JustTheSam

Thameslink Tease Me

18. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Travel

In my last post I complained about just a few of the many terrible failings of First Capital Connect Thameslink. One of my bugbears was the 5-across nature of the trains – a thoroughly uncivilised way to pack people into a tin can. What do you know, the very next day the 0842 from St Albans was comprised of old Southern rolling stock (still, probably newer than all the other TL stuff) with 4 seats across, armrests, tables and even a funky coffee bar type area with rounded armchairs and stand-up tables. It was just a teaser though, with normal cramped service resumed today.

Here's what heaven looks like, courtesy of poor quality phone camera.

First Capital Connect Thameslink Changes – December 2008

15. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Current Affairs, Travel

It's always a worrying time when the train timetables change and I find out whether my commute is going to get better or worse. First Capital Connect have been promising a lot since they bought the franchise into London (I commute from St Albans to Kentish Town) but delivering little from my point of view. Today new timetables came into effect and I longed to see those "more trains", "longer trains", "disco carriage in every train" promises fulfilled. Actually I made up one of those. Actually I'd might as well have made up all of them.

My main two morning trains (I don't always get the same one) are much the same, except one is now four cars instead of eight. The reason I went for these trains in the first place was that they were eight car so I'd get to London without being crushed. Oh well.

My evening trains appear unchanged. Between 1802 and 1914 there are still no eight car trains. So I either have to leave work before six or after seven unless I want to fight for standing space.

I find it insulting that they joke about twelve car trains whilst reducing existing eight car services to four. I will find it doubly insulting in the new year when the fares leap up by inflation busting amounts same as they have each and every year before (usually 6-9%). I can only dream of the day when the whole fleet is replaced by trains with four seats across rather than five, bringing them blinking into the light of civilised society enjoyed by most of the rest of the country.

Omelette Baguette

13. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Food and Drink

When the wife's away and you have to make dinner from the limited remains in the fridge, you end up with the extraordinary feast that is the omelette baguette. Frankly I'm pretty proud of this creation, because it was absolutely delicious and over the top. Elvis would have approved.

I made a straightforward 2 egg omelette in a small non-stick frying pan, then added grated mature cheddar and thin slices of a good dried sausage before folding over and leaving long enough for the cheese to melt and all the egg to just about cook. Incidentally, I always keep a big dried sausage in the fridge as it's perfect for slicing into lots of things: omelettes, pasta, laid on top of grilled fish, pizza or just to scoff as a Dutch style snack.

The baguette was a part-baked one from Waitrose in this case. These are amazing as they have a shelf life of about a month (I don't want to know what they put in them to achieve this – I like to think it's just the airtight sterile packaging) and can be whacked in the oven for 10 minutes for fresh hot bread. Having let it cool a little I sliced it open and put my gooey omelette inside, cut into three pieces so it fit the long, narrow sandwich. I then added slices of tomato and a bit of pepper. Beautiful, but admittedly a bit of a coronary on a plate.

Beer review: Innis & Gunn Blonde

10. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Beer, Food and Drink

This is an amazing beer. It tastes like a really flavourful Chardonnay – full of oak and vanilla, with a very buttery finish. Given it's aged in American oak barrels, that's not surprising, but honestly most people would be absolutely gobsmacked when trying this beer, it's just so different to anything they will have tasted before.

It's fairly strong, like most of Innis & Gunn's range, but like all of their range, it's totally to die for. I hail their efforts as the very best beers available from the UK, if not the world!

Random Photo: NZ Beach

08. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Photography, Travel

I really like this photo – even though there's really not much to it. It's the atmospheric sense of space and wild ocean I think. Taken on honeymoon in New Zealand.

Book Review: Gods Behaving Badly – Marie Phillips

07. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Books

I picked this book up on a whim because I liked the sound of the basic premise. Having now read it I know for sure that it's one of the most original ideas for a novel that I've come across in a long time, and neatly executed as well.

The classic Greek gods, Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Eros, Artemis etc. are living in a rather dirty house in London, just about keeping up with their godly duties, though nobody believes in them anymore. A couple of mortals get mixed up in their petty bickering and things spiral from there. The way these classic gods and their legends are mixed in to modern day London is brilliantly entertaining, and the plot picks up speed and keeps it going. More than many books I've read recently I struggled to put it down.

It's not quite perfect – in some indefinable way it just seemed a little simplistic at times – but definitely comes highly recommended.

Beer Review: Wadworth 6X (can)

04. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Beer, Food and Drink

For once I strayed away from just slinging a four pack of Greene King IPA cans into the trolley and instead went for something markedly more expensive, in the interests of variety.

At 4.3% this has a midrange punch (but not too much for a weekday evening) and plenty of colour and flavour. It's got quite a malty, fruity flavour, which was almost edging into being over the top for me, for a daily evening beer at any rate. That said, probably better to have one of these than two of something more nondescript, and I'm sure the doctor would agree! Recommended for most purposes, especially as we head into the ever darker and colder months.

Scotch Pancakes / Drop Scones

03. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Food and Drink

Apparently some people call Scotch pancakes drop scones instead. It's a strange world and takes all sorts, or so I'm reliably informed.

That aside, I decided to make some from scratch for breakfast a couple of weeks back, to go with the maple cured bacon and maple syrup we already had. We always used to just buy a packet of Scotch pancakes and stick them in the toaster, but we didn't have any in and that small problem wasn't going to stand in the way of my breakfast.

The recipe's really ludicrously simple, though the wife seems to have hidden the Hugh Fearnley-Doodah book I used at the time. Luckily, I found his recipe online here and I think it's about the same as the one I used from the book. What confuses me though is the one from the book made about 30 scones so I halved the quantities, whereas this online version says it makes 12, but looks like the version that I read before halving, so use your own judgement 🙂 One thing I found is that weighing out really small quantities accurately is quite tricky with analog scales, but it didn't seem to cause a problem.

It's really very quick and easy to make the batter, the critical thing being the liquidity. I must have got it right, because they spread out nicely to just the right thickness on the hot frying pan and looked like the real deal. I found with a non-stick pan they were really trouble free when flipping, not requiring careful extra oiling as Hugh suggested. I was able to do four at a time, and stacked them up when done, but I failed to keep them warm enough whilst then frying the bacon (I wanted to use that same pan) so the butter didn't melt on them as well as I'd have liked. Next time I'll probably keep them under foil and maybe give them a quick zap in the microwave just the steam them up a bit before bringing to the table.

Finally – and frankly this was a touch of genius-like inspiration – I served with lime wedges. The lime juice cuts through the sweet maple syrup to take it to another level of breakfast heaven! Look at that picture and imagine the pancakes buttered and real Canadian maple syrup drizzled all over..

Robins Limbering up for Xmas

02. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Nature, Photography

The Robins were posing for me today, for a succession of Xmas card shots. All they need is some snow. And less noise – these are all crops of ISO 1600 shots with 400mm lens, so they're pushing my kit to the limits. I think the top one is best, personally. Click for bigger versions.

Breakfast: Kellogg’s Start

01. December 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Food and Drink

I was delighted a couple of years back to find that Kellogg's Start had re-emerged onto the supermarket shelves after what seemed like 15 years away. It was my favourite breakfast cereal as a boy and it still is!

Sadly only Sainsburys and Tesco seem to stock it (certainly my local Waitrose doesn't) so we have to make occasional special trips, just to pick up an armful of the stuff. It's been on special offer recently, so that's a bonus 🙂

Why it ever went away is a complete mystery to me.