On the subject of sleep

When I'm at home and working, I get by on 6-7 hours' sleep per day, usually a little longer at weekends. I sometimes think that's not quite enough, but overall I feel I cope OK. So why is it that as soon as I go on holiday all I want to do is sleep? Take yesterday for example: I got up just after 9 AM, had a siesta for a couple of hours mid-afternoon, went to bed at 1 AM and woke up at 11 AM this morning - ten whole hours later!

The way this holiday's going I'll have time for nothing else but sleeping, eating and reading books. Somehow it doesn't sound too bad ;-)

Where the hell is Matt?

Some of you may know of the dancing-around-the-world videos by Matt Harding. If you don't, check this one out, it's brilliant!



The music is by Deep Forest, a group consisting of two French musicians, Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez, who compose "world music" mixing ethnic with electronic sounds.

Read more about Matt and watch more videos and outtakes here. They're guaranteed to put a smile on your face, even if you've had a shitty day/week/month, like I've had.

Nights full of light

I love this song. And I like it better in Italian.

Notte di luce
Una notte infinita
Una lettera che
Non sara mai spedita
Cos'e la realta
Non lo so piu
Ad occhi aperti
Il mio sogno sei tu

Io ti amo
Si, ti amo
Quanto ti amo

Guardo la gente
Mano per mano
Nessuno capisce
Quello che provo
Respiro il silencio
Dei tuoi pensieri
Un giorno sarai
Tutto quello che speri

Io ti amo
Si, ti amo
Quanto ti amo

Anyone for spag-bol?

According to the findings of a survey for Loyd Grossman sauces, the average household survives on just four staple dishes because that's all they can cook (presumably these dishes exclude bacon & eggs, cereal and beans on toast, although you never know). What's worse, it is estimated that spaghetti bolognese is cooked twice a week by 6.1 million people in Britain, which means that the average Briton eats 2,960 portions of spag-bol in a lifetime.

Considering the last time I ate spag-bol was in November 1993, does that mean that someone out there eats spag-bol four times a week, every week?!

I couldn't find a link to the actual survey, but thought this article by The Times was most interesting.

So, go on, tell us - how often do YOU eat spag-bol?

Nul points, again...

The Great British public have decided. Once again, we've done our best to eliminate any act that would have the faintest hope of success in the Eurovision Song Contest. Let's hope the political voting doesn't let us down now - can you imagine if this entry came back with any points at all? Musicians around the country would give up making music and take up crocheting instead.

(I know I would if I was a musician. Maybe not crocheting though. Embroidery would be more my thing.)

P.S. Anyone remember Slovenia's Transvestite Sisters from the 2002 contest? We can't even claim points for originality.

P.P.S. This is the song. Listen at your peril.

Happy birthday!

Today's my brother's birthday. I know he thinks I forget because sometimes I neglect to ring him until late in the evening (I bet he thinks Mum has to remind me too) but the truth is, I've never once forgotten his birthday, ever.

Every year during the first fortnight in March I count down to his birthday. I'm probably more aware of his birthday than I am of mine, because today is the day when I stopped being "alone" in the world, and for this I'm very thankful.

So here it is, bro: proof that I remembered ;-)

Happy Birthday! Xronia Polla!

P.S. OK if I don't ring you now?

Irish hotpot: a recipe for St Patrick's day

With St Patrick's day round the corner, I thought I'd tell you about a delish Irish dish I cooked last weekend. As I'd not done a proper supermarket shop for some time, the only exciting foodstuffs I had in the house were Tesco Healthy Eating pork sausages and Sainsbury's white potatoes ("multipurpose, tasty and versatile" no less). The obvious choice was bangers and mash, but I fancied something a little more exciting, so I googled "sausage+potato" and came up with a recipe for an Irish hotpot.

Now, I've heard all the jokes about Irish cooking, but I decided to give it a go purely because this particular dish seemed simple and quick, and I had all the ingredients to hand. The result completely surpassed my expectations. I'd never have thought that you could prepare a scrumptious meal with such basic ingredients, but scrumptious it definitely was.

In case you're looking for inspiration this weekend, here is the recipe as modified by moi:

Heat 2 tbsp of groundnut oil in a shallow casserole dish with a lid and fry the onion and sausages until starting to brown.

Add potato slices and cook, stirring occasionally until golden.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add 1 tbsp of English mustard and half a tbsp of French wholegrain mustard (to get some cross-cultural flavours going ;-) to the stock, then pour into the casserole.

Cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Preheat the grill to medium.

Scatter 200 gr of grated Cheddar cheese over the top.

Put the casserole under the grill for 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden.

Serve with steamed vegetables (we had green beans).

Enjoy!

Disclaimers:

1. If you're on a diet, steer clear! I reckon there were 1,000 calories per mouthful (but if you went easy on the cheese it might be OK-ish, like you'd only need to fast for a couple of days to make up for it).

2. I have no idea if this is a "proper" Irish dish or not. My past contact with all things Irish is limited to drinking coffee with Baileys, watching Ed Byrne on TV and reading Marian Keyes novels. I know nothing about Irish cuisine and very little about any other cuisine.

3. The doggy's got nothing to do with the recipe. I used the photo because it looked cute :-)