It's Hard to make Ends Meet.

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At this time of the year there is so much talk of food...the papers seem full of it. You would never know there was a recession on. It is mainly expensive food, rich high in calorie food, lots of saturated fat food.......Ah, they say it's only once a year.

But here is a meal which I enjoy many, many times a year and usually with a different type of sausage. Mainly from the Farmer's Market in Thame.

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Bangers 'n' Mash

By definition 'bangers 'n' mash' is a dish made with cooked sausages served with boiled then mashed potatoes (not to be confused with Toad-In-The-Hole which is an entirely different dish made with sausages and Yorkshire Pudding batter).

Anyway, this traditional British dish was made world famous back in the 1960's by an unlikely hit record created and sung by comedian Peter Sellers and (of all people) the then sex-pot Sophia Loren!

The 'rough' history is that the two had embarked on a torrid affair during the making of a film called 'The Millionairess' in which Sellers played a pre-PC role as a Doctor of Indian origin.

Somehow Sellers persuaded Loren to 'sing' along with him on a record spawned from the film "Goodness Gracious Me". This was a hit, and they followed it up with "Bangers and Mash".

"I met her down in Napoli and didn't she look great?

And so I brought her back to Blighty just to show me mates,

And though we're married happily I'll tell you furthermore

I haven't had a decent meal since 1944."

" Eat your minestrone, Joe."

"That's all you ever say."

"Eat your macaroni, Joe."

"Every blinking day."

"No wonder you're so bony, Joe, and skinny as a rake."

"Well then, give us a bash at the bangers and mash me mother used to make."

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Strange as it may seem this is not the only song I have that is about sausages.

There is this little gem from the 1920's - "The Sausage Song".

Turn me over, turn me over,

I’m waiting to be done the other side.

Turn me over, turn me over,

Remember Sausages have got some pride;

I’ve got no lovely clothes, I’ve got no silken hose,

But in my skin I’m welcome far and wide.

Turn me over, turn me over,

I’m waiting to be done the other side!

Believe it or not, but this little song had a great tune to it......and it fitted the organ scale.

So I believe I have the only paper-roll version of the Sausage Song.

Better not sign off without a (bad) joke.

A customer complained to her butcher about the sausages she had bought from him last week.

“They were all meat at one end, and all bread at the other.”

“I’m sorry, madam,” said the butcher.

“In these times of recession, it’s difficult to make both ends meat.”

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