Another Christmas easy to forget

Well, that was it, another Christmas to forget.

Me, my Mum & my Brother who visited from Manchester settled down to another family Christmas. Telly was shite, at the invitation of my neighbour the food (provided by them) was great (although my brother didn't join us as he was upset by a call from his ex at the last minute!?), the wine (provided by me) was excellent (Magnum of Krug 1989!), the presents received were average (with 1 or 2 very nice exceptions), the presents given were of course most excellent & thoughtful.

I think next year might be the year of going away for Christmas, maybe somewhere snowy & cold, or maybe on a large cruise liner somewhere warm(ish). Whatever I do, I will be desperate to put an end to the mundane routine of the Christmas' of late.

Ramsay beaten.... again

I have watched with great glee over the last couple of weeks Gordon Ramsay getting beaten with great regularity in a dessert competition by various guests from a Fire Station Watch, Al Murray, Kim & Aggie, Sarah Beeny & Janet Street-Porter.

This week Gordon was beaten by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Although Hugh was a professional chef in the past (he was sacked from the River Cafe for being too messy!), the series has shown that the simple, proven, tried & tested home cooked recipe's have always been the best & will continue to be. That's why people have for centuries passed them down to their offspring & why I try to share & get in return good, proven recipe's as often as possible from people who, like me, love their food.

I have to say that a few years ago, I was a sceptic when it came to Gordon Ramsay, the smug little twat that boasted that he used foreign apples when cooking for the English Apple Association lunch, was the height of an ego that was so far up his arse he could of licked his own balls.

But this series has shown me a different Ramsay, one that I have enjoyed watching. It has been informative, interesting, funny (mostly at Gordon's expense), full of good food, AND HE USES SALT & PEPPER AS SEASONING PROPERLY!

A new series in the offing for next year & although he would say to me he doesn't give a toss if I watch it or not, I will be. Who knows, I might even go & buy a book or two of his after Christmas to add to the hundreds of others from his peers past & present that I have already.

Russian Godfathers....

BBC TV has a series on BBC2 on Thursdays at 9:00pm entitled "Russian Godfathers" where they profile the major players in current Russian politics & business since the rise of the oligarchs resulting from Russia's transformation to capitalism.

So far a fascinating profile of Boris Berezovsky in the first programme showed how even in exile in London he plays a major part in Russian political life & his mere presence in a distant state from Moscow can give rise to the most extreme reaction from President Putin.

Programme 2 gave insight into the imprisonment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky (above), former head of oil company Yukos, was by some guesses at the time the richest man in Russia - Forbes magazine once estimated his wealth at £9bn, he is now serving 9 years in Siberia where he is said to earn 23 roubles a day sewing police uniforms.

Later programmes follow the fortunes of Vladimir Gusinsky ex head of Media-Most - the country's only independent media corporation (he has criticised Putin via his media group & now lives in exile in Israel), Roman Abramovich - ex owner of Sibneft, now with a net worth of £15bn & Yuri Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow who appears to be very wealthy for a public official?

Clearly none of them are angels, but they are fantastically wealthy individuals who solely by there lifestyle are intriguing & interesting to many, me included.

Winter walks.....

I like walking around local villages & landscapes during winter & sometimes take my camera (I should take it every time, but often forget)

I live in rural Hampshire & having been brought up in this area, I know it pretty well & know where there is a good walk to be had, followed by a beer or two & a good meal at a nice pub.

Sounds simple, but I do appreciate that I am very lucky to live where I do & that the surrounding countryside is (in my opinion) some of the best anywhere. It is full of wildlife & flora that I like to watch & study & sometimes eat!

In summer the fishing is great & anything from Pheasants to Sloe's are on my list of Autumn & Winter seasonal highlights. To that end whilst out walking today I took this shot of a very frosty blackthorn hedge from whence the Sloe berries I harvest to make Sloe Gin come from (I also had a small hip flask of Sloe Gin with me on the day to warm me through on my 3 hour trek). In fact the photo is taken only a few yards away from the family home of Mr Blunt (really Blount), below, and even closer to the Methodist Chapel built in 1839, where my maternal Great Great Great Grandfather, John Page gave his sermons.... small world eh!?

Some other photographic highlights of the past can be viewed here.

Better late than never.....

I have discovered the acoustic versions of James Blunt singles "You're Beautiful" & "Goodbye My Lover" - buy them, they are excellent!

I saw a TV programme where he was recording a live EP & these are (I think) the best tracks from the set, now available on iTunes.

By my reckoning, it seems he might be the new David Gray, White Ladder being one of the best albums ever, Mr Blunt has a similar ability I think.