Raffaello

Raffaello, who would have thought I would ever see it again!  Apparently the Russian like these.  They normally come in with the Ferrero's assortment, which these are.  I am very glad I have a easily accessible, willing recipient for them. 

Dried Milk

I got a tub of dried milk, at a discount.  It is very handy for a drink, much better than coffee's mate.

Hodgson Kippers

I have seen the Hodgson Fish van a few times, so when I saw a Hodgson kippers, I decided to give it a go.

It is very lightly smoked, not bad.

Cannon Hall II

We tried to go back to Cannon Hall earlier in the Winter, and due to adverse weather, it didn't quite happen.  The hall was shut, but everything else *just about* was open. 

One of the few places open immediately after Christmas.  On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the place was heaving!  We had a little walk in the country park, which was nice.  We got some sausages from the farm shop, and they were okay.

Ancient LAN Cable

I just pulled out and old LAN cable in the cupboard.  It is long and kinky, I was surprised that it still works.

Bye Pillsbury

Leslie loves Pillsbury, I have managed to avoid them all those years. 

Jus Roll Croissant was on offer, I took the opportunity to try it.  It was okay, it does feel very easy to make.  But after we read the ingredients list, we decided this would be our first and last Pillsbury Doughboy. 

Maud Foster in Bread Machine

We finally try to make Maud Foster with the bread machine. It turned out okay.  With so much brown bits and flakes, how could it still be flavourless?  Not all wind milled flour are good. 

Croissant

I only just worked out croissant 🥐 is just crescent 🌙 in French! 

Sluggish Flint

There was slug trail on Flint,  and her batteries was low and nearly didn't start!   I better set up a Winter exercise regime for her! 

Greatest American Invention in 20th Century

The greatest American invention in 20th Century is now computing,  that is British.

The greatest American invention in 20th century is the Polio vaccine.   Be proud.

Americans are still in line for the greatest invention of 21st century,  sars-cov-2 vaccine,  be brave,  be proud. 

Cockroach the Documentary

Just watching the trailer is enough to upset me. I hope it can move the message forward.

Uncombable Hair Syndrome

When I saw this on the news, I swore UHS was a joke.  Some sites said this affect up to 1 in 100, in that case, this is not rare.  If it is not rare, why is it on the news?

Val-des-Sources

A new town is born!   I have heard about how Val-des-Sources on the news.  And as of 17th Dec,  it is now official.   We will try not to commit "dead naming". 

Jackpot in the House

When I clicked on the story about some US couple found some very old whiskey in their house's hidden compartment, the first thing I noticed from the video is that this couple is probably gay couple.  So sufddenly this story has a heart warming feeling to it.  Congrats!

Gift Reassignment

Christmas is a concentrated gift giving times, and occassionally we would reassign gifts, usually to everyone's benefit.  I bought a little gift for my friend, anticipating her to be visiting this year, and obviously that is not happening.  So we have now reassigned this gift to 3 new homes, isn't that great!

Poundland No More

If things are not a pound in Poundland, they need to change their name.  If they are not a pound (or under), I will have to bring either my calculator or my brain to the store, which defeats the purpose of going to Poundland.

McVities Digestives Fully Coated

I thought I would try one of this new Fully Coated, what a mistake.  If you like digestives like I do, this is insufficient digestives, much like their "Thins".  I was trying to look it up from the website, they didn't even bother to update their website to show the new product worrying it may not survive the initial trials.  Who remember Boasters now?  Nobody.  Just stick with what you know!  The basics are great as they are, I am not trying their "fancy" biscuits anymore.

 

Christmas Lights Viewing

Growing up in Hong Kong, going to see the christmas light is a favourite family pasttime.  Unlike Hong Kong, high rises in Leeds don't get decorated, just the streets and a few trees.  Anywho, we want into the big city to look at the big bright lights.  On the way home, an area near my neighbourhood has lit up for the benefit of St Gemma, it is good that we have community spirits in our neighbourhood.

Chocolate Chestnut Cake

I was going to make a cream tart with chestnut puree like we had in Hong Kong.  Then the package is really big, I would have to have many cream tart, so I went all in for a cake.  

The chocolate chestnut cake is gluten free, and I read the recipe, it reassmbles a brownie, gluten free brownie.  The whipping made it much like a moose cake, which is light and nice, except the chestnut vanished into the chocolate.  Maybe I should just make a chestnut moose, next year.

Japanese Spams

Google has been letting a lot of Japanese Spams into my mail box recently.  It is good to know spam is a global problem?

Knoppers

I always thought Knoppers is just a flat Bueno.  I always wonder why all these German inventions were so similar.  We actually like Knoppers more, as they are less sweet.

Very Short Days

The day is noticeably getting shorter by the day.  This is always the case this time of the year as we approach the solstice.  This is more noticeable this year because all our outings are outside!

Thermostatic Cartridge Assembly

The shower started to drip, the plumb shop staff reckoned it was the cartridge.  Then I started looking for a replacement, everywhere I looked, "How much?!" can be heard.

I forked out over a hundred quid for the cartridge and an hour of fiddling, it is fixed. 

The way it was installed, I could not change the filters, oh well.  I still wonder what the glue was for, supposed for seals replacement, but it was not mentioned anywhere in the O&M and the video. 

Foreign Body in Food

I have complained about foreign body in food and complained.  This time I got a big stone in the cous cous, but I doubt Aldi would care.

Resurrecting Knackered S4 II

After the last failed resurrection, I had a new mission for the knackered S4, a dash cam.  So I wiped it, loaded a dash cam app.  It works, it fits on existing phone mounts, excepts the white back makes it very obvious and cannot be left on the dash. 

Batteries Sudden Death

Old batteries can be tempermental.  The MEWP's was playing up just the other day.  Then Pizza's decided to pack in on a cold snowy day.  The load test was showing 20A, when it should be over 400A!

Even when Kendrew's was checked the other day,  it was fine,  but I always worry the batteries over Winter.  In theory they don't like extreme temperatures,  so I should be equally worry in Summer,  but we probably worry more about the prospect of standing in the cold more.  Let's hope for a problem free Winter. 

Aldi Click and Collect

I have heard about Aldi Click and Collect.  I finally click on Aldi to have a look.  They want £4.99 for basket charge!  I am not sure you save that much from a weekly shop to justify this.

Fuel Symbol can be Wrong

Someone told me the nozzle on the fuel symbol indicates where the fuel inlet locates.  I found the first vehicle that contradicts that...  So we cannot trust the symbol afterall...

Monopoly Cheaters Edition

So after looking up the Sore Losers edition, I came across the Cheaters Edition.  I think this game will actually be shorter, for the fact you don't need to build houses before hotels, and there is no railways and utilities.  But there are too many new cheating rules, that can get confusion.  You might as well just play a normal Monopoly and just let everyone cheat.

Monopoly for Sore Losers

I was clicking around online and found this new game, Monopoly for Sore Losers.  I used to like Monopoly, but as a grown up, I think it takes too longer.  I reckon the sore loser element would just make the game last even longer...

Leeds Bread Co-op Miche

We went to the Leeds Bread Co-op and the Miche was not on show. We asked if they had one (or a quarter), and she said yes. 

At the first sniff, I detected rye. When we proceeded onto eating, there was definitely rye. It also tastes like the "sourdough" that I was fed when I was in Michigan.  Rye seems to make the sourness more prominent.  Not really my thing.

Castle Howard

We had been meaning to go to Castle Howard the same way we went to Harewood, ie going in "for free" when they host Great British Food Fair. We had not managed to do that in the last 3 years. So we finally pay the fare to go in. I pushed it back twice due to the weather. So at the start of the way, cold and dry was a good start.

It took us 2 hours to do 80% of the offerings, I am not convinced it was "1000 acres".

The suspension bridge to Skelf Island is fun. 

 

The Sun came out in the afternoon, which was a bonus.

Tancred Ham Hock

I got a ham hock from Tancred.  It definitely wasn't smoked, and it looked barely cured.

It turned out to be okay, less pale than the one I got from Marr Grange.  It tastes very porky.  It costs twice as much as the one from Marr Grange, let's hope the money go into making happier pigs. 

Gochujang Ribs

Sarah and I were talking about how to use down the gochujang and I thought marinating chicken.  When I saw these ribs in Tancred, I thought this is perfect for the spicy marinate.

They turned out, as expected, fine.

Cache Problem

 So after reloading Windows, I am still experience browser freezing.  Waiting for Cache problem.  Apparently Firefox doesn't have the same Cache problem as both Edge and Chrome.  Let's hope it stays that way.

Fox and Hound New Website

So the local pub Fox and Hound has been selling groceries, and we found their collection to be good, and the baked product excellent.  We shopped there a few times, and now they got a new website and new prices.  I always think I am a small buyer, but Sarah assured me any little help. 

Toshiba Wipe

I finally had enough of the Toshiba's freezing.  I followed the instruction to wipe it.  These days we don't have boot discs, I just follow the prompt to download the image online and reload.  Let's hope it behave better.

Oakwood Farmers Market in Lockdown

Oakwood Farmers Market is still on in the lockdown 2.0.  I thought I can have a quick walk around,  but how wrong was I.

It is a reasonably sized open space,  but I spotted a queue,  a slow moving queue,  and what appears to be high-vis wearing stewards. 

Crisps in a Tub

First there was fried chicken in a bucket, now crisps also come in tubs.  I saw a tub of Tyrells in a tub, and I didn't quite believe my eyes.  I supposed the bucket is more recyclable, but you have to commit to 600g of the same stuff in a short period of time.

Fewston Reservior

After our Swinsty trip, was meant to go back to talk Fewston.  I thought Fewston would be equally easy as Swinsty, but it is a little longer, and it didn't help we had a walk earlier in the morning.  But I think we both like Fewston more, I like it for it being quieter, Sarah likes it for it being more tree cover and wild lives.

Swinsty Reservior

We had a walk at Swinsty Reservior in the Summer.  We actually was there twice, one on the bike for a recce, and the second time in the rain.  When it was sunny, it was very busy.  We chose to talk in the rain, so it would be fewer people.  It was all relatively easy.  With the temptation of MacKenzies, it was a good excuse to go all the way to Harrogate for a walk.

Oven Door Sourdough

I picked up a loaf of "sourdough" from the Oven Door.  It looked suspiciously like a white cob.  They could tell the sourdough from other, as it was proved in a basket.  The holes were suspiciously even, with a soft crust, the bread smells of a bakery from the outside and lack of commercial yeast smell.  Anyway, it is very nice.

Inaccurate Weather Forecast

I have pushed back some weekend plans 2 weeks in the row, and regretting it because the weather wasn't as bad as it was forecasted.  The forecast has been very poor lately, I must just ignore it and soldier on.

TeqBall

I was clicking around on a video sharing website and I came across a new sport called Teqball.  Apparently it was new since 2014, and I only just come across it.  I watched it for a few minutes.  I find it as boring as watching ping pong...

Lockdown Mochi

We hadn't had much Little Moons for a long while.  And in the lockdown(s), this is almost like our go-to luxury.  Since our movement is much more restrictive, I can easily recall how much of each we bought.

In the past 8 months, we bought at least 4 packets of mochi and 4 boxes of Little Moons!  

In additional to the Green Tea and Vanilla, we tried pistachio, coconut and chocolate.  By the end of this pandemic, maybe we would have worked thorough the whole range.

Spitting Image

I have heard a lot about the old Spitting Image, and I also know it was coming back.  I only just got around watching the highlights online.  Super funny, it didn't disappoint.

Transition Lenses

Ever since I learnt about this "modern technology" a decade ago, I have been wanting a pair of these.  So I took the opportunity of the voucher to get a pair of basic glasses with transition lenses.  The few times I tried it, it wasn't sunny enough to turn it.  And yesterday, under full sun, it finally turned, completely.  It does the job.

Door Lubrication

The door lock is playing again. At the last ditch attempt, before I have to splash out for a gearbox, I stripped it down and applied carbon everywhere.  It works, very well, I wish I had done it last time I adjusted it.  Let see how much longer it will last. 

Silicone Mat

I first used silicone mat when I was working at a hotel.  It came back into my radar when Martin started using it as a table mat to roll and knead.  That would save me a lot of scrubbing the counter since I have been making more bread.  I bought some for "Christmas".  Cannot wait!

Dodgy Wiring in Car

My fuel gauge needle just went to the bottom for no reason.  I was sure it was a quarter full earlier.  I worried someone tapped my tank and I had a vandalised tank to patch and wishing I have enough fuel to creep to a garage.  I drove on a little longer, and the needle creeped back up.  Steve reckoned there is a dodgy joint, causing high resistance.  Anyway, I need to keep resetting the odometer to double check my actual fuel level.

Hong Kong Pride Parade

Hong Kong Pride isn't the biggest of the Pride, but any Pride is better than no Pride.  And this year, in the name of pandemic, the government has stopped most gatherings, and Hong Kong Pride is now going "online".  Let's hope for the best.

Internet Crashing Seminar

Sarah had Skype on and I had Zoom on.  Suddenly, the router was blinking unhappily orange.  Both Skype and Zoom crashed out.  Lucky it reconnected within a minute, maybe just a Internet hiccup, unrelated to our heavy use?

Club Lloyds

I don't usually mention about banking.  Unlike Sarah's experience with Lloyds / TSB, mine has so far been positive.  Switch was straight forward, incentive was paid promptly, I am looking forward to my magazine!

Maud Foster Granary Bread II

So I tried with Maud Foster again, this time with honey and 100% Maud Foster.  But since it is 100% whole grain + granary, it is a little too heavy to lift, and I was too impatient to let it rise longer. 

The bread was okay, it was a bread, a bit heavy.  The honey does bring out the wheatiness.  Let's hope third time lucky.

Sainsbury's San Francisco Style Sourdough Taste the Difference

Nectar has been trying to encourage us to shop, and I took up the challenge to go into Sainsbury's. I saw these this sourdough and it looked nice, so I picked it up to try.

They are better than the M&S sourdough (and cheaper), that compliment probably stops there.

Libertarian Jo Stole the Show

The past 4 years of propaganda has aroused the Libertarians, and this time they voted for the true libertarian.  We must thanks Jo for taking the phony idiot's vote.  At the same time, we have these rising libertarianism.

Cat Shits

 The cat(s) is back!  I saw one pile of shit, put when I come to rake it out, there was 3 pile of shits!

Maud Foster Granary Bread

We finally get around to try to Maud Foster granary flour we picked up about a month ago.

When I slashed it, the tray spinned, so the slashes were not very pretty. But proof is in the pudding.

I made this with 50% M&S Strong white, and 50% Maud.  It is a nice bread,  but inadequately granarily.   Maybe I will do 80% Maud next time. 

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Ever since we tried Chicago deep dish pizza in Chicago, we had been meaning to try making it.  We were going to make it last time we got some corn meal, but we didn't.

It is not the best look.

 But it tasted great!  Cheesy, meaty, bready with the sauce cutting it thorough, good stuff.

M&S Handcrafted Sourdough

I picked up a sourdough from M&S and confident it would be acceptable, it was everything but.

For a start, when I scan to check out, the barcode showed a wrong price, they had to manually changed the price.  I would have paid extra if I didn't pay attention.

Then you wouldn't be able to tell this M&S handcrafted sourdough is a sourdough due to its non-descriptive taste, lastly, it dried up to quick in the next few days. 

Spurn Point in Aiden

Last time we attempted Spurn Point,  we were inadequately equipped,  I was exhausted from exposure so quickly that we didn't even cross the eroded section.

This time,  we were equipped,  but we had Storm Aiden to contend with.   The umbrella that worked so well in Norfolk coastal 30mph wind was no match with Aiden's 50mph winds.   One rib buckled within the first mile of walk.  By the end,  three ribs buckled.

With the added bonus,  the new visitor centre is now operational,  and it is 0.25miles nearer to the path. 

We made it to the Point!   Mission accomplished! 

Hull Pattie

I have heard about the Hull pattie,  and I had been meaning to try.  Fried mashed potato,  a chunky hash brown.   It is interesting,  it is nice to have something tastes different from the chippy. 

Storm Aiden

I thought we were up to E with our storms,  then I learnt that the UK storm naming season starts in Autumn.  Hello Aiden. 

Pain de Campagne aka Miche

We were at the Leeds Bread Coop and saw this massive round loaf labelled as Miche.  When we say massive, we meant MASSIVE, it is size of 4 loaves or more, a normal bread knife won't cut it, you need a Katana.  I thought I might have seen it on the Bake Off a few years ago, something to do with French farmer.  The Leeds Bread Coop staff tried to explained it to us, and that they sell the Miche in halves and quarters.

So I looked it up, "miche" is just the French word for loaf!  This kind of giant farmer's loaf is called Pain de Campagne, but just colloquially called miche.  Some sources say it usually comes in 2kg or 4kg loaf!  Now that is a challenge!

Burning CD

We need to take a copy of a software, and so it happens we have some CD-R on site.  I just burnt two CDs.  Who has done this since the 00s?!

You say Aragostine, They say Codine Ripiene

On our way to Wheldrake, I stopped at Valeria for some Aragostine, so I thought.  We got a bag of "aragostine" just the other week. 

When I got to the counter, they were labelled as Codine, I was very confused.  Their menu said they are called codine ripiene.

After looking up online, they are called Sfogliatelle.  I am so very confused!

Wheldrake Ings

The first time we went was extremely hot, we had no energy and mood to walk to the furthest hide, quietest. This time we were prepared and know what to expect.

 

I saw on the news that some sites are getting thousands of migrating birds, so I had high hope to see some, but there weren't that many. Nevermind.

Sunday Roast at Home

Since I got some chicken, the last of the Lincolnshire potatoes, I turned it into a roast.

This is also a perfect time to use some some of the lard on the roasties and the Yorkies. 

I have already jointed my chicken, so I thought I would tie up the breast for roasting, and I watched a video and practiced on my water bottles. I would say, not bad at the first go. 

     

 

Mature Tiny Garlic

I have picked this a few weeks after the prematured garlic. It was still very tiny but its cloves looked a lot more developed. I let is dry for a few weeks.  I finally broken into it.  It smells nice, tastes nice.  By and large hassle free.  I would consider growing them again.

 

Autumn Clearing

This year is been quite.  Potentially the sunny Spring and Summer has given the tree extra plummage.  I cleared it over the weekend, and by the time I take the bin out, it was full of leaves again and I had given it another quick rake.  Let's hope I can get rid of the leaves before council stops taking the brown bin.

Rheostat

 A rheostat is a variable resistor which is used to control current. They are able to vary the resistance in a circuit without interruption. The construction is very similar to the construction of a potentiometers. It uses only two connections, even when 3 terminals (as in a potentiometer) are present. The first connection is made to one end of the resistive element and the other connection to the wiper (sliding contact). In contrast to potentiometers, rheostats have to carry a significant current. Therefore they are mostly constructed as wire wound resistors. Resistive wire is wound around an insulating ceramic core and the wiper slides over the windings. Rheostats were often used as power control devices, for example to control light intensity (dimmer), speed of motors, heaters and ovens. Nowadays they are not used for this function anymore. This is because of their relatively low efficiency. In power control applications they are replaced by switching electronics. As a variable resistance they are often used for tuning and calibration in circuits. In these cases they are adjusted only during fabrication or circuit tuning (preset resistor). In such cases trimpots are often used, wired as a rheostat. But dedicated 2 terminal preset resistors also exist.

More importantly, it doesn't save you any energy, get a TRIAC dimmer!

Disproportional Starbursts

I got a tube of Starburst, and the first three sweets were all strawberry!  By the end of the tube, strawberry accounted for 40%, strawberry is double of the other flavour.  Weird.

Housing Liability

There are a few programmes about housing newly availability.  I keep seeing all the liability I hasn't previously considered.  Maybe a detached house would be worse, as no neighbour would have a stake in helping or even reminding.  My interest in becoming a landlord is diminishing by the minute.

Marinated Human

With the gym discouraging use of their shower, my regular lunch swim means a regular marinating.

Nectar Hiccup III

Nectar's annual hiccups is back.  I thought I snapped up some good Nectar offers, but with all the offers are "subject to availability", and you need to remember to complain 28 days after the offer is over with screenshots, there is no chance in getting the bonus points.  Why do I bother?

Genuine Cornish Pasty

I have been meaning to try to make a Cornish, so I went for THE recipe.  I tried out some top crimps and some traditional crimps.  They came out well, I think I should have been more generous with the salt.

The Price of Air

Some garages still have free compressed air and water for the car, and it is getting fewer and fewer.  Last summer, I saw a caravan in a garage filling up drums of water. 

More recently, we went to a garage and found air to be £1 for 6 minutes.  We can always just use the little compressors, but we like the convenience, but nothing is ever "free".  The electricity to the pump, the annual PSSR inspection, the maintenance and repair of the compressors, etc.  On the other hand, I am surprise why the expensive garages don't provide provide those for free either.

Buying Off Plan

There are a few people loving the idea of buying a property off plan, or even an unfinished property.  I was only young in the late 80s and early 90s, but I still remember people being burnt on these scheme, property not as described, delays and company going busted altogether.  It is still the case now, recently shown on the TV show Manctopia.  Even the well established house builders here are giving buyers grieves.  

Moral of the story, don't buy off plan, the rewards really not worth the risks.

The Great East Run Tour Day 4 - Lincolnshire

On our way home, we made Mountain's Abbey Parks out quick pit stop.  There were at least five "farm shops" on the short stretch of A17.  Sarah asked me what a Chine was, and I was able to tell her it was a Lincolnshire cut of pork. 

We picked up the three "treasures" of Lincolnshire, sausages, potatoes and flour.

I was prepared to hate the Lincolnshire sausages, and I did.  It wasn't so much as the sage, but the lack of meat in "traditional recipe" that bothered me more.

The potatoes were not that brilliant, good news is that they were not overpriced, bad news is that I now have 7kg to go thorough.

After the positive experience with Tuxford Mill, I paid over the odd for these Maud Foster flour.  I hope they don't disappoint.

The Great East Run Tour Day 3 - Hunstanton

We had a little walk from Heacham to Hunstanton. With the wind, it felt a lot longer than it is on the map. 

If I didn't have an umbrella to shield me from the bulk of the wind, I would have felt sick really quickly.

By the time we got home, we were very knackered.

The Great East Run Tour Day 2 - Houghton

The Houghton Hall was one of the few visitor attractions that was still open in the area.  It has very nice ground, the sculptures were a nice addition.

Before the end of the day, we caught someone trying to steal the sun!  

The Great East Run Tour Day 1 - Heacham

We braved ourselves with a very long drive East.  We first stopped at Sandringham for lunch and a little walk.  We would have visited the Sandringham Estates if it hadn't closed for Winter.  The walk in the Sandringham Country Park was very pleasant and civilised.  The facilities were good.

Then we went shopping at Drove Orchards, we were surprised by the range of shops and products were at their site.  We had some East Coast Gelato, kippers from Gurneys, apple, pear and cheese from Drove.  

We went to see the sea before settling in for the day.

Gurneys Kippers

The queue was long at Gurneys, so when it was my turn, I made a quick decision on the kippers, the last kipper, without have a good close look.

 

They had white crab meat, which I was not sure it was prepared fresh.  They had brown shrimps but sold out potted shrimps, which I was not sure they are local.

When I came to eating the kippers, it was big!  I had not seen a kipper this big.  Everything was good, juicy, tasty, expectedly bony. 

Blenheim Orange Apple

 

I had Blenheim Orange from Lotherton before.  This Blenheim Orange is rather mild in taste, good texture. 

Spartan Apple

Spartan has a much redder skin.  I wasn't sure I would like this North American variety.  The flesh was very white and it is very pleasantly sweet. 

Elstar Apple

 

Being apple season, we got some apple from an apple farm.  First of the three was elstar.  I have heard of it before.  It tastes a little like braeburn.  

Honey and Spelt Bread

I used the same spelt bread recipe as before, substituting half with flour with white flour.  

This looks good, tastes good, but I am still not sure about the spelt premium...

Worst Pistachio Ever

I was in Home Bargains picking up a few home bargains, I picked up a bag of "My Garden of Eden" pistachio.  They turned out to be the worst pistachio I have ever had, completely in a different league.  They should be called My Sodom and Gomorrah nuts.

They are owned by AIB foods, "connoisseur of World Foods"... Not

Twice Shrunken Cha Siu

I have been making cha siu, Cantonese roasted pork, at home.  I kept forget that they shrink, twice, in the process: once in the marinated process, a second time in the oven.  I am always starving after a cha siu dinner!

Brown Flour

I was happy that we had white bread flour and bran at home, surely we can make bread of any brownness.  

Whilst we were in the shop, we picked up some brown flour, next to it, there were some wholewheat flour.  The only difference in the ingredience if that wholewheat bag did not seem to be fortified, I thought it was the law.

Confused, we bought one of each.  When we got home, we search for the answer, but I think it means brown is between wholewheat and white, but still with bits in.  And most of those bits are bran!  So I am right all along that I could make any brownness bread with my flour and bran.  I don't think we can tell the difference looking at the flour when we do come to look at them.

Dangerous Mole Grips

Some people may consider mole grips an essential multipurpose tool but my recent experience really make me wanting to throw them away.

When spanners was the right tool for the job, mole grips were lazy and dangerous.  I incurred two injuries, one from the mole grip slipping, a second from filings that mole grips created along the way.

Just stick with the trusted spanners.

Contortionist

I am flexible for my age, but after having done some plumbing works under the sink and failed, I am definitely not a contortionist. 

I did well putting both my arms and shoulders and my head under the sink, but I didn't have the flexibility to push and pull the way I needed to.  A lesson learnt.

Plastic Plumbing

I was struggling to fit a new kitchen tap because the pipework were done in plastic, aka shit.  The previous kitchen tap has the connect pipework welded to copper pipe, rather than the normal flex connection.  The plastic isolating valves are also very flimsy.  No more plastic!

Extended Washing Cycle

Last time I was using a washing machine in a farm, it delayed multiple times, probably down to the low water pressure.

Then my own washing machine played up, it took 3 hours before it would finish, despite having trying to stop it.  This time was probably down to overloading.

The washing machines are too smart.

Rebus Principle

In the BBC Secret History of Writing, it reminded us that we spoke much longer than we wrote.  And when we invented writing, we did not invent a symbol for everything, so we borrowed what we had invented, and some has evolved into Sarabit, Alphabet and Hiragana.  So any anomaly of any any languages, we can just pin them all on this Rebus Principle.

Giant Wotsits

Influenced by the advertisement, I bought a bag of giant wotsits.  It really isn't that big...

Suzuki SV650

The long await test ride was met with disappointment.  The SV650 has a very low bar Z650 to beat, and still fail. Z650 was adequate, and SV650 was basic...  The only nice things I can say about the SV650 is that it is a motorcycle and it moves.

Lea

lea
noun

\ ˈlē , ˈlā \ variants: or ley
Definition of lea (Entry 1 of 2)
1: GRASSLAND, PASTURE
2usually ley : arable land used temporarily for hay or grazing

Etymology 1
From Middle English legh, lege, lei (“clearing, open ground”), from Old English lēah (“clearing in a forest”) from Proto-Germanic *lauhaz (“meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *lówkos (“field, meadow”). Akin to Old Frisian lāch (“meadow”), Old Saxon lōh (“forest, grove”) (Middle Dutch loo (“forest, thicket”); Dutch -lo (“in placenames”)), Old High German lōh (“covered clearing, low bushes”), Old Norse lō (“clearing, meadow”).

Nagomi Black Sesame Ice Cream

I just swooped up loads of ice-cream whilst I was in the supermarket, one of which is this Nagomi Black Sesame Ice Cream.

It is very airy, ice-creamy, insufficently seasamey.

Suzuki Katana

For the sake of curiosity, I test rode the Katana.  Katana is quite ugly, but when you are riding it, you are not looking at it.  Katana's specification matches up with Speed Triple very well.  It is powerful, turns on a dime, I have very few complains apart from its look.  It has all the potential for to be a hooligan bike.

RIP Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has impacted all our lives rather you know it or not. As a Supreme Court Justice, she has moved and modernised American laws and beyond. 

World is sufficiently sad and depressing, let's remember her with laughter. 

Windermere Standup Paddleboarding

I have been meaning to try standup paddleboarding. Having learnt kayak and canoe, this shouldn't be a problem. I signed up with Leeds council at Yeadon but was cancelled by Covid. I found Lake District Paddleboarding, so I went for it. 

 
The initial forecast was good, so I didn't bother hiring wet suit. Then the forecast changed to rainy; in grand scheme of thing, it is no big detriment to the water sport experience. Actually the weather was very good after some rain at the beginning.

I was so confident that I wasn't going to fall in, but I did.  

It was meant to be a river safari, but it rained the night before and the river was very fast, so we had to turn around.  I am glad I ticked it off. 

Easier to fall off, going shorter distance, I am not seeing the appeal of SUP, I probably wouldn't bother again.

Country Life

Our little trip was based in a farm cottage, and we were surrounded by wild lives and farm activities.  I never thought I would see a real life sheep herding.

Also, we saw an owl and a few voles in real life. After a whole week, I was just about to tell the tits apart.