Completed Gallery
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
another farewell?
there was supposed to have been a little BBQ - Picnic on Sunday at London Fields as it was possibly the first good weather we've had on a weekend and that park is one of the few where you are allowed to actually set-up a barbeque.
Alas, as with many things "organised" by Miss M, things didn't quite work out...
For a start, no-one bought a barbeque.
The last I heard, she was looking at getting some disposables and just to make sure, I sent her a link to a small portable one that looked pretty decent too and at a bargain £10 too. At the same time, fearing for my belly, I set about making some picnic food.
Anyway, so it looks like she's thinking of going home for good.
Kinda shocking.
A little bit upset maybe.
It'll sure be a quiter place without her around.
I have to say I'm a little puzzled by her decision making. As far as I can tell, a lot of it is down to her visa expiring soon and she said something about not being sure if it'll get renewed. On the other hand, she is less than a year away from being able to apply for permanent residence and a British/EU passport. I would've thought that it was logical to hang on for that (maybe) extra year to get that little red book.
Somehow though, in her head, the time and cost involved doesn't seem worth it; or perhaps she doesn't feel like she wants to go to all that hassle. I don't know. What I do know is that I wasn't the only one who thought this didn't seem like the best reason to go home when the benefits of getting a EU passport far outweighs the drawbacks.
Alas, as with many things "organised" by Miss M, things didn't quite work out...
For a start, no-one bought a barbeque.
The last I heard, she was looking at getting some disposables and just to make sure, I sent her a link to a small portable one that looked pretty decent too and at a bargain £10 too. At the same time, fearing for my belly, I set about making some picnic food.
Anyway, so it looks like she's thinking of going home for good.
Kinda shocking.
A little bit upset maybe.
It'll sure be a quiter place without her around.
I have to say I'm a little puzzled by her decision making. As far as I can tell, a lot of it is down to her visa expiring soon and she said something about not being sure if it'll get renewed. On the other hand, she is less than a year away from being able to apply for permanent residence and a British/EU passport. I would've thought that it was logical to hang on for that (maybe) extra year to get that little red book.
Somehow though, in her head, the time and cost involved doesn't seem worth it; or perhaps she doesn't feel like she wants to go to all that hassle. I don't know. What I do know is that I wasn't the only one who thought this didn't seem like the best reason to go home when the benefits of getting a EU passport far outweighs the drawbacks.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
...not the six legged variety...
I can't shake this uneasy feeling that I've had since Monday.
Not much was said so I have a feeling that whatever was said, was very considered and deliberate. If that is the case then what did I hear?
A feeling of being trapped.
A little afraid.
Neither of those are good things by themselves but together doesn't paint a very nice picture. I'm still not sure what kind of conclusion I can draw from that. The last thing I want to do is mis-interpret what was said, especially when there was so little.
I think my biggest fear is that they do exactly what they said they tend to do, that is nothing and to just sweep things under the proverbial rug and carry on. If I'm being honest, it sounds like a little of that is going on now, as it apparently already has before.
Right now though, I'm trying to figure out what I want.
Is it that I want them to say something specific, to make a certain choice and to make a start along that road? Or do I just want them to start to talk more, to be more open, to say what they are thinking and thus acknowledge it and have someone else reinforce/support/confirm those thoughts?
At the moment, I am not even an observer, just a sounding wall of sorts and well, not much has been sounded. I don't rule out that maybe I wasn't listening properly and didn't hear the words that were said.
We shall see.
Not much was said so I have a feeling that whatever was said, was very considered and deliberate. If that is the case then what did I hear?
A feeling of being trapped.
A little afraid.
Neither of those are good things by themselves but together doesn't paint a very nice picture. I'm still not sure what kind of conclusion I can draw from that. The last thing I want to do is mis-interpret what was said, especially when there was so little.
I think my biggest fear is that they do exactly what they said they tend to do, that is nothing and to just sweep things under the proverbial rug and carry on. If I'm being honest, it sounds like a little of that is going on now, as it apparently already has before.
Right now though, I'm trying to figure out what I want.
Is it that I want them to say something specific, to make a certain choice and to make a start along that road? Or do I just want them to start to talk more, to be more open, to say what they are thinking and thus acknowledge it and have someone else reinforce/support/confirm those thoughts?
At the moment, I am not even an observer, just a sounding wall of sorts and well, not much has been sounded. I don't rule out that maybe I wasn't listening properly and didn't hear the words that were said.
We shall see.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
unlike Kinder....
....not all surprises are good.
It did strike me as a little strange that she seemed so eager to see me but I wasn't expecting that at all. I have always kinda prepared myself for certain conversations for well, emergency purposes as we all know how well I don't deal with situations that require a genuine emotional response; thus I like to have some sort of prepared reply tucked away in my mind somewhere, if for no other reason than to ensure that I don't have nothing to say.
Well, I had nothing to say.
I think it was more that I know there's nothing for me to say that she didn't know already and she wasn't very forthcoming either when it came to it so I was not even entirely sure what she wanted from me at that moment in time. It was clear that she wanted to say something but didn't know how. She wanted someone to listen but she couldn't articulate the words so what was there for me to do?
I am still a little in shock.
Of all of the people I know, she had always been the one that figured knew what was what and that she, knowing her own mind, would be pretty quick to make decisions. What I hadn't accounted for was how difficult she finds it to go into motion about those things she knows.
I am left wondering what I can do.
I can't make her take the first step so isn't a kick that she needs.
She doesn't need me to tell her what to do.
Maybe she just needed to know that I am still here?
It did strike me as a little strange that she seemed so eager to see me but I wasn't expecting that at all. I have always kinda prepared myself for certain conversations for well, emergency purposes as we all know how well I don't deal with situations that require a genuine emotional response; thus I like to have some sort of prepared reply tucked away in my mind somewhere, if for no other reason than to ensure that I don't have nothing to say.
Well, I had nothing to say.
I think it was more that I know there's nothing for me to say that she didn't know already and she wasn't very forthcoming either when it came to it so I was not even entirely sure what she wanted from me at that moment in time. It was clear that she wanted to say something but didn't know how. She wanted someone to listen but she couldn't articulate the words so what was there for me to do?
I am still a little in shock.
Of all of the people I know, she had always been the one that figured knew what was what and that she, knowing her own mind, would be pretty quick to make decisions. What I hadn't accounted for was how difficult she finds it to go into motion about those things she knows.
I am left wondering what I can do.
I can't make her take the first step so isn't a kick that she needs.
She doesn't need me to tell her what to do.
Maybe she just needed to know that I am still here?
Sunday, March 09, 2014
Model Building
I've decided to document those seperately so that some people clicking through to the models are hit with the rest of the rubbish that I might post about here.
So, first Work In Progress (hereafter known as WIP) post.
Airfix Porsche 928 S4.
The build is actually complete but I'll do as best a job that I can a WIP series.
The finished result.
It's a little tricky to photograph these things well as they are scale 1:24 which makes them about 6-8 inches long and I don't have a camera lens good enough to make them appear "real" scale. There is an entire art to scale photography that I haven't quite gotten into, partly because I don't have the tools and partly because well, lazy...
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Complete Gallery
So, first Work In Progress (hereafter known as WIP) post.
Airfix Porsche 928 S4.
The build is actually complete but I'll do as best a job that I can a WIP series.
The finished result.
It's a little tricky to photograph these things well as they are scale 1:24 which makes them about 6-8 inches long and I don't have a camera lens good enough to make them appear "real" scale. There is an entire art to scale photography that I haven't quite gotten into, partly because I don't have the tools and partly because well, lazy...
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Complete Gallery
Friday, March 07, 2014
Adventures with KitKat
I've long since been aware of the Japanese KitKats and indeed, they have long been a food mission of mine.
I am a KitKat addict.
Not many people know that because I don't eat them; at least not anymore for that is the extent of my addiction. The wafer biscuit sandwiching a chocolate flavoured cream surrounded by that chocolate is just so delicious. Sweet, malty, crisp then creamy, the way your teeth sink into that coating before finding the harder surface of the wafer through which the bite easily continues.
Perfect.
For me, the two finger snack size was the one. Four fingers was too much both in terms of actual substance and more significantly for me, too sweet.
As much of a snack food junkie as I am, I don't do too much sugary sweetness; there needs to be a balance and a full on four finger KitKat lacks that balance. Of course you can alwys only eat two but that never happens. The thing with KitKat is that they aren't very good at keeping fresh. Leave half a KitKat out for too long and that delicate crisp centre turns into a soft unappealing bit of cardboard.
Thus, two fingers.
Yes, you can make your dirty jokes now.
So let me start anew.
This is a series on my KitKat tasting adventure.
At the beginning of the year my cousin went to Japan and coincidentally, during her travels there, one of the large department stores opened a special KitKat concessions store selling nothing but KitKat.
"How?"
I hear you cry.
Easy, to date there have been over 200 varieties of KitKat for sale in Japan. A lot of these are seasonal special edition flavours that are long out of production but that still leaves the new regional varieties produced each season as well as longstanding favourites.
So what will I open this series with?
What exotic flavour from a far corner of Japan am I going to start with?
I am a KitKat addict.
Not many people know that because I don't eat them; at least not anymore for that is the extent of my addiction. The wafer biscuit sandwiching a chocolate flavoured cream surrounded by that chocolate is just so delicious. Sweet, malty, crisp then creamy, the way your teeth sink into that coating before finding the harder surface of the wafer through which the bite easily continues.
Perfect.
For me, the two finger snack size was the one. Four fingers was too much both in terms of actual substance and more significantly for me, too sweet.
As much of a snack food junkie as I am, I don't do too much sugary sweetness; there needs to be a balance and a full on four finger KitKat lacks that balance. Of course you can alwys only eat two but that never happens. The thing with KitKat is that they aren't very good at keeping fresh. Leave half a KitKat out for too long and that delicate crisp centre turns into a soft unappealing bit of cardboard.
Thus, two fingers.
Yes, you can make your dirty jokes now.
So let me start anew.
This is a series on my KitKat tasting adventure.
At the beginning of the year my cousin went to Japan and coincidentally, during her travels there, one of the large department stores opened a special KitKat concessions store selling nothing but KitKat.
"How?"
I hear you cry.
Easy, to date there have been over 200 varieties of KitKat for sale in Japan. A lot of these are seasonal special edition flavours that are long out of production but that still leaves the new regional varieties produced each season as well as longstanding favourites.
So what will I open this series with?
What exotic flavour from a far corner of Japan am I going to start with?
None.
This is KitKat #1.
UK entry: Cookies & Cream.
As you can see, it is a classic two finger wrap and it comes from a multipack. Something that I never knew they started doing was to list the calorie count on the front. For what it's worth, I have no idea what 107 calories actually means other than well, there are that many in that KitKat.
Taking off the bright blue wrapper you get to the classic foil. This was a little alien to me as I was positive that they had stopped using this as it was never a good way of keep the biscuits crisp. In fact, I have strong memories of having KitKat bars, straight from the multipack that were, because of the foil no doubt, not in best health.
Going deeper and taking off the foil, you will spot the first real surprise; the top is a white chocolate. The bottom half is the more usual milk chocolate coating but both of these carry a surprise - they are both flavoured.
According to the wrapper, it is the chocolate coating that carries the Cookies & Cream flavouring. Indeed, in most of the Japanese varieties, the flavour is in the coating so no surprise here. What I couldn't tell on first eating is whether the two coloured coatings equates to two flavours that work together in the mouth or whether the flavour is a single Cookies & Cream in both of the coatings. I don't think that matters much as the overall flavour is good.
It is very noticeably different to a regular KitKat. If I were to eat it blind, I don't think I would've known what it was supposed to be. Rather than cookie dough, it reminded me more of a vanillary waffle and this was not helped by the white chocolate. In fact, the overall taste is of vanilla then you are hit with the typical sweetness of the white chocolate. I'm not sure I can taste any hint of Cream in there really other than the creaminess of the white chocolate coating.
Overall, it is possibly on the verge of being too sweet for me.
Eating the two fingers by themselves, before the end of the second finger, that familiar too sweet gagging was beginning to develop at the back of the throat that neccessitated rescue by a sip of tea. I wouldn't say this is better than a regular KitKat but it is an interesting diversion and the extra vanilla/malt flavour is nice.
I was told later that there were other UK flavours too, most intersting being a Hazelnut although that only came in a Chunky bar I think, so there maybe other Uk entries before I move onto the Japanese ones.
My Name is... And I...
Let me start this by saying that I am a junk food junkie.
I love food and the whole experience that surrounds all aspects of eating; buying the materials, preparing the ingredients, the cooking, the eating, the refining of the recipe and/or method for next time, all of it a joy.
But it isn't all about lavish meals which one has to hunt for ingredients and slave over a chopping board then cooker for hours. It isn't even all to do with "real" food. Baking and home-made is trendy right now and it is easy to dismiss all of the junk that we used to eat as kids that as adults some have come to discriminate against, all for the pursuit of being a "foodie".
There is no shame in liking cheap food.
I spent a long time searching for the perfect cheese to go into a burger. Now, I love cheese and being in London, I have access to a lot of good cheese both from the continent and from the UK. I can pop into my local supermarket and have a pick of six UK small production cheddars and amazingly, three types of Italian hard cheese (Paresan, Pecorino and Grano Padano). That might not seem that much of a big deal but that reaction is just an indication of how normal it is now to get good quality products easily.
So yes, I tried a lot of cheeses for my burgers.
Aged cheddars that I eat straight from the fridge, gooey Gorgonzola that was aged in a cave 600 miles away, melty Emmenthal from 640 miles away.
Which one does the best job?
Some processed slice made in a factory somewhere in the darker regions of Britain. Probably not touched by a single human hand at any stage of its production. No other cheese comes close. The fact that Heston made his own cheese slice to go into his "perfect" burger just goes to show how "perfect" that processed cheese slice was to begin with.
Junk food has a place.
That isn't to say that all junk food is good. In fact, a lot of it isn't but that isn't because of the food item itself, rather, it is because of how the producers have chosen to make it. There is nothing wrong with the principle of ready meals except the practice is to load it up on sugars and fats and salts. Would I like more people to be able to cook and make their own little pots of deliciousness; of course but in lieu of that and in recognising that not everyone has the time, one should accept that ready meals have a place.
Put it this way.
I love to cook.
If I can buy a ready made version of what I like, made how I like it, I would be first in line to buy it. I mean, who wouldn't really?
But that's not my addiction.
My junk food addiction is snack food.
Biscuits, chocolates, small cakes, ice-creams, anything that fits in your hand and can be eaten with your fingers. That includes all things sweet as before but also savoury like barbequed chicken wings or grilled prawns and yes, even a slice of ham carved from a cold joint counts.
It is an equal part the enjoyment of just having a little bite to eat as it is the taste of the food itself. Snacking, that which is often said to be oh so bad for you because it ruins your appetite (although I have yet to meet a person like myself for whom snacking does anything other than make me want to eat more) is without doubt so good for the soul.
My particular weakness is bicuits.
In truth, I like most baked goods; biscuits, cakes, pies, pastries savoury and sweet but there is something very complete about a biscuit that not much else comes close to. A similar savoury snack always leaves me wanting more than the mouthful (yes mini scotch egg, I'm looking at you) but a biscuit always feels, well, as I said complete. Paired with a suitable hot drink to clear the pallate and the experience is heightened even more.
I've tried to pin down what it is that I like so much about it and I think it is all down to the unmistakable crunch. In fact, looking at the list of other baked goods, the common denominator is that one way or another, they all crunch but in so many different ways.
And that is why biscuits are so good.
Depending on the accompaniment to the biscuit, the same biscuit can be a different eating experience. Eaten with a sip of hot tea is a world away from the same biscuit that is now topped with chocolate.
It's such a small thing, the biscuit, but it can hold so much joy.
I love food and the whole experience that surrounds all aspects of eating; buying the materials, preparing the ingredients, the cooking, the eating, the refining of the recipe and/or method for next time, all of it a joy.
But it isn't all about lavish meals which one has to hunt for ingredients and slave over a chopping board then cooker for hours. It isn't even all to do with "real" food. Baking and home-made is trendy right now and it is easy to dismiss all of the junk that we used to eat as kids that as adults some have come to discriminate against, all for the pursuit of being a "foodie".
There is no shame in liking cheap food.
I spent a long time searching for the perfect cheese to go into a burger. Now, I love cheese and being in London, I have access to a lot of good cheese both from the continent and from the UK. I can pop into my local supermarket and have a pick of six UK small production cheddars and amazingly, three types of Italian hard cheese (Paresan, Pecorino and Grano Padano). That might not seem that much of a big deal but that reaction is just an indication of how normal it is now to get good quality products easily.
So yes, I tried a lot of cheeses for my burgers.
Aged cheddars that I eat straight from the fridge, gooey Gorgonzola that was aged in a cave 600 miles away, melty Emmenthal from 640 miles away.
Which one does the best job?
Some processed slice made in a factory somewhere in the darker regions of Britain. Probably not touched by a single human hand at any stage of its production. No other cheese comes close. The fact that Heston made his own cheese slice to go into his "perfect" burger just goes to show how "perfect" that processed cheese slice was to begin with.
Junk food has a place.
That isn't to say that all junk food is good. In fact, a lot of it isn't but that isn't because of the food item itself, rather, it is because of how the producers have chosen to make it. There is nothing wrong with the principle of ready meals except the practice is to load it up on sugars and fats and salts. Would I like more people to be able to cook and make their own little pots of deliciousness; of course but in lieu of that and in recognising that not everyone has the time, one should accept that ready meals have a place.
Put it this way.
I love to cook.
If I can buy a ready made version of what I like, made how I like it, I would be first in line to buy it. I mean, who wouldn't really?
But that's not my addiction.
My junk food addiction is snack food.
Biscuits, chocolates, small cakes, ice-creams, anything that fits in your hand and can be eaten with your fingers. That includes all things sweet as before but also savoury like barbequed chicken wings or grilled prawns and yes, even a slice of ham carved from a cold joint counts.
It is an equal part the enjoyment of just having a little bite to eat as it is the taste of the food itself. Snacking, that which is often said to be oh so bad for you because it ruins your appetite (although I have yet to meet a person like myself for whom snacking does anything other than make me want to eat more) is without doubt so good for the soul.
My particular weakness is bicuits.
In truth, I like most baked goods; biscuits, cakes, pies, pastries savoury and sweet but there is something very complete about a biscuit that not much else comes close to. A similar savoury snack always leaves me wanting more than the mouthful (yes mini scotch egg, I'm looking at you) but a biscuit always feels, well, as I said complete. Paired with a suitable hot drink to clear the pallate and the experience is heightened even more.
I've tried to pin down what it is that I like so much about it and I think it is all down to the unmistakable crunch. In fact, looking at the list of other baked goods, the common denominator is that one way or another, they all crunch but in so many different ways.
And that is why biscuits are so good.
Depending on the accompaniment to the biscuit, the same biscuit can be a different eating experience. Eaten with a sip of hot tea is a world away from the same biscuit that is now topped with chocolate.
It's such a small thing, the biscuit, but it can hold so much joy.
Thursday, March 06, 2014
a long long time ago...
I haven't been very good at keeping this up to date and looking back it's a little odd that the last thing that I posted about, was a quick note I made after having pepper thrown in my face.
So here I am again, looking through a pile of posts in draft form, some of which never made it past the post title. What that leaves me is a series of one-liners that vaguely mean something but for the most part, I have no connect with any more with what those words were supposed to mean.
I know that sometimes, I chose them purely for the poetry and sometimes as a reflection and others as a simple direct address. While some are easy to recall, others leave me drawing a complete blank.
I had intended to separate things and to keep this purely as a series of writings but sitting here now, looking back, I can't help but feel that would leave a rather one sided record of me if I only put down one thing. All of those other things are a part of me and if I leave them out then surely that is an incomplete picture and when you're describing a person as this, in a way does, then surely that means the description is, in part, a false one?
Let's see where this goes.
For the immediate future I do have a bunch of stuff that I can fill pages with; food, watches, cars, scale model building, holidays; plenty of material so the only question is what is worthwhile?
I think I would feel more comfortable with how this will all sort itself out if I learn how to use them labels and whatnot to categorise posts.
So here I am again, looking through a pile of posts in draft form, some of which never made it past the post title. What that leaves me is a series of one-liners that vaguely mean something but for the most part, I have no connect with any more with what those words were supposed to mean.
I know that sometimes, I chose them purely for the poetry and sometimes as a reflection and others as a simple direct address. While some are easy to recall, others leave me drawing a complete blank.
I had intended to separate things and to keep this purely as a series of writings but sitting here now, looking back, I can't help but feel that would leave a rather one sided record of me if I only put down one thing. All of those other things are a part of me and if I leave them out then surely that is an incomplete picture and when you're describing a person as this, in a way does, then surely that means the description is, in part, a false one?
Let's see where this goes.
For the immediate future I do have a bunch of stuff that I can fill pages with; food, watches, cars, scale model building, holidays; plenty of material so the only question is what is worthwhile?
I think I would feel more comfortable with how this will all sort itself out if I learn how to use them labels and whatnot to categorise posts.
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