FRIDAY NEET

“Well Friday neet has finally come around
Me and me buddies gonna head for a spot we found
We’re gonna forget our cares
And yap on into the night
Down at the club”

That’s what I think of this place as. A club where we all meet for a yap and (hopefully) a laugh.

Anybody done owt nice or special this week? Tell yer Auntie Mollie all about it 'cos her's a nosy owd sod.

Dear Auntie Mollie , Today I've browt all my Halloween stuff in and put my
' lest we forget 'stuff out and tomorrow I'm going to a shindig on a farm field with a load o pals setting a Bommy off, I've brewed a keg of homebrew and its gonna be a muddy , firy ,loud and totally dangerous place to be because the owner has bought £700 worth of fireworks and he's completely mad and he's not sure where to put the match and. In the same vein of irresponsibility I've, put me central heating on toneet,

Sounds like a fun night tomorrow, Tom. BUT £700 for fireworks? Is he a very rich man with no missus and no kids? If so, I wanna meet him!

"Well, it's Friday neet, Mollie, chippy neet, an' I'm gooint'get haaaaa'f a chicken an' peys. I'm gooint' owd t'chicken in t'reet 'ond an' eyt it, reet, an' I'm gooint' shovel t'peys daaaaain wit' left 'ond. An' I met 'aya can o't'Guiness t'wash' it daaaaain wi' anaaaaaa' Mollie, then a bowlfull o't'paaaaineapple t'help daaaaigest it aaaa' "!

"Are you goin' ont'Bonneville, Tommy"?

"Aaaaa' "!

Good man. Thee look after thi' bally, and thi' bally'll look after thee!

Thowd Bonnie went in 1975 Tonks so, No, I'll be walking theer and staggerin' back like a ' snipers nightmare'

LOL! Never heard that one before, Tom.

Well, tonight I started on the very hard task of defrosting my chest freezer. For the last couple of weeks I haven't been able to close the lid as it's iced up so badly - in fact, the lid has stood about five inches above its closing point.

So, I've switched it off. Saved as much food as I can, (not much), and my oven is turned on full blast . Problem is it's got thick stalactites in there so it'll probably take days - nay weeks - before it's cleared.

I've never needed to defrost a freezer before, so it'll probably have gallons of water at the bottom which I'll have to scoop out when it's done.

Posted by: mollie m (7808) View mollie m's page

Well, tonight I started on the very hard task of defrosting my chest freezer. For the last couple of weeks I haven't been able to close the lid as it's iced up so badly - in fact, the lid has stood about five inches above its closing point.

So, I've switched it off. Saved as much food as I can, (not much), and my oven is turned on full blast . Problem is it's got thick stalactites in there so it'll probably take days - nay weeks - before it's cleared.

I've never needed to defrost a freezer before, so it'll probably have gallons of water at the bottom which I'll have to scoop out when it's done.

Replied: 1st Nov 2024 at 22:43

How on earth did you let it get into such a state mollie? I imagine it will have put £s on your electric bill. Anyway mollie look on the bright side, Tom may offer to nip round and pump it out for you.

Ahoy, First Mate.

How do I manage to get into any state? I'm always getting meself into scrapes and don't know how to get out of them till I put me thinking cap on! I've sat worrying about it all this time, without really knowing what to do, so I've only meself to blame. It will have cost me dearly on my lecky, but it's on the mend now, slowly, but surely.

The hard job for me is when it's all thawed out I'll have to reach down with a pan or something to scoop out the water. Not easy when you're only 5ft tall with breathing difficulties but, nil desperandum, I'll get there.

Not sure why you'd think Tom would come and help me out though. I don't know him personally, only on here.

Ah the bother maker is mentioning my name is he, But yes I'm like a white knight on a white horse and you would only have to ask and, I'd come kill the dragons in your Kingdom Mollie. I'd shut off the leccy then drag it out into the open and when the ice is water again, Tip it up and lay it on its belly,
I know this would supply the ill minded gossip mongers and fish wife association with some material to start rumours but, All the Ladies of WW to whom I've worked for will testify to my politeness and gentlemanly conduct .

And that would be very kind of you Tom, and I'm sure you mean it.

Problem is, even if you dragged it out to let it defrost, the ice would still be there in this cold weather, so my way is the quickest, even though it'll still take a good while, but thank you anyway.

Well folks, my freezer is rapidly defrosting now and I've had me little feet weet a few times from water on the floor, so I've been wearing me boots all afternoon.

I've managed to haul out some smaller lumps of ice by hand, and I've just pulled out an iceberg as well which I've chucked into the sink to thaw out. All is going as planned and, hopefully, it will all be sorted by tomorrow night.

My brother suggested I get an upright freezer, but I don't like them as food can only be stored for about a month, whereas in a chest freezer I've had stuff in for 12 months and still fresh, but I guarantee I'll never let it get like that again.

An upright freezer keeps food just as long as a chest freezer. Plus you can but frost free ones.

Ah right. Times must have changed, but one that would fit in the space in my kitchen wouldn't be big enough to hold a lot. You see, I batch cook, have a meal out of it, then freeze the rest. I buy very little frozen food except for some vegetables. If, for example, I get an Indian or Chinese takeaway, I can usually eat enough food for one meal, then portion up the rest to freeze for another day, usually an extra 3 - 4 portions.

nowt wrung with that Mollie, Nature works like that with squirrels, hedgehogs and all manner of animals, you've gotta get it while its plentiful and store it, A Lion will store it in a tree whilst a crocodile will store it beneath the water, You gotta use what you have,

Yeh, I'm like an owd squirrel and store it safely so I won't run out of food. Problem now is, I'll have to start from scratch again as I've had to throw away most of what was in there, but I'll build it up again in no time.

Serves me reet.

I do hope your freezer is still working after you put in all that work. Sometimes these events are a sign that it may be past it's sell by date.

Think back to our yoof Mollie, there was no freezers or fridges, only a panty and, Our parents came through a war when food was hard to come by and even the food that did get to us was rationed but, still our parents survived and, we will too, ice or no,,,,

First Mate:

I know, I was thinking about that, but I'll just have to wait and see.

Tom:

You're right of course, but back then food wasn't stored like it is now because women shopped every day for the meal they were to cook that night.

There was a pantry in the kitchen here with a marble slab when we moved in, but when renovating the kitchen I had it removed.

Just in case you may be looking for a replacement mollie. Ashton in Makerfield. Advertised 5 hours ago

Link

Thanks anyway, but that's much too tall for my space as it wouldn't go under the wall cupboards, and I never buy anything online. Too much of a Luddite.

Everyone is different I know, I like food thats cooked and eaten while hot, If its frozen then warmed up again, I'd have to be absolutely staving to eat a re warmed meal but. my missus will do that cooking and freezing gig but, A lot gets chucked out when we, do a big shop at Iceland on pensioners day and the freezers full of the ' ready meals' that get forgot about,
I could live without a freezer I would not rate it as an essential appliance

Tom, ready meals are food that has been cooked (by others), then you freeze them for later during a big shop. There's no difference.

Even though I live alone, and don't have an enormous appetite, I can't bear the thought of food being thrown away if there's nothing wrong with it.

I know a woman who throws things away for no good reason. If she buys a fresh chicken and cooks it herself, if there's still a lot of meat on it, she'll throw it away anyway instead of stripping it and freezing it. That to me is a shocking waste of good food.

I have milk in my fridge at the moment with a Use By date of 26 October, but it's still perfectly good and, as long as it smells and tastes okay, then it's okay.

Mollie how did our parents and the older generation like us manage before they started putting dates onto every food item you can think ofI am like you I look&smell food never mind what date is on the package. I have eggs in a package with a date not only on the packet but sprayed on the eggs.When I use the eggs I put them into a glass of water to see if they sink.I buy a small chicken cook it have some for a meal strip the carcass and put the chicken into the fridge for another meal or sandwiches. I have stopped buying a bag of potatoes and have tinned potatoes because I was throwing more away than I was using. Thousands of tons of food gets binned because the modern generation are indoctrinated with the mind set of dates on food and throw away good food because of the date on them

I fully agree with you there about throwing food out, Its a crime to throw food away and, As a kid the Nun's used to watch us at skool dinners and woe betide any kid who left food. Even the 'Oribble tapioca pudding had to be fully consumed or else a lashing of the cane would follow and they'd say
" there are starving little black children in the jungle who would love to eat that" and no one dared answer them back,. My mrs says I go too far when I see bread thrown out because there's a little bit of green mould on it, I'll take it out of the bin, cut the green off and eat it just to make a point,,

Just after the war, I remember finding some tinned food at my Grandparents house from the war which when opened, made some good meals.

No sell by dates on them.

Some people might frown upon this, but, it works every time for me.
My freezer will defrost in less than an hour, with no loss of food.

Empty the freezer, put some tea towels down on the bottom to protect the bottom of the freezer and also to soak up the water and then put 2 pans of boiling water on the tea towels and then shut the door / lid.
In the meantime boil 2 more pans of water and remove the pans that are already in the freezer and replace them with the freshly boiled pans of water. Keep repeating the dose ( and wringing the towels out! ) until its completely thawed.

It works a treat. Job completed in less than 60 minutes

That sounds like a good remedy but, unfortunately, I'd allowed the freezer to get beyond that point, and it was full to busting with food, and there was nowhere I could have put it all, but thanks anyway. Much appreciated.

.....

Mollie.
You can put the food at one side, as it hasn't got time to thaw out.
My sister in law gave me that defrosting tip. And like I said, it's never failed me yet

I also do exactly that but put as much unfrozen food as I can in the fridge turned down to as cold as it will go.

I also do that, Anne with the what I call the "quick defrostables".

For example, a loaf, thinly sliced cooked meat, frozen peas, etc.

Ah well, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I only have a little fridge, so it doesn't hold a great deal.

I've just been bailing out the water from the bottom, and so far I've got four pansful out. Having a rest now, and will have to do more later. A bit at a time, then I'll see if the freezer still works by the end of it.

As I said earlier, I won't be letting it get into that state again as it's been extremely hard work.

…..

I use my partners hair dryer in conjunction with pans of water.

Here we are again, a week later, and it’s been very, very hard work for me, much harder than I thought it would be and I’d managed to knock off a few big pieces of ice with me claw hammer, which I threw into the sink (the ice, that is, not the hammer), lessening the amount of water at the bottom. Five years ago this would have been a doddle, but not now.

Unfortunately I’ve had to throw away some good bought food, and some cooked by myself, but I had no choice. It’s a sad indictment of our times in this throw-away world of ours when so much food goes into the bin, especially when folk are starving. I’ve been bagging it up for the bin which was hard work in itself as I had to do it a bit at a time, so it’s taken me a week to get it almost ship-shape again, so I’m sorry for not replying to you guys earlier.

Peter: I do the same as you with eggs, chicken for casseroles and curries, etc. I also buy tinned potatoes, but I sometimes fancy some chips (not often) and you can’t make a good chip with tinned spuds. I’ve even started to buy ready made mash which I would never have done 12 months ago.

Tom: We weren’t MADE to eat all our food at school, but when mum cooked for us and we didn’t eat it, she’d say “if you’re hungry, you’ll eat it.” I’m the same with bread and, if a spot of penicillin growing on it, I just cut that away, but I usually toast what’s left.

Owd Codger: I’m not surprised. Maybe their canning processes were different back then using some other sort of stabiliser to keep the food fresher.

Well toneet I'm doing the same as last friday neet,
moggling as they say in Hingley

can you guess what it is yet ?

The grille from a Baby Austin from the 1950s?

you're miles away Mollie, Its the wings section of a Sea Hawk .



but, good guess

I should've guessed it would be a plane, but I would never have guessed Sea Hawk.

Its me age Mollie, I get muddled up

Its the glue, A few sniffs and, mixed with the home brew, my yeds all over the place,

You weren't muddled up. Are ya alreet owd lad?

Leave off that glue for a bit.

Just in case anyone was wondering, and there’s no reason why they should, I am now very proudlified to announcify that Mollie’s freezer is back up and running and I can now go back to buying real food. Yes, it’s taken me this long to get it back into ship-shape condition, but it’s done now, and was probably the most exhausting physically demanding job I’ve ever had to do.

Tonight I’ve treated meself to a Chinese of which I’ve had one plateful, and there are three more portions to be frozen for a later date.

So here endeth the Saga of Mollie’s Freezer Nightmare. Hallelujah!

Well done thee Wench, In contrast, I made some pey soop , Now dried peys are preserved in a different way , You open the bag, use what you need and seal the bag up and never ever ever does pey soop ever get left uncomsumed in this house,
i have pey soop as a starter, then chips , pie with pey soop thickened up as mushy peys then mushy pey sundae for dessert,
If there's any left overs, I'll have a mushy pey salad for a lunch the day after,

You know summat, Tom. I've not seen any packets of dried peys in a very long while, so I've been buying tins of mushy peys which aren't nearly as good.

Not sure about the mushy pey sundae or salad. You must have very odd taste buds!

When I've cooked them in the past I always do them as one batch. I'll do pey soup with bits of ham or bacon thrown in, or with fish and chips, and freeze some just the right size portions for my next feed. They don't get wasted here either. Me dad used to call 'em farting fruit!

Southerners are wierd!
I mean, who would have fish, chips and garden peas?

Southerners have fish from the chippy still with the skin on!

Have you had your Friday neet fish and chips, Tonker?

Mollie, The only place I know now to get dried peys is,, Wigan Market, there is a sweet stall and they sell them is small plastic bags, They look small and unsocial ( the peys not the stall holder) but they do the job and, the same dietary fibre quality as the now unavailable big bags from the soup er markets who used to sell them

I liked the Batchelor's (I think) Quick Soak in boxes. I don't shop too far and wide these days so I'll ask my brother to keep an eye out for me when he goes shopping. He's got me stuff before from places I don't feel comfy going any more.

Tell you what else I like them with. When my partner was still alive we'd go to the local butcher and get a rack of pork ribs for him, and a rack of bacon ribs for me. I'd cook those in the oven, and cook the mush peys, then have some tinned potatoes with them. That was really good, and I could eat more back in those days.

Mollie, yes, I've had fish, chips and sloppy peys and two bread. Just finished!
I made it myself, too, as normal. A bit of a cheat, though. Fish - Extra Large Cod in Beer Batter (Aldi), Mushy peys - 1 tin (Aldi), Chips - ? (in a green bag (Heron), Bread - Seeded (Aldi). Washed daaaaaa'n wi 2 bottles o' Madri (Tesco). And I'm full !

Short trip tomorrow, Stockton on Tees to pick up an Iveco 7 tonner, for our trip to Spain next week with my mate's new solar cells.

Tom, Bachelors Bigga and Quick-Soak dried peas, 250g box, 85p from Tesco'ses and Asda'ses!

Greedy bugger! Well, you cooked it yourself so that's home made to me! I tried frozen chips once and had to bin them. Hated them. There's nowt like womsy made chips done in lard th'owd fashunt way!

A 7-tonner! Thackle cost a bit, and ferrying it as well. Solar cells for what?

I'll look them up Tonker thanks,
Mollie, Tonkers not short of a Bob or two, He's geet more cars than Arnold Clark and More houses than Barrets, He might find A 7 tonner harder to drive than pay for

Oh, I'm aware of that, Tom. He can buy me a packet of dried peys when he has a bob or two to spare!

I've looked them up Mollie and a packet is 85p and although I'm a pensioner with his fuel allowance cut off, When I go to buy some, I'll get thee a packet too but. don't tell anyone cos, rumours will spread and everyone will want some,

LOL! I thought everyone had left me aaall alone, by meself, wi' nobody wi' me!

How's your Sea Hawk coming along? Have you finished it yet?

No Mollie, with the weather being good as yet, I'm outdoors a lot so progress is on the hawk is slow, this is the stage I'm up to

Ooh, that drawing looks very technical. It would be no good putting summat like that in front of me as it would be as clear as putting together a Klingon warship's cloaking device!

I find it challenging too, This one especially is very fickle,I've stopped using the solvent glue and now using a more less harsh substance so. there's a longer wait to get to the next stage but me yeds not as muddled

Good. We don't want to see you arrested for glue sniffing! Take your time and you will reap the benefits.

Strangely enough though, I can understand electrical installation drawings as I had to learn many years ago as part of my job. They were wopping great big sheets, but they're all done on special programmes for the computer these days.

Well..my problem isn’t a freezer but a fridge..I’ve got two..don’t ask me why..but they both keep over freezing until I can’t open the drawers..I’ve tried every which way to sort them I've fiddled with the little wheel that controls the temps..you name it I’ve tried it..it isn’t the seals either,have checked those…I’m fed up of having to keep leaving the doors open otherwise I can’t get in the things….does it look like they’ve had it,should I just get rid of them or what.?

I've never heard of a fridge over-freezing before, except for the little compartment at the top where the freezer part is. I never use mine so I've no clue what you can do. What setting do you have your fridge on?

I should have said they’re fridge freezers so no compartments at the top..and I’ve tried of course every setting but nothing works…

Ah, I see. So do you mean the fridge part is freezing over, or the freezer part?

Is there a possibility that you've over-filled the freezer part? I think that's what I did so the freezer had to work harder. Not sure, but maybe that was the cause of mine.

I don't know much about electrical appliances and how they work, so hopefully someone else will and make some suggestions.

No mollie,it’s just a fridge freezer with four drawers..right now I can’t open any of them..so therefore can’t get any food out of any of them..

Get a kettle of boiled water and pour it down the closed side of the door to see if that loosens the ice. Or, if you have a hair dryer, set it on the hottest and try to melt the ice that way. I wouldn't advise you to try to pry the door open with a tool as that could buckle the door.

Edit: Sorry, it's not the door that's stuck, but the drawers. My idea still might work though.

Let us know how you get on. I truly feel for you, knowing how it's been for me with my problem.

mollie.I have to keep switching them both off..waiting for the great thaw to get any food that I want out..then of course switch them back on ..then I’m back where I started,it’s all a sheer nuisance I was looking at a chest freezer in the market hall yesterday,I think that’s the only answer just to get rid of these two fridge freezers..I just seem to be throwing food out daily because when I’ve switched one or both off if by chance I forget or I get a visitor..when I get in the kitchen the food is thawed so in the bin it has to go..I’m really cheesed off with them both.

I have a gas fridge/freezer in Spain and it often freezes the food in the fridge. And the milk. They are hard to keep regulated!

They’re terrible aren’t they Tonks,like I said I’m strongly thinking of throwing one out and getting a chest freezer from the market hall,they look very good..the other one I’ll keep just for storage.

Momac, this is the first time I've ever had a problem with my chest freezer, and I think I know why it happened as I said. Every time you thaw yours out just to get an item, you're threatening the lifespan of what's left in there, so you will have to keep throwing good food away.

To be honest, I've never liked the idea of an upright freezer - no special reason - just don't like the idea of them. My brother has a big American two-door freezer which he swears by, but not for me.

mollie,I wouldn’t like to know the worth of food that I’ve had to throw away…at the moment I’ve two freezers and can’t get in either of them..I’ll start measuring up tomorrow.

I've just been wondering; how old are your freezers?

Tonker mentioned his gas fridge/freezer and, unless things have changed over the years, which they probably have, all fridges and freezers have some sort of gas cylinder installed inside them. That's why you can't just dump them at a skip. They have to be disposed of in a safe and correct manner. Tonker will know more about that though.

I think you'll be happier with a chest freezer though. Aspull Domestics (AKA All Spares) on Caroline Street are excellent for appliances. They deliver and take your old stuff away. See what they have on their website.

I have 2 fridge freezers, one in the house and one in my garage /shed which I bought to keep my beers in but Mrs Plum has claimed the freezer part because, I don't need the freezer part for beer, Anyways, the freezer part works well in Spring, Summer and Autumn but not in Winter and my diagnoses for that is, The cold weather is working the freezer thermostat and telling it is cold enough and no need to work, So even though its cold in the garage the freezer is not cold enough to store meat,

That's probably true of the one in your shed, as it's cold outside, but our freezers are presumably in our kitchens. When it starts to get cold I always switch my gas oven on to warm up the kitchen, so the freezer still has to work normally.