Friday night in Seaford is the great fish and chip takeaway evening. Bugger healthy eating – carbohydrate and fat for us on the south coast. Old and young queue outside Trawlers or Osbornes in Church Street, Seaford and cars double park in the street.
I’ve learnt to beware of that little old lady who comes in with a piece of paper to remind her to buy a pensioner’s portion of cod and chips. I know now she’s from the local home for the elderly with a fish and chip choice from each of the residents, and Seaford chip shops fry fish to order. Her order takes ages – small skate wing, battered cod – no make that one grilled, haddock, rock … and mushy peas and sausages and curry sauce. For God’s sake! How many more people are you buying for! She loads the carefully wrapped, labelled packages into her shopping wheelie and heads off into the night.
Last Friday our grandson Charlie and our son Simon came to stay and chips were on the menu. ‘One portion is enough’ shouts Mark as they leave into the freezing dark. Much later Charlie pushes open the patio doors with glee.
‘We’ve bought 200 chips! Look!’ He has no idea how large a chip portion is for the residents of Seaford and they have ordered two – more like 400 chips between the four of us. But they were delicious and occupied a chip mountain on the dinner table, tossed in Cornish sea salt and Sarsons Malt vinegar.
After supper Charlie and Mark play hangman, only the new way of teaching reading makes the letter sounds slightly confusing for us!
Charlie and Mark play hangman
Next morning 300 chips were taken down to the seagulls who keep watch for recycled food on the nearby cliffs. Woosh and the greasy, cold potatoes have gone. Next time I will teach Charlie to throw up chips so the seagulls can do contortionist acrobatics in the fight to get fed. That’s much more fun.
While I eat toast and home-made marmalade for breakfast, Mark has changed his morning food choice to an anti-cancer regime. A cup of chilled flaxseed oil is stirred into organic goat’s yogurt, then mixed with lecithin powder, and vitamin C from wild berries. Then a spoonful of bitter tasting herbs, some slippery elm and milk thistle powder. Next comes the hospital pills that sort out goodness knows what.
Lunch is more delicious – specially delivered DHL frozen chicken broth thanks to Polly and Annabel mixed with pea protein powder. This saves me loads of time boiling up bits of old birds.
Tomorrow the dietician from the hospital is paying us a visit – that should be a challenge!
Mark says for 26/2/2018
Whew! Puff. Lovely to end a day with my sister and brother in law, with my usual Manhattan, fine gravlax from Annabel, cottage pie, mango cream and Il Passo wine from Sardinia and Lanson champagne -.which he says is not special.
itaughtthemtocook.com 