Foxton Rox

We're popping over there in November. Trip of a lifetime (if all goes to plan and the whole region isn't engulfed by war 😬)

We tried curling on a family holiday back in the 70s at Aviemore when it still had the proper indoors ice rink. It's well tricky.

If I want something "Italianised" I just add oregano and fennel. Works for just about everything (not tiramisu, obvs).

The Winter Olympics is on in the pub. I just asked the Geordie behind the bar if he knew any of the curlers and he said “aye - Pepsi”.

Yep - same here, lots of garlic and a bit of onion, maybe some pancetta, fried off with basil, oregano and fennel, then add the MP toms and reduce down till it's nice and gloopy.

Brit here. Not only have I turned on my heel, but I have then flounced off in a huff.

No idea about other nationalities tho'.

Hth.

Indeed - and me too. For decades all I really knew about him was Werewolves..., but then I had a bit of a binge on everything he'd done.

YouTube video by Warren Zevon - Topic Lawyers, Guns and Money

🎵 I went home with a waitress the way I always do
How was I to know she was with the Russians, too?🎵

youtu.be/F2HH7J-Sx80?...

Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale

... an engraved stone re Mr Benn...

Yeah, it was. One of my brothers (my niece's Dad) lives very close. There's an engraved paving stone in the pavement in Festing Road. This was the wedding party walking down FR on the way from the church on Putney Common to the boathouse.

There's one where they have a chase down on the foreshore bit east of Putney Bridge, by the rowing club houses. My niece had her wedding reception in one of them in 2024.

The cover of Love's Forever Changes lp. Psychedelic portraits of the band members' heads on a white background.

Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale

Ooh, maybe I'll dig that out then - thank you.

Also - spot the locations.

😁

NB - it's on i-player.

Inspired by this 👇, I've just started again on Smiley's People. Whilst it's all (the plot, the cast, the acting, the filming etc etc) utterly brilliant, what really stands out is the total lack of incidental music - just lots & lots of (near) silence & nearly all the rest is just "actual" sounds.

Bands are just not hot like this anymore

The BBC actors of course 😉
I'd read the book several times and seen the BBC version at least twice before the film came out. I'm amazed that anyone seeing the film had a clue what was going on - at times I didn't!

Any excuse for my favourite gif

The film has all the right actors in all the wrong roles (apart from Kathy Burke who is far and away the best thing about it).

The Accuweather "Wintercast" for Oadby, Leicestershire showing Snow 🌨 - but only between 7.00and 8.00 pm on Friday.

Steve Coogan as the manager of the Bureau de Change in the UK tv show 'The Day Today' saying "There's a forecast of proper snow - For an hour!".

Looked at the "Wintercast".
At first sight I got quite excited but then... 🫤

Gonzo the Muppet in the snow in The Muppets' Christmas Carol film.

... yet did NOT sin.

I loved the first couple of minutes, but then the orchestra* took over and it all got a bit too much.
It's going to take something better than that to beat the original.

*I saw someone say in the Youtube comments that Benni always wanted an orchestrated version, but this ain't it (for me).

Someone once said that the moment Genesis started going downhill was nothing to do with the songs, it was when Phil started shouting instead of singing, and this is the beginning of that. It's still a great gig, but I don't remember him shouting so much in '76-'77 (Seconds Out)-'78.

The Day Before You Came one? It's pretty decent.

Not a bad effort that, not bad at all.

Britain's Ministry of Defence agrees deal with Palantir : 'Follow-on' agreement lasts 3 years as US techies protest vendor's ICE contract Stateside

Peter Thiel - Palantir.

Palantir....

So this is fine.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

www.theregister.com/2026/01/28/m...

Penge tapas 😉