Monday, April 23, 2007
The Thirty Nine Beans
Monday 23rd. April 2007 23.57
I recently enjoyed the best meal I have eaten for a long time, cooked in ten minutes and eaten by myself so there was nobody either to yoink the best bits or to spoil the meal with unwanted chatter. I had been given some asparagus cut from the asparagus bed of one of the allotments close to mine (by the owner). It took ten minutes to steam and was eaten with parma ham and butter. I feel sometimes that if you can eat such a delicious meal at home, so easy to prepare, why would one ever want to go out to eat? Of course one must have a source of fresh asparagus, so I am now determined to lay down an asparagus bed as soon as the digging has been completed. I have noticed that the asparagus in Tesco's comes from Peru and the pak choi from Morocco which doesn't say much for their green credentials!
The allotment has been rather time consuming lately as it has been a struggle to get enough ground prepared to plant out all the seedlings growing in pots in the kitchen and all the plants offered by my generous allotment neighbours. I must now make the space for another row of climbing French beans and for more runners. With the help from a gardener from Liverpool I put in a 3/4 row of mixed beans on Saturday and I'm pleased to report that they are all looking extremely healthy,(I counted them and quite by chance there were 39), as are the sweetcorn planted the same day. Luckily it has rained here steadily all day though not hard enough to stop further digging. If my sleeping partner awakes for long enough to read this, he might bring along the promised canes for the second row of beans. We must also make space for a row of peas and for tomatoes which are mixed varieties in large numbers.
Since the four rows of raspberries went in, there has also been a row of shallots, arow of artichokes which come from off-shoots and look rather sickly, though I am assured they will survive, a row of garlic and two rows of potatoes which were mentioned earlier. The potatoes are already beginning to shoot up and will soon need earthing up.
Of course this is all to do with food production and consumption and not much to do with losing weight, though the digging may help in that respect. Its weigh day on Wednesday, if I remember. There hasn't been enough time in the day for eating, sleeping, reading , digging and work and unfortunately its the reading which has suffered. I must put this right and cut down on work and sleep. After the death of Zen's creator there will obviously be no new ones to enjoy. I wonder if he will become a classic and be re-read in years to come? I still reread quite a lot of detective fiction so to celebrate my favourite detectives I offer the following:-
221b Sherlock Holmes
222. Maigret
223. Montalbano
224. Carvalho
225. Brunetti
226. Louie Knight
227. Wallander
228. Rhodenbarr
229. Ramotswe
230. Spenser
There may be another collection at a later date as I found it difficult to choose between several candidates for the last place. Don't bother to let me know that Sherlock Holmes got in an earlier list.
I recently enjoyed the best meal I have eaten for a long time, cooked in ten minutes and eaten by myself so there was nobody either to yoink the best bits or to spoil the meal with unwanted chatter. I had been given some asparagus cut from the asparagus bed of one of the allotments close to mine (by the owner). It took ten minutes to steam and was eaten with parma ham and butter. I feel sometimes that if you can eat such a delicious meal at home, so easy to prepare, why would one ever want to go out to eat? Of course one must have a source of fresh asparagus, so I am now determined to lay down an asparagus bed as soon as the digging has been completed. I have noticed that the asparagus in Tesco's comes from Peru and the pak choi from Morocco which doesn't say much for their green credentials!
The allotment has been rather time consuming lately as it has been a struggle to get enough ground prepared to plant out all the seedlings growing in pots in the kitchen and all the plants offered by my generous allotment neighbours. I must now make the space for another row of climbing French beans and for more runners. With the help from a gardener from Liverpool I put in a 3/4 row of mixed beans on Saturday and I'm pleased to report that they are all looking extremely healthy,(I counted them and quite by chance there were 39), as are the sweetcorn planted the same day. Luckily it has rained here steadily all day though not hard enough to stop further digging. If my sleeping partner awakes for long enough to read this, he might bring along the promised canes for the second row of beans. We must also make space for a row of peas and for tomatoes which are mixed varieties in large numbers.
Since the four rows of raspberries went in, there has also been a row of shallots, arow of artichokes which come from off-shoots and look rather sickly, though I am assured they will survive, a row of garlic and two rows of potatoes which were mentioned earlier. The potatoes are already beginning to shoot up and will soon need earthing up.
Of course this is all to do with food production and consumption and not much to do with losing weight, though the digging may help in that respect. Its weigh day on Wednesday, if I remember. There hasn't been enough time in the day for eating, sleeping, reading , digging and work and unfortunately its the reading which has suffered. I must put this right and cut down on work and sleep. After the death of Zen's creator there will obviously be no new ones to enjoy. I wonder if he will become a classic and be re-read in years to come? I still reread quite a lot of detective fiction so to celebrate my favourite detectives I offer the following:-
221b Sherlock Holmes
222. Maigret
223. Montalbano
224. Carvalho
225. Brunetti
226. Louie Knight
227. Wallander
228. Rhodenbarr
229. Ramotswe
230. Spenser
There may be another collection at a later date as I found it difficult to choose between several candidates for the last place. Don't bother to let me know that Sherlock Holmes got in an earlier list.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
So, farewell then Aurelio Zen
April 12th 2007. 23.16
I was saddened to see that Michael Dibdin died recently. There was a short obituary in the Guardian last week. He was the creator of one of my favourite fictional policemen, Aurelio Zen. He always seemed to solve the crime though the solution wasn't always wanted by his corrupt or politically motivated superiors. I think he was overdue for retirement but in a perverse way he seemed to thrive on work and to some extent, on disappointment. I have always thought that "Dirty Tricks" was one of Dibdin's best, though it was not an Aurelio Zen story. He was almost always to be relied on to produce a good read so I always looked forward to his next book and I shall miss that now. He was only sixty which seems awfully young these days, but I don't know the cause of death.
Although I had planned more frequent blogs, they have not appeared for two main reasons. Firstly the weather has been so good that I have been able to spend long hours taming the allottment, so when I have returned home it has been tempting to have a little snooze that has most often turned into a more prolonged and deep sleep. Secondly, my computer at work is misbehaving and keeps turning itself off. I would ask the IT chaps to sort it out but they are such a bunch of snitty nosed bastards that I dont want to ask them. They don't ever seem to be able to come round and put it right without first asking a whole series of complicated questions and giving a load of instructions that I cannot understand. So I haven't used the work computer lately for the blog. Great progress has been made and there are now four rows of raspberries, two rows of early or not so early potatoes, a row of garlic, a row of broad beens, two roses, two blackcurrants and a few Japanese onions which are not thriving. My sleeping partner even arrived one day with his son so he was unable to spend much time actually doing any physical work though he was full of encouragement for my efforts. I also have sweetcorn, climbing French beans and sunflowers coming up in pots in the kitchen after less than ten days since planting and there are also artichokes, okra, peas and runner beans which, I am confident, will appear any day now. So there is some urgency now to get on with the digging to clear enough space to plant all these things out in the near future. I may also have to have some of the beans at the house so they can be transferred from plant to pot within seconds.
I actually recognised the make of a car as I was going home from work the other day. Normally I cant tell one make of car from another but the reason I could name this particular car wa s because it was the very distinctive Hillman Minx which made me quite nostalgic for the cars of the fifties and sixties. They did seem to have more character and greater differences in appearance than the common cars of today; they even had better names.So, in memory of those days, I offer the following:-
211. Triumph Herald
212. Ford Popular
213. Morris 8 (Series E)
214. Austin 7 (or the 10 or the A40)
215. Standard Vanguard
216. Citroen Light Fifteen
217. Morris Minor
218. Sunbeam Talbot
219. E Type Jaguar
220. Jowett Javelin
You probably have forgotten most of these brands or would have to be interested in vintage cars if know them. When the Morris Minor was first produced, it cost £128! The Citroen Light Fifteen was the car that Rupert Davies drove around in the BBC Maigret series. I once shared a similar car with a chap who became the Queen's gynaecologist - or maybe it was a Light Fourteen. I can remember that it had a running board which was useful as it had a slight clutch problem and sometimes needed a bit of a push to start it moving. I think that the front door opened from the front and was hinged on a central column from which the back door was also hung.I also remember selling it for fifty Francs to a scrap dealer outside Paris when it broke down for the umteenth time. We all hitched back from Paris and I actually got a lift in a Maserati! Ah! Those were the days. Petrol 2 shillings a gallon and beer 7 pence a pint! I think my memory is failing me a bit there but it wasn't far off those prices. Maximum wage for footballers £12 a week. Incidentally, I'm willing to be transferred to Madrid for £54million.
I also once shared a Series E Morris with a chap who became a brilliant Rectal Surgeon. We used to take it in turns to use the car. Girls were invited for a ride in the E Type, but they weren't fooled for long.
I was saddened to see that Michael Dibdin died recently. There was a short obituary in the Guardian last week. He was the creator of one of my favourite fictional policemen, Aurelio Zen. He always seemed to solve the crime though the solution wasn't always wanted by his corrupt or politically motivated superiors. I think he was overdue for retirement but in a perverse way he seemed to thrive on work and to some extent, on disappointment. I have always thought that "Dirty Tricks" was one of Dibdin's best, though it was not an Aurelio Zen story. He was almost always to be relied on to produce a good read so I always looked forward to his next book and I shall miss that now. He was only sixty which seems awfully young these days, but I don't know the cause of death.
Although I had planned more frequent blogs, they have not appeared for two main reasons. Firstly the weather has been so good that I have been able to spend long hours taming the allottment, so when I have returned home it has been tempting to have a little snooze that has most often turned into a more prolonged and deep sleep. Secondly, my computer at work is misbehaving and keeps turning itself off. I would ask the IT chaps to sort it out but they are such a bunch of snitty nosed bastards that I dont want to ask them. They don't ever seem to be able to come round and put it right without first asking a whole series of complicated questions and giving a load of instructions that I cannot understand. So I haven't used the work computer lately for the blog. Great progress has been made and there are now four rows of raspberries, two rows of early or not so early potatoes, a row of garlic, a row of broad beens, two roses, two blackcurrants and a few Japanese onions which are not thriving. My sleeping partner even arrived one day with his son so he was unable to spend much time actually doing any physical work though he was full of encouragement for my efforts. I also have sweetcorn, climbing French beans and sunflowers coming up in pots in the kitchen after less than ten days since planting and there are also artichokes, okra, peas and runner beans which, I am confident, will appear any day now. So there is some urgency now to get on with the digging to clear enough space to plant all these things out in the near future. I may also have to have some of the beans at the house so they can be transferred from plant to pot within seconds.
I actually recognised the make of a car as I was going home from work the other day. Normally I cant tell one make of car from another but the reason I could name this particular car wa s because it was the very distinctive Hillman Minx which made me quite nostalgic for the cars of the fifties and sixties. They did seem to have more character and greater differences in appearance than the common cars of today; they even had better names.So, in memory of those days, I offer the following:-
211. Triumph Herald
212. Ford Popular
213. Morris 8 (Series E)
214. Austin 7 (or the 10 or the A40)
215. Standard Vanguard
216. Citroen Light Fifteen
217. Morris Minor
218. Sunbeam Talbot
219. E Type Jaguar
220. Jowett Javelin
You probably have forgotten most of these brands or would have to be interested in vintage cars if know them. When the Morris Minor was first produced, it cost £128! The Citroen Light Fifteen was the car that Rupert Davies drove around in the BBC Maigret series. I once shared a similar car with a chap who became the Queen's gynaecologist - or maybe it was a Light Fourteen. I can remember that it had a running board which was useful as it had a slight clutch problem and sometimes needed a bit of a push to start it moving. I think that the front door opened from the front and was hinged on a central column from which the back door was also hung.I also remember selling it for fifty Francs to a scrap dealer outside Paris when it broke down for the umteenth time. We all hitched back from Paris and I actually got a lift in a Maserati! Ah! Those were the days. Petrol 2 shillings a gallon and beer 7 pence a pint! I think my memory is failing me a bit there but it wasn't far off those prices. Maximum wage for footballers £12 a week. Incidentally, I'm willing to be transferred to Madrid for £54million.
I also once shared a Series E Morris with a chap who became a brilliant Rectal Surgeon. We used to take it in turns to use the car. Girls were invited for a ride in the E Type, but they weren't fooled for long.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Virus Free
April 3rd. 2007 7pm
Yes, I realise that the appearance of the blogs has been rather unpredictable but I'm plesased to say that since Kevin of Brecon has removed the virus and several thousand entries on the registry(whatever that means) and has put on a fresh Norton security, I am back and I hope, regular. There would have been entries over the last weekend too but the World Superbikes took me to Kegworth where the blogging began on July 1st. last year when I went there for the Moto GP. You will be interested to know that my weight has not changed since that time- neither more nor less, in spite of the abandonment of the diet which I will now resume. It is possible that with the longer evenings and the growing season's arrival, I will be less tempted by food in the house.
World Superbikes and Motor GP are really exciting and theatrical spectacles that are well worth seeing once at least in the flesh even if you are not a fan. You cannot appreciate the noise or the speed by watching them on television. Furthermore you can spend a nice day in your shorts in the sun and get a lot of exercise trying to find your car at the end of the day!
A few days at the allotment over Easter should see some fairly dramatic changes. There will be four rows of raspberries, early-, mid, and late-summer and an autumn crop that should give a supply throughout the second half of the year. The problem of course is that they really will need to be eaten with lashings of fresh cream. There will be two rows of early potatoes ( both types are already well chitted) and perhaps you can see another problem looming in that they will of course be irresistable and will almost certainly be eaten with butter. Seeds from Suttons for artichoke, sweetcorn, pak choi, okra and climbing French bean arrived last week and I plan to start sowing some of these in pots tonight whilst watching "Life on Mars" which is my favourite programme at the moment. I think there will have to be quite a lot more digging done to make room for everything. The raspberries and potatoes have already taken up a lot of the space that has already been prepared.
I haven't encountered much fictional food lately. There was inevitably some in "Death in the Truffle Wood" by Pierre Mangan but none worth mentioning in Paretsky's "Hard Time" or "Fire Sale". One doesn't expect food in Elmore Leonard or Robert Littell but " The Hot Kid " and "Legends" were both brilliant and foodless. There was no food in Ake Edwardson's "Never End" which was a fair but rather routine police procedural. No food in either Murakami's "Sputnik Sweetheart" or" The Tango Singer"( which I liked a lot). I became irritated by the former because of the lack of explanation at the end of the book as to why events had turned out as they had. I suspect the author got bored with his own book and decided just to bring it to an abrupt end rather like that Monty Python sketch where Chapman marches in dressed as an army officer shouting "Too silly ". "Let Me Eat Cake" by Paul Arnott was quite fun in a nostalgic sort of way but I could only consume it in very small portions as it was far too sweet.
I tried another Su Grafton("S is for Silence") but I have decided that Kinsey Millhone is just not a good enough detective for me to try any more. I'm now just beginning Kjersti Scheen' "Final Curtain" - another female private detective by a female author from Norway and after that I will be reading Dominique Manotti's "Rough Trade"so I will report later on the food situation but generally I'm not very optimistic about the Scandinavians or female detectives. I look forward to the next Camilleri and the next Padura.
Now that the computer is back in action I will be trying to fulfil the promise- or hope rather- that this will be the year of the book, so there may be less time for blogs or lists.
Yes, I realise that the appearance of the blogs has been rather unpredictable but I'm plesased to say that since Kevin of Brecon has removed the virus and several thousand entries on the registry(whatever that means) and has put on a fresh Norton security, I am back and I hope, regular. There would have been entries over the last weekend too but the World Superbikes took me to Kegworth where the blogging began on July 1st. last year when I went there for the Moto GP. You will be interested to know that my weight has not changed since that time- neither more nor less, in spite of the abandonment of the diet which I will now resume. It is possible that with the longer evenings and the growing season's arrival, I will be less tempted by food in the house.
World Superbikes and Motor GP are really exciting and theatrical spectacles that are well worth seeing once at least in the flesh even if you are not a fan. You cannot appreciate the noise or the speed by watching them on television. Furthermore you can spend a nice day in your shorts in the sun and get a lot of exercise trying to find your car at the end of the day!
A few days at the allotment over Easter should see some fairly dramatic changes. There will be four rows of raspberries, early-, mid, and late-summer and an autumn crop that should give a supply throughout the second half of the year. The problem of course is that they really will need to be eaten with lashings of fresh cream. There will be two rows of early potatoes ( both types are already well chitted) and perhaps you can see another problem looming in that they will of course be irresistable and will almost certainly be eaten with butter. Seeds from Suttons for artichoke, sweetcorn, pak choi, okra and climbing French bean arrived last week and I plan to start sowing some of these in pots tonight whilst watching "Life on Mars" which is my favourite programme at the moment. I think there will have to be quite a lot more digging done to make room for everything. The raspberries and potatoes have already taken up a lot of the space that has already been prepared.
I haven't encountered much fictional food lately. There was inevitably some in "Death in the Truffle Wood" by Pierre Mangan but none worth mentioning in Paretsky's "Hard Time" or "Fire Sale". One doesn't expect food in Elmore Leonard or Robert Littell but " The Hot Kid " and "Legends" were both brilliant and foodless. There was no food in Ake Edwardson's "Never End" which was a fair but rather routine police procedural. No food in either Murakami's "Sputnik Sweetheart" or" The Tango Singer"( which I liked a lot). I became irritated by the former because of the lack of explanation at the end of the book as to why events had turned out as they had. I suspect the author got bored with his own book and decided just to bring it to an abrupt end rather like that Monty Python sketch where Chapman marches in dressed as an army officer shouting "Too silly ". "Let Me Eat Cake" by Paul Arnott was quite fun in a nostalgic sort of way but I could only consume it in very small portions as it was far too sweet.
I tried another Su Grafton("S is for Silence") but I have decided that Kinsey Millhone is just not a good enough detective for me to try any more. I'm now just beginning Kjersti Scheen' "Final Curtain" - another female private detective by a female author from Norway and after that I will be reading Dominique Manotti's "Rough Trade"so I will report later on the food situation but generally I'm not very optimistic about the Scandinavians or female detectives. I look forward to the next Camilleri and the next Padura.
Now that the computer is back in action I will be trying to fulfil the promise- or hope rather- that this will be the year of the book, so there may be less time for blogs or lists.
Virus Free
April 3rd. 2007 7pm
Yes, I realise that the appearance of the blogs has been rather unpredictable but I'm plesased to say that since Kevin of Brecon has removed the virus and several thousand entries on the registry(whatever that means) and has put on a fresh Norton security, I am back and I hope, regular. There would have been entries over the last weekend too but the World Superbikes took me to Kegworth where the blogging began on July 1st. last year when I went there for the Moto GP. You will be interested to know that my weight has not changed since that time- neither more nor less, in spite of the abandonment of the diet which I will now resume. It is possible that with the longer evenings and the growing season's arrival, I will be less tempted by food in the house.
World Superbikes and Motor GP are really exciting and theatrical spectacles that are well worth seeing once at least in the flesh even if you are not a fan. You cannot appreciate the noise or the speed by watching them on television. Furthermore you can spend a nice day in your shorts in the sun and get a lot of exercise trying to find your car at the end of the day!
A few days at the allotment over Easter should see some fairly dramatic changes. There will be four rows of raspberries, early-, mid, and late-summer and an autumn crop that should give a supply throughout the second half of the year. The problem of course is that they really will need to be eaten with lashings of fresh cream. There will be two rows of early potatoes ( both types are already well chitted) and perhaps you can see another problem looming in that they will of course be irresistable and will almost certainly be eaten with butter. Seeds from Suttons for artichoke, sweetcorn, pak choi, okra and climbing French bean arrived last week and I plan to start sowing some of these in pots tonight whilst watching "Life on Mars" which is my favourite programme at the moment. I think there will have to be quite a lot more digging done to make room for everything. The raspberries and potatoes have already taken up a lot of the space that has already been prepared.
I haven't encountered much fictional food lately. There was inevitably some in "Death in the Truffle Wood" by Pierre Mangan but none worth mentioning in Paretsky's "Hard Time" or "Fire Sale". One doesn't expect food in Elmore Leonard or Robert Littell but " The Hot Kid " and "Legends" were both brilliant and foodless. There was no food in Ake Edwardson's "Never End" which was a fair but rather routine police procedural. No food in either Murakami's "Sputnik Sweetheart" or" The Tango Singer"( which I liked a lot). I became irritated by the former because of the lack of explanation at the end of the book as to why events had turned out as they had. I suspect the author got bored with his own book and decided just to bring it to an abrupt end rather like that Monty Python sketch where Chapman marches in dressed as an army officer shouting "Too silly ". "Let Me Eat Cake" by Paul Arnott was quite fun in a nostalgic sort of way but I could only consume it in very small portions as it was far too sweet.
I tried another Su Grafton("S is for Silence") but I have decided that Kinsey Millhone is just not a good enough detective for me to try any more. I'm now just beginning Kjersti Scheen' "Final Curtain" - another female private detective by a female author from Norway and after that I will be reading Dominique Manotti's "Rough Trade"so I will report later on the food situation but generally I'm not very optimistic about the Scandinavians or female detectives. I look forward to the next Camilleri and the next Padura.
Now that the computer is back in action I will be trying to fulfil the promise- or hope rather- that this will be the year of the book, so there may be less time for blogs or lists.
Yes, I realise that the appearance of the blogs has been rather unpredictable but I'm plesased to say that since Kevin of Brecon has removed the virus and several thousand entries on the registry(whatever that means) and has put on a fresh Norton security, I am back and I hope, regular. There would have been entries over the last weekend too but the World Superbikes took me to Kegworth where the blogging began on July 1st. last year when I went there for the Moto GP. You will be interested to know that my weight has not changed since that time- neither more nor less, in spite of the abandonment of the diet which I will now resume. It is possible that with the longer evenings and the growing season's arrival, I will be less tempted by food in the house.
World Superbikes and Motor GP are really exciting and theatrical spectacles that are well worth seeing once at least in the flesh even if you are not a fan. You cannot appreciate the noise or the speed by watching them on television. Furthermore you can spend a nice day in your shorts in the sun and get a lot of exercise trying to find your car at the end of the day!
A few days at the allotment over Easter should see some fairly dramatic changes. There will be four rows of raspberries, early-, mid, and late-summer and an autumn crop that should give a supply throughout the second half of the year. The problem of course is that they really will need to be eaten with lashings of fresh cream. There will be two rows of early potatoes ( both types are already well chitted) and perhaps you can see another problem looming in that they will of course be irresistable and will almost certainly be eaten with butter. Seeds from Suttons for artichoke, sweetcorn, pak choi, okra and climbing French bean arrived last week and I plan to start sowing some of these in pots tonight whilst watching "Life on Mars" which is my favourite programme at the moment. I think there will have to be quite a lot more digging done to make room for everything. The raspberries and potatoes have already taken up a lot of the space that has already been prepared.
I haven't encountered much fictional food lately. There was inevitably some in "Death in the Truffle Wood" by Pierre Mangan but none worth mentioning in Paretsky's "Hard Time" or "Fire Sale". One doesn't expect food in Elmore Leonard or Robert Littell but " The Hot Kid " and "Legends" were both brilliant and foodless. There was no food in Ake Edwardson's "Never End" which was a fair but rather routine police procedural. No food in either Murakami's "Sputnik Sweetheart" or" The Tango Singer"( which I liked a lot). I became irritated by the former because of the lack of explanation at the end of the book as to why events had turned out as they had. I suspect the author got bored with his own book and decided just to bring it to an abrupt end rather like that Monty Python sketch where Chapman marches in dressed as an army officer shouting "Too silly ". "Let Me Eat Cake" by Paul Arnott was quite fun in a nostalgic sort of way but I could only consume it in very small portions as it was far too sweet.
I tried another Su Grafton("S is for Silence") but I have decided that Kinsey Millhone is just not a good enough detective for me to try any more. I'm now just beginning Kjersti Scheen' "Final Curtain" - another female private detective by a female author from Norway and after that I will be reading Dominique Manotti's "Rough Trade"so I will report later on the food situation but generally I'm not very optimistic about the Scandinavians or female detectives. I look forward to the next Camilleri and the next Padura.
Now that the computer is back in action I will be trying to fulfil the promise- or hope rather- that this will be the year of the book, so there may be less time for blogs or lists.
