Random test

Moroccan rug

Apparently this rug is 100 years old... I doubt this... But i do believe it to be hand-made. It depicts the city gates of Casablanca, apparently. I also bought a gallabeah. However you spell that...

Fried eggs

Had to fry there in a saucepan due to limited equipment in spain. Seemed to work ok.

DAVE AND BILLY

Billy was in The Bear, he used to be in the military police in Hong Kong and he really likes Chinese people.

Billy said Dave had the face of a Cherib but was clearly a pervert... a cherib and a pervert, not so much like an officer and a gentleman...

My current room

An attempt at a video:

Loving the American reaction to the song.

Thanksgiving.

Today was LONG. 9am seminar followed by a dash to london and lunch with family followed by seeing Jo for a leisurely beer. This was then all capped by thanksgiving proper. A few more beers and then champagne, chowder, turkey and all the usual american style veg. The pumpkin pie which topped it all was superb and i indulged in 3 portions even though i'd already had a 2nd helping of turkey! More champagned followed once we had sufficed on the madira and cigar front. I'm currently on the train from victoria to Brighton and am aiming for a 1am ETA at the Arc club for a social.

Salmon and mash

I mashed 2 large potatoes and added Herbes de Provence and a dash of salt. This makes a tasty mash quickly. I then dipped the skin of the salmon steak in a misture of flour, salt and pepper and popped it skin down in a hot pan.

The meal was tasty. mmm... simple though as i'm running out of food stuffs.

This blog is very lame right now, but it is still just limping along... we shall try our best.

Art of Brightonia

My new shelves...

So proud of my DIY success here.... The reason why half the brackets are black is because B&Q had run out of white and I was in a rush to get it done...

double decker...

This here sandwich contains 2 layers. One is Bacon, fried (easy over) egg and cheese, the other is comprised of 2 beef sausages.

It has been hailed as a revolution in breakfast/brunch/snack cuisinery...

London Birthday last night.

I returned to London to have a few people round to dinner at mine.

We had a diverse spread of lots of different things, a sort of picnic style... or perhaps meze... depends...

We drank 2 bottles of the wine pictured below. It was officially beyind its best, and 1978 was never a 'great' year - apparently, what do I know.

However, whilst the second bottle tasted overly of loam and had fruity flavours that dried out too rapidly in the mouth the first bottle we drank (deliberatly in that order - hoping the air would mellow the other) was fine. And I for one thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think everyone involved drank as much as they wanted. Staying prudently this side of upright.

Suprise from the cellar.

My birthday!

Celebrated it with a few friends last night.

Tonight massive party!

Massive lunch

just so i remember...

Definition of recidivism (noun) habitual or chronic relapse of criminal or antisocial offenses

Jimmy Carr - Gag Reflex.

Had a large curry before heading out with Dave to see Jimmy Carr Live.

Here is the review (draft) i've written for the Badger (sussex uni student paper).

--

As the name might suggest “gag reflex” is looking to push the boundaries of human morality to the point where an instinctive reaction occurs, his gags pushing one to the point of gagging. He lays down the rules early on; “you can’t laugh and then go oooh – make up your mind and stick to it”. Either way he is happy so long as he gets a reaction.

He proclaims gleefully that the ideal audience would be “lacking a moral compass” but if that were the case he would be denied the reaction he craves - the gag reflex when he pushes in that extra inch and the audience chokes on his creative juices. Continuing that image, three or four times during the gig he mimed sucking on a cock, perhaps encouraged by his location and the easy laugh – It did it for me.

Despite not winning my unreserved acclaim (we all know he wants it) I did enjoy the evening and certainly had a good laugh. His versions of responses to agony aunt letters were hilarious and typically unsympathetic. He opened up this part of the show to advising the audience on their various shouted out problems. This is really where Jimmy Carr excels, breaking from his overly calculating, immaculately timed and flawlessly rehearsed script he engages the audience in quick-witted original conversation. One man asked the best way to propose to his girlfriend, she was present and soon the two of them were up on the stage (he had clearly planned this and had brought a ring). While he was able to nimbly hop up onto the stage she had to waddle round and entered from backstage – later Carr asked her if she was pregnant, alas no. Should anyone care; Sarah did agree to marry Dean.

The audience participation was of a relatively low calibre, with Carr frequently pointing out the obvious “you sound retarded”, this was in fact valid and wasn’t just a ‘get out’ put-down to a heckler. The few who did heckle well enabled Carr to retort with wit and flair, although with too great an emphasis on the cliché “your mum” style responses, this banter spawned some of the most enjoyable parts of the evening.

A party

For beautiful people.

Pie day

A few days ago I bought alot of Pies.

they are normally 4 for £1 something, but that day they were ALSO buy one get one free....

Lunch today was chicken pie, then I painted my room, dinner is going to be 2 Steak pies.

Yesterday and the day before I ate a quiche I had made and the largest chicken curry ever, it was good, so my diet also does contain vegetables etc...

Oh dear...

Patey "after party/pint"

What a brilliant photo except for me telling the person how to use my camera...

Talk with William Patey

William Patey just returned from his posting as the UK's ambassador to Iraq.

He spoke last night to the IR society at Sussex. Chatham house rules meant the talk and questions were both frank and interesting.

After we drank some booze.

It was a good night...

A fresh start

Now I've bored my readership to death and probably killed this blog with inactivity I've finally settled down in Brighton.

I moved into a house with Dave, Zac and Ewan - and lived in the pink room pictured below. The 1970s was officially the worst decade ever and I had to live in it. Or did I?

Yesterday I moved into my new abode which is the sort of house I like. Dub it "IKEA House" It's that sort of thing. Cheap style, nice and clean, simple, modern.

My room is again pink... what is it with me and pink rooms in Brighton... I still have the white paint I bought for my old room and after my return to London (my 21st Birthday is next Tuesday and I'm back Friday to Sunday) I shall pick up my "room painting tracksuit" (it's green, I had it when I was 12(?) and it is covered in paint from my room in London) and come back and attack my room.

Celebrating my Birthday and Housewarming on Tuesday bring a bottle and a personality (preferabbly not your own).

I will now be updating this on a more regular basis.
HOLA!

Sophia gets it on.

Or not. This hunk failed to please her exquisite taste... Believe it or not.

My room

My room is pink. Note the even pinker curtains and the lampshade with frills. Moving a wardrobe yesterday i found a walking stick. I'm living in an old woman's room. Don't have the internet yet. This is all done via my phone...

A British Weather Update

It's raining the bejeezus outside. Hope they don't decide that because there is too much rain they'll push all the sewage into the Thames again. That's just unpleasant.

Next week: drought warning.

Phone etc

New phone - It can send directly to blog... It auto created a seperate blog but today I logged into it for the first time and it offered me the option to merge them automatically - hence the sudden influx of photos below.

I am too lazy to trawel through them turning photos at 90degrees and deleting the repetitions etc.

In future though you can expect a ready stream of photographs to accompany my thrilling lifestyle.

Next week the life and death of a scone.

Beach of Cabourg

Chocolate pudding!!

Vapeurs

Vapeurs anchovy starter

lunch

2 slices of bread forming a sainsbury's basic cheese spread and colman's mustard sandwich

delicious.

Impromptu Lunch

Went to the National liberal club for a spot of lunch - a little out of the blue so I had to borrow a blazer from the porter... A beautiful 1970's creation. 30%wool and 70% polyester and nylon. A garish tweedesque item, deeply warm in today't heat, we ate on the terrace where one can remove one's jacket, nice day 2.

Braised lamb neck followed by cheese plate accompanied by house burgundy and rounded off by port and then a pint. Thoroughly pleasant lunch break.

Reuters event

Eric and I went to see the US ambassador talk at a Reuters event last night.

Highlights include a very intersting talk with the following quotations:

Iraq: "suggling to adapt". "job is far from over", "struggle ahead"

Terror: people are "looking for reasons" & "demanding answers" the real reason is NOT the US. And those people harbour a pre war view which is a "fantasy held by those who forget he world wasn't safe before" 9/11 was "last straw not start"

Iran:
Us and Universal "interests treated with disdain". "consequences must be serious", "cooperate and be part of the solution. hold back and be hope to the lawless"

General:

"Nothing will change the fact that there is an enemy among us"

"we must continue to defend ourselves by arms but the war will be won by ideas" - very cold war....

After the talk we enjoyed a very pleasant reception - staying until everyone had gone - at one point I went into the room where the special branch officers were and borrowed some of there food (I asked and had a chat with them, anyway they weren't eating it).

Tuesday lunch

Went to Tesco and bought: Loaf of bread, 10 slices honey roast ham, 8 slices mature cheddar and a pot of Colman's mustard.

I also bought Tropicana orange juice with "juicy bits" (why not just "with pulp" like in America, "juicy bits" is wrong...)

I made 2 sandwiches, the rest will hopefully last me out the week.

Also started cycling into work as it's free...

If everything is coming your way, then you're in the wrong lane.

THE WEEKEND

Unplanned but exciting. Went to watch the Rugby double header at twickenham on saturday - cheers to pip for the tickets.

Sunday was Eric's Birthday and a few too many beers.

Now It's monday and i'm back at work...

Nottinghill Carnival

Having gone on Sunday to the "family day" and had a few beers, enjoyed it all and scouted the lie of the land I returned Sunday to the "drugies and murderers day" and took some photos.

http://sussex.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1031&l=de89d&id=286300570

believe it or not,,,,  

modern art at the Carnival 

just a random view of Asia de Cuba 

Friday!

The morning/afternoon/when I awoke started well as a DVD I had ordered arrived.

A short while later happiness turned to dismay as it had gotten scratched in the post.

This ultimately led to me having to go down to the Post Office as the new postage costings are incomprehensibel, 15minutes later and having got out both my digital scales and a pair of digital calipers I was still non-the-wiser.

My main issue was: with jiffy bags you can squish them into a variety of shapes... so... and price system didnt seem easy. If it was a large letter then it said 44p but I have a book of "large letter 1st class stamps" which do not have price on them just "Large first" My package was in the second weight bracket ie 90p but if i were to put 2 "large first" on surely thats only 88p so I'd be 2p short... I couldn't find a 2p stamp... if it even works like that.

Confused? Me too, so I went down and had it sent recorded delivery... a couple of quid, I ws wrong all along, It was a package as yr not allowed to squish jiffy bags... and thats the law...

Thursday surprise

Having done nothing all day except watch TV, feel unemployed and check my Internet I went to the pub.

The Idea was just to have one or two but fate was against us and we won £20, YES £20, on the Quiz machine so we stayed for (we're not entirely sure) 5 or 6 pints and then departed.

We didn't get particularly drunk, however, we did find it hard to pin down exactly how many we'd drunk. I then went home and made myself a saladIcebergrg lettuce, tomato, Dolcelatte, Roast duck. Roast potato and a small amount of leftover pork.

It was truly sensational, with the roast duck still being rather warm. Overall I spent only a few pounds this evening and I feel I got my moneysworth.

Below: Success!

Quotation

"Nearly ever englishman of working-class origins considers it effeminate to prounouce a single foreign word correctly. During the War of 1914-18 the English working class were in contact with foreigners to an extent that is rarely possible. The sole result was that they brought back a hatred of all Europeans, except the Germans, whose courage they admired."

- George Orwell "England your England" in Inside the Whale and other Essays

Drinks in No Man's Land

Went for a drink with Dave. Dagenham being a long way out of London we met half way at Tower Hill.

Had a Pint of Staropramen in Pitcher and Piano before going round the corner and finding the cheapest pub in the area. Had 2 more pints there and then 2 bottles of wine. Kathryn joined us as we were making moves on the second bottle and we all left when the 3rd had gone.

I got a kebab on my way home...

Begin the week...

Monday I woke lateish and after picking some figs from the garden for later (house out of food) I went to Hampstead. Ate pizza and watched a film Orange County - never bother to see this film, it's bad.

Then we wandered into Hampstead proper had a drink and went home. Someone had taken all the figs... But a lasagne had appeared so all was ok. I ate a monumental amount of lasagne.

ITV

ITV interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury... How can someone put themselves on TV and pretend to be a spokesman for God? If I somehow got the Job I'd hide myself away in the knowing shame of a fraudster... still...

Noticed the theme music for the interview (cutting to advertisements etc) was the same as for Alan B'stard / The New Statesman. Maybe it's the universal themetune for fraudsters and 2faced comedy. Night!

Big shout out to Tom Pullin! Hope RG stops pestering us all/ the world.

A £100 fine and the Regulars

I received a £100 fine for being stationary in one of those traffic boxes you're not supposed to enter unless you can exit... I was just a few foot in and so on... those bastards.

Then I had a salad and went to a friend's band's gig, I took a camera to get more practise at low light stuff. It was good fun.

http://sussex.facebook.com/album.php?aid=756&l=a69e7&id=286300570

http://sussex.facebook.com/album.php?aid=760&l=6f43f&id=286300570

for more photos...


When I got home I could find no food... Out of desperation I had Branston Pickle on a rice cake - never again - then I opened a tin of sardines.

Thursday drinks and a run in with the law

Went into Westminster for a drink or 2 before seeing a friend in Leicester sq.

Whilst I was waiting In Westminster I was paid a visit by 2 community support officers, Westminster is a designated non-drinking area. My tin of Fosters was confiscated, and details taken (apparently i'm not in trouble, all the paperwork was simply to record the confiscated property). I was trying to kill time so I had quite a long chat with the 2 officers.

There are no signs up to identify the non-drinking area, they are not entirely sure of the boundaries of the area. They have to take action against me because they had just taken action against a tramp - and they have to be fair. The area does include Leicester sq. but it is enforced much more leniently there, so so much for the rule of law...

I asked If I would get a receipt for my confiscated property and the man pulled out a folded booklet of a long form he would have to fill out if I really wanted - I relented and relief washed over them both.

I then had a few pints in the pub before going onto see another friend. Popped into the Montagu Pike and had a chat with Roberto who works there (still... he remembered me from over a year ago) then we went to Frevd and then the Cornish ale place in Covent Garden which has the pies downstairs.

Went home and microwaved a chicken caserole thing, tasty.

Asia de Cuba

We went to Asia de Cuba for an early lunch as the place tends to get busy at peak times. Wednesday early lunch almost guarantees superb service as the place is somewhat empty. It’s a most wonderful place to eat when someone else is paying.

Asian fusion restaurants tend to provide portions to share, and me and my dinning companion shared the Palomillo of Lamb and the Cuban Spiced Chicken.

We both agreed the lamb was the superior dish, though I was indeed torn between it and the chicken which had a much more subtle flavour. Certainly in retrospect the meal was about the lamb - It made a real impact and in a most positive way. Brushed with Mojito and pan seared with sofrito peppers and chinese eggplant the dish is almost perfect - taking you away from the normal fare you would expect to eat at lunch. As delicately as the lamb had been brushed with Mojito we both brushed aside the watercress part of the salad to the edge of the plate.

The Cuban Spiced Chicken had the highlight of Coconut Rice in Banana Leaf which I also put along side the lamb. The chicken itself was in a Tamarind Sauce and with 4 or so spoonfuls of an avocado fruit salad. It was truly delightful but lacked the (unique) punch of the lamb. Whilst no one could complain and most would compliment its flavour it had the poor fortune of having to compete with a truly wonderful lamb dish.

The wine, a Lacua Reserve Chilian Sauvignon Blanc, was delightful to drink.

I'm sorry... but not that sorry. 

Tales from Deauville

http://hectorindeauville.blogspot.com/

Hector travels around Deaville and the surrouding environs.

Thursday eve

Had dinner at the National Liberal Club with Pip.

Pea soup, cold mixed meat salad and the cheese plate. Usual club burgundy to wash it all down.

Tuesday Lunch

Dinned with Anna and Lauren, Cafe Rouge near Kew Bridge.

Walked there from hammersmith to build up an appetite but just had a bottle of wine and some bread.

Holla! 

Lunch with charlie

We had lunch at Patogh and ate Kabooteh... drank a couple of bottles of wine.

We were just mulling over business problems. Examining opportunities...Exchanging rumors...Spreading gossip.

All in all a lovely way to waste the day.

Guest Blog

Follow the moose on the loose here: http://hectorindeauville.blogspot.com/

One of the larger waterfalls in the section we walked through. 

The water at Plitsvice was particularly clear and teeming with fish. 

Plitsvice, Croatia. There is a biological process that goes on here which is unique. It was scientific and badly translated, but I gather what happens is the trees fall into the water and get encrusted by stone (calcium I suppose). Its not quite like fossilisation where the rotting wood is replaced by mineral deposits etc. Just develops a stone casing.(perhaps, I may have it totally wrong).