Flaming June!

 Any excuse for this great picture! Let's end the month with some positive things, which celebrate the joys of summer. 

There has been enough sadness - global and local - and at some moments I have found the heat almost unbearable.

But there has been time to sew, and time with family, time to share good food, time to just be and to enjoy the beauty of my surroundings. 

And to thank the Lord for his many blessings and unfailing love...

Time for Jean's delicious recipe for chicken, lemon and thyme kebabs. That's her photo by the way. So fresh and light and summery - and I had all the ingredients in the fridge, freezer and garden too.

Time to harvest my lovely beans - some we had at lunchtime, and the rest I have blanched and frozen for future days

Time to ride into Dereham on my bike. I've put the basket back on the front - and woven the stems of silk flowers through the wicker. This lot cost me a fiver on Sheringham Market last week - but they really make me feel cheerful.

What super, summery things have you done this month?

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

Well, not really. You see we have a couple of folding chairs we use in the garden, and the seat on one of them is beginning to come apart...I was afraid if Bob a larger person sat on it, it would rip and they would be stuck in the frame.

I had some strong cotton in the Great Stash. It was a small amount leftover from some caravan cushions I'd made in Dorset. Recently I'd cut a narrow strip from each edge in order to make striped straps for Kezzie's cosplay dungarees.  

If I could dismantle the chair it would be easy to make a new seat. But that did not look possible. I worked out that if I made a loop of fabric, I could manage to put it round the folded chair, lay the chair on the table, and sew the joining seam.

It was a bit of a performance working with a folded chair laying across the dining table. But it worked. I did a row of hand stitching back and front to stop the loop moving. And I did both chairs, just in case the other one started to fail. And I kept the original black seat in place as an extra strengthener.

A very satisfactory refurbishment of our £10 bargain seats. All ticking used up now!

Feet First!

We had a quick trip round a nearby Village Yard Sale on Saturday morning. I didn't really have anything on my list [apart from a bacon roll at the Village Hall] and Bob was - as ever- on the lookout for tools. It was here six years ago that we got the high chair which has proved so useful ever since. There were quite a few "pink plastic"pitches - ones where young families are clearly getting rid of children's books, toys, clothes etc - and things are either pink plastic or festooned with unicorns or dinosaurs. Suddenly something bright green caught my eye

A Clarks toddler foot gauge. I'd been talking to my good friend Amanda about these only last month. She runs the Little Acorns Toddler Group at church. The group has some 'baby scales' - with fewer baby clinics around, the mums in the village really appreciate being able to weigh their children. 

Amanda said the Mums had been talking about the hassle of getting children's feet measured. And if you do get them measured, you feel obliged to buy the shoes in that shop. A Clarks foot gauge would be useful. I said that I knew Liz had bought one on line [I think many Mums did this during the pandemic] They are about £15 [inc postage] But this was was only TWO POUNDS. I bought it immediately, and sent Amanda a message. When I got home, I cleaned it, and found that you can print off the instructions from the Clarks Website. It is a very clever system. I took the gauge to church on Sunday.

At the very end of the village, Bob saw a workshop stool. It was good quality, sturdy, and comfortable for his height, with a proper backrest. 

The seller was a really affable chap.He quoted a price, and we said we'd think about it. We went back to the Hall for a cup of tea. I suggested to Bob he should offer the guy a slightly lower price. Then the man himself came in. He chatted to the teamakers at the hatch, and explained his wife had returned so he was 'off duty' for a bit. Bob made an offer, and the guy replied "I was going to say to you that you could have it for that price - I'd rather it went to someone who is really going to make use of it"

When we got home, I discovered it is a Dauphin workshop stool, made by a top German company.  The only problem - the legs are tubular metal - but had neither castors, nor rubber ferrules on the bottom. Bob had a look through his workshop stash, and found some assorted washing-machine-transit-bolts. This are plastic tubes which screw onto the machine, and have rubber ends. But we won't be moving our machine. So he took a hacksaw to them, and stuck the rubber ends them in place with a hot glue gun. Brilliant - job done, creative recycling at its best,

We had some young visitors this week - they stayed with us while their Mum went to visit Gran [our neighbour] in the hospital. The 10 year old boy looked into Bob's workshop and said "Wow! All those tools. What's your job? Are you an...inventor...?" I explained that Bob is retired, and he's a sort of engineer who makes and repairs things. But he was clearly very impressed.

Earlier, Bob had been demonstrating his Mamod Steam Tractor. I think possibly this sweet child thinks my husband is somehow connected with Caractacus Potts from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

 

Just A Mo!

 I said last week that the Museum in Sheringham was worth visiting,  despite the disappointment of the Scott/Shackleton exhibit. Here are some of the highlights of the trip

This didn't quite work! I attempted to take a series of shots in the viewing tower to show the 360° panorama. But believe me, it is a fabulous experience, to see the horizon across the sea, and then the land behind you, under a wide Norfolk sky.

For centuries, Sheringham has been home to enthusiastic knitters. Around the museum are  knitted fish hanging from hooks, and baskets of knitted crustaceans. There is an amazing display of miniature fishermen's "Ganseys". And a scarf. The label by the photograph says "Every member of the J C Madge lifeboat crew was presented with a hand-knitted scarf. Crew seen here with an unknown lady knitter" Poor woman - all that work and nobody thought to note down her name!

The women who knitted the ganseys had a particular stitch pattern for each fisherman. Then if a man was washed overboard and drowned, he could be identified by personalised gansey. The team working on the Northfolk project have recreated these in an amazing display [more info here]

I did like the display of nautical flags, and arranged four flags in a favourite word

In WW2, there was a Y station just outside the town , which communicated with Station X [Bletchley Park] The name came from Wireless Intercept  or WI . The museum had a scale model of the radio tower and some pieces of WW2 equipment.

There were lifeboats old and new. And finally John Craske

This guy was a fisherman, originally from Sheringham. But when he was 24, his family moved to Dereham to run a fish shop, and a fresh fish delivery business. Young John even brought fish out to Swanton Morley. Every Sunday he sang hymns in Dereham Market Place, and here he met his wife Laura. But he was dogged by ill health, and had to stop work. He took up painting and embroidery, and produced wonderful stitched pieces depicting the sea, the boats and the norfolk countryside, as well as wonderful paintings. He earned a lot of money selling these artworks, and they became particularly popular in the USA. When he died, aged 62, in 1943, he was buried in Dereham Cemetery. Obviously finding out more about a  gifted guy from Dereham who loved hymns and embroidery was something that I really appreciated!  One final thing that amused me

The plaque reads ֍֍֍֍֍ Urban District Council. There is a public right of way over the whole of the  promenade. Agreed passage over the portion belonging to the Admiralty secured by agreement. Edgar C Rolf. Clerk Of The Court. September 1905 

This plaque was put up on the  Fishermen's Slipway, but nine years later, at the start of WW1, fearing an invasion, the word Sheringham was scratched out! When the coastal defences were renewed almost a century later, one of the engineers saved the plaque.

Did they really think the Germans would not be able to work out where they were? 

The Mo was fun, there were lots of books I would have liked to buy in the gift shop, and some very neat embroidery kits. I would recommend it for a visit - lots for all ages, about many aspects of the town's history [I haven't even mentioned the prehistory stuff and the dinosaurs and fossils...]

But I would agree with Sue's comment last week - the layout is quite labyrinthine, and it is easy to turn a corner, and get lost, or miss one of the exhibits. Good value for money, as these things go, with items to interest all ages from toddlers to grannies!

Cool Babies

 Spencer 1991

Jacob 2023

I'm too hot to write a longer post today!

Morning, Noon, And Night

By the west door of Norwich Cathedral is a statue of a woman holding a book. It was carved by the gifted sculptor David Holgate. It depicts St Julian of Norwich, and the book in her hand is "Revelations of Divine Love" - this is the first known book written in English by a woman. It describes her "shewings" - the God- given visions she received in May 1373. This year there have been celebrations of her life and writing - a 650 year anniversary!

I have been intending to read up more about this lady - and then picked up a tiny book for 20p at a Car Boot Sale last month. Subtitled "30 days with a great spiritual teacher", the section for each day is divided into four;

1. My day begins - a passage from her writings to meditate upon
2. All through the day - one sentence to carry in your head and apply to your activities
3. My day is ending - a few questions, challenging you to see how what you read has been pertinent to your experience
4. Night prayer - another brief, and connected thought on the day's theme.

The title "All will be well" comes from what is probably Julian's most famous saying [see here]

OK, It is not my usual theological/devotional style, and I haven't properly got into the discipline of doing it studiously for a month yet. However, on some days I have dipped into the book and it has proved thought provoking and challenging. Even 6½ centuries later, her words resonate. For the 23rd of the month [Friday] the thought 'all through the day' was He has made his home and eternal dwelling within us. 

It has been another challenging week here in the Close - two elderly neighbours, back from hospital but struggling to adjust; one neighbour back into hospital again, after a number of difficult days and visits from paramedics; and one neighbour died, leaving behind a grieving widow.  Friday's Night Prayer felt particularly apposite 

Lord Jesus

I am honoured

to have you make my spirit your dwelling place

May my actions toward my neighbours

always mirror your love.

There are a lot of terrible things going on out there in the big wide world, right now. The comments on yesterday's post [thank you all] show that many of you are saddened by these things. I cannot do much about most of them - but I am called to love my neighbours, here in my small corner. 

For Those In Peril

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,
Who bidst the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea.

Stories about loss of life at sea have dominated the headlines over the past few days.

The 5 wealthy men who were on a mini sub, diving down to the wreck of the Titanic. Lost in the Atlantic

The 500+ desperate refugees looking for sanctuary. Lost in the Mediterranean

The young father, a British firefighter, swimming the English Channel alone to raise funds for charity. Lost in the Channel, just off the French Coast.

One man, wanting to do some good, wanting to help the British Heart Foundation. A man whose life's work had been fighting fires and saving lives. But his story was almost completely eclipsed by the others.

Five hundred people, wanting to have a fresh start and build new lives in a safe place. But it seems that many people didn't think they should have tried to do that. Our government wants to"Stop the Boats" 

Five men, wanting to go on the 'trip of a lifetime' and have a 'unique experience', just for the thrill of it - and millions of pounds have been spent trying to locate their mini-sub.

All such sad stories, many bereaved families - yet the media coverage of the three events has been so different. Talking about this on Thursday, I discovered that nobody else in the group I was with even knew about the man in the Channel- or that his name was Iain Hughes.

What a crazy world we live in. The rich get their names plastered over the headlines, but the anonymous poor, and the 'little man' go almost unnoticed, quickly forgotten.

Two links here, and here which may be of use to you

Cereal Number

Some of you will remember this ad from 1982 - it had such a catchy tune [I have a bizarre memory of singing it on a sunny afternoon with my dear friend Val in Gillingham, when Liz was a tiny baby] 

Back in those days I was eating a lot of bran flakes, pregnancy had played havoc with my digestive system, and I did not like 'All Bran' which I thought tasted like dry twigs. And I used the flakes to make a one-cup-loaf . These days I usually go for porridge in the winter, and a granola or crunchy granola type cereal in the summer. But I was in Sainsburys recently and spotted this - it was on a very good offer, almost 50% off. So I bought a box

This appeared to tick the boxes - high fibre, and  crunchiness. There was a lot of nutritional information, in eight different languages on the back of the box. Bottom line - 13% fibre, 21% sugar [All Bran original is 27% fibre, 18%sugar and Bran Flakes are 17% fibre, 14% sugar] So this is half the fibre of All Bran,and half as much sugar as Bran Flakes.

There was so much information and I found it hard to decipher the small print. However, Kelloggs are helpfully putting these new Navilens GO codes on their packets. These are the next thing to QR codes, and particularly useful for those with visual impairment - check out the RNIB website. It was proving to be a very educational breakfast. And the taste?

Well, it wasn't quite as golden as the picture on the packet. And the various shaped globes of aerated cereal had an interesting flavour. 

Bob declared that "It seems like Kelloggs put their cereal into a 3D printer to make a 'crunchy' product and this came out. It tastes quite 'worthy' - I do feel I am eating  the MDF of breakfast products"

I do not think I can give a better description - he summed it up beautifully. Worthy is the term we generally use for 'food that is probably healthy, and maybe doing us good, but we are not deriving any great pleasure from the experience of eating it' [see also dense wholemeal bread, well-boiled cabbage, unseasoned parsnip soup...]

Maybe others will like this product. But we didn't. I will eat it, because I am not going to waste food. But at regular price it comes in at 38p per serving [plus milk] so I won't be buying another box!

However I approve of the fancy new code and hope people find it helpful.

I do wish Kelloggs would bring back that cheery little advert though...

Great Scott ! *

"We should go out on Wednesday" said Bob. He's been rather busy lately, and we agreed a day pooling around in the sunshine would do us go. "Sheringham" I said. "Please can we go and see this?"

I thought it would be really good to find out a bit more about Scott and Shackleton while they were fresh in my mind... 

Sheringham Museum is housed in a building called "The Mo". Apparently years ago, there was an old house on this site called The Morag, and the nickname The Mo remained for the area long after the property was demolished. The guides were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

They told us that the museum houses 4 of the 6 lifeboats which have worked from the town lifeboat station [one is still in use - and I never discovered where the other is!]

This is lifeboat JCMadge, in service 1904-1936. We heard all about it, including the fact that Shackleton came to Sheringham and went out with the crew in order to learn to row large boats, in preparation for his trip to the Antarctic. "But there's more about that upstairs"  

So we climbed up to see. The museum has three floors, plus a fantastic 360' viewing tower. 

But the Scott/Shackleton exhibit was incredibly disappointing. Scott lived in the town for about a year in 1906, and joined the Golf Club. Shackleton was around in 1910 to practise rowing. There was a copy of the famous photo of Scott and team at the Pole, and his plaque from the Golf Club. There was a recreation of Shackleton in his Antarctic Hut. And that was about it. And two small info panels 

The hut was [imho] dreadful! The canned goods on the shelf looked so fake - as if someone had just mocked up some labels on the computer. And worse than that Ritz crackers? Not invented till 1934! 

It did feel as if they'd found a very tenuous link between these two men and the town and tried to make something out of nothing. There is a plaque on Martincross, the house where Shackleton stayed - but it only refers to Ralph Vaughan Williams who was there years later! 

It was the S&S ad which had attracted me to the Museum in the first place. 

However the rest of The Mo was really good and deserves a whole post of its own. Which I will do once I've sorted my pictures. 

* I always thought "Great Scott!" referred to our Antarctic guy, but actually it dates to the mid 1800s and General Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief of the American Army during the Civil War. 

But Me No Butts

 My two water butts were completely empty by Friday afternoon. I filled them to 50% with the hosepipe on Saturday, and Sunday night's rain raised the level to about 90%. [I much prefer to water the plants with a watering can, filled from the butt, rather than use the hosepipe] 

Crops are growing well, we are enjoying the mizuma salad leaves and perpetual spinach most days. The broad beans and shallots should be ready for harvesting shortly. I think I need to re-pot my greenhouse tomatoes into bigger pots. My herbs are doing well, and appearing in many dishes- mint, sage, chives, thyme, rosemary, basil and bay. Bob made some lovely iced tea the other day, adding mint sprigs. I've yet to make cucumber sandwiches withadded chopped mint [allegedly a favourite of our late Queen Elizabeth and served at Buck House Garden Parties] I am very pleased with the produce so far this year.

The word butt has loads of meanings

• the thick end of a branch
• an archery target [hence the archery area is called 'the butts]
• the thicker [hind end] of a leather animal skin
• the target of criticism or ridicule
• a push or blow, especially given with the head
• the stub or a cigar or cigarette
• a liquid measure equivalent to 126 US gallons
• a carpentry joint where two bits of wood adjoin without special shaping
• a person's buttocks
• and finally -a cask for containing wine or liquor [or water]

And it wasn't Shakespeare who coined the phrase...

Thank you for all the comments yesterday. 😥. Like so many of you I'm really saddened by the state of our nation. I had one long comment from Anon, explaining that the Govt were lying about the seriousness of covid, and knew there was no risk in partying. Having personal experience of family and friends dying, or still suffering, I chose not to publish that comment. 

The Rules Were There For A Reason...

December 2020 -  Rick and Angela - the generous couple who gave up their Christmas morning to cook lunch for around 50 people who would be alone that day - and the team of masked and distanced volunteers who helped get those meals out to the recipients. Following all the covid protocols

April 2021 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, sitting alone at her husband's funeral. Following all the covid protocols

November 2021 - where my beloved cousin Gillian spent her 65th birthday, and the kind staff apologised to us that they were unable to give her any sort of party. Visiting was strictly limited, even for the dying. 

Following all the covid protocols

December 2020. Conservative Party HQ, London. The party  invitation has just been disclosed to the press. Following all the covid protocols????

I am not in the least surprised that many people are desperately sad, and very angry, right now. 

Proceeding From The Heat-Oppressed Brain

 I really do not handle hot weather very well. It is too hot for me to think straight. In times like these, I'm grateful the Lord did not call me to be a missionary in hotter climes. Meals are easy, I'm not going to slave over a boiling stove. Fortunately Bob enjoys cooking some meat on the bbq while I toss a cool salad. Or we have a simple one pot dish which cooks itself. Months ago I ripped a Yotam recipe out of a magazine, and we enjoyed for lunch after church [total time at stove around 5 minutes at the start of prep, and another 5 cooking a couple of flatbread. 

I love it when mine looks like the picture - and tastes good! 

Yesterday was really busy. Church in the morning included an AGM [We gave our report on holiday club] Then Bob went to the Hospice for one of their regular memorial services. In the evening, the Installation of the new vicar in our village [Rachael and I have already become friends, we have heaps in common]

 After lunch, I indulged myself in 100 minutes of pure nostalgia on BBC 2. 

I love C S Forester's books, and the film of 

The African Queen is a classic. Katherine Hepburn as the upright, tea drinking Edwardian maiden missionary, paired with Humphrey Bogart as the gruff, gin-drinking dissolute steamer captain. Fabulous cinema! 

At the beginning of the film, Hepburn is playing the harmonium at the mission station where her saintly, caring brother is preaching. And as I sat dozing in the summer afternoon, I suddenly noticed an alarming resemblance between the late actor Robert Morley and someone else much in the news lately... 

I'd only been drinking tea, not gin, I promise you... 

God Created...

... and calls us to be good stewards of Creation. But are we? 

This reworking of an old song reminds us of the need to collaborate, and work together to make things better 

Earnest Hemming Day*

The end of term approaches. This year I'm not involved in School Plays - but I AM helping out two teenagers with their Prom Dresses. As usual the frocks are too long, and even with their new high heels [which they are not used to wearing] the hems are trailing on the floor. So I'm adjusting the length

There are five layers to each gown. Three outer layers of floaty tulle, two inside layers of opaque soft satiny fabric. In my childhood this was call Art Silk. I was so disappointed when I discovered that meant artificial. Nowadays I can't decide which is worse - weaving non biodegradable acrylic, or boiling poor little silkworm cocoons.

There are metres and metres of fabric to be trimmed away - a 10cm strip round the bottom of each layer. 

Fortunately the tulle does not need to be hemmed, just trimmed. The silk frays, and even with a Teflon foot, it's hard to control the machine. So I prefer to hand stitch. Slower, but you get a better finish.

Top Tips:

1. Get the wearer to stand on a stool [or her Dad's work platform!] so that the dress hangs right down and measuring is easier
2. "Pin" the hem of the lining layers level with the bottom of her heel, so it clears the floor and won't get caught by the heel of the shoes. 
3. Use knitting clips or clothes pegs rather than pins which may snag the fabric. 
4. Make sure scissors are sharp
5. Hang the dress from a high hook [or curtain rail] gather up ALL the layers except the innermost, clip them out of the way and sort 1st layer. Then let down layer #2, etc, until you finally get to trimming layer #5. It looks odd, while you're doing it, but it works. 
6. Have plenty of space to drape dress whilst you are pinning hems - I stand at the sofa, and drape the rest of the dress over the sofa. When I'm handstitching, I put the hem on my lap, and the rest of the dress is spread out on the coffee table in front of me to support the weight. 
7. Remind wearer to practise wearing the shoes round the house in the week before, and also to sort out underwear. Stick on bras are very popular. [Anne Summers, 3 pairs of cups for £6 are good value, especially if there are a group of you]

This is going to be a busy Saturday as I complete the task. I'm glad I can contribute to their special evening. As the song says... Momma's little baby loves shortening! 

*I couldn't resist this play on words either 

Goodbye Glenda!

It must have been around 2001, Liz was a student in London, and one Saturday afternoon she telephoned me, very excited

"Mum, I've just seen Glenda Jackson in the Garden Centre in Blackheath!!" 

"Oh Wow! Glenda Jackson the actress? How fantastic!" 

"No Mum, the Labour MP..."

And I suddenly realised that this brilliant woman had given up acting to become an MP when Liz was about 10, and so Liz only recognised this woman for her second career in politics. 

When I was 16, I loved watching this fiery woman portraying Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC series-  from the feisty young woman to the tired old monarch, it was riveting viewing [we only had a black and white TV then, sadly]

She was superb. Her working class roots meant she understood grim poverty, but she also was wonderful in Shakespearian roles, and film adaptations of DH Lawrence books.

In 1971, she received an Oscar for "Women in Love" - and 18 years later in "The Rainbow" she acted as the mother of the character she'd played in the earlier film.

From 1957-1992 she was in films,on TV, with the RSC and acting on Broadway. 

But all the time she held strong political values - fighting for women's right, protesting against the VIetnam War, supporting Oxfam and the International year of the child. A lifelong member of the Labour Party.

She left the stage and in 1992 became the  Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate [later Hampstead and Kilburn], serving till 2015. She stood no nonsense, and spoke her mind. A champion of the underdog - she really did care about making the country and better place. 

And then aged 79 she retired from Parliament and returned to the stage again in 2015.

At the age of 80 she played the title role in King KLear to great acclaim.

She is one of only 24 people to win the Triple Crown of Acting Awards [Oscar, Emmy, Tony] But it took her nearly half a century to do it!

Oscar in 1971, Emmy in 1972 - and the Tony in 2018. 

In her last role, based on a true story, she plays the wife of a WW2 veteran [played by Michael Caine]who absconds from his Sussex care home to go to France for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. I am looking forward to seeing The Great Escaper.

Having been friends for years, Sir Michael led the tributes when her death was announced this week

What did she regard as the best moment - she always said that the apotheosis of her acting career was appearing as Cleopatra in the Morecambe and Wise Show.

She was so popular, that she was invited back again.

Thank you Ms Jackson - for your wonderful acting - and for the years you spent working on behalf of your constituents and your country. RIP

Something To cHEW On

Last week a number of bloggers [like Sue]were writing about Ultra Processed Foods - the harm they can do to our bodies, and reasons for avoiding them. Dr Chris Van Tulleken and others were on TV and the radio, explaining the issues. It appears that in the UK we are eating a ridiculously high percentage of these foods. 

But I have not really picked up much news about this being HEW - Healthy Eating Week.[June 12th-16th] This is an initiative by the British Nutrition Foundation. Full details on their website HERE

They have produced resources for all ages from early years through to adults, with five different topics for each day of the week. Today we are encouraged to be properly hydrated.

These are all good ideas to put in place. I hope that schools, preschools and workplaces have tried to encourage these principles, and get both adults and children engaged and talking about it. 

I haven't quite caught up with all the UPF programmes yet, but I have been reading an interesting book about superfoods, which I will review shortly.

I know that staying properly hydrated is one of my failings. However this hot weather has certainly made me reach for more fluids. 

There is a video about HEW at work too

According to the BNF, Healthy Eating Week 2023 is supported by Kellogg's, General Mills, Quorn Foods, Sodexo, Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Coca-Cola GB, UK Flour Millers and Waitrose & Partners. AHDB is a statutory levy board, funded by farmers, growers, and others in the supply chain [and Defra] helping to create a better food and farming industry. Waitrose does try to maintain high ethical standards, particularly relating to quality food, and 'green' issues [but their prices are definitely beyond many families]

I am trying not to be too cynical here - but Quorn is most definitely ultra processed, many CocaCola and Kelloggs products are high in sugar. and General Mills are the US company behind Betty Crocker, Cheerios and Pillsbury. But if this week makes people review their diets, that is a good thing.

Have you heard anything about HEW 2023?

Which of the 5 principles are you really good at?

And which is your weakest point?

PS thank you for all the kind birthday wishes for Jess - a young lady who is very keen on good food!