Anarchy in the UK.

In about 1965 I attended an 'Anarchist Meeting' in a room above a Pub' behind The National Gallery. I had been walking through Trafalgar Square with a friend, when someone thrust a flyer into my hand advertising the meeting which we noted was to begin within the hour, and we fancied a pint anyway.

We went to the Pub', drank our beers, then (for amusement's sake) went upstairs to see what the Anarchists were up to!

They were a pretty odd bunch (not unlike the lot above). More angry about being oddballs I suspected, than anything to do with changing society or righting grievances.  

We listened to them for about 15 mins. They wanted to bring London to a standstill by 'short-circuiting' The Tube, blocking roads, and a few other things that I don't remember.

These were attention-seeking dreamers wo had taken the wrong course in life.. There was no logic in their beliefs, and their threats were frankly pathetic. It was all very low IQ. We quit the meeting discreetly, and when we left the Pub' we just happened to see a policeman.

I told him that there was an Anarchist Meeting going on upstairs, and that they were planning to disrupt London life.  He just smiled and said "Oh I wouldn't worry about that lot; they're always up there spouting the same old rubbish". "We know who they are!".

So that was it. They were plotting away, in their own little world, and no-one took any notice of them; not even the Cops.

It was all rather sad!

Interior Design Masters

If you have watched 'Interior Design Masters' on BBC TV, you will have seen my near-neighbour Michelle doing some judging.

I now hear that she has been signed for two more series of the programme, along with Alan Carr.

I can't say that it's a favourite programme of mine, but I did watch one episode, just to see what Michelle was up to in her spare time.

She's selling her lovely house here, and moving to Kent, but I'm not sure if it has already sold or not. I still see her around and we chat. I don't like to ask if she's sold!

Her cottage is one of the prettiest in the area. It is built of 'London Stock' brick and is 'double fronted', it faces the three acre open field (or more) of the old Churchyard, and has a really lovely small garden. The house is quite pricey, and the interior is not to everyone's taste; but that's interior designers for you! 

My daughter always said that if it ever came up for sale she'd buy it; it was her favourite house in all of Brighton. However, she now has her own beautiful modern home in Brisbane, so her ambitions have been put on hold.

I'll miss Michelle when she goes.

 

Men Behaving Badly - Barbeque

It's BBQ season down here. Yesterday evening I could smell charcoal and grilling meats everywhere. It was 20 C, and it felt like mid-Summer.

I know I've posted this video before, but it always makes me laugh out loud. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.

Salad Days.

You can tell the temperature's rising because salads appear at lunchtime on the Cro table.

The substantial vegetable soups will be put on hold for a while, and out comes the Paté, simple salad, and even some Garlic bread. It really does feel as if Summer is on it's way.

It's only 17 C today, but it feels like 25 C.

 

Here we go again.

 

I'm looking forward to a week where I can report bad behaviour from Tories, Liberals, Greens, or Farage's bunch; but for the moment it's only the Socialists who provide anything news-worthy, and even that isn't very exciting.

British Birmingham MP (yes, British) Tahir Ali, has been campaigning to build a new airport in Kashmir. WHAT? It seems that many of his Pakistani Birmingham constituents have to travel for many hours to get to their nearest airport before returning to Birmingham from their Pakistani homes. Ali has already been in trouble over his silly Kashmir airport nonsense, so I won't make it any worse for him; but shouldn't he be looking after British affairs, not Pakistani ones? Birmingham certainly needs his help; at present it's buried under 17,000 tons of stinking household rubbish, and huge rats are running wild. Apparently the stench is becoming all invasive. 

It's good to know that everything's going well in the People's Socialist Republic of Birmingham (an outpost of Pakistan).

This one's a classic. After the disgraceful expenses claim by Tory MP  Peter Viggers, back in 2009, for a 'Duck Island and Duck House', we now have another crazy expenses claim from fragrant Socialist MP Taiwo Owatemi for £900 for her doggy-woggy Cockapoo 'Bella'. Her charming second-home landlord has imposed an extra £900 'dog-rent' for Bella, and Owatemi wanted us taxpayers to fork-out. Is that really what MP's 'expenses' are for? Shame on her!

The one thing you can say about the Albanians is that they are very good 'businessmen'.

This TikTok advert (above) claims to get illegal immigrants across the channel in a rubber boat, with 100% safety 'Guaranteed'. They also talk of luxury hotels with flatscreen TV's. All that, and plenty of free spending money from our government; all for the price of just £3,000 (3 mij paund). 

I almost feel like trying it myself. I could pretend not to speak English, and live in relative luxury until they discovered who I was. A Channel cruise, a stay in a luxury hotel, free food and spending money; it sounds perfect, and all for £3,000. A bloody bargain!

And finally, of course the big news of the week is once again; His Majesty, Donald Tr*mp. His genius idea of imposing tariffs all around the world has caused international ill-feeling, markets to crash, and reciprocal threats from almost everywhere. Did he think through his policy properly? I imagine not!

Price comparisons.

Normally I wouldn't bother to read about supermarket price comparisons, but for some reason I did with this one when it appeared on my news feed.

I'm not someone who buys things because they're 'cheap'. I buy because I need things, and I want reasonable quality. The price usually doesn't concern me; unless it's a lump of Beef or a case of Pécharmant. 

Firstly I should say that other than at Christmas I would never spend £130-150 on my weekly shop. Usually it's around £60-80 (including wine).

I was pretty certain that Aldi would be cheaper than Sainsbury's, but do I care? No, not really!

I have visited Aldi, and their vegetables were both very cheap and very good, but certain other things were a little dodgy! A simple tin of Sardines in Olive oil was horrible, and some cheap red wine was undrinkable. Even cheap wine should be drinkable!!!

At least at Sainsbury's I know that the quality will always be good, and if that costs me a few £'s more each week, then so be it. I do buy at Waitrose too, but only a few 'luxuries' (Pork pies).

Price comparisons are all very well, but if it's not exactly the same product, it means nothing. For example, you can't compare Heinz Ketchup with Aldi's own brand.

I don't look at prices when I shop. I know what I want, and I buy regardless. Nor do I grab things from the shelves that aren't on my list. I'm a very strict shopper in that respect.

No, I shan't be swapping Sainsbury's for Aldi, but this doesn't mean that if I come across an Aldi that I won't buy some of their vegs.

 

NOT a Cornish Pasty

Me and pastry don't really mix. It's something I usually leave to Lady M to play with.

However, I noticed recently that some Puff Pastry I'd bought was getting near to (or past) it's use-by-date, so I decided to do something with it; I thought I'd attempt a Pasty. No, this isn't a Cornish Pasty; it's very much a Brighton Pasty.

I diced some Potato, sliced an Onion, chopped some German smoked Sausage, and grated some Cheese. I mixed it all together, seasoned it with salt and plenty of freshly ground black Pepper, and filled the rather large sheet of pastry forming it into what I thought looked like a giant pasty.

I gave it almost an hour in the oven at about 180 C, and we divided it between ourselves for lunch.

It wasn't like any Pasty I've tasted before, but we both agreed that it was very good. Maybe next time I will use some Beef, or at worst some Bacon, but for what it was (using just what was hanging around) it was excellent.

Verdict. The chopped smoked Sausage wasn't as good as I'd hoped, but otherwise it was delicious. I'd give myself 8/10.

I shall certainly do it again.