Mitchell and Webb

Went to see Mitchell and Webb last night at the Ipswich Regent. They were entertaining but I think I would have found it funnier if I had not seen their recent series as most of the jokes were the same.
I think they both work much better in sit coms, like Peep Show, rather than sketch shows.
Some good improvisation though and the Robert Webb mime bit really made me laugh. Simple but effective!

Dad # 6 - James May

Here is a Dad that I am struggling to find fault with, except for the fact he is a bit too young to be my father...



Pros:

* He has lots of classic cars
* Has a degree in music
* Is a journalist
* Has nice hair and flowery shirts
* Was sacked from Autocar magazine where he worked as a sub-editor for this reason (from Wikipedia)

In an interview with Richard Allinson on BBC Radio 2 (6th January 2006), May confessed that he was fired in 1992 from Autocar magazine after putting together a hidden message in one issue. At the end of the year the magazine's "Road Test Year Book" supplement was published. Each spread featured four car reviews, and each review started with a large, red, drop-capital letter. May's role was to put the whole supplement together, which "was extremely boring and took several months". He went on to say:

"So I had this idea that if I re-edited the beginnings of all the little tests, I could make these red letters spell out a message through the magazine — which I thought was brilliant. I can't remember exactly what it said but it was to the effect that "You might think this is a really great thing but if you were sitting here making it up you'd realise it's a real pain in the arse." It took me about two months to do it and on the day that it came out I'd actually forgotten that I'd done it because there's a bit of a gap between it being "put to bed" and coming out on the shelves. When I arrived at work that morning everybody was looking at their shoes and I was summoned to the managing director of the company's office. The thing had come out and nobody at work had spotted what I'd done because I'd made the words work around the pages so you never saw a whole word. But all the readers had seen it and they'd written in thinking they'd won a prize or a car or something."

* He could stand up for you in a fight (see below)

Memory lane

Spent a weekend in London visiting an old friend who I first lived with when I moved out of home nearly a decade ago. Took photos of some of the things which remind me of this distinct period in my life and I thought I would share these with you...


Here is one of my favourite London builings - Tower 42 or the NatWest Tower as it is often known



This is the first place I lived in Camberwell when I moved out of home with friend Albert. I think it was the second flat along in the middle. It was a nice flat until the man above's washing machine flooded and our wall went mouldy. Also someone got shot outside on New Year's Day which didn't exactly endear me to the place. Handy for the city though but not so handy for Battersea, where I worked. We moved from here after about 2/3 months I think, up the hill towards Peckham



This is the Salvation Army building on Denmark Hill in Camberwell which I love. I used to walk past it a lot and couldn't stop staring at it. It is so imposing and encapsulates everything I love in a building. I think I even prefer this to the Tate Modern



This is Fin King Aquatics at Elephant and Castle. I always used to laugh at the name whenever we went past. It tickled me and I don't really know why. It is a shame that we never actually went in to look at the fish

Dad # 5 - Brian Blessed

Blessed be the girl who has Brian as her father.

Pros:

* He has a booming voice and a handsome beard
* He is an animal lover
* You could get him to say "Gordon's alive!" on a daily basis
* He can do a very good Pavarotti

Cons:

* He already has a daughter who is an actress and therefore would always be the favourite
* He is very much into football
* He scares me a little as I think he is a bit mad

Soup soup the tasty soup soup

As the temperature outside drops, it heats up in the kitchen. Soup is the most comforting of foods so yesterday I went to the greengrocers and stocked up on veg for a series of soups.
This is the first one made last night - Roasted butternut squash. It is delicious!



Recipe

900g butternut squash
40g butter
350g potatoes
1.2 litres of vegetable stock
100ml single cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Pre-heat the oven to 160c/ 325f/ gas 3

Cut the butternut squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Place in a roasting tin and dot with 25g of the butter. Bake for about 1 hour until softened and caramelising.

Melt the remaining butter, add the potatoes and stock and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Allow the butternut squash to cool a little, then scoop the flesh out of it's skin and puree with the potato mixture in a liquidiser. Pour into a clean saucepan, stir in the cream, and taste for seasoning.

You can garnish with toasted sunflower seeds if you like. I didn't as I didn't have any.

The Mighty Boosh

The Boosh is loose on a live DVD - out now!

Scenes of Yorkshire