Gunpowder, Treason And Plot - November Chatty

[eccles]

Well done OC. You must be very glad of that news. Now don't go celebrating with lots of cakes.
My weight has been climbing lately so I will have to follow your example and cut out the evening snacking.

[OurCreature]

IIRC you have a very long way to go before you catch me up, Eccs; I'm not sure that we'll meet somewhere on my way down, either.

Rest assured, I shall not be increasing my treats intake.................I want this weight loss to continue..............

[merry]

Ohhh that's wonderful news OC! well done to you!

[Patience]

I haven't really changed my diet except to eat more salads and vegetables in general, and to cut down on treats like cakes and biscuits and custard tarts.

I guess that was the change you needed to make.

[OurCreature]

Thank you for your good wishes. I intend to have lunch at Bella Vita today after my duties at KW, and I shall try to resist the temptation of a dessert. I shall report back.

After Bella Vita I shall go to Morrisons to do my shopping. I still have some apples in the fridge, so I shall try to not buy any custard tarts.

And my big £500 winter fuel payment landed in my bank account today.

[Furby]

It's good news that oc has cleverly cured himself. Christmas is a bad time for eating as everything is bad food at Xmas. Does diabetes stay gone once it's gone or will it come back every time you eat bad food.

Interest rates are doing well for themselves are they. I just had a look and they went up again for savings thought the fixed rates have come down. It's bad news for mortgages but savers havent had much at all for 14 years and because of covid rates were 0.01 so is about time. The finance systems need to have a balance I think rather than almost no savings and cheap mortgages it couldn't last forever could it.

[OurCreature]

Furby wrote

Does diabetes stay gone once it's gone or will it come back every time you eat bad food.

I haven't the slightest idea about the food; I think the diabetes exit was due more to the weight loss and the idea is that if I continue as I am doing now the diabetes will stay gone. I shall try not to over-indulge on Christmas Day at Nancy's house, but it's only 1 day anyway. I shall not buy loads of festive food treats for myself.

There are 2 types of diabetes. Type 2 is what I had and is, so I understand, largely self-inflicted with obesity being one of the biggest causes. There are some people who cannot help being obese because of medical factors, but most obese folk including me are obese because we eat too much food and don't exercise enough to get rid of the excess. I am pleased to be losing weight, and it is mainly due to the fact that I don't eat as much on a regular basis as I used to and that includes the treats. For example I eat rice instead of spuds, and I don't eat as much rice per meal as I did 2 or 3 years ago - I measure it out in a smaller glass.

The other sort of diabetes is Type 1 and that is where the body is deficient in insulin. This can strike however fit and healthy you are at any time. My friend Thomas in Switzerland was diagnosed with it when he was 2 years old and he wasn't a fat little toddler. His father, my old school friend who married a lovely Swiss lady, has always been fit and he was diagnosed with Type 1 3 years after his son; life suddenly became much easier for Thomas because he could test his blood sugar etc and have his insulin jab with his Dad and they had the same food restrictions. For several years after Thomas was diagnosed Ruth used to weigh out at the dining table the various foods that could be dangerous in excess like potatoes but they got to the stage when Peter and Thomas simply knew how much of particular foods they could eat by looking so Ruth didn't need to do that any more.

I'll find out if I am still a diabetes-free zone sometime in February 2023.

[OurCreature]

Not only did I shun a dessert at Bella Vita today, I forgot to order oven baked new potatoes as a side dish; that was just as well as the risotto with cherry tomatoes and king prawns was very filling and potatoes would have been greedy. I began with a ginger beer and then scampi and then the risotto and a glass of house white, finishing with a cappuccino. That came to £43 including tip.

I did my shopping in Morrisons and avoided buying any cakes, custard tarts etc, sticking strictly to what I and They needed.

I'm back at Bella Vita 3 weeks today, and then I shall have a dessert; I'm taking a bottle of Barolo each for Toni (head waiter, front of house), Jerzy (waiter who is always very good and friendly) and chef Nino in the kitchen. That will get me looked after nicely for 2023! Meanwhile I was pleased to see they had quite a big party of genteel ladies there for Christmas Lunch so that would have whacked up their coffers a bit.

[merry]

Sounds lovely, OC! I am glad they seem to be getting a good trade! it's nice of you to treat them at Christmas

Christmas seems to be coming upon us fast!

[eccles]

Someone on "Next Door" has complained of rustling and bumping in their chimney. I was going to reply that it was Santa arriving early but I was beaten to it.
Maybe a squirrel building a winter drey.

[Wildrover]

Congrats on overcoming the diabetes OC - that meal seems like a suitable celebration! MYF and I had a fantastic long weekend in Norwich, a city I've been through many times but never spent any time there. It has a fabulous Norman cathedral and a rather odd, almost cuboidal castle that reminded me of the Borg ship in Star Trek - The Next Generation. We went to two excellent restaurants: Bishop's which was a tiny 24 seater with a £42 fixed 3 course price - I had a venison carpaccio starter followed by a fillet steak and baked Alaska for dessert and MYF had a sashimi starter, ox cheeks and choccy mousse; the other was an interesting wine bar called Wallow where we had the most amazing platter of cheese, fish and cold meats. The platter below was £19.99!



The food was fantastic quality at both places - the couple that we were with also had fantastic food. We did overdo it on the cocktails and wine a bit so the Bishops bill was £100 a head with tip and the Wallow bill £50 a head with tip but it was definitely good value. Thee pubs we went to were all really pleasant with good beer too, especially the Brewdog pub in the centre. We stayed at the Holiday Inn just outside Norwich which worked well as it was £100 a night compared with double that in the ciity centre and they have a fantastic taxi service called ABC which takes you the 2 miles into town for a flat fee of £7.50 for the four of us. I should add that for a small city Norwich has fabulous shopping with a large market, new shopping centre and all the High Street names you'd expect. Our 3 night stay was about £800 all in for the two of us (travel was zero as my friend has an electric company car) and it was the best birthday I've had since my 50th so well worth it. Of course the fabulous company helped enormously - we never stopped laughing even with the hangovers.

[OurCreature]

Looks like you had an excellent time in Norwich!

Meanwhile I have noticed there is a company called WAG Payments Solutions - I wondered if it was anything to do with Rebekah Vardy as she has to find £3m in legal costs arising from the Wagatha Christie affair.

[merry]

omeone on "Next Door" has complained of rustling and bumping in their chimney. I was going to reply that it was Santa arriving early but I was beaten to it.

Wow eccles there are TWO Pun-masters in your area?

Glad you had a lovely time in Norwich, WR! thanks for the menu reports, you know I love those STPD was in Norwich for a couple of years and she really liked it. It was difficult to get to though so I didn't ever visit here there.

December thread, someone please?

What a lovely Chat we had last night - at one time there were EIGHT of us!