The Canary Dave

Morning all from a very mild Bucks. Will shortly be going out for a pub dinner with all the UK family. I have almost but not quite forgotten what a British pub is like. Lots has happened since I left home, but will have to save that for another time. Have a good day everyone.

 

A proper pub or a franchise? We've not had a Sunday lunch in a local pub for a while. Red Lion in Longwick is excellent.

 

The Black Boy in Oving is not bad. Good real ale, and Sunday roast decent if a little pricey for what it is. Great location looking out over the Vale of Aylesbury.

 

I've refereed out that way in the past but not spent too much time in that general direction. A four part course in Winslow being the exception. We'll try and get out there next summer on our "staycation".

 

Morning all. Misty and murky in Bucks today, and it feels chilly. I really cannot get used to streetlights being on all night and traffic in a constant stream going past the house at six in the morning. Went to Banbury yesterday and crossed the route of HS2. What an huge amount of open countryside it is taking up. The village where I used to live is suffering very badly with road closures, and heavy lorries going through the settlement. It seems to be a scheme that is short of money, and now the regions that will never see a new train are having their budgets cut to pay for it. Looking at the amount of work going on, I suspect it is too late to cancel it now. Have a good day everyone.

 

It's changed a hell of a lot in the 20+ years since we moved to the area. Quadruple whammy of: almost incessant housing development all around Aylesbury; the "new" recycling depot off the A41; ARLA just along the road from that; HS2 and all the crap that comes with it - the state of the roads for starters.
I think there is still time to cancel HS2 but the longer it goes on the bigger the bill to sort out the mess will be.

 

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/fleetwood-macs-christine-mcvie-has-died/

Sad news about Christine McVie

 

Indeed. She was summed up by her birth name, Christine Perfect.

 

She was. I went to a couple of her gigs in Harrow when she fronted Chicken Shack - in the basement of the Railway pub from memory. Was very impressed, and later very sad to hear that she had left the band - it was a few years before I found out that she had joined Fleetwood Mac.

 

Chicken Shack were a great band.. proper musicians!

 

Good day everyone. Back in a cold house that has not had any heating on for over a week, so the stone walls have lost their wamth, therefore heaters back on as we try to raise the temperature. That will take a day or so with it only being 4°C outside and no sun to help. Last nights journey back down took an age as there was an accident that brought the traffic to a standstill for an hour, but when we did get going again some of the very modern cars have headlights that blind you being so bright. It is getting worse, and I don't know if there is any legislation saying how bright they can be. An unlit road with a wet surface, spray coming from other cars and lorries, then a car with headlights that are too bright is likely to cause accidents. Still made it back, and now need to unpack the car. Have a good day all.

 

What sites do people use for streaming games? Unfortunately, the England game isn't on the tele here, just skysports, so looking for links. Many thanks.

 

Good day all. Lovely sunny morning showing the autumn colours of the trees at their best. Had to visit my man at the garage as all the stopping and starting in the UK has worn my brake pads down creating a noisy scraping sound. He will get new ones from his distributer in a couple of days, so I hope that when I phone to see if they have arrived he can find his mobile phone that gets buried under his tools. Enjoy your day all.

 

Many really
Mamahd
cricfree
hesgoal
reddit

are some of the main ones.

they all work variably... good luck

 

Morning all. Overcast, and not a sign of the lovely sunshine we had yesterday. It is 0° C outside, so Mme's car that she wanted this morning wouldn't start after sitting there for three weeks. I took her to her French lesson before coming home, where three young bullocks were in the garden by the barn, happily chewing up some plants. Having seen them off, out with the jump leads to start her car, and it took only moments for my hands to feel frozen. Still it is going, and I will now have to use it to go and collect her. Winter is here. Enjoy your day.

 

Morning all. Overcast again and cold outside. The temperature inside has improved a lot, but have not lit the wood burner yet, that will really raise it. My man at the garage had spent three days in England and was having quite a moan about what he had to pay for a curry at an Indian restaurant. Mme likes curry, I don't, and she complains about the French not knowing what a proper one should taste like. I am quite happy with what the local restaurants have on the menu. Have a good day everyone.

 

I hate cooking, but with winter now upon us, I've recently broken out the slow cooker - a much more civilised way of cooking as you just toss everything in, give it a few stirs and leave it for 4/5 hours. My wife and daughter both rave about the Chicken & Apricot curry I've cooked a few times - especially tasty when eaten cold in a roll for lunch the next day.

 

Slow cookers are a thing of beauty... bung it in, get on with your day, et voila!

 

Good for cheap meat too. A neck of lamb cut up into chunks is one of the toughest meats, but 5 hours in a slow cooker and it is a thing of gods.

 

Me Nana was a butcher, so know a few tricks. Mexicans use all of the animal more than her, and that is saying something as her saying was "waste not, want not."
Tacos de Ojo (eye) are are real treat. Street food here is something else. NOTHING beats a good slow cooker, and even managed to buy one here. "Winter," months here and it'll be used. But, only 0 at night and rises to 20 odd in the day, Jalisco hill weather. Well, semi-desert climate. Shurrubery and dryness most of the time.

If anyone needs and real Salsa tips, hit me up. (Cooking thred!) The diversity in Chilies here, and not olnly fresh but their dry (Seco) counterparts make it all interesting., I am by no means a good cook, but get involved a lot here, even when we goat it and have it sealed in banana leaves and cook it in the ground over hot caols. I am a bit chubby but am a gluton.

Got a fellow villager brining me a rack of lamb this weekend and debating it, but will probably have to thyme, garlic and rosmary it and seal it over coals, pan it on the BBQ slowly and then with mint sauce. Locals don't like that too much, but meh my rack my way!