What We Ate Wednesday--cheating stir fry with peanut sauce

Hello Lovelies! Today is one of my favourite quick meals. When I am working in the shop I don't get home until 6pm. Spiderman usually gets home around 4pm from his job so he can chop the veg and get food a-cooking before I get home. Fridays are the exception. We both get home at 6pm.

He is tired. I am exhausted.

He is hungry. I am ravenous.

This dish is the perfect remedy for that. It's a stir fry. In a delicious peanut sauce. With a little bit of a cheat to make it faster. If you think frozen food is tantamount to child abuse, I suggest you sod off look away now.

I use a combination of frozen stir fry veg and fresh veg for this dish. You can't really tell about the frozen veg as it is smothered in peanut sauce. Who doesn't like peanut sauce? People with peanut allergies, for a start. OK, besides them. Who else doesn't like peanut sauce?

I buy this bag of frozen stir fry vegetables at Tesco. It cost £1.20 for 600g.


I also buy these rice noodle nests from Tesco at £1.49 for 5 nests. These are a Godsend when you need something like NOW and don't have the time/energy/patience to wait for rice to cook. These babies cook in 3 minutes in boiling water. 3 minutes, people!!! We prefer to break up the noodle nests with our hands before we add the boiling water. If you forget (because you are exhausted and ravenous) then just use your kitchen scissors to cut up the cooked noodles after you drain them. You don't even have to cut or tear them into bits, really. But be aware you'll be slurping up a mile long noodle with peanut sauce clinging to it and it *might* just leap up and flick you on the glasses causing you to swear and preventing you from watching Doctor Who. Not that I would know anything about that....

I wish they were brown rice noodles, but they are not. If wishes were horses poor men could ride.

I  always have a tin of water chestnuts on hand because their crunchy goodness makes everything better.

I also save time for the prep for this by doing a bit in advance. Any time I use a red pepper or a carrot I always put half away in the fridge for the next day's meal. Carrots like to be covered in water, Peppers do not.

Cheating Stir Fry in Peanut Sauce

Make your sauce: (or have someone else do the sauce while you do the rest)
This sauce is based on one from the cookbook Vegan on the Cheap. She used rice vinegar and I can't find that here or when I can it costs too much money so I just use lime juice from a squirty bottle that costs 85p.
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 TB soy sauce or tamari
1.5 TB lime juice
1 TB liquid sweetener (I use golden syrup, but agave would be good too)
1 TB toasted sesame oil
garlic to taste--by that i mean lots
about a TB of chopped ginger root (I also have this pre-prepped--I cut up a big piece of ginger and freeze it in portions)
2 TB water to thin it out

to make the stir fry:
1.  Boil your kettle. When it boils, pour water over noodles and set the timer for 3 minutes. When it beeps, drain them and let them sit until you are ready for them at the end.

2. Measure out 200g frozen stir fry veg (a third of the packet for me) and add 1/2 cup frozen peas and a 1/2 cup frozen edamame.

3. Heat them (no oil needed) in your biggest pan until it is warm and nearly defrosted. There will be a bit of water. Don't worry about it now.

4.  Add your choice of fresh ingredients. we favour a half a chopped red pepper, a half a carrot cut into matchsticks, 5 chopped button mushrooms and a drained tin of water chestnuts.

5. Cook for a few minutes until the fresh ingredients are crisp-tender. Carefully drain away any excess water.

6. Add the peanut sauce and stir to coat. Let the sauce heat a bit and then add the noddles. Stir to get everything all coated with the lovely sauce.

Then slump down on the sofa and eat like you haven't had a meal in a hundred years while you watch Doctor Who.

Murder Ballad Monday--The Halliards

 Hello and welcome to part fifteen of Murder Ballad Monday.

For the last few weeks we have looked at versions of The Twa Sisters where the supernatural element has been removed. In previous weeks, the miller rescued the sister, then stole her jewellery, and pushed her back in again.

This version harks back to the first one Murder Ballad Monday that I wrote about. It is entitled Minore and uses a chorus similar to the one collected by Sir Walter Scott in 1802. He changed Edinburgh, Edinburgh in the refrain to Binnore, Binnore. In this version Minore stands in for Binnore.  

The refrain for this song is:

Minore, oh Minore

By the bonny dam sides of Minore

 

This version is by a band called Halliards. I stumbled upon them on YouTube looking for versions of this song. I confess I had not heard of them at all, and struggled to find any information about the band at all. Finally, I stumbled onto australianfolk.blogspot.co.uk which had this to say about it:

 I know very little about this band but they brought out this LP in Australia in the late 1960s. The band members are listed as Derek Moule, Brian Hall, Paul Langford, Stan Armstrong and Eric Brooks with some help from Rob McCarthy, Bernie Kellow and John McLaughlin. They were an Australian group but it is obvious that some of them are ex-pats from the United Kingdom and Ireland. (Not to be confused with the folk band "Halliard")
This is a great LP and they do great justice to the songs on this LP both vocally and instrumentally. In fact, it is one of my favourite albums. The songs are mainly a mix of tracks from the British Isles with one Australian traditional.

This is similar to last week’s version in that he seems to be courting both sisters. The song says:

He courted the eldest with all of his land, but he courted the young one with his right hand.

He bought the eldest a broach and ring, but he loved the young one above anything.

Somehow in the other versions he seemed to be a bit of a “Jack the lad” trying it on with both sisters, (perhaps the jolliness of the music makes me think this) but somehow in this one, it seems different to me. Perhaps there was pressure to marry the eldest, but his heart went to the youngest. Like in the book/film Like Water For Chocolate where he marries the eldest to be close to the youngest who is not allowed to marry (she must stay home and care for the elderly mother.)

This version is also different because the sweetheart in question is the miller’s son and it is he who finds the body of his beloved.  

 Halliards version of this traditional ballad is really lovely, just a harp in the background with the singing over it. Listen to it here:

Here’s how it breaks down compared to other versions:

Name of ballad: Minore

Performed by:  Halliards

Refrain:

Minore, oh Minore

By the bonny dam sides of Minore

Number of sisters: two

Where did they live: in a bower

Appearance described as: the youngest was the fairest and the eldest was plain

Sweetheart:  the miller’s son

Excuse to go to the water:  “to see our father’s ships come in”
Body of water: the dam

Does it contain the line “Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam”: “she swam up and she swam down”

Miller and child: the miller and his son

Mistaken for: n/a

Described in death: either a swan or a milk white maid

Who finds her on the bank: n/a

Instrument she becomes: n/a

Body parts used: n/a

Would her song “melt a heart of stone”: n/a

Do the strings sing individually: n/a

What does the instrument sing: n/a

Is the sister punished: no

 Here are the lyrics if you would like to follow along. I have eliminated the refrain so that it won’t be so long.

There were two sisters in one  bower

Minore, oh Minore

And there came a young lad for to be their wooer

By the bonny dam sides of Minore

He courted the eldest with all of his land

But he courted the young one with his right hand.

He bought the eldest a broach and a ring

But he loved the young one above anything.

Sister, sister come to the dam

To see our father’s ship come in.

They went to the dam and stood on a stone

And the eldest pushed the young one in.

She swam up, and she swam down

And she swam to where her sister stood.

Sister, sister give me your hand

You can have the miller lad and all of his land.

He’s the bonny miller lad of Minore.

It wasn’t for that that I pushed you in

For you are the fairest and I am plain.

Father, father come to the dam

There’s either a swan or a milk-white maid

Who lies drowning in the dams of Minore.

There’s none of them there knew her face so fair

But the miller lad knew the yellow hair

Of his own bonny lass of Minore.

 So, that’s it for version fifteen of The Twa Sisters. Stay tuned next Monday for version sixteen.

What We Ate Wednesday--Mujaddara with Flat Bread

Hello Lovelies! Have you ever heard of Mujaddara? It's a Lebanese dish. It basically means lentils, rice and caramelised onions. Who doesn't like that?

When my in-laws were alive, a Lebanese restaurant was the perfect compromise. Roy could get lamb, we could get lentils and nobody felt hard done by.

I have seen several versions of this recipe. many of the call for frying the onions on copious amounts of oil. I am not that keen on frying. I am sure it tastes *heavenly* to be fried in 3/4 oil, but this recipe is delicious the way that it is, with considerably less fat. It is adapted from a recipe from www.healthy-delicious.com. It is also fairly economical, too.

not too pretty to look at, but pretty darned tasty to eat!

Mujaddara

1 TB oil
2 onions, thinly sliced into rainbows
100g (1/2 cup) puy lentils
100g (1/2 cup) brown easy cook rice (original recipe used basmati rice)
500ml (2 cups) water
1 tsp each ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cinnamon (original recipe used cardamom instead of coriander, bit I don't like cardamom)
Lots of freshly ground pepper

Lemon garlic sauce:
Juice of one lemon
up to 5 cloves minced garlic
pinch sea salt

1.Heat the oil and cook the onions until they soften and start to turn brown. (about 10 minutes)
2. Add the lentils and rice and water to the onions and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.
3. Take off the lid and the spices. Stir and cook uncovered until all liquid is absorbed--about another 10 minutes or so.
4. Remove from the heat, add the pepper and drizzle on the lemon garlic sauce and stir to mix.

 If gluten is not an issue for you, serve with pita bread. As I can’t find a decent gluten free pita I use my standard 5 minute flatbread recipe.  5 minute flatbread is a *slight* misnomer as it takes about 5 minutes to put together and then 5 minutes each side under the grill to cook so it technically should be called 15 minutes flatbread, but since every step takes about 5 minutes I have decided to keep the illusion of swiftness in the name because it tastes amazingly good for gluten free and is relatively quick in terms of making bread from scratch.


GF 5 minute flat bread is adapted from the blog Including Cake.  

 Ingredients:

200g (1.5 cups) gluten free flour mix or regular flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum (only if using GF flour)

2/3 cup soya yogurt

¼ cup water (maybe a splash more if needed)

½ tsp salt to taste

1 TB nutritional yeast.

Makes 4 small saucer sized flatbreads

Method

Put your oven rack up to the top of the oven. Heat the grill to medium and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the flour, baking powder, nutritional yeast, xanthan gum and salt in a bowl then add the yoghurt and water and stir through, using your hands at the end as necessary. This should result in a rather sticky dough.

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces using wet hands and form circular patties with your hands approx. 5mm thick. . Lay on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.

Grill for approx. 3-5 minutes on each side (depending on the strength of your grill) until lightly golden and puffed up.

I find smoothing the rather sticky dough with wet hands gives a nice finish. It is amazing how this puffs up under the grill and goes all crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and golden brown and yum.

If you wanted to make the flatbread instead of using store bought pita, go ahead. Just use while flour and eliminate the xanthan gum as that is only for GF bread.

This is really tasty and very healthy. I have served it to company and the recipe easily doubles. Just use a bigger pot.

Enjoy!

Murder Ballad Monday--Steeleye Span

 Hello and welcome to part fourteen of Murder Ballad Monday.

For the last few weeks we have looked at versions of The Twa Sisters where the supernatural element has been removed in favour of one sister pushing the other in, the drowning sister being rescued by the miller and then thrown back in again to drown.

This week I want to look at the version by Steeleye Span. This folk band, best known for their 1975 song All Around My Hat, does a cracking version of this ballad. While many variations are sung wistfully or like a funeral dirge (particularly the ones with the supernatural element) this one--like last week’s version by Clannad—is a bit more on the jolly spectrum.

The refrain for this version is:

Bow down, Bow Down

I’ll be true unto my love, my love’ll be true to me

This is similar to ones we have seen over the last few weeks. Also, there are three sisters mentioned, but only the two feature in the song. This has also been a trend in a few variations we have looked at. This one is interesting as the suitor plays both sides. He gives a gift to the eldest which angers the youngest, and he gives a gift to the youngest which causes the eldest to be angry. In many ways, it really is his fault that this happens. In other versions, his preference for one over the other causes the jealousy, but in this version, he adds fuel to the fire by courting them both.

Listen to Steeleye Span put their own spin on this traditional ballad here:

Here’s how it breaks down compared to other versions:

Name of ballad: Three Sisters

Performed by: Steeleye Span

Refrain:

Bow down, bow down
 I'll be true unto my love
My love’ll be true to me

Number of sisters: three

Where did they live: north country

Appearance described as: n/a

Sweetheart:  is not named

Excuse to go to the water:  none given
Body of water: the verge (presumably the edge of the water)

Does it contain the line “Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam”:  “away she sank and away she swam”

Miller and child: just the miller

Mistaken for: n/a

Described in death: n/a

Who finds her on the bank: n/a

Instrument she becomes: n/a

Body parts used: n/a

Would her song “melt a heart of stone”: n/a

Do the strings sing individually: n/a

What does the instrument sing: n/a

Is the sister punished: no, the song says “the miller will hang on his high gate for drowning our poor sister Kate”, but the sister escapes punishment.

 Here are the lyrics if you would like to follow along. I have eliminated the refrain so that it won’t be so long.

I’ll be true unto my love, my love’ll be true to me.

I’ll be true unto my love, my love’ll be true to me.

There was a king of the north country

Bow down, bow down

There was a king of the north country

Bow down, bow down

There was a king in the north country

And he had daughters one, two, three

I’ll be true unto my love, my love’ll be true to me.

To the eldest he gave a beaver hat

To the eldest he gave a beaver hat

To the eldest he gave a beaver hat

And the youngest she thought much of that.

To the youngest he gave a gay gold chain

To the youngest he gave a gay gold chain

To the youngest he gave a gay gold chain

And the eldest she thought much the same.

These sisters were walking on the verge

These sisters were walking on the verge

These sisters were walking on the verge.

And the eldest pushed the youngest in.

Away she sank, away she swam

Away she sank, away she swam

Away she sank, away she swam

Until she came to the miller’s dam

The miller he took the gay gold chain

Then he pushed her into the water again.

Now the miller will hang on his high gate

Bow down, bow down

Now the miller will hang on his high gate

Bow down, bow down

Now the miller will hang on his high gate

For drowning our poor sister Kate.

I’ll be true unto my love, my love’ll be true to me.

So, that’s it for version fourteen of The Twa Sisters. Stay tuned next Monday for version fifteen.

What We Ate Wednesday--cowboy beans and crispy potatoes

Hello Lovelies! Last week we were going out in the evening to a special Interactive Murder Mystery Night at the public library (it was awesome! And free!) so we needed something quick and filling to eat beforehand.

Cowboy beans (or as regular people call them baked beans) are a staple in our house. There is just one problem. A tin of baked beans in the UK looks something like this:

Whereas, Cowboy beans from Louisiana look more like this:

Spot the difference? British beans come in a runny, flavourless tomato sauce whereas Louisiana beans comes in a thick, smoky, flavourful molasses or brown sugar based sauce. 

If we lived in the US this recipe would be so much easier. we'd just open up a tin of something like these and be done with it. 

But since we live in the UK, we have to "pimp" our beans (as the cool kidz say). 

We buy Tesco brand reduced sugar and salt beans as we are going to add some sweetener back in. 

we buy this from B&M Bargains for £1

If you want to pimp your beans I would suggest you add:

1 finely diced onion

garlic

a big squidge of BBQ sauce (make sure in doesn't have High Fructose Corn Syrup)

1 spoonful of molasses

a few drops liquid smoke

Before you pimp your beans, you need to work on your crispy potatoes.

Preheat your oven to 220C/425F.
Lightly oil your roasting pan

This recipe is for two people. I imagine you could double it, but you'd need to use a separate pan as you don't want overcrowding. Overcrowding=soggy not crispy potatoes. You'd probably need to rotate the pans at the half way mark as well.

Note: I find the best way to get the coating on is a way that is slightly less environmentally friendly. You need to mix it in a small bag--a bit like Shake N Bake--to really get the coating on there. Mixing it in a bowl just doesn't do it as well. We use a small biodegradable compost bag for this.

Crispy Potatoes for two (adapted from Angela Liddon's Oh She Glows)

400g potatoes--about 6 egg sized potatoes, cut into chunks
1 TB starch--I use tapioca starch, but you could use arrowroot or corn starch (cornflour to my British peeps)
1 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika
salt to taste and lots of pepper
1 TB oil

1.Put the potatoes in the bag and put on all the dry ingredients. Holding the bag closed wiggle/shake the bag to be sure all potatoes are coated.
2.Add the oil and keeping the bag closed massage the potatoes to make sure all the potatoes are coated.
3. pour into an even layer in your roasting pan.
4. bake 13 minutes, then stir (If you oiled the pan they won't stick, if you forgot they will) and then bake for 13 more.

While the potatoes ate crisping up, cook your Cowboy beans. We like beans on bottom/potatoes on top, but serve it however you like.

If you are British, try pimping your beans and see how much better it tastes.

Enjoy!

Murder Ballad Monday--Two Sisters

Hello and welcome to part thirteen of Murder Ballad Monday.

This week our song is by popular Irish folk band Clannad. They are a family band which consists of three siblings and their twin uncles. Their sister/niece Enya (remember her?) left the band in 1981 to pursue a solo career. It is worth noting that this was the song Rosie-Mai and I heard at the Meadows family folk concert which piqued our interest into the history of this ballad.

 

In this version (like last week’s version) there are similarities in their refrain. The refrain for the Clannad songs goes like this:

Sing aye dumb, sing aye day
The boys are born for me
I'll be true for my love
If he'll be true to me

There is some evidence of the last line of the refrain having a reference in Child ballad 10 R and 10 U, 

Child ballad 10 R ends with:

I’ll be true to my love, and my love will be true to me

Child ballad 10 U ends with:

The bow is bent to me (Is that similar to the boys are born for me?)

So you be true to your own love and I’ll be true to thee

But the first two lines were a mystery to me. Where had they come from?

A little bit of lurking on folk music forums informed me that the melody and gist of the words is from Two Sisters version E in Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. It was collected from Mrs. Clercy Deeton at Mine Fork, Burnsville, North Carolina, September 19, 1918. It's one of fourteen versions published there. I found a copy in The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads by Bertrand Harris Bronson. In that book the refrain is:

Sing I dum, sing I day

The boys are bound for me

 I’ll be kind to my true love

If he’ll be kind to me.

I can clearly see it is an amalgamation of The Two Sisters version E from the Cecil Sharp book and the Twa Sisters Child ballad 10 R. So, despite sounding quite Irish, this song is actually American!

Again, like last week’s version, this one leaves out the supernatural element However, in last week’s version the miller was done for the crime, but the sister got away. Not in this version!  I have included the lyrics below if you’d like to follow along. Listen to it here:

Here’s how it breaks down compared to other versions:

Name of ballad: Two Sisters

Performed by: Clannad

Refrain:

Sing aye dumb, sing aye day
The boys are born for me
I'll be true for my love
If he'll be true to me
Number of sisters: two

Where did they live: “side by side”

Appearance described as: n/a

Sweetheart:  young Johnny

Excuse to go to the water: n/a

Body of water: foamy brim

Does it contain the line “Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam”:  “there she sank and away she swam”

Miller and child: just the miller

Mistaken for: n/a

Described in death: n/a

Who finds her on the bank: n/a

Instrument she becomes: n/a

Body parts used: n/a

Would her song “melt a heart of stone”: n/a

Do the strings sing individually: n/a

What does the instrument sing: n/a

Is the sister punished: yes, the miller is hanged on the mountain head and the sister boiled in lead

Finally, some retribution! Also, that line about being boiled in lead was completely an original idea from Andy Irvine of Clannad, so if you ever hear someone singing it you know they are copying his version!

Interesting trivia: The folk band Boiled in Lead get their name from this song.

Here are the lyrics if you would like to follow along. I have eliminated the refrain so that it won’t be so long.

There were two sisters side by side
Sing aye dumb, sing aye day
There were two sisters side by side
The boys are born for me
There were two sisters side by side
The eldest for young johnny cried
I'll be true unto my love
If he'll be true to me

Johnny bought the youngest a gay gold ring,
He never bought the eldest a single thing

Johnny bought the youngest a beaver hat,
The eldest didn't think much of that

As they were walking by the foamy brim,
The eldest pushed the youngest in

Sister, oh sister give me thy hand,
And you can have Johnny and all his land

Sister I'll not give you my hand,
And I'll have Johnny and all his land

So away she sank and away she swam,
Until she came to the miller's dam

Miller took away her gay gold ring,
And then he pushed her in again

Miller he was hanged on the mountain head,
The eldest sister was boiled in lead

So, that’s it for version thirteen of The Twa Sisters. Stay tuned next Monday for version fourteen.

All Those Years Ago

Today is pretty special for us. The day that started it all.

It was 1989.  John David was having a birthday. I knew him from high school. Spiderman knew him from RA camp where they had been counselors together and Lottie knew him because their dads were friends.

Lottie invited me to the party that was being held at Louisiana College, in the common room of English Village. Before you get too excited about the term "party," let me just remind you that this was a Baptist party. So if you are thinking loud music, dancing and drinking you can just wipe that image from your mind. It was more of a Scrabble and cake sort of party. More on the cake later.

So, I was feeling a bit bored by the whole party business because I love to dance and there wasn't gonna be any dancing here. When the Scrabble board arrived and was met with an enthusiastic cheer, I knew it was time to go home.

I do not play Scrabble.

But then, I heard it. A voice. A voice singing. A voice singing FRANK ZAPPA. Who in this Baptist college knows Frank Zappa besides me? I heard it again. Ship arriving too late to save a drowning witch. It was not mistake. I looked frantically around to see who it was and it was Spiderman.

Now, I had known Spiderman for a whole semester and we had gone on many group outings together, but not once had I ever heard him speak. He was always polite and did things like held the door open for me or brought me another glass of grape juice at lunch, but had I ever heard him speak aloud? No, I had not. He was very shy, you see.

(I asked him later why Frank Zappa? And all he could say was "I could tell you were about to go and I had to do something to make you stay.")

So, we walked away (far away) from the Scrabble game and sat by ourselves.

This is where the magic happened.

We talked. We talked and talked and laughed and laughed. We discussed the Romantic poets. He liked Keats and Shelley, I fancied Wordsworth, but we both could agree on Coleridge. We recited the entire dead parrot sketch from Monty Python and laughed until I fell off the sofa.

The air crackled. I could feel myself falling in love. Honestly, like all those cliched films where Cupid comes out and shoots someone in the heart and little cartoon hearts blip and twinkle above their heads. It was like that.

I suddenly had this idea that I really needed to make a good impression. The more excitable I get, the less dignified I am. I start to flap my hands like a insane goose trying to fly south for the winter. So, I thought of a solution.

Cake. I could have a slice of cake. If I was holding a plate and a fork, I could not flap like I was trying to fly to the moon. So I had a slice of cake.

It was all going so well. We talked about music and were going through the entire catalogue of Peter, Paul and Mary songs when someone said:

Where's the cake?

I realised, to my horror, that I had eaten the ENTIRE birthday cake. I had eaten it all myself. Eight slices. In front of him. 

I had tried to be dignified and instead had made an utter tit of myself. I burned with shame. 

In my defence, it was a German chocolate cake.
             
(I asked him later what did he think as he saw me go back for piece after piece of cake. he replied that he couldn't believe a 90lb waif could pack away that much food. It was apparently pretty impressive.)

I recovered my composure and hid my plate under the sofa. we continued to talk and I wondered if I had blown it. He could never love someone like me. It was many years later that I found out that he had already loved me. Ever since he saw me in the play Tartuffe in 1988. He had loved me for a whole year and been too shy to talk to me. That's why he didn't want me to leave. Hence the Frank Zappa.

At about 3am, it was time to go back to our respective dormitories.

He hugged Lottie goodbye.

He hugged her roommate Lisa goodbye, in what I judged to be longer than the hug he gave Lottie. (He says this wasn't so. He said he hardly knew Lisa.) I was mortified. What if all night he had been forced to talk to the mad cake eating woman who flapped her arms and threatened him with a fork if he dared leave the sofa?

I nearly started to cry. Because, you see, I loved him. I loved him already.

Then he hugged me. I was so ashamed that I tried to pull away and he wouldn't let me. He held me in those strong arms and I melted. The whole rest of the world faded away and we were actually in the night sky surrounded by stars. I know that sounds like a crap metaphor for love in a badly written romance novel, but it is true. Every word. We hugged for ages until someone went, "OooOooo," and everyone laughed. We broke apart and began to walk back to our dorms.

As we walked along the boardwalk, my feet didn't touch the ground. I know that is also a well worn cliche, but it is 100% true. I actually looked down and I was levitating slightly. Hand on heart, that really happened.

We got back to Cottingham, and we were all going to have a slumber party in one room. Everyone else was tired, but I was wide awake.It looked something like this:

Me: Wasn't he wonderful? he's so funny and clever. Do you think he likes me??
Everyone else: Shut up and go to sleep, it's almost 4 in the morning!!!

The next day, self doubt kept creeping in. I felt like he was my soul mate, but did he feel the same way? I was suddenly tongue-tied. Thankfully Lottie knew what to do.

Basically, she did the grown up equivalent of that eighth grade game:

Do you like Spidergrrl? 

Circle one

Yes       No

She phoned him up and asked him. I was in the TV room watching The Comic Strip Presents. It was the episode Consuela, or the new Mrs Saunders. Lisa came flying through the double doors and screamed, "he likes you! he says he likes you!" 

And that was it really. 

From that day in 1989 to the present, we have been inseparable. 

So thank you, John David for being born. Thank you for knowing Lottie who could invite me to your birthday party. Thank you  Lottie, for being brave enough to ask. And thank you to Spiderman, whose love transforms me. 

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

that then I scorn to change my state with kings.