January | 2010 | Wait until next year

The Hot Toddy

Yesterday I advocated feasting, not fasting this chilly January. And I thought I’d continue on my crusade to make my readers a little more cosy by discussing the King of all hot drinks…the hot toddy.

Last week my Significant Other was feeling a little poorly, and so the kind man that I am, I offered to fix her drink to soothe her throat and fight off the cold. To make sure she was fully at ease with the concoction, I made myself one too. I’m good like that.

What a drink. So good, it’s probably worth catching a cold for. The perfect warming, calming drink when you retreat from the cold outside. And that is a key element – this is very much a drink for when you return, not for when you head out. Mainly because, if made right, you’ll be in no state of mind to venture out to brave the elements.

There are a multitude of recipes for a hot toddy, of course, but I try to keep it simple. Cinnamon and cloves are fantastic if you get it right, horrid if not. So, let’s play it safe. Here’s the quick and easy toddy recipe. In fact, calling it a recipe is a little grand. It’s just stuff to make a drink. Ready?

Ingredients:

A big slug of bad whisky. It’s no good wasting the good stuff on this. A cheap blend will work just as well, and be a lot easier on the pocket. It’s not there to dominate the drink anyway, it’s there to make you feel all warm and contented.
Half a lemon. Let’s keep it fresh, if only so we can kid ourselves that the drink is doing us some good. If the hot water kills the vitamin C, don’t tell me.
A spoonful of honey. What spoon? Depends how sweet you like your drinks, but I wouldn’t recommend overdoing it.
Hot water, freshly boiled. And then breathe in those lovely lemon and whisky fumes. That’ll right ya.

Method:

Er, stick all the ingredients in, hot water last, and give it a good stir. Drink. Repeat as necessary. Or until you fall asleep. Sleep is good if you’ve got a cold, multiplying the benefits of this drink further. Hell, it’s good to sleep anyway. I don’t buy all that “eight hours a night will kill you” bunk. It’s cold out. I want a good night’s sleep.

Anyway, give it a try. Any alternatives for a good drink on a cold night most welcome!

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January 13, 2010

January is for feasting, not fasting

Just when it seemed like all the snow had passed, more was on its way, and the blanket of snow across Great Britain remained in place. Yet still, some hardy souls persevere with their New Year’s resolutions. But, apart from being prompted by a calendar, why start any resolutions now?

January is not the time for running, dieting or abstaining from alcohol. Now is the time to indulge! “But why?” I hear you cry.

December is our main feasting month of the year, of course, mainly because of Christmas. But also, the wintery climate helps. Big stodgy meals, staying inside and partaking of warming drinks is ideal behaviour for December’s weather. And with January even colder, and more wintery, why stop now?

We all overbuy provisions for Christmas. I’m sure most households are still full of Christmas food and drink purchased before the holiday, along with any consumable gifts that followed. Waste not, want not, as the old phrase goes, so let’s use it all up.

This weather is ideal for staying in and working your way through whatever treats you have to hand. And that is sure to cheer you up if you haven’t seen proper sunlight for days on end. Plus, the extra padding will keep out the cold when you do venture out!

Let’s face it. In this weather, at this time of year, nobody wants a salad or a light dinner. In these conditions a hearty meal is what’s required, and is what’s necessary, quite frankly. And if a snifter of whisky or a good red wine warms the cockles, all the better.

Plus, who is really able (or willing) to actually exercise at this time of year? Outdoor activity, bar sledging, is a no-no, and I doubt anyone is excited at the prospect of fighting their way to and from the gym. The countless lapsed or unused gym memberships are proof of that.

So, there you have it. Now is the time to finish up all those goodies, to cuddle up in the warm with a loved one and let that Christmas spirit continue (or perhaps just start rather early). There will be plenty of time for healthier eating and exercise regimes when the weather improves. And we’ll be far more likely to stick to any plans then, when the sun is shining, than now, when the elements are against us.

Cheers!

(So, what are your plans this month? Healthy or unhealthy? What food or drink do you turn to, to keep the cold away? Have you exercised? Have you managed to keep any resolutions?)

Photo from Paolo Camera via Flickr

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January 8, 2010

Winning isn’t everything – Cricket and the beauty of the draw in sport

England’s nail-biting draw with South Africa yesterday reminded me of how much poorer cricket would be as a sport if it was purely based on wins and losses. Cricket is an idiosyncratic sport, and it is hard for an outsider to to appreciate how a game can last five days, with a draw being a good result. But I think yesterday’s game showed how.

By the last day of play England had only the remotest chance of winning. If a draw wasn’t an option in cricket, the final day would have been incredibly dull and frankly pointless. Instead, it provided incredible drama and the stage for some genuine sporting heroics. This was a stoic, resolute rearguard action. There was something incredibly noble in batsmen heading to the crease knowing they cannot possibly win, but determined to not lose.

Paul Collingwood is the king of this scenario. He is the kind of batsman who has the character to bed in and bat for hour after hour, repelling whatever the opposition has to throw at him.

The oft-maligned Ian Bell accompanied him, who up to that point had never really displayed the mental toughness to match his innate ability. Yesterday, he put in a watershed innings. He was no longer the batsman who throws his wicket away with a lapse in concentration or technique. This time he would stand firm.

As hours passed, the draw looked more and more likely, but things are never that simple for England, are they? Yet again, a mini-collapse led to a dramatic final phase. England were down to their last wicket. One more out and South Africa would win.

Graeme Swann (my current cricketing Man Crush, for those keeping score) and Graham Onions somehow held out against South Africa’s fierce fast bowling. Onions faced the final over, and for the second time this series survived. Twice England’s worst batsman has been called upon to salvage the game. Twice he has answered that call successfully, bravely and calmly.

Despite only managing to follow the game over the internet (damn work!) this was still a gripping, intense finale. Waiting for a webpage to reload has never engendered such nerves. The draw was finally secured, and England live to fight another day.

I think yesterday’s game really shows how other sports that forego the draw are missing out. A draw can mean as much as a victory, as it did for England, or a defeat, as perhaps it did for South Africa, who had clearly been the better side over the five days. Fighting for the draw did not require a swashbuckling effort or a brief flash of uncommon skill. It required character, determination and patience. Sport would be poorer for lacking those qualities.

‘Sudden death’ or similar was not needed to make the game compelling. And maybe this particular narrative was more intriguing, engrossing, complex and satisfying than just a simple win and loss.

Photo by vagawi via Flickr

January 5, 2010

Sporting Schadenfreude

Sunday was a good day for me.

Not because my team had won. They weren’t even playing, and probably wouldn’t have won even if they had been.

No, Sunday was a good day as Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup, 1-0 to Leeds United. This was a result to savour. Manchester United losing, not only to a team two divisions beneath them, but to one of their great historical and geographical rivals too. Wonderful.

Petty? Maybe, but then isn’t most sport pretty petty anyway?

This form of sporting Schadenfreude is not unusual. I’m sure many of us delight in the sporting misfortune of others. I have known football supporters who cannot just revel in their own team’s victory – for it to be a perfect day, all their rivals need to have lost too. Bizarrely, perhaps, there can be just as much joy in seeing another team’s failure as there is in seeing your own team’s success.

As a Liverpool supporter enduring a torrid season, I’m not proud, I’ll take what enjoyment I can get. As trophy after trophy slips away, I end up focusing more on hoping certain teams, such as the aforementioned Manchester United, will start to struggle too. As this season has seen all the ‘bigger’ sides be pretty inconsistent there has been more opportunities than normal for some Schadenfreude. Last season the top four sides lost 17 games in total between them. This season those same teams have already lost 19, with half a season still to go.

Sunday’s result saw yet another Alex Ferguson gripe about injury time, with him labelling the five minutes given as an ‘insult’. I’d suggest that was insulting itself, to the referee and to Leeds United. The arrogance is beyond belief, to essentially suggest that if one or two more minutes had been played Manchester United would have probably equalised. Ferguson should really look closer to home for the reason behind the defeat. His team lost because he picked the wrong side, not because the referee didn’t play a game of ‘next goal wins’. Yet, no sanctions will follow. Respect campaign? What Respect campaign?

Still, Ferguson’s rants do have one upside. Each time he complains about a lack of injury time, or indeed benefits from injury time given, more people visit here, and my post from earlier this year. So, thank you Alex, and thank you Google, for bringing me those people googling “fergusons injury time bitching” and “ferguson complains about injury time”. Much appreciated!

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