I thought I might just ... post!

So remind me again ... how does this Blogger WYSIWYG thing work? And there's an updated Blogger interface - who knew? And how does html and brackets work again? *my brain hurts*

Larry the lobster

Larry the lobster, originally uploaded by Laquet.

No-one is too old to win pass the parcel! No-one!

HNY

So, I realise this is a little late* and that it's been a little while** since I've posted here BUT "Happy New Year" everyone - I shall try to do this (with a little more content) a little more often ;o)

* Heck it's the 3rd of January already, in fact it's nearly the 5th of January which makes it nearly my little brother's 38th birthday. Little brother!! 38!! How the heck did that happen?
** August 2009 ... ooof?!?

Adding to the list

I have a list, it's short and unpalatable and today I am adding to it ...

It's the List of Things I don't want to eat again before I die. Up until today it consisted of tripe, blackcurrants, marzipan, rhubarb, goosberries, aniseed/liqourice and mango*. As of today you can officially add Westphalian Black Rye Bread. Why? Why? Why would anyone want to make a cheese sandwich out something that tastes/smells and has the consistency of sour Christmas pudding. Mother's Pride someone please!!!

* A short list I consider myself an omnivore.

So x2

So ... we're off today ... what a surprise, we're heading to France. No, wait I went to Spain in June so I do officially go other places for holidays. The best news is that I will not be back for a month. One whole month people! 31st July to 2nd September - I know *smiles smugly* a month +

You have Simon's full permission to flip me the bird, he's back on August 16th!!

Be good while I'm gone, play nicely and don't bother to try and find the key to raid the drinks cabinet ... I'm taking it with me.

Unconscious Mutterings #338

Not having had the Internet at home for the last 6 weeks or so I have missed my weekly unconscious mutter, 5 of them in fact ... not that Simon would say I've been quiet ... don't worry he'll pay for it!!

I say ... and you think ...

Banter :: chat
Amazing :: Grace
Towel :: bath
Cinema :: Odeon
Newspaper :: daily
Not good :: bad
My type :: tall and dark with nice hands!
Twinkle :: twinkle little star - all three verses!
Actress :: actor
Daft :: silly

Wanna play? Well, pop over here and do some muttering of your very own!

So ......

Well, it looks like I was right after all, my blog was being read - but by someone from work. A someone who is in fact a colleague that I bitched and moaned about. And during a "challenging chat" two weeks ago when she accused me of divided loyalties and not sticking up for her* out it all came. And I hold my hands up - guilty as charged. Not of the divided loyalties BUT about venting about my job and the people I work with (BUT not the people I work for) on the Internet. So here's me private again. Not that I am about to vent because there's fiendishly clever people put there who can get past things like this - not that I think I work with anyone who'll manage that but all the same ;o)

In other news I have managed to get my laptop working online! Double whoop! In fact I think I shall probably be whooping about this for a while! Whoop! That'll teach me not to check the box in Internet Tools that says "never dial up a connection."

And with less than three weeks to go until France - there's another whoop for you!

*It should be noted that she hadn't "dressed herself in glory" as she'd been caught by the boss with a bucket of bleach and a just boiled kettle in a classroom of 5 year olds. Guess who's just been asked to take on whole school responsibilty for the devil that is "elfs and safefty" next year?

YAY!

A post - YAY!

Internet at home - YAY!

Back from the wilderness - YAY!

So ...

... you might be wondering what's been going on and what's happening to my posting or rather what's NOT happening!

Well, it looks like my PC has finally decided to die - which shouldn't be a big problem as I have a school laptop BUT my laptop will not allow me on the Internet at home! You can't imagine the hell that is no access to the Internet ... wait, you're blog surfing - you probably can.

Back as soon as I can be!

One working week, one hundred and one words

Monday need to meet leadership coach with team after school. Drop me in it, all J personalities. I’m too “it’ll get done/seize the moment.” Go home and drink gin.

Tuesday quiet - hallelujah.

Wednesday busy, colleagues at moderation. Goes well, unsatisfactory teacher thinks teaching good – NO! Proof our assessments good – not same thing.

Thursday student's observation bad. Need to ring tutor – failing. Student cries when I feedback. Other student gets job – proud mama! No gin at home. Argue with Simon.

Friday, realise in charge of school–heck! Student phones sick. 3 children on breakfast club roof. Go home via gin shop!

Last night's dinner

I got home from work last night with a head ache that I'd had all day and though HELL NO I am not cooking! SO we ordered a takeaway from the new Keralan/Goan takeaway that recently opened in Chatham - Coco Diner. 45 minutes later an intriguing smelling bag came through the front door ~

As a main course we ordered Kozhi Ishtew - tender chicken breast with vegetables in a coconut broth ... could have been hotter - and Attu Thakali Kari - slow cooked lamb with fennel and turmeric which was probably (along with the rice - how did it taste so good??) the star dish. The lamb was moist & tender and even with the over-laying flavour of the smoky spices and turmeric tasted of lamb.

Excitingly, the Coco Diner serves Dosa - paper thin rice or semolina pancakes sandwiched around a spicy potato filling, so we had one of those ... which came with 3 little pots of sauce - a spicy ketchupy mixture, a fermented prawn paste and something that looked like taramasalata kept 3 weeks too long. To round off the bread selection we also asked for a roti and a poori and 2 side dishes some batat keerai soung aka potato and spinach and some of the best raitha I've tasted in a long time.

Well ... what do I say? I eat a lot of northern Indian food, have my own masala dabba and always cook curries from scratch - thanks to cookery lessons from Shisho and Harpreet - this was unlike any curry I'd ever tasted. There were delicious flavours - the fennel with the spiced smoky lamb was genius BUT where was the heat and intensity? Where was the creaminess that coconut should impart? And finally the crispness was missing from the spiced, battered aubergine and king prawns we ordered to start. So, whilst I was incredibly glad that someone else did the cooking I don't think I shall be calling on the Coco Diner again anytime soon.

p.s. my saag aloo is better than theirs!!

Recently returned

Just back from Spain ... well, more like I'm back from Spain since last Sunday but the fug of post holiday blues has stopped me writing anything about it. However, having dragged myself away from the teetering edge of the pit of despair I can tell you that I had a fantastic time.

Between strolling along the waterline ...

finding iconic restaurant signs ...

spending time with friends ...

and dreaming about how I was going to get home, there was also time for some pretty delicious food. Hilights included tellines, razor clams pan fried with chorizo, pan con tomate y jamón, trinxat with griddled belly pork, zarzuela, Catalan broad beans - with botifarra negra (black pudding) and belly pork, escalivada and the odd dish of seafood paella.