Imposing Malnutrition

I developed an inkling last week that many children were described as 'sickly' in Austen's era because they didn't get much to eat. Today I reviewed a book that supported that theory. Bread and milk (milk toast) for breakfast, a bit of meat and potatoes for dinner, and bread and cheese for supper. No vegetables (too strong!), no sweets, pastries or fruits. More milk was OK, or 1/2 milk and water. Good golly, how did anyone survive? My thinking is that people who survived childhood could rightly say they were sickly owing to malnutrition. Then they thrived as adults when they got to self-select their own food.

Other hair raising finds: "After bathing infants should be thoroughly dried and dusted. Ground starch is ideal; under no circumstances should an infant be dusted with white lead". Gulp! CAN YOU IMAGINE?

Opium or syrup of poppies also not recommended for children. Gulp again....

When the library closed I baked up some wonderful red currant GF scones thanks to an emailed recipe from Ana Sousa! Thanks Ana. The plate is almost gone already; of the 4 Visiting Fellows here, 3 are GF consumers so the other two are pretty happy when baking materializes.

This evening I also retrieved what was a musty smelling book from the freezer. Ta da, all nasty smell is gone! Thanks for the wonderful tip, Anthea!

In the gloaming I took a wee stroll around the estate and through the pretty, little wilderness (the well manicured forest). Enroute I bumped into Alan, the Head Gardener, who was on his way to tuck the chickens in for the night. Alan was so kind as to send us eggs and jam last week. Maybe we should reciprocate with GF baked goods!

In an unfamiliar place, I find signage interesting and revealing. Attached are a few signs I've seen the past few days.

This shot (left) is of the field that one arrives at once you follow the footpath that starts where
the road in front of the estate ends. It leads across the field (the one with horses and sheep) to get to the far side wood. You walk through that, through another field, and come to the next village where apparently, there is a very lovely pub. I haven't made it that far yet but plan to do that for an evening meal before I leave here.

The sign about the lambs is next to the stile. 

In news of how tough it is to survive in the wild ...one of the baby sparrow hawks died today (the sibling of the one I posted photos of); it flew into a window and its neck broke. Poor wee thing.

Along the footpath