A ripping yarn

I have just read a novel recommended to me by my father. It is the first of over 10 books in the series written by a Georgian "Boris Akunin" - "The Winter Queen".

The story takes place in the latter part of the nineteenth century both in Russia and England.

The story introduces the hero - Erast Fandorin, a junior officer in the Russian police service.

The story has many twists and turns, is well written and so difficult to put down.

I thoroughly recommend it to any one wanting to read something a little different.

Convolvulus Hawkmoth

I must have disturbed this little beauty while mowing the grass, for I saw it in the morning when normally you see these creatures at dusk.

Didn't have my camera to hand so here's one from the web.

Although a frequent visitor to Europe it is quite rare in this country - measuring 5.5cm it is quite distinctive.

Nice to see. Covered it gently with a cardboard box (with an escape route!) so it was protected from the sunlight until it was ready to go on its way.

Step into your shadow...

I have just finished reading the Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko.

This is the first novel in the "watch" series of books, and has proved to be hugely successful both inside Russia and outside.

The Night Watch is a story about someone in the Night Watch - someone with supernatural powers themselves - but on the side of good. They watch the dark side of the supernatural - vampires and such like.

Definately worth a read. Horror is not my normal genre but the book is one of those where you just have to read a few more pages...

Doesn't genius just inspire you?

I have just watched one of my all-time favourite films - Fitzcarraldo.

Fitzcarraldo treads the fine line between genius and madness - with a passion for bringing opera to tha Amazonian jungle. In order to finance this scheme he needs to make a fortune somehow.

He realises that a fortune in rubber is waiting to be claimed, however it lies up river from extreme rapids. His plan is to take an old riverboat across land to the river above the rapids - see image right.

The film contains a terrific scene where the boat is set free by natives and goes careering down the river and through the rapids.

Klaus Kinski is brilliant as the genius Fitzcarraldo - the film is directed by Werner Herzog.

Just a quiet day...

Just a quiet day to day - nothing much happening.

Nice to round the day off with a Single Malt Whisky - I have several different bottles on the go at any moment in time.

This evenings choice was Glenfiddich's 15-year-old Solera Reserve. This is a Highland Single Malt.

The "Solera" refers to the way it is made. It is aged for 15 years in oak casks then transferred into a solera vatting system (similar to how Sherry is made) to mature further. The distillers describe this as "Full and fragrant with delicate honey and vanilla notes, fruit and gentle spice".

The "Spice" is evident in the nose, on the palette and in the finish. Well worth a look if you like Single Malt Whisky.

2008 Olympic opening ceremony

How on earth is London 2012 going to compete with this? It will take more than a few pearly kings and a steel band to follow this:

Man in Oriental Costume

This is one of my favourite paintings of all time.

It was painted by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) in 1632.

The "Man in Oriental Costume" is also referred to as "The Noble Slav". I saw it in The Metropolitan Museum of Art when I visited New York a few years ago & was spellbound by it.

It is an Oil on canvas measuring 152.7 x 111.1 cm and was gifted to the museum by William K. Vanderbilt in 1920.

The museum is well worth a visit if you are ever in New York.

From Russia With Love

Just finished reading Ian Flemming's "From Russia With Love" - and I am pleased to say I enjoyed it very much.

To me this has to be one of the best bond films - and I have watched it more than once. Although Sean Connery is not the best Bond to me, the film has a certain something about it.

The plot differs from the book in that Russia, upset with the British Secret Service, and in particular James Bond, seek revenge by framing up Bond by tricking one of their agents. In the book there is no "Spectre" secret organisation. The film does have a decoding machine in it - the "Lector", however in the book it is called the "Spektor".

Pictures at an Exhibition

Looking at the Proms this year I couldn't help but remember one of my favourite performances of all time - Pictures at an Exhibition (Modest Mussorgsky) - in particular the "Hut on Fowl's Legs" from a couple of years ago.



Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra at the BBC Proms in August 2006. "Hut on Fowl's Legs" followed by "Great Gate of Kiev".

Seared sea bass fillet with green beans and sauce vierge

Another celebrity chef James Tanner provided this recipe & I have to say the results, even for a novice cook like myself, most were impressive.

The preparation time is less than 30 mins, and with the cooking time being less than 10 mins, there is no excuse for not trying this fantastic fish dish.

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For the sauce vierge:

• 12 tbsp olive oil
• 4 fresh tomato, seeds removed, chopped
• 4 lemon, juice only
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 tsp coriander seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
  

For the seared sea bass:

• 4 sea bass fillets
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp olive oil

For the beans:

• 340g/12oz fine green beans, trimmed
• 4 tbsp olive oil
  

Method

• For the sauce vierge, place the oil, tomato, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and ground coriander seeds into a pan and heat for 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and add the fresh dill and coriander.


• For the seared sea bass, lightly score the skin of the fish and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot, and quickly pan-fry the fish for about 1-2 minutes on each side or until cooked through.


• For the beans, drop the beans into a pan of boiling salted water and cook for about three minutes, then drain. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the beans to colour slightly, for about two minutes.


• To serve, place the beans on a serving plate, top with the seared bass, skin-side up, and spoon the sauce vierge around the edges of the plate.

A cure for Eurovision

I remember saying to some friends a couple of years ago that there is a potential solution to our poor showing against the block voting of certain countries. As the phrase goes - "if you can't beat'em, join 'em".

The United Kingdom should withdraw from the competition - but we should then re-enter as we do in Football - as the 4 Home Nations - namely we should enter as England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland. If we can do it for football - why could we not do it for the Eurovision Song Contest??

We would then have more neighbours to vote for each other as another 'mutual appreciation society' as per certain groups of countries on the continent. This should be possible, since the Principality of Monaco (pop. 33,000) is permitted to join in then why not the Principality of Wales (pop. 3,000,000)?

It was interesting to see in this year's competition that San Marino was permitted to enter, quite right too - they are a country in their own right and so should be allowed to enter. San Marino has an estimated population just short of 30,000 so it would appear there are no barriers to entering the competition so long as a television network broadcasts the event. (Thank you San Marino for the 6 points this year!).

This begs the question - "who else could enter"? The obvious other principality is Monaco, and Monaco has entered in the past (population c. 33,000). In fact it is claimed the only sovereign European nations not to be represented are Liechtenstein and the Vatican City. This also raises an yet another interesting question, namely what about other smaller European states - Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar?

At ths point it is useful to look at the population size between the countries:

• San Marino - c. 30,000
• Monaco - c. 33,000
• Jersey - c. 91,000
• Guernsey - c. 66,000
• Isle of Man - c. 80,000
• Gibraltar - c. 29,000

Gibraltar would be the smallest of the new additions - yet is similar in size to San Marino & Monaco - so should they not be allowed to enter on their own?

The greatest looking car of all time?

Surely this is in the running. I know I have always had a soft spot for Alfa Romeo's from the day I owned one as my very first car - but you do not have to be an Alfa Romeo fan to admire this car.

It is going to be rare - only 500 of the more common coupe version will be made.

The car has a 4.7 litre V8 derived from a Maserati engine which in turn is derived from a Ferrari V8.

With a pretty much near all carbon fibre body it is sure to be light & with that V8, it's performance should be something special.

Just finished reading...

The Dumas Club by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

I was drawn to this book having watched the Roman Polanski version of the book - The Nineth Gate starring the ubiquitous Johnny Depp.

The film was good but as is so often the case, the book was better. If you like books that thrill with twists and turns then this is one to watch out for.

I would recommend the film by Polanski too.

Baked Cod Portuguese

Just tried this Rick Stein classic recipe from Saturday Kitchen. Absolutely fabulous.

Anyone who likes fish and mediterranean food will like is. To make this dish (it takes less than half an hour) you will need (for 4):

• 75g/3oz unsalted butter
• 900g/2lb thick cod fillet, skin on, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into quarters and sliced finely
• 4 plum tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
• 4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
• 290ml/½ pint fish stock
• 120ml/4fl oz white wine
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• parsley sprigs, to garnish

It's easy to cook too.

• 1. Melt half the butter in a shallow flameproof casserole dish that is big enough to hold all the pieces of cod in a single layer.
• 2. Fry the cod, skin-side down, for 1 minute, until crisp and golden. Carefully remove from the dish and set aside.
• 3. Add the onion to the dish and fry gently for 5 minutes, until softened.
• 4. Add the plum tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, stock and white wine. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened.
• 5. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.6. Place the cod skin-side up on top of the onion and tomato mixture, transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes - less if the pieces of cod are thin.
• 6. Remove from the oven and lift the cod out on to a warm plate. Return the dish to the stove over a high heat, add the remaining butter and reduce by boiling rapidly for about 4 minutes, stirring now and then, to make a really thick sauce.
• 7. Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and cook for 30 seconds more. Spoon the sauce on to four warm plates, put the cod on top and garnish with parsley sprigs. Serve with boiled potatoes and green salad.

Rick Stein has got me into really enjoying cooking fish dishes. There are plenty of his recipes on the bbc website which allows you to search, well worth a look.

Link - About Rick Stein: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chef_biogs/s.shtml#rick_stein

Link - Rick Stein's recipes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/recipes/queryengine?templatestyle=refine_by_1_gg&orig_kw=rick+stein&config=db&scope=recipes&page=1&pagesize=15&attrib_26=keywords&oper_26=eq&val_26_1=%2Brick+%2Bstein&search.x=29&search.y=9&search=search

Nice to see this back on the box!

As adverts go it is one of the best...

When is a maximum not a maximum?

When it is in the game of snooker!

Most people are under the impression that the maximum break in snooker is 147 - a "one-four-seven".

There are 15 reds - so potting all 15 reds (value 1) and a black (value 7) would give 120 - i.e. 15 x(1+7). Potting all six colours gives another 27 points (2+3+4+5+6+7), giving a grand total of 147.

However, don't forget the free-ball rule. If the player 1 visits the table and fouls - player 2 gets 4 to 7 points depending upon the foul. Although added to Player 2's frame score, this in itself would not add to the break total for player 2's next visit. The free-ball rule states if after a foul the player can not hit both sides of a target ball then the player may nominate any other ball to count as the target ball.

Imagine player 1 tries to clip a red during the initial post break-off safety play, misses and ends up behind the brown. Player 2 could nominate the brown as the free-ball, pot it, and would receive 1 point for the break. If he then goes on to pot the black they would score another 7 points, i.e. have a break of 8 and still have 15 reds on the table.

Adding 8 points to 147 means the true maximum break in a frame of snooker is 155.

So has it ever been done?

The record in the Guiness Book Of Records is 149 - achieved in 1998 by Tony Trago. The true maximum of 155 has been achieved in a 2005 practice frame (with witnesses) by Jamie "Shotgun" Cope (pictured below).

Why "At One Fell Swoop"?

First of all I should explain what "At One Fell Swoop" actually means. The phrase comes from Shakespeare:

"All my pretty ones?
Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop"

The passage is from Macbeth where Macduff hears his family has been killed. Shakespeare uses the speed of the kite's descent onto it's prey to convey savagery Macbeth has deployed against Macduff.

The phrase nowadays is used to mean sudden. This is why I am using it as it for me describes the way a provocative thought can suddenly enter your head...