The simplest pasta possible.

In about 1966, I was living in London's Fulham, where I met an Italian language student called Natascia. She was half Russian, half Italian.

Neither of us had much money at the time, so we would occasionally dine together when she invariably cooked the very simple Spaghetti dish called 'Olio e Aglio'; the favourite late night dish of all Italian students.

As the name suggests (if you speak Italian), it is simply made with Spaghetti, tossed into gently sautéed Olive oil and Garlic. I seem to remember that she also added some Chicken Stock Cube and a few chili flakes, to the lightly fried, and copious amounts of, Garlic. It was very simple but delicious.

I've made the dish hundreds of times since then, but have never managed to get the exact same flavour that she achieved. She must have had some magic in her hands.

Occasionally I make the same dish but add just a very small amount of tinned chopped Tomatoes (about a serving spoon full), which changes everything. I just wish I could get my recipe to taste like hers. 

Sadly, the lovely Natascia died in 2009, in the awful earthquake in L'Aguila in Italy. The earthquake struck during the night, so I imagine she was simply crushed to death as she slept.

I shall keep on trying to get it right; I feel I owe it to her!

You can find the easy recipe everywhere.

 

Big Brother.

The reaction to this prank doesn't surprise me at all. The suggestion that Putin has the support of 'his people' has always seemed like a joke to me. They know what's going on, they know how many fellow Russian lives have been lost, and they know that the land he's fighting over is now mostly wrecked.

Evil dictators usually get their comeuppance at some time or other. Why can't a huge country like Russia have a decent, democratic, and honest leader for a change?

Shed-n-Buried.

 

I'm surprising myself by my current taste in TV programmes.

I'm absolutely NOT a Petrol-Head. I don't know a piston from a gasket. When I had a couple of very basic cars, a 2CV and a Renault 4, I could clean the spark plugs and the distributor, and as long as there was petrol in the car and a good battery, they would go. That's about as far as my mechanical knowledge goes.

Henry Cole (right above) is a rather annoying, over-dominating, presenter of this TV programme (Shed-n-Buried) and along with his mates Skid, Fuzz, and Allen Millyard (and Jelly Bean his dog) they fool around whilst trying to make a few bob by wheeling and dealing.

Cole is an Old Etonian who likes to pretend that he's one of the lads. His aim is to seek out old motorbikes, cars, tractors, petrol pumps, vans, lorries, etc, get them going, give them a wash-n-brush-up, and sell them on for a profit; or occasionally a loss.

I'm not sure why I find the programme so fascinating, but I do. I suppose it's the English obsession for buying something for £1, and selling it for £2. Not that I have any intention of copying their ways.

Watching them buying, restoring, and selling is enough for me. 

Lady M despairs when I watch the show; I can understand her desperation!

New departures.

I wouldn't normally buy something like this, but 'convenience' suddenly grabbed me. I am always open to change!

I was going to prepare some Chicken wings in a Hoi Sin style sauce, and I couldn't think of what I wanted to accompany them. I eventually plumped for a pack of Uncle Ben's spicy Mexican microwave (2 mins) rice.

It's only because Lady M is away, otherwise she would have slapped my wrist. But the thought of a delicious 2 min plate of rice, for £1.40 was very tempting. I had (obviously) never tried such a thing before.

One is advised to 'massage' the pack to separate the grains, then open the pack a bit, before giving it 2 mins in the microwave. Would it be any good?

In fact I was very impressed, the rice itself was excellent. Another time I wouldn't choose the 'Spicy Mexican' version; much better to go for the plain.

I shan't be buying this regularly, but I did notice that the 'use by date' was 08.01.26, so I shall certainly buy one more as a store cupboard stand-by. I can see it being very good for a last-minute Provençal-style stuffing of Tomatoes, Peppers, or Aubergines.

Verdict. 8/10 (which is much better than I'd imagined)

 

Life as it was

 

Last night I was scrolling through all the dross on TV, looking to see if there was something 'enlightening' that I could watch before bed. I must say that the choice was really disappointing.

Then, by chance, I came across a programme that I'd seen previously called 'The Edwardian Farm'.

If you've not heard of, or seen, this programme; a group of three people, Ruth a historian, and Alex and Peter both archeologists, attempt to replicate life on an Edwardian farm, with all the hardships and complications that that involves.

They cut no corners. They live and work exactly as people did from around 1900 to 1910. They had no electricity, no convenient supermarkets, and very few luxuries.

Light came from candles, heat from a fire, and water from a well. Ploughing was still mostly done with horse-power, and time-saving devices still a rarity. It was the crossover period between the old methods and modern 'inefficient' mechanisation. Primitive tractors were just arriving on the agricultural scene.

I must say that this type of lifestyle has huge appeal for me. I do enjoy the simple life; as long as I have just a few modern conveniences. I do like running hot and cold water, a reasonably modern stove, and some electricity.

I'm also a bit of a frustrated farmer. Growing, harvesting, and preserving in the old-fashioned ways have played a major part in my life, and I miss it terribly.

The closest I've come to 'The Simple Life' was at our home in France. The location was right, our 300 year old cottage was right, and the land provided all I required, and more. 

OK, we had a pool and a ride-on mower, but my heart was in the right place.

This past week.

 

It's been another mostly depressing week. Not a lot of good news I'm afraid! Sources include the BBC, The Guardian, and The Telegraph.

Now that Trump has his knees tucked beneath the Oval Office desk, it looks as if he will boycott Lord Mandelson becoming the UK's Ambassador to the USA. Mandy, a keen supporter of China, has been very rude and nasty about Trump in the past. Don't give-up your day job Mandy!

Everyone in the UK will remember the brutal murder of three little girls at a dance class last July. Their murderer, the charming Axel Rudakubana (above), did the decent thing on Monday, and pleaded guilty. He received a 'Life Sentence', with a minimum of 52 years. Some (including me) think this isn't long enough.

How the hell are people like him allowed to walk around without a ball and chain? What a total scumbag SHIT. I predict that he'll have a very hard time in prison; little oiks like him are not popular behind bars, and I suspect he'll become a well deserved target. I'm not someone who condones violence, but in his case I'll make an exception. It'll now cost the taxpayers about £1,000 a week to keep him locked-up.

On England's South Coast the first Camelia of 2025 was spotted in a tiny back garden in Brighton (below).

In Gaza/Israel, the Israelis released 90 criminals, and Hamas released just 3 hostages, with Israel soon releasing another 200 criminals and Hamas another 4 hostages. Does this sound a little one-sided to anyone but me? Is this what the ceasefire is all about? I think they might need to get around the table again. And now we hear that Hamas are already shooting their own people.

It seems as if the fragrant (recently disgraced) Tulip Siddiq (Left in photo above) isn't yet out of the woods. The Chairman of the Bangladeshi National Democratic Movement' is demanding her extradition. Tulip has dual citizenship in the UK and Bangladesh, and he is demanding that she faces the courts on corruption charges. Oh dear!

Harry has finally won his court case against The Sun. Murdoch's media group will be paying 'His Royal Lowness' a tidy sum (in excess of £10 Million) for allowing out-of-house journos to bug his phone. I'm no fan of Harry's, but I think he probably deserves a few quid. Murdoch can stew! My advice to him would be to leave the money in a hidden UK bank account, and not let 'you-know-who' get her hands on it.

Meanwhile, our Chancellor of the Exchequer was in Davos recently, at the World Economic Forum, just as Financial experts back home were describing the economy as being in a 'Debt Death Spiral'. We are currently seeing the biggest jobs slump since Covid, with over 47,000 lost jobs in last month alone; as well as an unprecedented rise in business failures. There has been a 50% rise in business 'Critical Financial Distress' due to her tax-raising budget. I wonder what she said in her speech to conference members to encourage people to invest in the UK; if anyone bothered to attend.

Oh, and guess what. Trump doesn't like facial tattoos (well, who does?). 

Rugby Club Raffle.

I think the prizes in my local Rugby Club raffle demonstrate a major difference between France and the UK.

Main prize, Half a Pig. Then four Ducks complete with livers (Foie gras). Three Hams. Four Ducks without livers. One whole Loin of Pork. Three boxes of meat. A token to buy Fish. Ten young Chickens, and Ten Chickens (I'm not sure if these are alive or not). And plenty of other lots, mostly comprising of meat!

These Rugby guys don't muck about. They know what's good for them!