Ipswich Town Supporters Club – London Branch AGM
It was the AGM yesterday and I took these pictures.
Jay Tabb made an interesting confession, when I asked what it was with footballers wearing beards these days. He said, that he can’t!
Oh Dear! Christmas Is Coming!
I hate Christmas and the older I get, the more I do so. Remember C died just before Christmas in 2007.
Oh Dear! Christmas Is Coming!
This picture from John Lewis sums it all up. Tat hanging from the ceiling, to try to get you into a jolly mood!
This year, I won’t even have the relief of football on Boxing Day, as Ipswich are playing in Doncaster and there won’t be any trains.
We Need More Openness Everywhere
This story from the BBC is a big dose of common sense from MPs. Here’s the jist.
Councils in England should publish annual parking-charge accounts if they want to prove they are not being used as a “cash cow”, MPs have said.
I think we need much better access to all government data.
Here’s a few ideas.
If you run a company, as I’ve done several times, you have to publish a set of simple accounts, including things like cash flows and a profit and loss statement.
Why shouldn’t the government publish such a brief set of accounts, which the man on the Dalston Omnibus could understand?
But of course they don’t!
Some years ago, I tried to find the data to do create some simple accounts for UK plc. The data is there, but it is in several different places and despite help from a BBC financial journalist, I thought I had better things to do, than dig holes in treacle.
I would also like to see an anonymised database of those who are in prison. A man like me would be described as male, 60-70 in reasonable health, who was a non-smoker living in North London.
It would allow those, who make wild statements about prisons to be challenged and hopefully, it would lead to better justice and penal policies.
I must admit, that it has got a lot better in recent years with the growth of the Internet, but too often, data that would help us to have better lives is hidden from view.
The NHS is one of the worst for hiding data. There has been a lot of discussion about A & E units in recent years. Surely, a database should be available on the Internet, of all visits to this department. Again, it would be anonymised.
It would then be easy to find out for instance, how many drunks turned up at various hospitals demanding treatment.
The trouble is, that a national database in this area of the NHS, would show how A & E departments should change to get fit for the twenty-first century. Some would be obvious candidates for closure, whereas others would need to be expanded with special units.
As Charles Babbage said
Errors using inadequate data are much less than those using no data at all.
Give everybody the data, so that we can all finish the job!
You don’t make a good omelette without breaking a few eggs.
y
Is Facebook Beyond The Pale?
The news that Facebook is to allow violent videos and pictures to be uploaded, as reported here.
But they still have a ban on nudity!
They are a disgrace, but there is no way you can legislate them along a rightful path.
We must educate everybody, so that violence of all forms becomes just a bad memory.
Zopa Breaks The Million Pound Barrier
In the last seven days, if you ignore Saturday and Sunday, when they don’t normally distribute loans, they have lent out 5.7 million pounds, which works out at over a million pounds every working day.
Can this steady level of high lending be in part due to the troubles at the Co-operative Bank?
If we believe the stance of the Co-op, their typical customer will be an ethical person, who probably thinks seriously about their money. They will probably think, that bankers are responsible for a lot of problems. I won’t say anything about their politics as being sensible with and thinking about money, is not the preserve of any political leaning. I’m even sure that some people who might support some extreme parties, may well have some of the best structured finances in the country.
But with the Co-op banks troubles, are these thinking people deserting the bank before it is too late and for their saving and borrowing, they are going to the peer-to-peer lenders like Zopa.
Certainly, if I look at my lending on Zopa, the rate of late payments and new bad debts seems to have fallen compared to a year ago. This could be put down to better checking on the company’s part, but is it also due to the fact that those that think about their money are moving away from the banks.
So are the peer-to-peer lenders contributing to the demise of the Co-operative Bank?
A Meal To Pair With Lindsey Bareham’s Pasta
I like meals that pair up, where you use the same ingredients in separate meals, so that one purchase does two totally different meals. I cook the pasta with pulled ham hock, peas and yoghurt regularly and always have pulled ham hock in the fridge and frozen peas in the freezer.
So when Lindsey Bareham published this Dijon Ham And Pea Gratin, with the same main ingredients of pulled ham hock and frozen peas. I just had to give it a go.
I started by switching the oven on to 200°C and making a sauce for the first time.
I melted about 15 g of butter in a saucepan and stirred in some flour and mustard. Milk was added gradually, stirring constantly to make a thick smooth sauce, which I simmered gently for 5 minutes.
Grated Emmental cheese was then added and a smooth sauce was made. As Lindsey said, I seasoned it with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
The Mustard And Cheese Sauce
The ham hock and the peas, were then stirred into the sauce and thoroughly mixed.
I then put it in an oval dish and covered it with a mixture of gluten free breadcrumbs and grated cheese.
Ready For The Oven
After 20-30 minutes in the oven, it was ready for eating.
Dijon Ham And Pea Gratin
I enjoyed it immensely.
Last Week Was Chocolate Week
last week was Chocolate Week and Lindsey Bareham celebrated with five recipes using chocolate of which four were savoury.
I cooked this Catalan Lamb Stew With Almonds on the sixteenth.
Catalan Lamb Stew With Almonds
I had a problem in that I couldn’t find any blanched almonds, so I had to use plaked ones and it was a bit gritty. My little chopper also made a bit of the mess with the sauce, so I can’t say it was a great success. I’ll try it again sometimes, with the blanched almonds.
And then on the nineteenth, I cooked Chicken Chili With Chocolate.
Chicken Chili With Chocolate
It was good and I put half in the freezer for later. I did cheat though, by using microwaveable rice.
Next time I’ll cook it with proper rice.
Learning With Lindsey Bareham
I’ve been meaning to put this up for some time, and only now I’ve had a bit of a think, have I found a handle to hang the post on.
It started by Lindsey’s recipe for bangers and mash.
Her method for frying sausages worked well.
Four Of The Black Farmer’s Finest
I just fried them in a little oil for thirty minutes. I think in the past, I’ve always tried to cook them too quickly.
I used four of the Black Farmer’s finest, as like all good sausages they are gluten free. I met the actual Black Farmer once and what a gentleman he is. Long may he continue to be successful!
Lindsey also taught me how to cook the onions.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a second frying pan and add the sliced onion. Cook briskly, tossing constantly for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until slippery soft. Add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp water. Let it bubble away. Turn off the heat.
They were delicious, but so was it all.
Bangers And Mash A La Lindsey
Perhaps, I did cook too much potato, but it was the first time I had cold apple sauce with hot sausages.
If the recipe had one problem, there was a lot of washing up.
Too Much Washing Up!
But I’ll forgive Lindsey that!
Little Bits Of Italian Paper
One slight irritant in Italy is that the law says you must have a receipt. Unlike in the UK, Italians seem very reluctant to bin them for you.
After Too Many Foxes And Badgers, Now Too Many Rabbits
This is actually quite an old story from the BBC, but it turned up in today’s Times.
At least though, when compared to foxes and badgers, you can make the buggers work, as after they’ve been strangled and skinned, they make an excellent supper.
The best rabbit I’ve eaten was on the island of Salina, where they are one of the few sources of local fresh meat. In one case, I had rabbit, with the other local delicacy; capers.
I’m sure if foxes and badgers were a source of food, they wouldn’t be such a pest to so many.
The Anonymous Widower 