Crunchy Sausage Rolls

Memories. Does a smell, image or a feeling trigger something deep? I wasn't expecting a moment like that when I picked a recipe book off R's cookbook shelves. It was a Blue Peter book full of recipies sent in by viewers and published in 1980. Blue Peter was my fav prog for many years, with John Noakes being a hero and Sarah Greene being my dad's! To the recipe book though......and one specific recipe, crunchy sausage rolls.

Every birthday, my mum made them for me, sausage wrapped in a flattened bread blanket, covered in cheese and mustard, then baked in oven. I loved them. 30 years later and the recipe turns up! It's a long time ago. Lots of shit has gone on but these were days when I loved my mum. Her drinking put paid to that love though and she's gone now. Still, the sausage roll recipe brought back happy memories, even though I'm a veggie now. It's a funny old life!

After breakfast, we cycled down to Portobello for a swim. Riding through Seafield, I shouted to R "shit, I've forgotten my goggles". As she turned round to have a grump, I continued to cycle down the main road wearing my swimming goggles! Haa haaa!

I was now scared. Although the sea was pancake flat, we didn't have wetsuits! It was about 5 Degrees colder than Salford and I always wear a wetsuit there. Inch by inch, I paddled deeper, reaching a point where water was just below willie height......As the waves gently lapped up around my genetalia, I screamed like a girl! Then, I turned and walked back towards the beach.

Rosemary called after me but I ignored her. Then, I turned and ran back towards her, shouting Geronimo! Then I bottled it again! Rosemary started to swim! I decided to gently dive and swim towards her! Hmmmm, she was thinking "don't put your face in the water". I put my face in the water. I went into a mild shock, hyperventilating, shaking and my spine was suffering from severe ice cream head feeling.

I decided to swim back to the beach...and soon managed to get over the shock. As I emerged out of the water in Daniel Craig fashion, a wee dog came running down the beach to welcome me. I splashed it a bit and then ran along through the water just deep enough that it couldn't get to me. It was so much fun! Rosemary was laughing hard, even though she was still swimming around. Surreal, chatting to the dog owners whilst in my trunks on a cool September afternoon in Porty!After 30 mins, R decided to get out as she was now freezing. A quick change and we headed back home for a nice cuppa and then headed down to Porto and Fi for lunch!

I'm now back in Manchester, feeling a bit sad after a cool weekend. It'll be 4 weeks until I see R again!