FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1. It was unusually hot more then 30° up to 36°C (86 - 98 F) and we are not used to such temperatures in Belgium. I was lucky to live outside Brussels, because in the city it was even warmer and sticky.

As we have no aircondition, (it's not worthwhile) I opened all windows early morning to cool down the house, and then closed the shutters and left the windows a little open. This helped to keep the house more cool.

2. With these temperatures I really had no courage to move or to do anything which asked some effort. I just did some household scores when it was still cool but then I watched TV with a big fan standing besides me. In the afternoon I could blog outside under the Pergola and blog as there was a little wind.

3. Fortunately I remembered that we have a wonderful swimming pool in Waterloo, and I decided to go there each morning at noon time, when all people left for lunch and had enough space for me alone to swim and do some acqua gym for 45 min. When I returned home I felt like a newborn !

4. Then came a thunderstorm and rain and it cooled down a bit, so I could sort out the clothes and stuff to put in my suitcase. I also prepared some pre scheduled posts for themes and played "Easter egg hunting" by looking for my cables, adaptors, battery chargers etc for my camera, notebook and Kindle. As usual they were all at the same place, only the places had changed.

5. And while you are reading this now, I just arrived in Eastbourne UK to spend a week with my friends as I do each year. Of course the first day I won't have time to write anything !



and here I am for the next 6 days

JACKET POTATOS

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

Maybe because I can't find the right potatos in Belgium for this simple plate,  I adore eating them when I am in the UK !

So while you are reading this I am sitting in the Eurostar train on my way to London, where I stop for a few hours before I take the train to Eastbourne to spend a week with my friends at the English South East coast, as I do each year.

As soon as I  am in London and it's lunch time I go "Jacket potato" hunting ! I usually take them with bacon and cheese, but sometimes also with shrimps. I just love them. It reminds me my childhood when my grandma baked them because in the part of Germany where she lived it also was a common plate. Usually it was served with quark and salad. In Belgium, France and Italy it is completely unknown.

The jacket potato is the same as a  baked potato but is called jacket potato in the United Kingdom. The baked potato has been popular in the UK for many years. In the mid-19th century, jacket potatoes were sold on the streets by hawkers during the autumn and winter months. In London, it was estimated that some 10 tons of baked potatoes were sold each day by this method. Common jacket potato fillings (or "toppings") in the UK  include cheese and beans, tuna mayonnaise, chili con carne and chicken and bacon.

As part of the upsurge for more healthy fast food, the baked potato has again taken to the streets of the UK both in mobile units and restaurants. The fast-food chain Spudulike is specialized in baked potatoes. Personally I have never tried them out.



Ready for holidays !

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Concerning the new Gmail presentation, in case you want to change it into "normal" again !

I got some help from a blogfriend to turn it back to "normal". Go to the little wheel on the right side of your incoming mail box, just besides the arrows, click on it and you will have the settings. Click on "configure inbox" and set it to "Primary". Then it will appear like before !