Becca Jane St Clair

I found this recipe for Chicken a la King in toast cups on one of the food blogs I read regularly and had decided it was something I might want to try to make for Tim someday…but the toast cups looked like they’d be something I’d fail at. My friend Falnfenix IMed me one day and told me she had made the recipe with success and the toast cups weren’t that hard to make, so I decided to try my hand at it…of course, I needed to use ingredients we had on hand and my end result while similar to the Culinary in the Desert post, really only shares the toast cups in common!

So – start with her toast cup directions. I used a silicone muffin tray though and discovered I needed to toast them for twice as long before they started to look toasty…and even then, they didn’t get that golden brown toast colour.

Then, I took a look at her recipe and at what I had in the kitchen and did the following:

*Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a saucepan
*add 1/4 cup flour after butter has melted, stir.
*add 2 cups chicken broth
*add 1 cup diced carrots, 1 cup diced celary, and 2 cups peas
*add 1 tsp white wine and 2 tsp white vinegar
*sprinkle with parsley, sage, pepper (from a 4-colour grinder), paprika, and salt
*add 1 Tbsp corn starch if it’s not thick
*add 4 cooked chicken breasts, cubed

Then it was simply pour into the toast cups. Tim said this was delicious, and he had the leftovers at work the following day without the toast cups.

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[Note added 9/12/12: This post gets a lot of traffic because there isn’t a lot of information out there about this subject. Please note that this post was written in 2009. Information may have changed, so please check the links provided or ask at a local GP practice.]

It’s bound to happen to you – you’re traveling and didn’t calculate how much birth control you needed to bring with you, or you decide to extend your stay past the amount you’ve brought with you. The idea of making an overseas phone call to your doctor to get a prescription filled, then calling and begging a friend or relative to pick it up, pay for it, and ship it over to you just doesn’t sit well with you, either. So, what can you do, other than going off your birth control for a few weeks or months?

The UK-Yankee website and board is a fabulous place to start for information about anything regarding visiting/living in the UK as an American. Several of the ladies on the message board advised in the past that visitors have access to free birth control through the NHS. This some-what contradicts the big stamp in my passport that says “no recourse to public funds”, so I was a little skeptical.

I first researched family planning clinics in the area near Tim’s house. I found one in Grimsby that also had a website and e-mail address, and I contacted them with my questions. The woman who wrote back told me I would need to pay for the visit but the pills would be free, and gave me the number of a clinic closer to here. I didn’t call them.

Then, I did some more research online, and found the Marie Stopes organization. Marie Stopes provides birth control to low-income women throughout the world, and their main office is in London. I sent off an email inquiring if they had a location closer to here, and what the costs would be as a foreign visitor. Marie Stopes calculates their fees on a sliding scale (similar to Planned Parenthood), but did not tell me what fees would be charged to a foreign visitor. Unfortunately, their closest clinic to me was in Leeds, which isn’t all that close!

Several ladies on UKY mentioned Dr. Thom Dr Thom offers online birth control pill ordering – no exam or need to see a doctor. Dr. Thom charges £29.99 for a three-month supply. The only catch is that you have to already be on birth control and you must be on one of the pills Dr. Thom provides. Unfortunately, my brand of pill was not on the list. The only “American” brands I noticed were Yaz and Ortho-Tri-Cyclen. I emailed Dr. Thom and asked about ordering a similar pill, but was told they could not provide a pill I wasn’t already prescribed. Dr. Thom also requires the person placing the order to have a credit card in their name and a UK address associated with the card, so you would also need to add your UK address to your credit card before using their services.

It was beginning to become clear to me that I would need to try to see a doctor here, and I was a bit worried about the cost. There’s a family clinic (not family planning, just family clinic) in the next village over, so when Tim and I happened to be in that area, I stopped in with my old prescription.

I was told that if the dispensary supplied my brand, they would just give it to me, but since I was on a brand they were unfamiliar with, I needed to make an appointment to have a doctor give the prescription. I was told that as a visitor, I might need to pay £12 for the office visit, but they were not sure and would let me know when I had my appointment if that was alright with me. Well, £12 certainly didn’t seem like too much money to me, so I said that was fine.

My appointment took all of 10 minutes. The doctor weighed me, took my blood pressure, and asked me medical history questions. Then she looked up the chemical make-up of my pill and prescribed me a similar pill. I was expecting a month’s supply, but she prescribed me with a 3 month supply, and I was told to get it filled next door at the co-op. They did not mention paying a fee for the visit to me, but I assumed I would have to pay for my pills. I went next door, and to my surprise I was handed a 3-month pack of pills after a very short wait. I asked if I needed to pay for them, and was told no, they were covered under the NHS.

So, my advice to any of you ladies traveling to the UK who find yourself needing birth control (or the morning after pill, apparently), find a local family clinic or a family planning clinic…but don’t wait until the last minute. I started looking into things with 2 weeks left in my current pill pack, and by the time I saw the doctor and got a new prescription, I was less than a week away from running out!

For more information about what visitors are entitled to, please see: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Entitlementsandcharges/OverseasVisitors/Browsable/DH_074379

A few weeks ago, Tim and I were invited over to his Aunt W’s house for dinner. W lives in Lincoln off of Steep Hill (and ironically, the day I walked Steep Hill I went to the newsstand across the street from her house!), so we parked over by the castle/cathedral. The fog was absolutely beautiful, so I took this video:

Tim will probably have to add a comment and talk about this some more  as I don’t know much about it and he’s currently at work, but I really want to get to blogging about London and I need to blog this first!

Tim took me to the open day at Stockholes Farm Miniature Railway.  This railway was very different from what Tim has in his garden, as these trains were large enough to ride on and they run on actual coal! The railway is pretty complicated and loops around the property, including overpasses and underpasses!  They even have a small snack window and a ticket booth outfitted to mimic a real railway ticket booth.

A lot of Tim’s friends from the 16mm group were there, and the man who organized Frostbite was there with his engine, and told Tim and I we could take a look around the shed.  The shed was filled with engines that weren’t being used that day and engines that were being built/repaired.

We even got to ride on one of the trains!

I had a great time, and it was the perfect way to celebrate the new year.

For more photos see: http://photos.beccajanestclair.com/uk-trip-2008/stockholes-farm/ (Yes, I know it’s 2009 now, but it’s easier for me to keep all the photos in the same folder)

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I promise a real entry soon!

Tim’s 16mm Garden Railway  group holds an annual get together on the Sunday after Christmas, and I was invited to tag along…after being warned that this was an outdoor event and I’d want lots of layers!

By the end of the day, I was wearing seven layers including two pairs of leg warmers, 2 pairs of pants, and a big blanket wrapped around my body….but it was loads of fun!  I posted the videos shortly after we got back, but I haven’t had a chance to share my photos other than on facebook.

We went with M, a young boy who got into garden railways after helping Tim work on his, and M’s mum, H.  It was a tight squeeze to get everyone plus trains into her car, but we managed!  The drive over to D’s house took about a half an hour, but we were still the first to arrive.  Tim actually had his train up and running and his was the first train to make a circuit (and also the last!).  D’s wife always cooks soup for Lunch, so we got to warm up for a little bit inside partway through the day. D told me if I felt cold, I could go inside, but I enjoyed watching all the trains, and I just added on a layer if I started to feel the chill.

Tim even let me “drive” his train towards the end of the day, after most people had packed up!  (Tim’s corrected me that he asked me if I wanted to earlier on in the day, but I passed the controls back as I was afraid of bumping other people’s trains.)

We had loads of fun, and I want to play with Tim’s railway in the yard 😉

Tim’s train, Dark Horse

This locomotive was hand-built by Rae Grive and won the 2007 model of the year trophy at the 16mm AGM Convention!

For more pictures: http://photos.beccajanestclair.com/uk-trip-2008/frostbite

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Due to work and family illnesses, Tim’s mum invited us over for breakfast on Christmas Day, and dinner on Boxing Day, leaving us on our own for most of Christmas.

We purchased Christmas Crackers (poppers) and I made us a turkey with all the trimmings. A few days before we found fresh cranberries at ASDA, so I made up a batch of cranberry sauce for us to share with his family.

At home, I usually woke up around the time that Mom would get up to put the turkey in the oven – sometimes as early as 6. Surprisingly, even though we weren’t having our turkey until the evening, I was awake bright and early on Christmas and had to wait for Tim to get up!

A few weeks before Christmas, I decorated a stocking for Tim (with a train on the front!) and filled it with candy, (US) railroad pins, and a pair of novelty boxer shorts. Tim took his cue from me, and I had a stocking filled with candy (he filled anything “hollow” like a coffee mug and a make-up bag with chocolate!) and other small items. Tim also gave me a few books, but the best present of all came in a little tiny box from H Samuel. Tim gave me a beautiful ring with a butterfly on it! Apparently he almost didn’t have the ring to give me. He had to have it sized and was told to pick it up on Christmas Eve. He went into town before work to pick it up, and the store was all locked up with the gates down! Fortunately, they took pity on Tim and let him in since he had already picked it up, or he would have been pretty upset on Christmas!

After we exchanged gifts, we headed over to his parent’s house for breakfast and to bring over the gifts we had for them. To my surprise, I had a small pile of gifts to open! Tim’s parents gave me bedroom slippers, a pair of pajamas, and some bath products. His grandparents gave me a purple handbag (that I LOVE!), and I also received chocolate, some Doctor Who related items, and a Pashmina from his other family members. I really appreciated everything they did to make me feel a part of things.

Later in the evening, Tim and I opened a box of wine and popped our crackers. We sat in front of the fireplace and watched the Christmas Doctor Who special, the Wallace and Gromit special, and a few movies before heading to bed.

My new ring!

For more Christmas photos: http://photos.beccajanestclair.com/uk-trip-2008/christmas-2008

I wanted to go to Blackpool. It’s famous for being “The Atlantic City of Britain” and is pretty touristy, so I really wanted to go. What cinched it for us was finding out there was a Doctor Who Exhibit featuring Classic Doctor Who….only, the exhibit wasn’t open :(.

Our train trip was pretty confusing with all the delays and canceled trains, but we made it to Blackpool South and dashed over to the tram stop to get to the tourist section. Everything seemed to be deserted, which really wasn’t surprising considering we were going not only mid-week, but in the middle of Winter! I’ve been to Atlantic City in the winter though, and because of all the casinos there’s always something going on….I’m not sure if all the people were inside the game places or if it was just empty, but we crossed the street and headed towards the Doctor Who exhibit.

We got waylaid by a bloke running a dart game, and he somehow convinced Tim to play to “win his lady a stuffed animal”. £10 later and we quit after Tim won me a small stuffed Pterodactyl I’ve named Myfanwy.

The gates were down at the Doctor Who exhibit, but the Sea Life aquarium next door was open, so we thought maybe there was a way into the exhibit through there since they seemed to be attached, but no luck. We decided not to waste the trip to Blackpool, and visited the aquarium…where I think we were the only people in it for quite a while! We had a good time with the fish, but it wasn’t nearly as thrilling as it would have been if the Doctor Who thing had been open. Ah, well.

We decided to ride the tram all the way to the end of the line, and we were glad we did, because on the way back we got to ride on one of the few surviving double decker trams! We stopped at the same fish and chip chain we ate at in Cardiff because we recognized the name and it was one of the few places still open…and I tried spotted dick for the first time ever. It really wasn’t as bad as some people say it is, but it’s really sweet. I only could eat half of it!

We were just a short walk back to the Blackpool North train station, so we headed over and took the train back to Rainhill once again.

For more photos: http://photos.beccajanestclair.com/uk-trip-2008/blackpool/

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We took the train from Rainhill to Liverpool, and then through Liverpool on the light rail until we got over towards the waterfront. At our hotel, we saw brochures for a doctor who exhibition called from Script to Screen, and we decided to check that out. The exhibit was part of the Spaceport on the other side of the Mersey River, and we found a combination ticket for the Spaceport and the ferry tour of the river, so we picked up tickets for that and we were right in time to catch the next ferry!

Over at the Spaceport we walked through exhibits about the solar system and watched a planetarium-style movie about space’s affect on astronauts. Then, we headed up to the Doctor Who exhibit. One thing we noticed was that a lot of the items were similar to items we saw at Earl’s Court, but we still saw loads of costumes, props, and monster masks we hadn’t seen before. This exhibit had several items from the classic/old series, too, whereas the exhibit in London focused on the recent series only.

After a quick snack in the ferry terminal, we headed back onto the ferry which took us on a small tour of the waterfront before dropping us off back on the other side where we originally borded. (see my video log previously posted for boat-stuff).

The other “must do” item on our list for Liverpool was going to The Beatles Story. The Beatles Story was located in Albert Docks, a place we had visited on our first trip to meet up with my friends, but we didn’t have time to do any of the attractions. Fortunately, we arrived with plenty of time to go through the exhibit at our own pace, and at any given time there was only one or two other people in each section with Tim and I! We had really started psyching ourselves up for our trip to the Beatles Story. In the car on the way we listened exclusively to the Beatles songs I had on my iPod, and then as I mentioned earlier, his uncle played some original 45s for us when we visited him, so both Tim and I were really excited for the exhibit.

Some of the stuff we already were familiar with from other documentaries and stories about the band, but I still found it fascinating. At the end of the exhibit they have a section where they show what each member did post-Beatles, and we were quite surprised at some of the projects former-Beatles had been involved with that we hadn’t been aware of before!

Of course, you get dumped out into a gift shop, and Tim purchased a few CDs he didn’t have before we needed to think about dinner.

When we went out with my friends, we met up at the Pump House. Since we liked the food and atmosphere (and it was close by!) we headed over there for a meal, where once again we were one of the few tables occupied. The food and cider was good, and after spending some time relaxing and warming up, we headed back out into the cold to get back to the station and took the train back to Rainhill, then walked the half mile or so back to our hotel, where we promptly made some tea, changed into pajamas, and relaxed for the rest of the evening watching the DVDs of Eureka I brought with me on my laptop.

Reflections on the Water

(previously posted Liverpool vlog)

For more photos: http://photos.beccajanestclair.com/uk-trip-2008/liverpool/

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Today was Frostbite, the December get together for Tim’s 16mm Garden Railway group. Here’s a few videos I took of the trains (mostly Tim’s). A write-up and photos will be coming after I play catch up with my other posts!

Tim’s engine, Dark Horse steaming up:

Dark Horse:

Dark Horse pulls a long load:

Lady Jane:

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[The exhibit mentioned in this post comes after the posts that will be written, but as it was all Rainhill, I included it in this post.]
For Tim’s long weekend in December, we decided to head back to the west coast and go back to Liverpool to do some of the tourist things, and to head to Blackpool. We decided to book a hotel out of town and take the train to the two cities, and Tim happened to pick Rainhill by default of the hotel in that town having an open room!

Rainhill, however, has an interesting history of it’s own. In 1829, a competition was held in Rainhill to pick the type of steam engine that would be used on the newly completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway. 10 locomotives were entered in the contest, and one-by-one nine of the engines were disqualified or forced to drop out. The Rocket was the only locomotive to complete the trials.

In 1980, for the 150th anniversary an exhibit was opened as part of the Rainhill library and features models of three of the engines, as well as a diorama of the event itself. The library exhibit is free to get in to, so Tim and I actually wound up going on our last day in town. It was actually really interesting to read all the stuff about the trials and to see some of the models.

Tim and I left with 5 prints of the event and a few books off their sale table for less than £2 before we headed back to Dunholme, with a stop at IKEA on the way!

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(Finally writing up a trip from several weeks back!)

Tim had a day off on perhaps the snowiest day of the season so far here, but we had made plans to take the train to York to go to the quilt museum and the National Railway Museum, so we decided since we didn’t have to drive in the snow, we’d still go.

I think we both wish we hadn’t. Not because we didn’t have a good time, but because it was cold and wet and both of us were a bit under the weather…that turned into a really bad cold when we got home!

Our first stop was the quilt museum….once we found it. All we had to go by was the sign we had seen in the city centre. We followed the sign until we ran out of signs, and after not being able to find it, we decided to head to the information centre to get directions. The streets of York were unplowed, the sidewalks unshoveled, and when we walked on a narrower street we got splashed by the passing cars. It was absolutely miserable and the snow had turned to sleet, and then to rain. At the information centre we picked up a flier, looked at a map, and discovered the museum….right around the corner from where we were looking! My socks were completely soaked by this point, but fortunately I had thought to pack an extra pair of socks into my knapsack (US: backpack), so I swapped my socks when we got there.

The quilts were beautiful, but we weren’t allowed to take photos. Ironically, we traveled to York, UK to see two quilts that had been made in Lancaster, PA. One by Mennonites, one by Amish. I was pretty amused.

On our way over to the National Rail Museum we stopped for some Lunch and some hot chocolate to warm up. The wet had already soaked into my socks again, so we stopped in Marks & Spencer’s to purchase socks. I spent about £12 on two pairs of thermal socks, a pair of padded socks, and 2 pairs of knee highs and after getting permission from the women at the till (US: cash register), I changed my socks again in the shoe section of the store. I put on a pair of thermal socks AND the pair of padded socks. My feet were FINALLY warm.

Of course, we had to walk back across town to get to the NRM, but the good thing was the museum was right next to the train station we’d need for the trip home.

We had a good time in the museum. They had a lot of things related to Tim’s job (signalman), so I finally was able to learn more about his job since I wasn’t allowed to actually visit him at one of his boxes. They even had a signal box set-up in the children’s area that let you play with the signal, and Tim showed me how to work it.

We also saw several of the Royal trains, which I found fascinating.

It was getting dark, so we headed across to the station and boarded the next train back to Lincoln….I slept the whole way home on the train, I was so exhausted….but my feet were finally dry!

Tim’s job!

For more photos: http://photos.beccajanestclair.com/uk-trip-2008/york-part-2/

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[22:23:58] Sarah says: Joe did say today that he thinks you should come stay here again, since our pantry is disorganized. 🙂

Hehe! Sarah and Joe are the two who I house/catsat for over the Summer. I organized their pantry in a fit of boredom.

Tim’s uncle passed away yesterday, and before I get back to blogging about trips and things, I wanted to post about meeting him. We stopped by “on our way” to Liverpool and Blackpool to see him. We were expecting to stay for maybe a half hour before he got too tired for visitors, but he managed two and a half hours before we bowed out to leave. I had never met him before, and I think Tim was a little nervous for me meeting his uncle while he was so ill, but I’m glad I got the chance to. While we were there, he pulled out all his old 45s and showed them to us and played a few…at eardrum breaking volume! He had pretty much every single 45 the Beatles released….in original mint condition. It was absolutely amazing to look at his collection and hear him tell us about it and ask his wife (Aunt C) to put on a few records for us.

I’m glad Tim got the opportunity to see his uncle, and I’m glad I got to meet him. Tim’s dad told us he really enjoyed our visit, and that’s what counts.