Scones are back on the menu for me

IN all the current crisis no mention has been made of the first outbreak of Corona virus.

It must have been in the late 1950s and unlike the latest one, it was the young who were most at risk as it was caused by drinking too much of the pop that was delivered door to door at that time!

The effects did not last long as it was discovered the lorry drivers were the carriers and no more was heard about it once the company ceased.

Coming back to today panic seems to have set in and I heard about the dyslexic man who turned vegetarian when he read about it and thought it said carnivorous!

For my part I’m with those who having seen that any hand sanitiser has to be 60% alcohol and as there are no gels on the supermarket shelves I’m getting mine in pint sized measures!

Carnival coming?

It seems early in the year but one local village is apparently celebrating its gala day this weekend.

I was walking along Blackburn Road and I saw a sign saying it is Barwell Carnival on Saturday and giving the time when the parade passes by.

Personally it appears to be a variation on the “Free beer tomorrow” as I’ve seen the sign before and did not see a report or any photos in this paper.

Preserve premier

Having given up cakes and biscuits for Lent my search for treats has taken me back to scones.

Now, as we all know, the fruity bakes open up two debates, the first of which is how to pronounce scone. Is it to rhyme with “gone” or “known” and that is without mentioning the Stone of Scone, the subject of much dispute between England

and Scotland, where the last word rhymes with “soon”. Oh the vagaries of our wonderful language!

The second difference of opinion is when building your cream tea item is it jam first, as favoured by the Cornish or cream, the choice of those in Devon? Here opinion has been tested and a recent survey found that an overwhelming 76% put the preserve first and this figure increases the further north one goes.

As for me it has to be cream applied to the base as my dearly departed late wife was an adopted Devon lass and I always respect her “upstairs”. Mind you I am going without cream at the moment as there is a limit to the luxuries we allow ourselves when we should be making sacrifices.

Soon settled

I heard last week of what must be one of the quickest completion of a transaction other than face to face.

A daughter visited her mother just as the post was delivered. The elder lady said it would be mainly bills and this proved true in at least one case, an account for her care at home. She asked the daughter to pay it and this she did with a telephone call.

While the younger woman was still there, within half an hour, the letterbox went again and it was the receipt, hand delivered and just as prompt as the payment.

I will not say who the firm are but let’s salute them – and that’s a clue.