A poor excuse!
Hi everyone!
I'm going to start with an apology and an excuse!
I'm sorry that there's no picture of cheese scones in the blog. Last night was my only evening in this week and I had fully intended to bake some cheese scones to photograph for the blog. Instead I spent my evening watching football on TV - or perhaps it would be more honest to say not watching football on TV. Perhaps I should explain. Last night was the European Cup final played in Moscow between two English football clubs: Chelsea and Manchester United. I've been a Manchester United fan since 1968, when they also won the European Cup. I was very young at the time and honestly have no idea why I even knew about football. My father wasn't particularly a football fan and my mother doesn't really understand sport at all. I'm an only child so I didn't have any older brothers to get me interested in the game and we didn't have a TV until I was older - so why I started supporting MUFC is a complete mystery, but I did. 
I didn't actually get to go and see Manchester United play until a few years ago. At the time, BBC English (that's what BBC Learning English used to be called) was full of Chelsea supporters who regularly went to see them play, as Chelsea are a London club. Eventually, after a lot of nagging (I'm good at nagging, as Paul will tell you), they agreed to take me to a match between Chelsea and Man U. Man U won. The second time they took me to a match between Chelsea and Man U, Man U won again. And the third time we went. After that they refused to take me to any more matches! I've never seen a match at Old Trafford (Manchester United's home ground), but I was lucky enough to visit the ground a few years ago when we were making a radio series.
We were given a guided tour of the grounds and the museum and allowed to walk down the "tunnel" that the players use to get on to the pitch. This is the view they see: 
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Can you imagine what it must be like to come out of the tunnel and see the seats filled with more than 75,000 people and to hear the roar of the crowd?
You can take a virtual tour of Old Trafford here.
Anyway, back to my poor excuse for not baking any scones. The match between Chelsea and MUFC was on TV last night, but somehow I couldn't quite bring myself to watch it (how hopeless is that?). I sat down with a nice cup of tea and then spent the next two hours channel hopping - watching a bit of one programme and then switching to the football to see the score and then back to another channel. At half time the score was 1-1. At full time the score was 1-1, so they played 30 minutes of extra time. At the end of extra time the score was still 1-1, so it went to a penalty shoot out. By this time, I was hiding my head in the cushions. When Ronaldo, one of the United players, missed a penalty, I thought it was all over and went to get ready for bed....but I left the TV on just in case. Two minutes later one of the Chelsea players also missed a penalty and so it went to sudden death. Gulp! Finally, United won 6-5 on penalties. I think the entire neighbourhood must have heard me scream!
So there you have it. That's my poor excuse for why I didn't bake any cheese scones. Nevertheless, here's the recipe.
Ingredients
175g self raising flour (this is white flour that already contains a raising agent: if you can't find self raising flour, you can use all purpose or plain flour and add 2 teaspoons of baking powder (baking soda))
25g butter cut in to small pieces
75g of finely grated strong cheese - if you can find Cheddar, this is best!
1 large egg
2 to 2.5 tablespoons milk
Half a teaspoon salt
Half a teaspoon of mustard powder
A good pinch of cayenne pepper and a little extra milk
Method
1. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Rub a thin layer of butter over a baking sheet. (A baking sheet is a flat piece of metal)
3. Put the flour, mustard powder, salt and one really good pinch of pepper in to a bowl and mix them up.
4. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub in the butter, so that the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. This has to be done quickly so that the butter doesn't melt.
5. Mix in nearly all the grated cheese (leave about 1 tablespoon)
6. Now beat the egg with 2 tablespoons of milk.
7. Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour.
8. When it is all mixed in, use your hands to knead everything together into a soft dough (if it is dry and crumbly, you can add a little more milk.)
9. Put the dough on to a floured surface and use a rolling pin (also with flour on it) to roll the dough. The dough needs to be about 2cm thick.
10. Use a round 6 cm cutter to cut out circles and put them on the baking sheet. Make sure they have plenty of space, as they will spread.
11. Brush the top of each scone with a little milk and then sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese over the top of the scones.
12. You should be able to make about 8 scones with these ingredients, but you can use a smaller cutter and make more.
13. Bake on a shelf near the top of the oven for 15-20 minutes.
14. Take the scones off the baking sheet and leave them to cool. You should eat the scones while they are still warm, because cheese scones taste best when they are fresh out of the oven. Cut them in half and spread with butter. If you can't eat them all, then you can freeze them when they are cold.
Thank you for all your comments - as I usually spend part of each day at work moderating your comments for the teacher and student blogs, it's great fun to be reading the comments that are for me! I'll try and answer them next time, but Naheed, you'll see that I passed on your message about doing a blog to Paul and he finally gave in and wrote one.
Take care!
Carrie
an evening in: an evening spent at home.
an only child: a child without any brothers or sisters
half time: the end of the first part of a football match, when the players go off the pitch
full time : the end of match after 90 minutes of playing time
extra time: 30 minutes added on to the end of some matches (like cup finals) when the score is drawn
sudden death: the game ends as soon as a goal is scored
pinch: the amount of pepper you can hold between your finger and thumb
Comments
Hi Carrie! Congratulations for you and for Manchester United. I have to confess that I don't like too much football, but tonight all my family (my husband, daughter and I) were in front of TV seeing the match. It was very amazing to see the hapiness of the Manchester's team. I'm sorry for the Chelsea because they are very very good players and all of them made a wonderful match. I repeat: Congratulations!!!!!! and enjoy the victory. I'm looking forward to hearing from you very soon. Bye bye. Mercè
Hello, I am totally a new comers to this corner known as the blog.its a newer business for me and a totally amazing experience for me. Though I have tried to be the student of the month and tried to show the reasons that why I should be? However its an oppurtunity to ask few questions, I may be at the wrong place to ask some right questions, but believe me I always have very short time to have an access to Internet, therefore bear with me. Well, I want to improve my english as much as I can. For this pupose I try to read, write , speak and listen as much as possible, but amazingly I could not get much improvment. Can any body comment and share his/her experience with me. Thanks
Hi,Carrie I had never got into English Premier or European Cup before one of Korean player started playing for Manchester Unitied.I occationly watched big football matches when i was in Korea.cut a long story shork.I watched the game with my husband who is a fan of Chelsea.when time went by I was getting border and border because the Korean player was not on the pitch.But the matche was nail-biting for my husband and he was shouting a lot.In the end Chelsea lost and the team's captian broke down and wept bitterly.I was really sorry for him and I said to myself " poor Terry". Do you know what my husband Responded? He said that he had absolutely no sympathy for him because he earned thousands and thousands for a week.I was lost a word and I was confused about why he drove for two hours from work to home to watch the game.Have a good day!
Hi Carrie, Thank you for the cheese scones recipe, however I'm waiting for the pictures!! :-) My husband watched the football match between Chelsea and Manchester United on TV last night and seemed to last forever. I wanted to go to sleep but he refused to turn off the TV. Congratulations Carrie, your team won again. I must admit that I hate football matches. The only ones that I watch are those for the World Cup. Looking forward your next entrie. Fondly, Cris
Hi Carrie! Thank you soo much for your lovely post! I am enjoying Manchester United’s victory as well! Although I promised to my friend to support Chelsea I broke my promise as I found out that my favourite player, Wayne Rooney, plays for Manchester United. This Wednesday was rainy in Moscow. I went to Red Square to see UEFA’s fans’ festival. There was the trophy room with the cup; people made about 200 meter’s line to have their pictures taken beside the cup. I asked two young boys how much it took them to enter the trophy room. They came on Red Square at 7 AM, so it took them about six hours. But you should see their happy faces!!! I had to take some pictures from outside, the great memory all the same! Between Lenin’s Mausoleum and GUM ( it stands for State Universal Store, one of the most glamorous shopping malls in Moscow) there was an artificial pitch to play football, anyone was welcomed! GUM was illuminated, it made it look like gold! The green football pitch with the Kremlin’s wall and clock’s tower made it look fantastic! I watched video about UEFA Champions League history inside of structure that looked like a blue ball with white stars on it. While waiting to get into, I practiced my English with fans. :-))) Not much though. I joked that probably British fans brought their weather along to Moscow. By the evening it started to pour down. My new scarf (Manchester United FC) kept my neck warm. You may not believe but somewhat I knew I was buying a scarf of the team that will be the winner! As I got home from Moscow I wrote several entries on my MSN blog. I was soo sure Manchester to win that I wrote “ The Moscow’s sky mourns over forthcoming Chelsea defeat.” I dreamed teams to score equal 2:2 or 3:3 in full time, to score equal in extra time- to give us more thrill and to be settled just on series of penalties. My dream almost came true. It was exciting game with such a beautiful Ronaldo’s goal. In first half Manchester played great and was stronger. I just didn’t like one thing about their play, every time players thought they couldn’t give a good pass ahead they sent the ball back to their goalie. That was the only thing I didn’t like. It’s impossible not to admire Rooney’s or Ronaldo’s play! Especially Rolando’s. He was like dancing with the ball going through Chelsea’s defenders. In second half Chelsea was much better. Though they didn’t score I caught myself thinking that if I had supported Chelsea I would have had much more pleasure. They fought great. When Ronaldo failed it sent a chill down my spine.You know, Carrie, I am very sorry for John Terry slipped and missed gates. But I didn’t believe it was all over for United. Still I would prefer United used a number’s advantage in extra time instead of this Russian Roulette what penalty is really like… :-) When Manchester won I grasped my red scarf and started dancing with it and my daughter, who went to bed after full time and got up to see penalty, burst into tears… My friend from Luton got upset too…So I had to hide my joy… Though I’d rather splash out my happy feelings. Dear Carrie, would you please write in your next blog some short songs fans usually sing about their teams? I heard fans singing in outdoor cafes, it was marvellous! Hurray Manchester United! Congratulations to the whole UK!!! Byeee
Hi Carrie! Firstly, thank you for the delightfuly nice English which one can read fluently, except the part where I had to laugh a lot. You gess, it was your switching buttons on the TV remote control which was very reminiscent of many my evenings. I´ve hardly expected to read once about football from a woman. So, the exuse wasn´t poor but a pleasure to get to know what it means being a fan. Congratulation on winnig the European Cup from me too!
Hello Carrie! As always, thank you for such a wonderful blog. What I like best about you is that you have a good sense of humour to bring in your words that makes us read it till the end with a smile on our face. And yes, thank you once again! Paul really made it to write a blog. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Best wishes, Naheed
I am very glad that you had a good evening watching football on TV. Thank you very much for your recipe for cheese scone. I think I am going to make it. I feel happy when I see what I have baked.
Hello Carrie, thanks for your recipe. Excuse highly accepted. I totally understand you. It was really an incredible match. I've watched on tv. Both teams were of high standard and I couldn't choose one for supporting based on quality. We started supporting one team because there was a Brazilian playing there, then we realised there was another Brazilian playing on the other side. So I forgot all about nationalities and decided to support Cristiano Ronaldo's team because I admire him a lot. Oh! My heart went out to him and his mates when he couldn't score a penalty. It must have been so embarassing for him. I hate penalty shoot! Except when my team wins. :-) I was biting all my nails an praying for the Brazilians from both sides not to fail and at the end finaly the Man United was declared champion. You are thinking "so...she must have been satisfied and happy with the result". Actually, after seeing one of the Chelsea players (the one who missed the penalty...is he British or Australian? I'm not sure) inconsolably crying, I felt very guilty for supporting MU and I burst out crying too. It's very disturbing to watch a football match when you don't know which side you should support. Anyway, whoever is playing, there are always people screaming here too. Now, I'am going to write on Paul's blog. Take care.
Thank you very much for your blog. I never wrote any comments before although Ilike to read it. Football is not my favourite, but my friends vanted to see it so I watched too. I know someone must win but I am always sorry for the second. Mabye I try your recipe for scones next week. Have a good time! Dana
Hi Carrie! Gosh, this post was incredible! I loved it mainly because you talk about one of my graet passions, football. When the match between Manchester Unite and Chealse began I was at work so I could not see the first and second half of the game. Fortunatelly, when I left work the match was still running so I could seat in a bar and watch the end of the game. Although I'm Brazilian I must say that I have a special care for the Chealse squad and as always as I can I try to follow what is going on in the Englad league. I went compleately crazy when Cristino Ronaldo missed his shoot hopping that Chealse could win. There were many manchester supporters inside the bar I was watching the match and I saw the disappointment on their faces. But when Anelca missed his chance felt the sour taste of defeat. In spite of that
Hi Carrie! Gosh, this post was incredible! I loved it mainly because you talked about one of my graet passions, football. When the match between Manchester United and Chealse began I was working, so I could not see the first and second halves of the game. Fortunatelly, when I left work the match was still running so I could seat in a bar next to the company where I work and watch the game's end; Although I'm Brazilian I must say that I have a special care for the Chealse squad and as always as I can I try to follow what is going on in the Englad league. I went compleately crazy when Cristino Ronaldo missed his shoot, hopping that Chealse could win. There were many manchester supporters inside the bar I was watching the match and I saw the disappointment on their faces. But when Anelca missed his chance felt the sour taste of defeat.:( In spite of that I felt really proud because we (Chealse team) lost for a great team. Great post!
Hi Carrie! The football match was very enthralling. I see that you are an avid supporter of Manchester United. As for me, I am a supporter of Juventus. I am currently reading “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time” by Mark Huddon and I really like it. Thanks for the receipt. Have a good week!!
Hi Carrie! I know now why Man U won!!!
hello~~Carrie!don't worry.we'll support you~~
Hi Carrie! You seem not to be a real fan of either football or Man U, do you? You didn't even want to watch the match but only want to know the result :). Imagine, if Man U lost that night, would you be disappointed or sad?
Hi Carrie. I didn't watch the game, only the penalties but that was vibrant.
Great post! Carrie, thank you very much for it. It's a pure pleasure to read it because it contains a little bit more than just words. It has been a really good idea to give an opportunity to BBC LE's staff to blog. It's always interesting to know what they like, what they think about and where all that is going on :) To keep the page further will be a significant contribution to making us more understandable in the world of English.
hi carrie i m alsovery happy for Manchester United it was a great match . so Congratulations for us tack care
Hi Carrie! I posted my comment here on Thursday but I guess the greedy spam has eaten it. Anyway, I´d just like to say that I´ve enjoyed very much the virtual tour of Old Trafford. Apart from that, I didn´t know that the MUFC museum was opened by Pelé. That´s really interesting :-). I hope to hear from you soon, Ana Paula.
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