Two Greedy Italians
Antonio Carluccio has said tonight, that his religion is food. So tonight he and Gennaro Contaldo are exploring Puglia looking at religion and food.
But Gennaro did come up with this glorious recipe. I’ll try it sometime. It’s gluten-free too.
Antonio seems to be rather dismissive of the religion and is much keener on the food. I’ll drink to that! As I sip a gluten-free beer!
QPR Put Up the Prices
It was inevitable, that a higher league would mean higher prices at QPR. The fans are not amused.
Here’s hoping that some of the money raised will be used to remove some of the dereliction and danger at the Away End.
Does God Believe in Arson?
I couldn’t believe the name on this picture.
Mountain of Fire & Miracles
But then I agree with Nietzsche about God. On the other hand I try to live my life against the humanist principles of some of the world’s great religions.
Branas Boxes Bite Again
I have a new delivery of some IKEA furniture tomorrow and to finish it off I need some more Branas boxes.
As I was going to have a coffee with a friend in Covent Garden, I thought that I might go on from there. But getting to Covent Garden had been difficult on the Piccadilly line as someone had stupidly been hit by a train at Southgate. So the obvious route back to IKEA at Edmonton which involved using the Piccadilly line to Manor House and then a 341 bus, was probably a no-no!
So I decided after my coffee to take the circular route from Embankment of a District line train to Wimbledon and then the Tramlink to IKEA at Ampere Way. Afterwards I intended to continue on the tram to West Croydon to get the London Overground to Dalston Junction.
The Chimneys at IKEA Croydon
The two chimneys of the old power station that give the road its name are still there.
As are the concrete blocks, that sit in the pedestrian entrance to catch the drunk, the lame and the elderly.
Welcome to IKEA - Again!
They may have been moved since I last visited the store.
I did have a nice lunch in IKEA before I bought another eight boxes.
Or should I say seven and four-fifths boxes? As when I checked out, a bottom was missing! I did check them, as I’d been caught once before, but I obviously didn’t check well enough! It meant another walk through the store as punishment to get a replacement. At least I didn’t take it home and now will be plotting a return.
IKEA at Croydon at least has one advantage over Edmonton. It is easy to take a trolley to the tram stop. Not that I did as many had done and dump it somewhere awkward for pedestrians, but I was able to leave it in a handy trolley park to shorten the walk considerably.
From Ampere Way I took the tram to West Croydon to get the East London line to Dalston Junction.
Overground Directions at West Croydon
The picture shows the excellent signage at the West Croydon interchange.
I actually changed trains between West Croydon and Dalston Junction, at Surrey Quays, so that I got on a train that ended its journey at Dalston Junction, which meant I only had a short walk to the lift.
It was then a couple of stops on a 38 bus home.
It would be so much easier, if I could buy the Branas boxes online in fours.
Volcanic Ash and Pollen Clouds
I don’t care a fig about the volcanic ash from Iceland, but I do find all of this pollen horrendous. And speaking to others, it would appear that I’m not the only one in London, who is suffering badly.
Looking at the pollen forecast, it would appear that I should emigrate to somewhere like Manchester! I think I’ll stay here and fight it out!
Diet and Warfarin
With the scare from Denmark about Marmite, I thought I’d check that my diet was OK? Especially, as I’m on a gluten free diet and take Warfarin.
It can’t be too bad, as I’ve been on the same level of Warfarin for about seven or eight months now and the last test was in the correct range.
I found this informative page in the Grown Up Congenital Heart Patients Association web site.
I liked the section about alcohol.
The interaction between alcohol and warfarin is complex. Alcohol acts as a mild anticoagulant. It also can affect the metabolism of the liver, which s important tor metabolising warfarin. As a rule of rhumb, two to three drinks per day – glasses of wine. beer etc -(typical cardiologist input) are unlikely to affect your warfarin levels. Intermittent binge drinking (typical medical student input) leads to an increase in INR (international ratio, the measurement used to check warfarin levels in the blood) due to warfarin being metabolised more slowly. Chronic heavy alcohol intake (Harley Street cardiologist input just joking!) results in a lower warfarin level because the alcohol increases the metabolism of warfarin.
It’s good to see a bit of humour in sites like this.
But then it says it’s a site for grown ups, by which they mean young people and adults.
Is Surrey Going to be the New Texas?
BBC London News is reporting that oil drilling will be starting in Surrey soon. It’s also on the web site here.
Many years ago, I was told by a man, who’d at one time had been Managing Director or a large resources company, that Surrey was one of the most promising places to drill for oil and gas. He also lived in the county.
He believed that there should be a Local Extraction Tax. At present all taxes go to central government, who often waste it on their own vanity projects that have dubious value.
I agree with him, as just imagine what would happen to a County that got an extra fifty million pounds in its budget.
Wen we think of onshore drilling for oil and gas, we always think of towering structures and large amounts of flames reaching skywards. But the truth is rather different, if you look at an oil field like Wytch Farm. This is the largest onshore oil-field in Western Europe. Wikipedia says this about its location.
Most of the field is protected by various conservation laws, including the Jurassic Coast world heritage site, Purbeck Heritage Coast and a number of sites of special scientific interest, areas of outstanding natural beauty and nature reserves (including Studland and Brownsea Island), so the gathering centre and most of the well sites are small and well screened by trees. Directional drilling has also contributed to reducing the impact on the local environment, with extended reach drilling from the Goathorn Peninsula attaining distances in excess of 10 km.
In my view, Wytch Farm shows how we can exploit natural resources without destroying the planet or even the local area.
I also feel very strongly, that onshore fields are much safer, as all the staff generally live close and are thus so much more careful with that they do. They also generally have an interrupted family life, which probably contributes to making the right decisions.
I suppose one benefit of extracting oil in Surrey, would be that it would make changing light-bulbs in Manchester easier, if this joke is actually true.
Question: How many Manchester United fans does it take to change a light-bulb?
Answer: Two; one to actually change the bulb and another to drive him up from Surrey!
Marmite Banned in Denmark
According to reports like this, Marmite has now been banned in Denmark.
It doesn’t bother me. I must be the only man in the world, who made his late wife a morning cup of Marmite before she got up in the morning for at least a dozen years, after she cut down on coffee.
I think I used to eat it as a child, but I haven’t had a taste for perhaps ten years or so, when I accidentally got C’s toast under my scrambled egg.
The Anonymous Widower 