Food and the official BlackLOG opinion on Twitter

Not much to do with this weeks blog, although it was
used to cook our dinner so there is a sort of food link.
I just like how it came out
Sorry for late running of this week's BlackLOG, this is due to camping weekend on the tracks, which I intend to cover next week unless something slightly more exciting comes along....

Following last week's near death experience at the hands of the Soup Nazi (before you accuse me of over-exaggerating, it is not unheard for people to drown in soup or even choke to death on this obnoxious substance), food seems to be the theme at the moment. What with Pringles in the news - all that crisp or not crisp excitement - one of my favourite bloggers, Cynical Scribble, covers the old chestnut Jaffa Cake - Cake or biscuit debate and Blueskye2day, another interesting blogger, is looking for dieting tips. With all this talk of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water my thoughts start drifting towards, in true BlackLOG style, oddities with food. I recently witnessed a scene straight out of a sitcom. We took some friends to one of our favourite pubs for dinner The Axe & Compass Braughing which is famous for its sausages. Since this was Craig's first time he ordered a large "Braughing sausages and mash". Nothing unusual about that except he tucked in with real vigour. It was only when we came to order dessert did it enter the world of sitcom TV:

Waiter - "Would anyone like to see the dessert menu?"

Everyone - general agreement that it would be rude not to.

Mrs B as usual decided what she wanted, declined for herself and ordered it for me with two spoons

Then Craig, who had been quiet up to this point, chirped in "That was so good I wouldn't mind eating it all over again"

Waiter - ignoring this went through the orders "So that's Mrs B's desert for Mr B...etc,etc"

Then turning to Craig "...And what would you like for dessert Sir?"

Craig - "I'll have the sausage and mash"

Waiter - "Sir?"

Craig - Large!

Waiter - You really want the Large sausage and mash for dessert?"

Craig - "Oh yes!!"

For the record, Craig went through his sausage and mash dessert with almost as much gusto as his sausage and mash main course. Remind me not to be a guest when Craig appears on "Come Dine with me".....

You maybe asking where I get the Sitcom bit? You readers can be so impatient. I don't know if any of you have been watching the new Reginald Perrin series (with Martin Clunes). Not wanting to get into the debate about it being any good - although since I'm practically there I'll just slip it in - I generally quite like it..... I can just about remember the original (Leonard Rossiter) and with all the critics going on and on about how much better it was I thought I would watch the DVD of the original series (yes, another one of those "must have" purchases that I got ages ago which had never made it to the DVD player). The first episode contains a scene where RP is desperate to change his life and tries to do everything differently. Instead of going down the pub for lunch with his colleagues he goes to an Italian restaurant and has Ravioli as a starter, followed by Ravioli for main and the same again for his dessert. Try and hold back the chuckles when, as a punch line to the show, his wife gives him.... you've guessed it, Ravioli for dinner. Now I must admit as stand alone comedy this is hardly side-splittingly funny, but watching it just a few days after "Sausage-gate" it took on a whole new comedy life for me........stunned silence, followed by a tumbleweed nonchalantly slinking pass pretending to be anywhere else Please yourself, I guess you probably had to be there.

The BlackLOG view on Twittering
I appreciate that many people don't see the point in blogging. I'm guessing that if you are still reading this, you do not fall into that category. Reading about what people, who you may never have met, have done (as long as it is interesting) makes a lot more sense to me then reading what a stranger is doing or plans to do. Stalkers' paradise if you ask me, which you probably didn't. While looking through the internet I came across the following:

which in my opinion sums up twitter and twitters, no apology if that offends. Don't worry, this is not the equivalent of a vote of confidence from the board. I won't be twittering anytime soon, so you will have to be content with reading what dull things have already happened to me. If you want to find out the future try Mystic Meg .... "Twitter, Twitter, I'm in a moat follow me, follow me......"
"Twitter, Twitter, I'm in a garden, Follow me, Follow me"
"Twitter,Twitter, I'm in a field.....For gods sake stop stalking me and get your own life"


Second chance Blogging
I was listening to the Beatles "Love" album the other day, which reminded me that I did a BlackLOG review which never got published on the web. Reading through it I stand by what I wrote:

"I had been waiting with splendid anticipation for the release of the “new” Beatles album “Love”, mixed together by George Martin and his son for the latest Cirque Du Soleil stage show in Las Vegas. While they set themselves the task of only using notes and sounds actually made by the Beatles during their recording years together (although George ‘I don’t like your tie’ Martin did arrange some additional strings for “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” I think his history with the Beatles will excuse this). The result is so subtly understated that it is very difficult to tell what has been achieved. Occasionally a heavier drum beat or additional orchestration climbs above the parapet, gently waving at you before slipping out of site. I have to admit that I was looking for something more radical. Putting the experience in terms of a car crash this is like scraping your alloy wheels against a kerb, very annoying and ultimately not going to change your life.

While reading an article about the Love album I discovered that a bootleg rap* album called the “Grey Album”, which crossed Beatles music with rap lyrics, had been released and was promptly banned within seconds of going on sale. A bit of poking around on the Internet and I managed to find it and down load a copy before the Apple Core police could stop me. Well this was a totally different kettle of fish. In car crash terms this was like a little VW beetle car (possibly with the number plate 28 IF) which had been smashed into by a huge American Pimp mobile. So little was left of the VW that it was almost impossible to tell what it had been in the first place. No matter how horrible it got (and at times we are talking Vanilla Ice type horrible), it was strangely compelling at the same time, in a rubbernecking, loose tooth wobbling, scab picking kind of way.

* I’m not entirely sure how bootleg a bootleg album is, if you can download the album cover through Itunes. But then Apple Mac and Apple Core have never been the best of mates, let’s just say it would take an awful lot of cider to get these two into bed together.

As Mrs B never tires of telling me you should never mess with a good thing**. However I still would have liked the Beatles music to have had a quick re-spray, perhaps some leather seats and new stereo system with Ipod link, but not the bland and too scared experiment of the Love album or the total annihilation of the music found in the Grey one. I guess I’ll have to face it, there is just no pleasing some people, especially when it comes to me.

** Word of warning - if Mrs B asks for a Chicken and salad cream sandwich do not attempt to improve on the basic recipe. You will not be thanked and may face tears and threats of High Court action.

Andy practicing his Cirque Du Soleil routine. Sadly as he is not Chines & 4' tall and balanced on the shoulders of another performer he has no hope of succeeding with his audition.