Murder and eyebrows

Saturday I had a 'gig' helping present a Murder Mystery evening at the Rivenhall Hotel down in Essex.  It was as usual, hard work but I think it went down well with the guests.

If you have a party or an event and want some different entertainment, have a look at  McAbra Mysteries .  It might be just the thing.


Warning!  Do not let your boy's girlfriend any where near your dog when she is holding an eye liner pencil.  Poor Stick now has eyebrows!

Never too old

Sticking to a literary theme, I have just learnt that my Aunt Eva has had a book published at the tender age of 84!

Available on Amazon Here

In other news, I wheeled 'Peanut' out of the shed where she has been hibernating for the winter.  With new brake shoes back and front and an oil and plug change, she passed the MOT no problem.  So with 'Bat outa Hell' as my sound track, I am on the road again.

Well, maybe not just yet as its got all cold again.

Poetry competition

Ok, so I am not a great fan of poetry; especially amateur poetry but I entered a competition hosted by a creative writing forum that I sometimes visit.

The subject was 'pet' and I wrote:

My frog died if malnutrition.
You could say he was thin as a rake.
So I spread him with butter,
Wrapped him in bread.
And fed him to father's pet snake.

And I won.  Fools!

Cameron, Wilson and PanPan

This week shall be known as the week of the rat(s)

We have been looking after my step-son's pet rats Cameron and Wilson for the week while he was off doing manly things with guns in Wales.  They are in truth adorable but they do retain the destructive tendencies of their wild bretherin.

Enter PanPan the 48 year old panda who has been my constant companion since birth.  Somehow the rat cage got put a little too close to poor old PanPan and she is now somewhat lacking on the arm department.

This is Wilson.

And this is poor PanPan.

This week I have also found a new hobby.  It is called 'getting rid of stuff'.  Its great, dos'nt cost anything to do and makes you feel brilliant! 
We went for a drink at a friends house on Friday and were given a tour of all the things they had bought since we last saw them including a 5 person Jacuzzi and all I could think was Why?  Maybe I am getting it all wrong but I dont want the to do the comsumer thing any more.  Why should I measure myself by the amount things I have amassed?
But I could'nt part with PanPan of course.

Tropical Fruit Wine.

I have been experimenting with Tesco Everyday Value fruit juice for wine making and after several batches, I think I am on to a winner.  I have been using 'Summer Friuts' and 'Tropical Fruit'.  Both are in the chilled section of Tesco at £1.39 for two litres.

The Summer Fruit makes a nice rose with a hint of strawberry while the Tropical Fruit makes a crisp white with a mango twist.  Cost is about 80p per bottle.

Here is what I do;

2 cartons of juice (4litres)

600g sugar

1/2 teaspoon yeast nutrient

1/2 teaspoon yeast.

This takes about a week to ferment out at 25*c

1/2 teaspoon of stabiliser and a really good de-gas.  I pour the wine from one container to another several times.  This is important or the wine will not clear and have a nasty acid fizz to it.

Add finings and leave to clear in a cool place.  The Tropical Fruit has a lot of 'bits' in it and will need racking off once or twice and maybe a little longer to clear. 

Bottle and enjoy.  Its ready to drink but is better after a couple of weeks in the bottle.

Tropical Fruit Wine.

Leeds

The Leeds road trip is over. 

I wont report on the training course itself except to say that it was interesting to hear how other people do things and to meet others from different University towns.

The hotel Radisson Blu was good and was fitted in an Art Deco style which I must admit is one of my favorite periods.  When we get our boat, it would be nice to do something along those lines... We shall see.

Anyway, here is the bar/dining room.

I have never been to Leeds before and although I only managed to take a very rapid 30 minute walk around the area we stayed in, I was impressed.  I know nothing about architecture but that dosn't stop me from liking it and I loved the mix of grand buildings which I presume were funded by the industrial revolution and the modern icons that fill the speces between them.

I liked this one.

And the 'rusty' Broardcasting tower was untra cool.

Ever the boat spotter, I liked this barge that sits miles away from the water and is now a bar/resturant.  I would have liked to find some history about it but sadly there was none.

Well that was Leeds.  Loved it and I shall go back one day for a good look around.

Snowsgone

So, the snow has finally left this part of the world.  Let us hope that is the end of it.

Spent most of today cutting fire wood which is fun to begin with but the novelty soon wares off.  Still, I am now sitting in front of a hearty fire with the hounds at my feet knowing that we now have enough wood cut to see the winter out.

In other news, both The Good Lady and myself have decided to write a book.  This is something I have decided to do many times but have never got around to jotting down more than a couple of pages.  The Good Lady has however put me to shame and has been churning it out.  Its not half bad either.

Off to Leeds tomorrow for a two day training event courtesy of work.  Never been to Leeds before so that should be good but I doubt I will get to see much outside the University.  Got to be up at 4.30am and drive up there which is a bit frightening!