A remark on the News Quiz today regarding the proposed selling off of publicly owned Forestry Commision woodlands intrigued me. The comment was made by show host Sandy Toksvig: “…the first tranche of the forests, if they sell them off, is going to raise a…
Month: January 2011
I’ve had half a large tub of brandy butter in the fridge since Christmas, and it seemed a pity to let it go to waste. So I had a think about what is in brandy butter – butter, brandy and sugar – and what I…
Earlier this month, I was asking Do I Really Need A Microwave. Having had my old one blow up just before Christmas, I wondered whether I need to replace it. I decided I did, and have bought this. Much smaller (and cheaper) than my previous…
Actually, the subject line only really works if you are Jonathon Ross. Anyway, I didn’t mention in my earlier post that my book-buying started in Waterstones. I came across it in the hour before we had lunch, and I thought I would see what their…
Normally, at this time of year, I head down to London for a weekend, for a double birthday celebration. My birthday is January 18, while my brother’s is the 24, so we often get together in the weekend that lies between them.
This time, we thought we would try something different, and meet half-way between Market Deeping and East London, in Cambridge.
I was saying to someone on Tuesday that although I am reading a lot at the moment, it is mostly crime and thrillers, and almost no science fiction. In fact the only book I have read recently close to that genre was Stephen King’s Under…
Last year, I was so impressed with the movie Shutter Island that I bought the original novel, which is how I discovered Dennis Lehane. I have just finished The Given Day, and although I have been lax about posting about books lately, I enjoyed it…
I’m off work, on holiday, next week, so I ended up watching TV late tonight. I was just about to go to bed, when I flicked the channel and saw something kind of strange. 15 minutes later, I was still watching, and I’ve had to…
For some time, I have been looking at the Kindle, and wondering if I would get on with it. Packing away my books last year, many of which I knew would never be re-read, made this even more relevent. A little while back, I actually…
When my kitchen units went in, we cut the vinyl flooring well back from the base units, knowing that I was going to get new flooring in. Underneath were vinyl tiles, glued firmly to the floor, covered in a thick layer of grime that had…
I just caught the first episode of “Episodes”, the new BBC comedy. Produced by Hat Trick, and starring Green Wing’s Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan, it looked like the kind of thing I liked, about a British couple who, having created a hit British TV show, now in its fourth series, are lured to Los Angeles to remake their show for the US market.
[Spoilers follow]