The whinge thread

[supersleuth]

Ha1 Ha! This reminds me so much of the time when my mother in law (who I really do like) gave me the recipe for the lemon tart she'd cooked, which was very nice. I thought half a pint of cream and six eggs looked a bit generous and queried it. She looked rather surprised and said "Well, that's for two tarts of course".

[giraffe]

The cheesecake recipe I have must have been intended to be very deep. I have to double the base quantities and it makes two big cheesecakes, with the top up to the top of the flan dishes. I can't halve the quantity because it unhelpfully doesn't use measurments, just says things like " a packet of philladelphia cheese, and a tin of evaporated milk, a packet of jelly"

[gill216]

Would you post up that recipe on the cookery thread please Giraffe? I think it might be the one I've been trying to find again for years. I think you've identified the ingredient I couldn't remember as the packet of jelly

[giraffe]

The recipe demands lemon jelly, but I can rarely find that these days, so sometimes use lime, which gives a slightly mottled appearence if you don't stir it in thoroughly. I'll go and dig it out.

[giraffe]

Gill I have posted that recipe, I also have a raspberry one that needs raspberry blamange which I can never find in the shops, and an orange cheesecake recipe which doesn't seem to need jelly or blamange (but does need frozen concentrated orange juice, which I'm not sure is easily available either) Perhaps I just shop in the wrong places.

[clvrlad]

sounds like an american recipe

http://www.ehow.com/how_2122825_make-fr ... trate.html

[giraffe]

You used to be able to get frozen concentrated juice in any supermarket, but I haven't seen it for years. (Not that I have looked very hard!) I have made all three cheesecakes several times, but the lemon one is the nicest, and so I do it quite regularly. Also as it makes large quantities it is good for parties. I made it one time in one big straight sided roasting tin, but it was a bit hard to get in the fridge , so I usually do it as two normal sized round ones. Last time I did the raspberry one I could only get the raspberry blancmange in a mixed pack of 5 and I was left with chocolate and banana blancmange that I didn't know what to do with.

[LAT]

Yes I remember frozen orange juice. It came in little tins I think. I haven't seen it for years either, but then, like you, I haven't really been looking.

[giraffe]

Yes white plastic tubes about the size of a soft drink can.

[MBH]

Cars and Water do not mix (allegedly)

What a 2-weeks I've had since the last heavy rainfall here. I was taking Maisie down to the Newcastle Business Park early in the morning to walk her along the Quayside (as I do each morning), and I was "'Gannen Alang the Scotswood Rooaaaaad" in the opposite direction for getting to Blaydon

Rain had been very heavy but eased off, and there was lots of surface water, so I was doing about 30 MPH in the 50 limit.

I don't know if it was the light reflecting off the surface or what was wrong but the first I saw of the flood was as I started to go into the water - instinctivly slowing down as it happened. The pool couldn't have been much more than 18-20 inches deep but the engine cut out leaving me with all 4 wheels in the floodwater.

A traffic management lorry heading the opposite way swung round and they guy (kitted out in bad weather gear) CLOSED the road behind me and then pushed me up the rise in the ground and out of the water [bless him - I didn't fancy getting Maisie out into the middle of the pool].

My thoughts were, I'll take Maisie for her walk on the grass beside Scotswood Road (now safe because it was closed to traffic) and when I get back to the car it will hopefully start after drip-drying for 20-minutes.

WRONG!!!!!!

It didn't turn over and I decided I was only trying it the once before ringing the R.A.C. They said it would be at least 75 minutes before a helper could arrive and my mental calculations put that at about 7:40. My OH had a hospital appointment at Noon and I had the morning off work for that, so I stayed where I was.

RAC guy rang me at 8am saying he was STILL trying to get out of Washington and onto the A1 but everything was stopped and gridlocked due to the A1 being flooded. Still waited but as time got on it was 'think of plan B' time. If I could find somewhere to leave the keys for him then I could 'abandon' the car for him to pick up and I could start walking Maisie the 3 miles back home.

More drama along the way but I DID get home in time to take the taxi to the hospital (leaving PLENTY of time for travel, but by then the route into town was OK. I found out later it took the R.A.C. man almost 4 hours to do the 8 miles from Washington to the car

During these 2 weeks we got 48 hours replacement car from the R.A.C then the repair centre gave me a courtesy car (with lousy delivery methods) until Monday when they rang to say they needed the car back as I was no longer entitled to it since my car had ben 'written off' by the insurers.

WRITTEN OFF ?????????????????? For a bit of water in the engine compartment?

One of my first cars was an old Renault that refused to start in damp weather. I needed to lift bonnet and spray WD40 on 'this', and 'these', and 'that bit there' and it started without problem. I really didn't register the fact that cars have changed SO much. I cannot believe an accident like this can write off a car and it makes me even more bemused at the people who totally ignore the tide-times at Holy Island and drive along the sea-swept causway.



Current state - mobile via a short-term rental car organized by the suppliers of our car while we decide what to do next.

[Bunnylump]

That is beyond belief. Poor you!!

That's the trouble with these "new" all singing, all dancing computer controlled cars. My daughter's Yaris has a problem with the computer which controls the warning lights and airbag, which is causing all kinds of problems but isn't economically viable to repair. So even if you are mechanically minded, you can't actually ever fix them yourself these days. I used to drive an old classic Volvo Amazon - when the door locks broke, I had to open the bonnet and remove the rotor arm (which disabled the car) and pop in in my handbag while I was out. Those were the days!!

[giraffe]

Oh MBH that sounds awful.

[clvrlad]

hmmm give me a simple one anyday
i might....only might be able to work out the fault
used to have a two stroke engine with a glow plug in a model aircraft a long time ago



any two stroke powered cars around?

[giraffe]

A young man once took me out into the new forest for afternoon tea. When a pony stuck it's head through the window of his old banger he commented that it had doubled the horsepower of his car!

[gill216]

The moral of this story is that if it's not broken don't fix it. Early September we had our gas boiler and heating serviced, even there was nothing wrong with it but apparently we needed a new valve on the tank upstairs. He didn't have one and had to order one. He had 3 telephone numbers to ring to say when he was coming to fit it. Despite that, he left a card through the door instead to say he'd been. The printed part of the card was readable but the hand written parts were totally illegible. Then ensued the first fiasco. According to Mrs customer services there was nothing outstanding for us to be done. I eventually established that she had typed in the wrong address . At this point I've got two numpty's who cant write properly but my heating is still working.

A different engineer came and fitted the new part. Unfortunately for us we went to the caravan when he was finished. I came back yesterday to discover that the newly fitted part was leaking and had been for 10 days. My landing carpet is soaked. Part of my bedroom carpet is soaked and my bathroom vinyl is laying on top of water. The water had then made its way through the kitchen ceiling, down through kitchen light fitting and most of it had landed on the floor -or made its way into my cooker.

The emergency man came and after a lot of sawing & banging and the fitting of another part off he went. Except I have no hot water now........ AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

[Bunnylump]

THAT is a spectacular lack of competence, you poor thing!! I think your boiler company deserves naming...It's when I hear stories like this I understand why some of my OH's customers are prepared to pay for him to travel hundreds of miles AND pay for his overnight stays in order to get someone who knows what they are doing!!

[giraffe]

When our boiler was replaced I had to ask the men if water was supposed to be pouring through the lounge ceiling, because it didn't seem quite right to me.

[gill216]

OK - I'll name them. Liberty Gas. To be absolutely fair they did send someone out straight away this morning to fix my hot water. I think they knew my head had gone. The water is now so hot I'm glad I have no children around. They would definitely scald themselves from the hot tap. That's tomorrows mission alongside having my ceiling re-plastered and painted, my (new) carpets dried out and cleaned and anything else I discover today!!! Oh I forgot one thing. The noise that is emanating from the tank and boiler now!

[Bunnylump]

Beyond belief, isn't it??

[MBH]

A small dusting of snow yesterday afternoon and the world grinds to a halt

FOUR HOURS to get home from Washington - a distance of about 12 miles. No way onto the A1 so thought I'd be cute and head the opposite way but got stopped on the gridlock in towards Gateshead. Nipped across the swing bridge and along the back roads through the business park then stopped again all the way along Scotswood road.

Unbelievable

So much for the planned Carol Service last night - totally abandoned...