The wrong cheese? - Week 9 Run 6

[Jancanrunagain]

There's a lot of us on here of a certain age - I'm certain I know mine, and you are all certain you know yours. That certain age may bring wisdom or not and it may bring experience, but something new will happen that shakes up your complacency.

In 30+ years of being with Mr JCR, I thought I knew everything about him and then last night he dropped the bombshell. Like most males I know, Mr JCR has an inexhaustible appetite - he was fridge surfing he then came back into the lounge and announced that the cheese we had was wrong.

This is the 'cheese stock' currently in the JCR fridge

Feta, Halloumi, Mozzarella - cooking and salad varieties, Gran Padano

For me these cheeses are just cheese and I've never been tempted to call a halloumi slab wrong...

The reason for the wrongness, defects, inappropriateness then became clear, he wanted a munchy cheese and biscuit snack. Clearly all the above cheeses are not of the cheeseboard quality, although in Italy we would eat Gran Padano on a cheeseboard and mozzarella too.

I did have to chuckle at the wrongness of the assembled cheeses. Mr JCR then proceeded to demolish a Magnum ice-cream instead and just by mentioning it, I found myself eating one too... Wrong cheese, wrong ice-cream, wrong choices JCR.

The third consolidation run is a day late - we are selling up in Italy and told we had a viewing - which caused much spicking and spanning, only to receive a phone call not long beforehand saying the Swiss viewers weren't coming. Aargh - a postponed run for a viewing is fine, a postponed run for a cancelled viewing was not.

So whilst I went to bed last night chuckling over incorrect cheeses, I was a bit grumpy going for my run this morning.

I thought I needed some new musical inspo, and picked up my Famous Names Playlist, thinking Mandela and Robert De Niro would be some of the names spurring me on, for a planned 35 minute run.

open.spotify.com/playlist/1...

Well that was the plan and it started out fine - Free Nelson Mandela accompanied me on my warm up walk, taking the high road to the Slope of No Hope (the other loop of the Slope of Hope) and turning into Argo's loop for a Laundry Lane run. However it was cold and I thought it would be good to run up some inclines as part of better body conditioning (also to rid self of the wrong Magnum!)

At this point John Wayne Big Leggy came on, and so my run was not to inspirational people or characters from fiction and/or entertainment, instead to the frankly bizarre.

The toxic tens took me down Laundry Lane towards the old terracotta factory, but before getting there I hooked a left hand into "no name lane' so-called because there really isn't anything of note to name it.

Grace Kelly accompanied me for a while, followed by Sherlock Holmes an interesting crowd from princess, to detective and then to master criminal Al Capone. All of which helped me focus on something other than the wheezing emanating from my lungs. I was not feeling at my best to be honest, and when Norman Bates by Landscape came on, I wasn't sure he was the inspiring figure I'd originally had in mind either.

The mood was lightened when I hit the 20 minute mark to The Ballad of Davey Crockett by Max Bygraves, followed in quick succession by Einstein from Kelly Clarkson - that was a little better. And so was approaching Village Via having done 30 minutes running and thank goodness Charlie Puth and Megan Traynor came on singing about Marvin Gaye, because the next few minutes were truly dreadful. Inspired by   MintT (maybe not famous but known to us here) I thought I could try and do either 35 minutes or try for 5k. Unfortunately even with Marvin Gaye in mind, I managed 38 minutes running but was shy of 5km. My warm down walk to Barbie by Aqua...., last night I chuckled to wrong cheese and today's run was definitely cheesy music .

I'm a bit cheesed off I couldn't hit 5km, but in my defence my elevation gain was something like 80 metres and so I have to forgive my wrong choices of cheese, late night ice-cream and an uppy downy route

The pic is our local repair shop/ garage - I was definitely in need of an engine overhaul.

Next week - the Beyond challenge beckons...

[limberlou Graduate]

oh my goodness!! Im with your man on this!! A dire selection of cheese in my opinion!! Especially for late night snacking. I realise you are in Italy but surely a decent Cheddar or a Red Leicester should be included in the fridge?? Im shaking my head in disbelief. How can the poor man function without a good hard cheese?

Shame on you!!

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to limberlou]

I was howling with laughter inside when he said it, his face was so serious. I'm not a Monty Python fan, but it was like the dead parrot sketch only with wrong cheeses.

Clearly we need to move back to the UK pronto.

[Gthants in reply to Jancanrunagain]

There actually WAS a Monty Python cheese sketch! Cleese walks into the shop of Mr Wensleydale (Palin) to purchase some cheese. takes quite a while to list all the possibilities, but it turns out that this Cheese Shop actually has no cheese ... Mr JCR would NOT be impressed.

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to Gthants]

that is sooo funny - I had no idea that sketch existed

[Gthants in reply to Jancanrunagain]

It's on You Tube if you want to watch!

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Glorious. I am going property viewing myself and it's a good reminder that it might not be just me that's rearranged their life to be there (I am contemplating whether I can arrive early and go for a run - how sweaty before someone would decide not to accept an offer?)

Mr JCR is absolutely right about the cheese.

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to GoogleMe]

Give me a break please please please - have you ever tried buying English cheese in Italy? For a start they ask you why. Then can you imagine asking for Red Leicester which is not red and would be pronounced Laychesterr here. The thing I didn’t say is that those in my fridge are exactly the right cheeses for me so that I don’t join in the late night munchies…

I like the idea though of an offer on a house bring sweaty!🤪

[GoogleMe Graduate]

There is method in your wrong cheese-ness!

[JeremiahObadiah Graduate]

As long as it was just wrong cheese, wrong ice cream, wrong potential buyers , wrong running route and NOT wrong husband after 30+ years.

Now, I am nosey and would like to know, where are you considering moving and why? Your neighbourhood and neighbours all sound so jolly. Where can be an improvement, I ask myself.

Hope you have replenished your larder and have something suitable for MrJCR’s late night peckish moments .

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to JeremiahObadiah]

Ah complicated - Italian taxes notoriously high - family matters and just a sense that we can’t continue to fund and live in two countries which we’ve enjoyed for 11 years now. The house we’ve had for twenty years and truthfully we leave with a pang or two of regret. But we feel far better to leave feeling that emotion than leaving being annoyed at the taxes etc. Back to UK probably the High Weald in Kent area. This place will hold a piece of my heart forever not least because some of my dad’s ashes are scattered under the cherry tree in our garden that he loved so much. We are quasi family with a number of locals and you’re right they are irreplaceable. The only mafiosi methods we’ve seen are the levels of emotional blackmail from them asking us to stay.🙂

The larder remains as last night with wrong cheese taking up space that ‘right cheese’ could !

[JeremiahObadiah Graduate in reply to Jancanrunagain]

Can get all that . You will have lovely friends to visit for many happy years to come .

[MintT Graduate]

With all the elevation I think that was a great run and 38 mins is an impressive run time.

Sending lots of positive vibes for a quick house sale hopefully to be celebrated with a cheese and pickle sandwich!

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to MintT]

I never knew cheese was so emotive a subject…

[limberlou Graduate]

oh my goodness you have never met a family like mine then!! When its christmas time and everyone else is filling their trolley with alcohol and panettone 🤢… my lot are “ have you got the cheese Gromit?””. And “ have you made the pickled onions and chilli jam Mum?”

I always buy too much!! In fact i still have a truckle of smoked cheese in the freezer now, from Christmas,as I bought so much when we went to Cardiff!! When my son and I go to christmas markets its the cheese stalls we head for everytime!!! Then the cider stalls!!

One year my son got a cheese hamper for one of his presents and was so excited. When we visit my niece the highlight of the visit is going to Costco to stock up on a huge block of cheese ( i know!!! Some people love IKEA, We love Costco!!)

This is why i have to run….to burn off all the cheese.

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to limberlou]

OMG - we don’t have Costco in Italy I weaned myself off it because we used to go in for two or three things and then come out having spent an inordinate amount of cash. I do have frozen cheese but with Brexit we aren’t allowed to bring it in so I rely on a visit to French supermarkets. I love the idea of a cheese hamper for Christmas though…

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

My first thought reading the title... Is there, a wrong cheese?

As a complete cheese addict.. I had to read on...sadly for me. Ice cream would not have cut the mustard!

When we visited France regularly I did alwyas make sure I took a favourite British Cheese with me ! Comte , although much enjoyed... not quite fitting the bill !

BUT...you got a run in... late...but run... and your run was a very interesting one...! Lots to see, lots to listen to and all the time I am reading, i am wondering what the named famous folk would choose as their favourite cheese!

A cheesy but a successful outing...with a positive outcome... and hopefully the house sale and the hard cheese issues will soon be resolved...

Wrong cheese? Maybe...but as my lovely son in law says... what ever the cheese... you can never have too much of it... He is a true defender of the cheese !

Great post !x

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Oh Floss ! we have Comte as we often pass through France and I know it’s heresy to say it but I’m fairly ambivalent about Italian cheese. So our freezer is often stocked with French and the occasional English that I’ve been able to find. Mr JCR forgot the freezer option although I think it wouldn’t have defrosted quickly enough - so he’d have had the ice cream regardless - my willpower needs reinforcing especially as I’m not that fussed on ice cream either!

For me Robert de Niro would definitely choose a good strong Lancashire - looks tough but crumbles…

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Jancanrunagain]

Nice one! John Wayne ..definitely a Stinky Bishop...strong and not for the fainthearted...!!!

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Liking that one... Norman Bates would have to have the Italian cheese Casu martzu

The one with live maggots in it - we were offered it once and politely 'reclined' as my dad's secretary once said!

[CBDB Ambassador]

fabulous playlist! (Laurie Anderson is my favourite songwriter)

As you may know, Britain also has an after dinner cheese-and-crackers culture, which I was introduced to when arriving from Germany decades ago. And now, there always has to be at least two different cheeses in our fridge! Mature Cheddar is always an excellent fallback option for us here in the UK.

Happy cheese munching! I’ll take a cheese board over ice cream any day!

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to CBDB]

That's the problem as exiled Brits there are some heritage things that you just can't stop, and bees and chiskets as Mr JCR calls them are an essential part, but our Italian friends look askance at the biscuits and crackers phenomena.

[CBDB Ambassador in reply to Jancanrunagain]

lol! Yes, there are many British culinary oddities! (English Hubby and German me are still fighting about what to call toast, and which spoon one ought to use for desert!)

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to CBDB]

In Italy it's perfectly okay to lick your knife when eating - it makes me shudder - not for the manners part but the danger part - they even do it here with steak knives. Also it's rude not to start your pasta immediately as it's fresh and should be enjoyed as produced - no-one waits for all the pasta to be brought out except two stupid Brits who just can't lose our parents telling us it's bad mannered 😱

[CBDB Ambassador in reply to Jancanrunagain]

😂😂😂 #LoveEurope! I really feel lucky to be European. Such cultural diversity. (Luck was dampened somewhat through Brexit, but we’re getting there again)

I love your Spotify playlists by the way! Will be having a closer look! My public ones can be seen here: open.spotify.com/user/21j2n...

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to CBDB]

I shall check your playlists out - agree we call ourselves Ingliano - or Britalian. Now there are some things I just do Italian and say Italian. Bring stuff to the table 'ecco ci' - andiamo etc. The B word did do much damage we happened to be travelling back to Italy the very day the vote results became known - before the Chunnel we were in Europe after the Chunnel we weren't. The first thing my Bank asked me here was 'why did you vote to leave?...'

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to CBDB]

Me too...yum yum..x

[sheps Graduate]

Have I told you what I do for a living?

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to sheps]

No - cheese taster? Playlist compiler? Etiquette expert - we are all a rum bunch on here so there’s not much to surprise me unless you organise cheese tasting sky diving trips🤪

[sheps Graduate in reply to Jancanrunagain]

Possibly the best job in the world. I have a cheese selling business. I sell Cornish cheeses though so no parmigiano.

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to sheps]

Wow - omg - where are you based is it a home based business or location based?

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to sheps]

Are you the Cornish Cheese Company? We helped our friends demolish the Cheddar, Brie, Blue and one other and we smuggled some back to Italy / it was all delicious

[JeremiahObadiah Graduate in reply to Jancanrunagain]

Didn’t mention my job…. Border Force, specialising in cheese infringements.

(joking I am)

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to JeremiahObadiah]

Thing is no evidence now to prove my self allegation… yum yum

[CBDB Ambassador in reply to JeremiahObadiah]

lol 😂

[sheps Graduate]

Not the Cornish cheese Co. Much smaller. I sell at Farmers' markets. Mostly in Truro.

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to sheps]

well when we are back I will stop by - what days ?

[sheps Graduate in reply to Jancanrunagain]

Wednesdays and Saturdays usually. It would be lovely to meet up.

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to sheps]

So either when we’re back permanently or when we are in Saltash to see our mates it’s a date

[Jayrunner Graduate]

your life sounds very exciting. And with the right cheeses it could be even more so …..

[Jancanrunagain Graduate in reply to Jayrunner]

I’m thinking there’s got to be a TV self improvement series here. I never realised cheese caught so much imagination. I am now imagining a life with limitless cheese…