Meenzer

Bloody hell, that's a blast from the past. We used to go there after an afternoon perusing second-hand bookshops. I had a fucking thrilling childhood.

A mate of mine lost his mum when she was 48; she'd had an asthma attack, it was severe enough for her to be taken to hospital, she fell unconscious and just never woke up. It was awful because it came right out of left-field. Ever since then I've really tried harder to spend time with my folks. I really appreciate what they've done for me and I have to admit that I didn't when I was younger. I think that last part's pretty common to be honest. I had all kinds of strife with my dad when I was a young 'un because he was always away on work and never seemed to be around for us. Now that I'm a working man myself I see he was just trying to do the best for his family, and that's a tough balance to strike. And it's not that I wasn't aware of mortality because a good mate lost his mum, in similarly unexpected circumstances to your mate as it happens (that sort of thing seems to be depressingly commonplace), but you can be a right dick when you're young. Nowt to do about it except make up for it later on really.

http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=12129 Nostalgia.

Tell you what, with some of the stuff the lovely people on here have had to go through recently, the mood I'm in is one of making sure I get up and see my family more often from now on and taking nowt for granted.

That's pretty much how I learned it from Madhur. Couple of shards of cinnamon too, then cook it as slooooowly as your hob will allow. EDIT: And warn your guests about the risk of biting into a rogue cardamom pod.

Professional's

Cumin seeds are highly underrated. A secret weapon that can be deployed even in unlikely circumstances.

Had an excellent one in Berlin recently, at some kind of cocktail waiter training bar of all places , and there was egg white involved. Not sure they'd know how to make it again as there's no actual menu or anything, you're just encouraged to test them by asking them for cocktail x, y or z on spec. All very Berlin really. As for tonight, I'm making an indent into a €5 bottle of ouzo. Weekend trips to Germany do strange things to me and my luggage.

I made him spag bol and got us a cupcake each from Sainsburys. Last of the great romantics.

A good thread idea but saying you can't change personal things? You've just invalidated your own thread. Sort of, but if you dont rule out personal shit like one more day with Grandad then it quickly becomes very depressing I'd love to have had one day at all with either of my Grandads, you heartless bastard. Also being at the 1974 Eurovision would be good.

Not even that! A mere fiver, I'm afraid. Courage, convictions, I have neither. Still though...

Cheers. Bank balance aside, I'm just so chuffed for Zambia. Was screaming at the telly throughout the shootout for Ivory Coast to make Gervinho take one because you just knew he'd bollocks it up.

That must be the place a mate of mine recommended for the wet shave experience. "Not something you need to do more than once, but by god it'll make you feel like a real man." Or words to that effect.

Our flat is like that - two bedrooms, two bathrooms. Completely ridiculous. Mind, it does mean we get a bathroom each, so I suppose I shouldn't grumble. Wouldn't exactly be high on my list of priorities for the next place though

I certainly do, Betfair is where I gleefully fleece idiot foreign gays of their money on the various Eurovision markets every year. There's nothing much more friendly there right now, whether backing Ivory Coast or laying Zambia, but now that you've mentioned it I'll definitely keep a close eye and see if I can stick something on in running if Zambia happen to nick the first goal, say.

That's precisely why I want him to be appointed England manager. It doesn't worry me in the slightest.

That long hot summer in Brighton, but that's not important right now.

"Abridged for younger readers" like it was some kind of complex work of literary genius in the first place. For all Joey Barton's scattershot relationship with accuracy and the truth, he got that one spot on.

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/capello-convicted-of-tax-evasion-201202094877/

Squeaky bum time. Now that Zambia are in the final, would any of you consider offsetting/closing out/hedging/whatever you want to call it, if you were in my position? The best I can see for Ivory Coast at the minute is 1/4, which isn't really worthwhile (sure, I could guarantee some kind of profit even at that price, but it eats into the potential Zambia winnings too substantially for me). But if anywhere were to start offering 1/2 (say), I might be tempted to stick £50 or £100 on, to at least guarantee me some kind of decent payday. Hmmm. Probably won't happen though, I suppose, unless there's some massive team news during the week or something...

The dream is alive. Given this, they had to reach the final really, considering it's in Libreville of all places. One more step...

Writing that must have taken some will power. EDIT: Also, happy 30,000th post