Lockdown Blues

[be-bop]

Well I’ve finally cracked in this lockdown, found myself shouting at the TV hysterically, why is it that the BBC torment us with cooking programmes and travel shows showing the great outdoors when you can’t walk a hundred yards without worrying the local Plod is gonna pull ya?
Back to the cooking show, TV celeb states to the TV Chef his favourite comfort food is spaghetti on toast, no biggie however said Chef starts cutting Artisan bread coating it in garlic butter with Swiss cheese and puts it in the oven
While he’s waiting on that cooking, he whacks together a cheeky wee tomato and pesto sauce and proceeds to make his own spaghetti from scratch and uses spaghetti cutter, boils it mixes with sauce and pours it over the baked bread and cheese, looked like something of restaurant quality.
I then remembered in my freezer was half a bag of frozen oven chips and in the cupboard was a tin of butter beans circa best before Aug 1982…..(Sigh)
That’s when I lost it

[sexobon]

YOU LOST YOUR TIN OF BUTTER BEANS!

A meme is born.

[xoxoxoBruce]

What happens after Aug 1982, do they turn to Margarine Beans?

[Urbane Guerrilla]

This side of the pond, we're calling stepping out for groceries an essential activity, not to be denied. Right up there with doctors' appointments.

I think I'd count 5 Cheese Mac&Cheese as my most gluttonous comfort food -- a little portion will do ya. No need for bacon of any sort, nor sausage.

[Carruthers]

In some respects I haven't noticed a great deal of difference from what passes as normal hereabouts.

It's not safe to leave Dad on his own for too long in case he has a fall so shopping trips tend to be few in number and short in duration much as the present situation demands.

My neighbour is working from home and his wife is a key worker in the NHS, so that leaves him with two teenaged lads and a dog to supervise.

We've been entertaining the dog for the last couple of weeks for a few hours a day which removes one complicating factor from their household and the dog does get a short walk.

He brings the hound to the top of our drive at which point it hurtles towards me thus we observe the social distancing rules.

Food isn't a problem but, in extremis, we might have to open a can of John West Skippers (sardines) which has been languishing in storage since I don't know when.

One clue might be that the price is stamped on the outer carton in pre decimal currency so that dates it to before February 1971!

[Griff]

Nice vintage! Great year for sardines '71

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by Griff

Nice vintage! Great year for sardines '71

I am concerned that they may have corked!

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

I am concerned that they may have corked!

1971?!

I am concerned that you may be carked!

[fargon]

What Bruce said.
I get out of the house everyday, even if just to get coffee from the drive thru. There are things that I want to do, like have breakfast at the Family Restarant but we can't do that right now.
What would the Quarantine look like with out the internet? That would suck.

[glatt]

In the late afternoon, I go out for a walk in the neighborhood. The neighborhood streets are teeming with kids riding their bikes, playing with sidewalk chalk, adults walking and jogging around, dog walkers, etc.

Normally, kids are completely scheduled. They have virtually no free time. The go from school, to afters-chool activities or sports and then have homework. You rarely see kids outside in the neighborhood. It is very heartwarming to see so many kids playing outside and riding their bikes. It's like a throwback to what I remember from my childhood.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Originally Posted by glatt

In the late afternoon, I go out for a walk in the neighborhood. The neighborhood streets are teeming with kids riding their bikes, playing with sidewalk chalk, adults walking and jogging around, dog walkers, etc.

Normally, kids are completely scheduled. They have virtually no free time. The go from school, to afters-chool activities or sports and then have homework.

We saw the beginnings of this trend in the 1980's and it was fully going in the 90's. Increasing numbers of these podgy little kids everywhere living on McNuggets and video games -- and kept indoors.

We took a wrong turn there. Better if childhood were looser. And energetic.