Running up that road

It’s odd how the most inconsequential things can cause the years to roll away. Tonight’s supper of tagliatelle with bacon and mushrooms in a peppery white sauce took me back to the times when, it being a quick and easy meal to prepare, we used often to have it while watching ‘Treasure Hunt’ on TV, after the Boy had gone to bed. There we would sit trying not to slop sauce onto the maps and atlases with which we had surrounded ourselves, striving to solve the clues before the players. This was in the days when Anneka Rice was the Skyrunner who, although maybe not the most stunningly beautiful woman in the world, was at least in command of her own brain and could help out some of the dimmer contestants.

Unfortunately when Ned was involved in one episode of the programme with his Big Gun Anneka had left the show, to be replaced by Annabel Croft. Sadly, doing the tennis circuit as a girl had clearly not left Annabel with any time to study, and what she lacked in knowledge she made up for in vacuity. She duly simpered at the men in their trunkhose and squealed when the cannon was fired, but eventually managed to locate the clue which was hidden in plain sight.

The latest Skyrunner incarnation, Suzi Perry, is a girl who combines beauty with intelligence. Perhaps if the planners had scheduled the last series for once a week at primetime, instead of every evening during rush-hour, our tagliatelle supper might once again be a regular event.

CNPS: 79