HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Stanley]

Haven't done mine yet. I put a bowl in with some water in and boil it first.

[Wendyf]

I do that too, with some lemon juice in it to get rid of any smells.

[Marilyn]

I was standing in the supermarket queue yesterday, when the man in front of me got a bit chatty ( don't know if he was trying to chat me up!). Anyway, he gave me a tip about storing fruit and veg in the fridge. I haven't tried it but he seemed convinced it kept things fresh for longer, so I shall pass it on...
" when your cereal box is empty, keep the inner bag. Store your veg in these bags, within fridge or veg crisper. There is something about these cereal bags that extends the life of fruit and veg."
O there you go. He didn't get a date out of it, but I promised to try it...

[Stanley]

Lemon juice is a good idea and I have some ready pressed.....
Strange men in queues.... Hmmmm.

[Wendyf]

Obviously a man with shares in Kelloggs!

[Marilyn]

We were thousands of kilometres from home and hubby was sat in the rental car outside the supermarket, fiddling with the Satnav.
I had just ducked in for some salad veg for tea. Maybe the sight of my windswept self, holding a cucumber, tomatoes, red capsicum and lettuce, made me look as though I needed to hear about the cereal bag thing. I had a quick glance at what he was buying and guessed he was a bachelor!

[Marilyn]

He also told me where I could see baby turtles crossing the road.
Hey Wendy! Maybe he was a "Cereal Killer" trying to lure me to a remote spot!
( Australia is famous for Serial Killers. My veg and I could have ended up rotting together in a ditch somewhere)

[Wendyf]

Not if you were packed in cereal bags, you would keep nice and fresh!

[Tizer]

He also told me where I could see baby turtles crossing the road.

You should have replied: "Thanks, but I'm OK for meat."

[Stanley]

Occasionally this site veers into the Twilight Zone........

[Whyperion]

Never knew for storing fruit (apples and similar) , wrap individually with semi-glossy magazine paper, helps reduce spore and other disease spread rather than storing them next to each other. (on the telly yesterday morning so probably well-known, but not to me)

[Stanley]

I remember there being a debate about printed matter when used newspapers were banned for wrapping fish and chips. I suppose that it was the use that contaminated them but a midwife once told me that the most sterile thing in almost any house was fresh newsprint because of the properties of the ink. They were trained to use this during birth.

[Cathy]

Is it true that newspaper ink never dries?
I normally keep an old newspaper for wrapping up bits and pieces and the print still leaves smudges on my fingers.

[Stanley]

I wouldn't say 'never' but it certainly smudges for quite a long time after being printed. They get away with it because the paper is absorbent.

[Tizer]

Most newspaper ink used to be based on petroleum solvent but now uses soybean oil together with additives which can include waxes. So the rubbing off is not because the ink `isn't dry' in the sense of free of water but is due to the oil and wax.

[Stanley]

Always have an old petrol Zippo about! If a gas lighter fails, as they always do, just fill the Zippo and away you go. They never let you down.

[PanBiker]

I still have mine, It's a brushed steel version with a Jack Daniels motif. I ritually placed it back in it's box the day a gave up smoking.

[Stanley]

Keep a can of lighter fuel and some flints in stock Ian. You never know when you'll need it.
A repeat of an earlier tip and this is triggered by the news from Salzburg. The Rees-Moggs of this world who shop at Harrods tell us that there is no need to worry about the availability of food and common items in the immediate post-Brexit era when supply chains are disrupted. Ignore them and make sure you have reasonable stocks, we could see some funny shortages.... Better safe than sorry. The 'Just Eat' generation is in for a shock I'm afraid.

[Stanley]

When I was a lad this was drilled into us and I have never forgotten it. I always practice it. Problem is that a speeding idiot in the rain who isn't looking can negate it!

[chinatyke]

The girl in the white dress is saying "Just wait 'til I get this bogey out and you can have it, Connie."

[Stanley]

Trust you........

[Tizer]

I'm surprised the safety image showed them standing in the road! But cars weren't going so fast in those days. As we walked back from the surgery after the flu jab we stopped at the pelican crossing. There was only one car coming, doing about 50mph although it's a 30 zone and very busy with pedestrians. If the red light had come on he wouldn't have been able to stop.

[Stanley]

Traffic was slower Tiz and nowhere near as heavy. The bloke yesterday was doing well over 30 on a right hand bend and in heavy rain. It was drivers like that who decided me to chuck in the driving licence and the car. You can be the best pedestrian/driver there is and still be vulnerable.

[Stanley]

I've finished the single origin coffee I bought as an experiment. Good coffee but I needed 50% more to get my preferred brew and this made it too expensive. I am back on my Machu Pichu organic fair trade..... The tip is if you find something good stick to it until you get good evidence to the contrary.
The nicest coffee I ever tasted was in the café of a wholefood store in Oz, I have never forgotten it.

[Stanley]

How good it feels to be up in good time and well abreast of a busy schedule. I often think this is the best recipe for a happy life in retirement and is perhaps also a good defence against some of the ills of old age. I recommend it to all of you. (How long would I last if I sat on the sofa all day watching day time TV.....?)