Best Before Baxters

I once said to someone that I'd know that I was comfortably off if I could go into Valvona and Crolla on Elm Row in Edinburgh and not have to worry about what anything cost - ahhh - an Epicurean world to which to aspire.

Anyway - still a long way off there!!! The nearest I can get is the once in a while panini.

Working in Leith I occasionally visit Ocean Terminal and head to the delicatessen that is Baxter's. I always wonder who the customer base is - it has things of interest: a fine range of booze, chocolates and ranges of Scottish and Baxter's products....but hardly VFM. Maybe it's the Britannia crowd??

The best I can usually do is to visit the reduced table - which becomes better stocked as the month goes on with the short dated products. So for example, on Wednesday I managed to get a whole Selkirk Bannock for 50p which was fine to the end of the month. Very satisfying with a cup of tea on Saturday. There was also other items such as cinder toffee and various sauces reduced. If you are relaxed by best before dates they are a good way of getting some very pleasant things you wouldn't normally afford.

Seems I have become such a regular that my partner has given me superhero powers - calling me Bargain Baxter Man. A former colleague who is much less relaxed about before dates was christened Full Price Friend.... the Batman and Robin of Scranner city.

See you there at the end of November.

Cookie cats

Yesterday at the Brunton in Musselburgh we had a choice of morning fun and frolics - either the Lothian Cat Rescue bazaar or Scottish Slimmers. Well, dear reader - guess which one we went for.

Yes, the bazaar.

They usually start around 10:30, but they was a queue even at 10:20. The jumble sale goods themselves were OK - we got some homemade jams and chutneys all for less than a pound. But the best bit is the home baking stall. Here you either sit in with a nice cuppa or take away freshly prepared cakes, crumbles and shortbread.

So we got ginger shortbread, some carrot cake and coffee and walnut cake - splendid they were at 60p a pop - having them later in the day as a treat after shopping in Edinburgh. There are also fruit loaves and apple crumbles which you can take away and put in the freezer.

Check out the LCR website for the next one which is due near the end of November. And remember it's for a good cause.

The picture above is of Billie - who was a rescue cat and has used me as a trampoline most mornings for the past 8 years.

Chutney Mayhem

One of my colleagues very kindly gave me some of the chillies she had grown out in East Lothian.

I love coriander - so thought I'd make some Coriander Chutney. In supermarkets, you tend to take a few teaspoons of leaves for a quid. Not VFM. So last week I went to the Asian Supermarket at Jock's Lodge in Edinburgh. I use this place regularly for spices, pickles etc - and they sell some of my favourite yogurt. Woohoo - big bunch for 50p. So picked up two - and the chap said nope - FIVE bunches for a pound.

We are living in a forest of coriander.

So mixing the coriander, chillies, mango plus lemon juice, salt and sugar - we have some monster chutney - my mouth (and eyes) are watering just at the thought of it. Going to have it with some kheema, nan and lots of lassi to keep the heat down.

Hairdresser on Fire

I have had some discussions with friends and colleagues about the delights of haircuts. I'm not a great fan - and probably - as you can tell - wait too long between cuts. But not anymore - having seen these pictures I'm going to head down on a regular basis.

There is a general bemusement of the cost - particularly from women.

But I think I am lucky having been a regular at the Kirkgate Barbers in Leith for the last few years. There have been some recent changes with an Under New Management sign. This has led to a freshening up with new paint work - but retaining the friendly / amiable staff.

The price hasn't risen either - with a cut at five quid.

Up Pariscope

We are back from our trip to the delights of Paris.

In my last post I reflected on some of the places you could visit in Paris on a freebie. These were mainly the bigger museums and splendid they were. The information on these places is relatively easy to find in the guide books.

But I'd like to reflect upon a magazine available in Paris for a mere 32p - it's called Pariscope. It is produced on a weekly basis and provides information on what's going on in museums, cinema, events, exhibitions etc. Thanks to this magazine we were aware of a number of events - such as an exhibition contrasting photographers' views of Paris and Moscow, another on contemporary Dutch art and finally the exhibition shown here - an outdoor exhibition of photos of toilets near the Bastille.

If you are ever in Paris I would highly recommend this magazine - or it's compatriot L'Officiel des Spectacles. And what a bargain it is!!!!