Social services

Sorry - not blogged in almost a week. After the last post social services came and arrested me and took me to Guantanamo Bay. Hopefully I'll be able to post next week - when I'm going to Aberdeen for a job interview. Big City Lights.

Pollock Saratoga

Fish - three good sized ones and a wee for good measure - gutted and cleaned

Garlic - crushed

Parsley - chopped

Tomato - sliced

Green Pepper - sliced

Wine Wine - glug glug glug - splash

Olive Oil - glug glug

Plenty of Salt and Pepper

Stuff the fish - add the wet, season, bake in sealed container/foil.

Bingo.

Why this recipe should be Saratoga - the site of one of the worlds most important battles ever - no really it sez so on Saratoga.org - I've no idea. I found it on the web, but refined it through the addition of green pepper. Naturally the freshest fish - caught by yer own fair hands, is imperative - and I'd suggest serving it with rice cos the sauce turns out to be one of the deliciousist ever and needs a bland carrier.

I'd recommend fishing on one of those beautifully crisp and still winter days, and take your camera with new batteries, following the advice of an esteemed blog reader.

We fished with two new spinners - I caught three fish on five casts with the first - then The Girl tried and the spinner was snagged......and then lost. Then I cast once with the other new spinner, caught a fish - then The Girl tried and the spinner was snagged.....and then lost.

Good sized fish, so even with the cost of the spinners it was a reasonably cheap meal, but The Girl was a bit despondent.

Check the tide tables, this tide was only about 3m - any higher and I think The Girl might get washed away.

Tasty recipe of the day

Hold me back hold me back hold me back.

Bug yer minister

Follow this link to write to Alistair Darling (or equivalent if you're not a UK voter) and ask him to discuss climate change at tomorrows G20 finance ministers meeting in St Andews. You need to do it today or tomorrow (November 6 & 7th).

G20 managed to find £600bn to stimulate the economy after the financial crash last year. Groups like Avaaz are only asking for £150bn climate change package. Well it would be start.

Add your voice:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_finance_emergency/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

(when I wrote this they had got just over 5000 signatures, they are aiming for 25000 - how many have they got now?)

Saturday night

Yay! We went to the pub!

Totally spontaneously we got the opportunity to spend nigh on three hours in the pub on a Saturday night. FAB-U-LOUS. And not only was it an excellent little birthday treat but it was Halloween and therefore an excuse to lay on a dance in the village hall and for the locals to get dressed up for it. The pub was rockin'. Lots of young uns, not too many inebriates and plenty of high spirits. We had babysitting duties so couldn't get to the dance - one day we will, for better or for worse.

Our Saturday night excursions were fueled by a black forest gateau that I'd asked Jussi to bake for me. A fantastic treat - I think only the second bfg I've had in my life, the first being on my 19th birthday when I was too pissed to notice.

And it was all washed down by an unfeasibly large mug of tea from those nice people in Bonaly. This is a 1.5 pint mug - over 800ml - two tea bag sized. Phenomenal.

Happy Birthday Simon

I also get emails from Ed Milliband. He sent me one this morning. It was a link to this. Cheers Ed.

Bloggers junk mail

Bloggers get junk mail. Usually it comes from some twerp who runs a dubious-looking health food store in California - and in exchange for a link to their website they promise a free prize draw for an organic cotton T shirt. I don't succumb.

But this time I will. The email is copied below so you can pursue the links if you wish. When will people realise that buying unnecessary stuff, such as that sold at Nigel's Eco-store, is no way to save the world? How disappointing to see Caroline Lucas as chief judge, and various other luminaries of the green world who really should know better - allowing themselves to give credence to this poorly disguised advertising gimmick for Nigels Eco-Store. Cos that is all it is. If Nigel was really green he'd never be running a shop like this.

So I've nominated this blog, and this post, in the hope that the judges might get to read this and wake up to how cheap they really are. Here's the email:

Hello Simon,

My name is Diana, the intern at Nigel's Eco Store. I am trying to raise awareness of our Green Web Awards, now in its 2nd year. You can find info about the Awards at http://www.nigelsecostore.com/green-web-awards/ - any chance you could mention it in your great blog?

Of course feel free to participate by nominating some of your favourite green websites (which could include your own!) http://www.nigelsecostore.com/green-web-awards/nominate/ . Last year it was a great success, you can see the winners in its 12 categories at http://www.nigelsecostore.com/green-web-awards/2008/

I hope that through people like me and you we can push it one step further.

Please check the website and feel free to forward it to everyone who you think would want to participate or have any interest in green web.

You can also follow the progress of Green Web Awards on Twitter or Facebook :
twitter.com/greenwebawards
facebook.com/greenwebawards

Thank you!

--  Diana Office Assistant  Nigel's Eco Store www.nigelsecostore.com Office Tel: 01273 710770   Nigel's Eco Store 55 Coleridge Street, Hove, East Sussex BN3 5AB

Up yours

If the sun was the size of a man and located in the Glasgow Science Centre, Uranus would be in Thurso and would be roughly the size of a small coin. It's worthwhile pausing here and thinking - all that space!

It just so happens that astronomy clubs throughout Scotland are roughly located where planets would be, so we have a Scottish Solar System.

I went to a talk last night where I learnt this stuff. It was very good.

But more interesting were the audience which included a couple of old dears whose parents ran a local post office when they were kids. It was great back in those days (I suppose we're talking 1930s, 40s & 50s). Grandad ran a bakery (you can still see it's chimney down by the harbour) and another relation had a lorry that used to pick up groceries off the train in Thurso then drive round Sutherland selling them on. Few people had cars and children were plentiful and happy.

In the post office the post used to come in around 11pm. The worst time of year was Christmas, because all the local crofters would send friends and relations chickens. You killed a chicken by wringing its neck. Then you tied a label around its neck with the lucky recipients address on it. One year they sent out 16 sacks of chickens 'wrapped' in this way in one day. The stench was awful.......

Postie

It will be my birthday on Saturday. You've still got time.