Tuesday November 16, 2004

Good xmas present idea A few Xmas's ago we visited friends and they showed us this dvd of the concert. I am not a big fan of his music but the concert is excellent.

Under the musical directorship of Eric Clapton who also performs, several stars of yester-years and today are brought together to play many of George's songs. Only one fails to make the grade and that is the track "Wah Wah".

Between a section with Anoushka Shankar daughter of Ravi who George knew is an excellent piece by the remaining Python team led by the well travelled Michael Palin .

Eric and Jeff Lynn then start the main part of the show. Dhani Harrison also takes to the stage and plays through most of the set. He does look like his dad and his mother comments on this at the end of the Wah Wah song.

Joe Brown then makes the first of two appearances. For those who like Jools Holland then Harrison's Horse to Water is next on the set with Joe Brown's daughter Sam singing. I have seen Jools and his band play at the Hexagon Reading. Awesome show.

Tom Petty and his band then do three tracks followed by Billy Preston who I think did some stuff with the Rolling Stones a few years back.

Ringo Starr does two tracks including "Photograph" that he wrote with George Harrison. The show would not be complete without macca making an appearance and finally Joe closes the show off with the track "I'll see you in my dreams".

Monday November 15, 2004

My product of the week

Has to be one of these . We stayed over at a friends a year ago who were enthusing about it. Coming into their kitchen with a lovely smell of fresh bread sold us the idea to get one too.

We also bought a kenwood food slicer to make cutting up the bread easier. We did this as we were used to buying ready sliced bread you see.

Apart from a few disasters all my own fault I have to say the machine has behaved itself impeccabley. We do not buy any bread now and my sandwiches are even better than they used to be. My favourite recipe has to be the five seeded bread but I omit the caraway seeds and just use sunflower, pumpkin, poppy and sesame. Others that are good are granary and a half and half recipe which is a 50% mix of granary and white flour.

You might think you do not have room for this machine in your kitchen but you can put it in any room that you do not use ( it makes a bit of noise that might keep light sleepers awake..). It also has a timer for setting it up overnight or during the day.

It also makes cakes and other items such as nann bread which was wonderful. For these types of recipes the machine is just used as a mixing machine.

One last thing to say whatever bread maker you buy. Always stick to the recipe amounts exactly. To do otherwise will tempt disaster...

Sunday November 14, 2004

A fine cycle ride to Sunday lunch

After too long hanging in activity in the garage we got to use our cycles today. I had to pump up the tyres as they were completely flat ! We cycled to the Royal Oak at Shurlock Row a village three miles away. I had a nice pint of Indian Pale Ale ( IPA ) and we sat down to lunch. I had a farmers sunday lunch that had lamb, pork, chicken and beef on the plate with the usual sunday roast vegetables. My wife had lamb shank. We washed that all down with a bottle or merlot. I will be doing a report for the pub for the good pub guide.

It was a lovely crisp morning as we cycled out to the pub, the first real frosty evening this winter. It is amazing how much more you can see when you are cycling along instead of wizzing along in a steel can of a car.

Just outside the village is a downhill and then uphill bit by these vineyards . I always watch when they do their pruning in january and follow suit on my own on our pergola. It looks like the place is up for sale . I will not be making a bid as our lottery tickets did not win us anything this week. Our sunday lunch was however paid by a forty pound win last week on the 'hot picks' . ( Nov 14 2004, 09:09:00 AM PST ) Permalink

Two UK storms and Lord Lucan ?

The excellent timewatch series finished its autumn season off with a repeat last week. This TV series makes excellent documentaries and it is a pity more do not get a second showing. Last weeks show was all about a disaster that most people do not know even happened. The great flood of 1953 was one of two natural disasters to hit the UK in the last century. The UK normally enjoys a fairly placid climate without any naturally occuring disasters but nature cruelly reminded us of its force twice in the last century. The timewatch program chartered the floods path across the country and had interviews with people affected by it who still showed the pain of those events over fifty years ago. 2,000 people died in both the UK and the 'low' countries across the channel. The timetable of events is staggering. Of course communication was then primitive and no centralised planning or reaction was in place. Many houses did not have phones, TV and certainly not mobiles and this made the authorities job harder to protect those at risk.

The second disaster was in 1987 when Michael Fish made his famous forecast that will be in history for ever. This storm was also destructive and I remember seeing trees flattened by its powerful force the following day.

So where does Lord Lucan fit into this ? Well we watched a channel four documentary on the Lucan story last week. This was weak in comparison to the timewatch programme and the only new part they had to offer to the story was an interview with his son. Unless they find Lord Lucan dead or alive I think this story is getting stale now.

Saturday November 13, 2004

Putting the garden to bed ( continued)

As my wife is working today I have spent a few hours doing the final tidying in the garden. As I have said before I like to leave the seed heads on plants for the birds but it is time now to trim down the plants that will regrow next year. If you do not when we have a heavy wind, the plant ( unless it is a monster) will be pulled out of the ground exposing its roots. Then it will be very likely to die on you.

There are two main types of garden waste you get from this trimming exercise. Woody material which will take a long time to rot down and succulent type material which will rot down very quickly. The former goes to the dump to be rotted down with the rest of the areas waste . The latter goes to my allotment where as I dig the ground over I will incorporate the waste into the soil. A good example of succulent waste is sedum or dahlia. Anything brown and woody is best taken away to the dump.

My chrysanthemums are nowhere as good as these . I have dug them up and they are now in a big pot in the greenhouse. I have trimmed them down to an inch or so above the roots. The strongest plants will be allowed to grow on and be put back in the garden next year. The plants are known as 'stools', I guess because they look like an upturned stool. I want to grow some new chrysanthemums next year as my plants are quite old. I may even find some good buys as these and other plants are being sold cheap at this time of the year.

I have also pruned my roses. Again if you do not do so the whole plant will be lifted out of the ground. A tip here. We all know roses have thorns. No surprise there. I do not like using gloves as I feel it hinders my work in the garden. Even if you do the thorns always seem to find a piece of expososed human skin. So what I do is get a plastic bag, an ideal one is an old compost bag and I open it as wide as possible. I drop the rose clipping over the hole and use my boot to push them in. This saves using your hands. Finally do not put any other waste in the bag. This is so when I come to empty it I immediately see the roses and be careful. If there was some other waste on the top you will shove your hand in and then meet those rose clipping hidden below. Ouch !

I have also been putting away my link stakes . These simple but effective devices hold up most plants and stop them flopping over during the season. I find they can be stored outside, in fact I jam them between my gutter downpipe and the wall and they seem ok there. Do buy plenty. Once you start using them you will be amazed at how many you use. Also buy different sizes. One size does not fit all plants.

Finally I covered most of the now exposed ground with plastic netting. This is the robust stuff you can make fences out of. Netting you use to cover fruit etc with to protect it from birds just ends up in a tangled mess. Why do I do this ? To try and keep these from messing in the ground and also digging up plants.

Friday November 12, 2004

An unusual James Bond story

The book "For Your Eyes Only - Five Secret Occasions in the Life of James Bond (1960)" contains an unusual story which I omitted to mention in my article .

The story is called "Quantum of Solace" and has no James Bond 'action' but has him sitting in front of an island's administrator being told a tale that he suspects is going to bore him asleep. The administrator although he is not sure thinks Bond has been responsible for violence on his island and he wants Bond off it so he can return to having a quiet time of it. After dinner however they both sit down, have a drink and the administrator starts telling this story.

The story reminds Bond that people are not all they seem something secret agents should always be on the lookout for. The "Quantum of Solace" that the administrator mentions in his story is the loss of humanity that resulted after a couple's marriages lands on rocky times. The woman who Bond meets at the party is the female character in the story ( she has since remarried) .

An online dictionary says Solace means:

1. Comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or distress; consolation.

2. A source of comfort or consolation.

This sounds about right. but if you see this book, read this story even if you do not like Bond stories. It is worth the short time it will take you to read it.

Thursday November 11, 2004

Overbuilding - a new use for an existing word

This morning I checked the definition of the word Overbuilding. This website said this:

overbuilt, overbuilding, overbuilds

1. To build over or on top of.

2. To construct more buildings in (an area) than necessary.

3. To build with excessive size or elaboration.

To construct more homes, office buildings, or commercial complexes than necessary in an area.

What I am talking about in my Grumpy old man section is what seems to be happening in my part of England a lot now.

One or more houses are purchased. Usually several. These are demolished and a block of flats are built or more houses are erected but always more than was on the original plot. The original houses were usually perfectly ok.

The problem I have with this is that this part of the UK is already ovecrowded. Roads are jammed and other resources like hospitals, doctors etc are being stretched to the limit.

I realise that this accomodation is needed. A lot of young people are getting married later in life or not at all and a lot of marriages end in divorce . The government is also is saying we need more houses and has plans to make this happen.

So what is the alternative ? Some of the traffic problems could be alleviated by a better public transport system. My favourite country Singapore outside the UK has an excellent transport system . I don't think the idea of building houses in the northern part of the country helps either. Parts of it are also as busy as the south. Perhaps we should take the lead from Singapore again and start reclaiming land from the sea like they have . We have plenty of sea between us and the USA.

Tuesday November 09, 2004

Go out and buy some cheap plants !

If your borders are a bit empty and you are short of cash ( or you just want to save money) go to a garden centre near you asap.

In the UK the centres want to get rid of perennial plants as most of these naturally die back in the autumn ( and do not look like they are a viable plant to the untrained eye). The centres do not want them as they will need some kind of looking after and they will be able to get new specimens from their suppliers in the spring. So they typically sell these unwanted plants half price. I saw perfectly good sedum, foxglove, aquilegia, aster and much more for about two - three pounds each yesterday.

Do not set them in the ground. Keep them in their pots in a sheltered place by your house, a cold greenhouse is even better. In the spring when they start to regrow plant them where you want them.

TV Chefs who is my favourite ?

At a time when the UK is looking at an ever growing problem of obesity and a lot of us are buying more prepared meals instead of cooking them ourselves it does seem strange the country is mad about cooking programmes. Of course things have moved on a long way since the days of the Galloping gourmet and Fanny Cradock as the range of food eaten in the UK now covers Thai, Indian and so on.

My favourite must be the series called "Two fat ladies" featuring Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson-Wright . Jennifer has now sadly died so the series has stopped but if you can catch repeats on cable etc they are a hoot. These two ladies are both knowledgable in subjects beyond cooking and the gentle banter between them is a delight to see. In each programme they visit a well known location eg The Black sheep Brewery in Masham for example. Each programme also features a theme like afternoon tea, seafood and so on.

Next on my list would be Rick Stein . He has done several series for the BBC . His knowledge and passion for seafood knows no bounds. I think his best two series were when he travelled the UK and did a series called Food Heroes . Some of the people he found and the products they were making were interesting like the original Black Pudding . Wherever Rick goes his little dog chalky follows his around in his landrover...

I suppose a discussion about Chefs cannot be complete without mentioning Delia smith . We still use her original Complete Cookery book which has not let us down many times.

Saturday November 06, 2004

Visit to London to see the Woman in Black

Had a day visit to London to see a play The Woman in Black Based upon a book by Susan Hill . It was excellent. Held in the small "Fortune Theatre" it showed English theatre at its best, two excellent actors Brian Miller and William Rycroft on a stage with minimum props and lighting but keeping the audience guessing and on the edges of their seats.

The play is its in sixteenth year and was adapted from the book by Stephen Mallatratt.

On our way to the play we visited the Underground War rooms where Churchill camped out to avoid the bombs during the war.

Both of the places and more are currently available for a special price if you travel into London by train. The 2for1 offer is an excellent reason to visit these attractions.

I had hoped to bag another entry in the Good pub guide at the Lamb and Flag WC2 but it was too busy so we left without having a drink or a meal.

Thursday November 04, 2004

Litter ugh !!

As I drove to work today I followed a Ford Mondeo . Mondeo man as I followed him ejected his cigarette out of his driver's window to the outside world. One small bit of litter but one big problem.

Some countries do not have litter problems on the scale of ours for example Singapore although last time I was there a little litter was evident in some areas.

Of course litter is a problem everywhere and one could argue dumping at sea is the worst sort of littering mankind does.

I do not know how to fix this , when I had more time and did not need weekend 'lie ins' (feeble excuse..) to recharge my batteries I used to do my bit to clean up after others. When I used to walk to get the Sunday paper I took two plastic bags. One I put plastic bottles and drinks cans in as I found them, which I then took home to put in my recycle bins. The second bag I put litter in which I emptied as I came across litter bins others chose not to use.... One village I drive through called Binfield I have seen someone walking the streets clearing up after others..

If anybody has any ideas please add a comment !

I made my decision

Well the car is ordered now. I have gone for the Golf GT TDI . I have ordered it from a well known internet site that was recommended to me. If the car arrives ok in late January 2005 and I have no problems I will tell you who it was. Even so I have saved about 2,000 GBP on the price of the new car. My local dealer was unable to match the price. I think he can make his quota selling at a higher price so he does not need to discount so heavily. The car will be brand new and from a 'real' VW dealer. Not the pre-registered or imports that you sometimes see on the web.

I have gone for a black one - not many colour choices unless you upgrade to metallic or pearl effect ( at a price..). But my first and only other new car was a black Ford Escort that I purchased in 1983 with a plate of A299 JEX. The plate was the year the UK DVLA changed the plates round from being ABC 123{Reg letter} to {reg letter}123 ABC. It is now different again of course.

Wednesday November 03, 2004

My cycling experiences..

I am never going to reach the dizzy activity of Chris but I did my best at the time. Why am I thinking of cycling ? Well I followed a cyclist last night with an awsome light show on board which made him very visible. Made me think of my own lighting arrangements pathetic in comparison...

Like all of us I remember learning to cycle with stabilisers on. When these were removed I fell off but soon gained my confidence in two wheels...

I lived in Norfolk as a young lad and cycled everywhere with friends from school. I also did my friends paperound for two weeks using a WH Smith bicycle. In those days papers were all broadsheets and I had two large bags either side of the rear wheel to hold them. There was one large impressive house that had the The Sun which I always thought was strange. The paper round was big and I had to get up very early.

Then my parents moved to Foxton Cambridgeshire and after starting work I went out several times a week. The local bus and train service finished pretty early so for a later night out ( I had no car) cycling was the only option. Even after getting a car I kept cycling as I don't drink and drive any amount. It was seven miles there and another seven back on a fairly busy road. I had a few strange things happen to me but I guess I was lucky I was never knocked off the bike.

I had to use dry cells for my cycle lamps and then upgraded to re-chargable cells. Of course the lamps then were primitive and usally fell apart eventually but before that when you went over a bump they might go out. I remember a police car overtaking me one night only to realise my back light had gone out after it passed me. I gave it a kick just before coasting up the the stopped police car. I was asked my name and they kept looking at the bike puzzled by the red light now showing. I guess embarrassed they asked me if I had seen some kid who was missing. I guess they did not make their quota that night...

One winter it was REALLY cold. It went down to -20 degrees C at night. I kept cycling. I remember getting home and feeling lumps of frost in my hair. Waking up in the morning with a wet pillow the frost having melted.

I also remember going to Soham for my friends wedding party. I got the train there and cycled back. I got lost of course. I saw some bright lights indicating a major road ahead and kept going. By the time the road had gone to a track then a muddy path I gave up and turned around. I do now know how I got home that night...

The most traumatic event was when I went to a party. It was a fancy dress a pajama party. Everyone was dressed up and in bare feet. Except one girl with stilleto heels on. She managed on two occasions to stand on the same toe on my foot. The nail was suffering. Then to make matters worse as I walked back a the person in front of me stopped suddenly. My foot went into their heel. The nail was bent up at 90 degrees to my toe. A certain consumption of alchohol numbed the pain.I was persuaded to go to the Emergency clinic which was close as I was on a hospital campus for the party. I walked in with my home made Mr Men pajamas on. Of course the nurses in the centre knew where I had been having missed out on the party. The nail was removed no pain killers were needed. I then cycled my seven miles home.

So all in all I had fun and I wish I cycled more now. In the summer I cannot as I suffer from bad hay fever. Maybe it is good I do :<)

Monday November 01, 2004

Wisley worth a visit

If you like flowers and don't want to get wet Wisley Gardens is the place to go this or next weekend. The garden has a temperate/cool house which at this time of the year is "awash with spectacular displays of charm and cascade chrysanthemums. Regarded by many as the best collection in the UK the plants have been grown under the watchful eye of Superintendant Nick Morgan since the cuttings were taken last February. The cascades have been carefully trained, often resembling waterfalls, while the charms form huge upturned bowls fully 60cm across, yet with little or no pruning." I quote from the RHS Garden magazine insert "Gardens and events".

The garden at Wisley has many other things to look at this year and the magazine says the alpine house is also very impressive ( as it is all year as plants are rotated into the house). The new Japanese inspired waterfall by the alpine house is also impressive and soon the winter heathers will be out.

Back home I have erected my temporary greenhouse over the herb wheel to keep the worst of the winter weather off it and the banana is also in this temporary house after a bit of careful pruning. My Clematis Jackmania has been pruned back to ground level ,Jackmania is one of those you DO prune as it will grow back next year and benefits from this harsh pruning. This years fruiting canes are now removed off my thornless blackberry and I have now removed most of the remaining annuals.

The grass has had what I hope is its last autumn cut and the mower cleaned and stored away. As it now gets dark before I get home gardening work has to be done at weekends.

Another TV channel - will this be worth worth watching...????

ITV3 launches tonight.

The Sunday times review section comments on it ".. further investigation into the channels scheduling suggests it has been designed with the elderly or housebound in mind, so expect more single barrelled detectives, such as Frost or Morse and ancient episodes of Who Want to Be a Millionaire?".

Well sorry ST but if this is what they show I think the audiences will be larger than as you suggest and cable TV receiver is not going to stray far off channel 118... :<)

As a postscript it appears Granada plus has been taken off the air. So ITV3 is a re-badge.