Butterscotch banana cake

via http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/guides/baking/story/0,,2213421,00.html

"My mate Jason Warwick, a talented baker in Sydney, taught me his way to boost the flavour and colour of banana cake, by simmering all that soft banana flesh in a frying pan bubbling with rich caramel, perfect for this sweet loaf. The cake takes on a sunburnt bronze hue and has a strong banana toffee flavour. Don't limit this to a loaf tin: it works as well as a slab, especially if a few handfuls of chopped blond walnuts are tossed in and stirred through at the end. Don't be stingy with the baking powder; bananas are very alkaline when they are ripe and this is often the cause of a heavy, dense cake.

250g caster sugar

250g banana flesh, chopped into 2cm pieces

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

175ml sunflower oil

2 large eggs

150g plain flour

75g spelt, rye or wholemeal flour

2 level tsp mixed spice

2 level tsp baking powder

½ level tsp bicarbonate of soda

50ml plain yoghurt

Butter a 20cm square tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Tip 150g of the caster sugar into a frying pan with 25ml water, bring to the boil, then cook over a high heat until the sugar turns to a dark reddish caramel. Add the banana pieces, butter and vanilla, and simmer until the bananas break up in the caramel and the mixture is thick.

Spoon on to a plate and leave to cool. Beat the remaining 100g sugar with the oil and eggs until thick and slightly aerated, then beat in the bananas and the yoghurt. Sift the flours, spice, baking powder and soda together two or three times (throwing the bran back in), then fold this through the banana mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the tin, heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted) and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Tried and tested

'Went down really well. Even better the day after baking'

"

Three Ginger Parkin Slab

via http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/guides/baking/story/0,,2213412,00.html

"To make fine oatmeal, I simply place 75g or so of rolled oats in the blender and whiz them together until fine, then repeat until I have enough for the recipe. Alternatively, you can buy fine oatmeal from a health-food store.

You might prefer to replace the plain flour with strong bread flour, as it makes the crumb a little sturdier, less likely to crumble and easier to butter.

Makes one large cake

100g unsalted butter

250g soft dark brown or muscovado sugar

125g golden syrup

125g treacle

150ml dark ale or porter

2cm piece of peeled fresh ginger, finely grated

150g fine oatmeal

2 large eggs

250g plain flour

3 level tsp ground ginger

3 level tsp baking powder

Butter a 20cm square baking tin and line the base with non-stick baking parchment. In a saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, syrup and treacle until the mixture is warm and the butter melted. Remove from the heat, add the ale, fresh ginger and oatmeal, whisk together and leave in the saucepan to cool for 5 minutes.

Next beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour, ground ginger and baking powder together, then add to the saucepan and stir to combine. Spoon into the tin and leave while you heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted). Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool, then top with ginger water icing."

Tumbet recipe

via http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1813920,00.html

"Serve just as it is, or with grated cheese, or with some canned, drained chickpeas added just before it's done. Make sure the potato slices are considerably smaller than the other vegetables, so everything will be cooked at the same time. If there's any left over, it's excellent cold, perhaps with a handful of olives thrown in and accompanied by a leafy salad. Serves four.

2 large onions, peeled and cut into chunks

1 large aubergine, cut into chunks

2 large potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1cm cubes

2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks

3 courgettes, cut into chunks

1 bunch parsley, leaves picked and chopped

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

6 tbsp olive oil

425g can chopped tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Put the raw vegetables, parsley and garlic into a large shallow casserole dish or roasting tin. Add the oil, tomatoes and seasoning. Stir well to combine, then spread the mixture out so it forms an even-ish layer. Bake, uncovered, for two hours, until the vegetables are tender. Give it a stir after an hour, and cover with foil if it's browning too quickly."

Fixed 4 Free

http://www.fixed4free.com

cucumber-mint raita

via http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/109803

1 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Wrap grated cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Whisk yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add cucumbers and toss to coat. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Sprinkle raita with pinch of cayenne pepper and serve.

Perfect Greek Salad

http://dkn.vox.com/library/post/greek-salad-recipe---by-popular-demand.html

Tomatoes. I highly recommend using medium to large sized tomatoes - The juicier the better!

Bell Peppers

Cucumbers.

Red Onions

Feta Cheese.

Kalamata Olives

The dressing. A traditional Greek salad dressing contains FRESH lemon juice, olive oil, dried oregano flakes, salt and pepper. DO NOT use vinegar to sub for lemons. Greeks out here in the city do that at diners and stuff just because it's easier...I never use their dressing. It just sucks in comparison and you'll have to trust me on that. The best part about the dressing is that you don't have to make it separately. I'll get to that later.

Instructions

The key to the veggies in a Greek salad is CHUNKS. So when cutting, think chunks. You'll see what I mean.

In one big serving bowl:

1. Slice your tomatoes in half across the belly. Remove the seeds. (I just take my knife and loosen the membranes first then stick my fingers in the seed holes to get 'em out.) Once you have removed the seeds, rinse the tomato again and cut it into bite-sized chunks, anyway you like it.

2. Slice your bell peppers across the belly to remove the seeds/stem. Cut the peppers into bite-sized chunks, as well, or you may simply slice them into strips as you may do for other salads.

3. Peel your cucumbers. (Or don't peel, it depends on the cuke but if the skin is rubbery definitely peel it) Slice the cuke in half, long ways. Take a small spoon and scrape out the seeds. Slice the cucumber into chunks that are about 1/2" to 3/4" thick.

4. Peel your onion and cut it anyway you like to make the layers into bite sized chunks.

5. Feta. Crumble enough feta on top of the salad to cover most of it in one layer. I found this is the best way to determine the right amount. If you've never worked with feta before, the best method for crumbling is to cut it into 3/4" slabs and go from there.

6. Loosely sprinkle olives over the salad - this all depends on how much salad you are making and how many olives you like to have in one serving.

Now it's time to dress the salad. This can be tricky depending on the size of your salad. I recommend doing a little at a time, tossing in between and tasting to see if you need a little more of this or that.

To taste:

• Drizzle olive oil
• Drizzle fresh squeezed lemon juice
• A pinch of salt
• A few dashes of pepper
• A few dashes of dried Oregano

Note: If you are bringing a large salad to a dinner party, picnic or potluck I do recommend making the dressing beforehand and putting it on at the last minute.

Baloney Detection Kit

http://www.xenu.net/archive/baloney_detection.html

from the Operation Clambake anti Scientology website.

Homeopathy Criticism Silenced

"I am reproducing this article by Andy Lewis from the Quackometer as the Society of Homeopaths have asked his service provider to take it down on pretty flimsy grounds. To me it reeks of a pathetic attempt to silence valid criticism of dangerous and unethical practices. See here for the full story. Decide for yourself."

from Homeopathy

See also here for details on how attempts to be grown up about it were ignored by the Society of Homeopaths.

Growing tips for lavendar and roses

Roses

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile_roses.shtml

"remove any dead or spindly growth, and cut back hard to within about 15cm of the ground in late winter/early spring to promote new growth from the bottom. This equally applies to climbers, and to a lesser extent ramblers; the former’s new growth should be trained out in a fan shape if possible (tied to rows of sturdy wall wires), promoting new growth and flowers from a low level, otherwise they’ll all be up in the air and you’ll never be able to smell them. When growing up trees and pillars, spiral the new growth up and around.

Subsequent late winter/early spring pruning: climbers and ramblers can be left alone, especially if they’re growing up trees, though they can be cut back after flowering if they are accessible and getting out of control. With bush roses, the rule is the harder you prune, the more new growth and the greater the number of flowers, though they will be smaller. A light prune means less new growth, but fewer, larger blooms. With shrub and species roses, make sure the centre doesn’t become congested with old, unproductive wood. Thin out as necessary."

Lavendar

http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/growcarelavend_trtg.htm

"Pruning your lavendar plant: As your lavendar plant matures, make sure that you prune it every spring. There are two reasons for this: lavendar can get too leggy with the prospect of taking over a small garden space. Also, as lavendar matures, it will develop bark by the original plant. This is a sign that your lavendar is due for a trim---possibly a severe pruning.

When you prune your older lavendar plant, cut back all of the overgrown stems and flowers back so that the original plant is exposed. Hopefully, you've pruned in time for new sprigs to start sprouting on your lavendar plant. Otherwise, if nothing comes back it means that your lavendar has lived its life---which is generally five years from young

seedling to full maturity.

Replanting your lavendar plant: If you simply want to move your plant into another area of your garden, or if you nursed you lavendar plant from seed to young plant, you can easily replant lavendar into your garden. For a move to another location of your garden, you have two choices. Either you can cut off a healthy section of your existing lavendar plant to replant or you can dig up the entire plant."

Morton's Demon

Article about noticing only data that supports what you already believe. It's an effect often noted in people with superstitious/religious/non-sciencey beliefs, but everybody does this to some extent.

http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/postmonth/feb02.html

"Morton's demon was a demon who sat at the gate of my sensory input apparatus and if and when he saw supportive evidence coming in, he opened the gate. But if he saw contradictory data coming in, he closed the gate. In this way, the demon allowed me to believe that I was right and to avoid any nasty contradictory data. Fortunately, I eventually realized that the demon was there and began to open the gate when he wasn't looking."

The search for no strings free or royalty-free website templates

Free, or royalty-free website template search

We're looking for a source of either no-strings, no attribution required, free website templates, or somewhere we can buy templates for a one-off charge which can then be reused/adapted for different clients (in the usual sense of 'royalty-free').

1.
http://www.freewebsitetemplates.com/
Has around 70 templates of generally good quality, many quite specifically themed however.

Terms of use:
"Unlike most free template providers you can do a lot with our templates. Modify it and redistribute it as long as you state that you used a template originally made by Free Website Templates. We have worked hard to make the templates and ask that you respect our hard work so we can continue providing you with high quality templates.

You can remove any link to our websites from a template you're free to use the template without linking back to us. But don't forget to tell anyone that can use our service about it, that is if you like our website your friends will too."

Does that mean you don't need to mention the source site at all, as long as you tell people somehow about their site (eg. down the pub over a packet of crisps)???

2.
http://www.4templates.com/

"4Templates.com offers high quality, ready-to-use and royalty-free web site templates"

But in response to my enquiry over reuse for multiple clients, I was told it is one purchase per client. Not really royalty-free at all then!

3.
http://www.deonixdesign.com

A membership site offering "Unlimited access and downloads to all the templates including future updates until your subscription runs out."
Terms of use on the site aren't too clear.
I asked them about use for multiple clients, what happens to existing sites if subscription runs out, can we adapt the designs etc. Will post any reply here.

4.
http://www.boxedart.com/

Another membership site. Same questions asked, will post any reply.
Noted this in Terms of Use... "sharing an account is no different than distributing our materials to others. Individual accounts must be purchased by your friends and colleagues." ...so they may see each of our clients as a separate user requiring a subscription each.

5.
http://www.larrytemplates.com
A bit more expensive, but you're buying the design outright. That means you can do what you want with it afterwards then? Er, maybe not...

"Is the license a one-time fee payment?
Yes, the payment for your template is a one-time fee without any additional charges. After purchasing you may use the template as many times as you need for one website."
(my bold)

Not sure whether that's just badly written, so have asked. Will post reply here.

---

Watch this space for more

Plantagenet Nobodycares

Plantagenet Nobodycares
a story told by miss Barwell at belle isle middle school. included a kazoo.

"when your lifes in disaray and looks like getting worse
i just hide myself away and sing this little verse"

Tomfoolery

http://www.toontracker.com/tomfoolery/tomfoolery.htm

"you don't say. you don't say. you don't say"

"who was that?"

"dunno, he didn't say"

Choosing the right bike frame size

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1614.asp

Take your inside leg measurement, then subtract around 9 inches off for a road bike (or a bike to be used as a road bike) or subtract 12 inches off your inside leg measurement for a mountain bike.

Inch to CM calculator here
http://www.manuelsweb.com/in_cm.htm

Topps trading cards

Topps Chewing Gum
Footballers cards 77/78
http://cards.littleoak.com.au/index_topps.html#77/78
http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=topps

spiked | ‘Evil’ Iran vs a British mum

spiked | ‘Evil’ Iran vs a British mum

"The press seems outraged that the Iranians have treated British soldiers like, well, soldiers. Turney is referred to everywhere as ‘a British mother’, as if she wandered into Iranian (or Iraqi) waters by mistake while shopping at a Middle Eastern branch of Iceland. ‘A British mother paraded on state TV’, says the Daily Mail; ‘Let mummy go’, said the Sun, imagining what Turney’s three-year-old daughter might be thinking. This ‘mummy’ has been in the Navy for nine years. Some claim the Iranians are behaving scandalously by pushing Turney to the front of their propaganda videos; it could be that they are exploiting the British media’s transformation of Turney over the past week into the nation’s Victim Mum."

confirmation bias & forer effect

confirmation bias
ie. people only pay attention to evidence that confirms their beliefs

&

The Forer Effect
ie. reading general statements as highly specific to yourself

Freegan.info

Freegan.info

Don’t hire this man as your lawyer

Don’t hire this man as your lawyer

Your religion sucks.

Your religion sucks.

So the next time someone blows up a building, or shoots an abortion doctor, or prevents young girls from learning to read, in the name of God, I hope that you won't get too self-righteous about it. In fact, you and they are peas in a pod. You enable this person to do what they do. You promote in society a tolerance and understanding for this behavior. Your failure is their failure. Your willing ignorance is their excuse. Your desecration of society's respect for the truth, for our responsibility to be intellectually diligent, for judging what might be true against what we can discern with our senses to be true, your faith is the exact same thing that makes what they do OK. Your guilty pleasure, your insistence on ignoring what your senses and your intellect tell you removes you and helps remove society from any position in which it is sensible to pass moral judgment on anyone else for believing in the absence of evidence, and then acting on these beliefs, however loony, because you do precisely the same thing they do.

Your religion is everyone's religion, because you've rejected the validity of rationally judging ideas on the basis of our senses and minds. You do it. You OK it. You bring it on. Thanks a lot.

Sweet and sour roasted red onions

From here...

Sweet and sour roasted red onions

Caramelised on the outside and super-soft within, these are delicious alongside almost any meat or fish. Serves three to four as a side dish.

500g small red onions

2 tbsp olive oil

1 stick celery, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp rosemary, picked and finely chopped

1 tbsp concentrated tomato purée

3 tbsp cider vinegar

3 tbsp light muscovado sugar

Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Peel the onions and cut them in half from root to tip. Put into a small oven dish, so they fit snugly in one layer.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat and add the celery and garlic. Fry gently for about 10 minutes, until soft. Remove from the heat, add the rosemary, tomato purée, vinegar and sugar, and stir so the sugar dissolves. Season generously, then pour over the onions and mix well. Roast for an hour, until soft and caramelised, stirring halfway through. Serve hot, warm or cold.

Store It At Rowlays - Self storage units in Lytham St Annes

Store It At Rowlays - Self storage units in Lytham St Annes

A Collection of Newspaper Masthead Clip Art - a photoset on Flickr

A Collection of Newspaper Masthead Clip Art - a photoset on Flickr

How to talk to gloabl warming skeptics

How to talk to global warming skeptics

Selling your home: 10 questions I asked when choosing an Agent >> Dumb Little Man

Selling your home: 10 questions I asked when choosing an Agent

Dubious nutrition science by Gillian McKeith

dubious nutrition science by Gillian McKeith

See also...
http://b3ta.com/challenge/gillian_mckeith/page10/
http://www.b3ta.cr3ation.co.uk/data/gif/mckeithclimbing.gif

Sex and Shanghai

Sex and Shanghai

MUTANT SOUNDS

MUTANT SOUNDS

Step Out... Chance Meeting With The NWW List

Step Out... Chance Meeting With The NWW List

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monroe Pawn

Scary World

Guinness Christmas Card

Disco Cats

Scare Home

Flying Dog

Game Over

Ant Logo

Adam and the Ants logo

Naming Ceremony Party Music

CD1

1. Super Furry Animals - Hello Sunshine (3:45)
2. Athlete - You Got The Style (3:25)
3. De La Soul - The Magic Number (3:16)
4. Kirsty macColl - Walking Down Madison (4:37)
5. - levellers - beautiful day (4:03)
6. - The Move - Blackberry Way (3:34)
7. king harvest - -Dancing In The Moonlight (2:49)
8. Calexico - Across the Wire (3:26)
9. Kinks - You Really Got Me (2:14)
10. - rem - imitation of life (3:56)
11. The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army (3:50)
12. Jack Scott - The Way I Walk (2:46)
13. - doors - la woman (7:53)
14. The Dandy Warhols - We Used To Be Friends (3:20)
15. - The Move - Flowers in the Rain (2:21)
16. The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love- (2:43)
17. - rem - orange crush (3:51)
18. - oasis - shes electric (3:40)
19. - Thrills - Big Sur (3:07)
20. - rem - talk about the passion (3:21)

CD2

1. - mrmen (0:31)
2. Calexico - Sunken Waltz (2:27)
3. - bjork - venus as a boy (4:42)
4. Shadows Of Knight - Oh Yeah (2:49)
5. - Troggs - Wild Thing (2:41)
6. The Dandy Warhols - You Were The Last High (4:46)
7. - rem - get up (2:40)
8. The Kinks - All Day And All of The Night (2:23)
9. love - alone again or (3:17)
10. - embrace - ashes (4:19)
11. Gorillaz - 19 2000 (3:27)
12. - rem - star 69 (3:08)
13. - The Move - I can hear the grass grow (3:00)
14. De La Soul - Eye Know (4:13)
15. - chillis - californication (5:31)
16. - feeder - tumble and fall (4:19)
17. - Wild One [Jerry Lee Lewis].mp3 (1:52)
18. sfa - juxtaposed with u (3:08)
19. - killers - somebody told me (3:17)
20. Kirsty Maccoll - Days (3:00)
21. - manics - motorcycle (5:06)

FUNKY CD

1. chic - le freak (3:37)
2. curtis mayfield - move on up (3:40)
3. FUNK04 - Grandmaster Flash - White Lines Don't Do It (7:26)
4. - boogie nights (3:35)
5. Wild Cherry - Play that funky music (3:12)
6. Donna Summer - I Feel Love (3:45)
7. - boogie wonderland (4:49)
8. - u sexy thing (4:05)
9. Village People - YMCA (3:44)
10. Lipps inc - Funkytown (4:00)
11. Trammps - Disco Inferno (3:17)
12. - strut yr funky stuff (3:39)
13. Whispers - And The Beat Goes On (3:24)

80s CD

1. Adam and the Antz - Stand and Deliver (3:09)
2. beastie boys - fight 4 your right 2 party (3:30)
3. - China Girl (4:16)
4. - Close to me (3:41)
5. dexys - come on eileen (4:08)
6. dire straits - money for nothing (4:06)
7. - Rio (4:46)
8. - Im Still Standing (3:01)
9. - Relax (3:57)
10. - Julian Cope - World Shut Your (3:35)
11. madness - it must be love (3:29)
12. Martha and the Muffins - Echo Beach (3:37)
13. police - dont stand so close to me (4:01)
14. queen - I want to break free (4:24)
15. Teardrop Explodes - reward (2:43)
16. Tenpole Tudor - The Swords Of A Thousand Men (2:50)
17. vapours - TURNING JAPANESE (3:43)
18. XTC - Senses Working Overtime (4:51)

WFMU - freeform radio genius

WFMU - Far and away the best radio station in the world.

St Annes to Whitby

1. Just past Preston turn off hang right for M6 South - Junc 32 (7.2 miles)

2. Get in 1st or 2nd lane for M61 at Junction 30. Note: If in 2nd lane don't panic at the turn off, the turn off is staggered till after some hatching. (21.3 miles)

-- Now on M61. Just before Manchester we will be joining M62--

3. Leave the M61 at junction M60 J16 and straight ahead into M60 direction Leeds.
(my notes say "Hang right at Junction 2 for M62, then stay in left lane as it forks.") 3.8 miles

4. Continue on M62 toward Leeds/Huddersfield/Rochdale - go 37 miles

5. Leave the M62 at junction 29 and straight ahead into M1 direction The North, M1, Leeds. 12.2 miles

6. Continue on A1(M) - go 1.5 mi

7. Take the A64 exit to Leeds/York - go 19 mi

8. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto A64 - go 11 mi

9. Continue on A64 inc Troutsdale Hill, Malton Road, Westgate, Scarborough Road, High Street - for 20 miles

10. Just after Staxton, at the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Spital Road - go 1.4 mi

11. At A64, take the 3rd exit onto A64 - go 1.4 mi

12. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto A64 (straight through r/bout) - go 0.8 mi

13. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto A64 - go 0.5 mi

14. Continue on Seamer Road - go 0.7 mi

15. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Seamer Road - go 1.0 mi

16. Turn left at Falsgrave Road - go 0.1 mi

17. Turn right at Scalby Road - go 0.2 mi

18. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Scalby Road - go 3.4 mi

19. ****FOLLOW WHITBY SIGNS*********
Continue on High Street - go 0.4 mi
Bear right at Mill Lane - go 0.5 mi
Continue on High Street - go 0.4 mi
Turn left at West Lane - go 0.1 mi
Bear right at White Way - go 0.3 mi
Continue on Holm Hill - go 0.4 mi
Continue on Ringing Keld Hill - go 1.2 mi
Continue on A171 - go 6.7 mi
Bear right at Robin Hood's Bay Road - go 0.7 mi
Continue on A171 - go 2.9 mi
Continue on Stainsacre Lane - go 1.1 mi
Continue on Helredale Road - go 0.4 mi
Bear left at A171 - go 0.5 mi
Continue on Prospect Hill - go 0.1 mi
Continue on Downdinner Hill - go 0.1 mi
Continue on Bagdale - go 0.2 mi
**************************************

Wind-up mobile phone charger

http://www.porta-charge.co.uk/accessory_0049.html

"2-8 minutes talk time for 3 minutes winding"

St Annes Swimming Pool

http://www.fylde.gov.uk/Category.aspx?cat=1474

Black Pepper and Lime Oven Fries

recipe from WFMU

Black Pepper and Lime Oven Fries
1 1/2 pounds Small potatoes, cut into wedges
3 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground pepper
1 lime
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, oven racks in the middle. In a medium bowl toss the potato wedges with olive oil, a few big pinches of sea salt,(or "punches" as i first read it...) and five or six cranks of the pepper grinder. Arrange the potatoes cut side down on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes, tossing the potatoes with a metal spatula half way through.

While the potatoes are cooking, zest the lime and cut it into a few wedges.

When the potatoes are cooked through, remove them from the oven, taste, and adjust the seasonings. Add more salt and pepper to taste (don't skimp on the pepper!). Arrange on a platter, drizzled with lime juice and dusted with the lime zest and Parmesan.

Cheese Terminology

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/12/29/know-your-cheese-terminology/

Fresh - High moisture cheeses that have not been aged, like cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, mascarpone and ricotta.

Soft-Ripened - These have hard rinds and soft interiors, like brie and camembert. They often have edible rinds made by "spraying the cheese with Penicillium candidum mold before a brief aging period."

Semi-Soft - Cheeses that are neither hard, nor runny, but that are high in moisture and creamy in texture, like Monterey Jack, fontina or havarti. They are often easy to grate and slice.

Firm/Hard - Less creamy than soft cheeses, but ranging in texture from slightly elastic to brittle. These are also good grating cheeses and tend to melt well. The category includes Asiago, cheddar, Gruyere, Swiss and Parmesan.

Blue - Cheeses with added mold that have strong flavors and are characterized by blue or blue-green veins, like Danish blue or gorgonzola.

Pasta Filata - Cooked and pulled cheeses like Mozzarella and provolone fall into this category and the cheeses can be hard of soft when finished.

Natural Rind - Long-aged cheeses develop a rind as they sit, like English Stilton or Lancashire.

Washed-Rind - These are washed with brines to encourage the growth of bacteria and rind-formation. These are frequently also semi-soft cheeses inside the rind and have strong flavors and smells. They include Taleggio and Muenster.

Processed - These aren't real cheeses, but are actually cheese byproducts, made with added flavoring, stabilizers and emulsifiers. American cheese and "cheese flavored" spreads fall into this category.

St Annes Dump

Lancashire County Council Household Waste Recycling Centre
St Annes
Everest Road
Tel: (01253) 711779

Opening Times
7 days a week 8am till 7pm
All Year Except Christmas and New Year

Anti-Networking in the Workplace

1. Make a thorough assessment of which people are most important to your career prospects. Try to piss them all off at least once a day. If it helps you to keep track you can add their names to every page of your diary, with a tick box next to each.

2. Tell your workmates they are bad at their jobs - one at a time - all of them. Slag off your work colleagues to their friends. Word will get back to them almost straight away, and somehow it's more irritating that way.

3. Make it clear you consider yourself the only person with any skill, ideas and drive in the company. You also do all the work. In fact, if you left the place would quickly go to the wall. Approach the personnel department and encourage them to write a company hymn about you. Try to get your name embossed in gold on everyone's pay slips, or included in the company mission statement.

4. Use savage and offensive language at the slightest provocation. If in doubt, swear like a sailor.

5. Try to avoid conversation wherever possible. Make it clear that you view talking as a waste of your precious time, and time is money. In fact, why not present the unwelcome visitor with an itemised bill when they leave.

6. If you do get trapped in a conversation, use body language, sighs and other vocal effects to make it clear you don't care and you aren't listening

7. If that doesn't work, try hogging the conversation. Butt into the middle of their sentences and turn the subject to something completely unrelated that happened to you.

8. View all conversees with deep suspicion. Let's face it, given your reputation they're probably only here to take the piss or win a bet.

9. Never remember anyone's name. Call everyone "mate". People will respect your dedication to worker equality.

10. Repeat the following phrase loudly, to anyone who gets close enough...
"all men/women are bastards/neurotic" (delete where appropriate depending on your gender)
This is an amazingly effective way to alienate and annoy half your colleagues at a stroke.

---

Copyright 2006
Not to be reproduced without permission

Economy 7 times - via powergen

Between 10:30pm - 12:30pm and 2:30am - 5:30am

Parmigiana

Baked aubergine with tomato and cheese

4 aubergines
Sea Salt
1 onion chopped
extra virgin olive oil
150g tomato sauce
1 small bunch of basil
4 hard boiled eggs cut into slices
100g mozzarella cut into slices
100g parmigiano, grated
Salt and pepper

Cut the aubergines lengthwise into slices, each about 2 cm thick. Cover with sea salt for an hour, then rinse dry, dry and deep fry. Dry on kitchen paper and leave to cool.

Preheat oven to 180c/350f/gas 4. Gently fry the onion in two tablespoons of oil, stir in the tomato sauce and a few basil leaves, and cook for about 20 minutes. Cover the bottom of an oven dish with some of the resulting sauce, then over it arrange a layer of aubergines, egg slices, basil, mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat the layering twice more, then bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.

Conchigli with roast tomato and basil sauce

Nigel Slater recipe from Observer...

650g cherry or small tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
250g conchigli
20 large basil leaves
2 tbsp double cream
grated parmesan or pecorino

Tomatoes stalked and banged into roasting tin with thin sliced garlic and olive oil. Put under grill till going golden brown and starting to burst.

Meanwhile, cook pasta.

Remove tomatoes, crush em with a fork, stir in basil leaves, stir in cream, season with salt and pepper and eat with some grated parmesan.

Falafel Burgers

FALAFEL BURGERS

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
small handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
small handful of chopped coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tbs wholemeal flour plus extra for dusting
200ml sunflower oil for frying

Put the chickpeas, onion, garlic, herbs, spices and flour in a food processor and whiz until smooth. Flour your hands and shape the mixture into 10 patties.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until it is nice and hot. Fry the falafels on both sides for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Leave them on a sheet of kitchen towel to drain.

Serve in a bun or pitta with lettuce, tomato and a dollop of hummus or home-made ketchup."

Autobreakers - Preston

Autobreakers - Preston - Lancashire - UK

Winckley Square Chophouse

Winckley Square Chophouse
Preston

The First Post : The ‘terror plot’ that didn’t fit

The First Post : The ‘terror plot’ that didn’t fit

http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/paper/index.php?article=2632

The First Post - nicely laid our news site

The First Post
Pretty good layout for a news site

Black Sheep - killer sheep flick

Black Magic - New Zealand Film News » Black Sheep
Baaa!

UK Urban Exploration Forums

UK Urban Exploration Forums

Thief Chat at UK Bump Keys

Lots of dodgy chat at UK Bump Keys forum (as you'd expect from a site dedicated to selling lock picking devices). Always interesting to know how crims operate.

Inside the Thiefs Office - Porches
and this from Urban Exploration...

"I had a friend who got done for 'going equipped' as he was carrying a large magnet in a clothes shop (if you don't know, the proper magnet pings those security clips in a flash). If you line a normal carrier bag with baking foil it also stops coded labels from triggering alarms. If you get caught with a bag prepared like that you can get done for 'going equipped'."

Mischievous Night

BBC - North Yorkshire - I Love NY - Confessions from a Mischief Night brat:

Confessions from a Mischief Night brat Mischief Night, Yorkshire's own brand of annual chaos. In the run up to another November 4th, read this confession from one former 'Miggy Night' perpetrator. Beware, it's not for the faint-hearted...

Mischief night is definitely a Northern thing - those Southerners are far too soft for the sort of thing that goes on. November 4th, the night before Bonfire Night, has become known as Mischief Night in Yorkshire. We're not certain of the origins of the tradition, but then who is of any tradition? What we are certain of, is what goes on. "When I was a kid I actually thought it was legal - 'coppers can't arrest you on miggy night.' That was the folklore." Ex-Mischief Night brat On this evening beware, because kids across the county will run riot, dustbins will be tipped over, pets might be at risk and gates will be removed. Sounds bizarre doesn't it? In a discussion in the BBC Radio York newsroom, it emerged that a (now reformed) 'Miggy Night' perpetrator was in our midst. Here's his confession, his identity will obviously remain a secret! Special delivery "From the relatively harmless knocking on doors and then running away, to putting honey on door knobs and removing house gates. What could be more fun or more dreadful than Mischievous Night, or in the local vernacular 'Miggy Night!' "Yorkshire's own excuse, on the eve of Bonfire Night, for mayhem disguised as tradition. Why? I don't know. How it started and when? Who knows. Why only in Yorkshire? Again I don't have the answer - wish I did. Don't get me wrong - I don't prefer the recent American interloper. Trick or Treat is just legalised and disguised begging - all treat and never a trick! But Miggy Nite?? Violent shameful chaos - seen as every kid's right. "When I was a kid I actually thought it was legal - 'coppers can't arrest you on miggy night.' That was the folklore. "The worst thing I ever did on this annual night of shame was to place a rather special smelly delivery in a post box, when it should have been in a toilet. Poor postman."

last updated: 31/10/06

Have Your Say Do you have a confession about your exploits on Mischief Night? Fill in the form and we'll publish it here, providing it's not too bad... Your name: Your comment: The BBC reserves the right to edit comments submitted.

chelsea & becci we silly stringed evry1 we saw and silly stringed an old man on a granny scooter n he nely fell off lmao :P Ann I'm not sure what they call it, but there are areas of Scotland where they have an old tradition of kids knocking on doors on Halloween and being given sweets and other treats. Maybe the American tradition was started by Scottish emigrants who carried it into their new country. Any Scots out there who know the history? I was never allowed to go out on Mischief Night as my Dad was a policeman and was worried that I would get into trouble. His parents, however, used to tell stories of how they would put a parcel in the road and wait for someone to stop and try to pick it up. They would then reel it in on the piece of string they were holding in their hiding place behind a bush or garden wall. Another of their tricks was to tie a button onto a length of thread and fasten the thread to a drawing-pin pushed into the top of the window frame. They would then hide in the darkness and tap on the window by flapping their end of the thread and try not to giggle out loud when the householder came out to investigate. Back in their childhoods (the very early 1900's) there were fewer vehicles on the roads and all window frames were made of wood. I always felt I missed out on something I should have been entitled to by not being allowed out on Mischief Night. I didn't enjoy being sent out on the morning of Nov. 5th to find our garden gates, though, and to try to find the owners of the gates left at the end of our garden path. Having just read some of the other contributions to this discussion I have to say that it seems some people have problems understanding the difference between "mischief" and "vandalism". I don't see how it can be interpreted as "fun" or "cool" to do something which could put someone (including yourself) in danger or to damage property. Pairo man im from toronto and NO1 here does anything on mischief nite! (for us that would be on oct 30) so im gona just start/try to start the tradition here. but ppl still egg and tp other houses just not as much and not a special time on mischief nite. George Im 40 Now Oh When i remember the things >>> Ok one would be find some dog poo and wrap it in tissue or news paper, Take it near someones front door (not too Close also one of your enemies) and set it alight, Bang on the front door and retire quickly(leg it) to the Alleyway where we had a good view of our evil doings. The person would appear and automatically stamp on the news paper not knowing of the smelly Deposit hidden inside but too late a whole shoe full of neatly folded Poo would be in every crack,Tread and stitch.... If you happen to be a victim of me or my gang on West hill estate, Bridlington Please forgive me and remember one thing isnt poo supposed to be lucky ???? Richard Im 32 and live in London. We used to empty out fireworks into a tobacco tin. Put a fuse on it and wrap it up in electrical tape. This was placed (lit) into water tanks over the local cemetary. We stopped when we totally split one wide open. A concerned observer surely there should be a polite society equivalent to mischievous night, something like borstal evening perhaps. All I can hope for is a good example of vigilante justice gracing the BBC news pages over the next few days, hopefully with elements of quasi-Dickensian disciplinary methods thrown in for good measure. bobby we in the street would select one house and cover the chimney with a bag to keep all the smoke from the coal fire escaping of course the occupants allways appeared with blackened faces mixed with red rage i never saw this as i was always running away the years when these dastardly deeds were done were 1959 to 1961, it came to a abrupt end when we were found out Cal All treat and never a trick, eh? In the states, Halloween is preceeded by "Moving Night", when anything not tied down might end up elsewhere, and "Soap Night" or "Chalk Night", when young people run through town writing graffiti using chalk or a cake of soap. Annoying, but harmless for the most part. CAS HIGHER mischevos nite iz wel gud round allerton bywater we frow eggz at evr1s windows itz wel gud lol Julie Mischief Night was ace a group of us used to knock on neighbours doors and run away, put dog poo through letter boxes, chop down washing lines, right on car windows with lipstick and just have a good laugh doing it. jenny my mum told me that years ago every village(north riding)had a bonfire and mischief night was the night that rival villages would try to set light to each others' bonfire. Matt Sounds like an excuse for anti social behaviour, vandalism and crime - slap some ASBOS about I say. J.C.Holloway When I lived in Mirfield (many decades ago) We tied the local bobby's doorhandle to his dustbin lid then knocked on his door, I thought I was thin enough to hide behind a lamp post! I was not as thin as I thought. Nobody down here in Portsmouth has ever heard of mischief night, which will be a relief on Nov 4th! John Lowe Great fun, cutting left out "clothes-lines", making fires in drain pipes from the eaves creating an enormous "bull" roar. Getting into unlocked cars and moving them as far as we could push them. 40 years ago, strong memories. Celia My Mum actually used to supply us with eggs to throw at the neighbours' front doors! she denies it now of course! We used to get wet loo roll and put it in door locks. Very bad kids, bad parents too. Schuey What the hell is this 'Mischief Night'? I moved from London to Doncaster last year and had all my windows smashed, paint thrown over my car, and racial abuse. What does the police/council do? Nothing! All the street lights went off and the police didn't do f-all! This year I've had to cover up my windows, and still, the police say they can't do anything - pathetic!! jade mischievious night is mint us southerners do it best lol tippin cars ova etcxxxx katie and ken we can remember tying two doors together n knocking on both of them then running away the people couldnt open them hee hee. then another putting cling film on a toilet seat then when people go to the toilet it would spray back up at them -EcoN- We once removed a garden gate and placed it in front of somebodies front door. Oh how i miss being cool.

Goosnargh Cakes

Baking for Britain: Goosnargh Cakes from Lancashire

tasty these.

"225g unsalted butter
125g golden caster sugar (plus more for putting over biscuits)
350g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease two baking sheets.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift flour over the creamed mix, add the coriander and caraway seeds, mix with wooden spoon until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Using your hand work mixture together to form smooth paste. Take out of bowl and onto floured surface and knead gently so that dough is smooth and ready to roll out.
5. Roll out to about 1/4" thickness, and using a circular cutter (mine was a 2" one), cut out circular discs of dough.
6. Place the discs onto the baking sheets, and sprinkle with caster sugar.
7. Put the baking sheets into your fridge (having cleared all your chilled wine off one shelf to make room). Leave for 30 minutes/1 hour until well chilled.
8. Pop into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until just turned golden brown. Keep an eye on them as the minute you leave the room they overcook.
9. Remove from oven and sprinkle with more caster sugar. Leave to cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack."

I used slightly less coriander, slightly less sugar in the mix and a pinch of salt. Also, lightly toasted the coriander seeds and cooked on lower heat for longer, as suggested in the comments.

Alternative recipe here...
http://www.azcakerecipes.com/goosnargh_cakes_recipe-3013.htm

How To Change A Tire

How To Change A Tire

Solfest - mind festival definition

Definition of 'Mind Festival'...

"An imaginary festival, a festival of the mind. Get snottered outdoors somewhere, close your eyes and listen to some music on an i-pod or whatever. Dance about, pretend you're talking to people and doing festy things.

I've done most of the big festivals in this manner over the years."

Simply Recipes: Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Simply Recipes: Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Solfest 2006

- "We've had reports of a tall, thin gentleman in a stripey green top hat shouting offers of drugs"

- baby chill out tent had man utd carpet

- Camper van next to giant letters spelling "GOAT SEX?". Inside van, legs could be seen disappearing into the roof area, "that's where they keep the goat" said Z

- Middle of the night in the family camping area, music had all stopped, very quiet then a parrot-like voice (female) struck up...
"Honesty is the best policy...fuck you!"
"it's all blah, blah, blah...fuck you!"
"Fuck you!"
"Just fuck you!"
"It's four, five times now...fuck you!"
etc
Then...
"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP! IT'S HALF PAST THREE IN THE MORNING, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY CAMP SITE AND THERE'S KIDS IN HERE"

Silence

- 4 proper townies & one kid dressed as a pirate -
"Ey, Benjamin, we gan in the maze?"
"Nah, maze is shite!"

- Who decided that Peruvian clothes would be the default counter culture look?

- Pirate day, 10 am. Not much piratical activity as yet except one guy with skull and x-bones hat and a donkey jacket waving a couple of twigs. A sinister effect slightly spoilt by his Betty Boop pyjamas.

- On a day when the fancy dress theme was pirates or fairies, we were passed by one fella in pink leotard and crash helmet. Also saw a guy dressed as Mr Incredible and a couple of bad spidermen. I put on my pirate hat and was challenged to a fight by a small child in a gorilla outfit.

- B was followed round by a menacing 3 year old girl who kept trying to push him over. She had a blank stare and a fairy outfit.

- 9 am Sunday - Cumbria - farmer's field in a cold wind - a woman in pink, with pink hair and pink fairy wings walked towards the Mongolian yurt....

- Very few non-white people here

- Pirates wore the clothes of the people they robbed. I look like one who hijacked a car full of scruffy townies

- B in a red rain cape in his pushchair looked like a jelly monster. At one point he woke up, yawned, stretched and fell straight out of the pushchair onto his face, cos he wasn't strapped in.

- Food - Peacecake cafe - Camel's Arse (tagline something like "if it's good it came from the arse")

- Purple trousers, kilt, afghan goat herder hat, cat stevens beard - probably works in a bank back home

- An old wandering violinist singing a song called "I wish I was a taliban", which he seemed to make up as he went along, for 3 overexcited women in Morrocan pork pie hats.

- "Is that a little baby?"
"No, its a pig, they just dressed it up - dufus!"

- "Just go off and have fun. Stop shouting at each other"

- "Have yeww gort airnee veeegarn cayke?"
"No"
"Aaarl just have an arrple thern"

Jewellry making tips

Thong necklace

Earrings

Ehow Tips

Electronics Jewellry

Zelle designs
Zelle website

Capacitor Earrings

Nerd Jewellry for Women

IDE Belt

Diode Necklace

Resistor Necklace

Fanguard Necklace

Fanguard Earrings

Vegetarian Mince Pies

from here

"When I started vegetarian cooking, you couldn't buy mincemeat that didn't have meat suet in it; the same applied to bought mince pies. If vegetarians wanted mince pies, they had to make their own using vegetable suet. Recently, however, I've come to the conclusion that this extra fat isn't really necessary at all; it's just a hangover from when mincemeat actually contained meat. You can make a wonderfully juicy, spicy version without any added fat, or even sugar - the sweetness of the dried fruit alone provides enough.

The only disadvantage of this fresh, light mincemeat is that it doesn't keep for ages - it will last up to a week in the fridge, no longer. This amount of mincemeat is enough for 36 pies, though the pastry is only enough for 12, so you'll have plenty left over to make more.

125g currants
125g raisins
125g sultanas
50g unsweetened cooking dates, chopped
50g candied peel, chopped
50g natural glace cherries, sliced
50g flaked almonds
half a tsp each ground ginger, grated nutmeg and mixed spice
1 ripe banana, mashed
4 tbsp brandy, whisky or rum
375g shortcrust pastry (or pastry made from 250g flour and 125g fat)

Mix all the ingredients except the pastry in a large bowl. Thinly roll out the pastry, cut out rounds to fit your tartlet tins, fill each with a good spoonful of mincemeat, cover with a smaller pastry disc and prick. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7, then bake the pies for about 10 minutes."

Perfect Apple Pie

From http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6239.0

Perfect Apple Pie

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

6 cups of thinly sliced apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 pie crusts
9 pie pan

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°F, in large bowl combine all filling ingredients; mix lightly. Prepare pie pan by placing one crust into the bottom on the pan. Fill pie pan with apples and place pie crust on top. press edges of crust together and cut 3-4 slits in the top.

Bake in oven at 425°F for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown.

Serves: 8

Preparation time: 20 min to prepare, 40 min to cook.

Liverpool Lullaby

My mum used to sing this to me!

Liverpool Lullaby
 by Stan Kelly

Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid
When he finds out the things you did
You'll get a belt from your da
Oh you have your father's nose
So crimson in the dark, it glows
If you're not asleep when the boozers close
You'll get a belt from your da

You look so scruffy lying there
Strawberry jam tats in your hair
Though in the world you haven't a care
And I have got so many
It's quite a struggle everyday
Living on your father's pay
The bugger drinks it all away
And leaves me without any

Although we have no silver spoon
Better days are coming soon
Now Nellie's working at the loom
And she gets paid on Friday
Perhaps one day we'll have a splash
When Littlewoods provides the cash
We'll get a house in Knotty Ash
And buy your dad a brewery

Oh you are a mucky kid,
Dirty as a dustbin lid
When he finds out the things you did
You'll get a belt from your da
Oh you have your father's face
You're growing up a real hard case
But there's no one can take your place
Go fast asleep for Mammy

World Cup Recipes - Day 2 - Trinidad & Tobago

Trinidad & Tobago v Sweden

Dortmund, 1700 (GMT)

Tweaked from a recipe at Trinidad and Tobago Caribbean Child-cooking
The method is slightly vague here, but I'm hoping it becomes obvious as you go along.

Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients

* 1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut up in strips (veggies can use Quorn chicken-style fillets etc)
* 1 oz margarine or butter
* 1 small onion, chopped finely
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
* 1 cup mushroom slices
* white sauce - skip the instructions for making this from scratch and just buy a packet of white sauce mix from your local shop
* 1 - 2 teasps of Trini rum (any old miniature of rum will do here, I reckon)
* 1 chicken bouillon cube (that's a stock cube - probably can use a veg stock cube instead, veggies). I'm assuming you need to add this in stock form, not just crumble it into the dish at the end!?
* a little curry powder
* salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1) Melt butter in heavy sauce pan

2) Add onion, garlic, mushroom slices and chicken pieces and saute until chicken is cooked , about 15-20 mins

3) Add remaining ingredients (careful with the white sauce, you might not need a full packetworth of the stuff - just add till it looks/tastes right).

Serve with rice

World Cup Recipes - day 1 - Ecuador

Poland v Ecuador

Gelsenkirchen, 2000 (GMT)

From 'Galapagos and Ecuador Guide'...

Llapingachos: Little smashed potatoes pancakes with achiote (a natural red color seed) stuffed with cheese, served with thick red sausages, eggs, lettuce, avocado.

LLAPINGACHOS (Potato Cakes) Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 cups Munster cheese, shredded lard, butter, or oil
• salt

HOW TO PREPARE:

Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain and mash. Heat the butter in a skillet and saute the onions until they are very soft. Add the onions to the mashed potatoes, mixing well. Shape the potatoes into 12 balls.

Divide the cheese into 12 parts and stuff each of the potato balls with the cheese, flattening them as you do so into cakes or patties about 1 inch thick. Chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

In enough lard, butter, or oil (with or without annatto as you please) to cover the bottom of a skillet, saute the potato cakes until they are golden brown on both sides.

Serve with peanut sauce.

More suggestions for this meal here, and here

World Cup Recipes

If you'll be watching most of the world cup games at home, why not add a bit of flavour by having snacks/drinks from one of the countries involved? We did this for the last European championships and it was pretty cool. Even my girlfriend got into it (a bit).

Anyway, I'll post a few suggestions on the blog, to get you started. Nothing too hard chaps.

ps. In-Ger-Laaand, In-Ger-Laaand, In-Ger-Laaand!!

Tamworth (Waveney) to St Annes

1. Turn right onto Birds Bush Road.
2. After 292 yards take the 3^rd Exit off the roundabout into B5440 (Marlborough Way).
( Tamworth )
3. After 0.7 miles take the 1^st Exit off the BIG roundabout into the A5.
4. Follow the A5 straight to the M6. Take M6 North.
5. Follow M6 for 90-odd miles.
6. Leave the M6, and join the M55 at the M6 J32
7. This feeds straight onto the roundabout with the helter skelter sculpture - approach in left lane for shortcut road to the left
8. At next roundabout, go straight on

St Annes to Tamworth (Waveney)

1. Up Queensway
2. Turn right onto Progress Way
3. At 1st roundabout, straight on to Preston M55
4. At 2nd roundabout, take a right for M55 Preston
5. After Preston, hang right for M6 South (junc 32)
6. Carry on M6 for 90-odd miles, try not to fall asleep.
7. Take junc 12 turn off signed "Cannock, Wolverhampton, A5"
8. Follow A5 towards Tamworth.
9. After crossing river, ignore next junction but turn off at the following junction.
10. Take 3rd turn off from the BIG roundabout, signed "Glascote & Wilncote"
11. Follow Marlborough Way down to roundabout.
12. Take 1st left.

Atheist links

Atheist Parents
Douglas Adams on why he was Atheist

Criticism of Emmanuel Schools

Hazleton Laboratories (now Covance)

I applied to be on a drug trial at Hazleton Laboratories (now Covance) sometime late 80s. I think I would have had to be in there 2 weeks and got about £900 for my trouble. They took a blood test, then called me back to say I was perfectly healthy but didn't fall within the exact parameters they wanted for the trial. I could've applied for other trials but it actually felt like a lucky escape! Even with a history of other forms of test beforehand, human trials are used because there may still be nasty side effects.

Looks like they also have an animal testing lab in Harrogate

"Amongst the animals Covance Laboratories Inc. supply are its own breed of dog, the trademarked "Mini-Mongrelä" (the mind boggles), the registered Elite New Zealand WhiteÒ rabbit and the "MutaäMouse", as well as other purpose-bred canines, guinea pigs and non-human primates. Covance is also known to be involved in importing wild-caught primates"

History Machine

"The Rock and Roll Years" TV programme linked famous songs of the past with the current events of the time, to put them in some kind of social context. Very popular programme.

How about an online tool that links your family photos with lots of different information about the day each was taken? This could include weather conditions, news stories, tv listings, pop chart, bestselling book chart etc. This might be a Flickr mash-up?

One problem lies in finding archives of some of these features. No TV listings archive exists, for UK programmes at any rate. Someone would have to manually trawl through old listings magazines and newspapers in public libraries to create some of these archives.

I'm going to email the BBC and see what they think about the idea. They may well keep old weather data for one thing.

Quality Ales - Beer and Brewery Guide

http://www.qualityales.com

Don't agree with the crap mark for Spitfire though - it's not too bad.

Celebrities are not your friends

Spot on comments attached to this blog post..
http://www.badscience.net/?p=220

1. Frank said,

   What baffles me is why journalists always include a list of famous people that use the latest miracle cure. Am I supposed to be swayed because a famous actor uses these bandages?

2. JohnD said,

   Yes!

   Be honest. If a friend you trust recommends something, you are going to be well disposed towards it.
   The whole PA business promotes celebrities as ‘friends’, who you call by a personal or nickname, whose slightest personal detail and life history you know, or at least you know one that they want you to know. How many people do you work with who you ‘know’ that well?

Saverstrip

from a forum thread...

"Way back the bus companies here tried out an idea to speed up boarding, they sold a piece of card called a saverstrip and when you got on the bus you pushed it into a machine that went Ker-Ching so that everyone knew you'd paid. The TV ads for it had the most f*ck irritating jingle ever:

Ker-Ching a work
Ker-Ching a shops
Ker-Ching a cheaper
Ker-Ching a saverstrip

The joke was that after a while the bit of the machines that made the Ching gave up, so they all went Ker-click."

Religion comparison chart

http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm

Dog agility

Years ago my auntie had a mongrel dog called Laddie. He was the smartest dog I've known. One time he was taken along to some dog agility sessions where my auntie's alsation and a load of other alsations were supposed to be trained to run through tubes, climb up and down frames, that kind of thing. It was for alsations only, so Laddie wasn't allowed to join in. He had to sit and watch these dumb alsations dicking around, running off in wrong directions or just refusing to co-operate.

At the end of the final session he got off the lead, ran onto the course and completed all the obstacles without stopping. After this performance, he ran back to his starting spot and sat down as if nothing had happened. It was like he was saying "I'll show you how it's done!"

They tried to get him to do it again but he'd lost interest.

Little Man

Aparently my grandad used to sing this to me (can't remember it though)...

LITTLE MAN, YOU'VE HAD A BUSY DAY
(Mabel Wayne / Al Hoffman / Maurice Sigler)

Evenin' breezes sighin', moon is in the sky
Little man, it's time for bed
Daddy's little hero is tired and wants to cry
Now, come along and rest your weary head

Little man, you're cryin', I know why you're blue
Someone took your kiddy-car away
You better go to sleep now
Little man, you've had a busy day

Johnny won your marbles, tell you what we'll do
Dad'll get you new ones right away
Better go to sleep now
Little man, you've had a busy day

You've been playin' soldier, the battle has been won
The enemy is out of sight
Come along there soldier, put away your gun
The war is over for tonight

Time to stop your schemin', time your day was through
Can't you hear the bugle softly say
Time you should be dreamin'
Little man, you've had a busy day


- recorded by various artists inc:
Emil Coleman - 1934
Perry Como - 1958
Sarah Vaughan & Count Basie - 1961
Bing Crosby - ?

My bet is my grandad was singing Bing's version

St Annes to Beeston, Leeds

1. Go up Queensway
2. At the major junction, turn right onto Progress Way towards Preson M55
3. At first roundabout take M55 Preston turn off (roughly 11 o clock - more or less straight on)
4. Next roundabout, take M55 Preston turn off which is to the right
5. You are now on the M55, therefore 70 MPH limit
6. Just past Preston turn off hang right for M6 South - Junc 32
7. Get in 1st or 2nd lane for M61 at Junction 30. Note: If in 2nd lane don't panic at the turn off, the turn off is staggered till after some hatching.

Now on M61. Just before Manchester we will be joining M62.

8. Hang right at Junction 2 for M62, then stay in left lane as it forks.
9. Turn left at junction 28 'Leeds Dewsbury' & signed for White Rose Centre
10. Pull into left lane on exit - first left at roundabout for White Rose
11. Straight through next lights.
12. Pull into right lane and then go straight on at next roundabout.
13. Stay in right lane and go straight through next roundabout also.
14. Stay in right lane and follow fork to the right for Beeston.
15. Just before Tommy Wass be careful because cars from left sometimes cross over to right lane. Pull into left lane before Tommy Wass.

The rest is obvious.

Cleaning up cat pee

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,1672634,00.html

Beeston, Leeds to St Annes

1. Up Dewsbury Road in left hand lane
2. Straight on through roundabouts till roundabout with M62 West marked.
Pull into right lane before this, then right lane again when extra lane opens up.
Let markings for M62 on lanes guide (once on roundabout you move into 2nd to right hand lane, go round till nearly doubled back on yourself then follow M62 turn off markings)
3. Keep heading for Manchester
4. At Junction 18 don't turn or you'll take hours to get home! Keep in right 2 lanes which has arrow for M60.
5. Turn off at juntion 15 for M61 (follow Preston signs basically)
6. Get into 1st or 2nd lanes (marked M61/Preston) - may be junction 10?
7. At junction 9, move to middle lane for Blackpool (as signed)
8. Follow M55 sign (straight on) when it is indicated at junction ?
9. Turn Junction 32 for M55
10. This feeds straight onto the roundabout with the helter skelter sculpture - approach in left lane for shortcut road to the left
11. At next roundabout, go straight on

The rest is obvious!

Spicy carrot cake with lemon icing

http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,1587,1645995,00.html

225g grated carrots
125g raisins
6 tbsp olive oil
125g soft brown sugar, preferably rapadura
225g wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
8 tbsp real maple syrup
4 tbsp fresh orange juice

For the icing:

175g icing sugar
Juice and rind of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3 and line an 18cm cake tin with nonstick paper. Mix the carrots, raisins, oil and sugar in a bowl, then add the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup and orange juice, and mix until everything is well combined - it will be quite sticky.

Spoon into the prepared tin, level the top, and bake for an hour and a quarter, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.

Mix the icing sugar with the lemon rind and enough of the juice (about six to eight teaspoons) to make a thick coating consistency. Spread over the top of the cake and leave to set.

Vehicle Safety Questions

Download vehicle safety questions as asked on UK driving tests from here

Nachos Recipe

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001636nachos.php

copied here in case link dies...

Tortilla chips - extra thick - 1 14-oz bag
Refried beans - 2-3 cups
Cheddar Cheese - 1/2 lb, grated, about 3 cups
Pickled jalapeno peppers - 4 peppers, sliced

Optional, but highly recommended
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour cream
Cilantro, chopped

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange a layer of tortilla chips along the bottom of a wide, shallow baking pan. It will make things easier if this baking pan also can be used as a serving pan, such as the ceramic platter shown in the photo above. The layer of tortilla chips can be a couple chips thick. Spread the refried beans over the chips (this is why you need extra thick chips, so they don't break when encountering the beans). Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of chips and beans. Sprinkle slices of jalapeño peppers over the cheese. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 5 minutes in a convection oven.

2 Serve with dollops of salsa, sour cream and guacamole, with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.

Veggie Mince Pies

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/experts/roseelliot/story/0,16748,1652670,00.html

Copied here in case link dies...

Mincemeat without the meat

Rose Elliot
Saturday November 26, 2005
The Guardian

Mince pies

When I started vegetarian cooking, you couldn't buy mincemeat that didn't have meat suet in it; the same applied to bought mince pies. If vegetarians wanted mince pies, they had to make their own using vegetable suet. Recently, however, I've come to the conclusion that this extra fat isn't really necessary at all; it's just a hangover from when mincemeat actually contained meat. You can make a wonderfully juicy, spicy version without any added fat, or even sugar - the sweetness of the dried fruit alone provides enough.

Article continues
The only disadvantage of this fresh, light mincemeat is that it doesn't keep for ages - it will last up to a week in the fridge, no longer. This amount of mincemeat is enough for 36 pies, though the pastry is only enough for 12, so you'll have plenty left over to make more.

125g currants
125g raisins
125g sultanas
50g unsweetened cooking dates, chopped
50g candied peel, chopped
50g natural glace cherries, sliced
50g flaked almonds
half a tsp each ground ginger, grated nutmeg and mixed spice
1 ripe banana, mashed
4 tbsp brandy, whisky or rum
375g shortcrust pastry (or pastry made from 250g flour and 125g fat)

Mix all the ingredients except the pastry in a large bowl. Thinly roll out the pastry, cut out rounds to fit your tartlet tins, fill each with a good spoonful of mincemeat, cover with a smaller pastry disc and prick. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7, then bake the pies for about 10 minutes.

Mushroom sauce for pasta

Mushroom sauce for pasta
http://www.lunched.co.uk/Pasta/mush_sauce.html

You need:
A good few handfuls of any mushroom sliced thinly.
25g (about 1heaped tbsp) flour or cornflour
1/2 pint of milk
15g butter
olive oil
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan with some olive oil to stop it from burning. Sauté the mushrooms until soft and coloured remove from the pan and set aside. Turn off the heat under the pan. Add the milk and flour and whisk. Turn the heat back on but onto a very low flame. Whisk the sauce frequently but not too vigorously and it will thicken up right before your eyes. It needs to cook for about 10 mins to cook out the flour taste. This is a basic white sauce.

A nice little variation is to bung in a tsp of mustard (english is best), it gives the sauce a certain something. Some torn basil is great too.

Once you are happy with it, return the mushrooms to the pan, allow to heat through, season to taste . Serve over freshly boiled conchigle (pasta shells) as they hold large amounts of sauce. No burnt bits, no lumps, no fuss.

Perfect corn on the cob

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/tipstechniques/ht/cornonthecob.htm

Green beans recipe

A recipe for green beans in tomato sauce, with boiled potatoes in white wine vinegar + cheese:

You need...

* 1 onion chopped finely
* Chopped garlic
* Olive oil
* Green beans, lots of, with ends cut off and washed
* 'Baby' potatoes, bag of (these usually are sold washed)
* White wine vinegar
* Feta cheese diced (or something like Cheshire if you hate Feta!)
* Tin chopped tomatoes
* Brown sugar (only a tad - maybe 1/4 of a teaspoon)

How to prepare...

1. Before anything, steam the beans to soften them up, then drain
2. Boil the potatoes

--when the spuds are about ready to eat go to step 3--

3. In another pan, sautee the onions and garlic until onion goes golden
4. Throw in the beans and stir about a bit
5. Pour in some of the tomato - you decide, but don't drown the onions completely. About 50-50 is ok
6. Toss in the brown sugar and heat it all up
7. Drain the now cooked spuds, then drizzle them in white wine vinegar (but don't go too mad!) and throw in the cheese chunks. Stir.

8. Dish it all out and eat

Blueprints

My grandad Joe worked at an engineering works in Middleton, Leeds. He used to bring home big wads of blueprints so that I could draw on the reverse. These had a strong musty, metallic, and inky smell.

move festival 13th July 2003

move2003_0006
Originally uploaded by shedlord.

REM, Idlewild, Oranger, Badly Drawn Boy, Athlete, John Squire