Go away, allergy

I have an allergy to something.

On Thursday, work laid on drinks and sandwiches at the local pub to welcome us to our new offices. I happily ate a ham sandwich, a crayfish sandwich, and some chips, plus a small glass of orange juice. Very nice it all was.

Two hours later, I went a bit queer, and appeared sunburnt from head to toe. Sickness, headache, fatigue, and constant nausea followed. It's now Saturday and I still feel akin to death.

I went to the dr who said it was definitely an allergic reaction, which I have never experienced before. He is referring me to an allergy clinic to try to identify what caused it, although he didn't seem clear on how easy this would be.

Laying on the sofa, missing a friend's wedding, feeling dreadful, I am hoping that it was something strange in the dressing, and not anything familiar. Allergies can appear out of nowhere, but with cooking (and eating) being such an important part of my life, I don't want something as huge as seafood to suddenly be wiped off my menu.

Or, worst of all, chips.

A trifle excited

The Royal Wedding was a week ago and it was brilliant. I think I'm late with this blog post as the excitement hasn't quite worn off yet...

Being a good day to be British, I made cucumber sandwiches (and ham ones for those who have to have meat), a gorgeous Victoria sponge cake with buttercream and jam filling, and a traditional sherry trifle. Yum!!! It was a brilliant spread, topped off with copious cups of tea and cream soda.

I timed the cake needing to come out of the oven at the exact moment Kate would arrive at the church, so there was some mad running between lounge and kitchen to both catch a glimpse of the dress and prevent the cake from burning at the same time. Luckily I managed both.

Paddington comes for tea

A gorgeous greetings card I bought today of Paddington Bear, illustrated by Fred Banbery. On the back it gives the following profile of the illustrator:

"Fred Banbery was born in 1913 and trained as an artist in London. After graduating he worked in the advertising industry. He moved to India in 1938 where he became a political cartoonist in The Times of India. In London in the 1950s he illustrated books, notably an edition of The Pickwick Papers, and in the 60s he became a cartoonist for The New Yorker. In the early 70s he was commissioned to illustrate a number of Paddington Bear books. He died in 1999."

Here's to good ol' Paddington, and to his illustrator. Now I'm off to have a marmalade sandwich.