Guest post: Allergies go global… Sri Lanka: Elakiri? No stūtiyi!
Time to try something new: I’ve been flirting with this idea for a while now. I know quite a few people who also have their own stories about dealing with allergens (increasingly so since launching this website!) and really like the idea of getting other people to post occasional content. The post that follows is…
January Blues
So I haven’t written many restaurant experience reviews recently. The truth is we just haven’t eaten out so far that much in 2019; certainly not in places I haven’t written about before (and very little more to add…). A combination of spending the first few weekends exclusively in launderettes and Piglet having been ill twice…
The big walk
Another week, another walk. Although a lot has changed since last week. I’m 34 now for a start (did I mention I had a birthday on the way?) Birthday presents still gratefully appreciated. These Bose Headphones are still on the wish list if anyone’s wondering if they’ve missed the boat? Bose QuietComfort 35 (Series II)…
Parenting – a walk in the park
Today we, you guessed it, went for a walk in the park. Black Park in Buckinghamshire to be precise. It felt like a bit of a best-bits compilation to be honest with a few of the events and food from 2018 all rolled into one family trip special. I’ve mentioned that Piglet has vowed, gallantly…
Costa now does Almond Milk
New Year, new surprises!! As part of their 2019 menu, it appears that Costa Coffee now do additional dairy-free milks, including almond milk! Hurrah! Of the three big coffee chains (I drink quite a lot of coffee, you might have noticed!), Costa was probably already my favourite even though they didn’t previously offer a milk…
Christmas survived – and on to 2019
So, we appeared to have made it out to the other side… 400+ miles of driving, 18 or so members of family visited, too many presents received, just enough presents given out, not nearly enough sleep accumulated (although far more down to parental behaviour than Piglet’s mischief), one sitting room floor covered in pine needles…
The twelve days of reaction
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me,The hope of continuous sleep On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me,Two soothing meds,And the hope of continuous sleep On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me,Three eczema sores,Two soothing meds,And the hope of continuous…
I love my son – it’s a 10 from me!
I love my son. Very much. It’s more difficult to write about that than it is to write sarcastically about the joys of waking up at 4am or trying to reason with a mauling, screaming toddler who just wants to embed their fingernails into your chin. But I do love him very much, every day.…
Christmas Gift Suggestions
I’m the worst person in the world to be advising on Christmas presents, just ask any of my friends or relatives! However there are a few things that we’ve seen or have that are great for aiding parents with (or managing) milk and soya allergies: A bread maker – lets start big, eh? The first…
Christmas Stocking Fillers
The following are worth looking into if you are looking for stocking filler treats that are dairy and soya free. You might even choose to share some of them with children! Iceland Kuchenmeister Stollen – one of the best brands of stollen happens to be suitable and if you go to Iceland you can pick…
Managing Christmas
Depending on your family, your outlook, your desire to gorge on turkey or your tenancy to sit in a Victorian money-lenders snapping at your single employee, refusing to allow him enough coal to fend off a bitter Christmas Eve – you may look forward to Christmas with abandon or edge closer to it with caution……
Surprisingly Suitable – Christmas
The run up to Christmas can see a sudden increase in chocolates/cakes/pies and even liqueurs – all highly likely to contain milk, soya or both. A lot of stuff just obviously isn’t suitable but there are always a few surprises hidden away… Let’s play a game. Have a look at the photo below and see…
Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
I wanted to share an experience with you. Effectively a situation where I doubted some allergen information I was given but let Piglet eat the food anyway. In short, I got pretty much every bit wrong: I didn’t push for complete clarity on the ingredients, I let my son eat something against my better judgement…
The hunt continues…
It was a cold and blustery November evening. The moon shone brightly over Westminster Bridge, its reflection broken by the roughness of the water. A man looked out over the river, a cigarette smouldering away between his fingers, casting a perfect black silhouette against the lights of the Houses of Parliament. Welcome to the worst Sherlock…
I don’t know…
“How could you not know? How could you NOT know?” One of my favourite lines from the film ‘The Prestige’ (continuing my unnecessary series of links to Christopher Nolan films…), exclaimed by Hugh Jackman’s Robert Angier to his former colleague Christian Bale’s Alfred Borden; desperately trying to find out whether he used a dangerous knot…
Tragic News – Sesame Allergic Reaction
Front page of the BBC News – a 15-year girl died on a flight to Nice in the summer of 2016. The cause: an allergic reaction to sesame eaten in an Pret-a-Manger baguette. I am overcome with a variety of different emotions reading about this: Utter sadness that a child’s life was ended so early;…
Want a double entendre? Here, let me give you one!
I work in an office. It’s a fairly typical, open plan office for a modern, large business. It’s dull, fine, but dull. I am also commonly sleep deprived as is par for the course as the dad of a two year old. Conversation varies wildly from Fantasy Football leagues to how each employee’s favourite football…
A Dairy-Free Stag Do
Its Monday morning. I’ve just made myself fairly unpopular by forgetting to turn off my work-day alarm clock. Sore heads groan at being woken at 6:40 rather than the agreed 8:10 and I am now convinced that there is a business case for an AI alarm clock that checks if you really want it to…
The Oat Milk Test
Today we deliberately fed Piglet an allergen. Twice. Or at least we think did. One of the things that we found out when we were discovering Piglet’s allergies (another series of posts to come) was that in addition to milk and soya, he seemed to have a reaction to some other substitute milks as well.…
The Great Mimic
My son left for work today. He was on his bike, with his rucksack on, waving goodbye having ceremonially given Mummy and Daddy a “kiss and a cuddle” and announcing proudly that he was “going to work”. He headed out into the garden, astride his “ride it, sit on” (balance bike) to do whatever great…