Apologies - I was Missing In Action with a bag of cake.

@boiboing (13153)
Northampton, England
December 4, 2015 6:57am CST
Sorry to anybody who might have noticed I wasn't around this week and doubly so to anyone who might have thought I'd been arrested for having no clean underwear. This week just went 'totally mental' and I'm only now starting to get any kind of control back. After I missed my connection in Amsterdam (with a bag of cake and no knicker), I was put up in an OK-ish hotel and then sent on my way to Bremen the next morning. I missed about half a day of work and spent the rest of my time trying to catch up again. I had a wifi problem in the hotel and couldn't get on the site and during the day I was in workshops and couldn't play. For anybody wondering about the bag of cake, those were samples for the workshop to try to explain "what Christmas tastes like in England". I had two boxes of mince pies, a Christmas pudding, a slab of Christmas cakes, some shortbread biscuits, a box of After Eights and some liqueur chocolates. It was universally agreed by all the international attendees that the food is not a good reason to have Christmas in the UK. Nobody would touch the pudding (which did look rather like a bomb) and the mince pies were universally rejected - even though I'd bought the more expensive posh ones. Everywhere else in Europe, Christmas tastes of spices and marzipan. And now finally I am home with just this weekend to get my Christmas 'act' together. So what did I miss whilst I was off-site?
20 people like this
19 responses
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
4 Dec 15
You missed nothing and everything. I had to see what happened with that bag of cake. Sounds fascinating....I imagine the chocolate was appreciated but I can understand the others not being appreciate. We ike sweeter things in the States and Canada - although the British population loves those items....
4 people like this
• United States
5 Dec 15
Yes I love the sweets! Almond crescents are one of my holiday faves!
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
4 Dec 15
We once got an English Christmas pudding from an English language assistant as a Christmas present. We put it in the fridge and considered eating it for a long time but the appetite didn't come. In the end it ended in the bin.
3 people like this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
It's truly terrible stuff.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (72527)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Dec 15
@boiboing Long ago I realized that if I wanted great food for Christmas I had to start inventing things on my own. So I make this chocolate cake from scratch, add a good dose of rum and once it is ready of course if you haven't passed out from the rum aroma filling the house you melt chocolate and drizzle it over the top. Cutting into the cake which is moist you know you will get very happy soon. I have other kinds of things I try as well. We are always jolly over the holidays.
2 people like this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
@RasmaSandra I spent a lot of the week testing chocolate cakes and coming to the conclusion that I don't really LIKE chocolate cake.
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (157050)
• United States
4 Dec 15
I am not sure what you missed here, but I can see I need to look back on some of your other posts. I just keep doing the same old thing, personally. I get up, try to do house chores, eat, sleep, cook, and go to bed to do it all over again. In the meantime posting here, and doing swagbucks. Boring, no international travel at all.
2 people like this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
I'd be happy with that - maybe minus the chores.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45671)
• Philippines
4 Dec 15
honestly, i would have a bite of them all.
2 people like this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
5 Dec 15
Me too, I would take every opportunity to have a taste them all.
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
I didn't find it too hard to resist.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (133797)
• Roseburg, Oregon
4 Dec 15
You did not miss much . But i am glad that you are back.
2 people like this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
5 Dec 15
Thank you.
@LadyDuck (455017)
• Switzerland
4 Dec 15
I like the spices, not so much the marzipan. The After Eights are pretty good, my husband likes them.
2 people like this
@slund2041 (3315)
• United States
4 Dec 15
Sounds like you had a big adventure. I do not think you missed a lot here, but I have been barely on. My husband has been sick. I would love to view some pictures of your travels if you took any. Would also love to hear more about Amsterdam.
1 person likes this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
Hmmmmm - now I'm wondering if it's time to start another series of 'Travel Tales' to go with my Tales of the Village and Tails from the office.
1 person likes this
• Valdosta, Georgia
4 Dec 15
You really didn't miss much, it's been pretty quiet around here. Seems like everyone got busy at the same time! I'm glad your back and things have calmed down for you a little.
2 people like this
@marlina (154183)
• Canada
4 Dec 15
I love marzipan, but it is very heavy on the stomach, so I only eat a small piece at a time and around Christmas time too. You didn't miss anything here, it was very slow.
2 people like this
• United States
4 Dec 15
What did you miss? Hum.....not much probably.
2 people like this
@xFiacre (12538)
• Ireland
4 Dec 15
@boiboing I'm quite sure you weren't the only person in Amsterdam with no knickers. Cake is a different matter however and the thought of Christmas pudding just makes me feel disheartened. Hope you're back on form.
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (12538)
• Ireland
4 Dec 15
@boiboing All cake and no knickers!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
5 Dec 15
Glad you were repatriated and reunited with your knickers. Poor you! I made a christmas cake a couple of years ago. Every day I came home and poured a bit of brandy and sherry in it for around a month. So much so that it started to oozing out of the bottom. OH MY Word above you have never tasted anything like it. Blimey you could literally get pickled on it. The fruit had absorbed it all it was delicious. The Europeans are not terribly enthused about our Mince Pies, Christmas pud or Christmas cake. I took some to Thailand one year when we were there!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
5 Dec 15
@boiboing Oh dear they just don't do decent fruit cakes.I must admit I was getting concerned that we had not heard from you. Glad it turned out ok and you are home safe and sound.
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
5 Dec 15
@garymarsh6 It wasn't a planned break but I just didn't get the time or the connection to come back for a few days.
1 person likes this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
5 Dec 15
You should have seen their faces when I explained the tradition of keeping one tier of your wedding cake to use at your first child's Christening party.
1 person likes this
• United Kingdom
6 Dec 15
What a pity the mince pies were rejected! Glad you found your knickers though!
1 person likes this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
6 Dec 15
I should have only taken one box of mince pies.
@Namelesss (3368)
• United States
4 Dec 15
Well Boingboing I thoroughly enjoyed this post and the comments, it was a fun read for sure. Sorry but my mouth kind of dried up reading the list in the 'bag'. Ugh! I don't think you've missed much here though except maybe some talk about the shootings in California.
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
@Namelesss Don't worry, it won't bring me down.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28719)
• United States
5 Dec 15
What are After Eights? I got a sample of figgy pudding recently. It's the first time I ever had it. It was interesting. I wouldn't mind having more. Of course to us pudding is liquid not cake-ish.
• United States
5 Dec 15
@boiboing Oh, a peppermint patty!
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
5 Dec 15
Chocolate mints.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For the band, see Aftereight. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be ch
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
5 Dec 15
I would simply suggest a nice frosted sugar cookie, lol! Maybe gingerbread, but I dont actually like it. smells great, taste not so much
• Centralia, Missouri
5 Dec 15
@boiboing I love smell, never learned to like the taste
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
5 Dec 15
Gingerbread is very typical in Germany in lots of slightly different formats.
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
4 Dec 15
What no Yule Log? And no, not the Cadbury variety, but M&S do a good one... On second thoughts, given the knickers status, perhaps a wise move to leave out the log.
@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
4 Dec 15
@boiboing Never had a CoOp Yule Log... Glad you made it back safe, sound and have caught up!
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
@pgntwo I'm trying. But it looks like the site has gone a bit quiet.
1 person likes this
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
I was restricted to what I could get in the local Coop.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (203765)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Dec 15
Brilliant and diverse posts!
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
4 Dec 15
We aim to please.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323716)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Dec 15
While I'm not a fan of all the rich Christmas fare, I'm surprised that the mince pies weren't popular.
@boiboing (13153)
• Northampton, England
5 Dec 15
I don't think that they gave them a chance.
1 person likes this