WEB PAGE NO. 2890 6th March 2022

First Picture: Iced Gems Second Picture Packet Iced Gems

Third Picture: Messrs Huntley and Palmer

Forth Picture: Singapore Iced Gems

The Iced Gem Biscuits These were always a treat from my Granny! The real name is Iced Gems and they were first made in 1850s (the biscuit part) by biscuit manufacturers Huntley and Palmers in Reading. Like many inventions, they were an accidental discovery as these biscuits shrunk and came out smaller than their intended size during a biscuit experimentation! The makers started selling them as Gems and subsequently added the icing bit in 1910 and as they say, there was no turning back. After a whole series of mergers/sell-offs, the production of these little guys now come under what is known as Jacob's today. The Huntley and Palmers brand today is a newly established biscuit company who bought the brand over from Danone when they sold it. It is interesting to see how different people from all corners of the world identify with these little biscuits. Many people in Singapore and Malaysia probably thought these were indigenous to our part of the world, often referred to as local old school snacks, since many of us grew up eating them.. They are locally known in Singapore/Malaysia as Biskut Ais Jem (malay transliteration), some also call them Belly Button biscuits, and probably more often than not, the terribly long name of ''those little biscuits with bits of colourful icing on them''. The local cousin of Iced Gems differ from the British originals in a few aspects - colour, taste and pointy-ness. Those found in Singapore have bright neon coloured icing of green, pink, yellow and white, compared to the muted colours of the Jacob's ones (though I wonder what colour Huntley & Palmers made them originally). The Singaporean ones are also far more pointy than Jacob's from what I see in pictures..! Do a quick search online for Iced Gems and you will find that there are many people who have fond childhood memories of eating them and sharing their stories on different forums. Everyone has a different method of eating them. Some eat the biscuits first and save the icing to savour at the end, others would bite off the icing first and throw away most of the biscuits or I'm sure some of you just chomp the whole thing down, perhaps even several at a time! dedicated to them. Stay in touch Peter

Web Page No 2892 20th March 2022😊 First Picture Pilot Cap

Second Picture: Fashion cap

Third Picture; Kids cap

Forth Picture: Competition cap

Bathing caps Being a bloke the bathing cap was never an item that really concerned but I do know that in some female circles they were reguarded as fashion statements. For most of us it was down to the seaside, change under a towel and in you went. The one thing that we had to watch is that if we were wearing a home knitted costume coming out of the water could be embarrassing. The swimming cap, swim cap or bathing cap, we remember were tightly fitted, skin-tight garments, often made from silicone, latex or lycra, but today are mainly worn by recreational and competitive swimmers. Swim caps are worn for various reasons: they can be worn to keep hair out of the swimmer's face, reduce drag, protect hair from chlorine or sun damage, keep hair dry, keep the head warm, or (sometimes in combination with earplugs) to keep water out of the ears. Originally swim caps were made of rubberized fabric during the early 20th century. By the 1920s, they were made of latex. The earliest chin strap caps were known as "aviator's style caps" as they resembled the strapped leather helmets of flyers of the day. During the 1940s, swim caps became scarce as rubber was needed for war materials. The permanent wave hairstyle for ladies took time to obtain and was expensive, so many women wanted to protect their hair while swimming. The 1950s saw decorated caps come into vogue, and during the 1960s, colorful flower petal swim caps became popular. Men's long hair styles of the late 1960s and early 1970s gave rise to increased use of swim caps, not by me they didn’t! Without swim cap requirements, wearing swim caps fell out of fashion during the 1970s. Recently, Toks Ahmed and Michael Chapman created a swim cap specifically designed for dreadlocks, hair weaves or extensions, and voluminous hair. They named it the Soul Cap, but it was banned from the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo because of its size and configuration. Its use in future Olympics is currently under review. Many swimmers have trouble finding a swim cap that keeps their hair dry. "Double capping"—wearing two swim caps—can provide a tighter swim cap seal. An inner silicone or latex swim cap pulled low over the ears worn under a second traditional style chin strap swim cap with an inner seal may provide the protection desired. Double capping is also used by participants of open water swimming to provide warmth. In order to make as smooth a surface as possible for maximum streamlining, sometimes an inner latex cap is put on, followed by swim goggles over the latex cap, and then second snug silicone swim cap is fitted over both. One bastion of the swim cap is upheld by the English "Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation" and the "Channel Swimming Association" state that "one standard swim cap" may be used for official English Channel record swims. The cap must be approved by the official observer who accompanies the swimmer on the pilot boat across the channel. "Standard swim caps" that have been used by English Channel swimmers of record over the years include solid rubber "tank" style swim caps, molded rubber swim caps with chin strap, bubble crepe rubber swim caps with chin strap, silicone swim caps and latex "racing" swim caps. Swim caps that have neoprene within the cap construction such as the "Barracuda Hothead", or that are completely made of neoprene are not allowed for record English Channel swims. Several other long distance swims such as the Santa Catalina Channel California swim have similar rules for record swims. Swim caps worn for open water swims should be of visible colours that contrast with the water so that observers may safely monitor them, and operators of vessels may see them. Today I need not worry about a swim cap today as I hair very little hair to worry about! Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

WEB PAGE NO. 13th March 2022 First Picture: Duffle Bag

Second Picture: Channel Airways

Third Picture: Portsmouth Airport

Forth Picture: Duffle Coat

When you were a young teenager did you ever collect those either sew on, or stick-on badges from the places that you and your family visited or went on holiday to. Once acquired the next job was to attach the badges to my red duffle bag, they were all the rage at the time. Remember them. A duffel bag was and still is a large bag made of either natural or synthetic historically with a top closure using a drawstring. Generally a duffel bag was often used by non-commissioned personnel in the military, and for travel, sports and recreation by civilians One of the first ports of call whenever we went away was the souvenir shop to try to find a badge I did not have. If I was lucky that town would have more than one. I remember on a school coach trip to Cheddar jn the second or third year I was lucky enough to acquire four badges on one trip. Cheddar Gorge, Goughs Caves, Cox’s Caves and nearby another from Wookey Hole. Mind you this trip was tinged with embarrassment when on the way home on the coach I was sick into a towel provided by Miss Crocker who promptly rolled it all up and gave it to me and I was told to have it washed and return to school clean. This I found deeply embarrassing so I hid the towel in my duffle bag and when I got home I sneaked it up the garden and hid it deep under one of our hedges. I never said a thing, no one asked for the towel back and as far as I am aware 60 years later it could still be there!!!!! As a family we never went abroad on holiday but we did fly to Guernsey twice for a weeks break. We flew Channel Airways from Portsmouth Airport. I understand that this was one of Freddie Lakers first ventures. Here in Guernsey I managed to find all sorts of badges some even with French writing on. I was one satisfied lad at the time and when I could get one from a visit to Herm and another to Sark I was over the moon. Looking back, I wondered what ever happened to that duffle bag and then of course was the whole era of the duffle coat, But that’s another story completely. Just to say I had two a navy blue one and a camel coloured one. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

WEB PAGE NO. 2888 6th March 2022 Fanny Cradock First Picture: Fanny Craddock

Second Picture: Major Johnny Craddock

Third Picture: Gwen Troake

Forth Picture: Gwens book

You must all remember Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey better known as Fanny Cradock, as she frequently appeared on television with her fourth husband Major Johnnie Cradock a slightly bumbling hen-pecked partner. She was born in Leytonstone, London and the birth was formally registered in West Ham. As a child she lived with her family, with her maternal grandparents. A plaque (with her name misspelled) can be found at Fairwood Court, Fairlop Road, London E11: "Fanny Craddock 1909–1994. On this site until 1930 stood a house called Apthorp, birthplace of the famous TV cookery expert Fanny Craddock; born Phyllis Pechey." Her fortunes began to change when she started work at various restaurants and was introduced to the works of Auguste Escoffier. Fanny and Johnnie Cradock began writing a column under the pen name of "Bon Viveur which appeared in The Daily Telegraph from 1950 to 1955. This sparked a theatre career, with the pair turning theatres into restaurants. Fanny would cook vast dishes that were served to the audience. They became known for their roast turkey, complete with stuffed head, tail feathers and wings. Complete with French accents, their act was one of a drunken hen-pecked husband and a domineering wife. At this time, they were known as Major and Mrs Cradock. She also wrote books under the names Frances Dale, Bon Viveur, Susan Leigh and Phyllis Cradock. In 1955 she recorded a pilot for what became a very successful BBC television series on cookery. Each year the BBC published a booklet giving a detailed account of every recipe Fanny demonstrated, allowing her to frequently say, "You'll find that recipe in the booklet, so I won't show you now." Fanny advocated bringing Escoffier-standard food into the British home and gave every recipe a French name. Her food looked extravagant, but was generally cost-effective, and Fanny seemed to care about her audience. As time went by, however, her food began to seem outdated, with her love of the piping bag and vegetable dyes. As she grew older, she applied more and more make-up and wore vast chiffon ballgowns on screen. She had always included relatives and friends in her television shows. Johnnie suffered a minor heart attack in the early 1970s and was replaced with the daughter of a friend, Jayne. Another assistant was Sarah, and there was a series of young men who did not last long. Throughout her television career, the Cradocks also worked for the British Gas Council, appearing at trade shows such as the Ideal Home Exhibition and making many "infomercials," instructing cooks, usually newlywed women, on how to use gas cookers for basic dishes. Despite the BBC's ban on advertising, she used only gas stoves in her television shows and often stated that she "hated" electric stoves and ovens. Her series Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas is the only one of several she made to have survived in the TV archives and to have been repeated in recent years and she appeared in twenty-four television series between 1955 and 1975. In 1976, Gwen Troake, a farmer’s wife from Devon, won the Cook of the Realm competition, leading to the BBC selecting her for its TV series The Big Time, where talented amateurs were given the opportunity to take part in a spectacular professional event. Gwen Troake was to organise a three-course Literary Lunch at The Dorchester in honour of the former Prime Minister Edward Heath, with Earl Mountbatten of Burma and other dignitaries in attendance, and asked Fanny Cradock, by then a tax exile in Ireland, along with chef Eugene Kaufeler, actor and gourmet Robert Morley, nutritionist Magnus Pyke and many other experts she admired to advise her. The result brought the end of Fanny Cradock's television career Gwen Troake went through her menu of seafood cocktail, duckling with a lemon jelly-and-cornstarch fortified bramble sauce and coffee cream dessert with rum. Her idea was that with seafood, water fowl and rum, the meal had a nautical "theme," which would appeal to Mr Heath’s love of sailing and also be an appropriate salute to the former Admiral Mountbatten. Fanny Cradock, grimacing and acting as if on the verge of gagging, told Gwen that her menu was far too rich and she would "never in a million years" serve a seafood cocktail before a duck. She appeared not to be familiar with the term "bramble," and when told it meant a blackberry, was horrified that it would be paired with a savoury duck, remonstrated that a sauce like that should be brushed on flan. She derisively declared that the jam in it was "too English" and that the English had never had a cuisine, erroneously claiming that "Yorkshire pudding came from Burgundy". While accepting that the dessert was delicious, she insisted that it was not suitable, as it was "too sickly" served after the sweetly-sauced, rich duck, countering Gwen’s numerous objections with "Yes, dear, but now you're among professionals." Fanny suggested that unless a salad and cheese dish was served afterward, as is done in France, then she should use small almond pastry barquettes filled with a palate-cleansing fruit sorbet with spun sugar sails, as this was equally suitable for the naval theme. Gwen kept insisting that she liked her signature coffee pudding with "nautical" rum in it, while Fanny Cradock appealed to her to think of her diners' taste buds and stomachs, and try to achieve a balance in her menu. Unfortunately, the replacement dessert was not executed properly, and Robert Morley said he felt that the original coffee pudding was perfect. The public were incensed at her eye-rolling rudeness and condescension, and felt that Fanny Cradock had ruined Gwens special day. The Daily Telegraph wrote "Not since 1940 can the people of England have risen in such unified wrath....". Fanny wrote a letter of apology to Gwen, but the BBC terminated her contract two weeks after the broadcast of the programme. She would never again present a cookery programme for the BBC. (Gwen by contrast, published A Country Cookbook of recipes the following year; it included the coffee cream dessert Fanny Cradock had vetoed). Fanny and Johnnie Cradock spent their final years at Bexhill on Sea. They became regulars on the chat show circuit, and also appeared on programmes such as The Generation Game and Blankety Blank. When she appeared on the television chat show Parkinson with Danny La Rue and it was revealed to her that La Rue was actually a female impersonator, she stormed off the set. She married four times, twice bigamously. She died following a stroke, on 27 December 1994, at the Ersham House Nursing Home, Hailsham, East Sussex. Johnny died in 1987. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com