Sweet & Sour Sauce

When I was at the Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast this morning, I purchased a book about life at the prison - which closed its doors in 1996 - by a former prison officer, Patrick Greg.

It's entitled The Crum.

I've already read a chapter and, I can assure you, readers, that it promises to be a fascinating insight of life and times within the Victorian walls of that austere establishment.

Architecturally speaking, the exterior is not austere at all. Rather interesting, in fact, with many fine features carved into the stone-work.

The interior, particularly the inmates' quarters, is a different matter. Austerity reigns in the compact cells, which measure 12' by 7', at times with three prisoners to a cell.

Timothy Belmont pronounces that prison is for punishment and redemption, not comfort!


CHINSESE takeaways are utterly hopeless at sweet & sour sauce nowadays, to my mind at least.

The sauce is not what it used to be, thirty years ago.

It has exasperated me to to such an extent that Belmont GHQ now makes its own sweet & sour sauce, viz.

• Vinegar
• Sugar
• Soy sauce
• Tomato sauce
• Pineapple juice
• Cornflour

Pineapple chunks and raw onion pieces are added. This makes a far superior sauce to the stuff doled out to customers in the 21st century, in my experience at any rate.

The takeaway meal is provided, the supplied sauce is discarded, and the Belmont Household version is substituted.

Voila!