Crisps and Nuts at The Railway Arms

Reg Few was a colourful publican. He was the man behind the bar at The Railway Arms in Theydon Bois in Essex. The Railway was our local, and he was our bearer of liquid refreshment. Winnie, Reg's wife was in charge of food, and a request for a bag of crisps or nuts would result in a call to the kitchen: "Winnieeeeeeee! Catering......"
Reg had one eye that looked left, and another that looked right, so it was difficult to tell whether he was looking at you or your date.At closing time, he had a subtle method of clearing the house. He would open the side door to the elements, and yell out: "It's nice outside, boys!"Another of his famous quips was: "What do you think this is? A niteclub?!"The Railway got badly flooded one day, and here you see Reg doing his best to get the bar back in condition for the evening's business

Scotch Eggs

I made these yummie Scotch eggs this morning. I made six, and I've had one already.

Here's my recipe:

Seven extra large eggs
Half a pound of sausage meat
Italian fine breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper

Hard boil six of the eggs. Allow them to thoroughly cool before attempting to peel. I find the easiest way is to carefully break the shells on a hard surface in as many places as possible, then gently remove the shell and inner lining, piece by piece.

Dip each egg in flour, mould a one sixth portion of the sausage meat around the egg, making sure there are no gaps. Beat the seventh egg, and dip each sausage coated egg in the egg mixture, followed by a dip in the breadcrumbs.

Fry each egg in extra virgin olive oil for approximately ten minutes, making sure that the meat is thoroughly cooked on all sides. Drain the surface oil on a kitchen paper towel.

Alternatively, they can be baked in an oven at about 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. This is more healthy, but I prefer them fried!

Branston " Bury St. Edmonds" Pickle

Branston Pickle is an essential component of The Ploughman's Lunch. Its sweet and spicey taste complements any cheese.

It consists of small junks of vegetables in a sticky brown sauce, to a secret recipe, introduced in 1922 by Cross and Blackwell. Until 2004, it was made in Branston, Staffordshire.

In 2004, Premier Foods bought the brand, and now they make it in Bury St. Edmonds.

Some fear it will be re-launched as Bury St. Edmonds Pickle.