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An emoji nativity.

Let's say we both posted it. (It was definitely me.)

With Anglo-German ears, that Nelly Furtado song from the Euros in Portugal sounds like it's saying "Cum on my Fotze, cum on my Fotze". Which is nice.

You're a bit early for Pancake Day.

The Big Pink Stiff One is genre-defining. Rude Kid at his finest.

You mean Maften.

You're below the poverty line, though, so it's natural you'd notice the difference.

Mine has increased by no more than a few quid since 2006 (I was in Germany before that), but they've achieved that by closing half the libraries and not cleaning the dogshit off the streets any more.

Previous page: people talking about what you can do with sprouts This page: "So I've been looking into what you can do with sprouts"

The latter being a Lib Dem policy anyway and one that the Tories would have gone nowhere near if it hadn't been for the coalition.

*sniffs the air* Why, that thur smells like a straw man approachin'!

Aye. Worker impotence being institutionalised, health care for all being dismantled... it's almost like the lot in charge are ashamed of some of the best things we've achieved as a country. I can thoroughly recommend volunteering to help out at the local food bank, incidentally. It's a good deed, it gives you a real insight into how things actually are on the ground, and most importantly it's unpaid so it doesn't compromise your proximity to the poverty line.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/iain-duncan-smith-leaves-commons-debate-on-food-banks-early-9013917.html

Bet you I would

You absorutery right.

We go to the inlaws every Christmas. I love his mam to bits but she's hopeless in the kitchen. Bone-dry turkey, overdone veg, gravy with granules still floating in it, you name it she can CT it. The "grin and bear it" mask gets a serious workout every time. Overdone sprouts are the worst whoever's in the kitchen, mind. Brock's tips make sense; bacon/pancetta also make everything better, as always. (I mean in the frying pan, though sprouts in blankets would be an interesting variation...)

It's all about degrees of WTFitude. I'm expecting a photo of a Cup-a-Soup next.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/the-best-local-newspaper-stories-of-2013?sub=2812951_2110980&s=mobile

CT, it may not be the Maften (sic) Hall way, but do check out your dusty copy of the Silver Spoon for veg preparation techniques. From memory (I'm away atm) there's a mini-recipe for carrots with rosemary that's a doddle and gives you sweet, soft-but-not-soggy carrot batons every time.

I'm not sure my brain will allow me to make this mental leap

I kind of liked him on the Richard Herring podcast because he was less show-offy than usual. As soon as his fame whore mode kicks in he's basically unbearable to watch or listen to, though, whether he's talking sense or not

The grapes are the round green ones, the crackers are the dry flat ones. HTH.

If only there were some alternatives nearby...

Going to a "posh" Indian with friends tonight. Been perusing the menu and it all sounds pretty amazing, but there's a little part of me that wants to just order an onion bhaji, a chicken tikka masala and a Kingfisher and see what happens.

Unquestionably the lost British Eurovision entry.