An end to the top up shop?

So far so good… I’ve managed to get out of cooking as I’m slightly daunted by the ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ aspect of this challenge. Alethea’s contribution has involved pouring hot water over instant chicken ramen noodles, overjoyed to get away with eating pot noodle for supper. Though it’s only 2 days in and @typographic is already lamenting his limited vegetarian repertoire. I keep pushing him towards Anna Jones, @wearefood, who I’m hoping to convert him to. He’s given up smoking (again, 3rd time lucky) so is craving snacks and lots of them. So he’s started baking and was nearly put off making flapjacks when he realised how much of our butter reserves we’d be using up. I pointed him towards another firm favourite Pippa Kendrick, @theintolerantgourmet, and in under half an hour he’d made dairy-free flapjacks, using up a months-old sunflower spread and some feral golden sultanas, which even he admitted tasted damn fine despite no butter. After lots of manly swearing and arm waving, dinner turned out delicious; roasted butternut squash and radicchio with crispy quinoa, cavelo nero and parmesan (with a teeny bit of bacon sneaked in, natch).

The sweepstakes are set (spot the pessimist):
J: 25th Jan
N 10th Feb
A: 10th March.

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Yaly Couture

15th March 2005 HOI AN Staying at Ancient House Resort on Cua Dia, a small boutique hotel with spacious, immaculate and stylish rooms. Can imagine that this would be a good place for honeymooners, as the service is discreet and the gardens and pool are beautiful. Got an upgrade on the second day to a room with a balcony so I can now sit outside and write, which is a marked improvement. I get free bike rental here so I’ve been out exploring. Riding a bike after so long and in Asia was a thrilling experience. Make me think how much quicker I could get about and see so much more. Today I cycled off the beaten track for a good 2 hours until I came to a boatyard where I pulled up for a refreshing drink. Don’t think these people see many white faces round here. I was drinking alone then suddenly there were about 15 faces staring at me. Curiosity got the better of one old man who hopped on his moped and escorted me down the road! I noticed that even this far out, huge speakers blast out propa...

Our Daily Bread and Workingman's Death

News from a few film buff friends of mine in Australia of two good documentaries viewed at Melbourne Film Festival. Our Daily Bread is a film that enters the lurid world of industrial food production and high-tech farming. Not for the faint-hearted apparently, as about a third of the audience walked out. Bound to send ripples through the industry once it gets released at the London Film Festival this September. View Our Daily Bread website here Workingman's Death explores heavy manual labour in the 21st century - down illegal mines in the Ukraine, among the sulfur workers in Indonesia, with lions at a slaughterhouse in Nigeria, ship breaking yards in Pakistan, and Chinese steel workers. Looks like amazing cinematography. View Workingman's Death website here

Pacific encounters

Feathered head Hawaiian Islands, Late eighteenth century Feathers, basketry, fibre, dog canine teeth, pearl shell, wood H. 81.0 cm, HAW 80 The British Museum Went to the re-opening of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia and was impressed by the refurbishment and launch exhibition: Pacific Encounters: Art and Divinity in Polynesia 1760-1860. A wooden bowl, supported by two figures with shell eyes and teeth of cut boars' tusks, is just one of 270 rare and extraordinary sculptures, ornaments and textiles in the exhibition; striking giant feathered heads from the Hawaiian Islands with dogs teeth and pearl shell eyes and woven feathered helmets, all used as ritual objects. The red, black and yellow feathers came from honeycreepers unique to the islands. One, a rare U-shaped breast pendant from the Marquesas Islands seen at Tahuata during Cook's second voyage in April 1774, has hundreds of red and black abrus seeds gummed to the upper surface of its ...

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