Little bit of politics!

Yes, that's right, I still have this blog and I've decided to resurrect as a place to dump my opinions on random stuff. Today: politics!

There are some European elections approaching in the UK, where we get to elect who will represent us in the European parliament.

Much has been made in the last day or two about Labour's somewhat worrying slip in the polls. I say worrying because, even though I'm not actually a Labour supporter per se, if it's bad for Labour that generally means it's good for the Tories and that's just a horror beyond imagining. 

I can only speak to my own personal views on such things, so here they are...

I know that I for one, as a regular left-leaning schmuck with a generally low opinion of politicians, will be voting for the Green party in the approaching Euro elections.

Yes, I know, the Greens have the image of being a bit happy-clappy and hippyish but at least their message is actually progressive and positive, and at least they seem to genuinely, passionately believe in what they're saying. I look at the Labour front bench, at the likes of Balls, Byrne and Hunt, and all I see are the Coalition in different coloured ties. 

The only Labour front bencher who I can currently recall actually fighting back against coalition policies and speaking with passion and belief is Andy Burnham.

For what it's worth, I actually quite like Miliband. He might not be the last word in charismatic leaders but he seems intelligent and decent enough and I agree, for the most part, with his politics. It's just hard to look past the shower of drones he's surrounded himself with and their piss-poor attempts to offer an alternative message to the one the coalition is spouting.

I just had a look at the leaflets I've had through the door (including one from the BNP - bless their racist little hearts, they never give up do they?). Everything in the Labour one is "David Cameron is doing this bad thing, we won't do such a bad thing!". The Tory one is essentially the mirror image of that.

The Green party leaflet, on the other hand, doesn't mention the other parties, just lays out what they believe in a simple, positive way. Maybe I'm being naive but I find that appealing.

Come the General Election next year I'll probably still vote Labour, however. It's certainly not out of any great faith in them - I have none - and not because I really want to, it's just out of fear that a split vote would give power back to the Tories and that's not something I even want to think about.

Oh, and just for the record, if you vote for UKIP then you're an idiot.

Flapjack Bread!

This afternoon I experimented with some soda bread, adding oats and golden syrup to a normal soda bread recipe!

This is the result, and I shall call it Flapjack Bread! It has quite a sweet flavour (big shock, I know) but it's very nice.

If you're interested:

250 grams of flour (I use a 50:50 split of white and wholemeal)

2 teaspoons of baking soda

5 grams of salt

150 ml of milk

Some porridge oats (didn't measure them - I'd guess about 50 grams)

2-3 tablespoons of golden syrup

Mix it all together into a very claggy dough, keep mushing it together (or 'kneading' if you want to sound proper, like) for a couple of minutes to make sure it's all properly combined

Give it a dusting of flour and slash the top, then bake at 200 degrees celcius for 20-25 minutes.

Leave to cool for a few minutes...enjoy!

Note for non-UK types pondering about what the hell a flapjack is - this is what I'm referring to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapjack_(oat_bar)

Thatcher

Not my usual content for this blog (not that there's been much content at all lately - sorry!), but I wanted to express my feelings and thoughts on the death of Margaret Thatcher.
I should say at the outset that my personal politics are moderately left-leaning - I'm certainly a lot closer to socialism than I am to free market capitalism.

You would be hard-pressed to find a more divisive figure in Britain than Thatcher - there are some who worship the ground she walked on, and there are those who will be dancing in the street at the news that she's died.  My own opinion is mixed.  On the one hand, I despise many of the things she did to this country - I'm from the north east, an area that was traditionally very industrial and that was comprehensively gutted by Thatcher's policies.  On the other hand, her presence was such a constant thing during my childhood that to have her now be gone is very strange.  At the time, when she was dismantling the region where I lived, I was too young to understand it (I'm 37, by the way, born in 1976) and my family was never that politically engaged so a lot of it passed me by.
She was just this figure on the telly who made speeches and didn't like the miners and Arthur Scargill (I was only dimly aware of who Scargill was and even less idea what a trade union was), and she was the British PM who fought off the nasty Argentinians who wanted to come and take our Falkland Islands!  Again, I was 6 at the time, I had no knowledge of the history of the Falklands, why Argentina might want it or indeed where the Falklands or Argentina actually was.  All I had were the less-than-objective snatches I caught on the news when I was waiting for the cartoons to appear and a childlike view of the world being divided into "Us" and "Them" (where "Us" were the good guys, obviously).  I knew something bad was going on but Thatcher would appear on the news giving a speech and it was reassuring, and as much as I now know a lot more about the Falklands, the history of colonialism, and how hateful the idea of "Us" and "Them" is, I still feel echoes of that.

What she did may have devastated parts of this country, and I now despise the kind of right-wing politics she represented, I can't separate that with those childhood impressions.  And whatever you might think of her politics, it has to be admitted that she accomplished a huge amount.  For becoming the first female prime minister at a time when gender inequality was still very prevalent (not that it's entirely disappeared now) she deserves respect at the very least.


I don't celebrate anyone's death, whether it's Thatcher or anyone else, all I can feel is sympathy for the grief of those who cared for them.

I will say, however, that I'm not looking forward to what is sure to be the nauseatingly mawkish news coverage of the next few days.

Right, that's enough, I've had my two penn'orth, I'm going back to writing the sequel to Crystal Eyes

Bacon and Cheese Bread

A few days back I posted a pic on Twitter of some bread I'd made, cheese and bacon bread to be exact.

I ate a whole one of these in a single day

Somewhat unexpectedly, it got a fairly hefty response from people saying it looked delicious - cue much swelling of egos and puffing out of chests.
For the record, it was really nice!
Anyway, since people seemed very keen on the idea of bread with bacon in it (cos we all know that bacon makes everything better), I thought I'd post up the recipe I used.
This is taken from Paul Hollywood's book, How To Bake (that's a link to the American Kindle edition on Amazon, doesn't seem to be available in hardcover there yet. Here's a link to the British hardcover version).  If you don't know, Paul Hollywood is one of the judges on the BBC show The Great British Bake Off, a favourite show of mine.
If you like bread and fancy trying your hand at making all sorts of different types then this is an excellent book to go with - it's got everything from basic loaves to exotic sounding flavours, sweet and savoury. I recommend it!
But if you can't get hold of the book and you've just got that urge for cheese and bacon bread (and who could blame you), the recipe's below!

Lost in the mists

Been a chilly, foggy day here in Grimsargh (pronounced grim-sa, though I prefer a more piratical Grimsarrggghhh) so here's a couple of photos.  Well, the same photo with a bit of post-processing nonsense stuck on it.

Before messing about

After messing about

Right, enough distractions, need to get back to the writing!

Forged in Flame

Got no writing done today at all, but I have finished off a picture of Crystal Eyes, the main character of my first novel (it's named after her, which is a bit of a clue).
Well, I say finished. I may yet mess about with it a bit more but I'm happy enough with it to stick it up here.

And here it is in a slightly cheesy movie poster style, complete with a cool sounding but slightly baffling tag line!

 

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, everyone!
I hope that 2012 is ending on a high note for you and here's to a fantastic 2013.

2013 should be an interesting year for me now that I'm really giving the writing a go.
I'm hoping that in this instance "interesting" translates as "at least moderately successful!"

Now that Christmas is over, I'm getting back into the saddle and working on the sequel to Crystal Eyes.  Give it another couple of months and I should have the story pretty much done and ready for the critical eye of others.

Until then, I leave you with best wishes for a fun new year's eve from me and my main character.

Edit: And now with a half-arsed attempt at shading!

See you all in 2013!

And that's a wrap...

Christmas is over for another year!
My dad's gone home, the dog's getting fewer treats, life has returned to normal.
I call it a successful Christmas, mainly cos I didn't give anyone food poisoning - the turkey dinner I cooked actually turned out quite well!  We even made beer bread, which was nice but had the consistency of a breeze block.
Time to get back to the writing.  Well, maybe in a day or two - there's a Steam sale on and I may have bought some games!
Final thing, I wanted to share a present I got from my awesome friend, Kaz.  It's a picture, done by her mum, Jan, of a Steve McCurry photo called Afghan Girl - this is one of my favourite photos ever and was one of the inspirations behind the character of Crystal Eyes in my first novel.  Those eyes, man.
Anyway, here's the picture, which I shall soon have framed and gracing my wall!

Anyway, I hope you all had a magnificent Christmas, and go on to have a stellar New Year!

Allen

So. Christmas

Yep, it's here.  I can deny it no longer.  It's Christmas, and any minute now I shall leap into action to start preparing for tomorrow's Christmas dinner.  Any minute...
Honestly, not a person who's hugely into the whole Christmas thing.  All things considered I could get by quite happily without it.

Merry bloody Christmas

In my defence, I'm not quite as Grinch-like as that photo suggests.  Not quite...

But enough of this misanthropy, bring on the good cheer and the overeating (and subsequent regret)!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, that the food is perfect (and, if like me you're the one slaving away in the kitchen, that it's not too stressful), and that tomorrow brings you many wonderful gifts!

And if one of those gifts happens to be an eReader of some kind, say a Kindle, Kobo or similar, well...I've got an idea about a sci-fi novel by the name of Crystal Eyes that you could buy.  

Just sayin'!

A Merry Crystal Christmas

Overall, this has not been a terribly productive day.  Meant to do more work on the sequel to Crystal Eyes, ended up accomplishing almost nothing - apart from making a Christmas card from Crystal!
Yes, this is how I spent a good chunk of my day, faffing about with an art program called ArtRage!

It's meant to be in a kind of anime style, not sure I pulled it off...
And if you're wondering about the burning building...well it makes sense if you've read the book (still available, hint hint)

Anyway, my dad's coming to stay tomorrow so I doubt I'll get much more writing done before the new year.
Here's to a more productive 2013!
Oh, and have a Merry Christmas

Tap tap tap

The start of another week, another Monday!
While the word Monday isn't filled with as much dread as it used to be, I'm trying to get into the routine of treating it like a normal working day.  So today it was up, breackfasted, then straight to the keyboard, knocking out another thousand words of the sequel to Crystal Eyes
The routine this morning was slightly thrown off by the dog having an upset stomach (she's curled up in her bed feeling sorry for herself right now. Occasionally I can hear her stomach squeaking).
Lunchtime now, however, and I'm feeling in the mood for a bit of a fry up!  Perfect fuel for an afternoon of creativity (if I don't just fall asleep).
Since it's another grey and miserable day here in the north west of England, I felt compelled to share another photo taken in warmer, happier times!
This is Lindisfarne castle, on the island of Lindisfarne just off the Northumberland coast, taken a few summers ago.

The grass isn't always greener

It's been a miserable day today, wet, grey and cold.
So here's another pic from yesterday, when the sun was shining!
 

There's a chill in the air

It's a tad frosty out!


Taken this lunchtime in my back garden

The life of a pizza

From birth to death, the life cycle of a pizza.

The dog is not interested until the cheese appears

Don't feel bad for it, it died in a good cause (and was delicious)!
If you're interested in making your own pizza, it's dead easy. The recipe I used is from (Amazon link) River Cottage Veg Every Day! (River Cottage Every Day)
Here's the recipe for the dough, taken from that book:
250g strong white bread flour
250g plain white flour
5g powdered dried yeast
10g salt
325ml warm water
About 1 tbsp olive oil
1 handful coarse flour (rye, semolina or polenta), for dusting

In a bowl, mix the flours, yeast, salt and water to form a sticky dough. Mix in the oil, then turn out on to a clean work surface and knead until smooth and silky. (Alternatively, if you have a mixer with a dough hook, mix the flours, yeast, salt and water on a low speed, add the oil and knead for 10 minutes). Shape into a round, and leave to rise in a clean bowl, covered with a plastic bag, until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven (and pizza stone or substitute) as high as it will go. Take a lime-sized piece of dough and roll it into a 5mm thick round. Dust a rimless baking sheet with coarse flour, lay the dough on it, add your toppings and slip the pizza from the sheet on to the hot stone. Bake until any cheese is bubbling and the base is taking on some colour, seven to nine minutes. Scatter over any leaves or raw toppings, and tuck in.
All these pics taken with my iPhone, hence the slightly iffy quality

Winter warmer

Rather than a memory of summer, like yesterday's post, I thought I'd stick up an arty picture of something that might help keep you warm on these cold, winter nights!

Bottoms up!

Memory of Summer

Just been looking through some older photos, found one that brought back memories of warmer days - most welcome on a cold day like this!

It lives again!

What is this strange, cobweb-festooned place, with its strange musty smell and distressing damp stains? It's my old blog! I'd almost forgotten this was here. I think I might just have to fire it up again - got interesting times ahead, might be interesting to share them on here. I'll be back again soon...

Anarchy in the UK?

Reposting this from my Google+ account:

This is a depressing notion:
Beware the Anarchists!
So now the Met, whose ethical and moral reputation is already doing really well after the News of the World scandal, are looking to clamp down on political ideologies they don't like.
For the record, I think anarchism is a moronic philosophy that would work about as well as communism (i.e. not at all), but to paint the idea and the people who subscribe to it as a threat? Well that's something else it now shares with communism - the McCarthy era communist witch hunts in America. That does feel like the road down which we're travelling with this new pronouncement and look how that turned out. It's not an example we should be keen to emulate.
A free, secular, multicultural society (which is what we want, surely) should not fear ideas and it should not have to fear its police.

F1 Coverage

Reporting this from my Google+ account (which I don't know how to link to):

Very pissed off about Sky flinging their cash around and buying up the Formula 1 rights. Even if Sky showed anything other than utter shit, the fact that it's run by that sleazebag James Murdoch would be enough to dissuade me from getting Sky.
To me it seems like final proof, not that such a thing was needed, that Bernie Ecclestone is a money-grubbing little tit.
I won't be watching F1 next season, not on Sky and not whatever crumbs have been left for the BBC.

So long, Formula 1, it's been fun.

Silly poem

For some reason I had a yen to write some nonsense poetry today, no idea why. Beats working, I guess.
Anyway, here it is. Nothing political, nothing pretentious and no attempt at profundity, this is just pure, unadulterated silliness.

The Road to Tiralee

With a skip and a jump,
A hop and a trump (“scuse me!”),
Auld Harold took the road to Tiralee.

The crowds cheered goodbye,
With many a tear-moistened eye,
When Harold left on the road to Tiralee.

To those he passed he’d holler and shout,
Though that may just have been because of the gout,
On that road to Tiralee.

Through rain and through shine,
And the application of wine (“hic”),
Harold strolled along the road to Tiralee.

Eating his lunch in the breeze,
With the odd bit of cheese (“urp. Pardon!”)
Harold went further down the road to Tiralee.

Leaving smiles as he passed,
And the odd patch of gas,
He carried on down the road to Tiralee.

“Hiya Harry,” his cousin unexpectedly cried,
“Nice to see you,” auld Harold unconvincingly lied.
On the road to Tiralee.

And then he bid his cousin farewell,
Chucking him down a nearby well (“my hand slipped”)
By the side of the road to Tiralee.

With a shrug and with a sigh,
Auld Harold waved his sad goodbye (“well, he was family”),
And went on down the road to Tiralee.

But now suspected in a murder case,
The rozzers took to giving chase (“Stop in the name of the law!”),
As he ran along the road to Tiralee.

The stories say that he ran to the last,
But the fleet-footed coppers were just too fast,
Racing along the road to Tiralee.

With a final, defiant shake of his fists,
Auld Harold dove headfirst off the cliffs (“you’ll never take me alive!”)
By the side of the road to Tiralee.

Some say he survived diving into the waves
And works in a chip shop where he lives out his days,
Far from the road to Tiralee.

But most think he drowned,
Though no body was found,
Below that treacherous road to Tiralee.

In hushed whispers they talk,
‘Bout how his ghost still walks (“Wooooooo”),
Along the road to Tiralee.

Many have vanished, leaving no trace,
Aside from their hats and the occasional case
Lying upon the road to Tiralee.

So if you find you’ve developed a yearning,
Be sure to heed this heartfelt warning,
And stay well away from the road to Tiralee.

Cos auld Harold’s still out there,
Stopping anyone who dares
To try and take the road to Tiralee.