Still life of bowl of fruit.
Been a pretty good weekend. Yesterday - scrabble club in afternoon- won first game, four of us playing. Lost next two games, one of them very close indeed, less than twenty points between the four of us, whoever got out first was obviously going to win, and it was Phyllis. She is, I think, our best player in the club. Yesterday evening we had a New Year Party in St. Mary's Church. We had a shared meal -everyone brought something - and it was a very good spread of (mainly) home made foodstuffs -very good indeed. Entertainment provided before and after the meal, all done by church members. Some very good singing, 'Lily Marleine' by one of our choir sopranoes, a Comic version of the Yellow Idol to the North of Katmandu (Ann's Grandfather's old solar topee was borrowed for this), a series of jokes (many of them of serious antiquarian interest) was told by one of our Churchwardens, etc. etc., Oh yes, and I'd been called upon to recite Marriott Edgar's 'Albert and the Lion', which I did rather Stanley Holloway style. I brought this on myself last summer(or perhaps the one before that) by reciting it (extempore, if that's the word) late one evening at a garden party, when I was somewhere between a quarter and a third sloshed. Still it couldn't have been too bad then, for a repeat performance to be requested for last night's party. It went quite well.
Today has been a lovely, sunny day (temperature around forty degrees Fahrenheit). Made a nice change.
I've just read this and decided that (for the benefit of any colonial readers- whom I hope I shan't shock) I probably ought to define the word 'sloshed'. It equates to kaylied (not sure of the spelling for that) or half seas over. Or, to put it another way it indicates that my intake of liquid refreshment had been done 'not wisely, but too well'. Hope that clarifies the matter. Goodnight all.
12 comments:
The still life is beautiful and needs to be painted. You sure are busy!
Dear Mike,
I have never seen you the worse for drink although occasionally I have seen you the better for it! And that is a dashed good act since few folk could better your good self!
Kalied would probably be the correct spelling, suggesting an exposure to Kalium (the old name for Potassium) which was abbreviated to kali by our apothecaries. The salts of kalium were used in the manufacture of sherbert, an Arabic alchymical discovery for making cooling fizzy drinks. I believe the term 'sherbert' became popular as an alias for champagne cocktails during the Rag-Time era when a degree of consideration had to be extended towards prohibition and temperance movements. Thus to be kalied became the buzz-word for the after-effects of a few too many "sherberts".
Thank you< Lori. Yes, we do seem to be.
Hi Carl. Thank you for the explanation. I thought you would know. In that case mildly Kalied would be the correct term for my condition on the summer evening mentioned, as we had been on 'the sherbert' (1920s fashion, aka champagne).
Cheers, Mike.
Elemental potassium wasn’t known in Roman times, its names are neo-Latin. The name kalium was taken from the word "alkali", which came from Arabic al qaliy - "the calcined ashes". The name potassium was made from the English word "potash", which originally meant an alkali (mostly potassium carbonate) extracted in a pot from the ash of burnt wood or tree leaves. By heating, the carbonate could be freed of carbon dioxide, leaving "caustic potash" (potassium hydroxide), so called because it caused chemical burns in contact with human tissue (cf. hypocaust).
Potassium metal was discovered in 1807 in England by Sir Humphry Davy, who derived it from caustic potash (KOH), by the use of electrolysis of the molten salt with the newly discovered voltaic pile. Before the 18th century, no distinction was made between potassium and sodium. Potassium was the first metal that was isolated by electrolysis. Davy extracted sodium by a similar technique, demonstrating the elements to be different.
In the UK, sherbet is a powdered treat (usually packaged as a Sherbet Fountain) that ranks with humbugs and aniseed balls. Many an English schoolchild spent his weekly pocket-money on bright yellow cardboard tubes with a length of bright black liquorice sticking out of the end. Sherbet Fountain? They looked more like sticks of dynamite than sugary water-features!
The sherbet fountain was a dashed nuisance! The tube went soggy, the sticky black liquorice clogged up after the first suck, and the whole thing left you wreathed in clouds of dust. You coped by eating the straw and then swigging the fizzy powder straight from the tube,giving you a nose full of the dust making you sneeze and cough. Still! We went back for more.
Sherbet is an easy sweet to make - three ingredients and no cooking.
Powdered or crystalline citric acid. Sugar, usually caster or icing sugar. Bicarbonate of Soda - aka sodium hydrogen carbonate - aka 'bicarb'. (This has replaced the original Arabic potassium bicarbonate recipe in commercial manufacture but is not so fizzy nor so cooling and perhaps not so healthy – but there may be good reason for the change – I suspect the ‘Star-Bomb’ type of sherbet may contain potassium bicarbonate?)
You change the taste by changing the proportions of the three ingredients. A good place to start is with two teaspoons of sugar, one teaspoon of citric acid, and half a teaspoon of bicarb. Changing the proportion of acid to bicarb will change the amount of fizz. Simply mix the ingredients together thoroughly making sure your equipment and ingredients are dry (this is really important). The citric acid usually comes as dry crystals or powder. If you are offered a liquid form (a solution), just say no! The sherbet must stay dry until it touches the tongue. This is an endothermic reaction giving a pleasant cooling sensation. Trying different types of sugar can change how fast the sweet part of the flavour forms on your tongue, or even change the actual flavour altogether (Demerara sherbet, anybody?). Part of the flavour is down to the acid as well, and you can use a mixture of citric acid and tartaric acid. Adding flavourings is slightly more difficult as they must be dry flavourings. You could add crushed Parma violets, or powdered cinnamon or others spices. Vanilla pods, slices of root ginger, lemon grass, instant coffee and mint can all be stored in a jar of sugar for several days to impart their flavours to the sugar itself. Be circumspect and judicious when making up a chilli sherbet. Skilful blending of such flavours will bring delight to your guinea-pigs… er… friends! Sherbet is best served the traditional way - sucked through a straw. The mouth is filled instantly with both flavour and fizz, bringing a nostalgic tear to the eye. Throw a Sherbet-Surprise tasting party and have your camera handy as guests try your chilli sherbet? If you do try it on your friends, make sure there is a glass of yoghurt handy.
I love sherbert fountains. The liquorice can be used as a dipstick once it fails as a straw, and the yellow paper has a special flavour all of its own. I can't get hold of them here, but I can across the border in Norway.
I read about them recently, Australia has ordered 3 million of them, so there might not be any left for Norway.
Hi Nea. I'll check in the only sherbert fountain shop in this area next time I'm in Ipswich. I'm surprised to hear that the yellow paper surround was edible. Rice paper, I suppose? I suspect my memory is skidding. Or perhaps yours is, Nea?????
Warm regards, Pa.
P.s. Check the Skoog Farm Journal when you have a moment. Colm, one of Lori's art students is doing a portrait of Strawberry from a photo. I think it's potentially rather good.
Pa.
Enough food on blogs already!!!
Off to eat again....hungry....
What's with all this food popping up???
I'm trying to diet!!!
So (I'm told) are we. Hence the apples.
Hi 4Ds,
The problem with diets is that they are all about food and eating and keep these subjects constantly in mind.
The easiest way to lose weight is to think about fasting rather than dieting - just carry on eating - but only when you want to - and stop as soon as you've had almost enough. Don't eat just to clear your plate or to finish the sandwich - leave it in the fridge with a bite out of it - no-one else will touch it - and it will be instantly available when real hunger strikes - which will be less often if you maintain an "I like fasting" mindset! It works for me - I'm just skin and blubber now! (;-)
C.
Dear Carl, you had me worried for a few moments. I read your comment on dietting and tried to imagine my young(er) brother looking skeletal and athletic. I then re read the comment carefully until I got to "it works for me. I'm just skin and BLUBBER......." Ha ! Got it! Now that, I'm afraid, I can believe. Still, at least I can stop worrying about your having some dreadful wasting condition. You really shouldn't tease you elderly and gullible relations.
Love, Mike.
The yellow paper is not meant to be eat. But it gets very sticky and has to be licked lots.
Oh dear, Nea. I wish you had made that clearer. I have already placed an order with a local sweetshop owner for a sherbert fountain "but only if it is in edible paper". I thought she looked at me a little oddly, and I walk past her shop several times a week. Still she is new to the area, and she probably won't recognise me again.
Much love, Pa.
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