SuperGoose75

Aye Maine is very much a N.I. company and although I live in ROI the ''Maine man'' used to come around our way also and still does. They are involved with Football Special and they also do an Iron Bru along with the flavours you mention,although it is not the origanal recipe. Not stuff you want to be giving too much to the kids though, as they would be bouncing off the walls with all the fizz and sugar. Great stuff for the drewth though if you had a feed of salty bacon or a hangover.

Apperently HQ is still in Ramelton but it is now produced in Co Antrim. It is also a drink from my childhood and my own children have it on occasion. A unique tasting ''mineral'' that goes well with chips ect..! I'll leave you with a couple of photos I took when in the wee town during the summer. You can see the old football special building in the background. And in keeping with ditchmans thread I'll finish with a photo of what IMO are the best tasting chips in the world. These are 100% cooked in dripping ''I dont know if twice or thrice'' as they are just advertised as chips. Always get a pot of tea and buttered white bread to make chip butties with them. When I say best in the world, I just dont believe a chip can possibly taste any better.

I knew maine was involved somehow, but thought it was in the bottling and distributing of the drinks. I knew the old creamery building was no longer in use, but I wasnt aware the drinks actually are now made outside of the county. Learn something new everyday as they say!

I suppose everyones idea of what makes the pefect chip is subjective. For example there is a well known ''chippy'' in my general region that is famous for its fish & chips. You go in the door and the walls are plastered with all the awards they have won. I find it average at best. Same as the famous- Leo Burdocks in Dublin with the wall of all the famous celebs who have eaten from there! and the numerous youtube videos of all the tourists trying it out... again just average fare IMO The twice and thrice cooked chips have been a marketing ploy in foodie joints for a while now. In fairness some of the ones Ive tried are not too bad at all. As said I have tried the process a number of times and its not for me. I like a crunchy exterior to my chip rather than a hard one if that makes sense. I live on a coastal peninsula and I have no problem in saying that it is near impossible( bar for one or two places) to get a decent fish & chips, a disgrace really, as people dont set their bar very high when it comes to the standard and quality of what they are serving and eating. There is an Italian traditional fish and chip and ice-cream parlour that IMO serves the bests chips in the world in the near-by city, and they knock the socks off Leo -Burdocks ect..! Murgatroyds in Leeds is a pilgrimage I want to make at some stage and Anstruther in Scotland to try out the renowned fish and chips.

Ah you are familiar with my county's iconic soft drink. The actual bottle in the photo was one of a novelty edition to celebrate an anniversary of some sort. The company has gone from strength to strength and is still based in the beautiful town of Ramelton. https://football-special.com/ I used it here to make the batter for the fish, hence why it is on the photo.

I like seeing Otter's. Someone got some great photos locally of one killing a Cormorant in the sea. I've also watched them chasing Swans about and a few Cygnets were lost to them on a local lake.

This might not sit with the English chip standards of what constitutes the perfect chip, but these are my findings and personal views on the matter. Forget your twice and thrice/triple cooked chips..Ive done it a number of times and find that a chips cooked straight through from raw give the best results. Also I know the English advocate the use of Maris Piper potatoes for chips, well I think the Kerr Pink makes better tasting chips and is a better all round versatile variety of spud. The spuds I use and always have used are grown in the village. I get them fresh dug this time of year. They are peeled with a small paring knife rather than a veg peeler. I find that not only can I peel quicker with a knife, but like when makng roast potatoes,peeling with a knife leaves more edges and corners to crisp up and soak up flavour. Growing up chips from your friends houses always tasted better for some reason. Like most back in the day, lard or dripping was used until the likes of ''crisp & dry'' came along. Crisp and Dry rapeseed oil is what I always use for homemade chips. But here is a little tip and one I've used for years. When you have your chip pan/fryer topped up with your desired oil of choice, slip in a half or a full little block of lard or beef dripping. Then you have the best of both worlds. You are cooking in a moderatly healthy way and you still get the nice taste of the lard or dripping. One thing I do and that is to not to skimp on the shake off, of the excess oil/grease after frying. I actually sing a bit of Luther Vandross to my chips..When you think Ive shook you too much babe, I gonna shake you a little bit more.... I also give them plenty of shaking action while cooking.Then tumbled into a kicthen papered lined bowl and you have nice crunchy chip that is fluffy and soft in the middle. Hit with vineger and salt, in that order, or my new found favourite seasoning of aromat. I make these once and week and have a 2.5kg bag peeled and chipped in around 10mins. These were had with shop bought pies and peas, but will vary it weekly with the likes of sausage beans and chips,home battered fish ect or a butchers pie.Two things I always have with my chips no matter what, is mayo and a finely diced raw onion

Not so much of an age thing personally speaking, as I am mid forties. In 30 years on my own and previous to that was always out with my father since a young boy. Fowling,roughshooting and fishing, and dare I say it,a wee bit of poaching for sport back in the day. In many years in the field (and I was pretty hardcore for a good part of that) you witness so many spectacular things in nature and you grow to undertsand and respect things more over the years. There has always been something in me that loved nature and the countryside, not surprising really as I grew up and still do live in the country and had that idyllic countryboy childhood. I have always been a couple for the pot man, as my father instilled in me to dont shoot it if you are not gonna eat it or at least give it to someone who would. I used to get a real buzz out of shooting/killing birds and at one time got really annoyed if I missed birds. For example as a young man I used to tramp the fields both high and low from dawn to dusk when roughshooting, and often would come home with nothing in the bag as I would have missed the couple of chances at cock pheasants that were flushed (we dont shoot hen birds here) or miss the fleeting woodcock My father used to say when he heard me coming in the back door to ''hang them up'' knowing only too well the likelihood of me not having got anything was probably the case. But later in the evening the dissapointment and annoyance of the missed birds faded and the images of all the other wonderful sights I witnessd during the day shone through. The early frosty mornings created their own magic with the hoar frost setting the scene for a winter wonderland. Then as a ''watery'' winter sun made it's apperance the scene changed as the frost thawed and the water droplets on the sloe bushes and rowan berries were visible and for a while the environment is a moist one, until the sun gets higher in the sky and drys things up and the day turns out to be a fine one, with bright blue skies with little moisture in the air. A hovering Kestrel makes an apperance, a fox is seen slipping away up the fields on the other side of the glen, a few screeching Jay's are making a noise in the thick of the glen, a few wedges of wild whooper swans fly overhead as do some skeins of geese although they are higher up, as they go out to the fields for the day. The Swans look brilliant white on such a day as they contrast against the blue skies. Flocks of pigeons are clattering about, although they sometimes are part of the bag in a days roughshooting, Im not intetested in them as it is pheasants I'm after. As I enter a wood that usually holds a Woodcock or two, a red squirrel is seen scrambling up an old beech tree,it stops and looks down at me before hopping off through the branches. These things and many more are what make a day in the field for me. Some will call these things nonsense and say that I'm rambling and rehashing the likes of my favourite shooting authors, but this is genuinely how I feel. As one of my favourite writers put- what matter if I got a shot? What matter indeed! The missed cock pheasants are soon forgotten about. I am now what I would call a selective shooter and have been for a number of years. I let countless birds fly on unchallenged. I leave packs of duck alone when out after geese. I let many geese fly on also if I have one in the bag. Just last week I was out on a morning flight and witnessed four different birds of prey, I was watching two Roughlegged Buzzards through the glasses as a few skeins of shootable geese slipped past. I also saw a Peregrine,Sparrow hawk and a Merlin. I went home with nothing in the bag but was happy I was there. That particular morning I also witnessed something I have seen on more than one occasion. A distressed goose. This lone goose was flying about calling for the duration of the morning,It would not settle. It landed a few times in a field with other geese but would not stay and flew off numerous times. It was obvious this goose had lost its partner. If you watch birds a lot they really do show each other a lot of affection. Im at stage now where I often reach for the stick rather than the gun and take the dog a walk on the shore and Im just as happy with that. That said if we get some proper fowling weather, I will still be out after the duck. Things like people shooting big bags of geese for example used to annoy me, and some of the things you see online these days are not my thing at all. But each to their own. I am far from perfect and dont want to come across as holier than thou but I can justify my approach to shooting and that is a few for the pot and keeping an important tradition alive whilst it also gives me the ecxuse to get out into nature. I dont think it is going soft at all, I would say it is more about gaining understanding and respecting other living things more. Its the natural way for humans to hunt for food, we don't really need to anymore, but we have a choice and there is nothing at all wrong with shooting,hunting, or predator control if the correct approach is taken. Just My opinion. PS sorry for the long post- I got carried away🙈

There is no love lost between these two! The build up has been very entertaining and the fact they have history adds a bit of spice to things. It has all the potential to be a cracker for sure. 100% on the money. So the fight has been postponed rather than scrapped altogther. IMO if found quilty of cheating by way way of performance echanching drugs in a ''combat sport'' the fighter should get a lifetime ban from the sport. This isnt like the tour de france where cheating to win an endurance race( although morally wrong) rarely puts another persons life in danger. From tainted meat,to eating uncastrated boar meat to nasal spray exuses..all points to dodgy goings on in a sport that is losing credability on a regular basis. A shame really as it has always been a popular form of entertainment. It can be a rags to riches sport and many young men will continue to try and make the big time through dedication to the sport.The thing is neither of these two really had to to do it for that reason. Ah well,hopefully next weekends show will make up for this weekend dissapointment.

You could not make it up! Seems to be always something with boxing these days. Fans of the sport that look forward to the fights ae being constantly let down, either with fights being called off due to cheating boxers , or corrupt judging. As it stands the British board of boxing are refusing to sanction the fight, but apparently the fight is not off! The two boxers concerned want the fight to still go ahead (wont get paid otherwise) so ''Fast Eddie'' is looking for loopholes to allow the fight to go ahead. Kind of takes the shine off things and Benn will have lost a lot of credibility now no matter what happens. Pity because there is an Irish fighter who is hot on Benn's heels and although still raw, will bang with Benn all night long. I hope it goes ahead and then it is a countdown to the rescheduled and much anticapted womans bout of Shields v Marshall. Thats one I really am looking forward too.

Well it is just shy of 30 yrs since the two fathers went to war in the ring in their second fight. How I loved them Saturday night fights on ITV. From the intro music to the actual fights themselves. I was a Nigel Benn fan back then and hard to believe that like most back then, I despised Chris Eubank. Looking back now and over the years my feelings on Eubank have changed. What an unbelievable character we have been lucky to have witnessed. An unusual,quirky, enigmatic character with a big heart. I still think the ring walk in his 2nd fight v Ray Close in Belfast is up there with one of the best ring walks ever. As for the two Son's, I woudn't say that I'm particulary a fan of either. For me Connor Benn has not really been tested. A lot has been made of his win over a PE teacher that had no power to trouble Benn. Eubank Jnr has been in the bigger fights and is the bigger man, having fought at SMW whilst Benn is coming up from WW. Will Eubank possibly be weight drained and not have his natural strength and will Benn look at that as an advantage on his part and think he has the power to trouble Jnr? Many of the boxing pundits are giving Connor Benn a real chance of winning this fight.For me I think Eubank Jnr will be too much in every department.Benn may have his moments but Eubank Jnr for the win and by stoppage is my prediction. A very interesting fight with family pride at stake. Its 1-0 in Eubanks favour with one draw. Although most would agree the Nigel Benn was the better man in their 2nd fight. Whos money is the PW fight fans on?

Watched thw latest episode of HOTD last night. Surely it can't stay at this pace for the duration of the series.Whilst I sense a story building for hopefully something more explosive, It has not gripped the attention like GOT did. I couldnt wait to stick on the next episode of Thrones as it was addictive, and could get people who watched it religiously from week to week at the time it went out had a appetite for the next episode to air, Im not feeling that with HOTD, as yet!

Looks the business that one 👍 That sounds delicious! I'm a real cheese head but suffer with crazy cheese dreams as a consequence. What type of vessel do you make your pies in?

Lighting up a cigarette and drawing on it so it glowed and maybe a forced cough, when you heard another fowler approaching was the done thing back in the day.

Looks a good winter warmer that one! A bit of spicy chorizo might would work well in it. A dusting of curry powder stirred in was something I done on occasion for beans on toast..curried beans! Chef is an Irish brand, but Batchelor's beans is the number one over here! I'm enjoying their recently released chilli beans and mixed taco beans! Branston is a favourite in this house and Heinz beans like most of their products are pretty poor IMO, with the exception of their Salad Cream. I know they own HP sauces but they are not really Heinz are they?

Harry I got mine local to me and the brand is the well known Breville. It was reduced from £40 to £25. I'd say it is a very old model. If you Google ''Pie Makers'' you will see an array of different brands on Amazon ect...! There is a good looking ''Hairy Biker's'' one that is around the £40 and it says it is a deep filled one, which will definitely be an added bonus as you will be able to get more filling in.

I get the impression you are a bit of a film buff (Which I am not) so I won't or can't disagree with your comments and observations in GOT. I took it for what it was, a fantasy series with Dragons,zombie monsters, giants,scary ice people, different tribes of people and some hot actresses and brilliant characters👍 I suppose it is kind of like the old westerns and action movies like Diehard..ect.. where a lot of it is far fetched and the good guys rarely get killed, even with hundreds of bullets being fired in their direction. Or ''Rocky''getting pummelled and knocked down countless times in 13 rounds of a 15 round fight, but pulled it out of the bag in the end. Like GOT I enjoyed these movies and took them for what they were. Ref- House if the Dragon, I'm enjoying it so far, although I was a bit miffed at the change of actresses in the last episode. I was liking the attitude of the young blossoming Princess Rhaenyra only to see she has been replaced "like Queen Alicent has''with an older actress. The show has jumped 10yrs forward and the younger actresses were deemed unsuitable. The new ones might grow on me, time will tell. I do wish these gory birthing scenes would stop though🤢

Cheers👍 They are not too pricey, and are versatile, so money well spent IMO Nice rich looking gravy and filling there😋 The swede/turnip would be a nice accompaniment to balance out the richness. Clap-Shot would be ideal with Venison pie IMHO. Top marks for decoration also. The 🦌 is very well done.

It works on the same principle as a sandwich maker. Two hot plates that heat up and then it's a press and seal that cooks the pastry and heats the filling. But instead of using bread it's designed for pastry. The one I have is only for two pies, but you can get one that has the capacity to make 4 pies.

Steady now 😆

Cheers 👍 Bring custard and fresh cream for the apple pie! I'll have a choice of mash or chips for the steak & kidney😃 Cheers 👍 That's a shame! Surely a small one now and again would do no harm😉

Well its nearing that time of year again, Apple pie time. Well they were always called ''Apple cakes in our home growing up. My mother would always bake loads, some for relatives and neighbours ect.. All made with homemade pastry and baked in a range oven. At Halloween she would put money/coins in the pie wrapped in foil. It was great getting a slice with a 10p in it. Anyway there is a glut of apples about locally and I've some blackberries in the freezer. So apple and blackberry pies will soon be on the go, along with some eves pudding,crumbles ect..! We had to purchase a new washing machine a few months back and whilst in the shop I noticed a small pie maker that was reduced to half price. Since its near impossible to get a good steak and kidney pie around these parts as kidney has gone out of fashion, it prompted me to make my own. Stewing beef,kidney,carrots,onions, seasoned and browned and put in the slow cooker with some good stock for 7hrs on low. Cooled and the put into shop bought pastry😱 for convenience as it was a trial,shortcrust for the bottom and puff for the lid. I put a dollop of ''Cashel blue'' in a couple as I knew it would complement the pie filling. They turned out well, although you can't get a lot of filling in this particular model. I make bigger pies, although our local butchers steak pies are unreal and the whole house eats them. I used the wee pie machine for small apple pies also. Handy for using up some left over dinner and it's OK to have some ready-made pastry in the freezer.

Thank you. This video may be of interest. Lots of great viewing on the British Pathe channel.

They were eaten just as a lunch. But here's a dinner one with smoked streaky bacon,onions,gravy on a bed of mash.

Well it is Wednesday after all!