Happy Xmas At Home Eating Stollen

The internet now brings the world to your doorstep. I've enjoyed stollen, the marzipan filled Xmas cake from Germany, bought from a local supermarket.
   I read in the newspapers about the people stranded at airports over Xmas and realised although I was not travelling I was lucky to be warm and dry and well fed with food from around the world. Today boxing day, remembering the Tsunami, just sitting calmly at a computer seems a happy day.
   A good news story was conjoined twins who have been successfully separated, spending Xmas in hospital dressed in Santa's little helper Santa suits.
   A lesson to the rest of us to stop complaining about sleepless nights, shortage of money, delays at airports, missing Xmas presents. You know what - you just don't realise how lucky you are. Things could be a lot worse. Delighted to see the successful op and happy parents. And their dear little older brother stroking them obviously appreciate the improvement in his siblings and how the family must all pull together and celebrate each other's successes.

Storm Delays at Gatwick- Provide Convertible Bunk Beds, Reclining Seats, Suitcase Seats, Backpack Beds

Airports know at least once a year delays will happen.
1 RECLINING SEATS They should design airport seats like aircraft seats which recline.
2 BEDS
Build airport lounges where walls have bunk beds. (Charge a low fee. And/or make beds only available in emergencies to ticket holders of grounded planes. Passengers could be given a free bed ticket and token to unlock the bed).
3 BED/CHAIR SUITCASES
Suitcase manufacturers should be designing suitcases which turn into seats (I think one company has tried this already - but they are expensive). And sets of stacking family luggage should be designed to lock together like lego to make a series of slim beds. You could also run ticker tape news on weather, lost and found passengers, opening and shutting of cafeterias, departure of shuttle buses, departing planes, trains and buses or taxis and cab-share services with empty seats and other useful news.
4 ATTACHED HOTELS
Build more motels, budget motels, attached to airport terminals or car parks with covered walkways and ramps for wheeled luggage and wheelchairs.

Bordeaux Château Helicopter Crash

Bad news - dreadful death of Bordeaux Chateau and vineyard's new owner and former owner in a helicopter crash just after the celebrations and press conference.
The new owner, now deceased, was Lam Kok. The previous owner was piloting the helicopter.
I have now found out that the lost son was not the only son. An older brother survives as well as the wife. This must be some comfort to the family. I first read the story in the mail on line. The South China Press has more. The widow is a powerful entrepreneur and I am glad to hear the large company will continue plans to expand the estate with a hotel so more people can enjoy the wines and the area.
On a lighter note, I looked with surprise at the dates of newspaper articles to find the latest. Then I noticed a couple dated 24th - tomorrow! Of course, it's tomorrow already as you travel further east. 

Serving our wine matching the food at La Sophia Restaurant, Notting Hill

Three members of my family go to wine tastings and wine dinners at Berry Brothers in London and to the wine tastings at The Wine Society in Stevenage. One member of the family has completed level three of the wine course. A reunion of family and friends we have worked with in the past seemed a chance to practise pairing wine and food. But where? We wanted to meet in central London so the overseas visitors did not have too far to travel. After researched all the BYO (bring your own) restaurants in London we found one where staff were happy to accommodate us. La Sophia Restaurant's menu is French Lebanese with halal options and a small choice of wines by the glass and bottle.
The water was served in my favourite modern style of jug with the hole in the middle. We brought one bottle cooler and they supplied another and a carafe.
Let's go through my experience in order. We took a dog leg walk left our of the station along the main road, right along the Portobello market, left and then slightly uphill until we spied our restaurant on the left with tables outside for smokers.
Our reserved table was by the window. The ladies toilet downstairs (through the private room area) was amusingly decorated in black and mosaic and what looked like gold but was probably brass, would be improved by a bit of a clean up with bleach, I thought, with my landlady's eyes - I go for white, rather than black.
I was surprised that we did not receive any free nibbles before the starter (unlike the Italian restaurants in Hatch End and NW London suburbs), but in retrospect I realise that bread fills you up too much before the meal, but maybe an olive would have been welcome.
The menu choice was just what everybody wanted.
Starters were snails or shellfish for others, soup for me. Main courses, steak for some, and for me chicken and potatoes. The presentation was pretty, though I could not detect any of the truffle or truffle oil mentioned mentioned on the menu.
We chose to have extra cheese, served after the meat and before dessert French style so that real food fills you up before the sugar sates you and revives you with the coffee. I recently read dentists' advice that it's better for your teeth not to finish with sweets but with cheese. Our expert diner chose one of the cheeses to match his wine, rather than the selection. The selection might have been better. I deliberately go for bland food, but perhaps everything I had until that point seemed too bland including the cheese.
The cheese was unexceptional but again prettily presented.
However, all change for the grand finale. Our sweet dessert wine, Vouvray, was chosen to match the restaurant's dessert was a matching of sweet wine, with Tarte Tartin. Very interesting that the sweet wine tasted before the dessert seemed sweet, but after the dessert by contrast the wine seemed less sweet.
The Tarte Tatin was wonderful. The delightful fresh, filling tarte tat in was so tasty that it transformed a so far good enough meal into a total success. We entertained ourselves with the story of Tarte tatin, which I knew was made upside down with the pastry underneath by mistake, almost a serendipity, attributed to the Tatin sisters, promoted by a chef. What I had not heard previously was that one of the Tatin sisters made the mistake either because she was losing alertness as she got older or never had much of it in the first place.
Back to the restaurant. The service was faultless. The staff watched from the back room and caught our eye when we looked up and waved or signed and nodded back.
They served our wine as requested in an ice bucket, changed the red and white wine drinks glasses when we swapped bottles and wrapped leftovers for a takeaway.
We left in cheery mood having had a lively, long lunch, and a convivial time with goodwill all round to our companions and the restaurant staff.
We spoke to the co-owner who is Bulgarian studying wine. His wife/partner/business partner - I didn't quite catch it, is Thai and their other restaurants are or will be soon a Mexican restaurant and another restaurant in Bangkok.
Must check their website when going to Thailand.
I hope they stay with their restaurant in London so we can repeat the event.
La Sophia Restaurant, French and Mediterranean Cuisine
46 Golborne Road, Notting Hill, London W10 5PR
email: contact@lasophia.co.uk
www.lasophia.co.uk
Reservations tel:020 8968 2200

A man got left on a locked plane in Houston airport December 2013.
I once took a flight from the USA to the UK. It wasn't one flight but to my surprise two or three stopovers with short flights all across the USA.
Each flight only allowed a couple of hours sleep because you have to queue up for the next plane, get your luggage, wait for take-off, keep seats up for mealtimes. If you are taking two or three flights and miss a night's sleep you are completely zonked by the last flight.
If you stayed up late and hoped to sleep on the plane, it's worse. You might have been awake all night on a previous long haul flight, staying awake deliberately to watch a film or because you changed time zones, or because of a baby in front and a kicking toddler behind. Once I was kept awake by the ladies behind playing snap with the free playing cards, constantly banging cards down on the table on the back of my seat.
It's really scary being alone in a plane or train. The latter happened to me in London when I woke to realise my train was heading sideways into a siding. You could be left for three days on an out of service vehicle. No food, nothing. Spooky. Scary. No idea if anybody will find you.
Supposing the abandoned passenger had a heart attack? Before he woke. Or after. Nobody would have got him to hospital in time to revive him.
Now if I fall asleep on a flight, I ask cabin crew to be sure to wake me at my destination.

Buildings styles worldwide

A fuss has been made about the royals changing a grey roof to bright orange/red in Wales.
In the old days houses blended in with landscapes because you could only afford timber or clay. Now we are able to build homes of other materials and colours. Basically the neighbours don't want to see the royals because they are seen as newcomers to the area. The solution is to do what the Dutch do, as soon as you move in you invite all your neighbours to a welcome party. Then the neighbours are friends instead of watching strangers.

Christmas Lights & Free Food in Hatch End

My red rheindeer hat cost me only £1 in Tesco Express. That was my contribution to the evening celebrations when the Xmas lights were turned on alongside the street Xmas tree, with carols and free food.
Free food!

Where in the world do you get free food? In the USA back in the Sixties you could get free food in summer in the park in Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, California - bread dyed pink? With food colouring. We hoped.

Later in several cities
we lined up for pancakes and syrup, sometimes sausages or meat. We had free breakfast in summer at towns with rodeos.

Nowadays in the UK NW London in a leafy lane near Watford a Hindu Hare krishna temple serves a free rice and curried vegetable lunch regularly. It is sponsored by a family with a celebration that week.

Nearer the shopping centres, you can get free food and drink two or three times a year in Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex. This summer we had a street party for the Jubilee and then Royal wedding. We always look for an excuse to attract visitors in summer and winter.

So we had comedian Barry Cryer, a local resident, to speak when the Xmas lights were switched on December 6th. Then several shops in tiny Hatch End high street started serving food and drinks. Hatch end main street is the Uxbridge Road. One restaurant facade boasts a plaque to Mrs Beeton, the pioneer cookery writer, ('first kill your chicken … take a dozen eggs').

I started with a juice outside Fellinis. Then chocolates at Tanna the chemist. Chuck had a great display of lights, moving reindeer.

On to a glass of bubbly, olives and chicken canapés on sticks in the upmarket furniture store opposite Chaplins, where I met the staff who do renovations of furniture in their Stanmore workshop. They said it would cost me £100-£150 to cover a headboard. they are very proud of their covering a sofa for Mr Ross. (See the plaque about this under the Xmas tree across the road.)

On the Xmas tree side of the road a tried a free chocolate at the newly opened (late 2013) chocolate shop, Rainbeau. the Genuine Cakes shop gave me a delicious piece of vanilla cake. Then up to B and K Salt Beef bar for a slice of turkey and a small latke (potato cake). Luckily we had small portions everywhere. I still had room for a mince pie over at Robertson and Philips estate agent.
A couple of last photos of windows - the antique shop had a chef holding a bottle of wine.

The Simple Things: How to Paint a Crock Pot

The Simple Things: How to Paint a Crock Pot
I have an old milk pan with a handy lip. Too good to throw out. Can't get another. Too shabby to use as it is. I don't need a fancy pattern, just an all over colour. Except a fancy pattern would show the grease less. I imagine it's less likely to peel if the whole area is covered with heatproof spray paint, not a pattern.