Philip (Phil) England

Bad Knee Had an awful week with painful right knee on Tuesday, then thanks to painkillers and gabapentin the next day the pain had subsided and my knee was just very weak. I decided to put on a knee support and that helped. I managed the stairs on Thursday, and also decided to give driving a go, as was unsure if my knee was ok for doing this or not, glad to say it was. Friday, and thought my kneee was ok, stupidly decided not to put on my knee support. Drat - thought my knee was getting better, and had improved, had to pop to Morrisons for few bits and it gave way - I may have to decide if I should chance going to do my show or not tomorrow, will have a think and see how it goes, maybe I should have worn my knee support?  In Review: My bad knee this week, and looking how my hips and kness are on a regular basis, along with my back and other health issues really make the need for a ground floor flat or bungallow an urgency. I do not want to be stuck in an upstairs flat and trapped ...

  Chicken Cottage Pie First of all chop two small onions and gently fry until semi translucent, in to that add some garlic (granules or minced or chopped - your choice) along with a little pepper and salt, then add your minced chicken (you can use turkey if you want).  Gently fry until the mince has cooked through, then add a small tin of sweetcorn and about half an egg cup full of light soy sauce. Mix through and then put the mixture in to a casserole dish. Now for the mashed potatoes, you can do this from scratch or buy ready mashed. You can use sweet potatoes or ordinary potatoes if you wish, in to the mash add some soft cheese, I used garlic and herb, mix this through the mash and spoon on top of the mince. Cook in the oven for and hour or so on gas mark 7, or equivalent. Serve with peas or maybe peas and carrots mixed. Let me know what you think of this dish.

  Visit from Police  Yesterday was a bit of an arresting day, well the afternoon was anyway. Following a recent bump in Tesco's car park, Motability and the insurance company had been in touch with South Wales Police who popped by to see if all was ok. Apparently as I have health health issues, they need to check on things. My Dad had just left within the hour previous, and had said he was feeling rough. This kind of stressed me out, PANIC PANIC PANIC.... and breath! I did tell them this, and as I have a blood pressure monitor checked my blood pressure while they were here. Their initial responce was ' we should get an ambulance ', I told them not to, and checked again just before they left, by which time it had dropped close to normal levels for me. I do think however the sight of a young man in uniform may have aided in the high blood pressure reading. I'm fine though, and so pleased to know that these checks do occur, just wish they hadn't yesterday in the light ...

So after months of having Karl Burtonshaw trying to get me to start back at Swansea's only community radio station he has succeded! I'm back!  Karl is a very  persistant chap! I startted back on 20th April with my show, In The Groove , which airs on a Saturday evening between 6pm and 8pm, LIVE. If you have followed me for a while you will know what the show is all about, it remains that but with added extras, such as local content. Also on board at the station is Shaun Tilley, ex-Swansea Sound & The Wave plus BBC and other stations. He is a radio legend and someone I have been following the career of over time. He has big plans for the station, which, at time of typing this blog, is not public knowledge, so won't be put here until it is. I've been made part of the management team going forward, which is a massive honor for me, and shows that someone who is in the know in the radio world has faith in me. I've been a big part of Radio Tircoed's past. I was the...

Cons proposals for PIP Sunak and his government need flogging - end of! Here are his government's proposals relating to PIP. Awards for claimants with physical health conditions and those with mental health issues were called into question by Sunak. He argued that whilst some people need money for aids such as handrails or stairlifts “Often they’re already available at low cost, or free from the NHS or Local Authorities. And they’re one-off costs so it probably isn’t right that we’re paying an ongoing amount every year.” MY VIEW ON THIS: I need PIP for my motability car, also to get CBD and other natural remedies as I'm not a fan of co-codamol and other pain killers and things to make life easier that I can't get elsewhere, I buy my own walking sticks that go with what I wear, so they blend in and don't stand out, it helps my minds train of thought. In addition, claimants with mental health conditions are to be targeted because “for all the challenges they face it is n...

Cornflakes coated chicken Inspired by Nigella  In a bowl mix together the following Mustard (of your choice - dijon, whole grain or French) Two cloves of garlic (grated) Egg (to combine) mix well until all ingredients are combined. To this add 2 chicken breast fillets flattened into escallops, let them bathe for a while, while you prepare the coating. In another dish pour some cornflakes , massage them into crumbs, add some paprika or cayenne pepper ( depending on your taste ), mix together. Take the chicken out of your mustard mixture and coat in the cornflakes, make sure you coat well. Fry in a pan until the chicken is cooked. Serve with a nice salad. I used honey nut cornflakes, which wasn't right for the dish due to the sweetness, but the nuttieness worked, I also added chives to the cornflakes. See a video online at https://youtu.be/44FvvRk-FIE

Prawn & Tomato Pasta  (inspired by a Nigella dish) First of all cook some pasta in a pan While it's cooking in another pan pour some olive oil. Cut come cherry tomatoes around the equator, add these to the hot oil, taking care as they will spit! Add some grated garlic and some salt, when Nigella did her version of the dish she added chilli flakes, but I'm not a fan, so I'm choosing to add a squirt of ginger paste for a warming taste. In the pan next add your peeled uncooked prawns, cook them until they have turned pink.  Strain your pasta, and add it to the other pan, along with some chives and parsley. Combine, serve and enjoy. I want to thank Nigella Lawson for the inspiration for this one. Ingredients List Pasta Olive oil Cherry tomatoes Uncooked prawns Garlic Ginger paste Salt Parsley Chives