Miranda - Television series.

This excellent television comedy series recently finished its 3^rd season on BBC1.

Miranda is written by Miranda Hart who also stars in the series.  I suppose you could call it semi-autobiographical, it is based on the love life (or lack of) of singleton Miranda.

The object of her desires is Gary the Chef, who works nearby in a small restaurant.  It seems that Gary and Miranda went to college together and ever since that time, she has basically lusted after him!

In the first series, we do see Miranda and Gary get together briefly, but sadly things don’t go to plan (do they ever?) and Gary decides to go travelling, leaving Miranda with only his photograph on a cushion for company.

In the second series, they are mainly just friends; but with Miranda ever hopeful that things could blossom from that.

The third series actually sees Miranda get a boyfriend – Mike, a local TV presenter, who first sees her whilst he is filming a piece on obesity!  We see Miranda sitting on a park bench eating, whilst the camera pans round and the commentator starts talking about weight problems in women!

Later on, she bumps into him again at a nightclub, and they hit it off.  Of course, Miranda is delighted to finally find a man.

Miranda’s best friend is Stevie: a lady with whom she runs their little gift shop.  They are rather a strange couple as Stevie can’t be anything more that 4ft tall and Miranda is way over 6 ft.  Stevie is always at the receiving end of size jokes, and invariably ends up being knocked over by Miranda as they both scramble to attract the attentions of the next unwitting male to come into the shop.

Another big character in Miranda’s life is her Mum – Penny, played excellently by Patricia Hodge. Penny could be described as ‘a lady who lunches’ and is always keen to get her daughter married off to the most eligible batchelor.  Most of whom, Miranda is not the least bit interested in.

The whole series does hark back to the glory days of British comedy, the 1970’s – shows such as Are You Being Served, It Ain’t half hot Mum and a lot of the slap stick has echoes of Morecambe and Wise and the Two Ronnies about it.

I am a great fan of the series, and am very sorry to see that it has now ended it’s run.  Not sure if appeals to men in such the same way, but I for one can certainly identify with all the love life woes plus the public gaffs (well some of them at least!)

My score out of 5

Would be 6!  Excellent TV programme, great cast, well written and acted.  They all clearly had loads of fun filming it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9555385/Miranda-Hart-slapstick-queen-is-back.html

Lincoln.

Saturday usually means a trip to the cinema for Mark and I.  This week was no exception,  as we decided to see 'Lincoln'.

Good films seem to be like buses, nothing for ages; then a whole host of them come along.

Lincoln is a Steven Speilberg film, and being one who has enjoyed many a Spielberg film in the past, I was keen to see it.

The plot of the film is basically the abolition of slavery in the United States.  It is fairly similar to the idea behind a British film from a couple of years ago about William Wilberforce.

Now,  I don't know an awful lot about American history; but this was a truly excellent performance by Daniel Day Lewis.  Throughout the film, you were convinced that you really were watching Abraham Lincoln.  Quite clearly he had slimmed down for the role, and I thought he looked positively ill at times.  We are given a great insight into life at the White House in 1865, the relationship between Lincoln and his loyal wife Molly - played so well by Sally Field.   We see Lincoln's relationship with his sons and inparticular his eldest - Bob, and his great wish to join the army, of course against his parent's wishes.

The film could be described as a bit too talky, but that is needed because of the significance of the subject matter.

My score out of 5

Would be 5, great film and fabulous cast,

What a rip off!

My last post somewhat extoled the virtues of Pizza Express,  my opinion after a trip tonight had completely changed.

Like most restaurants at this time of year, Pizza Express seem keen for your custom and roll out numerous tempting offers.   One of their current ones is 40% off food.  Well, who could resist an offer like that?  Mark and I couldn't,  and went along to the St Mary's Butts branch.

As seems to always be the case, I had to squeeze into the tiniest corner of the room to reach our table.  Before we had even removed our coats we were asked for our drinks order, I would prefer to at least have a chance to look at the menu before I decide what to drink!

At this point, Mark showed the Maitre'd our 40% voucher, we ordered drinks and stared for ages at the menu.   I considered having my Pollo Pesto again, but thought it would be better to go for something more expensive as I would get a 40% reduction.   So, that meant I should have the £12.95  Calzone, the filling looked enticing!

Mark agreed with my choice, and he too went for the Calzone.

We both had our usual starters of dough balls for me and polpette for Mark.

I decided against having a pudding,  two lots of dough was quite enough for me.

We asked for the bill, and presented our voucher to the waitress.   But, the bill was not what we were expecting - the discount had not been applied to the calzones.  Mark queried this, and the waitress had a look at the voucher, and on it ; in the tiniest print were the words 'offer excludes calzone'.

She went away to speak to the Manager,  and we had expected him to come and maybe offer us a coffee; but all he said was that 'we couldn't use the offer on calzone'.

Now, why; oh why did the waiter who took our original order not say to us then that Calzone were excluded?? Why did the voucher have the tiniest small print you have ever seen?

Whatever the answer, we both know that we will NOT be returning to Pizza Express.

My score out of 5

Would be 0. Utter con, don't bother with it.

Pizza Express.

Just back from a trip to the cinema to see Les Miserables, which was a very good film.  Before that, we decided to have  a meal out at Pizza Express.

This is a chain restaurant,  which advertises that it first started out in 1965.  It basically does what it says on the tin, and mainly offers pizzas.  Unfortunately for me, I am not a pizza fan, so everytime I visit, tend to opt for the pasta.

They are currently offering a number of deals, including 3 courses for  £12.95 at the weekend.  This seemed appealing to us, so I trawled through various web sites on my mobile, trying to track down the elusive offer code.  Typically, I was unable to find it so we had to pay full price for the a la carte menu.

As a starter,  I chose the dough balls. I know that seems boring when you can have something as spicy as the polpette (meatballs), but I always like them and particularly the accompanying garlic butter. Mark of course ordered the meatballs, which he did enjoy; but complained that they were on the spicy side.

My main dish was chicken and pasta, (pollo pesto). A really lovely dish, with just the right combination of mushrooms and onions. It was served straight from the oven, in a piping hot dish.

Mark went for his favourite,  which was Pizza, and enjoyed it,

It was now that I was glad we weren't having the offer, because the only desserts you can choose with that were either cheesecake or chocolate cake.   I am not a fan of either.  I had a dolcette. This was a small serving of semi freddo,  and a cup of coffee,  the two costing £3.95.  Believe it or not, this was my first experience of semi freddo,  and I truly enjoyed it. Mark had a tiramisu,  which I helped him finish.   That too was good,  but could have benefitted from a bit more alcohol.

Overall the meal was good, the staff were ok, I found them just a bit too attentive to start with. After that, they drifted away rather too much.

My score out of 5

Would be 4, a good meal, but nothing special.

Www.pizzaexpress.com

Marco Restaurant – Chelsea Football Club.

I am a great fan of Restaurant vouchers/offers, and was particularly pleased to see Travelzoo recently offered a 3 course set meal for 2 people at Marco Pierre White’s restaurant attached to Chelsea Football Club. The offer covered the period from October to January (although the whole of December was excluded – probably due to various Christmas parties being held there).

I decided to buy 2 vouchers, at a cost of £49 each.  This was easily accomplished, as I subscribe to Travelzoo and receive all their E mails.  The vouchers were E mailed back to me the same day.

The only drawback of this offer was that you could not use it on match days, and also only in the evening.

My first visit to the restaurant was in early October, and I must say I was really looking forward to it.

Chelsea football Club is actually located at Fulham Broadway, and not Chelsea as you may have thought!  Mark and I took the train from Reading to Paddington, a relatively short journey.  We had   decided to make a day of it, and didn’t go straight to the restaurant – but spent a lot of time in Oxford Street, Selfridges in particular.

The day went quickly and it was soon time to hit the tube again and head towards Wimbledon on the district line.  We got off at Fulham Broadway, and walked through a modern shopping complex to reach the High Street.  Outside, we turned to the left (fortunately there were street directions, as we would not have found it so easily).  We walked on for about 5 minutes and soon came to Stamford Bridge (Chelsea’s ground).  Again, the restaurant was clearly marked and we soon arrived outside the glass fronted and silver chromed exterior.

We pushed through the revolving door, and were met at the front desk by a friendly waiter who found our booking and showed us to our seat. 

The restaurant interior was extremely dark, with lots of sparkling lights festooned around pillars – it did remind a bit of a Christmas tree. 

We were offered the wine menu, and I chose a glass of house white, and Mark ordered a glass of beer.  The waiter then came to provide us with a bread roll each.

Naturally, we had a special menu, a choice of three starters, three mains and three desserts.  Additionally, there was a delicious ‘amuse bouche’ for us to try – very concentrated onion soup, with 2 little onion biscuits.    

My starter was 3 little scallops over a bed of lettuce; they were cooked to perfection and basically melted in the mouth.   As a main course, we both decided to choose sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce.  Neither of us as a rule have sirloin at home, and we would have been foolish to not choose it here.  I must say that this was lovely, and the sauce was divine.  Any side dishes were an extra charge of £3.50 each, and we both ordered the triple cooked chips.  Again, these were gorgeously fluffy inside, and crunchy on the outside.

The desserts did look tempting, but we both choose biscuits and cheese.  Sorry to be boring!  The cheese was served with a very refreshing quince jelly.  I really loved the plates these were served on, an appealing apple and blackberry pattern.

Overall, we had a pleasant experience here – the staff were attentive, but not overtly so, the restaurant ambience was excellent and most importantly of all – the food was delicious.

My score out of 5:

Would be 5. Excellent, but probably best to wait until you see an offer – as it can prove expensive.

Thank you.

Just a short couple of lines to thank those who have been reading my blog.  The stats are showing good things.

I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say, and will contine to do so.

All the best,

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7” white.

I have been a Kindle owner for about a year and a half, and have become very attached to it. But had become increasingly attracted to the idea of buying a tablet; however I was not prepared to pay the extortionate price for an I pad.  It was time to look at alternatives.

Last year I purchased a Gemini Joytab, 8 inch; which was basically a pile of rubbish.  So, after having sold that I was certainly not willing to buy one of the cheaper tablets on the market. 

My search for a new tablet started at the time the Amazon Kindle Fire came out on the market.  I did seriously consider buying it, but was not happy at the fact you could not use the BBC I Player on it, and that the amount of apps available was limited.

This narrowed my search down to two choices – the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Google Nexus.  Both being about the same price.  The reviews of both were pretty similar, and to be fair I think the Nexus has a better battery life.   At the time of purchase (December 2012) Samsung had a £30 cash back offer on the 7” tablet – meaning that the initial cost was £158, but this became £128 after cash back.  To me, that was a done deal – the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7” it was!

I reserved my new tablet from Argos, and waited a couple of days for it to be delivered.

I finally collected it on 21^st December. 

What’s in the box?

The tablet comes in a white cardboard box, and at first glance it looked small – but then I suppose it would be, particularly as its 7” in size.  Lift the lid, and the protective covering and you are presented with the lovely neat, slim looking tablet.  It is covered in a plastic film to save the screen from knocks and scratches.  There is a charger too, (which is not provided with the Kindle!).  Assemble the charger and plug your tablet into charge for a few hours.

To switch it on, press the switch on the right hand side, and wait for the little tune to be played whilst it starts up.  If you have the Wi-Fi version, it should automatically link up to your own network.  This means you can now start surfing!

As this is an android tablet, you need to create a Google account in order to download any apps.  This is not too great a challenge (even for me) and in no time at all you are ready to go.

Of course, my first app to download was the Kindle.  Now I am able to access all the books I had on my old device.

Watching TV/films on it is a dream, as the picture quality is HD.  I understand that you can also use it as a phone, but I am yet to work that one out.

My score out of 5:

Would be 6!  I know that isn’t strictly allowed, but it’s brilliant.

Waitrose Essential Camembert.

I really enjoy my cheese, and whilst on my latest shopping trip to Waitrose; decided to sample the delights of their Camembert from the Essential range.

Being a fan of practically any type of cheese (except for goat's cheese), I was keen to try this one out.

It comes in a rather unassuming round white box, and doesn't really catch the eye as much as it's rivals.  I think most of the French produced brands seem to come in a red box, with white lettering on them.

The top of the box slides off to reveal a greaseproof paper wrapped circle of cheese.  It's my understanding that to be a really excellent cheese, it needs to be quite runny - this however is quite solid and bears more than a passing resemblance to brie.

Unwrapping your cheesy parcel releases a gorgeous aroma.  Slightly potent, but not too bad.  (I have encountered much worse!).  Slice your cheese with a relatively sharp knife, and as you lift it out of the box, you will notice the golden middle.  I find it just right to spread on a slice of bread or to enjoy it with a cheese cracker.

My score out of 5

Would be 3 - it's OK, but probably worth spending a bit more than the cost of £1.75 and buying yourself a better quality cheese.

Heston from Waitrose Spiced shortcrust mince pies.

These are seriously delicious!
 

As part of the Heston range from Waitrose, you can now buy shortcrust mince pies.

These are mince pies with a twist.  The shortcrust pastry is a lovely  dark golden brown colour, and has just a hint of crunchiness.  I can also taste a strong hint of ginger and nutmeg in the crunch.  The generous portion of mincemeat filing has a delicate aroma about it, and again I can taste the addition of ginger.
 

Across the top of each pie you have a lattice pattern made out of more of the delicious pastry, with some toasted almonds.
 

The pies taste wonderful whether eaten hot or cold.  Personally I recommend heating them for about 10 to 15 minutes at about 150 degrees.  Serve them with a dash of cream.
 

My score out of 5
 

Would be 5, lovely!  Buy, eat and enjoy!

Waitrose curry.

My husband now seems to be suffering from the same virus as I had.  So it was a good idea for the 2 of us to have a curry tonight in the hope it would clear his blocked nose! 

 

Waitrose are currently offering 10% off ready meals to all holders of the My Waitrose card, so as they do a particularly good curry we decided to have that.

 

I choose the Prawn mango curry , (which has a 2 chilli symbol) and to accompany that, some lemon rice. 

 

All curries in this range are covered with an exotic looking cardboard sleeve, each one is a pinkish purple colour. The prawn curry is a gorgeous colour, redish burnt orange.  It cooks for three minutes in the microwave, after having pierced the film.

 

Now, my curry tastes are quite feeble and as this one had 2 chilli symbols I thought it would be spicy, but no it was absolutely fine.  I was able to eat it without too many problems. 

 

The lemon rice was also very good, and the perfect side dish.

 

My score out of 5

 

Would be 5, very tasty.  Buy it, cook it and enjoy.

Strada Restaurants.

Time for a little outing for me (at last!!), so we decided to go out for lunch into Reading.

The Oracle offers many restaurants to the discerning foodie, and Mark and I thought it time we re-visited a one time favourite - Strada.

We ventured out fairly late on in the day, and by the time we had walked into town it was approaching 2 pm.  Strada is located on the far side of the Oracle, on the riverside. 

I think we were probably only the 4th couple in there at that time, so we had plenty of places to sit.  We picked a nice table which was probably intended for 3 people in the corner of the restaurant.

We were left with the menus to peruse.

Now, when Strada first opened which I think must have been getting on for 5 years ago, as soon as you sat down you were offered fresh cold filtered tap water.  Sadly this practice seems to have stopped nowadays.  We had to choose diet coke (neither of us were particularly keen to be knocking back more alcohol at lunch time).  Personally I think the coke was over priced, at £2.25 for a very small glass.  Oh well, at least it was cold.

Now on to the food choice.  I fancied soup; but having found out the soup of the day was tomato, opted for the clam soup.  Lovely, with a dash of chili - lots of clams in their shells at the bottom of the bowl.  Mark chose the tricolore salad - and was presented with what can only be described as a very mean portion - about 3 slices of avocado and 3 slices of tomato - I think this cost about £4.25 - excessive for such a dish.

My main course was Saltimbocca, (pan fried pork fillet, covered with parma ham) and accompanied with mash potatoes and green beans.  It was ok, nothing special - again portion sizes not fantastic, and it is a good job that my appetite is not huge.  Mark opted for the four seasons pizza, the base was cooked very well, but the topping was extremely mean, hardly good value for a total cost of £10.45.  I think it was marketed as 'four pizzas in one' which was a bit of a joke, as I don't think you could have got one pizza's topping out of what was on offer on this one!

The service wasn't good, we asked to look at the dessert menu, and were left for about 20 minutes before I finally managed to get the waitress to come back to the table.  In the end, we decided against any more food as we had spent quite enough time in the restaurant.

My score out of 5:-

Would be 3.5 - ok (ish) but certainly gone down hill since they first opened. Not enough choice on the menu.