Thanks, Rosy! Tasmania looks so beautiful - I had a lovely time checking out websites about it - and yes, Knots in the String is always a super read! x
Such fun. Another freezing night down here, another scorching day over there. I love popping into a Banjos when I visit Tasmania. And yes, we drive a long way for supplies in Australia. Unless you live in a city of course. Like Prue, I’d much rather enjoy the rural life. Hugs my dear. 🤗🤗💕
Thanks, Beth! Sending warmth your way! Looking at Tasmania has reminded me of just how vast Australia is - UK is soooo tiny in comparison (and Tasmania itself is a similarish size to Scotland!).
There's always a bit of a compromise when it comes to rural versus urban living - I'm fortunate in that although we're rural here where I live in southeast England, we're nevertheless in the most densely-populated corner of the country, so we don't lose in terms of shopping convenience. The nearest town is a short drive away, and the nearest city is just under 20 miles away (just over 31km).
Oh my gosh, our little island, the pimple on the a**e of the world, is famous!
I’m biased of course, Rebecca, but I loved the way you drew this list out and wound your village and ours (in another hemisphere) together.
I also must add that I’d line up for the Scotch Eggs. Yummo!
And yes, most likely our intrepid Tassie shopper would have had a coffee, tea or hot chocolate (with marshmallows) at Banjo’s and probably some rather overly sweet pastry or cake.
PS: I really think I have to print this post off and keep it for posterity!!!
Prue, your 'pimple' - 🤣🤣🤣 - is delightful - I've been having a lovely 'remote' holiday over the last few days immersing myself in Tasmanian tourism websites!
Oooooooh, hot chocolate with marshmallows! Whipped cream too, yes? Bit of a warm choice for up here right now, although it's actually cooler this weekend than I'd been led to believe (for which I'm very glad)!
I'm ever so grateful to you for sending me the list - it's been such fun to explore. I've actually got a small collection of lists still awaiting my attention - there's a lovely one from Texas which I'm going to have a look at soon. I'm really pleased you've enjoyed my post about this one! xxx
I am from the opposite end of Tasmania. I really really really hope in some miraculous way the writer of the list reads this post and replies to answer your thoughts.
I wonder if cereal was added later by another household member? Explaining the subtle differences in the script. A younger hopeful family member perhaps?
Ooooh Kate, wouldn't it be amazing to meet the writer of the list?! I hadn't even thought of that - but gosh, yes, two sides to the story!
I read a lovely news story recently about a letter in a bottle which had been dropped into the sea by a schoolgirl in Scotland many years ago. The recent finder - a young environmental volunteer working on an island in northern Norway! - wrote to her to answer the questions in her letter. Absolutely gorgeous. The story's here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgmwgeykr8xo
Jim too had wondered whether 'cereal' had been written by someone else. You could both well be right! If it were a younger family member hoping for a more exciting type of cereal than just very non-specific 'cereal', I suspect they would have written 'Coco Pops' or 'Honey Nut Cornflakes'! I did think about the very generic word choice, and thought that either the household likes to only eat one kind of cereal and they know exactly which so don't need to specify, or - more excitingly - that they live life on the edge and pick a different one at random on every shopping visit!
Thank you for the humor this morning. I had started to doom scroll but my daughter and I made a pact to “no doomscrolling in bed!” Thankfully your email popped in just as I deleted a “doomed” post.
I actually had to stop and think about how I write my own “O’s”. I couldn’t just do an air O with my dominant right handed forefinger, no, I had to write with that finger on my left hand. And like with trying to figure out which letter comes before or after in the alphabet, I started with writing a capital “L” first. Then “M”, “N”, and ah! I write my O’s widdershins!
This was a fun read. I love your “lost lists” posts. 🫶🏻
Ha! Oh Gail, I'm so thrilled that I have been identified as an opposing force to the dreaded doom scroll - this has made my day! Thank you so much. ❤️
LOL 'widdershins' - what a lovely word! I'm going to be using it as much as I can - and am even wishing I could edit my poll to read 'widdershins' instead of anticlockwise! Ha!
Like you I wasn't immediately sure which way I write the letter -o and had to experiment. Clockwise feels really strange in comparison! x
Perfect read for a summery Saturday morning with my fav coffee. Great post, Rebecca, and hooray for Prue for providing the list and answers to questions! We're watching the new season of "Lost" where the castaways are on Tasmania. I think they would love to stumble upon a small village store!
Oh how lovely, thanks, Mary! Hope you're keeping cool in the Austin summer heat - I wonder if your coffee is iced, or whether you were enjoying it before the sun was too high for a hot drink to be your first choice.
I'm reading these lovely comments on Sunday morning over my second cup of tea. The very hot weather has slowed down its arrival - the heatwave warning is now in place for Tuesday, so I'm making the most of the cool before it arrives.
I've never seen 'Lost', but perhaps I need to check out the latest season! Tasmania looks absolutely gorgeous - I enjoyed soaking up the scenery online while I was working on this post!
Thanks, Rebecca, and we’re keeping cool! The mornings have been 20+ degrees cooler than the late afternoons, so hot coffee is still my first choice (my Jim makes the best coffee), windows open until late morning. Yikes that you have a heatwave warning! How do you and your Jim manage it? Do you have central AC? And we’re huge fans of Lost, the American version more than the Australian version, but this year the Australian version hooked me because of where they are and the contestants. My Jim isn’t keen on the Aussie episodes, so I’ll watch independently and fill him in on key points. Some of what they eat is so foreign to us and we think we would never try some of it regardless of how hungry we might be!
I just adore the way you take found objects microscopically apart and give them a full life. I also love your selection of photos today - that bright orange truck! Those Scotch eggs! (How could I have spent months in Scotland and never discovered Scotch eggs??) I suppose in your small village, there is not much need of a forensics scientist, but you would be a natural at the specialty. Thanks Rebecca.
Awww, thank you, Sharron! List posts are such fun to do - you'll let me know, won't you, if you ever find a discarded one in Santa Cruz?
And you've made me think about why a Scotch egg is called a Scotch egg, because I don't think I've come across them in Scotland.... hang on, I'll ask the internet.... oh, that's interesting: there's no single answer, but lots of them! Take your pick of these:
Turns out they're not actually Scottish, but to 'scotch' meat is to mince it - and I guess sausagemeat is minced. A Mr Scott once served eggs wrapped in sausagemeat, so they were called 'Scotch'.... and there's another load of stuff about fish paste and anchovies having an influence on the name - firstly, I've no idea how they would have an influence, and second, I've come across neither ingredient in any Scotch egg I've ever come across, but ho hum. Am taking everything Google has said on the matter with a pinch of salt!
I wonder if it's 'scotch egg' rather than 'Scotch egg'? Maybe. I've come across variations - one which WAS very Scottish-themed, in that they were coated in a sausagement and haggis mixture - and I've also enjoyed black pudding Scotch eggs and pork-and-apple ones. Here at the Village Stores, though, they sell the more typical kind. Jim likes his with a big spoonful of Branston pickle.
Wow! Now .... I think I have all the ingredients here... let's find a recipe! You have made me hungry. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the research, Rebecca.
Scotch egg? Interesting photo of it. Doesn't look too much like hagg..... um, well, it looks delicious.
This was a fun exploration between your two countries and the differences due to the workings of our planet. Banjo leads me to believe that the great australian poet, Banjo Patterson has fans in Tasmania as well. Bravo for Banjo! Would the breads be modern version of rustic ranch-style loaves? And I wonder what kind of cereal this list maker likes. Granola for the yoghurt, perhaps. Can't imagine a preference for sugar bombs or wimpy farinas. Hmmmm. Food for thought!
Good thinking with granola being the intended cereal purchase, Sue! The list shows that a yummy breakfast is on the cards - I wonder if those oranges will be squeezed for juice? LOL with the haggis reference! I gather it's illegal to import haggis to the US due to certain ingredients - I wonder if that's still the case?
The stock image of the Scotch egg isn't quite the same as the ones we get locally, in which the eggs are hardboiled, not soft-boiled. I've sometimes had a Scotch egg as a starter in a restaurant, and that was made fresh and served hot, with its yolk still oozy - so it looked rather like the picture I'd found to use here. I'll try to remember to take a picture of today's lunchtime treat and add it to the post - it'll look a bit different.
I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't heard of Banjo Paterson, and had assumed that the bakery's name was from a musical reference. I've just had a look on Wikipedia, and under 'Legacy' for Banjo Paterson there's no mention of his name being given to Banjo's - but it doesn't say that it wasn't! It's not named after the founder, either - his name isn't Banjo - although of course it might be his nickname. 🤔
Just googled about happis importation and learned the following:
"The ban is based on concerns about potential contamination of the lung with stomach acid or phlegm during the slaughter process, according to some sources.
"Despite the ban, haggis is available in the US. Companies like Scottish Gourmet USA and Ackroyd's Scottish Bakery produce haggis domestically, often using lamb heart, liver, and other ingredients to replicate the flavor profile of traditional haggis without the lung."
I've never had the pleasure of eating haggis (ahem), but now I know how to get it. The fact that the USDA is concerned about the quality of over-seas food imports is hysterical seeing as how our food processors take perfectly good ingredients from the farms and ranches and turn them into sugar bombs and fatty patties of godknowswhatelse. YUCK!
The first time I heard Banjo Patterson's poetry was through the beautiful movie, "Man From Snowy River." Portions of his poem about the master horseman and the legend itself were incorporated into the dialogue. The movie stars Tom Berenson and Kirk Douglas.
I studied graphology many moons ago, and in my non-expert opinion I would say that only one person has written this note. The 'e's and the 'a's are all the same, as are most of the 'o'. Also, although looking at a photo is inconclusive, the pressure exerted by the writer seems to be the same thoughout. |Your approach to all this is very interesting -- and on my writing course you insisted that you couldn't write fiction!
Squee! I'm having so much fun knowing that the two of you made this happen together! Rebecca, I'm seeing a book of essays around your found grocery lists. The character development will be delightful!
Thank you for all the creative thinking and research you did for this one and for prompting us to think so far beyond the words on that tiny slip of daily life.
What an interesting post, Rebecca. I also enjoy Prue Batten’s Knots in the String! I think she’s brilliant and thanks for the insight into Tasmania.
Thanks, Rosy! Tasmania looks so beautiful - I had a lovely time checking out websites about it - and yes, Knots in the String is always a super read! x
Such fun. Another freezing night down here, another scorching day over there. I love popping into a Banjos when I visit Tasmania. And yes, we drive a long way for supplies in Australia. Unless you live in a city of course. Like Prue, I’d much rather enjoy the rural life. Hugs my dear. 🤗🤗💕
Thanks, Beth! Sending warmth your way! Looking at Tasmania has reminded me of just how vast Australia is - UK is soooo tiny in comparison (and Tasmania itself is a similarish size to Scotland!).
There's always a bit of a compromise when it comes to rural versus urban living - I'm fortunate in that although we're rural here where I live in southeast England, we're nevertheless in the most densely-populated corner of the country, so we don't lose in terms of shopping convenience. The nearest town is a short drive away, and the nearest city is just under 20 miles away (just over 31km).
Oh my gosh, our little island, the pimple on the a**e of the world, is famous!
I’m biased of course, Rebecca, but I loved the way you drew this list out and wound your village and ours (in another hemisphere) together.
I also must add that I’d line up for the Scotch Eggs. Yummo!
And yes, most likely our intrepid Tassie shopper would have had a coffee, tea or hot chocolate (with marshmallows) at Banjo’s and probably some rather overly sweet pastry or cake.
PS: I really think I have to print this post off and keep it for posterity!!!
Thanks for sharing the list Prue, I really enjoyed reading this.
Prue, your 'pimple' - 🤣🤣🤣 - is delightful - I've been having a lovely 'remote' holiday over the last few days immersing myself in Tasmanian tourism websites!
Oooooooh, hot chocolate with marshmallows! Whipped cream too, yes? Bit of a warm choice for up here right now, although it's actually cooler this weekend than I'd been led to believe (for which I'm very glad)!
I'm ever so grateful to you for sending me the list - it's been such fun to explore. I've actually got a small collection of lists still awaiting my attention - there's a lovely one from Texas which I'm going to have a look at soon. I'm really pleased you've enjoyed my post about this one! xxx
I loved this. Thank you and thank you Prue.
I am from the opposite end of Tasmania. I really really really hope in some miraculous way the writer of the list reads this post and replies to answer your thoughts.
I wonder if cereal was added later by another household member? Explaining the subtle differences in the script. A younger hopeful family member perhaps?
Ooooh Kate, wouldn't it be amazing to meet the writer of the list?! I hadn't even thought of that - but gosh, yes, two sides to the story!
I read a lovely news story recently about a letter in a bottle which had been dropped into the sea by a schoolgirl in Scotland many years ago. The recent finder - a young environmental volunteer working on an island in northern Norway! - wrote to her to answer the questions in her letter. Absolutely gorgeous. The story's here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgmwgeykr8xo
Jim too had wondered whether 'cereal' had been written by someone else. You could both well be right! If it were a younger family member hoping for a more exciting type of cereal than just very non-specific 'cereal', I suspect they would have written 'Coco Pops' or 'Honey Nut Cornflakes'! I did think about the very generic word choice, and thought that either the household likes to only eat one kind of cereal and they know exactly which so don't need to specify, or - more excitingly - that they live life on the edge and pick a different one at random on every shopping visit!
Thank you for the humor this morning. I had started to doom scroll but my daughter and I made a pact to “no doomscrolling in bed!” Thankfully your email popped in just as I deleted a “doomed” post.
I actually had to stop and think about how I write my own “O’s”. I couldn’t just do an air O with my dominant right handed forefinger, no, I had to write with that finger on my left hand. And like with trying to figure out which letter comes before or after in the alphabet, I started with writing a capital “L” first. Then “M”, “N”, and ah! I write my O’s widdershins!
This was a fun read. I love your “lost lists” posts. 🫶🏻
Ha! Oh Gail, I'm so thrilled that I have been identified as an opposing force to the dreaded doom scroll - this has made my day! Thank you so much. ❤️
LOL 'widdershins' - what a lovely word! I'm going to be using it as much as I can - and am even wishing I could edit my poll to read 'widdershins' instead of anticlockwise! Ha!
Like you I wasn't immediately sure which way I write the letter -o and had to experiment. Clockwise feels really strange in comparison! x
Perfect read for a summery Saturday morning with my fav coffee. Great post, Rebecca, and hooray for Prue for providing the list and answers to questions! We're watching the new season of "Lost" where the castaways are on Tasmania. I think they would love to stumble upon a small village store!
Oh how lovely, thanks, Mary! Hope you're keeping cool in the Austin summer heat - I wonder if your coffee is iced, or whether you were enjoying it before the sun was too high for a hot drink to be your first choice.
I'm reading these lovely comments on Sunday morning over my second cup of tea. The very hot weather has slowed down its arrival - the heatwave warning is now in place for Tuesday, so I'm making the most of the cool before it arrives.
I've never seen 'Lost', but perhaps I need to check out the latest season! Tasmania looks absolutely gorgeous - I enjoyed soaking up the scenery online while I was working on this post!
Thanks, Rebecca, and we’re keeping cool! The mornings have been 20+ degrees cooler than the late afternoons, so hot coffee is still my first choice (my Jim makes the best coffee), windows open until late morning. Yikes that you have a heatwave warning! How do you and your Jim manage it? Do you have central AC? And we’re huge fans of Lost, the American version more than the Australian version, but this year the Australian version hooked me because of where they are and the contestants. My Jim isn’t keen on the Aussie episodes, so I’ll watch independently and fill him in on key points. Some of what they eat is so foreign to us and we think we would never try some of it regardless of how hungry we might be!
I just adore the way you take found objects microscopically apart and give them a full life. I also love your selection of photos today - that bright orange truck! Those Scotch eggs! (How could I have spent months in Scotland and never discovered Scotch eggs??) I suppose in your small village, there is not much need of a forensics scientist, but you would be a natural at the specialty. Thanks Rebecca.
Awww, thank you, Sharron! List posts are such fun to do - you'll let me know, won't you, if you ever find a discarded one in Santa Cruz?
And you've made me think about why a Scotch egg is called a Scotch egg, because I don't think I've come across them in Scotland.... hang on, I'll ask the internet.... oh, that's interesting: there's no single answer, but lots of them! Take your pick of these:
Turns out they're not actually Scottish, but to 'scotch' meat is to mince it - and I guess sausagemeat is minced. A Mr Scott once served eggs wrapped in sausagemeat, so they were called 'Scotch'.... and there's another load of stuff about fish paste and anchovies having an influence on the name - firstly, I've no idea how they would have an influence, and second, I've come across neither ingredient in any Scotch egg I've ever come across, but ho hum. Am taking everything Google has said on the matter with a pinch of salt!
I wonder if it's 'scotch egg' rather than 'Scotch egg'? Maybe. I've come across variations - one which WAS very Scottish-themed, in that they were coated in a sausagement and haggis mixture - and I've also enjoyed black pudding Scotch eggs and pork-and-apple ones. Here at the Village Stores, though, they sell the more typical kind. Jim likes his with a big spoonful of Branston pickle.
Wow! Now .... I think I have all the ingredients here... let's find a recipe! You have made me hungry. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the research, Rebecca.
Scotch egg? Interesting photo of it. Doesn't look too much like hagg..... um, well, it looks delicious.
This was a fun exploration between your two countries and the differences due to the workings of our planet. Banjo leads me to believe that the great australian poet, Banjo Patterson has fans in Tasmania as well. Bravo for Banjo! Would the breads be modern version of rustic ranch-style loaves? And I wonder what kind of cereal this list maker likes. Granola for the yoghurt, perhaps. Can't imagine a preference for sugar bombs or wimpy farinas. Hmmmm. Food for thought!
Good thinking with granola being the intended cereal purchase, Sue! The list shows that a yummy breakfast is on the cards - I wonder if those oranges will be squeezed for juice? LOL with the haggis reference! I gather it's illegal to import haggis to the US due to certain ingredients - I wonder if that's still the case?
The stock image of the Scotch egg isn't quite the same as the ones we get locally, in which the eggs are hardboiled, not soft-boiled. I've sometimes had a Scotch egg as a starter in a restaurant, and that was made fresh and served hot, with its yolk still oozy - so it looked rather like the picture I'd found to use here. I'll try to remember to take a picture of today's lunchtime treat and add it to the post - it'll look a bit different.
I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't heard of Banjo Paterson, and had assumed that the bakery's name was from a musical reference. I've just had a look on Wikipedia, and under 'Legacy' for Banjo Paterson there's no mention of his name being given to Banjo's - but it doesn't say that it wasn't! It's not named after the founder, either - his name isn't Banjo - although of course it might be his nickname. 🤔
Just googled about happis importation and learned the following:
"The ban is based on concerns about potential contamination of the lung with stomach acid or phlegm during the slaughter process, according to some sources.
"Despite the ban, haggis is available in the US. Companies like Scottish Gourmet USA and Ackroyd's Scottish Bakery produce haggis domestically, often using lamb heart, liver, and other ingredients to replicate the flavor profile of traditional haggis without the lung."
I've never had the pleasure of eating haggis (ahem), but now I know how to get it. The fact that the USDA is concerned about the quality of over-seas food imports is hysterical seeing as how our food processors take perfectly good ingredients from the farms and ranches and turn them into sugar bombs and fatty patties of godknowswhatelse. YUCK!
The first time I heard Banjo Patterson's poetry was through the beautiful movie, "Man From Snowy River." Portions of his poem about the master horseman and the legend itself were incorporated into the dialogue. The movie stars Tom Berenson and Kirk Douglas.
Excellent imagined round-up of some of my favourite things - and people!
I originally found you through Prue's lovely and always intriguing Substack after all :)
Well done, Rebecca xo
I studied graphology many moons ago, and in my non-expert opinion I would say that only one person has written this note. The 'e's and the 'a's are all the same, as are most of the 'o'. Also, although looking at a photo is inconclusive, the pressure exerted by the writer seems to be the same thoughout. |Your approach to all this is very interesting -- and on my writing course you insisted that you couldn't write fiction!
Squee! I'm having so much fun knowing that the two of you made this happen together! Rebecca, I'm seeing a book of essays around your found grocery lists. The character development will be delightful!
Thank you for all the creative thinking and research you did for this one and for prompting us to think so far beyond the words on that tiny slip of daily life.