Questions!

My blog friend Scargosun did this tag when she was a bit bored. My Google Chrome/Firefox is a bit kippered so I am having a go too (while I think about a solution). Just for fun and no obligation to take part, though I'd enjoy your answers in the North East and BS9!

Here's mine..



What are your initials?
RJR

What is your favorite thing to wear?
A well made but anonymous suit



Last thing you ate?
Cold lamb with a tomato and onion wine vinegar dressing (wot I made)



Name one thing that scares you:
People I love carking it



I say Shotgun, you say:
Big 4 wheel drive Nissan



Who was the last person in your bed?
Me. Other than that my bro' and his GF when they stayed over and I took the smaller bed in the spare room *dull answer, sorry!*



What were you doing at 7:00am?
Catching the headlines on Radio 4 Today



Last person you hugged?
My brother as he boarded a train for London and a plane back to the far east



Does anyone you know want to date you?
Yes, I think



When was your last encounter with the police?
A bit confused in Bristol some time back when a Policeman asked me if I was okay, I was okay and he was cool about it. The power of Guinness.



Have you ever driven without a license?
Yes, aged 16 and a little go in my Dad's car in the middle of nowehere



The last place you went out to dinner?
A nice pub near my folks' house called The Crown



Do you like your name?
Yes.



What time of the day is it?
9.16 am



Who/What made you angry today​?
No one so far - anger's kinda strong as a repsonse



Baseball or Football?
Football (as in proper football)



Do you want anyone?
Of course



Do you like birds?
Tall ones and moor hens (coots)



Favorite holiday?
Any! But Ireland is always tops



Do you download music​?
Yes



Do you care if your socks are dirty​?
No, nor am I bothered about accurate pairing



Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos?
Pointless to me but if it floats your boat, then go for it



What are you doing tonight?
Are you South African?



Do you like to cuddle?
Yes



Do you love anyone?
Yes



Whose bed did you sleep in last night​?​​
My own



Have you ever bungee jumped?
No, I would get it wrong.



Have you ever gone whitewater rafting?
Yes



Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you?
Yes!



How many pets do you have?
None



Have you met a real redneck?
I have met several Americans. Does that count?



How is the weather right now?
Sunny and slightly chilled



What are you listening to right now?
LCD SoundSystem, Sound of Silver Track 6



What is your current favorite song?
Mylo - In My Arms



What was the last movie you watched?
One of the Bourne movies, maybe



Do you wear contacts?
No



Where was the last place you went besides your house​?
A run round the local playing field an hour ago



What are you wearing?
Dressing Gown



What's one thing you've learned this year?
All about short selling and how it fucks things up



What do you usually order from Starbucks?
Coffee with no complications



Ever had someone sing to you?
Yes



Have you ever fired a gun:
A webley air pistol ages back



Are you missing someone?
Yeah, a little



Favorite TV show?
The Restaurant at the moment (and 'Ze Chaaaaalonj' the night after!)



What do you have an obsession with?
Nothing



Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb?
yes!



Who ??
Loads of people cite a likeness to a weatherman on the local station here



Who would you like to see right now?
Khaless (ha ha)



Ever had a near death experience?
I have been to Birmingham



Are you afraid of falling in love?
No



Have you ever been caught doing​ something you weren't supposed to?
Of course!



Has anyone you were really close to passed away recently?
Sure



Our Lady Peace or Nickelback​?
No idea what this means



What's something that really bugs you?
Poor manners and inconsideration



Do you like Michael Jackson?
Take or leave him



Taco Bell or Burger King?
BK - never been to a Taco bell



Next time you will kiss someone?
Not sure!



Favorite baseball team?
The Bluejay Redsox from New Toronto?



Ever call a 1-900 phone number​?
No, what is it?



Nipple or Nose rings?
Neither does it for me...



What's the longest time you've gone without sleep​?​​​​​
24 or so



Last time you went bowling?
Years back



Where is the weirdest place you have slept​?
China



Who was your last phone call?
Gigi in Galway



What does your last received text message say?
Morrisey is singing John Lennon's Imagine for the re-make of Fight Club. In your house! (A line from a pal taking the mick about people, tunes and movies that I think are over rated and arse!)



What's the closest orange object to you?
The 'Publish Post' button here on my Blog compose page

LCD Soundsystem. The Sound of Silver.

I have had a trying and curious day but I am alive, have a roof over my head and a glass of beer on the go, so in fact not a trying day at all but I am still narky. Google Chrome is a beta but it's gone Tonto tonight. Firefox is slower than my love life and JS remain silent on the job front. Fucking marvelous.

I have been listening to the pictured album and it's bloody great and always does the trick! I am not as narky as I was.

Coffee and Bingo!

Helped at a Church coffee morning today which took place right across the country as well as here in BS5 (the pic' is the campaign logo) - we raised about 200 pounds which was not at all bad for a low key affair. I was actually quite nervous helping out which is odd because I see these people each week, and indeed knock out shed-loads of tea and coffee afterwards but it felt different today. It went off okay though.

All good practice for Friday when I have been asked to do the Bingo calling because the lady who normally does it is away. Me and a room full of razor sharp senior folks all of whom play three Bingo cards at once relying on yours truly to call out the numbers and ensure fair play. Train wreck! But I couldn't say no, could I? What's a bit of harmless pressure in the scale of things?

Help, I think I am a Bus!

Top afternoon transport/machinery smartness here in BS5!

The bin lorry just came down the street which is always secretly entertaining for a quick ten seconds of hydraulic noisy action as it lifts the bins up and over (36 going on 10).

Today however, one bin lorry was followed by a second and then a third! Maybe they thought they were buses as they always come in threes.

The crews were loud and noisy and larking about, and it was quite a caper. The third bin wagon caned it down the street (which is narrow) but seemed to pose no danger to VX52 and his colleagues parked on the road.

Somewhat dangerously I took a picture - the sort of people who normally photograph bin lorries probably only do so on day release from institutions.

You may have to click on the pic' to enlarge and confirm a bin lorry hat trick.

No complaints here about slack collections in BS5!

Oh dear.

(D', I *know* you would have found this smart so don't be at me on the comments, bro'!)

Hmmmm, Upgrades!

Top smart. For no extra monthly charge my broadband provider has notched me up to between 7 and 8 meg' a second connection.

Cool.

Blogging just like Neo now.

This picture is me avoiding a stray bullet that came down the street last week on account of an over excited special forces dude up at no.78. It was close!

Sell you a bridge?

Lamb great and cooked beautifully; as my Blog friend Scargosun said earlier on, get over the fear of cooking it and it will become a regular favourite. Spot on indeed and it was delicious. I concentrated and delivered; shame it was just me at the dinner table, but hey, next time.

As I ate that dinner the US Economy did not cook nearly as well and lost collosall billions in the few minutes I was eating. Amazing to watch it live!

America: look out of your back yard a bit more, get a Passport, learn some Geography and maybe the rest of the planet will give you a bit more time. And vote Democrat for once! Listen to Obama, he's got a bridge to sell you (great line about an hour ago!) This pic' is Obama delivering that line...

Lamb as it cooks!

Well folks we are 23 minutes in and the first stage is complete!

Blog BS5 is following this recipe for the first attempt at Roast Lamb. I am following it but only scantly, which I know will make my friend Bag get a bit pointy.

Only one call to Blog BS5's Mum so far but that was for technical advice on courgettes fried in olive oil with a little garlic; kick that off 20 minutes before service was the advice, then they will be done nicely.

So, as per the recipe, I made a nice little rosemary and garlic and olive oil baste but I finely chopped a chilli too (minus seeds). Basted the lamb then put it in for 20 mins at 230. Also par boiled potatoes for those 20 minutes and have now added them to the lamb on a lower heat. The lamb is sat on some garlic cloves and I have quartered some onions and put those in too. There is a touch of red wine too.

Herein a picture at prep' time, and after 20 mins.

It smells FANTASTIC. If Dita VT or Erin O'Connor do happen to call, they will definitely want to stay, because it is looking and smelling good. And the lamb.

I have to get a gravy plan in my head now and get this going for the 12 minutes the lamb rests.

I am quite excited...it's roast lamb with broccoli, roasties, courgettes and sweetcorn plus gravy. Served at about 7.10 pm; bring a bottle and you are welcome to dinner!

Backlit bridge

You may recall a post on BlogBS5 last month about a new bridge over the river here in Bristol. It takes pedestrian traffic into the back of Temple Meads Station, crossing the Avon by way of a top-shiny cheese grater. It's a smart bit of kit and at night it is lit up which is pretty impressive. Looking through my phone, someone seems to have taken a picture of the bridge at night, and it turns out it was me after one or two glasses of pop (as my friend Bag would say). Anyhow, check this out; isn't it cool?

Grazing

It's two in the morning and I am peckish. I did not cook the planned roast lamb earlier today because I forgot to buy rosemary and garlic (essential gear!) so I will do that tomorrow instead. I sort of spent the evening grazing and not really eating any sort of dinner at all.

Time for a quick 2am bacon sandwich and then back to bed!

Baaaaa!

Today I am cooking roast lamb. I am a reasonably proficient cook but I am a bit scared of cooking sheep based products. It's just not as easy looking as a pig or a moo cow. It doesn't feel like intuitive cooking so it's off to Google recipes for me this morning.

It is also back to church Sunday across the UK, so maybe there will be a surge in our congregation today (I can't see it happening but you never know).

I am thinking about two personalities today, Paul Newman who was cool and has checked out at 83, and Lewis Hamilton who can take the Singapore race, I reckon.

Oh!

It's 5am and I have been up a couple of hours; I planned to wake up to hear McCain Obama but snoozed through, waking up in time for the waffle of the immediate analysis afterwards. As a consequence of this early start I will probably fall asleep mid afternoon, so really I should go back to bed now.

A revelation this morning: Dita Von T is an American!

Well, I didn't know that! No wonder she reads BlogBS5 at such curious times.

Storm in a shaving cup...

Well, I had been planning on letting my beard grow for a bit longer but here I am seven days in with a respectable enough performance and it is itchier than sand in your shoes after a day on the beach.

I am going to have a decent shave and stroll back towards respectability. Enough of looking like a vagrant; Lord knows I am close enough to that status without advertising it via a scruffy lack of shaving.

I would have written this post early on this morning but I was called upon to storm a plane in Cologne, Germany; you might read about that later. We made it quick, ruthless and efficient but I was a bit of a spaz with the door and got slightly shouted at for a sub 4 second reaction time. I think my itchy beard distracted me.

STIll no news form J.Sainsbury even though they said I would hear about my interview this week, one way or the other.

Sunny and nearly hot in BS5 today which is odd for the end of September.