JustTheSam

First Capital Connect Thameslink – Silly Pillar(ks)

06. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Travel

Oh dear. Look what they've put right in the middle of platform 4 at St Albans. Right where everybody walks to get to and from the exit. Right where people will smack into it amid a bustling crowd, or whilst walking along looking at the display boards just out of shot on the right. And all packaged up in dull grey for maximum "don't see it till you've walked into it" effect.

Just what's in that small box that absolutely had to exist at that exact point in space, rather than being attached to one of the many other existing uprights within only a few metres? Answers on a postcard please!

Xmas Tree Takedown

05. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Current Affairs, Me

It only seems like days ago that I put it up, but now the fake Xmas tree must come down again. I always dread this bit as it wrecks my hands trying to get all the fronds folded together into a streamlined torpedo of bristly green foliage. This year I fought back with heavy duty gloves!

Unfortunately I don't have any gardening gloves, what with not having a garden, so instead I made do with magic potato scrubbing gloves. I can't say I've ever used these for their intended purpose but the idea is that you wear them whilst viciously manhandling potatoes under running water and the dirt and skin just falls off. They're just as rough on the inside so it's touch and go whether it's the potato's skin or your own that sloughs off. Still, they made a fine job of the Xmas tree, whilst exfoliating my hands beautifully.

Curry: Lamb in Cinnamon Scented Fenugreek Sauce

04. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Food and Drink

Here’s my second curry adventure from the Curry Bible my wife bought me for Xmas. My first attempt was Butter Chicken and was thoroughly awesome. This one was just as good I’d say, and it should be given all the ingredients that went into it: 8 different herbs and spices!

The hardest thing to find was dried fenugreek leaves. The supermarket didn’t have any so we walked to Hatfield Road, where St Albans’ Asian community has a strong presence. The first shop we tried didn’t have any but the proprietor was thoroughly helpful in pointing us to his competitor down the road who “has everything”. He wasn’t wrong – Madina Store is an Aladdin’s Cave of wonderful foodstuffs, stacked floor to ceiling. It took us a while and some assistance before finding what we wanted, though it was in a packet akin to a family size box of Cornflakes. I only needed a tablespoon! Luckily my wife spotted a much smaller box (more Kellogg’s Variety pack size) on the way out so we got that. We could also have got fresh Fenugreek leaves and anything else that has ever been used in Indian cooking as far as I could tell.

The cooking was relatively straightforward with all the ingredients assembled, and almost a one-pot job. Marinate the lamb cubes in red wine vinegar and salt for a bit (which quickly turns it a funny colour), make up the sauce by adding various things to a saucepan as per the recipe and leave to simmer with the meat in it for 50 minutes or so. This is the only cooking the meat gets – no frying. One issue I did have was that the cinnamon stick (only a small piece) disintegrates quite readily and is then a pain to pick out in shards whilst eating it. The recipe made no mention of the stick after adding it, so it’s a mystery what was supposed to happen to it.

The only downer on the washing up front is that you have to use a separate pan to fry the garam masala (only 1/4 of a teaspoon of it) at the very end, before adding it to the rest. I messed this bit up by burning the spices in oil that was too hot, and had to throw it away and try that bit again. No damage done.

The result was served with some curried veg from Waitrose – they seem to have a new range – to bulk it out, and garlic and coriander naan. It was another great meal from the good book, though it doesn’t make a great deal and needed the bulking out.

Kingfisher Dive

02. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Nature, Photography

I took this sequence of shots of a kingfisher fishing (unsuccessfully this time) at the WWA – the very local nature reserve down the road. It's taken from about 40 yards away with a 400mm lens, and significantly cropped for this montage. Not great, but still rather pleasing!

Do click for the full-size version with a bit more detail.

World of Goo

01. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Games, Me

I've just completed the computer game World of Goo, having been thoroughly absorbed by it for the last week or so. I seldom play computer games, but this one hooked me good and proper. I think it's the engineer in me that always love this sort of game, as it's based on a decent 2D physics model that involves building towers, bridges and lots more out of various pieces, most of them gooey and continually swaying.

The game is also an artistic tour de force: wacky, surrealistic, humorous and stylish. I'd really struggle to pick out a weak point in fact, which is probably why it's won so many awards this past year (on Mac, PC and Wii). Best of all is the demo version contains the whole of the first chapter (out of five) and the whole game only cost me £13 to download.

Download the demo and have a go today!

Happy New Year!

01. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Me

This year I plan to do many things, but I shan't state what they are otherwise I may be held to them.

Butter Chicken, from M&S’ Curry Bible

29. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Books, Food and Drink

My wife bought me the Curry Bible for Xmas, from Marks and Spencer – not to be confused with various other similarly named books. It's a great recipe book as it keeps things relatively simple, and contains most of my curry house favourites. It explains things in a decent manner that certainly worked for me, judging by the results!

I made Butter Chicken for my first attempt. This uses tandoori chicken (the nicest single foodstuff in the world) but I wasn't up for doing that entirely from scratch this time around. The supermarket didn't have any tandoori chicken ready to go though, so I bought chicken thighs (free range) and a jar of tandoori paste. Add lemon juice, salt, oil and yoghurt, mix it all up (or get wife to, as in the picture) marinate overnight in the fridge then blast in the oven to get that slightly charred surface. Then I took the chicken off the bone and used it in big chunks in the Butter Chicken recipe. I'll be doing tandoori chicken again, since it was so easy and so delicious even on its own.

I shan't bore you with the details of the recipe (or invite a copyright problem) but it wasn't crazy difficult and the results were to die for. The quality of the chicken in particular really made it stand out from usual curry house fare. I know the final picture of it on the plate just looks like an orange splat, but trust me it was great, and I couldn't be doing with garnishing with nuts and coriander sprigs.

Happy Xmas one and all!

25. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Current Affairs

It's actually officially Xmas now, though you'd think that had been the case since early November in some shops.

So, have a happy and healthy one, and a cracking new year!

Happy Xmas!

23. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Culture, Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Me

Nearly there, and dare I say I've been quite organised about it this year. Let's hope I haven't forgotten anybody.

Walked on the beach at Sandyland near Skegness today. Apart from the wind it was really quiet mild, especially for Xmas Eve Eve.

Here's a quick example of our home baking (a bit rough and ready to look at but the best mince pies I've had this year) and the tree (artificial because it fits our small space much better – real ones tend to be very broad at the base), to make you feel Xmassy.

Dead Victorians at The White Lion

21. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Beer, Culture, Music

Last Tuesday I went to The White Lion pub (a preferred local of mine, but blimey that's a low-fi website if ever I saw one) to see the Dead Victorians. These fine chaps are quite magnificent – music hall entertainment from a bygone era crammed with interesting instruments and innuendo.

This is the second time I've seen them, in the same venue as it happens, but both times they have been a threesome, without the elusive Pedro. I don't know why, but the good Dr. Blake doesn't seem to be in any of the publicity photos and gets nary a mention on the CD (on sale that evening for the first time) whilst appearing to be a thoroughly integral part of the band on drums, many vocals, spoons, washboard etc.

I'll quite happily admit that it was seeing the Dead Victorians for the first time that tipped me over the edge and caused me to buy an accordion. It was a pleasure to see them again, though the photos I took are shamefully poor, taken as they were from the back of a crowded but dark pub with a small compact camera. The blur sitting in front of Maestro Paul on the accordion is the good doctor playing the typewriter to accompany a vigourous trombone rendition of the William Tell Overture.