Random stuff.

I am a prize pillock!

Following "Martin's Money-saving tips" (well worth subscribing to, by the way, and no spam) I spent £2.00 on a Sunday paper to get a £5 Body Shop voucher with no minimum spend; unfortunately I got the Observer instead of the Telegraph, which would have been, I believe, only £1.90, so no Body Shop voucher and some pretentious muck such as:

"...a taster of tuna loin, seared to within just millimetres, leaving a dark red eye, alongside an avacado cream. His lobster raviolo (obviously you get only one then) starter with a butter sauce and caramelised cauliflower is the very essence of rich, indulgent neo-classical cooking. A fricassee of snails and bacon, with darkly caramelised vegetables comes with a curl of mashed potato embedded with more snails (sounds like my garden) and silky dots of an exquisitely balanced garlic cream. A main course assiette of veal - a beignet of the sweetbreads (and you know what those are!!) , darling little rounds of the loin, a rosy red piece of the tongue (oh my God, it gets worse!) - is smart and detailed without being overwrought. Best of all are two expertly cooked breasts of grouse, the right shade of crimson on a lightly acidic blackberry sauce. All of this sits on a fritter densely flavoured with the liver, but with a curious though not completely pleasant grainy texture. We forgive him this on account of the fabulous breasts."...(? insert your own lewd comment here)

Kathryn Flett also writes about "Random - on sea" - I'm not going to quote it all - it's on guardian.co.uk/Observer magazine. See whether it sounds a tad like somewhere you know...

On another note entirely, our neighbours at the end of the garden have decided to continue their tree-timming activities. As my son said, it's an accident waiting to happen: There is a guy standing on a branch half-way up a huge tree ( I think it used to be part of a leylandii hedge - be warned!) with a rope round his waist, looped over another branch while he uses his chainsaw. A moment ago he just left the chainsaw dangling (still running) while chucking branches down to his mate. My son said we should be filming it - either for You've been framed or evidence in a manslaughter/accidental death case. Not sure I'd want to be seen filming though, they've got an England flag flying in the garden and a pitbull-type dog.