Grace Brothers

I’ve been a bad A-Z blogger the past few days, missing both E and F and not following up on comments, but in my defense, I’ve been busy with every single minute of my day getting soaked up by one task after another.  Hopefully this week will be a little calmer.

I struggled with the letter G. I couldn’t come up with any good G words off the top of my head, or G themed ideas. Then I dug through my DVD collection and spotted my Are You Being Served dvd’s. Inspiration struck.

BBC aired the show during the 70’s and early 80’s. Like most Americans, I fell in love with the show when PBS aired it. A few years ago I was delighted to find Amazon selling the entire collection.

The show was brilliant in its simplicity. With only a few exceptions (I can only think of one) the cast never left the property of Grace Brothers, the department store they worked for.

The store was run by Young Mr. Grace (Harold Bennet),                         

The amazing Young Mr. Grace. It was often said that old Mr. Grace doesn't get around much anymore.

and was a dated establishment with questionable business practices It was a depressing place. The wages were subpar, the management was horrible, and the working conditions were often undesirable. In other words, the perfect setting for a comedy. As an adult who writes, the show has taught be how important a good simple setting can be, especially when it comes to comedy. 

Grace Brothers was constantly looking for new ways to promote product but refused to spend much money. As a result display models were constantly blowing up or making lewd gestures. The products were cheap and poorly made, but the staff was desperate for commissions so they came up with creative ways to convince customers to make purchases and for refusing to accept returns.

Desperation for more money also led to some fun side jobs that never quite panned out.

Some of the best episodes involved the staff members (incredibly talented actors who shared an amazing chemistry, and who clearly loved what they were doing) doing something humiliating, unusually to help promote the store. Although the gimmicks never worked, they never fail to make me laugh, especially if Mrs. Slocomb was into the booze.

Years after Are You Being Served ended, the BBC brought the cast back together, this time setting the show on a English farm which was the only thing left of the Grace Brothers pension fun. 

If you’ve never had the chance to watch Are You Being Served, I urge you to add it to your NetFlix cue, you won’t be disappointed.  

This clips comes from the “Grace Brother’s German Week” episode, when the crew was trying to promote the German products they were being forced to sell.

D is for Dick Francis

When Dick Francis passed away, it was a sad day. I found the idea of never reading another Dick Francis novel heartbreaking. 

I don’t know how old I was when I read my first Dick Francis novel, but I do know that it came in the middle of my “I’m going to be a professional jockey” phase. I’m guessing that’s the reason I picked up that first book. Not only did Dick Francis use the world of steeple chasing as a setting for most of his novels (eventually his novels got away from the horse world, but I’ve never thought they were as good) but he’d also been a steeplechase jockey.

Dick Francis wasn’t just any jockey. He was good. Good enough he was often selected to ride the horses owned by the royal family. During his racing career, he won several championships, though he never won a Grand National. A few years ago I purchased a horse racing book and was delighted to find a few pictures of Mr. Francis during his racing days, including a shot of a tumble he took at a Grand National fence.  

After retiring from the racing world, Dick Francis started writing mystery novels. Unlike some people who rely on their name to sell a couple books but lack any real talent, Francis was really good.  The great thing about his books is that I feel comfortable recommending them to everyone. They have a little violence but nothing graphic, there are allusions to sex but by today’s standards those scenes are very g-rated, minimal foul language, and the books are well written, nicely plotted with enough suspense and tension to keep the reader hooked. The books are told in first person by the main male character.  

My favorite Dick Francis novels, all of which I’ve read several times are: Break In, Bolt, Whip Hand, and Francis collection of short stories, Field of Thirteen.      

Chillingham Cattle

For several months, I've been obsessed with the Chillingham Castle and the cattle that call the surrounding woods home. During the castle's long history it as the home base for the British during some pretty gruesome battles, was owned by the Earl Grays, provided sanctuary to a few kings, and remains shrouded in mystery. Today the castle serves as a tourist attraction and hosts weddings.

The Chillingham Castle is famous for three things;

• ·         It’s the most haunted castle Great Britain’s most haunted castle
• ·         King Edward made his home base Chillingham Castle when William Wallace (Braveheart) led his Scottish warriors into battle against
• ·         It’s the home to the only herd of wild cattle in the world, the Chillingham

  

  Chilligham cow

  Cattle                                                                                                                                                         
  From the little research I’ve been able to do, it seems that no one really knows where the cattle came from. Some feel the Romans first established the herd, but everyone agrees they are a solid part of the area’s rich heritage, and something that should be preserved. Based on their coloring, I suspect the Chillingham Cattle share a genetic background with the British White Cattle

The most likely explanation for the presence of the cattle was that they provided a ready supply of meat for the castle's inhabitants. A place that size would have required an enormous amount of people and without refrigeration the only way to have fresh meat would have been keeping a herd close by and butchering on the spot.  Since being a practical meat supply isn't a very romantic story, other ideas explanations for the cattle's existence have been created. Some people believe the cows were once considered sacraed and for Pagan rituals.Another theory I came across was that the Romans brought the first Chillingham cattle to the area and used the cattle security purposes (if this was true, I have to give the Romans credit for their cow training abilities. I've been around a lot of cattle, but I can't think of a single one I would have trusted to watch over the place)

Today, the cattle lead a pretty cushy existence. They get to be cows and act as a local tourist attraction.

Personally, I’m not really sure what the term “wild” means with regards to cattle. My family raised Angus and we had a few that seemed to fit the bill, at least by my standards, but maybe they were just crazy.  In the case of the Chillingham cattle, the term wild means they’re raised without any human intervention. They breed, eat, calve, and die on their own. According to the official Chillingham cattle website they receive no vet care. New blood has not been introduced to the herd, so the hundred or so cattle currently roaming the Northumberland forest are the result of heavy inbreeding. 

I’m not sure how I feel about the way the Chillingham cattle are raised. It’s exactly the type of situation that pits the fanciful and practical aspects of my personality against one another. I do think it’s an thought-provoking case study and find the overall health of the animals interesting. 

Posted as part of the A-Z blogging challenge.

B is for Baby Food

I live in the baby food capital of the world. I bet you didn’t even know such a place existed. It does. Not too far from where I live right now, the Gerber family whipped up their very first batch of baby food, and a dynasty was born.

When they first got started, the Gerber family made a deal with the local farming community. In exchange for the produce needed to make the baby food, the family gave the farmers shares of the company. This turned into a very lucrative deal for everyone. 

The Gerber Baby Food Company can trace its roots all the way back to 1901. In those days it was called the Fremont Canning Company. In the late ‘20’s the company shifted its focus to baby food.

There is a National Baby Food Festival (though it might be formally called Gerber Days, I can’t remember) It’s pretty much like every other small town festival. Main Street gets shut down, some games and carnival rides come in, and there are a couple of concerts. Several years ago when country singer Mark Wills performed at the festival, he also took part in the baby food eating contest.

The entire town always smells like whatever type of food Gerber happens to be cooking. During harvest time the combination of baby food and corn dust is quite homey.

It’s common knowledge that some of the baby foods (the desert flavors) Gerber produces make an excellent grown up snack. I’m fond of the Dutch apple and blueberry buckle.

A is for Asparagus

 I'm participating in the A to Z blogging challenge this year. The rules are simple. I'm supposed to update my blog each April day, until I've worked my way through the alphabet. For the sake of my sanity, I'm not sticking to a particular theme.

If you want to get on my Dad’s good side, ask him about his asparagus. He planted a partial acre a few years ago and he figures if nothing else it’s been a learning experience.

Interesting things he (and the rest of the family) have learned since he opted to start this project include:

·         There’s money to be made selling young asparagus plants, hence the reason he only planted a partial acre

• ·         Asparagus doesn’t create as many headache inducing problems as daughters and cattle
• ·         The tasty vegetable is a member of the lily family
• ·         Digging the trenches the young plants require by hand in the Upper Peninsula’s rocky soil is not much fun
• ·         Asparagus in one of the four perennials native to the state of Michigan. (according to my dad, I'm to lazy to look it up) 
• Asparagus should be 3 years old before the first harvest, this isn't a crop for those of us who are impatient. 
• Until the government stepped in and mucked things up, Oceana County, Michigan was the world’s largest producer of the vegetable.
• The ancient Greeks enjoyed asparagus
• ·         There’s only 30 calories in a single cup of asparagus, assuming you don’t cover it in Hollandaise sauce, drown it in butter, or deep fry it.
• ·         It’s a dioecious plant, meaning there’s male plants and female plants making self-pollination impossible.
• ·         It’s pretty in the winter  
•