May 29

May 29 TV Dinner

After two weeks of temperatures up and around 30°C in Greece, I found myself back in the joys of the Welsh Spring. Maybe a bit sunny, maybe a bit windy, maybe a bit chilly. Not as bad as the Silver Jubilee year I think, back in 1977, when I recall it snowing at home in South Wales on the Bank Holiday on the 7th of June. Think the Summer became a scorcher after that.

Anyway ..

I was still hankering after something exotic, so wandered up to the supermarket in search of inspiration and had the decision taken away from me almost immediately after spotting some bargain lamb mince and a packet of wonky potatoes which, together, came in under £1.50.

‘Perfect for a Mince and Tatty TV Dinner,’ I thought - comfort meal watching something mildly mindless on the box.

I always think the key to a good Mince and Potatoes is to cook everything separately. I diced the potatoes and pre-cooked them in the microwave before shallow frying them till getting crispy. Set aside. Finely chop the onions and some garlic and fry those off in a little butter. Set those aside. Then the mince which I fried first, then boiled in some stock with a little of my favourite Miso paste and some gravy mix. When it’s beginning to get a little gloopy, chuck the rest back in and stir it about a bit. Off the heat. Let it stand a little. Served with crusty tiger baton.

I watched the second half of Casino Royale - the spoof Bond movie with David Niven and Peter Sellers in - how confusing was that. Very much in the genre of The Avengers/Barbarella/Psychodelic 60’s. Great music though, ‘The Look of Love’ and Bacharach’s main theme.

Then I started watching On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with George Lazenby whilst reading up on the history of the Bond films .. who might have directed, or played Bond etc .. Miracle any of these films made it to the screen.

Plus I like location spotting, having lived and worked round the back of Pinewood for many years, and a stone’s throw from Shepperton Studios.

Pudding was some Swiss chocolate sent by a friend which arrived in the post.

And on that subject - spotted a poster in the background on a Swiss station, just as Bond is arriving at the clinic in the Alps, pretending to be a genealogist .. advertising ‘Tobler-o-Rum.’ Apparently a short-lived deviation by the Toblerone brand and allegedly the first rum filled chocolate ever to hit the market.

Where did it go?

A mystery.