The Advice Column

[charliechaplinfan]

Thankyou.

Lara has had her Christmas Eve shampoo and blow dry, courtesy of Chris and I, she's still got to have a deodorising spray, she hates that. My mother will not be able to smell anything but sweetness.

[JackFavell]

You are a better man than I am, I haven't given lily a bath for a while, she hates it so. Have a merry Christmas, I hope all goes well.

[youtube][/youtube]

[knitwit45]

What movie is this from? I love it,would like to see the whole thing..

[JackFavell]

This is a version of A Child's Christmas in Wales, from 1987, starring Denholm Elliott. It's my very favorite Christmastime show, it's just beautiful and also very funny. I ended up getting the dvd a few years ago, after I wore out my VHS tape.. they don't show it too much anymore on TV, and it's hard to find on dvd, but so worthwhile. Pick it up if you find a cheap copy, it's getting rare.

[CineMaven]

Alison, I'm going to go to a restaurant here in Brooklyn that claims to have authentic English cooking. So I ask you, as a member of the British commonwealth...what actually is a "typical" English breakfast...or English lunch, that the English eat? What should I look for on their menu? Thanx! ( P.S. Here's to sweet-smelling Lara and your Mum getting along during Christmas. Uh boy...I can't wait to hear the tale!! )

[charliechaplinfan]

I have porridge for breakfast but a full english as they call it is bacon, sausages, eggs, tomoatoes, mushrooms and bread all fried. I hate it but it's very popular. I don't think there is a signature lunch or dinner unless it's fish and chips but high on my reportoire of classic dishes are casseroles, hot pots, shepherd's pie, roast chicken, roast beef, lamb etc, potatoes either roasted, jackets or mash. Vegetables for years overdone and on any Britsh menu chips, chips and more chips.

Mum and Lara got on quite well, Lara was really well behaved considering the mayhem of presents and wrapping paper and food being dished out. She'd never heard of Santa but she enjoyed her presents, that's Lara not my mother.

[movieman1957]

The oddest thing, well one of them, I've heard on the English menu is "beans on toast." I think I saw a movie where they ordered it for breakfast. Then I saw it more often. It sounds like it was something that came out of the war.

[CineMaven]

Thanxx for the tip Alison.

[charliechaplinfan]

Lasangna and chips, a pub lunch staple or the more adventurous of us might try garlic bread instead.

Beans on toast, a staple quick meal, I don't even know if you can get canned baked beans in the US. It's probably going to one of the number one products that would get shipped out to ex pats I think it's a very British thing. Basically it's baked haricot beans in tomato sauce in a tin, that can be easily heated through in a saucepan in the anmount of time it takes to make toast.

[Rita Hayworth]

I do that too ... What I do for a quick meal (I precooked Bacon, cut them up in bits) ... take big can of Boston Baked Beans warmed up and throw in 4-6 pieces of precooked bacon and put in two sliced of whole wheat bread for a quick meal that takes me less than 5 minutes to do. I usually have this for lunch on the weekend and have a light dinner/supper later on. I often have this with coleslaw for a good easy to fix meal. I can heat this up, eat it, clean up the mess in the kitchen in all in 20 minutes or less.

[RedRiver]

People in Dick Francis mysteries are always eating meat pies. Don't they ever get tired of those things?

[JackFavell]

No meat and pie crust is a very insidious thing... I can't think of anything better.

[charliechaplinfan]

I love meat pies, I don't get enough of them.

Beans on toast is such a quick meal for the kids too and they always eat it all up.

[JackFavell]

Alice hates beans! Weird kid.