Time to speculate about the next Doctor…

2 06 2013

With less than 24 hours since Matt Smith announced his departure as The Doctor, there is already a tonne of speculation over who will take over the legendary role.

This BBC article lists like a gazillion names, which surely basically means they have no idea?

All I know is that each time they’ve announced The Doctor in the past I’ve never heard of them and I’d not heard any speculation about them becoming The Doctor. For example, here’s the list The BBC put together of possibilities to replace David Tennant – Matt Smith is nowhere in sight!

That said, reading the article this time round, I LOVE the idea of Rupert Grint getting the gig – I’d love to see The Doctor’s reaction to being ginger!





“in the image of”

26 05 2013

Have you ever pondered on this phrase?

In the Bible we’re told “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1v27

I get what the image of something is, but what about in the image? You might say “oh she’s the image of her mother!” but you wouldn’t say she’s in the image of her mother (would you? maybe I’m wrong!).

The only place where bible gateways search pointed me to a reference of the image of God was Colossians 1v15: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” which is a direct reference to Jesus, saying He is the image of His father.

So what does in His image mean? Does it mean we’re like a part of Him? That we have some similarities?

Any thoughts?!





The Time Traveler’s Wife – by Audrey Niffenegger

20 05 2013

I’d seen the film of this a long time ago, but as books are so often better and I’d picked it up cheaply in one of those bargain bookshops years ago I thought I’d knock it off my list.

I found this a bit tricky to get into. The first chunk of the book time jumps around a lot, and it was pretty hard to follow. However, once the book reached a point where there was a bit more flow to time, as in you were at least watching one of the characters timelines chronologically, it got far easier to understand what was going on!

The book got a bit dodgy in places, but only really 3-4 times max, most of it was clean or I’d’ve given up far earlier, but really it was only a couple of scenes that I could get past and move on.

Once I got into it the narrative got stronger and stronger until, as so often happens, I couldn’t put it down! I knew what was coming having seen the film, but still it’s very well written!

If you can get past a bit of smut (what a great word!) and confusion, then worth a read. I don’t know if I’d read it a second time now I’ve done it the once, especially as the film is a cleaner version! But it’s a lovely story 🙂

the time travelers wife





Friday five favourite: Crisps!

17 05 2013

I go through phases with crisps. I won’t eat them for years even months, purely because they’re not something I think of to buy, but when I have them they’re pretty good! Here’s another top five… Happy Friday!

What are your favourite crisps?

Walkers Prawn Cocktail

Pringles Ridges Ready Salted

Walkers Sensations Gently Infused Lime and Thai Spices

Kettle Chips Lightly Salted

Vegetable Crisps





One of the forgotten benefits of summer is…

16 05 2013

Now I’ve stopped wearing socks for the summer (unless the weather *really* messes up!) it means that I’ve saved a good chunk of time every time I do laundry in not having to pair them all up again!





New Year’s Resolution – Review 2

4 05 2013
  • Only buy FairTrade chocolate – not bad at all – bought some chocolate digestives recently, but that doesn’t count under the rules 🙂
  • Read more – Blitzed the hunger games lately, but now a bit slower reading Time Travellers wife – anything that jumps around in time is a little harder to read! and I’m not making as much time for it, but I’m over halfway through!
  • Limit daily time spent watching TV series on DVD – not so great in so much as in the last few weeks a lot of good tv series have started, and I’ve signed up to lovefilm instant, watched all of Downton Abbey series 3, and a few films and started One Tree Hill (though fortunately not won over by it yet!). This resolution needs refocussing. But at least I’m not watching tele for the sake of it, everything I watch is because I want to watch it now.
  • Exercise – fail. however I want to get one of those weighted hula hoops so it can be combined with the fail above!
  • Better bedtime routine – again it’s dropped a bit. I think I’ve had too long a wait between reviews! The laptop is staying on while I get ready for bed which isn’t so good
  • Sort through my photos and print off some for a photo album – still on the to do list
  • Put clothes away at night – been poor for a while but about a week ago I had a good tidy up, fixed the wardrobe, and I’ve managed to maintain this for a week now, which may now be a record!
  • Write down good things that happen and put them in a jar – didn’t do any in April, but a couple of days ago again had a catch up on everything since late March! It’s like I knew I was going to do this!
  • Learn to love God more, do everything for His glory, and make time for Him. – This is a resolution for every year!

Not the greatest review, ‘must try harder’





Friday Five Favourite: Two Ronnies Sketches

26 04 2013

Not all contain both Ronnie’s, but all contain at least one 🙂

Four Candles

Mastermind

The Royal Society for Mispronounciation

Opticians

Blackberry





Pork, veg & couscous in apple juice

21 04 2013

I eat the same thing nearly every Sunday, partly ‘cos I think it’s pretty tasty, partly because it’s kind of healthy, but mostly because I’m a creature of habit!
I made it for my parents over the Easter weekend, and have a couple of other foody bits I keep meaning to share, so welcome to a new category on my blog!

What I like about this recipe is that it’s the meat that’s cooked healthily, and the vegetables that are less healthy, but as there’s not a whole lot of veg in some of my meals, I think this is a good one to get lots of it in my system.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 Boneless pork loin steaks
  • Clear apple juice
  • 1 Courgette
  • 1 Red onion
  • 1 Packet of mushrooms
  • 1 Red pepper
  • 2 Packets Mediterranean style couscous

Method

  • Pour a thin layer of juice into an ovenproof dish to coat the bottom.
  • With the help of some scissors, pull the strip of fat off of the pork bits, and chop the meat into strips or chunks. I like to eat this meal without a knife so I cut mine mainly into bitesize chunks.
  • Put these pieces in the dish trying not to put any on top of each other – if possible keep them just one layer deep. Then pour juice over them all until all just submerged.
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  • Chop onion up into vertical segments and seperate the bits out.
  • Cut the courgette into chunky slices and quarter them all.
  • I often use baby button mushrooms for this, but if I can’t get them I quarter some normal size ones
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  • Mix the veg on an oiled baking tray and drizzle more oil over them and mix about a bit to ensure it’s all got a bit on./li>
  • Put the pork and the veg in the oven at about 200 degrees centigrade and set the timer for 15min.
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  • Chop up the pepper into long pieces and when the timer beeps, add to the vegetable tray and make sure they get a little oil.
  • Put it back in the oven and set the timer for another 15min
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  • Boil the kettle, and when the oven beeps, prepare the couscous according to packet instructions.
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  • Remove the meat and veg from the oven and turn it off.
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  • Now it’s time to plate up! Start with the couscous in the bottom of a pasta bowl.
  • Scrape the veg off the tray on top of the couscous
  • Using a ladle, scoop the pork pieces on the top of everything, make sure to include plenty of the juice from the oven in the spoonfuls, allow this to pour through the veg into the couscous
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  • Serve and enjoy with a glass of the apple juice
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Friday Five Favourite: Kids TV Shows

19 04 2013

So I did a blog about a year ago on my favourite children’s TV shows, but really that was preschool shows. I said at some point in the future I might do a set of more primary school aged shows, so here it is! Happy nostalgia Friday to you if you remember these 🙂

It was REALLY hard to get this list down to 5, so I’ve saved some like Kenan & Kel and SM:tv live for a secondary school list somewhen and hope I don’t have too many then!

The Wild House

Blue Peter

Recess

Art Attack

Zzzap





Banana and chocolate loaf cake

14 04 2013

I took this into work for a fundraiser this week and it went down well, a couple of people asked for the recipe so here goes 🙂

This is a great way to use up those bananas that are a tad overripe, just past edible!

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas
  • 2oz Butter (I use tub Stork because it’s already soft!)
  • 5oz Caster Sugar
  • 8oz Self-Raising Flour
  • 2 Eggs
  • a pinch of salt
  • 100g Milk Chocolate

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C
  • Mash up the bananas in a small bowl
  • In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar
  • Beat in 2 eggs (I use an electric whisk for this)
  • Sieve in the flour and salt and fold in
  • Add the bananas and mix well
  • Break a bar of chocolate into small pieces and mix these in
  • Grease and line a 1 1/2lb loaf tin. That or buy loaf tin paper liners, I have some that are slightly siliconised and give such a great finish! My friends thought the last I was made was bought because of this!
  • Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for an hour. One oven I used to use used to burn around the edges so I covered it with foil partway through, so keep an eye on it.
  • When an hours up, test with a knife and if it comes out clean, put it on a wire rack to cool, else pop it in for a little longer

Banana and Chocolate loaf cake