Portstewart Strand

Because it was quite nice to-day, we went for a walk on Portstewart Strand. We walked right to the Barmouth. There was a cool north-westerly breeze, but it was really pleasant.

The photo above was taken from the busy end of the beach. This is the part where cars are allowed. The beach belongs to the National Trust, who charge an entry fee for each car. We park on the road leading down to the entrance and pay no fees.

The second picture is from the far end - the not-busy end - at the Barmouth. This is where the River Bann flows into the sea and it divides Portstewart Strand from Castlerock Beach. Because you aren't allowed to drive right down, only a few people make it this far!

It was busy to-day, probably because this is the last weekend before the end of the school holidays - although Monday is a Bank Holiday throughout the UK, it is not as widely taken in Northern Ireland. Many people have 13th July as a holiday instead.

I always enjoy a walk on the beach. I find the sound of the sea very calming.

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Hygiene?

At the end of my last post I mentioned buying snowballs from the breadman.
This got me thinking about how obsessed we now are about hygiene.

In the days when the breadman called at our house twice a week, bread was not wrapped in layers of plastic. It sat naked on the shelves of the van. If you wanted a loaf - plain and unsliced, of course - Willie pulled it away from the rest of the batch. If there were loose pieces hanging from your loaf, he pulled them off and ate them.
You never thought to ask when he last washed his hands or where he had had his fingers.

Strangely enough, children were healthier then, with fewer allergies. To-day we are so determined to use a variety of concoctions which - apparently - will kill every known germ that children can no longer build up any natural immunity. And in the process we enrich Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda etc, never to speak of the manufacturers. While their profits rise, we impoverish the NHS with all the treatments we need to combat the allergies!

Sorry about the rant - I must be missing my biscuits. I've done very well over the last couple of weeks. I've stayed in control, with only a few minor lapses.
I've been busy, of course - and when you're busy you don't have time to think about comfort eating.
The moral? Keep busy and it's easy to stay in control!

Taking Control

So I want to get back in control?
The first thing I have had to do is stop the comfort eating. Over the last few months I have been eating lots of biscuits between meals. Every so often I did manage to stop for a couple of days, but I soon made up for lost time.
Thankfully my weight doesn't change greatly no matter how much I eat - but I do feel bloated and get headaches when I'm on the biscuits.
I HAVE stopped; I HAVE taken control. Now the difficulty is staying in control.

A benefit of stopping snacking is that I enjoy my proper meals. Now I can really enjoy potatoes.
It's only at this time of year that I like potatoes - boiled, with plenty of butter. No salt because I've got to stay healthy. My current favourites are Sharpes Express, bought freshly dug from a local farm.

When I was at primary school - a small country school with only two teachers - we got a weeks' holiday in October for potato gathering. If you gathered for your father you were unpaid labour; if you were lucky enough to gather for someone else you earned a few shillings. I had to work for my father, who always had one field of potatoes.
It was hard work back in the good old days - with no time for comfort eating of biscuits. My mother rarely bought biscuits. The breadman called twice a week and my treat was a snowball.
Pity there isn't a snowball in the house now...