There is a saying that goes something like never return to the scene of a crime. Today I understand why.

You may remember the long, long Sunday lunch we had last year. In a moment of weakness we went back to the same pub.

Things didn’t start well when we saw the sign saying that Dougie and his team were still in charge.

The service seemed a little faster but perhaps that was because the place had so many empty tables.

The starter seemed fine. We ordered an extra glass of wine and the main course arrived and then it all went downhill.

The mushy peas with my fish and chips were cold. The chicken with potato gratin and a rarebit sauce K ordered looked like something making a guest appearance from Casualty.

Normally a gratin is made with thin slices of potato, this one was made by boiling new potatoes, leaving them whole and then covering them (and almost everything else on the plate) in a bright yellow cheese sauce which would have looked better covering nachos at the local cinema.

Dougie appeared to ask how things were. We mentioned that something didn’t seem to be quite right. “Oh, that’s how we do that meal with the rarebit sauce”, he said, avoiding the presentation and slicing issues.

As Auguste Escoffier said :

“Classical French Cooking is all about presentation, smell and taste. In France, life revolves around the table. Surprising to those who think of french food as complicated and elaborate, but the true essence of french cooking is bringing out the best in the ingredients ‘faites simple’.” - “Keep it simple!”

On the table opposite us a family finally received their desserts. The waitress apologised saying the kitchen had a sudden rush of orders (the same excuse given for glass of red wine we ordered that arrived towards the end of the meal).

We walked past the empty tables and out into the sunny car park. It seemed we weren’t the only people to enjoy it - the “chefs” were sitting outside having a well deserved smoke after battling that rush of orders for gratin.

Today I’m writing to The Spirit Group returning the vouchers they gave us (which we didn’t take with us) telling them just why the spirit didn’t move us.

Posted by Mark at 9:35 PM | Permalink

I have a sudden desire for cheesecake from the German shop…

Posted by Mark at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The sadness at the closure of the New Piccadilly continues with people mourning it’s loss.

Greg Ogarrio over at Rapiers Are Go ! has paid me the kind compliment of reposting my comments on The Girl In The Cafe’s last visit to see Lorenzo and has also used some pictures from my Flickr stream.

Oddly, while Christopher Howse, a Telegraph UK Correspondent mourns the loss of this place :

Telegraph Blogs : UK : Christopher Howse : September 2007

“Suddenly I find that cafés are rare. Poor people can’t eat out any more. Coffee shops sell a cup of coffee alone for £1.50. McDonald’s is expensive and disgusting and charmless”

the travel section in The Telegraph is still telling people to visit the place in their London travel guide …

Posted by Mark at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sometimes you need to sit down, consider and re-appraise.

That I guess is the easy part. The harder part is making a start on what you have decided. Pushing yourself to move in a new direction, to take on new habits

So, here’s my list of new starts - let’s see how I get on :

• I need to start giving back more when blogging : more links to people, more comments on blogs, more response to those who comment. After all, it is better to give than to receive.

• The fact is I need to make a start on my CV, put it around and start to take control of my career - in whichever direction it goes.

• My career can be charted by what people say about how I spend my day. It used to be “All you do is play with computers” now it’s “All you do is talk on the phone”. I need to start playing with computers again, to get back to the buzz of making this talk to that - even if it is for my own amusement.

• Out is the new in After a summer of long evenings and nights sitting out with the fire it’s time to start going out again. There’s a whole list of music, films, opera and theatre I want to try to see before Christmas.

• Sitting at a desk all day long does nothing for ones waistline - I need to start getting out and exercising and the best exercise is walking around with a camera so…

• I need to start challenging how I take pictures and to try to get out of the style I have at the moment.

So, there we have it. A lot of challenges, some things I’ve tried to start and failed and some things which are new.

Thanks to Jonathan over at BlogFriday for this weeks idea, it certainly made me think …

Posted by Mark at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I have a dry joint, possibly.

And not just any dry joint but an expensive one - £700 worth of dry joint.

After a service and, today, another visit to the garage, my local Alfa dealer still can’t work out where the noise comes from. Which is odd as a trip around the nearest multi-storey car park ends up with a graunchy noise every time the steering wheel is moved.

There solution to the problem ? Buy a Fiat …

Posted by Mark at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

“We stand alongside the citizens of Burma in their peaceful protests. We urge you to oppose a violent crackdown on the demonstrators, and to support genuine reconciliation and democracy in Burma. We pledge to hold you accountable for any further bloodshed.”

Sign the petition and support the marchers

Posted by Mark at 7:32 PM | Permalink

So, first day after the Autumn Equinox and already we have tornados.

I really didn’t sleep well last night and today has been a real stop-start sort of day at work.

Yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream.

Khalil Gibran

Posted by Mark at 7:54 PM | Permalink

No, not a comment on my career but a statement of fact.

At nine minutes to eleven this morning the sun moved from the north to southern hemispheres.

So, there it is - all down hill from now on with darker evenings, shorter days and, briefly, those wonderful autumn colours.

Time to pick the last of the lettuce and start making soups …

Posted by Mark at 8:10 PM | Permalink

They were queuing outside even before it was open. By the time I came back and made it through the doors the party was in full swing.

Old regulars sat with bottles of wine to toast Lorenzo’s retirement. Some moved from table to table greeting old friends. People brought here by all the coverage on TV and radio sat and wondered just how this place had stayed the same for the last fifty years. Outside tourists peered in through the windows wondering which celebrity was inside unaware that it was the gray haired man working the pink expresso machine.

The waiters and the kitchen manfully tried to deal with a weeks worth of orders in a few hours as people walked slowly around the cafe with video recorders trying to soak up every last poster and plant before the doors closed forever.

I took my bill to the old manual cash machine to say goodbye to Lorenzo, “Still closing ?”, I asked hopefully, “Of course”, he replied gruffly and smiled.

I said goodbye, wished him a happy retirement and walked away from part of London’s history and part of mine ..

Posted by Mark at 11:29 PM | Permalink

Mr Eugenides: Blogging and Free Speech (updated)

“If you can be silenced for calling a businessman a crook, then you can be silenced for calling a politician a crook, too. Then it’s everyone’s problem.”

It seems Tim Ireland’s site Bloggerheads has been taken down by the latest Russian Uzbeck billionaire to reach these shores. Not only has he lost Bloggerheads but Craig Murray, Bob Piper and the prospective candidate for London mayor Boris Johnson have also been taken out by Alisher Usmanov as the webhoster caved in faced by the letters from his lawyers, Schillings.

So, why all fuss ? It seems that Usmanov has his eyes set on buying Arsenal football club. Tim posted some comments on why this wouldn’t be the best deal in the world for Arsenal. This all relates back to some comments made by the formal UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, about Usmanov and some less than professional business dealings.

What’s that got to do with Boris I hear you ask. Well, nothing is the answer. The problem was the hoster just decided to take out Murray’s, Piper’s and Boris’s as well - I guess some poor admin got jumped on from a great height and hit the delete key as fast as he could.

As Mr Eugenides states :

Mr Eugenides: Blogging and Free Speech (updated)

“And let’s be clear on this point; these blogs are down not because Usmanov has been libelled, but because he says he’s been libelled, and has a room full of paid monkeys sitting at typewriters firing off theatening letters to that effect.”

At the moment, sadly, that’s working in the blogsphere - imagine that approach with the offside rule ?

Free speech is a right - it needs to be preserved, upheld and defended - everywhere.

For more on this :

• Mr Eugenides: Blogging and Free Speech
• Chicken Yoghurt: Public Service Announcement
• Tom Watson MP

Posted by Mark at 11:16 PM | Permalink

Ok we’re not quite mist and mellow fruitfulness just yet but, sadly, the evenings of sitting out seem over.

Even Martin had a fleece on today when he called in to drop off some duck eggs.

I’m still in shorts but it’s only a matter of time …

Posted by Mark at 10:22 PM | Permalink

For a while now I have been using Wikipad as a way of collecting all sorts of scraps of information and filing them away on a USB key.

Today, thanks to those clever people at CH Software, I’m running MediaWiki - the same Wiki engine that Wikipedia uses - from my USB key and slowly moving things over to this.

So far (and after a slight issue with the access file) it’s all working well and I’m brushing up my Wiki editing skills. I may even get around to trying some of the Extensions …

Posted by Mark at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I love the cinema and I love films that use London as a backdrop so tonight was a real treat.

Run Fat Boy Run was originally written by American Michael Ian Black as a New York-based story but, when Simon Pegg was brought in, he was asked to adapt it for London and, in my mind, it works very well. Under the surprisingly steady first time directorial hand of David Schwimmer we see Spitalfields, Hampstead Heath, St Paul and, of course, the Thames.

The British Comedy thing has tended to be overdone and done well by things like Notting Hill and Love Actually but this film does hold it’s own. Pegg is very funny, Harish Patel and Dylan Moran (an echo back to Notting Hill) are brilliant supports and under the camera work of Richard Greatrex (who has previously worked on Shakespeare in Love and A Knights Tale) the whole thing is beautifully portrayed.

Go see it : as Mr. Ghoshdashtidar says - I’ve got a surprise for you!

Posted by Mark at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You expect to see a large amount of “churn” with blogs.

A lot get started with good intentions but only ever see a few posts. Others start well then die off as the owners face up to the time it can take to write one. It’s rare to see owners clear state why they are stopping blogging but a few appeared in the last week :

Rikaitch passes on the reason for The Random Think changing to invitation only :

The rather mundane world of the “Rikaitch”

Felicity J Lowde

FJL is a regular commenter in this blog universe. I have to be careful what I say about her, because she seems to take a dislike to anyone who says bad things about her and her character. I’m not going to do that. I’m just going to point you in a few interesting directions.

First of all, her own blog, which is a pretty average blog. Her blogroll is interesting, because it contains a list of blogs she seems to like and comments regularly on most of them.

Secondly, this post. I’m not going to say anything about this. I’ll leave you to read it, and make your own decisions.

And thirdly, and why I am posting this today, those regular readers of Audrey’s interesting friendly and enlightening blog about life and things that interest him. Those readers of it will recently have been greeted by the message

This blog is open to invited readers only
The random think is thunk, and having thunk moves on…

He’s been suffering nasty comments by our friend FJL after posting about her a few months ago. So as not to lower the tone of his blog, or make it less friendly, he’s taken the decision to take it offline for a while whilst she calms down, and hopefully forgets about him. So, to all his readers, I post this to you as an explanation.

I hasten to add, I am not belittling, slandering or being nasty in anyway or form to FJL. I am just helping out a friend.

The Station Supervisor minds the doors for the last time at London Underground Life :

London Underground Life: All Change This Blog Terminates Here

I know some of my readers enjoy this blog, whilst other Neanderthals prefer to slag it off, so as from today my blog has will be terminated and will remain in cyberspace for the seven days.

On a happier note, David Copperfield breaks cover over at The Policeman’s Blog to appear on Panorama

Posted by Mark at 7:05 AM | Permalink

You don’t go on a bus for years then two days running you need one to get somewhere.

Yesterday it was the country show, today the food festival. It would have been nicer if the sun we had yesterday was still around today but even despite that it was nice to be outside wandering around the village trying to decide just what to get.

In the end I settled on some seven year old Calvados - probably because I can feel Autumn creeping around the corner and I need something to warm my bones ….

Posted by Mark at 11:15 PM | Permalink

It’s been a slow year for shows but today K and I went out to the local county show.

Unusually quiet due to the foot and mouth restriction it was the ideal September day to stroll around, enjoy the food (and cider), watch the scurry racing and get up close and personal with an Eagle Owl….

Posted by Mark at 10:10 PM | Permalink

Despite it being a short week at work I’ve done a lot but achieved little.

In part I guess it’s the nature of finishing off something. The early stages had loads of challenges and new things to learn and do. This part is the slow slog of getting things finished.

Hopefully next week will be more satisfying or something will change to break this feeling.

Posted by Mark at 10:43 PM | Permalink

Up until now I’ve had a love hate relationship with flashguns.

That was until I hired a Nikon SB-800. Whilst not ideally suited for my Nikon D100 it was a lot better than the flashgun I have and didn’t need a bracket to bounce the light when shooting in portrait mode.

Even better was the fact that thanks to the nice people at Hireacamera I didn’t have to spend £300 on one. Amazing service, proof of ID acceptable via email I called them on Wednesday and got the flashgun on Thursday, now how’s that for speedy.

Just a shame I had to send it back today ….

Posted by Mark at 6:46 PM | Permalink

GIGWISE, Led Zeppelin To Announce Reunion Show On Wednesday

Led Zeppelin have called a press conference for 4pm on Wednesday (September 12) to officially announce their reunion gig.

The event will take place at the O2 Arena in London where the legendary band are expected to play later this year.

Speculation has been rife for weeks that they would play the venue after packages for the gig were advertised in national newspapers.

At the time fans were warned not to purchase the packages until an official announcement was made about the gig.

The show is expected to take place around the end of November and Gigwise will bringing you all the details on Wednesday afternoon.

Posted by Mark at 7:55 AM | Permalink

After six years the death toll continues :

“What people must remember about 9/11 is that the cops, firemen, EMTs, all had very physical jobs. These were healthy people who had these jobs. We had to pass a physical every year. The question now becomes, if all these people were healthy, why are they all sick now? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. What is the common denominator? 9/11 - Ground Zero.”

Photojournalist Allan Tannenbaum was at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001. Since then he has been documenting the lives of the first responders who were exposed to the dust that day.

You can read their stories and see the pictures at his website 9/11:Still Killing

Posted by Mark at 7:29 AM | Permalink

“Sunlight is the life-blood of Nature. Mother Earth looks at us with such dull, soulless eyes, when the sunlight has died away from out of her. It makes us sad to be with her then; she does not seem to know us or to care for us..”

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome

Luckily the sun was out today and, as we sat on the terrace of The Swan (where the characters in Jerome’s novel Three Men In A Boat finished their journey down the Thames) watching the trout jumping for the last Autumn flies and people pottering past in boats, it was nice to have the time for a long leisurely lunch and enjoy the weather.

Posted by Mark at 11:18 PM | Permalink

What a trip to my past. They may have a combined aged of 173 but they sound even better than before.

A moment of recklessness after one beer too many a little while back brought us here tonight but it was a good decision which meant Martin, K and I went to see The Police tonight.

Years ago I used to listen to the albums replaying the tracks to try to figure out just how Stewart Copeland made that sound, tonight I got to see him in action. Completely amazing.

I loved the fact they played the old numbers with the odd subtle twist of phrasing or extended solos. I have to agree with Ingrid that the “chicken skin” moment was everyone singing “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”.

Just for a moment we were all back in the 80s - some of us even danced the same way they did back then.

In case you are heading to Twickenham for the rugby or a gig here’s a tip for you. Rather than putting money into the pockets of someone like NCP if you drive there try parking at Magellan Explorers scout grounds. It will cost you £10 per car which goes towards renovating their buildings. You get free use of their toilets and they will give you a lift the stadium. To book click here.

Posted by Mark at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It’s not often you find yourself following in the steps of history, royalty and Elton John but today we did.

Windsor Guildhall dates from 1687. Originally designed by Sir Thomas Fiddes it was completed after his death by Sir Christopher Wren who oversaw it’s completion for the princely sum of £2,000.

I’m sure some of the outfits worn today must have come close to that but all the money, and nerves, were for a good reason as we came together from near and far to celebrate the wedding of James and Cheryl.

The best weddings owe a lot to the old saying, “Something old, something new” and this one was no exception. From the lateness of the bride (a rather worrying half an hour late) to the cutting of a cheese rather than a cake the whole day was a happy mix of old and new.

After the ceremony there was a champagne reception in the Guildhall before we headed to Nick’s for the wedding breakfast, speeches, some more champagne and a cheesy disco.

What a great way to start a life together - congratulations !!

You can see some of the official photographs here and the ones I took here

Posted by Mark at 11:59 PM | Permalink

Pride often comes before a fall.

“You won’t manage those - and they aren’t the hot ones”, said Martin pointing at the chillies as we settle down to eat Thai food freshly cooked by Fhai.

Five minutes later Fhai was passing out the tissues as we sat looking like there had been a death in the family, both our eyes watering, tears rolling freely down our cheeks.

Richard wanders past, completely nonplussed at the sight of two grown men crying, carrying his history book.

“Who was Edward the Conqueror”, he asks, settling down next to me armed with a list of questions that would have made an A level history examiner proud.

I reach for another beer, mop my brow and get ready for the inevitable fall I am about to suffer.

Posted by Mark at 10:22 PM | Permalink

Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle!
Tramontate, stelle! All’alba vincerò!
Vincerò! Vincerò!

Luciano Pavarotti October 12, 1935 – September 6, 2007

Posted by Mark at 11:38 PM | Permalink

At long last Google Reader has a search capability. Odd that it’s taken so long for a search company to add it but at last they have.

Now I can find that long lost article on obscure cameras ….

Posted by Mark at 6:42 PM | Permalink

“So tell me all the good news that’s happened while I have been off …”, he said.

I went through the last three weeks at work pointing out just where we are and what problems preventing us moving forwards exist. It was a long statement of sorrow punctuated with “Ohs” and “Rights” during which his voice slowly lost its’ holiday happiness.

It’s not what I wanted to do, or to report, but we are suffering now because of some of the early poor decisions we have made and many of those were his decisions …

Posted by Mark at 11:44 PM | Permalink

China Regulates Buddhist Reincarnation - Newsweek Beliefs - MSNBC.com

In one of history’s more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is “an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation.” But beyond the irony lies China’s true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region’s Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | New Chinese rules on Dalai Lama

Chinese officials routinely refer to the Dalai Lama as a “splittist” intent on separating Tibet from China, which reasserted its control of the region in 1951.

Tibetans outside China say the new regulations will not affect the selection of next Dalai Lama.

“We believe this ruling by the Chinese government will not go down well with Tibetan monks,” says Thubten Samphel, spokesman for the Tibetan government in exile.

He says choosing the child who is a reincarnation of an eminent monk can only be done by an organisation with spiritual authority, and that does not include China’s Communist government.

Also, the spokesman, based in Dharamsala, India, says that the Dalai Lama has already said he will be born outside Tibet if he is not allowed to return there during his lifetime.

The new regulations raise the prospect of two Dalai Lamas in the future, a situation that already has a precedent.

When the Dalai Lama selected the 11th Panchen Lama - Tibetan Buddhism’s second-most important monk - in 1995, China followed suit by naming its own and placing the Dalai Lama’s choice under detention.

Amazing eh ?

Posted by Mark at 10:37 PM | Permalink

A long leisurely lunch filled with last minute plans for the wedding, talk of wine making and comparing who has the best tan ….

Posted by Mark at 7:05 PM | Permalink

At last - shopping is finished.

Admittedly it was the easier part of the ensemble (mine) but was good to get everything we need.

It was even nice enough to sit out with the fire even if the new solar lights were doing a good impersonation of a disco…

Posted by Mark at 11:01 PM | Permalink