yet. my bookshelf was overflowing so i try to make myself wait til i can get it in the library. just involves looking through the childrens section, i get some damn odd looks 6'7'' bloke walking with stick searching through kiddies section! i don't call myself noby.nobbs for nothing! it's that or death but i think death probably has more meat on his bones than me!
i've also read the artemis fowl books by coin colfer again very amusing but the humour isn't as adult as pratchett.
ellsie
25-09-2004, 11:00 AM
I never fancied Terry Pratchett but on your reccomendation I may try one. I do read for pleasure, His Dark Materials trilogy is written for teenagers.
ellsie
25-09-2004, 11:19 AM
Copper I really sympathise with your predicament. When I've been in to have my kids inhospital I booked appointments with the dietician to ensure I had meals that were dairy free. I have 3 children and each time I have been in I have had problems . I have had meals not sent up and forgotten, and one night my meal eventually appeared at 8pm. It was a tiny baked potato covered in baked beans. I was furious:rant: and called in the midwife to complain." How am I supposed to nurse a baby when you can't feed me properly and I get missed out or have the wrong food etc etc" She went down to the staff canteen in the end to get me fish and chips.
I was also told by a catering worker that my family should bring my food in!:bash: Stupid woman-- What are you being paid for! Lucky we have a pizza delivery shop or I would have starved!
I have the same problem on aircraft too even when I book meals and confirm the day before they STILL can't get it right!:headbang:
unfortunately the world is populated with people who are either jobsworths or just plain stupid. faced with anything other than the norm they can't compute and resort to blaming the person suffering from the condition for being so damn awkward, because we choose to be like we are don't we?
i suffer from obsessional compulsive disorder, too much handwashing and other very odd habits. trouble is people think that because you can talk rationally about a very irrational condition it's only a matter of just stopping doing the odd things you do. if only it was that easy!
hence my dietician's advice " eat more" now why didn't i think of that as a way to put on weight? do i look this stupid? retorical question no need to reply!
very frustrating though when people just ignore the problem and pass the buck. you deserve better treatment because of your condition not worse. too bad for them that it's more work, that's what they get paid for. rant rant rant!!
Hi Matt,
Do you know there is a new Terry Pratchett book? Bought it for Steve today and he is beaming from ear to ear. It is called 'Going Postal, and sounds very interesting. Have you got it yet and if so, what do you think?
Some bookshops have it realeased as of tomorrow (Monday 27th September 2004). So, if you haven' got it, go out and let us know what you think.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
P.S. I will read it after him.
aaaaarrrrgghg. my bookshelf can't take the amount this man writes! i'm half way through a large sciencefiction book by alastair reynolds. a bit heavy going but well worth it as the scenario he draws is very complex.
saying that i'll probably go and get going postal, mind you i will probably wait until in paperback/library gets it. i'm not tight but don't see much point paying twice the amount for a book just because it has a hard cover. i look after books so paperbacks last!
let me know what it's like but don't give away the plot.:bleh:
Hi Matt,
Steve is reading the book first, so will ask him to keep you posted. From what I've read it sounds quite funny and am looking forward to it.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
and with that the thread reaches 100 replies! well over 1000 views though, not good that only one reply for every ten people viewing it.
so no response about matt the agony uncle question?! you suprise me, i'd have thought people would be desperate to knock that daft idea on the head. me suggest things just to stir up trouble? never. as if i would do such a thing.
copper, any news? hope the problems are being resolved and you're not having to have too much trouble bad enough you have to have your mum in hospital let alone the hassle those muppets are putting you through.
so what's the basic story of the pratchett book? is it another discworld? whose the main character? don't want any plot details just an idea.
Copper
28-09-2004, 07:31 PM
My mother is waiting for a bed in Poole hospital (closer to home). There was one today but before transport could be organised they gave the bed to somebody else :(
My sister took 2 lactolites into the hospital on Friday. My mother phoned today and said they have used it all!!!!! The nurses feel sorry for her as she is now on orange squash. What have they done with all of that lactolite? When they serve tea/coffee they pour some milk into a little jug. My mother doesn't use all of the milk so we can only conclude that it goes down the sink :( My sister will try and see my mother tomorrow with yet more lactolite - 2 to be on the safe side.
I hope that Poole are more geared up for special diets - they used to be. This is driving me mad.
Hi Copper,
Keep your chin up. How is your mum doing? I hope all is well apart from the milks?
I know I was ignorant to all of this before I was diagnosed and unfortuantely, others still are. Have you tried asking for one person per shift to serve your mum? Maybe that would help. She could also ask for her milk before they serve tea? Would one of the ward's nurse's be able to help?
I know some people can be unhelpful though.
Kind Regards,
Lan :D
Copper
29-09-2004, 08:31 PM
My mother had a vein removed from her leg so they could use that vein for the bypass. Her leg wound is now infected :( She is not allowed to leave the BUPA hospital in Southampton until the surgeon is happy with her leg.
My sister managed to visit today and spoke to the "tea/coffee" lady. They are not allowed to pour the milk back from the jug to the carton "infection control". My sister suggested that they pour less into the jug. We will be visiting on Sunday with yet another 2 lactolites!
Her actual bypass worked well and she is feeling fit. She is so pleased that she can walk with no pain. (I guess the leg doesn't hurt)
I dread to think how much money this is costing the NHS.
good to hear your mum's on the mend and that the op went well. must be frustrating about the lactolite.
who cares how much the nhs is having to pay, your mum's put enough in over the years i expect. the trouble is they waste too much on some things management etc and not enough on the actual treating of people. but what can you do, vote for one party and they'll basically starve the nhs vote for the others and get even more managers and targets for them to aim for but no actual improvement. political rant over!
most important thing is that your mum's on the mend.
Copper
03-10-2004, 02:35 PM
The latest mum bulletin - the surgeon says that my mother can come home later this week. The surgeon is off this weekend and the doctor doing the rounds instead said he had not seen such a bad leg in a long time. The surgeon says that some people are just unlucky and are vulnerable to infection.
I guess that I will be busy once she gets home, as we have to see just what help social services will offer. Another load of bureaocracy (spelling?) to deal with I expect :(
good news about your mum. my experience of social services not good. they tend to do the absolute minimum and only when you keep hassling them it's digusting. in my dad's case they did minimum and then never bothered to get back in contact to see how he is getting on. my parents don't like to ask for something so they haven't had much. keep on the phone until you get what you need.
atleast you'll not have to drive all that distance everyday. and you don't want to be in b'mouth this week anyway! not with another conference.
Copper
04-10-2004, 06:24 PM
I have to admit that I have not been to Southampton every day. I just can't work in the morning and then do that drive, so I have been on the two Sundays. I was allowed 2 days of compassionate leave so used them up by taking mum there and visiting the day after her op.
Work expect me to be at work - strange that :) However, I have managed to work late most days so I am owed 2 days off. I have been to Bournemouth today and one can always hope to have the opportunity to run a Tory down.
Social services - I have given up already - life is too short. I did put my foot down about transport home. The NHS will be billed for that at least.
I will be back to my shopping, hoovering and gardening routine for the next four weeks. Oh well I am sure the exercise will do me good.
i know where you're coming from re social services but that's what they hope you'll do bunch of backsliding lazy sods that they are. hassle them they'll get fed up with you and give your mum what she needs.
no point trying to run any polititians down. the roads in bournemouth normally too congested to drive fast enough to kill anyone. god knows what they're like this week. what with that and the road works i think i won't bother.
Copper
05-10-2004, 02:11 PM
The roads are not bad when I travel. I think most people avoid the place which is good news for those of us who have no choice.
The party delegates sometimes think that they can cross the road outside the BIC (conferance centre) between the two pelican crossings, which are close to each other!! That is when you give them the evil eye :) I just missed an old biddy today.
you don't get many points for an old biddy, most act as though they feel suicidal! most points for the young, they're quite quick and are harder to hit!!!
can't complain today about no use on site, 14 new mails that's more like it.
i've emailed the dailymail to let them know about the campaign against hydrogenated fats and how it'll affect us. don't know what good it will do.
so copper is you're mum home yet?
how's steve getting on with the terry pratchett book? (not heard from him on site so either he's busy reading it or just busy)
anyone got any good gossip or anything to say about anything?
tempted to make some sloe gin, went for a walk and found loads of sloes. really big and juicy ones miles from any roads so no lead on them, just involves picking them and bottling them. or i can just buy some......lazy versus money wonder which will win.
co-op got all their xmas stuff, they have the mint thins and round choc mints both dairy free. is it me or is xmas extra early this year? i don't mind too much but it does seem daft before even halloween. maybe halloween isn't too popular this year?
right that's it for now. gossip away.:bleh:
Hi Matt,
Well i can tell you that scran74 and my mother are celebrating their birthdays today and that I just read on MSN that Prince Harry is alleged to have cheated on his A Levels. How's that for gossip?
Haven't really thought about dairy free foods for Christmas yet as have 4 months to reduce my cholestorol. Hence I need to go on a low fat, dairy free and nice foods free diet. Oh well.
Will probably keep a journal on this, so that everyone can see how I'm going. Am still having my mother's chestnut stuffing at Christmas though. It is ssssoooo tasty. Will have to get the recipe for that as is homemade and should be wheat and dairy free. Not sure though.
Hope all is ok with you and your family.
Take care.
Lan. :D
P.S. Started a new job Monday in the Senior Members Cabinet Office. I'm in the secretariat for the Leader of the Council and 9 members. Am thoroughly enjoying it and have never made so much tea and toast. Oh well.
Copper
10-10-2004, 10:20 AM
Yes my mother came home on Wednesday afternoon. The district nurses have been in every day to change the dressing on her leg. In hospital it was changed twice a day and she was only allowed out as the surgeon felt that the district nurse could change it once a day. Mum told me yesterday that the nurse has decided that it only needs to be changed Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Do I detect cuts here or am I just being cynical?
I will be back on the shopping and cleaning routine for the next few weeks. My half term holiday will be spent doing her garden and then mine if I have time. Roll on Xmas holidays as I need a rest.
ellsie
10-10-2004, 11:03 AM
Perhaps you should draw to her attention what the doc said and try to insist she calls every day for another week. I always thought the doc was in charge or am I just old fashioned.<_<
nhs cuts, nurses doing what doctors say. as if. i'd go with asking why she isn't doing what the doctor said.
the secretariat......and here i was thinking we won the cold war. when did russia invade wales then? and your job is to make toast! good to see they're making use of your skills.
happy birthday to all those i didn't know about etc. hope the day went well and that the cake was suitably bad for you all but dairy free.
xmas plans. i know ages away yet but what the hell. not really into halloween, fireworks night ok, just bloody cold! so that leaves xmas to look forward to. hence got a fake tree last week. one of these ones with fibre optics really gaudy and tacky but it's xmas. my 6 year old will love it when she visits.
Hi Matt,
I love the name secretariat as it sounds so posh, I think. I have just been given my three Senior Members to be a PA to and got the ones I wanted, so am very pleased.
I too am also looking forward to Christmas. I love the festive songs and decorations in the shops. Am definitely still a big kid at heart. I have 2 medium sized stockings which I fill each year for my cats, and love to see them watching me as I tear the paper. And you all thought things couldn't get any worse!!!
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
Our hamster gets presents too.
we need help.
i've been thinking about a hamster as a pet. small easily looked after and nocturnal like me. will ponder it for a while yet. maybe get it for christmas as a pressie for myself!
but buying them presents? well who am i to judge. whatever rocks your boat.
linny
12-10-2004, 12:22 PM
Hi, After being ill for a few weeks I've had a great surprise today. Me and my husband have been invited to see Mama Mia in London and also stay at a London hotel. Help! Has anyone tried to ask a hotel if they can prepare a dairy free meal??? I guess I could toddle off to a Burger King but it wouldn't be quite the same. Any suggestions? Ian has suggested keeping my soya milk in the mini bar - it's sad isn't it!!!!
zoefruitcake
12-10-2004, 01:22 PM
You are the customer, they should be able to provide ;)
Ok, I know it's not that simple, I travel with my own food and cartons of soya milk, but I also stick to a strict regime of asking and complaining. It's against my nature to do this as I'm quite timid, but if I've asked for something without I expect it to arrive without. Once places get it into their heads that we aren't doing it to be a pain or because we are faddy the better it is. Ok, rant over.
Have a nice time, by the way :)
I've been reading this long thread, trying to get to know you all a bit better. You all seem to know each other very well
Copper
12-10-2004, 04:57 PM
Hi Linny
If you know the name of the hotel you could find their phone number and speak to somebody - hopefully the chef. I would still take back up food and milk as Zoefruitcake suggested - after all you don't want to starve!
Have a nice time :)
like as has been said take your backup supplies but i would think that if they ere any good as a hotel they would be happy to help. decent chefs are quite happy to oblidge when given advance notice, some using it as a challenge to themselves to produce high quality food within restrictions. give them a call that way you'll know in advance and can plan things.
have a great time.
ellsie
14-10-2004, 03:58 PM
yes when I have to do this I phone ahead and then back it up with a letter or an e mail to the chef and catering manager. I don't know what your reactions are to dairy but mine are severe ,immediate and require an ambulance so I point this out to help focus their minds on my problem. Perhaps they can e mail a copy of the menu or suggest choices for you. Ask if you can keep your marge or milk in their chiller or if you are going for just one night take some in a container to last you and keep it in a cool bag. They will have ice if your ice bars melt.This also works for wine and saves on expensive hotel plonk . Remember the corkscrew though! I tend to stick to expensive steak or similar as I feel safer but def worth some calls and email first.:wine:
waitrose getting into the free from stuff:
http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/nutrition/specialdiets/index.asp
nothing to set the world on fire but atleast they;re trying.
i'm typing with difficulty today as i managed to slam my little finger in the car door yesterday. don't ask how, i've no idea just suddenly looked down to see my hand trapped by my little fingernail in a closed door. gosh i said oh flipping heck etc etc. or words to that effect.
gearing up for a night away in exeter on sunday. a stay in the travellodge so will have to sort out snacks etc to take. it's a pain but easier than driving back for two hours in the dark.
linny
15-10-2004, 03:07 PM
:D I went into Waitrose today, a new store in Dartford. I too was impressed by their free from section, 100% more than when it was Safeway. I treated myself to some chocolate. I've got 'Dairy Free' tangerine flavour and 'Dairy Free' rice crackle. They're both nice. :bleh: They are made in Australia!! Guess what Sainsburys Dartford actually had some free from jam sponge puds today, so I grabbed 2, you can tell I eat healthily!! Now I've just got to search for the Alpro custard to go with them. Thanks for the info about staying/eating at a hotel, really appreciate it! My GP has told me to try probiotic tablets for my dodgy stomach, as I can't have the live yogut or Yalkult etc. I've tried live soya yogurt but I'm not keen. Have a good weekend everyone.
if you read these forums you'd think we were a really unhealthy bunch. apart from the free from cheese we seem fixated with sweets,biscuits,cakes and so on. not that it's a problem afterall must prioritise life. snacks and treats are an important food group!
glad to see waitrose are getting in on the dairy free stuff. they do tend to be better at customer services so atleast will listen if we ask for something. i'm going to try asking for dairy free cheese. hopefully they'll have a good think. i do like shopping from them, old style beliefs of customer comes first etc.
have a good weekend. enjoy yourselves.
linny
20-10-2004, 12:23 PM
:angry: :sad: Sorry everyone but I'm having a bad day! After Ian (my husband) told me that his company have postponed the theatre trip from this weekend to the end of November, I went for some retail therapy. Mistake. I treated myself to some Alpro custard and marzipan bars from the health shop and a tangerine choc bar from Waitrose. After visiting 2 other shops I sat to have a carton of drink in the shopping centre. I then realised that someone had stolen the bag with the dairy free stuff in. I hope they really hate the dairy free custard and choke on the chocolate. :taz:
I retraced my steps but nobody had handed it in - no surprises there! I went back to buy some more custard and guess what - out of stock, I'd bought the last one. :headbang: Sorry to be grumpy but I just had to tell someone!:rant:
zoefruitcake
20-10-2004, 02:07 PM
That's really awful, I'm not surprised you are mad
Hi Linny,
That really was a bad day. I hope every day since then has been better. It's better to share your feelings with us than bottle it up.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
as you say they're in for a shock when they open the bag. serves them right. i hope they're intolerant to soya. bad karma for them soemthing bad will invariably happen to them in the end. i'm not wishing them ill just making a note you get what you give.
maybe fate was saving you from yourself! stopped you having the binge session. i know not a very bright silver lining on the cloud but try to find something positive.
hope you're feeling better. all the best.
Copper
21-10-2004, 07:31 AM
Why do bad things happen all at once? Sometimes you despair :( You just have to remind yourself that bag snatchers and the like are in the minority.
I hope that you are feeling better.
linny
21-10-2004, 07:55 AM
Thanks everyone for all the kind messages. I'm feeling brighter today especially as the sun's shining and my daughter made me a beautiful Cinderella picture last night! Looking forward to half term next week, tiring but fun and no alarm clock!! Thanks again.
Linny;)
lets hope the weather improves a bit for the half term. it's a little bracing at the moment! mind you i don't mind as long as wed and fri are nice next week as that's when i get my daughter.
almost got blown away yesterday the wind was so gusty.
trying to get some of this spread by wicken fen but according to them no one sells it near me so looks like a trip to the health food shop to see if they can order some in. has anyone tried it? any good or not? only ask as if it's nothing special then there's tofutti available without any hassle at all. just me being lazy.
right can't think of anything else for the moment so more later.
well the start of another week. anyone do anything good over the weekend? i went for a couple of nice walks in the forest. very damp but didn't actually get rained on.
didn't do anything particularly exciting. started to marzipan two small xmas cakes as they need to be sent overseas! the big ones wait for a few more weeks and get drowned in more brandy yet! shame i can't eat any of them. such is life.
right have a good one. hope you're all ok.:bleh:
I had to buy a new washing machine on Saturday as the old one decided to die on Friday. I have 3 kids and two of them sometimes wet the bed so I really can't do without. I got a Bosch one with a huge drum so I'm very happy with it, its a shame though, that money was supposed to buy a new bathroom suite.
We went for a nice long walk yesterday too, up the fields and back home along the disused railway line. The kids had great fun jumping in puddles and getting covered from head to toe in dirty water (I'm ever so glad I got my new washer on saturday).
I'm suffering with sinus problems at the moment though and have been up and down all night with a corker headache. I think it is probably being at home with the central heating turned up that causes my problems, I'm not as bad during the week when I'm at work.
Matt, you really should experiment with gluten free flour and make yourself a christmas cake.
linny
25-10-2004, 06:40 PM
Hi, had quite a successful weekend, even though the theatre trip was postponed Megan went to Grandma's, we didn't want to disappoint everyone! We did some present shopping for Megan's Birthday (19/12) and Christmas shopping. We also stumbled across a bigger branch of Holland and Barrett and got (guess what!) custard and also strawberry glace ice cream. We also went to the big Asda and I got some Jewish choc biscuits, some caramel & hazelnut hob nobs and lemon and ginger digestives (all dairy free). These should last me a month!! I prefer the orginal hob nobs, new flavour are a bit too sweet. Anyone else tried them yet?:eat:
so, who else has been out doing xmas shopping yet? i have to admit i've got the tree and some decorations. not buying much in the way of food etc as won't be doing much at my place. will spend more time at parents as i don't fancy spending xmas tottally on my own.
no fun pulling a cracker on your own or putting on the paper hat! so i'll be cooking for others and so on whilst trying to ensure i get something that i can eat without giving everyone really dull bland food. such is life.
right hope everyones weekend went well and the week has started ok aswell.
Hi all,
I had a really great weekend, it was just quiet and relaxing.
I have most of my christmas presents already. I'm certainly beating Steve on that one. Have been getting them in for over a month now. Just really hate the long queues and pushing and shoving. Not that I'm grumpy at all.
Hope this e-mail finds you all well.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :bleh:
ellsie
09-11-2004, 10:15 PM
I received my first crissy card today so someone is well ahead! All the way from New Zealand but even so still a tad early!
I will do some of my shopping on the net as I hate traipsing into Leicester. All the queues just make me cross :hammer: and I have a toddler who also hates shopping so the net seems a good choice. My middle daughter has a birthday on Friday so after that it will really feel like christmas is coming closer. Six weeks to go!:naughty:
Hi Ellsie,
I hope your daughter has a fantastic day. Please wish her happy birthday from Steve and myself.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
maybe the xmas card was actually nearly a year late!
happy birthday to your daughter, hope the day goes well and she gets lots of goodies. i always feel sorry for people whose birthday is around xmas as they must sometimes suffer from lack of pressies etc. i'm fine for that as it's almost exactly 6 months between b'day and xmas. mind you i get buggerall at either, forgetfull family and not many friends. boo hoo poor little me.
i've got a friends 40th to go to early december so that'll involve a large chocolate cake and big pressie event though the git normally forgets mine. such is life.
wasn't the weather lovely yesterday? went out near bramshill north east of hampshire for the day. sunny no wind the best sort of autumn day. sometimes being unable to work is a benefit as i get to see these things, most of the time it isn't much fun.
have a lovely weekend everyone.
linny
12-11-2004, 02:15 PM
Ellsie, I think they may have published their Christmas posting dates wrong down under, as I received a Christmas card and present from Australia yesterday. I don't normally get it until at least the 1st December!!
Matt, my daughter's Birthday is 19th December and she loves it! We're taking her to the local theatre to see the pantomime for her treat this year. We always buy 2 lots of pressies for her too and she loves having the decorations up on her Birthday. Of course this may all change when she gets older.
We received details of the London trip (postponed) and we're going to see Sat. Night Fever , as Mama Mia is fully booked. I've yet to ring the hotel about food (fingers crossed) or I may pop to John Lewis!! We also have a posh dinner dance to go to in December, this will be fun as I cannot drink alcohol (medication!), eat dairy or onions etc. or dance a great deal!!!! (arthritis in spine etc.!!) Just as well we have a good laugh about it!!!! Have a good weekend everyone, Linny
Hi Matt,
Got quite excited then as thought I shared my birthday with someone. Checked your birthday though and you're 6 days before me. Oh well. I to agree that I love having a birthday that is half way in the year. Nothing to do with presents evey 6 months and normally nice weather on the day. I am actually on the 29th of June.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
ellsie
13-11-2004, 05:46 PM
Thanks for the good wishes. Sorcha's birthday starts at the end of October with the reminder's and this year she is not having a party in until Dec as she couldn't decide what to do in time and we have a major dancing show coming up so that is the soonest slot:birthday: Anyone any ideas for an Eeyore party? This birthday is going on for weeks!Enjoy your weekend . Oh If you can do anagrams can you work out these films?
AND CASH WILL FADE A
NOW I WED THE THING
A STOP IN A STARLING
I'm a bit stuck on these:cheers: ellsie
well a proper eeyore cake would be one that looked lovely but had an unpleasant filling! apart from that pin the tail on the donkey!!! and the mexican thing of having a paper mache donkey full of sweets, hang from tree and a blindfolded child had to use bat to smash the donkey and release all the sweets!
can't do anagrams i'm afraid.
i'd ask how old you are lan but it's rude. as you say june is nice for birthdays. not sure about the weather, still a bit unpredictable but then this is britain. not too likely to get snow though.
i say go for the eeyore cake with a real cake as backup. or just make with green sponge and purple butter icing in the middle. but make sure the top and sides are iced normally so you can't see inside. just an idea depends how old your daughter is and if she'll understand the joke.
An Eeyore cake would be a bit of challenge, I think I'd go for a plain iced cake with some Eeyore/Pooh/Tigger models on top. Either use plastic miniature toys or maybe fridge magnets, or you might even find a cake decorating shop that tells them. If you're feeling really adventurous you could buy roll out icing and colour it to make your own Eeyore.
I'm sure you'll be able to get Winnie the Pooh table decrations/plates/cups/serviettes etc and you could theme your party with "hunny" sandwiches and cake.
Pin the tail on the donkey goes without saying, you could do pass the parcel with Winnie the Pooh goodies inside (same goes for party bags), a lot of standard games now come in a Winnie the Pooh version so Eeyore is bound to be in those. Decorate the room with Eeyore pictures and balloons.
Matt, you must have too much time on your hands, that cake idea was warped - not sure where the green came in though. (By the way - today's the day for christmas cake making here).
Hi Matt,
I'm 27. How old are you? (Or is that too cheeky?) :bleh:
ellsie
14-11-2004, 10:28 PM
Let's not discuss age,let's discuss cakes!:unsure: My daughter will be 9 and I think she would see your cake as a huge mess therefore really funny! Shall I send you a slice?
an ancient 35! but feel older.
i know the cake sounds warped. the idea is when ever eeyore gets something it goes wrong in some way. ie it looks like a lovely cake on the outside but when you cut into it it's not normal. as i said the joke may go over the heads of the kids but they would probably find it funny just for the visual joke.
xmas cake making??? mine were made weeks ago and have had two doses of brandy so far. another dose of brandy at the end of the month then marzipan and ice them. and i wonder why i have to make so many! not blowing my own trumpet but i know they're damn good. if only i could eat the damn things.
Hi Ellsie,
Steve has made a Christmas cake for my works and all are looking forward to it. It's great, a dairy free cake I can share.
If you fancy sending me a piece of your cake you are more than welcome. That is on condition I can send you come of mine.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :)
I don't have any brandy in the house so I tipped a good dose of sherry over the cakes yesterday, wrapped them up and put them away for a week. The outside edge of one looks a bit overdone but hopefully with the sherry and some marzipan they'll be okay. I think Delia must have a problem with her thermostat, my cakes never take as long as she says. I had to have my thermostat changed a few years ago after the 4 hour cake started burning after 30 minutes but now that's fixed so I turn the dial down a bit more than she recommends and it still seems to cook a bit quick.
I'm sure the engineer thought "stupid woman doesn't know how to use a fan oven" when he came out, he tried telling me that "fan ovens do cook more quickly you know" and "themostats very rarely go faulty", until his thermometer said it was working at 50 degrees over what it should have been - he had to eat his hat after that one!
linny
16-11-2004, 04:34 PM
Oh goodness me, we've actually got details of the London weekend. We're going to see Saturday Night Fever and stay at the 'Thistle Royal Horseguard Hotel'. I've looked on the web and it's £278 for a double room per night!!!! Breakfast is included BUT the meal is at an Italian restaurant. Do you think I can ask for a dairy free Italian meal with no garlic!?????? I think we'll have to go to McDonalds.
I went for a check up with the rheumatologist yesterday, a total waste of time as it was a different one and I don't think he'd heard of psoriatic arthritis. He told me to take paracetamol for the pain and he thinks I have problems with my colon as I cannot tolerate any of the disease modifying drugs or anti-inflammatories. I don't think I can cope with having anything else wrong. I'll know more when I see my GP in 2 weeks time.
Hi Linny,
I know what you mean about not being able to cope with anything else wrong.
At the minute I am on a low calorie (weight issues), low fat (Cholesterol), dairy, caffeine and citrus free. I am also unable to take any fish (for cholesterol) into work as it smells. Hence, I now have to have it for dinner practically every day of the week. Doesn't it really get to you?;)
If I have one more thing wrong with me, I think I'm going to scream. :rant: Oh well will have some fish and pasta later.
Kind Regards,
Lan.
P.S. I also have to cut back on my alcohol levels. :headbang:
linny
16-11-2004, 07:35 PM
.:unsure:
looks like a lovely trip to london. don't see why you can't phone ahead and ask for dairy free and no garlic. if they tell you to get stuffed on the phone you'll know before you get there and can make other plans. hotel sounds good....
try to put to one side the problems and go and enjoy yorself, easier said than done i know but worth trying. if there's nothing you can do about it then no point getting stressed.
alcohol? i remember that word from somewhere.......i seem to remember a pleasant feeling going with that word but my memory isn't that good!
i have to admit i eat alot of fish. i'm lazy and have tinned mackerel and salmon or tuna. bugger the smell if i like it and someone has aproblem then tough, we put up with enough so they can too. it's not like we do this for the fun of it.
linny
17-11-2004, 02:56 PM
Thanks for advice! Seems I won't be alone as out of 24 of us on the trip there's 1 vegan, a coeliac and me. Looks like salads may be quite popular! My husband is ringing the restaurant tonight. Fingers crossed. My husband has only been a manager for a few months so this is our 1st 'manager's do', I'm sure I'll be fine once I know more people. :unsure:
Sorry about the blank post but whilst I was typing the first post yesterday a virus message appeared. I ran the anti virus thingy but nothing showed up!? My husband then created a message (blank) to see if anything appeared - it didn't!! Bye for now, Linny
linny
19-11-2004, 04:20 PM
:) Well I'm all packed for the trip to London, we're now staying in the Cumberland, Park Lane. Called the italian restaurant and they have chicken and chips on the menu so should be ok.:) The hotel is quite new and looks rather posh it's a shame we're only there for 1 night. Have a good weekend everyone. Linny
PS I was kicked out of this site this afternoon saying the server was down!?? Was that me or this site?! I'm not sure when things go wrong on computers!!
well i hope linny has fun even though i'm envious as it sounds like it's going to be a good night. all the way to london to swish hotel to eat chicken adn chips!!! you can do that in mcdonalds.
linny
22-11-2004, 02:59 PM
:D A brilliant weekend. Hotel very modern and posh with fridge and plasma screen tv in rooms. It was great as I could store my marg and milk. Sat Night Fever was excellent. Italian restaurant was fun. I had the hugest of salads for starter and then chicken breast with veg and thousands of chips. The desserts looked lovely but not worth the risk. There was dancing etc after so I had a a gentle boogie! We then went back to the hotel bar and had champagne (£36 a bottle!!!!!) The beer was £4 a bottle! How the other half live. The breakfast was lovely too, more like lunch and dinner for us poor!! We also saw the lights and Harrods. We didn't go to Hamleys as there was a queue down the road to get in. It was a great weekend but I couldn't commute every day. Bye for now Linny
sounds brilliant, not at all envious! good to hear you managed the weekend without problem. who paid?? not you i hope?
ellsie
23-11-2004, 02:15 PM
Yeh, but they don't serve wine!:wine:
Hope all have had a great weekend. Mine was very busy with dancing dress rehearsal Thurs performances fri and sat and mum in law down and everyone shattered with late nights. Great fun! kids dancing not me! Back to normalish now though.Crissy shopping this week!
linny
01-12-2004, 01:58 PM
I didn't quite know where to post this but I love the festive look on the site. I thought I'd logged onto northpole.com that my daughter has been using, it's Santa's website! Bye for now. Linny:D
Steve
01-12-2004, 02:21 PM
I didn't quite know where to post this but I love the festive look on the site. I thought I'd logged onto northpole.com that my daughter has been using, it's Santa's website! Bye for now. Linny:D
:dance: :xmas: :dance: :xmas:
whose got too much time on his hands then?
great xmas effects, shocked the hell out of me this morning, thought i'd been sent to the wrong site for a few seconds!!
no one else has done it yet so:
merry christmas everyone!!!!:bleh: :bleh:
Sorry, I think the green and red is horrible and very difficult to read/navigate, roll-on January.
Miserable old moo that I am.
Baaa Humbug!!!!!
zoefruitcake
02-12-2004, 02:58 PM
It looks nice, but I can't work out how to get it to jump to the last post - a very important feature on very long threads like this! It is also quite odd that the first thing you see when you arrive at the very Christmassy home page is something telling us that Christmas is only 2 months away ;)
Steve
02-12-2004, 04:36 PM
It looks nice, but I can't work out how to get it to jump to the last post - a very important feature on very long threads like this! It is also quite odd that the first thing you see when you arrive at the very Christmassy home page is something telling us that Christmas is only 2 months away ;) To go to the latest post click on the red flag in the front of the thread. As for the front page post, i'll have to change that one :D
linny
03-12-2004, 09:14 PM
Steve,
I can only log in on left of screen (user CP) and not at the top of screen. If I try to log in at the top it goes to 'this page cannot be found' message and I go back to my own home page.
Also, when I click on new posts it says 'no matches'.
And Sorry! when I log out the screen goes black and white, it asks if I'm sure (as usual), but then does nothing, it doesn't say it's cleared cookies or logged me out etc.
HELP!!!!!:unsure:
Linny
Copper
03-12-2004, 09:29 PM
I am sorry but this is tooooo much. Can we have an option to change the skin? I was very stressed trying to find the last post on this thread. Where has the home option gone? I also got the page not found when trying to log in!!!
linny
03-12-2004, 10:43 PM
Copper, if it's any help to get 'home' click on the house picture at top right of page! You've probably sussed it by now though!! Linny
I don't ever log out, but I know from using another site with a similar format that if you don't stay logged in it doesn't tell you about new posts or unread messages.
Steve
04-12-2004, 09:56 AM
Steve,
I can only log in on left of screen (user CP) and not at the top of screen. If I try to log in at the top it goes to 'this page cannot be found' message and I go back to my own home page.
Also, when I click on new posts it says 'no matches'.
And Sorry! when I log out the screen goes black and white, it asks if I'm sure (as usual), but then does nothing, it doesn't say it's cleared cookies or logged me out etc.
HELP!!!!!:unsure:
Linny
I'll take a look into this now.
Copper
04-12-2004, 11:57 AM
I found the home eventually thanks Linny. I could not find the log out yesterday and it took my husband ages to spot it :(
Today I gave up trying to log in and then spent ages trying to find the last post on this thread. All this so I could click on reply just so I could log in. I am sorry Steve but I just can't cope with this new set up. I am not senior for nothing you know. I am looking forward to January when we can get back to the normal service.
linny
04-12-2004, 12:20 PM
Pam, I find that if I don't log out it won't tell me if I have any new posts since I last visited!! Oh modern technology!!
i never log out and when i come back each morning it tells me how many new posts there are. i don't know if i've got mine set up differently??
but as i say i've not played with the settings and just go to a new site when i finish so never actually logging out.
as you say though...modern technology, get a 6 year old to do it it'll work then! they can program the video next.
Steve
05-12-2004, 09:08 AM
I anyone wants to go back to the old style, let me know and i can set it so you account uses the old style rather than this one.
Copper
05-12-2004, 12:52 PM
Yes please put me back on the old style - I just can't cope with this new version. It is probably an age thing :)
Steve
05-12-2004, 06:45 PM
Yes please put me back on the old style - I just can't cope with this new version. It is probably an age thing :)
ok, you should be on the old style now, let me know if you're not.
Copper
05-12-2004, 10:56 PM
No I am still with the new version :(
Steve
07-12-2004, 07:48 AM
No I am still with the new version :(
Try Logging out of the forum and back into it. See if that works.,
Copper
07-12-2004, 10:58 AM
Hi Steve another day another log in and hey it is still the new version :( Don't worry about it I have just about managed to work out where everything is now. It is still not as user friendly as the old version.
we get used to it then it'll change back and we'll all be floundering around again!
such is life.
busy few days to come, three large xmas cakes to marzipan and ice, a chocolate birthday cake to make and decorate for friday, a date and walnut loaf to make for monday! none for me. such is the life of being considered a cook baker who can't eat wheat! i'm not even making any money from them either!
aren't i a good friend/son.
Copper
08-12-2004, 05:20 PM
Still trying to get the cross stitch present done by this Saturday - it is touch and go. Panic is not strong enough for the way I feel at the moment :)
Matt,
I have to say it, snap. Steve has to ice and marzipan three Christmas cakes as well. One for my work, one for his and one for my mother.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
made the choc caramel cake last night and the date and walnut loaf. just have to put filling and choc topping to the choc cake for the birthday tommorrow. will start the marzipanning today, then hopefeully ice them on sat.
gets them done and out of the way then. have fun steve.
thanks for all the concern and wishes for speedy recovery etc. not using salt water as they sent me home with some anti septic stuff that seems to be ok.
just trying not to fiddle with the hole! but am getting fed up with the faint taste of blood!
cheers:(
It should feel a whole load better in a couple of days Matt, just keep it clean and you shouldn't have any problems.
Copper
22-12-2004, 12:20 PM
How is the gum/hole Matt? Last year I had all of my wisdom teeth extracted and then some horrible surgery on my gums and I survived. I have now been signed off from the specialist dentist as my gums are now fine. I really don't like going to the dentist, so that was a relief.
I actually managed to finish the cross stitch present in time so things are looking up.
linny
22-12-2004, 04:53 PM
Hi everyone, I can honestly say that we thoroughly enjoyed the weekend away at the Grange Hotel in Bracknell. When we arrived we mentioned to the receptionist about the fact we had spoken to the chef on the phone. That nights chef was in reception within 5 minutes and spoke to me about my diet.
That evening about 80 of us sat down and the waiter went to the kitchen to get some more plates of dinner. He came back with one for me and said 'that one is for you madam', without anyone noticing!
Later that evening my husband spoke to the head waiter asking how on earth they knew I needed a different dinner. He said that the chef had pointed me out as we walked into the hall and watched where I sat. What a brilliant service and delicious food. The only difference was that I had different gravy and no stuffing. The rooms and service were 20 times better than the 'posh' place in London.
Megan made us extremely proud in her play and she had a great Birthday thank you. We took her and her cousin to see Cinderella at the local theatre and we really enjoyed ourselves too. Darren Day was great!
Anyway I must stop as I have to finish a x-stitch card today as our friend had her baby yesterday - due the 29th!! Bye for now
Linny
linny, so glad the meal went well and that the hotel were so accommodating. it's nice to know that some chef's are professional enough to care and not premaddonnas about their food.
teeth not too bad, touches wood and prays that he isn't being premature!! seem to be healing well. rinsing mouth four times a day with vile mouthwash to try and prevent any infection. throat still sore when i swallow. but all in all they were very good to me. stuck me in side room of main ward and fussed over me. out of recovery before i even knew it. box of chocolate biscuits delivered to say thanks to them. still trying to avoid poking the hole! and trying to eat on the other side. can you believe they were going to take out another at the same time....on the other side. god alone knows how they expected me to eat?
glad the cross stiching is coming on well. two days to go. off to see freind in abingdon today to do some geocaching weather permitting. then shopping for xmas veg for mum tommorrow! nightmare, i'm going to get there at about 7 if i can!!
have fun with the last min preperations.:D
well me again. the teeth seem to have healed ok. religiously rinsing mouth with mouth wash etc seems to have worked. survived the xmas break but have had to drive too many miles.
i'm off to southampton today to hit the sales. don't need anything but going to look for any bargains/buy myself a xmas treat or two. if i can cope with the crowds that is. early start i think.
i'm sure i can find something shiney enough to satisfy my magpie instincts. anyone else bagged any good bargains? spent too much on anything they didn't really need. go on confess it'll give the rest of us a laugh and you'll feel better for confessing!
JDArsenal
29-12-2004, 03:56 PM
Hi Matt
I have just been down to my outlaws - oops sorry in-laws - and my brother in law swears by his bread maker so much so he has convinced me.....I remember you too also saying how much you love yours....could you help me as to what I am looking for when I am looking - as I had no idea there were so many options....
Thanks Susan
I know I'm not called Matt, but.....
I've had a Morphy Richards for 2 years and love it, very easy to use and flexible enough to do what I need it to. It does dough, bread, jam and cakes.
The recipe book is excellent and ingredients are measured in the scoops provided rather than needing weighing scales. The non-stick pan is very easy to clean and is still non-stick after two years.
The only down side to this is that the loaf is a smallish square shape rather than a traditional long loaf.
The machine that always gets the best reviews is made by Panasonic but it used to be over £100 compared with £30-£40 for the Morphy Richards one. The Pacific one in Asda used to get a good review but I think they have stopped selling it now (you get a 2 year guarantee in Asda too).
The main problem with breadmakers is that they are too big to fit in most kitchen cupboards so you are left with it stuck on top of your worktop all the time.
linny
29-12-2004, 10:11 PM
We visited some friends today and decided to go on to Bluewater. Oh dear what a MISTAKE! Ian stood in the M & S returns queue for about half an hour. I got some Bluewater shopping vouchers for Christmas and would like to get a dressing gown. M & S only have size 8 tall or size 24. No other clothes shops had any. We couldn't get into Next! We waited 15 minutes in House of Fraser to find that the £45 one that was on the half price rail was actually full price! Got a few things for Megan though!! I think I'll wait until at least 1st March before I venture there again - it's only about 2 miles from us but we don't go very often - I wonder why??!! Bye for now Linny
bread machine: i use a panasonic, have had no problems with it. i've had it years. again like most bread machines tends to make tall loafs not long ones, it makes the mixing easier i think. i get round this by making small loafs and making about four in a row and freezing them. slices are smaller but are regular shape.
you get what you pay for, cheaper ones will last a couple of years hopefully, depending on your luck and how much you use it. i must have got mine back in 2000 or so. so the 100quid was well spent.
hit the sales early yesterday.....new pda, new pillows(duck down), some denby mugs and a razor. mostly from john lewis soton. not necessarily the cheapest place to go but two year guarantee and much much better service.
but got out of town before 11am, it was getting daft with the queues and i don't like crowds.
Copper
30-12-2004, 11:18 AM
I don't get up early in the holidays and I don't do crowds ever! My daughter ventured into Poole and it was heaving. The buses were empty and the car parks full. She has no car so that was ok. If I had to go into town I would go by bus - no stress that way.
I've been in Asda tonight and their Pacific breadmaker is £19.97. I haven't used that model myself but from other message boards people seem pleased with it and I don't know if there is any truth in this, but I'm sure someone said that Pacific is a relabelled version of one of the more expensive brands (could even be panasonic).
at that price buy it, even if it only lasts 6 months you've got your moneys worth. then if you enjoy using it either replace with another cheap model or get more expensive one. don't expect perfect results first time you'll need to practise getting used to getting the dough correct. always check because flour needs different amounts of liquid. have fun
i was in john lewis yesterday, they have the panasonic bread maker for 79 pounds. not the cheapest but quality product at good price.
i almost let this thread die the death but just couldn't let myself it's got a massive amount of hits and replies and it functions as the off topic thread for chatting and comments. and it's my little baby!
so has anyone else gone daft in the sales? i sort of did, got myself some things i've wanted for ages, gerber multi tool, electric razor, walking boots, new pda...yeah i know but i follow the theory of he who dies with the most toys wins! heck i've not gone into the red to get them just used some savings so why feel guilty?
right, hope this finds you all well.:bleh:
Hi Matt,
I have not been out in the sales yet, as really hate the crowds and all the pushing and shoving. Would rather pay more than face that.
Am organising a treat though as me and Steve are saving up to go to New York, later in the year. Am really looking forward to it. Just hope I can save enough in time. Has anyone else got holidays planned this year?
Hope this e-mail finds you all well.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
P.S. Your little baby is fantastic. Nice to talk about everyday things. :bleh:
right, you're off to new york....so when do you want the shopping list by? i'm sure a couple of us can think of a few things we want. jeans, cd's etc
how many items each? i'm sure the excess baggage fee will still make it worthwhile!
i wonder how long before we get 5000 hits or 300 replies? what's the prize.
Copper
10-01-2005, 05:35 PM
Surely we don't want material things - we just want some dairy free samples to try out :)
Hi all,
Not sure I'm going yet, but am definitely saving hard. Will definitely be going abroad this year.
Shopping lists will be accepted at £500 a head. (Only joking).
Will let you know if I am going.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
My friend's daughter went to New York for christmas and got engaged whilst she was there. She had a wonderful time. Maybe we should send Steve a few hints.... Tiffany's??? (sell lots of shiny diamonds there)
linny
10-01-2005, 08:48 PM
Hi, my hubby bought me a slow cooker in the Argos sale for £9 and I'm looking forward to using it. I suffer with fatigue and it tends to be late afternoon so hopefully I can prepare the meal in the morning (no onion or garlic or dairy!!!) and it will be cooked by dinner time. It'll also be handy if he gets stuck in traffic, his dinner wil be kept hot. Today it took him 2 hours to drive a 35 min journey as the Dartford tunnel/bridge were closed due to a fire and as for the M25 ... Britain's largest car park! My daughter is ok as she has school dinners. I'll let you know how it turns out if I don't poison us first!! Any recipes gratefully accepted!
the only things i know about slow cooking is don't get the expensive meat. cheap braising steak, neck fillet of lamb etc. don't worry that they are more fatty. the fat adds to the flavour whilst cooking then at the end you can skim it off.
then stick in some stock, root veg, salt pepper and any other herbs spices you like. leave to cook. add some herby dumplings later if you like them. if you like being fancy then at the end get some ready made pastry cut circles and bake. you can then dish up what looks like a steak pie without any of the hasssle of making one!
if doing lamb can always add apricots or other fruit and so on. basically whatever you fancy.
have fun.:drool:
You are supposed to preheat the pot before starting cooking as the temperature is quite low and takes a long time to heat up. I used to do this with boiling water - just fill with the kettle and leave for a few minutes. Don't be tempted to keep opening the pot for a peek, this lets too much heat out and things won't cook. I never got very adventurous with mine but I'm told that you can do all sorts in them, even jacket potatoes and pasta dishes. If you do a google search you are bound to come up with lots of recipes.
Simmo
11-01-2005, 09:53 AM
Hi Everyone,
I am new to the site but just could not let this particular thread die out. I have recently had various testing and eventually through an oligo-antigenic diet have found the I have major problems with dairy, egg, wheat, yeast and MSG :( . As you are all more experienced in 'dairy free living' I would like to call on you for help. It seems that all major supermarkets have a free from section but is there any one that is particularly good? I have become a very good label reader as although dairy products are listed fairly well, MSG is hidden.
I enjoyed reading the chocolate thread and will certainly be buying a lot of the bars that were mentioned, especially the orange :bleh: . Does anyone know if After Eights are dairy free?
I look forward to hearing from anyone
Thanks all
Simmo
Tescos,Sainsburys and Asda all have their own freefrom section - Tesco seem to keep better stocked than sainsburys at times but all 3 worth a visit - they all produce their own lists as well if you phone customer services which will give you a complete list of all their products and whether they are dairy, wheat gluten free etc. Not sure how you tackle MSG - thats more of a tricky one I would imagine
Most mints are dairy free you'll be pleased to know. My daughter cant have them I'm afraid because they contain soya, but I remember her enjoying them before we realised sh also had a soya allergy
Good luck!
Hi Simmo
Yes after eights are dairy free, I only found out yesterday myself! I have since bought a box today and am going to demolish it tonight. mmm.
Simmo
11-01-2005, 04:13 PM
Hiya both,
Thanks very much for your replies. As soon as I have confirmed that they don't contain all of the other things that I can't have I will be off to Tesco to buy some. I have heard that they do them in orange flavour :clap:
Thanks again and good luck with your own quests.
Simon
:starwars:
to all interested. i was in sainsburys at castlepoint bournemouth. the orange after eights were going for about 1 pound a box! end of xmas stock so won't last.
as has been said simmo, check out the major supermarkets for their dairy free ranges and lists of suitable products. then get to know the owner of your local health food shop/holland and barrett. they will be in a good position to help order in stuff. i find they are very good if you know what you want and ask them to specifically order it in. so ask any questions and check out the threads etc. when the site's running properly there's lots more info.
Make sure you read the ingredients lists on the After Eights, some that are produced outside the UK contain butterfat and even the large supermarkets have been known to import them in the past.
Around here Tesco seems to have the best range of free from foods and Sainsbury is quite good too, but they seem to have gone onto low carb stuff now.
ellsie
12-01-2005, 11:47 AM
Yes they are mint and orange are super tasty. I beleive some after 8s do have dairy depending on where they are produced but I have not come across them.:drool:
linny
13-01-2005, 02:17 PM
Hi, Just to let you know the slow cooker meal was lovely!! My husband even ate the swede slices! Only one problem, having to put up with the lovely smell of cooking a few hours before it's ready!!!!
Pam can you get on to the arcade at the moment? I can't as there's a message to say there's a problem with the site.
Bye
Linny
No linny, I couldn't last time I tried. Various other sites have arcades and I've had to make do with theirs they have a better version of tetris but they don't have bubble trouble. They do have mahjong though which I really like until it gives me headache.
Any chance of mahjong on here steve?
Simmo
13-01-2005, 09:01 PM
Thanks all for the information on the After Eights. I have also tried a Rice Krispy type bar from Morrisons which was OK. Trufree also do a great range of biscuits which a a godsend to me as I have a sweet tooth and the majority of their products are dairy, egg, wheat free.
I have had a problem with the large jars of Splenda sweetner, I didn't see as the writing was so small but it can contain milk protein as part of the packaging process.
Thanks again
Simon
Problems with Dairy, Egg, MSG and Wheat - But still happy :lol2:
lyndamc
14-01-2005, 12:11 PM
Have you done a check on all the E nos that are actually MSG? Theres quite a few of them, 621 being very popular. I also have an intolerance to MSG, as well as eggs, dairy, beef and tomatoes. Crisps have to be plain as the ones that don't have MSG have dairy, no chinese takeaway, as thats full of MSG. Does anyone know if Indian take-aways rely on MSG for flavour and colour too?
Thanks to all for posting products that are dairy free, I've eaten three boxes of after eights since christmas, and am going to try hellmans mayo, food is so boring and dry with no condiments!! I bought an egg free, dairy free garlic mayo from tesco recently and that is delicious.
Do I remember reading somewhere that one brand of ready made pastry is dairy free?
Thanks
Lynda
Well would you believe it - I've just bought some puff pastry for the first time which I think is dairy free! I've checked the ingredients on the packet and it appears to be ok - also it says 'contains wheat and gluten' but not dairy so hopefully this is a good indication as well. Its made by Saxbys and is found on the fresh counter by the butter etc in Morrisons, but I think I also saw it in Tesco the other day
Am going to try and make a steak and ale pie with it (very adventurous for me)! over the weekend. Wish me luck!!!
glad you found the dairy free pastry. just a little pointer. they are trying to ban hydrogenated oils which are apparently as bad as saturated fats heart wise. this will be a disaster for us as the easiest thing to replace dairy for the manufacturers is hydrogenated fats. i don't know if we should begin some sort of campaign to keep it being used.
at the end of the day as long as we know the risk then it's up to us surely? smoking affects others so i can understand that being banned but not these fats.
i keep thinking about reintroducing wheat. but why rock the boat? would make life easier and cheaper though.....
lyndamc
15-01-2005, 05:10 PM
I have been led to believe that the hydrogenated fats listing in ingredients could actually mean dairy products. I've also been told that hydrogenated fats are carconegenic?? (bet i've spelt that wrong!!)
Lynda
linny
15-01-2005, 05:48 PM
I've just arrived home from Asda and made a point at looking at the Hellman's mayo low fat variety - I almost needed a magnifying glass - but did spot CREAM under the ingredients as I read on the site last week. So it's hard to be dairy free and low fat! I usually buy shop's own brand and that seems to be ok. But why put cream in something that's supposed to be low fat!!!!!??
Bye for now Linny
Simmo
15-01-2005, 07:59 PM
Thanks Lynda,
I have been given a list of all the names for MSG and these include E621, Ajinomoto, Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein, Kumbu Extract and Natural Flavouring. A good website to look at is www.truthinlabelling.org which gives a very comprehensive list of products that you could do with avoiding. These all depend on your individual tolerance.
Thanks for your information and I hope that this helps.
Simon
:lol2: New but improved
hydrogenated fats are not dairy, they are vegtable oils(liquid) which they alter in a chemical process to make them go hard, to replace the butter because it's alot cheaper.
they are said to be potentially as bad as saturated fats for your heart and yes i've heard the rumour potentially carcinogenic but what isn't? seriously everyday they say something or other causes cancer. the trouble is if they ban it what are they going to use to make the cakes/biscuits and so on that we eat?
cream in low fat!! i can only imagine a small amount of cream adds to the texture or is less fatening than oil? who knows what goes through the minds of food producers. lesson being always read labels
If they banned them, it would make life pretty miserable for lots of allergy sufferers, me included!
lyndamc
18-01-2005, 05:01 PM
Does anybody use the Wheat and Gluten free flour for baking? I'm not sure if I may be Wheat intolerant and saw some in Morrisons this morning. I also saw some After Eight Easter Eggs and wondered if anyone else has seen them and if so are they Dairy Free? (didn't have time to read ingredients today). Managed to get some run of the mill biscuits that were dairy free too, fed up paying nearly £2 for a few bisciuts.
Off to batten down the hatches it's blowing an absolute hooley here and apparently getting worse!!!!
Lynda
Simmo
18-01-2005, 09:22 PM
I have used the Gluten Free Flour for baking and it's OK although getting pastry right is trial and error. For general purposes I use potato flour.
Good luck
Simon
Copper
18-01-2005, 09:55 PM
Matt is probably the "expert" wheat free baker on this forum. I have made cakes with potato flour and they were ok.
Is cornflour ok for people with wheat intolerance? If so I have a nice cake recipe.
cornflower should be ok but check cause i think that sometimes it's not guarenteed 100% wheat free.
wheat free flour, tried it a couple of times and the results are adequate, harder to work with than normal flour, end results tend to be crumblier but perfectly edible. you also have to watch the liquid added as it absorbs water differently to wheat flour. but follow the receipes and you should be fine. doves farm publish a receipe book i think, they have a website so pay it a visit for ideas.
i don't often bother baking for me, part laziness part other reasons.
have fun trying.
After Eight easter eggs are not dairy free, the egg contains butterfat (or has done on previous years).
Kinnerton produce dairy free eggs and this year are doing a Bart Simpson one (as previously) and also a plain design in their free from bar colours. It should be available in Sainsburys and maybe Tesco later on (e-mail Kinnerton for details, they are very good at responding).
Green and Black plain or maya gold easter eggs are ok but don't get the praline ones as they contain milk.
There was another one last year but I can't remember who made it, it was expensive though - over £10
Booja Booja do dairy free, wheat free eggs with truffles but at £10 they are again not cheap - very nice truffles though. You might find these in health food shops or on the internet.
Easter Eggs!!!!! - Its only January! I haven't got over Christmas yet! I think Easter is a bit earlier this year though, so I had better start searching.
Edit: After Eights also do some creme egg size eggs in a 6 pack but these also contained milk according to the ingredients last year.
lyndamc
19-01-2005, 09:36 AM
Thanks to all.
Won't bother with easter eggs then! Just looking for a 'nice' sweet fix to keep in the cupboard - will stick to after eights.
Must admit I haven't come accross potato flour, will have a good look around the Health food shops. It's all so expensive and we're on a pretty tight budget at the mo, so at the moment I seem to be continuously baking for just me and then doing batches for the rest of the family, I can't afford to always use my expensive ingredients on them!
Hi all,
My friend is a ceoliac (no wheat or gluten) and I'm sure she uses cornflour for her gravy.
The best bet is to ask Matt as he seems to be in the know.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
i know it's early for easter but i've still got the moulds i got from lakeland so i'll be making my daughter an easter egg like last year. quickest and easiest way to ensure what in it. plus a damn site cheaper. for the same price i can buy the top quality chocolate to make them from!
i don't purport to be the all knowing on wheat free but i know where to look so ask away.
Hi Matt,
Good luck with the Easter Egg. Let us know how it goes and maybe send us a piece.
I wanted to warn everybody that skips now contain milk powder rather than milk protein. This is for everybody who eats them and are lactose intolerant.
Kind Regards,
Lan. :D
the eggs worked last year. loads of fun painting the inside of the mould with choc. then making loads of mini ones aswell.
as i said it means you know what went in and for the same price you can use the really good choc. well worth trying. it wasn't hard and the chances are the kids would love to help. aren't i good? i mean i love choc but can't eat it yet i still make them for my daughter and make choc cakes etc for friends.
must get to tesco today as i have a craving for the pancakes! freefrom ones.
i'm really going to have to try to reintroduce wheat. make life easier and cheaper. but why rock the boat? that's the only prob with excluding stuff. if you settle down you don't want to reintroduce for fear of getting the full blown ibs etc back. yeah i'm a coward.
Copper
21-01-2005, 02:06 PM
must get to tesco today as i have a craving for the pancakes! freefrom ones.
i'm really going to have to try to reintroduce wheat. make life easier and cheaper. but why rock the boat? that's the only prob with excluding stuff. if you settle down you don't want to reintroduce for fear of getting the full blown ibs etc back. yeah i'm a coward.
I understand that perfectly. I still remember how ill I felt with lactose intolerance and have no wish to suffer like that again. The odd time I have made a mistake and accidently had that little extra dose of lactose I have felt unwell. I will not be trying to test the theory that lactose intolerance is transient - in my case it aint!!!
Talking of feeling a bit off, I have felt ill since not having dairy! think I know what may have been causing it though..... I really really hate Soya Milk, even the smell makes me want to vom. (scuse the bluntness) Anyway, I was informed by my dietician that a breast feeding mother needs an extra 550mg Calcium per day....so thats 700mg per day for an adult + the 550mg for the breastmilk, which is quite a lot of calcium!! what I have been doing for the past 4 months is drinking the very nice but very pricey Tropicana + calcium orange juice every day, prob about half a litre per day in order to get my calcium in. Since then however I have noticed that every day I feel nauseus and most days, how shall I put this.........I have a bit of an upset tummy. The only thing I can think it could be is the juice...Has anyone else ever found this? Its a total pain because I truly could not manage a glass of soya milk, whereas the oj is nice, but perhaps not agreeing with me. How do you guys get your calcium?? ;)
right easy one to solve. the orange juice is good for calcium but also for vit c.
too much vit c is a laxative and can irritate stomach. orange juice also can irritate stomach in larger quantities.
i get chewable calcium tablets prescribed by my doctor. either that or buy some from them chemist. have you tried almond milk? or oat milk? there are a couple of others hazlenut and quinoa aswell i think.
almond and oat milks will have lots of calcium and should be generally good for you. you might want to double check re the nuts element and breastfeeding don't want to risk allergy problem with your baby. someone else comment please?
if not you have the options once you stop breastfeeding.
it's like anything too much of anything will make you feel a bit rough or have bad effects. everything in moderation.
do you see a dietician? if not see doctor and get referred. especially as you are a new mum.
linny
22-01-2005, 01:31 PM
Hi, I cannot drink orange juice as it upsets my stomach and my gastritis. Have you tried apple juice for vit c? I was told by a dietician that calcium citrate tablets (from health shop) are easier to absorb than calcium carbonate. Good luck! Have you tried the soya yogurts (alpro) or the strawberry flavour soya milkshake? I cannot drink soya milk on it's own but it's ok in coffee, I can only drink the Alpro brand milk, the others I find taste awful. Have a try you may find a soya milk you like. Linny
I like the soya yogs etc and I've started having coco pops with rice milk on them, I don't know what it is about soya milk......... it just makes me gag! but if needs must then I will just have to hold my nose and glug it down, it definately doesn't irritate my tummy. Everytime I mention calcium tablets they (dieticians) always put me off by explaining how you have to be careful taking them because they can lead to kidney stones, which worries me (24/7 worrier here) then I end up too scared to take them!!
Try different varieties of soya milk, I don't like Tesco's own but I like most of the others, I always go for unsweetended ones as the sweetened ones are a bit too sweet for me. I couldn't drink them on their own but they are ok in custard, on cereals etc. There are lots of milks available including some made from potatoes (Vance's Darifree), pea protein (made by Plamil and called White sun), then there's rice, oat, quinoa, almond, hazelnut and probably more.
Alpro do desserts and yoghurts that are good and Sojasun do some very nice yoghurts. You can also get dairy free rice puddings but they are expensive so I've never bothered trying them.
I got a bottle of osteocare liquid from the health food shop for my daughter to boost her calcium levels though I don't give her as much as the recommended daily dose. Try visiting an independent shop rather than Holland and Barrett and you'll probably get a more informed opinion.
Copper
24-01-2005, 02:04 PM
I have to say that soya milk has the same effect on me too - yuk. I tried rice milk and that just made my coffee taste like err --- rice! I am lucky that I can tolerate lactose reduced milk but a carton of that lasts me 3 weeks. The best alternative milk I have tried is Tiger White and I thought the sweetened was best.
I buy calcium tablets from my local haelth food shop. I chose Ostron as it has minerals too which are needed for healthy bones. I try not to worry even though I have reached the "funny" age - I am not a senior member for nothing :)
Hi all,
I really like Provamel and So Good milks. They are unsweetened and taste really nice.
Kind Regards,
Lan.
kidney stones? that's a new one on me. yeah i'm sure if you eat too many of them you might well get kidney stones but if you're taking them because you don't get enough calcium how would they cause kidney stones? it's only if you go well over the daily requirement that that'll happen. go back to them and insist. i get mine prescribed.
the other types of milk are nice, and the various types of soya milk taste differnt. i always liked the unsweetened waitrose one. i don't bother with any of them at the moment. black tea and coffee and special high calorie juices. so i just don't bother.
experiment, you never know you might find one you like.
have fun
so off to the shops in southampton today to do some dairy free armchair shopping! thinking of getting a couple of nice comfy ones for the new house. not that i've got a moving date yet but the sales are just about still on. seems a shame to not waste some money....
so little picnic to make in a min as it's easier than bothering to go to the shops just for my "lunch" to eat at 10am. lunch when people are still eating breakfast! but then i was up at 3:30am so that's my excuse. i think a couple of tesco freefrom pancakes will be the order of the day.
have a good one.
I'm off to work again and will no doubt be bored as I don't seem to have much work on at the moment. I'm not allowed to use the internet for my own purposes otherwise I'd be in the arcade passing a bit of time. We're still working our way through the christmas goodies and are now left with a box of cadburys chocolate biscuits so I am still being naughty and eating a couple of those each day. I'll be back to completely dairy free and on a diet in a week or so though and will look forward to feeling good again.
Matt, we're hoping to move house this year - not looking forward to all the stress it involves. We've just replaced our bathroom and are about to start work on our bedroom before tarting up the rest of the house for prospective buyers. Apart from a new kitchen and the occasional lick of paint elsewhere we haven't really done much in the 15 years that we've been here.
lyndamc
26-01-2005, 10:15 AM
We're planning on moving too, in the next 18 months or so hopefully! We're currently living in the kitchen, luckily its quite big with an oil fired rayburn. Our living room is being gutted in our spare time, we've revealed granite walls and beams so we're in the middle of pointing and plasterboarding between the beams. Work has been temporarily postponed as we all have a very nasty virus, aching all over, upset tummies, then just when you think you're getting better the aching returns with a head cold, pretty nasty. :(
linny
26-01-2005, 11:51 AM
Hi, it looks like 2005 must be the year for moving! We're hoping to move this year. We're in a 2 bedroom flat and although it's freehold we have to pay maintenance costs and they have soared. It's getting a bit small now Megan is getting older and has more and more possessions! Property is so expensive round here, our flats are selling for about £145,000 at present. We'd love a bungalow due to my arthritis but we may have to settle for a house with room for a stairlift in the future.
I now have an appointment to go into hospital to have the colonoscopy, not looking forward to that but anything to find a cure for the stomach cramps etc. that I'm having quite frequently now.:( I really need to have the arcade, it's the only thing to keep me sane some days and the high scores set a target!!!! :) Oh and my cross stitch keeps me sane too! I'm attempting a Beatrix Potter Birth Sampler for the end of March as my husband is going to be a Godfather. Bye for now, Linny
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