Cooking and a Theatre Outing

Ocado had sent me some free white sliced 'farmhouse' bread which I had not eaten. I decided to make a bread and butter pudding, but had no dried fruit apart from a few dates - and very little sugar, apart from some hardened Barbados sugar. However, I decided I could make the pudding using a little Barbados sugar, some walnut pieces and some honey as well as the chopped dates. I made it last night and it turned out rather well.

I also cooked some pig's trotters with onions, garlic, pepper, cloves etc for at least two hours. This morning it was lightly jellied and will make a nice stock when strained.

I also cooked 2lb mutton with garlic, mushrooms, parsley, prunes, cinnamon and nutmeg for a long time on top of the cooker, and it has turned out like a kind of tagine, rather nice.

Took a group of people to see Porgy and Bess at the Savoy. The show was quite dated but very lively and with plenty of good dancing and songs. Computacab let us down by not collecting two of the disabled fares. We had to telephone them several times. At first they said they had been waiting at the venue for 6 minutes. The second time they were 'on their way'. The third time the driver was 'in the Strand'. Eventually they turned up three quarters of an hour late.The driver cheerfully admitted it was his fault as he had not bothered to look at his instructions to go to Carting Way. He had no ramp and put the wheelchair into the cab very clumsily. The theatre staff by contrast were very helpful and kept the disabled doors at the back open for us. We shall have to complain to Southwark Council about Computacabs as they have let us down on many occasions. On this occasion they also failed to pick up another wheelchair-bound lady and her helper, dashing her hopes for a rare outing to the theatre. Absolutely disgraceful. Apparently they have a contract with Southwark Council to do this work and are presumably paid large sums of money, but are obviously not fulfilling their side of the bargain.

My son and his wife have arrived back a day early. They are coming around to eat some lamb with quinoa and basmati rice for dinner. Am digging out some wine and candles etc. It is so exciting to have them back again.