I had a better night last night without clankings or groanings, thank goodness: OH bought the Aged Pil a hot water bottle and that seems to have done the trick – for now anyway. Temperatures continue to be low, which I consider a Good Thing; however there’s not much cheer on the horizon as the government continues to blunder through the crisis trying to shift blame onto others (ie us) wherever possible. This seems to be a trend with right-wing politicians, to shift blame from government and corporations onto the individial. Such as obesity for example, which right-wingers tend to blame on the individual rather than considering factors such as the availability of healthy food versus that high in sugar and salt. Whenever I go into a shop – and these days it can be a stationer’s or even a bookshop! – they will have snacks available which are nearly always sugary and salty. You might think you’re better off with a sandwich – that’s healthy, isn’t it? A sub with cheese and tomato, for example? But Subway’s bread has been found to have so much sugar in it that it’s practically cake – so surely the manufacturers and suppliers have to take some responsibility for this? If you’re short of cash and/or in a hurry it’s always much easier to buy sugary and salty things than it is to be healthy. The food industry and retail outlets are massively to blame here in my opinion, though it’s only fair to state that the individual must take some responsibility. I never buy proprietary sandwiches, I make my own – but then I have time. I don’t have three kids who need getting ready for school before I head off to a stressful job. I work from home and have plenty of time to think about and prepare food.
A propos of which, Nigella is apparently back. I didn’t particularly realise she’d gone away as celebrity chefs don’t loom large on my horizon – but I must say she has a particularly appealing attitude towards food, which is to enjoy it. This might seem a recipe for obesity (actually, why isn’t she overweight?) but it’s nice to hear someone talking about the pleasure of preparing and eating food. There’s no pleasure that I can see in fast food, but it’s great to cook something you enjoy and share it with people you love. So we should have more of that.
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 
I don’t want to be intentionally contrary, but my own view is that the majority of people allow themselves to be persuaded by successive government campaigns, which are very often contradictory, and which might or might not be steered by ‘experts’ [who are often found to be in thrall to the food industry], instead of believing that if they take heed of their own body’s requirements, it should be possible to eat a healthy [for them] diet, rather than slavishly counting calories, or panicking if they can’t manage their ‘five a day’. There’s no such thing as normal! Cheers, Jon.
I think you have a point: the diet industry and the fast-food industry work together. Have you ever seen ‘How to Get Ahead in Advertising?’ It’s a brilliant film
I’ve pretty much ditched the bread too…. refined carbs and all that. For snacks I generally have a bag of mixed nuts, the unsalted kind. The majority of the supermarket aisles are alien to me. It sure is weird when you’re in a non-food shop (like a DIY one for example) and the person on the till is trying to flog you some chocolate bars they have a stock of for some reason.