Picking the bike

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So, I knew I wanted a bike – but which one? Which brand? What kind?

When you get into bikes from zero knowledge, one of the first things you’ll learn is that there are three kinds of bikes – mountain bikes, road bikes, and hybrids. Mountain bikes are easy to spot in the shop, with their super thick tires and sporty frames. Your road bikes are really more like race bikes, designed to get you from A to B as fast as possible – the kind of thing that athletes cycle. You can spot these because of their super-thin tires and aerodynamic bodies. Then, there are the hybrids – the bikes which are good for those who’d like to take their bike to work, and maybe to the forest on a weekend, bikes that straddle between sporty and hardy, the sort of thing that, if you don’t know much about bikes, you’ll naturally gravitate towards right away, like I did.

But then I scratched the surface and realised there was a whole lot more to this hybrid lark than I had originally thought. Sure, all the catalogues had ‘hybrid’ sections, but then again, some bikes were hybrids and weren’t labelled as such. Some bikes were more sporty than they were for road use, some were more for commuting than they were flying through muddy tracks. My life was made a little more difficult because I’d decided to plump for a Trek – as advised by my friends, who both had Treks – and it seemed like a lot of their subbrands were secretly hybrids in disguise. Like the FX range, designed for ‘sporty types’ – which is more on the road end of a hybrid than the mountain bike end, but is never really called a hybrid. There are countless examples of this, but it made my life very difficult. I just wanted a bike I could cycle with my friends, mostly for road use, but which wouldn’t prevent me from cycling on some trails in the forest if I wanted to.

Unfortunately, I’ve found that the bike salesmen in two local shops were less than useful, and not remotely interested in selling any bikes. I won’t name names because I assume they are anomolies of the biking world – people who neither know anything about bikes, nor about selling products. Anyway, I ended up pouring my knowledge of bikes onto them as if to have them validate my experiences so far, whilst they gave me monosyllabic answers and really did nothing to try to help me select a bike. In the first shop, my opening question was about the difference between different bike brands ‘because my friends like Trek so I wondered if you could help me about the differences between the different types’. The guy then proceeded to tell me how great Trek bikes were for several minutes, which really didn’t help. At the second shop, I wanted to know what the difference between the Trek Allant WSD was, and the Trek FX range, and all I got was that the FX was for sports. What does that even mean? Will the FX be acceptable for use in badminton matches or something?

Anyway, in the end I narrowed it down to three bikes from the Trek range.

The Trek 7000 WSD

The Trek FX 7.2 WSD

And the Trek Allant WSD

Now, I have to admit, I had seen an olive green ladies’ bike with leather saddle and wicker basket in the window of my local bike shop a few weeks ago, and felt my heart stir… There’s something about the combination of a sophisticated, restrained green frame and the elegance of a leather look saddle that just really sings to me. But at the time I had the word ‘HYBRID’ in my mind and wasn’t looking for anything else.

Still, I couldn’t get that bike out of my mind, so I decided to ask a few more questions about the Allant, read some reviews, and lust over Google image searches of it, until, finally, I told myself, ‘well, if you like that damn bike so much, why don’t you just buy it?’. To which the reply came, ‘maybe I will’.

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Hythe to Bucklers’ Hard

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A lot of my friends have bicycles. In fact, if it wasn’t for Rachel, owner of a delightful Trek mountain bike, I don’t think I would have had anything more than a passing interest in biking at all. Once she bought her bike, it wasn’t long before her twin sister Lorraine, picked one up, and now I have four friends who have bikes. So they decided to plan a trip from Hythe (using the ferry) to Buckler’s Hard and back, a round trip of about ten miles or so (I think it wound up being more like eight in the end!).

After rediscovering my love of cycling last year at the Sky Ride, I wanted to join in, and so I arranged to hire a bike from a shop near the ferry terminal (and a good job I phoned in advance, because they weren’t open on a Sunday, the day I needed it, and the guy had to come in especially for me – what a sport!). He asked me where I was going and I explained the trip – then he asked me if I was cycle fit, because I guess that’s a ways to go if you’re not.. I had no idea if I was, but told him that I cycled on my exercise bike quite a lot and was pretty confident. I think the longest I’ve ever cycled on that thing was 100 minutes, because the counter goes up to 99 and I wanted to see what happened when it ticked over… Anyway, that’s a different story!

I have to say, cycling after a long break feels really intimidating. Even more so if you need to cycle in traffic. Even if you’re a confident driver, as soon as you get on that saddle the roads become roaring death-traps, full of cars ready to mince you into pieces. Luckily, the trip was down relatively quiet country roads, and the only time I got slightly nervous was when I cycled past a foal (giving it wide berth, I have to add!), which got startled by the group and started to gallop along the verge right beside us. I was concerned that it would run in front or bash into one of us, which could have turned into a nasty accident, but luckily it slowed down and stopped after a little bit. Hopefully it learned not to be scared of bikes in the future!

If there’s anything that’s going to get you enthusiastic about cycling, it’s a leisurely trip in the sunshine through some beautiful parts of the countryside near you. You get to see so much more than you would in a car, and have the added bonus of actually exercising whilst doing so – therefore more than earning yourself a slap-up pub meal halfway through. (But maybe not the two servings of ice cream I had both to and from the pub… sigh.)

I was also pleasantly surprised at how fit I was from all my cycling on the exercise bike. Turns out I must have had the resistance turned way up, because cycling up a hill was a pretty familiar feeling for me! Cycling on the flat was like heaven. A couple of my friends were struggling, but I guess the more we go out for trips, the fitter they’ll get – and the more ice cream we can eat! Right?

So, it was this trip that convinced me I really needed to buy a bicycle. The only question was really – which one?

New to biking

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Sunday Ride

Image by Josh Koonce via Flickr

I’ve always enjoyed cycling, especially when I was a kid. One of my happiest memories was cycling round and round my block on my bike (pretending to be a train for some reason…), but as an adult, as I guess a lot of us do, I stopped cycling so much, and now I don’t even have a bike.

I currently work from home and so I don’t need  a bike to commute. When I used to work the other side of town, I briefly flirted with the idea of cycling, because I had to catch a bus that took an hour to make what should have been a 20 minute journey. Unfortunately, I live at the top of a hill (which leads to another hill), so it’s very off-putting to think about travelling up it first thing in the morning. Also, at the time I was considering this, the weather was awful and it was really dark in the mornings. And, I was totally broke. My dad took me to the tip and we found a bike which was rideable (for £5!), and we got a helmet and some lights from the local bike shop, which cost about ten times more than the bike itself. The bike was pretty hard to ride, but to be honest, it wasn’t until I tried another friend’s bike several years later that I realised just how hard to cycle it was. Anyway, I told my boss I was cycling to work, and he was pretty keen that I didn’t, citing how dangerous it was and how tiring it would be. When I say pretty keen, what I mean was he basically said ‘No way’ and suggested one of the other guys from work give me a lift. Not wanting to make a fuss or try to circumvent him, I quietly nixed the idea, secretly glad I wouldn’t have to face that monstrous hill, and carried on commuting by bus.

Fast forward to last year, when my friend Rachel got a Trek mountain bike. It was summer, and I saw adverts for the SkyRide, which is where they shut down the roads in city centres across the country so that cyclists can take over the streets and generally have a blast. We did a couple of laps, her on her fancy bike, and me on my dump-cycle. I noticed she was having no problem tackling even slight hills, whereas for me it was like trying to pull a tractor on the back of the bike. So, we swapped bikes – what a revelation. I could actually cycle and it felt effortless. (Meanwhile, she could barely get mine going). I have to say I cycle on my exercise bike a lot – at one time, on average an hour a day at least four times a week – so I have no problem with fitness. I could have cycled around the city all day but eventually we had to go home… Even so, it was that that really made me realise that the enjoyment I got out of cycling wasn’t lost to me as an adult.

So, all it really took was another nudge to get me into the right direction…

Lemon Posset

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Week Six : Lemons
Weird story – up until I tried this recipe, I didn’t like lemon in sweet things. Hated it. Thought it was weird. Maybe it was thanks to the dodgy lemon meringues that were knocking around when I was a kid, but I just couldn’t understand why people liked lemon in sweet things. Now I’ve been converted by lemon posset, I realise that it’s just that I don’t get on with the supersweet, barely tart kind of lemon puddings. I like my lemon desserts sharp and creamy! I’m not saying this isn’t sweet – it is – but it’s balanced by the sharpness of the lemons perfectly. I can say all this because it wasn’t me who invented it!

The recipe is supposedly based on a medieval dish of milk curdled with wine or beer, with spices added to it. The alcohol would curdle the milk, which was supposed to be a great cure for things like the cold. Even today, we drink hot milk to get to sleep, so I guess it’s evolved since then! It’s also mentioned in Macbeth, when the evil Lady Macbeth uses possets to knock out Duncan’s guards.

This recipe works on a similar principle – but instead of curdling the cream, the lemon acts to set it, creating a dense, smooth and creamy taste. You can add grated lemon zest to this, but I prefer to keep the smoothness of the cream totally uninterrupted by the nuggets of peel.

Lemon Posset

INGREDIENTS

  • 600ml double cream
  • 140g caster sugar
  • Juice of 2 lemons (at least 75ml)

METHOD

  • Combine the cream and sugar in a pan, and heat until scalding – but do not boil.
  • Whilst on the heat, add the lemon juice and allow to boil for 30 seconds, whisking to prevent the cream from burning.
  • Allow to cool before pouring into bowls and placing in the fridge until set.

Some people like to serve this with shortbread or other crisp biscuits, but I really don’t think it needs any additions!

The Royal Wedding Nosh

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So, I bet you’re wondering what I actually served for MY Royal wedding watching party, right? Considering what a fuss I made about it, anyway. Well, you’re in luck – here’s my write up!
Whole table 6

So here’s the overview of the mammoth table of buffet food – we had about 20 people in all, so we didn’t want anyone to go home hungry! We nearly ran out of sandwiches, but other than that, we beat the stomachs and ended up eating leftovers for a couple of days…
Whole table 5

As you can see, the sandwiches were cut correctly into finger shapes (mwah hah hah) ala The Ritz – corner shapes are fine, but crustless finger sandwiches are the only option for a posh spread.
Whole table 2

We had a variety of sandwiches – smoked salmon and cream cheese, Belgian ham and dijon mustard with salad and baby tomatoes, caramelised onion chutney and cheese, egg mayonnaise, and of course, cucumber (boring). I love a good sandwich!
Mackerel pate 1

We also made Jamie Oliver’s mackerel pate from his British Picnic menu from 30 Minute Meals. People went nuts for this, but I really wasn’t keen. I thought I’d love it, but it sort of made me squeamish!
Heston trifle side

We also bagged Heston’s special royal trifle from Waitrose. It was incredibly pricey, and wasn’t a real trifle. All in all, it was a bit of a miss for me – vastly overshadowed by a family classic called Rennie’s Pudding, which I’ll talk about in a minute.
Heston trifle close

Heston’s trifle was really pretty though! Caramelised nuts, freeze dried strawberries, rose petals – lovely! Only trouble is, because it was topped with meringue, sitting on cream, it was pretty much destroyed as soon as you tried to take a spoonful.

Anyway, here’s the star pudding – in my humble opinion:
Rennie's pudding top

I don’t know where this pudding came from, but we’ve always had it in our family and it’s blimming delicious – and so simple! It’s just fresh fruit, covered with cream, and then topped with sugar caramel.
Rennie's pudding side

It is seriously gorgeous! Very easy, too.
Gin and tonic jelly side

I also made a gin and tonic jelly from the delicious Nigella Lawson – how English can you get, right? I’d never made jelly before, although I have made panna cotta, so it was an interesting experience. But it uses a remarkable amount of gelatine – more leaves than they even sell in one pack from the supermarket I shop at. Wowza. Maybe because it contains A QUARTER OF A LITRE OF GIN? That’s right! That’s a lot, I think. This jelly also made me realise I actually do like gin and tonic as well. But I’ll always be a Pimm’s girl at heart…
Gin and tonic jelly top down

It looks very innocent, but you should not attempt to drive or operate heavy machinery after eating this jelly…

Now onto the cake.
Victoria sponge side

Sitting proudly on top of the most expensive cake stand I have ever, and hopefully will ever, buy in my life is a Victoria sponge – a real classic. It was spruced up with some chantilly cream and blueberries and strawberries, just to give it patriotic colours. To be honest, we could have done without it, because it’s sort of, shall we say, restrained, compared to some of the outrageous puddings on offer, but I HAD to use my cake stand. This sucker cost me about £50! I’ve had my eye on one ever since I saw it on a blog somewhere – I think it was Bakerella’s, maybe. But I recently suffered a tragic loss in my life after every single damn cake stand I owned fell off the top of the fridge and smashed. I was gutted. The whole collection, gone at once. So I had to replace them, and this cake stand will hopefully last longer. I spent the whole day before the party, and the day of, shrieking at people ‘DON’T BREAK THE CAKE STAND. DO NOT TOUCH IT. IT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE’. It didn’t really create the atmosphere of relaxed, casual and classy hosting that I wanted to project, but you know, it’s still in one piece, so it was worth it.
Top of Victoria sponge

I also dusted icing sugar over the top in the shape of a doily, because, you know, it’s ENGLISH. Somehow.
Cake stand 2

This was also a new purchase just for this party (I know, ridiculous – I am still literally paying this off) – a cute cake stand from Cake Stand Heaven. You may remember me drooling over these before – LOVE them! I bought this one in green to match my nan’s china, which I inherited from her last year. Unfortunately, I also had to shout at people about this too, as you are expressly NOT supposed to pick it up using the handle on the top, as it can smash the china plates – it’s not a weight bearing handle. So of course, anytime anyone wanted to move this baby around, they used the handle on the top. Tsk.
Cake stand with flowers

My mum added these beautiful flowers to the cup right before we ate – a really nice touch! She’s also responsible for the pretty flower display on the table, she did an awesome job!

So, that was our buffet! Do you guys have any memories, photos or blog posts to share to do with your Royal Wedding party?

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Sweet treats for your Royal buffet

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Victoria sponge cake

Image via Wikipedia

CLASSIC BRITISH TREATS

Victoria sponge

A beautifully simple, light cake – classically British, of course – dusted with icing sugar and filled with jam would make the perfect addition to your table. Add whipped cream and fresh fruit to make it even more indulgent!

Gin and Tonic jelly

A great Nigella Lawson recipe – a grown up version of a party staple, and what better way to toast in the newly weds than with some gin and tonic!

Sweet vanilla cream and dulce de leche butterfly cakes

My own recipe for ridiculously delicious caramel and cream butterfly cakes. Forget cupcakes!

Scones with clotted cream and jam

You could make your own scones with this excellent recipe, but, equally, I’m sure no one will mind if you buy it in…

Lemongrass and raspberry trifle

Another Nigella recipe – and if you fancy a classic version, there are tonnes out there for sherry trifle!

Eton Mess

Legend has it this was invented at at Eton College – which is where Prince William was educated, of course, making this the perfect dish to serve on the big day. Just remember to mix it just before serving, because the meringues will melt otherwise! This is Delia’s recipe, but you can also add a splash of Pimm’s at the last minute to transform it into an ever more celebrationary dish!

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What drinks to serve at a royal wedding watching party

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Pimms anyone

Image by Walt Jabsco via Flickr

You’ve got a host of people over to watch Will and Kate tie the knot – but what the heck do you give them to drink, apart from good, old fashioned tea, of course? Check out this handy list of the best British tipples for your thirsty guests!

DRINKS

Fruit Cup

Pimms isn’t the only fruit cup you can make – check out this awesome blog for reviews of some other great fruit cup liquers! What could be better than a long glass of a fruit-studded cocktail on such a great day?

Buck’s Fizz / Mimosa

In the UK, we mostly have Buck’s Fizz, but whether you call it that or a Mimosa, there’s no denying this classic glass of bubbly and fruit juice is a right Royal winner!

Ginger Beer

You can buy your own, but you could try this great recipe for lashings of the stuff – the appropriate quantity for such a feast…

Lemonade

For your drivers and sober types, you need something without alcohol, lest you fall asleep before the vows are over… Making your own lemonade is easy, just combine lemon juice, water and sugar to taste.

Rhubarb, ginger and apple cocktail

Make use of some very British ingredients for this cool cocktail.

Royal Wedding Cocktail

Gin, Dubonnet, lemonade and pomegranate juice make this symbolic cocktail, especially formulated for Wills and Kate.

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The ultimate sandwich ideas for a royal wedding watching party

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Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches with tea ...

Image via Wikipedia

I love sandwiches and they should have centre stage in your wedding party buffet! But you have to make sure you cut them correctly – not diagonally into quarters, but into long, dainty finger shapes as they do for afternoon tea at The Ritz!

Because I would imagine you’ve made your own sandwiches more times than you’ve made any other kind of recipe, I’m not offering quantities, just ideas. That way you can be inspired and dish up your own quantities, depending on whether you’re watching the wedding with friends, or the whole street!

SANDWICH IDEAS

  • Smoked salmon and cream cheese
  • Ham, salad and cherry tomatoes with dijonnaise
  • Cheese and caramelised red onion chutney
  • Roast beef with horseradish mayonnaise and rocket
  • Egg mayonnaise
  • Prawn mayonnaise
  • Thinly sliced cucumber
  • Chicken salad

Have an idea I’ve missed? Tell me in the comments and I’ll add it to the list!

Don’t forget to check out my other post, on your ultimate recipes for a wedding watch buffet, here!

Your ultimate recipes for a Royal wedding party buffet

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spicy coleslaw

Image by elana's pantry via Flickr

I’m going to be making a series of posts chronicling the best recipes and ideas for your wedding watching party – starting with traditional British buffet staples! No spread would be complete without these old-fashioned favourites!

BUFFET STAPLES

Sausage rolls

Now, it wouldn’t be a proper British buffet without some sausage rolls on the table. For the record, I like mine hot! Here’s a Jamie Oliver recipe – although if you have Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, try his version from that book which has fennel seeds! Also, don’t forget about sausages on sticks, another old favourite.

Scotch Eggs

Now, I’m not going to be making Scotch eggs for my party, because I’d rather buy them than stand over the deep fat fryer. But if you want to give it a go, this recipe will make some really cute quails’ egg ones.

Cheese Straws

An old-school treat – just make sure you use puff pastry for flakey, delicious straws!

Pork Pie

Now, I’m not convinced it’s worth your time to make a pork pie to go with a buffet – if you’re going to make such a glorious beast, you should at least make it the centrepiece of a luscious picnic! But Nigel Slater knows his stuff, so I’m recommending this recipe for all you gluttons (for punishment).

Coleslaw

Everyone knows how to make their own coleslaw, but this Nigel Slater guide gives you some ideas for ways to liven it up with some twists!

Potato Salad

I love Martha Stewart! I think that people both sides of the pond will be surprised at the other’s claiming that this is a traditional national dish, but just like apple pie, the British and American versions have been embraced by their home countries. Here’s a link to a video and basic recipe, which also has a guide for some great add-ins!

Quiche

Now, it wouldn’t be a proper feast without a quiche, or as my nan used to call it, quince. But what kind of quiche? It has to be something seasonal, and a little bit special – what about smoked salmon? Delia’s the queen of baking, so I offer up her recipe for a smoked salmon tart.

Coronation Chicken

I’ve had loads of arguments with people recently about coronation chicken. I maintain it’s not to be served for a royal wedding buffet, because NO ONE’S BEING CROWNED. But, still, it’s a royally inspired dish, so include it if you like! Here’s a Gordon Ramsey version to make it extra special!

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The definitive list of Royal wedding party food to buy

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Kate and Wills

Image by JeanM1 via Flickr

There have been loads of new products on the market to cash in on the Royal wedding! I’ve been trying to keep up with them but it’s a fair struggle to list them all. Here are the ones I’ve managed to track down, listed by supermarket/seller. If you spot anything, comment below and I’ll include it!

WAITROSE

Heston Blumenthal’s Royal Wedding Trifle, £13.99

Saffron-infused cream, strawberry compote, meringue, and crumbled Amaretti biscuits soaked in Marc de Champagne, topped with rose petals, caramel almonds and dried strawberries.

Gingerbread Royal Wedding bride and grooms, 99p each

Cute little gingerbread couples – the groom even comes with a cool Union Jack waistcoat!

Pieminster The Royal Pear pie, £2.25

Poached pears, rum and chocolate – yum!

MARKS AND SPENCERS

Royal Wedding Celebration Collection, £65 for 12 bottles

This huge case contains two bottles of Brut Cava Prestige, two of Bellante Sparking Rose, two Pinot Grigio 2010, two of Vouvray Domaine de la Pouvraie 2009, two classic Claret 2009 and two Nebbiolo d’Alba 2006. Now that’s a party…

SAINSBURYS

Pieminster Kate and Wills Pie, £3.25

What could be more romantic than a pie? Beef, wine, bacon, pearl onions, mushrooms and brandy make this a bit of a treat – although I can’t really see it being served at a party!

Wedding Cake Icecream, £3.39

If you like wedding cake, but you don’t want to go to all the bother of going to a wedding to eat it, compromise with this wedding cake icecream, which features a spiced fruit flavour, along with almond ripple, royal icing drops and sponge pieces.

MORRISONS

Kiss Me Kate beer, price TBC

Brewed by Castle Rock in Nottingham, this beer is sold in 500ml bottles.

Royal Wedding Sandwich Platter, £6.00

Five sandwiches: chicken and stuffing, ham, cheese and pickle, tuna and cucumber, prawn mayo and cheese and onion. Available from 11th April – 3rd July.

Royal Windsor Red Cheese, £9.99/kg

Cheddar with port and brandy, layered with blue stilton. Made by Long Clawson dairy. Available from 11th April – 8th May.

TESCO

Prince William Royal Wedding Cuvee, £19.99 for 75cl

A special French champage specially developed to celebrate the Royal wedding

FOREMAN AND FIELD

Poire William Truffles, £5.95 for four

Developed especially for the Royal wedding, these are white chocolate truffles infused with poire william spirit.

Royal Wedding Hamper, £120.11

A hamper for six, this contains Royal Fillet of London Cure Smoked Salmon, Palace Earl Grey Tea, a homemade Victoria Sandwich cake with Royal blueberry, Mrs Kings’ Pork Pie, Alderton ham, Colston Bassett Stilton and a sensational sparkling wine from Sussex.

FORTNUM & MASON

Royal Wedding Tea, £7.50 per tin

This tin contains 125g of a special blend of large leaf Assam tippy golden flowery orange pekoe 1 and Eastern Kenya orange pekoe leaf tea. Assam is a traditional component of Fortum’s royal tea blends, and the Kenyan leaf is a nod to the country where the happy couple were engaged. What a thoughtful choice!

Royal Wedding Marc de Champagne Truffles, £8.00 for three

Presented in a beautiful white box, these truffles are certainly indulgent given the price!

Royal Wedding Praline Hearts and Crowns, £10.00

With milk and dark chocolate, these novelty shapes are perfect for a leisurelywedding watch – when served with a cup of tea!

Royal Wedding Rose Petal Jelly, £12.95 for 340g

Made with rose petals from Oxfordshire, which are supposedly picked at night when they are at their most fragrant, this jelly is housed in a limited edition jar studded with Swarovski crystals.

Royal Wedding Shortbread, £13.95 for 400g tin

Formed into traditional petticoat tail shapes, these crumbly biscuits are a great way to celebrate the wedding whilst keeping a long-term memento in the cupboard!

Royal Wedding Marc Demarquette Chocolate Heart, £25.00 for 100g

Some extraordinarily nice sounding flavours lurk in this beautifully designed box – all of them handmade in England. The flavours include Devon strawberry caramel, Kentish cobnut, Cornish sea salt caramel, and English rose.

PRESTAT

Union Jack Box, £14.99 for 200g

A selection of various flavours designed to celebrate the Royal wedding: pink Marc de Champagne, sea salt caramel, orange and lemon, praline and passion fruit.

MONTEZUMA’S

Great British Pudding Bars, £2.49 each

Not specifically Royal wedding related, but I had to include these because I thought it was such a cool idea! The 100g bars come in three traditionally British pudding flavours, Apple Crumble (Venezuelan Milk Chocolate with Apple and Biscuit), Spotted Dick (Venezuelan Milk Chocolate with Raisins and Hazelnuts) and Eton Mess (Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate swirled with Creamy White Chocolate with Strawberry & Meringue).

ALL SUPERMARKETS

Twinings Royal Wedding White Earl Grey, £5.00 per caddy

In a commemorative tin, this light Earl grey tea blend has the flavour of rose petals to give it that floral, romantic touch.

Walkers Royal Wedding Shortbread, £10.00 per tin

Plastered with a photo of the happy couple of the day of their engagement announcement, this tin contains 450g of shortbread, and is limited edition.

McVities Royal Wedding Tin, £5.00

A selection of classic McVities biscuits, with another engagement photo on the front.

Country Life Great British Butter (price varies)

A pat of British butter, swathed in the Union Jack and available at all good supermarkets for the month of April.

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