Wild Food Cafe

Over the New Year holidays I had a day in London. I was staying with friends in Kent for a few days and caught the train in on the 2nd. I had a long list of things I wanted to do, but when I researched them I found many places were still closed for the holidays and so that limited my choices somewhat.

One of the decisions I had to make was where to have lunch. I like trying out new places, but also have a lot of old favourites that I like to have the chance to get back to. The first few places I checked out were closed, so I decided to go to an old haunt, The World Food Cafe in Neal's Yard. This was run by a couple who have travelled the world taking amazing photographs and researching recipes. They have published a couple of beautiful cookbooks combining photos and recipes and also displayed some of their photos on the walls of the cafe. The food was always great and the menu consisted of a range of dishes from around the world.

Yes, I'm talking past tense. The World Food Cafe is no longer and has been replaced by The Wild Food Cafe. It looks the same, except the photos are gone. The concept of the new establishment is to serve food that hasn't been heated to anything above 39 degrees. Most of the food on the menu is served raw although the grains they serve with some meals have been cooked properly before being cooled down. They refer to their way of preparing and serving food as 'sunfood'.

I'd heard of this way of eating before, but can't say it has ever really appealed. However, I'm always up for a new experience and so was happy to give it a go.

I ordered a burger made from mushrooms and I think some kind of sprouts or seeds. It was served with salad, home-made ketchup, mustard and sweet potato wedges (these had been cooked and cooled). Instead of bread it was on a cracker made from seeds and things, all dehydrated and squished together. The cracker was really tasty. The burger was ok but I won't list it amongst my favourites; if anything it was overpowered by the mustard and this spoilt the taste a bit.

I finished lunch with a coffee (hot and normal) and a piece of chocolate with high cocoa solids and made without cooking or heating.

So what's my opinion overall? I quite liked it, but not enough to make it a 'haunt'. It was interesting to try a different type of food and the staff were really friendly and happy to answer questions and explain the products. If I didn't have so many other places that I like to go to in London, then I probably would go back, but as I have alternatives, I probably won't.

Driving on the wrong side of the road

Many years ago I did a road trip through France, Spain and Portugal with a campervan. I loved the freedom of being able to go wherever we wanted and the ease of being able to stop and sleep whenever and wherever took our fancy. In recent years I've had similar experiences in the UK, first with my car and tent, and now with my van. I really want to be able to expand my trips to the continent but I have no experience of driving on 'that' side of the road and the thought of doing it for the first time on my own, without a second pair of eyes, is a little bit scary. I'm not so worried about going straight; it's going round corners that'll get me unstuck. I know from cycling experience how easy it is to nonchalantly turn a corner and automatically turn on to the British side of the road. And as for roundabouts ... well, the less said about them the better. It took me long enough to learn how to do them here without having to do them back to front.

But sometimes opportunities just present themselves. I've said before that having a list makes ideas more concrete and although it doesn't necessarily mean opportunities appear that wouldn't have done without the list (that would be weird and new-agey) it does make the opportunities more noticeable and make me more likely to jump at them. Also it means other people may be aware of what I want to do and they may notice opportunities on my behalf.

Just before New Year I was contacted by a former colleague who said she needed someone with a van to drive her and a load of stuff down to her new caravan in France. At first I though 'no' because she was asking about the Easter holidays and I already have plans. But the idea had been planted and my mind kept involuntarily mulling it over. Although it didn't seem too feasible I decided it would be worth looking into to see if I could fit a road trip to the South of France into my plans for my annual visit to Germany.

Too late. She'd already found someone else with a trailer to do the job for her. But she did mention the February half term and would I fancy a trip then? She would be driving herself and so I could tag along, have a few days there and then fly home whilst she remains there a bit longer. This would mean she'd have company for the journey down and the first part of her stay there. I told her I was interested and she's just got back to me with flight prices (very reasonable) and asked if I'd mind sharing the driving. So if I go I'll get to have my first driving experiences on the wrong side of the road! (Does she really know what she's letting herself in for???)

This is much better than Easter too, as I'd been looking for something to do at half term and so far none of the ideas I'd had were working out. So if things go according to plan, it looks like I'll soon be getting another challenge ticked off my list.

Ice Station

By Matthew Reilly

I picked this up in a charity shop just before Christmas. I hadn't heard of Matthew Reilly before but it sounded like a good fast-paced thriller - the sort of story I could easily lose myself in when I needed a bit of respite from all the chaos around me during my house renovations. The fact that it is set in Antarctica also had something to do with its attraction.

Within a couple of pages I was hooked and managed to read all 704 pages in the space of a few days. The story starts when a remote (even for Antarctica) research station puts out a distress call - the residents think they have found an alien spacecraft buried in the ice sheet and the group of scientists they sent into a cavern to investigate failed to return.

A group of American marines are sent to investigate but find the threat of death by alien to be the least of their worries. They come under attack by commandos from other countries eager to claim the extra-terrestrial prize for themselves, by killer whales, nuclear enhanced seals, and rogue elements from their own side. The action is a non-stop roller-coaster of thrills and spills and as long as you suspend any sense of incredulity it's a great ride.

This book is just begging to be turned into an extreme Hollywood action thriller and was actually optioned by Paramount. The screenplay was written but then they let the option expire; maybe because they realised the difficulty and cost it would entail to do the story justice? The special effects and stunts required would make the Die Hard and James Bond films seem sedate by comparison. I really hope someone takes the plunge though as this would be a film I'd really like to see.

This book is by no means high literature but as far as easy, captivating reads go, it's one of the best books I've read in a while.

Flight Simulation

One of the presents I got my brother for Christmas was an 'experience' in a fighter plane simulator. I liked the sound of it so I booked myself a go too. The day after Boxing Day we drove to an industrial estate in Stalybridge where the Top Gun Flight Simulator is situated. In the small office and reception space on the first floor of an scruffy looking warehouse we were sat down and shown our flight route on a map. The instructor also explained what can be seen on each of the three computer screens that are set up in the reception area. One is basically the radar, another one shows the terrain the plane is flying over as seen from various watch towers. As the plane flies into the distance it becomes a dot on the screen, when it flies closer it can be seen filling the screen. The third screen is the view of what the pilot can see through the windscreen. 

After a briefing on where we would be flying, it was time to get changed into RAF flying suits. John decided to fly first and I sat with a coffee and watched him on the screens. The instructor's wife explained what was going on and told me a bit about their business. Ian, the instructor, had previously flown Cessnas but hadn't done any flying for a while when someone bought him the Microsoft flight simulator. Pretty soon he became bored of just flying with a keyboard and wanted more of the real thing. That led to him buying a 1970's Czech fighter plane and setting up a flight simulation business. They've been going for less than 2 years and so far it's been successful. They've recently moved into their new premises from their original location in Ashton.

After half an hour John's flight was over and I went down to the simulator on the ground floor to take photos of him in the cockpit all kitted out in the helmet and oxygen mask.




Then it was my turn. I squoze into the front seat and put the helmet and mask on. It felt quite heavy and made it difficult to turn my head. Once I was strapped into the seat I could barely move my body - I had just about enough arm movement to work the levers at the side of me and the controls in front of me. My legs only just stretched to the peddles.

Ian sat behind and gave me instructions over the intercom built into the helmet. Although it all seemed very complicated and a lot to remember, I don't think it's any more difficult than in a car. I remember when I was learning to drive, it seemed like I'd never remember to watch the speedometer and roadsigns, and turn the steering wheel, change gears, use the brakes and clutch appropriately and NOT run anyone over or crash, but with time it became second nature and now I don't even have to think about it. What did seem much more difficult however, was keeping the damn thing straight! I'm sure it was never this difficult in a car. The slightest movement sent me veering on to the grass verge at the side of the runway, or when I was in the air, would tilt the plane alarmingly on to its side.

Upside down flying

For my flight we took off from a base near Prince William's gaff in Anglesey, flew across the Menai Strait towards Snowdonia, followed a few gorges and then the river to Conwy. Out at sea I flew along the coast learning to do rolls and loops before heading back along the Menai Strait and flying under the bridge. I did a flyby past the tower, a few more rolls and loops and then came into land and got parked up.

It took a lot of concentration and was really difficult - I could feel the instructor over-riding me with his dual controls a lot of the time. I'm actually more apprehensive now about the real flying lesson I have booked, but at the same I enjoyed the simulator and so I'm sure I'll enjoy the real thing too.

Would I recommend this or do it again? Yes and no. Yes, I'd recommend it as a fun way of spending an hour or so and it's a good first introduction to flying, but no I probably wouldn't do it again as it is one of those things to really be tried once. If I want to make a hobby out of flying then it's better to save my money and do the real thing as the simulator would probably get monotonous after a while.

It's been a while ...

Ok, so I've been neglecting my blog. I got so busy in my real life over the last couple of months that I've not really had time for my cyber life. I've been working on my house trying to get it finished and the way that I want it so my head is clear to concentrate on other things. My house has been a ten year project. When I bought it a decade ago it was a wreck, but I saw the potential and fell in love with it straight away. It's not ideal - it's small and not in a lovely country village or in the centre of a big bustling city, but it's what I could afford at the time and has suited my purposes well, and hopefully will continue to do so. I've enjoyed putting my own stamp on it, but it has been hard work and has taken a lot of my time, energy and money. But now it's done and I feel like I can fully concentrate on other things.

As well as my house finally being finished, several other things have conveniently fallen into place and I'm starting the year feeling really ready to move on with the next phase of my life. Sounds dramatic doesn't it? I don't mean it to be. When I look back on my life everything seems to happen in decade long phases for me (give or take a few years). I had a gap decade when I did lots of travelling, then a decade in which I seemed to spend most of my time studying. Now I've had a decade (a real one this time) in which I've created my home and developed my teaching career.

My next phase is to work on my own business. I've been thinking about this for years and so it's always been part of my long-term plans and many of the other things I've done have been building towards this. This is the year in which I'm finally going to take the plunge and really do something about those plans. It's a bit scary, but exciting as well.

As for my blog - well, I should be able to keep more up-to-date with it now and I have a backlog of posts to get typed up and online, so that'll keep me busy for a while.

The Black House

By Peter May

This is the first in a trilogy of murder mysteries set on Lewis, the largest and most northerly island in the Outer Hebrides. Black houses were the stone dwellings lived in by people across the islands until relatively recent times. They were known as 'black' houses because the fire in the middle of the main room and lack of ventilation led to them being constantly filled with smoke. The white houses that came along later were basically modern houses, with a hearth and chimney to allow the smoke to escape.

Edinburgh detective Fin Macleod is sent to investigate a brutal murder in the north of the island. He is chosen firstly because he is investigating a similar murder in Edinburgh and it's possible it's the same killer, and secondly because he is originally from the village in which the killing has taken place and speaks Gaelic.

Through a series of flashblacks told in the first person we learn about Fin's early life on the island. These are intertwined with the present day investigation which is told in the third person. As secrets from the past are revealed Fin is dragged personally into the case.

The local men are about to leave on their traditional annual guga hunt. Guga are young gannets and as seabirds are protected under British law. However, an exception is made allowing the men of Ness to carry out their hunt once a year as it is seen as an important local tradition originating in times when the guga would have provided essential food throughout the winter when the weather was too bad for fishing.

The men are going to Sula Sgeir, a desolate rock out in the Atlantic. Once there they will be cut off from the mainland for 14 days until the fishing boat that delivered them, returns to collect them. The time on the weather beaten rock consists of long days of hard work and primitive living conditions. Fin took part in the guga hunt the summer before he left for university and knows full well what it entails. In the story his old schoolfriend's son is about to make his first trip.

The book provides quite an accurate description of the tradition with just a few details changed - the number of men who take part is increased from ten to twelve in the novel, and the rock is never actually referred to as Sula Sgeir. Wanting to know more about the tradition I googled it and came up with this BBC web page  based on a documentary made a couple of years ago by Mike Day. The page includes a series of short videos which were quite interesting and helped me to see how close the book was to the reality.

Did I like this book? Yes, for the knowledge of the guga hunt I gained and yes it was an entertaining story. I didn't like the switching from first to third person, though I could see the reason for this (kind of). I also wouldn't class it as one of the best books I've read in this genre, but it's certainly not the worst and so I probably will read the rest of the trilogy.

October 2012 Twelve Review

Some of my 2012 Twelve challenges seem to be morphing into different tasks. I'm not too bothered about this as at least I feel like I'm achieving something. However, there are still far too many challenges that I've really not made any headway with at all and I'm fast running out of year. This bothers me a bit more.

1. Floating in a floatation tank (I'm hoping to do this in London during the February half term)
2. Reading at least 10 books from the BBC Big Read list (if I read 10 a year, I'll have the whole 200 knocked off in the next 12-13 years!) - Swallows and Amazons read; nine more to go for this year.
3. Taking at least one photo every day of the year (this will improve my photography skills, be a photo-diary of 'year in my life', and help me to learn to use my new camera) - very few taken. 
4. Coming up with a fitness plan and sticking to it (the start of my training for Kilimanjaro, though I may not actually climb it for several years yet) - keep making plans to go to the gym and then something comes up and I don't get there.
5. Leading at least 4 of my own walks (good practice for my walking group leader's qualification) - not done any walking, let alone leading walks.
6. Buying another house (need to get my finances in order first) - this seems to have morphed into a 'starting my own business' task instead.
7. Learning to use at least 3 new pieces of technology or computer programmes (not counting my new camera) - had a quick course on using a special interactive whiteboard package. Seems really good, now I just need to use it a few times to get the hang of it.
8. Doing a writing course (depends on the length of the course whether I'd complete it in the year or not) - as with going to the gym, I keep making plans to knuckle down and do this, and this something gets in the way. 
9. Getting at least one piece of writing published (paid or unpaid, as long as someone else makes the decision to publish it and it's not self-published)
10. Making a start on sorting out my photos (putting the prints that are currently still stuffed in packets into albums and getting all my photos scanned into the computer - no way will this be completed in a year, but I'll feel good even if I get started on it) - I've now decided to concentrate on my book database instead for this year.
11. Buying a car/van that I can sleep in (and doing any necessary conversions/adaptations) - van conversions are on hold whilst I do work on my house, but I'm still hoping to have at least made a start by Christmas.
12. Getting into cycling (even if it's just short cycle rides along decent paths) - I've been reading blogs about cycling trips to motivate myself. I know this isn't the same as getting out cycling myself, but at least it keeps it at the forefront of my mind.