Really?

I was very surprised to read this article.
Apparently "cash strapped Bits" can't afford to eat healthily.
I'm sorry, but it should say lazy Brits can't afford to eat healthily. During my adult life there have been several times when cash has been tight, but I have always been able to put a decent meal on the table.
I will hazard a guess that it a question of priorities.
When I was young, my parents weren't flush, but they got by. Mum and Dad's first priority was that we ate well.  This was put before other luxuries.  There was always enough food, even if we didn't have the latest trend in clothes, or any other consumer "must haves", that are only "must haves" due to advertising bombardment for the particular product.
I am so glad my parents had this outlook on life, as it rubbed off on me.
At one time whilst I was married my husband was made redundant, and it was a good three months before we were in a position where we absolutely had to go shopping for store cupboard staples, thanks to a chest freezer and a garage where we stocked sacks of veg, and fruit.  We also grew veg in our garden, and soft fruits.
All the meals I made were from basic ingredients, the only tinned products I regularly used were tinned tomatoes, and my children did like the occasional meal of baked beans.
It is a myth that baking meals from scratch is expensive.  Granted setting up a store cupboard takes time and doesn't happen over night, but I suspect the people who opt for ready meals are lazy, or were not brought up with the same basic principles I was.
In answer to your question, did I take cookery as an exam subject, the answer is no. Taking food/cookery as an exam is a whole different blog post.
The government have scrapped their "license to cook scheme" which is a great pity.  Our food teacher still follows the rough guidelines, but then again, she was on the right track before it was introduced. Again, another topic for another post.

conferencing

This is fun. If you haven't tried it yet, I suggest you give it a try. OK, the kids do it all the time, but it is fun, and sometimes you can get at cross purposes. If you don't follow the conversation..this could be very funny.
Other stuff that has happened today, err. I swam 1/2 a mile, before my breakfast. Not an awful lot of other stuff, apart from shop at Asda.
Here in the UK, because of the bad weather prices of veg have gone up. Forgive me for being cynical, but.....not every growing area has been flooded. For example, this time of year Cauliflowers are at their most abundant, so why has their price gone higher than maximum winter price? It is sheer greed! Surely it would make more sense to keep the price the same, and make sure that they sold out of the limited stocks, rather than ramp the price up, and risk being left with stock on their hands?? That is how my boss used to operate.....sell stock cheap at the end of the day..and never over-price. And at weekend..anything that wouldn't last..drop the price to sell the stock. Anything that didn't sell and wouldn't keep, I took back home and made wine from.