How to kill a chicken breast.

While I write Andrew is in the kitchen ruining some organic chicken breasts with a box of "Old El Paso". For some reason our latest Saino's shop seems to have contained rather a lot of things in Cardboard. Most of it yellow and red. I don't know what has happened, the Findus was a blast from the past but this? Curiosity? A wish to re-live student days? In the box there are some sad and flat looking wrap's (in plastic) some bright red powder (in plastic) and some Enchilada mix - in yep plastic. Much swearing and exclamation is coming from the kitchen, the latest being these look F*****g awful - I think he may have reached stage 3, "Spoon the meat mixture onto the middle of each warmed (microwaved) tortilla,place in the oven. Serve and enjoy."

I think I may have another glass of wine before dinner.

Findus Crispy Pancakes!

We spied these in Sainso's the other day, they bought back memories of childhood for both Andrew and I so we decided to buy a pack.

They are wrong on so many levels.....but god they tasted GREAT!!!

Oddbins RIP........

When the Castel group paid some £40 million for the Oddbins chain a lot of people felt they had paid over the odds for this " enfant terrible ". Subsequently, the chain began to lose money and some unwise french man decided the best thing to do was to either close them down or turn them into Nicolas. It is incredibly sad to see this pioneer of new world wines disappear from our high street. Some one told me yesterday that there would only be 4 left in London. 4! I run a Thresher in Southfields and was saddened to see my local Oddbins turn into a Nicolas over a three week period. Funny thing was, one of the shop fitters or members of staff decided to pour concrete down the drain which went off and caused this lovely new shop to flood . They are still closed to this day with a notice in their window blaming " environmental " issues! If some one from the Castel group had done their research they would have remembered when they opened a Nicolas in Southfields some 5 years ago that lasted only 6 months. That would be too easy. Raise a glass for all those scruffy Oddbins managers who now have to wear chinos and polo shirts. RIP Oddbins.

Le Champignon Sauvage

We decided to take a blog holiday for a week in a vain attempt to fool our readers that we were sunning ourselves in a villa in the hills and `avin it large at Pacha. However, in reality we have been in Cheltenham, Mitcham and Dorset. Last weekend saw us heading up to Cheltenham for my Auntie and Uncles 50'th wedding anniversary. We stayed at a fantastic place called Thirty Two which was a beautiful regency townhouse and a so called design statement, You know , one of those places where everything in the house seemed to be for sale but with no price tags. The location was fantastic and only just a short walk away from the lovely Montpellier district which was great for Mel to have a good old potter. As it had been a tough year for both of us we decided to go and treat ourselves and have lunch at " Le Champignon Sauvage " a 2 Michelin Star French restaurant. We rocked up 15 minutes late to what looked like the front of some old boozer with an old silent couple sat in the front window. This 45 seat restaurant was bursting at the seams this Friday lunch with just the 2 tables taken. Its was a shame as the lack of atmosphere was a real downer as the old couple said nothing to each other for two hours and we found ourselves whispering! Luckily for us a rather loud retired nouveau riche couple came in which gave us the opportunity to have a decent chat. It was a real shame the place lacked a spark as the food was absolutely amazing. What we both loved was David Everitt - Matthias the 2 star chef was guaranteed to be cooking your lunch as he has never missed a service since the place opened back in 1987 , beat that Mr Ramsay. Dexter beef, Squid and Gloucester old spot and split pea puree with a coconut foam were some of the highlights , yet a special mention must surely go to the toilets. I stepped through the small door and found myself in a curry house , the carpet was blue , the furniture from Argos and the wood chip walls full of erotic art, the bowl of tic tacs outside the loo must surely have pushed the Michelin inspectors to the limit and explain the award of two rather than three stars. Our bill for 3 courses , 1/2 bt of champagne, 1bt of white , 1/2 bt red and a bt of fizzy water came to £165. It was a shame the place was full of old duffers but an SW1 or W1 postcode would have doubled our bill. The food really was sublime.

Back behind the wheel

Today I have been for a driving assessment with The Queen Elizabeth Foundation, an organisation that assesses those with physical and cognitive disabilities for their ability to drive They are a approved by the DLA and are among the one of the only places to prove you are fit to drive for a fee without awaiting lengthy DLA assesment. They are a not for profit organisation. Unless, you have caused a crash and the person you have hit insurance decides you were not fit to drive, sends you there for a test and then charges your insurance company, LOOOOOOOAAADS!

Amazing place with amazing staff, static car unit to try, loads of adaptations etc, off road test site...it goes on......

The upshoot is I am good to drive and I need no adaptations other than to have an automatic car. I am amazed at the recovery this means my left hand has made in recent weeks.

By a very bizarre coincident Andrew has had a collection box on his counter at work for some 4-5 years for the Queen Elizabeth Foundation, one of his customers regularly fund raises for them. He had no idea who they were, or what they did, until they got me back in a car today. What comes around.............goes around.

Self sufficent?

Check out those spring onions! We grew them from scratch!! How excited was I to pull one. We have had potato salad for 2 nights in a row with our BBQ already and I am determined to eat them ALL week! ( BBQ? Carbon footprint? No, not us!)

Andrew has lost the pug dog challenge. The photo's never arrived and time defeated him......The cat's are victorious.