TheSnowmonkey

Was reading another thread and it reminded me of something that annoys me...mind I might stray onto another rant. I love walking in woodland areas near me ( or what is left of them ) with my dog. I try get him to do his business at home before we leave as I am not going to carry it round the entire walk. He can be stubborn and hold it in until we go..so I take enough disposable bags with me..if needs be collect it and put in dog bin provided..yes there could be more. Sometimes the bin overflows like Vesuvius ..in which case I take it home. What really bugs me is lazy dog walkers who go to trouble of getting the bags but then discard then on ground or worse hang them on a tree as if it is going to add an extra fragrance or make it more aesthetically pleasing...then before you know it a group of muppets have joined suit and the tree is covered in dog bags. Stop , ruining the countryside and giving responsible dog owners a bad name...This brings me on to another rant the professional dog walker who has 5 or 6 dogs...there is a limit 3 and I don't care how professional you are ..you can't control one dog let alone 5. Oh that reminds me of the dog owners who say oh my dog doesn't like puppies or other dogs you need to keep your dog away...well either muzzle it or go to obedience class, the onus is on you to ensure it doesn't attack. Now my dog is bigger, if meets a smaller dog I tell him to be submissive. He complies. I could go on another dog rant annoyance but back to my other piece discarded litter in countryside...this is a huge problem in my area not just by illegal refuse collectors but everyone. It is my local authorities fault since they have now decided to charge people when they visit the local rubbish sites..well you can take one bag but after that it costs...so people must be thinking it ok I will dump it somewhere quiet. Mind one of car parks where I go apparently has dogging at night..it a family orientated woodland..next day dirty mattress was left along with loads of discarded condoms. I hope for leaving the mess they all got bugs. Every where you walk in woods or common there are discarded bottle or coffee cups..sure if you collected them all would weigh as much as a truck load from fly tipper. People seem to thing only one bottle it will bio degrade...nope it will be there for ages. I could add to this rant as they all connected but i'll stop now before turns into an essay.

Not sure if this is a rant ..but got little sleep last night as, my left foot refused to go to sleep not for the first time..I should send it out jogging or send it to a late night cinema.

This is a double delayed rant...one happened a while ago but still feel effects and it annoys me... I live near woodland and my local woodland authority decided to fell a lode of trees. In fact they are doing it all over the South East but these trees were important. They were Canadian Spruce and were given and planted by the Canadian Government as a permanent war memorial to remember the Canadian troops that were stationed in the area. Whilst they did allow a few to survive the majority were felled. Although I was not born anywhere near that time, I liked the fact that there was something to remember those troops b..later they served an important function by acting as a natural sound break against the flow of traffic from near by roads. The authority did it for two reasons, the trees were not indigenous species of flora ,, er irrelevant it is a memorial..they want to turn the area more to grazing but where they fell the trees ,the logs lie strewn ..if you drive along the near by dual carriageway it looks depressing. The second thing that irks me is all over the South East they are removing Rhododendron plants as again they are not indigenous and also they are a parasitic plant. Many people enjoy them and they were introduced to this country over 100 years ago...the Grey Squirrel is not indigenous to this country, it causes destruction to plant, eats bird eggs, threatening species that are already in decline but I know they would not attempt to eradicate the animal, even though it drove out our own native squirrel , leaving it to populate small pockets of the country. Local authority have destroyed the local woodland ,they claim it allowed other species to thrive..but also made others disappear ,like the leaf ant..every time I walked in the woods I hoped one day I would come across the mother of all nests..but now most of the woodland has been changed to heathland. Fine small areas but not every part...and also everything is so tidy..nothing natural. Rant over. thank you.

Could be any number of reasons from temperature of oven..how long you cooked it, whether you basted it during cooking, did you rest it for at least 15mins after cooking...also what cut of meat did you use ?

Don't get to listen to music much these days as all vinyl in storage but love Jazz , Art Blakey, think it Caravan where he does a great 5 min drum solo, Wayne Shorter .fav track Albatross very mellow ...of Dave Brubeck Quartet also like Unsquare Dance and Blue Rondo.

Not sure if been mentioned but I love Wheeler dealers.. ..My knowledge of cars is limited..don't know first thing about mechanics but very enjoyable program. On started watching it as was getting bored with Shed and Buried. Only found out recently that they all old and Ed China has since walked away from new series. Also liked Edwardian Farm, Victorian Farm and Fred Dibnah. Only series I watch are re runs of Mash, Silent Witness and Daziel and Pascoe.

What I call rear end shares ( stocks) same thing happens on some internet chat rooms though obviously it out in open...this is happening in a company ....oh really...going to effect its value....later a quick call ..you buy....days pass...you realise you bough a W. Bush ...

Im not talking about fake marketing on internet...though that would lead me to another bugbear ..fake e-mails claiming to be from companies that you use...it why I will never do internet banking. No National Homebuyers has a television advert campaign currently running. They are a legit company though the way they operate should be looked into...they also in the advert do not tell the real terms of conditions...Also they are linked to every similar company in the country so if you do not like their offer..another company will know what was made n will be equally as ruthless in their dealings. That ini itself should be illegal that a rival company knows what offers were made...they also have a database where they can extract the information. As I said they parasites.

The adverts for National Homebuyers ..they say they will buy your property no matter condition..blah blah....money guaranteed...yup but they don't tell you their offer will be a 1/3 of the valuation of your property nor do you get money in 24hrs or even 48 hrs..can take long time for them to raise money ...same with We `Buy Any Home... In the case of National Homebuyer their names suggests they are a government organisation n will be extremely helpful...rot they are part of a large company ..they prey on the vulnerable....One word for both the companies...Parasites. ban their adverts totally misleading.

I first went there as my ex introduced me to it...the main supermarket use to be more Japanese orientated ..but when the Yaohan went bust ,it was more diverse though for me quality dropped. When we returned from Japan, we went to Oriental City , I would often buy nostalgia stuff . Though she reminded me in Japan I hated the stuff. Other reason she liked going there use to be a small second hand Japanese book shop near by...we always visited it but as I recall she never bought anything. I doubt I will go to the new centre as I no longer as don't live in London anymore or travel there....If I want to make sushi..there is an Atari ya near me..only place where I would trust using the fish..owner use to give me tips on making it too..but even there don't get chance to go these days.

I envy you..in which case..when you return ..get hold of a rib of dexter shorthorn ..or red pole that has preferably been matured /hung for long time ( over the maximum a butcher will do if you ask) .First tenderise each side n fat , then..rub truffle butter in..along with vanilla seeds, ground almond.leave in fridge over night...cook very slowly add red wine after an hr of cooking....serve with Yorkshire pudding made with Black sheep beer...potatoes roasted in goose fat. .. delicious ...truffle butter also goes well with game stock...am cooking pork slowly in it..added rhubarb n vanilla jam plus a spoonful of mustard. Yummy.

I don't make my own butter but local farm shop has truffle butter which i love ..very good with beef ..smells a bit like old socks though.

I use to frequent Oriental City a lot...bought my first rice cooker there ..would also indulge in eating sugar toast which was one of my favourite treats..or go to one of the restaurants there to eat either deep fried octopus balls or eat Okonomiyaki ,which is sort of a Japanese pizza. However always felt Oriental city was never as good as its predecessor , the Yaohan Centre especially the large supermarket Now I shop at Atariya nowhere near as big but decent food.

I have tried every method for making the best crackling...my favourite and simplest...never fails provided the oven is at correct temperature...is 1) make sure skin has been scored.. 2) rub half a fresh lemon over the skin..get in all the cracks..3) sprinkle a good sea salt over skin ..rub in...That it...The lemon aids the crackling ..producing bubbles ..a very delicious crackling no citrus taste. If I wanted a Chinese style belly pork but the crackling as well...before cooking separate the skin from belly...lay skin on flat tray..then do method above. Then in a large dish or container...throw in brown sugar, paprika, any herbs you like chilli powder...take the belly ..rub mix into every nook n cranny....slice some lemons...take some vodka..poor over ..rest in fridge for few hrs...cook belly in one oven dish..crackling on another...n voila best of both worlds. ..You could slow bbq the meat..do the crackling in oven...