Camel races in Muscat, Oman. photo found in old, torn Nat. Geographic thanks to issue May 1995.
In October last-
my brother organised lunch,
I gobbled muesli, the sun
in his conservatory lit the pages
of the Mail on Sunday.
A brief shadow passed, I asked
for scissors to bring home
a cutting - someone had left
a legacy that anyone could
cook up in their kitchen and
this is it!
Serves 4 'The Hotpot'
800grams neck of lamb
800grams thinly sliced potatoes
Large onion, chopped.
One & a half cups of water
3 tbls cooking oil
1 tbls flour
1 bay leaf
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Brown the meat in a pan of very hot oil, then set aside. Fry the onion until softened. Sprinkle the flour into the pan with the onion and stir to soak up the fat. Turn off the heat and add the water while stirring to prevent lumps forming. Add a dash of seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Mix the onion, meat and stock tog. and stir in a bay leaf. Alternate layers of the meat and onion mix with the sliced potato in an ovenproof dish. The top layer should be potato. Cover and bake at 325F/180c or gas mark 3 for two hours. Remove cover and continue to bake until the top lay of potato has browned.
Fictitiously served in a popular pub
in a round, brown pot
with an ale, froth on the top,
by a barmaid at lunchtime, 'cos
the English traditionally have dinner
'round twelve o'clock!
The lady in question had a tight smile,
a listening ear, and a curt reply.
Her wavy brown hair never, ever faded.
She performed at eight,
a singer in the forties
'she'd been through the war, you know'.
Her surname mirrored a highway robber
by the name of Dick, but her real name
was Betty Driver, admired by the cast
and fans alike, incredibly at ninety one
she still played her role. By now,
you'll have guessed, Betty Turpin,
'Mrs. Hotpot', mother of 'our Gordon'
off Coronation Street has died. After
forty two years of asking from behind
the bar, 'What would you like?'
