Off Topic The Review Thread

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Working my way through this wonderful book Mrs Steels bought me for Chrimbo...

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You can pick it up, open it at any page, and wonder how Mark E Smith ever had any friends! Some of his quotes are brilliant, he didn't suffer fools, and certainly didn't give a **** what anyone thought of him <laugh>
 

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Belated Christmas present from my daughter arrived today, from Pottery Throwdown presenter, and potter, Keith Brymer Jones. Also ex punk singer.

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she tried to get the one labelled ‘****’ but they had sold out……it’s actually a very nicely made mug, the writing is embossed rather than printed.
 

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Went to see the Agatha Christie play Witness for the Prosecution at the old County Hall last Night.

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It's staged in the old council chamber - which is a perfect setting - and our seats were in the second row, about six feet from the stage.

It's an ingenious plot and I defy anyone to predict the outcome without having read the book or seen the film. I had seen the old Billy Wilder film with
Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton, but this still didn't spoil my enjoyment.

Great fun.
 
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Stroller said:
Went to see the Agatha Christie play Witness for the Prosecution at the old County Hall last Night.

You must log in or register to see images


It's staged in the old council chamber - which is a perfect setting - and our seats were in the second row, about six feet from the stage.

It's an ingenious plot and I defy anyone to predict the outcome without having read the book or seen the film. I had seen the old Billy Wilder film with
Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton, but this still didn't spoil my enjoyment.

Great fun.
Click to expand...
I saw that film quite recently. All of the acting in it was quite odd and definitely of its time. I’m sure a modern staging would be more appealing to 21st century ears.
 
sb_73 said:
I saw that film quite recently. All of the acting in it was quite odd and definitely of its time. I’m sure a modern staging would be more appealing to 21st century ears.
Click to expand...

This production very much retains the 50s vibe, including accents (without going full Harry Enfield), but I rather enjoyed that.
 
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Strictly wine and food ponces only……

The WHITEBROOK restaurant with rooms, Monmouthshire. Dinner, bed and breakfast.

https://www.thewhitebrook.co.uk/

Incredible. First time I’ve really got wine pairing, where the wine and food make each other better. 8 courses and 6 different wines (two ‘palate cleansing’ courses). A real foodies experience, the kind of meal to remember for years. I’ve had a few tasting menus with wine pairing experiences in the past, but this was the best.

When the wine pairings were explained to us before we started even I was thinking ‘we’re reaching peak ponce here’ - we had wines from Alsace, Morocco, Slovenia, Savoie, Armenia, and a French dessert wine. But they all worked brilliantly - and none were on the wine list, all specially chosen for the food being made that night (it changes daily according to availability of local ingredients, hence only sample menus on the website).The Moroccan Chardonnay (not a wine I usually like too much) and the Armenian red from a grape they have been making wine with for literally thousands of years, were stand outs, but it was the pairings which were amazing.

A real treat, the sort of thing it’s good to do but not too often, once or twice a year at most, it would be a disgrace to get blasé about this type of experience. Plus I’m guessing it was incredibly expensive (price not revealed to me, it was my birthday treat. And man I deserve it).

Save up and go.
 
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sb_73 said:
Strictly wine and food ponces only……

The WHITEBROOK restaurant with rooms, Monmouthshire.

https://www.thewhitebrook.co.uk/

Incredible. First time I’ve really got wine pairing, where the wine and food make each other better. 7 courses and 6 different wines (two ‘palate cleansing’ courses). A real foodies experience, the kind of meal to remember for years. I’ve had a few tasting menus with wine pairing experiences in the past, but this was the best.

When the wine pairings were explained to us before we started even I was thinking ‘we’re reaching peak ponce here’ - we had wines from Alsace, Morocco, Slovenia, Savoie, Armenia, and a French dessert wine. But they all worked brilliantly - and none were on the wine list, all specially chosen for the food being made that night (it changes daily according to availability of local ingredients, hence only sample menus on the website).The Moroccan Chardonnay (not a wine I usually like too much) and the Armenian red from a grape they have been making wine with for literally thousands of years, we’re stand outs, but it was the pairings which were amazing.

A real treat, the sort of thing it’s good to do but not too often, once or twice a year at most, it would be a disgrace to get blasé about this type of experience. Plus I’m guessing it was incredibly expensive (price not revealed to me, it was my birthday treat. And man I deserve it).

Save up and go.
Click to expand...

Hope your birthday treat went well - the Rs win the icing on the cake
 
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sb_73 said:
Strictly wine and food ponces only……

The WHITEBROOK restaurant with rooms, Monmouthshire.

https://www.thewhitebrook.co.uk/

Incredible. First time I’ve really got wine pairing, where the wine and food make each other better. 7 courses and 6 different wines (two ‘palate cleansing’ courses). A real foodies experience, the kind of meal to remember for years. I’ve had a few tasting menus with wine pairing experiences in the past, but this was the best.

When the wine pairings were explained to us before we started even I was thinking ‘we’re reaching peak ponce here’ - we had wines from Alsace, Morocco, Slovenia, Savoie, Armenia, and a French dessert wine. But they all worked brilliantly - and none were on the wine list, all specially chosen for the food being made that night (it changes daily according to availability of local ingredients, hence only sample menus on the website).The Moroccan Chardonnay (not a wine I usually like too much) and the Armenian red from a grape they have been making wine with for literally thousands of years, we’re stand outs, but it was the pairings which were amazing.

A real treat, the sort of thing it’s good to do but not too often, once or twice a year at most, it would be a disgrace to get blasé about this type of experience. Plus I’m guessing it was incredibly expensive (price not revealed to me, it was my birthday treat. And man I deserve it).

Save up and go.
Click to expand...

Sounds great. That's going on my list.
 
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breakfast a bit more trad. Not sure why it’s sideways….
 

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Dunno where to put this but last few days of isolation I’ve realised how much ****e I’ve been watching on tv and what a waste of my time it all is.
Therefore decided to get back into learning Spanish again and becoming more fluent.
Got a basic knowledge from previous attempts and living in Guatemala for a bit and hoping to be far more advanced within the year.
Downloaded the Duolingo app and paid £50 for Duolingo plus, which seems really good and very addictive. Been studying an hour plus for last few days and aiming for at least 30mins each day when back at work.
Anyone else used the app and had results ?
 
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Staines R's said:
Dunno where to put this but last few days of isolation I’ve realised how much ****e I’ve been watching on tv and what a waste of my time it all is.
Therefore decided to get back into learning Spanish again and becoming more fluent.
Got a basic knowledge from previous attempts and living in Guatemala for a bit and hoping to be far more advanced within the year.
Downloaded the Duolingo app and paid £50 for Duolingo plus, which seems really good and very addictive. Been studying an hour plus for last few days and aiming for at least 30mins each day when back at work.
Anyone else used the app and had results ?
Click to expand...
The problem with duolingo is that it teaches Mexican to Americans. Babble teaches Spanish.
Bueno suerte para ti
 
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sb_73 said:
Strictly wine and food ponces only……

The WHITEBROOK restaurant with rooms, Monmouthshire. Dinner, bed and breakfast.

https://www.thewhitebrook.co.uk/

Incredible. First time I’ve really got wine pairing, where the wine and food make each other better. 7 courses and 6 different wines (two ‘palate cleansing’ courses). A real foodies experience, the kind of meal to remember for years. I’ve had a few tasting menus with wine pairing experiences in the past, but this was the best.

When the wine pairings were explained to us before we started even I was thinking ‘we’re reaching peak ponce here’ - we had wines from Alsace, Morocco, Slovenia, Savoie, Armenia, and a French dessert wine. But they all worked brilliantly - and none were on the wine list, all specially chosen for the food being made that night (it changes daily according to availability of local ingredients, hence only sample menus on the website).The Moroccan Chardonnay (not a wine I usually like too much) and the Armenian red from a grape they have been making wine with for literally thousands of years, were stand outs, but it was the pairings which were amazing.

A real treat, the sort of thing it’s good to do but not too often, once or twice a year at most, it would be a disgrace to get blasé about this type of experience. Plus I’m guessing it was incredibly expensive (price not revealed to me, it was my birthday treat. And man I deserve it).

Save up and go.
Click to expand...
Often in and around Monmouth, but never picked up on the Whitebrook. Does look very good!
Glad you enjoyed Sb and Happy Birthday!
 
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Staines R's said:
Dunno where to put this but last few days of isolation I’ve realised how much ****e I’ve been watching on tv and what a waste of my time it all is.
Therefore decided to get back into learning Spanish again and becoming more fluent.
Got a basic knowledge from previous attempts and living in Guatemala for a bit and hoping to be far more advanced within the year.
Downloaded the Duolingo app and paid £50 for Duolingo plus, which seems really good and very addictive. Been studying an hour plus for last few days and aiming for at least 30mins each day when back at work.
Anyone else used the app and had results ?
Click to expand...
I was using the Duolingo app to brush up on my increasingly rusty Italian. I think it’s pretty good, if you have the self discipline to use it regularly and for a decent amount of time. I don’t.
 
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SW Ranger said:
Often in and around Monmouth, but never picked up on the Whitebrook. Does look very good!
Glad you enjoyed Sb and Happy Birthday!
Click to expand...
Worth a visit SW, tucked down a single track road between Monmouth and Trelleck. It gets fully booked well in advance apparently, so probably not one to turn up at on the off chance.
 
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Wherever said:
The problem with duolingo is that it teaches Mexican to Americans. Babble teaches Spanish.
Bueno suerte para ti
Click to expand...

Good point. To be honest I’m quite happy with the Mexican/South American teaching as that’s all I had anyway…my ex teacher was Colombian and it’s in South/Central America I’m more likely to visit rather than Spain.
I checked out Babble and was more expensive plus I got a bit irked that they tried to charge 1 price on internet and 1, more expensive price, on the app. Also reviews put Duolingo as far superior. We’ll wait and see
 
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sb_73 said:
I was using the Duolingo app to brush up on my increasingly rusty Italian. I think it’s pretty good, if you have the self discipline to use it regularly and for a decent amount of time. I don’t.
Click to expand...

It’s a way of keeping me away from my demons mate…..the cost of the app is less than a days gambling debts so early days but feeling pretty motivated so far.
Still trying to get my head properly around ECGs but finding that mind numbing lay dull
 
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Staines R's said:
It’s a way of keeping me away from my demons mate…..the cost of the app is less than a days gambling debts so early days but feeling pretty motivated so far.
Still trying to get my head properly around ECGs but finding that mind numbing lay dull
Click to expand...
I think if I had a trip to Italy planned I would have been much more motivated. Start organising a break in a Spanish speaking place, that’s sure to give you extra bounce.
 
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Reebok ZR11 treadmill.

An early lockdown purchase, this machine gets used 3 or 4 times a week for about 40 minutes each time. It’s not very sophisticated but has done a job in keeping me moving and is much easier on the Achilles’ tendons than road running (for me anyway).

However, this morning the treadmill attempted to assassinate me.

It started speeding up alarmingly with no warning, then slowing down equally rapidly. After 3 or 4 cycles of this odd behaviour, including me pulling the ‘emergency stop’ cord a couple of times as the machine calculated that a newly minted 61 year old would enjoy a gentle 15kph jog, accelerating to that speed from 10kph in approximately 1.5 seconds, I decided to turn it off. Now Error 03 is showing, which you have to turn to the Internet to discover (not mentioned in the manual) is a speed sensor/motor issue. No **** Sherlock. Turning it off and on again unlikely to solve the problem. And I notice that treadmill engineers/service people do not come cheap.

Might replace it with a better version rather than spend a third of its cost getting it fixed.

Reebok ZR11 Treadmill not recommended.
 
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