Lakes

The Lake district seems to feature a lot in magazines these days.

Just discovered http://www.lovethelakes.com/ they have an excellent range of not expensive, but classy gifts. All one's Xmas shopping can be done in this one- stop shop.

Also read about 43 Arnside in Cumbria- http://www.no43.org.uk/ - lovely modern B&B with minimalist decor & lovely views-which feels more like a boutique hotel.

My best-even though I've never been has to be Willowford Farm - http://www.willowford.co.uk/ - with underfloor heating- a new experience for me- and waterfall showers. It's on a working farm quite close to Hadrian's wall- so can't wait to visit- credit crunch and weather permitting.

Also heard about Hotel Historic reasonably priced nice hotel in Girona, and Casa Marieta- reasonably priced eatery in Girona for those of us who can't afford La Cellar... the new Michelin starred "El Bulli" reincarnation in Girona.

Ah- and there's a new gem- the Wilson Arms. B&B, self-catering cottages for the week-end, & electric bikes for hire. Worth checking out- www.thewilsonarms.co.uk , 01539 441 237.

Musn't forget Egana Oriza (+34 954 227 211 Calle San Fernando)- restaurant in Seville which sounds awesome, or Casa Robles + 34 954213150, or the Corral del Rey +34 954500708 (http://www.corraldelrey.com/ ) which is also a boutique hotel.

Anyway, it's all about adventure. Discover new places. Savour new experiences. Bye

Parisiene Fancies

I'm always cutting out scraps of newspaper with scraps of travel info- so I thought I'd be less scrappy and more organised and file stuff ee-leck- trow- ni-cally. That's good n'est-ce-pas?

In Paris - for restaurants try-

Restaurant Chartier- inexpensive bistro cuisine- 7 Rue du Fauborg- 0033147708629- http://www.restaurant-chartier.com/

or when you're at the Eiffel Tower- there's

Jules Verne- Avenue Gustave Eiffel- 0033145556144- http://www.lejulesverne-paris.com/

or Chateaubriand- 29 Avenue Parmentier- 0033143574595. (I have heard there's a tres posh new place opened just beside it).

And you can amost smell the loaves at- Poillane's bakery- 8 Rue du cherche-midi. 0033145484259.


Of course these are just a few places- you can hardly go wrong en France. Bonne Chance.

Oops I nearly forgot my favourite place in Paris- Bigarrade- http://www.bigarrade.fr/ . I love it because there's no menu here- "you get what you're given". If I had my way all restaurants would be like it.

And now they've gone and opened - "Wanderlust"- 32 Quai d'Austerlitz, www.wanderlustparis.com. It's an all-in-one- club, restaurant, openair cinema & exhibition space- with different events laid on at different times. Ace.

   Cheerio.

Directories direct

Lots of useful tit-bits. Bits of info about places to go- thought it would be nice to have them all in one place for easy reference. Here we go.

Furniture. Well there's http://www.retrosofas.co.uk/  and http://www.theoakandropecompany.co.uk/ who do lovely benches for inside and out.

If thinking of new windows, or a conservatory. Think German engineering. Think www.weru.co.uk . Available from Amy Johnson way, Blackpool. 01253 341 444.

For that tricky bay window- it's not a problem for www.trackandpoles.com .Old Windmill, Mill Lane, Parbold (near Wigan). 01257 462 787.

Kids holiday camps- there's always http://www.pgl.co.uk/ and http://www.adventuremakers.co.uk/ .



Also just found out about the Barcelo Hotel, Bobadilla, in Andalucia in Spain. 5- star luxury with a "five-fork" restaurant (whatever that is). Sounds like one for the 50th D.V.

Then there's all things french.

In Troyes (on the way to Nice) there's an outlet shopping village http://www.mcarthurglen.fr/ equivalent to our dear "Cheshire Oaks" over here.

In Paris itself I'd want to visit http://www.bigarride.fr/ a lovely menu-less restaurant. Don't you just love restaurants without menus.

More to come soon with a cheap hotels directory.

Dee.

Open Letter to Ed Balls

Dear Ed,

I have always been a huge fan- so I feel entitled to write directly to you- and to call you Ed.

I thought it was perhaps Gordon Brown's biggest error that he did not make you Chancellor after you'd staunchly supported him for years- but of course there were other pressures on him.

Anyway, I'm not sure that people are aware of how bad the economic situation can possibly get- if we continue with the current strategies, and how desperate the need for change is.

I lived in West Africa in the early 80's when the economies there collapsed- and I can see all of the warning signs here now. I remember clearly sellers desperately slashing prices and trying everything possible to attract buyers- but just like it is here at the moment- nobody bought. Suddenly inflation took off and ran away, 20 years later things seem to be picking up a little.

It is tempting to believe that by cutting back hard, the economy will get back on track. I know that you argue for more gradual cuts- but cuts alone and restructuring will not get the economy working again. It wouldn't work in a household budget- to cut back, scrimp and save- if one owes thousands of pounds. One would need to "consolidate one's debts into a single manageable payment". Same for the country don't you think.

By all means restructure and cut back- hard as you like. The key thing- the most important thing is to put a bit of dosh in people's pockets.

I see shopkeepers standing in their shop doorways. Cars piling up on the forecourts. Homes in need of basic repair. Lowcost carriers begging to fly people abroad- but no takers. Who can afford anything in this climate. Without the people buying, shopping and stimulating the economy, it's downhill I'm afraid.

So if you ask me- keep the cut backs, restructure if you will- but don't tie people's hands behind their backs- give them their pay rises. We need measures that work. It's what the Labour Govt did- your govt- with holding down VAT, and the car scrappage scheme. It's what you guys did with the various tax credits.

Put money in people's pockets. It's all about confidence. Might be our only chance.

Simple recipee

Forget "chicken a la king"- here's something tastier and just as simple.

You'll need:

8 chicken thighs on the bone- keep the skin on- that's the best bit

1 tbsp olive oil

200ml dry white wine

4 medium leeks- cut into 5cm lengths

2 cloves of garlic- crushed

Leaves from 4 srigs of thyme- not sure how you get just the leaves off.

2 bay leaves

200ml chicken stock

A handful of chopped parsley (finely if you're after Michelin ratings)

One and a half tbsp Dijon mustard (I used Colemans- what the heck!)






Here's the deal-

Heat your oven to 200 degrees cee- gas mark 6. Season chicken.

Brown for 3 mins then 1 min on the other side.

Use the fat from the chicken frying exercise, add the wine and bubble for 5 mins.

Add everything else- ah- except the mustard and parsley. Bubble for 5 mins.

Tip the bubbly mixture into the chicken pieces.

Cook in oven for 30 min covered with foil, and for 30 mins uncovered.

Whisk the mustard into the cooked juices (of course you'd have removed the cooked chicken before whisking it to smithereens!)

Reunite the chicken and mustardy juices. Sprinkle on parsley and you're ready to "roll". (or mashed potato if you prefer, or rice.)



And also here's a bit of a slight twist on the traditional Irish Stew-

You'll need-
4 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions
1 garlic clove
1.6kg braising steak or shin
5 tbsp plain flour
600ml Guiness
500ml beef stock
2 sprigs of thyme
Chopped parsley


What you do-
Heat 1 tbsp oil and fry over medium heat- the onion, garlic & thyme for 2 minutes or until soft.

Season the flour with salt & pepper & dust the beef with it- or in it.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a casserole dish over high heat & fry beef until browned.

Add onions, garlic, & thyme (fried above) to the casserole dish & heat over a medium heat. Then add the Guiness, stock & herbs (what herbs?) & bring to the boil.

Cover & simmer on low heat (how else would you simmer?) for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender.

Add the chopped parsley and serve (and enjoy- with some extra Guiness).




Yum-yum.

Fuelling up

Thought I'd create a directory of really good fuels and gels to test out in the coming weeks.

Just coasting really most weeks- as I have to keep breaking off to go on my training course in Group Psychotherapy- or Psychobabble as I prefer to think of it.

So here goes-

Most popular seems to be TORQ products- http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/ for hydration and energy. One 51 year old marathon runner (older than me) recommends CLIF bar Shot Bloks http://www.clifbar.com/ . There's NaKD (http://www.naturalbalancefoods.co.uk/) and 9 snack bars sound good (http://www.naturalcollection.com/ ). Also Maxi Fuel Viper Active 35grams of carbs(http://www.maxifuel.com/ ). Also Gatorade Perform Orange with its' 30g of carbohydrate, or Maxi

If it's drinks you're after then try Powershot Organic Energy (http://www.thehealthbay.com/), or Orbana Energy (http://www.orbana.com/). All the local supermarkets stock- Neurosport- which replaces electrolytes & minerals but is low cal.

How about "4:1" by High5- http://www.highfive.co.uk/ which is four parts carbs and one part whey protein- good for extending endurance- now that's just what I need.

For endurance- there's Nectar Sports Fuel Concentrate & Gatorade Endurance Hydration.

A few runners use "yoursportsfuel" before and after races- but I can't find a website for it- I'm sure there is one. One runner takes a Bi-Carb capsule beforehand to prevent lactic acid build-up which causes the dreaded "wall", and there's even talk of milk and coconut water as a recovery drink.

Whatever will they think of next- now order on-line and experiment. Or maybe make your own. 200ml (Isotonic) or 400ml (hypertonic) of concentrated orange squash- in 1litre of water with a pinch of salt. Simples. Serve chilled.

Ab-s-o-lute-ly Flawless.

Just been to see the Flawless show- concert if you like- at the Lowry in Manchester. Those guys were absolutely fantastic.

I was worried at the start about how a dance troupe would keep us engaged for the whole show but the guys pulled it off beautifully. They must have fab producers, directors, choreographers n stuff- cos it all worked so well and so smoothly.

We started off with the kind of dance routines we're used to from the "Britains Got Talent" days- but quite quickly moved on to various other pieces- each telling a story. There was the extended story of the homeless man with excellent graphics in the background- skillfully enacted so that you felt you were in a sort of breakdance musical or opera. The changes between routines were so seamless that you didn't dare take your eyes off stage for even a moment.

There were the individual performances in the second half- with each "chosen" performer using a prop (or "talisman") of their choice in their individually led dance routine- but with support available in the background. The best was the guy with the cloak and his fight routine which was absolutely captivating.

It was fantastic the way the guys would move in and out- from background to foreground, from action to stillness, so effortlessly and fluidly. They never seemed to be out of breath, never put a foot wrong. No wonder- they're all so physically fit- and every now and then-a dancer would change their outfit on stage to reveal the most amazing "six- pack" to a chorus of "whoo's" from the audience.

The speed and intricacy of the dance moves was breathtaking- at times they performed the impossible- but at times it was simple- like their take on 80's funk. I found myself thinking "I could do that". There was lots of Michael Jackson bits- perhaps a little too much- but you could see how much he inspired them.

We all enjoyed the audience participation at the start of the second half- with all of us concentrating hard to master the required routine using our "PWG's" or "Protective White Gauntlets" -white gloves really- but it worked so well and created a wonderful visual effect in the room with the lights dimmed. I remember thinking at that point- "these guys should be in the opening ceremony for the Olympics for sure".

And then afterward- the guys sat for ages- all in a row- chatting with the fans, signing stuff, and having umpteen pictures taken. They were so genuine and friendly and warm. My daughter had a poster, her "Britain's Got Talent" picture book- which the guys loved, and her new white gloves which light up- all signed.

What an experience. What a night.

I was inspired too- not so much to dance- couldn't- I have tried. Rather to hold onto my dreams-"never mind the competition".

Thanks guys.

Tweet, Tweet

Getting carried away with this Twitter lark. It's such a laugh. Like being a fly on the wall in the homes of all these celebs. Some guys are quite good at it- witty, funny and kind of ready to share of their real selves. Love Michael Winner, Rio Ferdinand and Stephen Fry. You can chat with them if you're lucky and chat with friends if they are on twitter as well.

Really gets me going with my quirky thoughts- especially when there's a quirky reply back.

Must be careful not to get carried away and not to neglect the blog.