Getting started

For most of us leaving home for work in the morning without having had a hearty breakfast is something we cannot even contemplate. Even hearing of kids going off to school not having had any breakfast is quite horrifying.

On the other hand, many farmers and herdsmen follow the old principle of tending their livestock before seeing to themselves and most transport drivers also like to get on their way early in the day -café owners and hot food vans at the roadside also confirm that breakfasts are their busiest time of the day.

Across the UK, the classic breakfast has been the ‘full breakfast’ which involves fried egg, scrambled egg or poached egg with bacon and sausages, usually with mushrooms, tomatoes, baked beans, fried bread, black pudding or white pudding and toast - originating in the British isles during the Victorian era, the full breakfast is among the most internationally recognised British dishes.

Another traditional breakfast consists of porridge, which has been consumed in Scotland as a staple food since the Middle Ages. Before the arrival of American-style breakfast cereals in the early 20th century, dried bread soaked in hot milk or tea and porridge (boiled oats) was the common daily breakfast, while leftover vegetables (often, cabbage) and potatoes that hadn’t been eaten the night before were often served re-fried.

In the contemporary UK and Ireland, a weekday breakfast may involve a cereal dish, such as muesli, porridge or cereal, or toast spread with jam or marmalade. Tea and coffee remain equally popular accompaniments. Marmalade, originally a Portuguese confection, was a popular British spread to consume in the evening, before the Scots moved it to the breakfast table in the 18th century.

Nutritionists consider breakfast benefits you and your family and can help make you healthier, happier, less depressed and have lower levels of stress than breakfast skippers.

Eating breakfast can aid concentration and mental performance at work and at school.

It also provides with the essential nutrients and energy needed for an active lifestyle.

Next week is Farmhouse Breakfast Week, the purpose of which is to raise awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast and demonstrate the wealth of wonderful breakfast produce available around the country.

The campaign is run on behalf of arable farmers who grow crops such as wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape and aims to encourage people to think about where their breakfast foods come from and support the British farmers who produce it.

The Farmers Union of Wales are keen supporters of this campaign and will be providing members of the Welsh Government with an early breakfast at the Senedd next Tuesday morning.

A spokesman said: “We are delighted to once again host this prestigious event at the Senedd and it is an honour to say that for the last 16 years we have been joined for this event by our leading politicians in Wales. It is all about showcasing the most important meal of the day in a bid to raise awareness of the health and nutritional benefits of breakfast and the huge variety of top quality farm produce available in Wales - ranging from bacon, sausages and eggs to speciality dairy products, breads and cereals.”

Quick lesson

Teacher: Maria, go to the map and find North America

Maria: Here it is.

Teacher: Correct. Now class, who discovered North America?

Class: Maria!

Newspaper headline

‘Homicide victims rarely talk to police’.

United effort called for

Welsh farmers alone cannot win the battle against climate change and global warming. Consumers and retailers must also strive to put sustainability first in 2016, Meat Promotion Wales’ chairman said last week.

In a seasonal message to the industry Whitland farmer, Dai Davies said: “Climate change is indisputable and we all have our obligations to the reduction of emissions agreed by the international community at the Paris talks last month.

“However, the Welsh livestock farming community is only one small component within the colossal change required. More must be done to integrate our efforts into a wider programme of action that includes public awareness, retailer policy and consumer behaviour, as well as producer husbandry.”

Mr. Davies said the promotions body would assist Welsh farmers to continue to reducing emissions by working with them throughout 2016 and beyond to ensure production was as efficient as possible. Rearing and finishing must be done within optimum conditions and timescales to reduce our contribution to emissions.

Commenting on recent flooding in many rural areas of the UK, Mr. Davies said: “Farmer colleagues there identified an indisputable truth in that if we are to restrain similar violent climate change effects, then a co-ordinated approach is vital.

“This can be reflected in actions to restrict and prevent global warming as well as to roll back its consequences. Livestock farming does not stand alone; it is part of a much wider package of contributory factors that must address warming issues.”

He said in 2016, Welsh farmers, with MPW, can more than play a leading part in fighting global warming, but it must be in a structured response and all other partners, including consumers and multiple retailers, must take full responsibility as well.

“Consumers can support farmers by hunting down and buying local. Retailers can help our producers to be environmentally and economically sustainable by taking action to protect the consistent supply of efficiently produced Welsh red meat to the consumer - and not succumb to the temptation to undermine it by flooding the market with cheap imports that have been shipped around the world and dramatically upset production patterns,” said Mr. Davies.

Reflections

Christmas, now behind us, was a time to connect and reconnect with friends old and new.

Here are a few quotes to remind us of the value of true friendship: “Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same.”

“There are many types of ships, there are wooden ships, plastic ships, and metal ships. but the best and most important types of ships are friendships.”

“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.”

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”

“A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself.”

“A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more.”

“Best friends listen to what you don’t say.”

“People never know how special someone is until they leave, but maybe sometimes its important to leave, so they are given that chance to see how special that someone really is!”

“Friendship is like a violin; the music may stop now and then, but the strings will last forever.”

“Friends are the siblings God forgot to give us.”

“Friends are the sunshine of life.”

“The best mirror is an old friend.”

“You’ll always be my best friend, you know too much!”

It was on New Year’s Eve

“We were dressed and ready to go out for the New Year’s Eve party. We turned on a night light, turned the answering machine on, covered our pet parakeet and put the cat in the backyard. After ’phoning the local company, the taxi arrived and we opened the front door to leave the house.

The cat we had already put out in the yard, scoots back into the house. We didn’t want the cat shut in the house because she always tries to eat the bird.

My wife goes out to the taxi, while I went inside to get the cat. The cat runs upstairs, with me in hot pursuit.

Waiting in the taxi my wife, not wishing the driver to know that the house would be empty for the night, explains to the taxi driver that I will be out soon, ‘He’s just going upstairs to say goodbye to my mother!’

A few minutes later, I get into the taxi: ‘Sorry I took so long,’ I said, as we drove away. ‘That stupid thing was hiding under the bed. I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out! She tried to take off, so I grabbed her by the neck. Then, I had to wrap her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked! I hauled her fat bottom downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!’

The cab driver hit a parked car! (contributed).