Braai-Q

To be fair, if three KK's were dropped down your chimney courtesy of Santa, you'd be waking up in the middle of the night, not on Xmas morning! 😀

Same concept in terms of a state subsidy Basher. Here's a guide to the UK retention scheme: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/emp-law/employees/furlough

In the UK, we've had the furlough scheme which has helped the hospitality industry to a degree and I know kurzarbeit in Germany is alleviating the situation but it's hard not to see a number of casualties. It is creating a degree of innovation with home meal kits and I have seen a number of chefs doing Zoom classes which are sparking interest in their cuisine. A little neighbourhood restaurant which was less 100 yards from our front door in London has been smart. Their space was too small to socially distance tables to achieve a profitable threshold so they create a store and have been offering sourced and produced produce as well as a take away service - https://www.brawn.co/collection/brawn-sourced/

I think you're right @Troble It's Ian Mackay's Swiss Cheese Model. It's interesting seeing the backlash that Qantas faced with suggestion that they'd adopt a 'no jab, no fly' policy suggesting that implementation and compliance is going to be a challenge. One of my clients is a large international organisation and I'm working with them at the moment. We're struggling with legal and ethical responsibilities and the liability risk they face. Working across 16 markets with very little commonality in approach to the pandemic is to understate it somewhat, challenging. The savings they're making on travel really throw into focus the extent of losses that the airlines will be suffering. I'm not sure I'll be able to afford air fares based on how many airlines will remain operational! I'm sorry to hear that your trip was cancelled. Assume that was Maido and Central? It'll be even more special when it happens. Funnily enough, we were due to be in Singapore, flying that day. We were due to visit Odette which I think is in the top 20 if we're talking about the same list. Not that position matters, it's subjective and all are exceptional.

Yeah, I know. I have very little confidence in an 'orderly transition' though. From someone who grew up with a passport that didn't afford freedom of movement (without long queues and unreasonably invasive eligibility checks), I place great value on it. That said, I saw a friend post on Twitter that The Times (who supported Brexit) are offering helpful advice. I frequently have to check that I'm not reading satire.

Our politician morons are just as bad. The UK is going to be a disaster getting into Europe with Brexit and I expect 12h will be light compared to what's coming with the Channel Tunnel. It was only today that it was revealed that COVID vaccines are coming in through military routes to circumvent the expected delays at ports. I've often driven over to Europe for a long weekend and we cancelled our pre-Brexit trips due to the pandemic. Equivalent trips to yours. One of my favourites is heading into Paris to Caractère de Cochon. Solo (picture below) always supplies us with incredible smoked ham and it was a Christmas tradition of ours to head over and stock on a few things and have a few days of good food to warm up for more good food over Christmas. You can probably see in the mirror, some of the extent of the ham he does. We shall miss him this year. I've found that a well positioned sticker declaring your love for a country or location goes down a treat. Having kept a car in central London, they suffer damage from bad driving and just mindless drunken vandalism. I had a black car. Not quite murdered out but it did have a slight drug dealer vibe so I put a Jamaican flag over the parcel shelf. Nobody would dare touch a Yardie's car. Funny how these things make a difference. Perhaps a 'I left my heart in Tijuana' sticker will help...

Sounds pretty ideal. I showed my wife and I think we'll be visiting post pandemic. 😁 Being a petrolhead, I frequently find excuses to 'nip out for milk' and that's about the length of a good milk run.

Thanks for posting. Looks absolutely fantastic.

Geez @Troble.. You might have put a little warning on those pictures. I'm now walking around hungry trying to approximate some of that in my next meal. You live 90 mins away?

I should clarify that the pints-n-chips reference is not original. Currently stalled on the 'is a Scotch Egg a meal' chip substitution debate. For those wondering what the hell I'm on about, the British press were trying to clarify the rules in what constituted a 'substantial meal'. Pub snacks - pork scratchings, crisps, nuts with a pint are not a substantial meal. But then there are hot bar snacks - chips, scotch eggs and so on. Then a public debate ensued over the ambiguity. I think I tuned out when the size of the egg that was used to make the Scotch egg was being debated.

I like how you translated it into my language!

Mint chips? Tell me more....

Did a roast chicken this evening. I was going to light the KK but I was on a video conference call and frankly, the rain was horizontal and it's just a couple of degrees over freezing. Made up a recipe which was loosely based on one for Thessalian Quail. If you're able to find Thessalian lemons, they're incredibly scented and fragrant but I had to make do with regular supermarket versions. The recipe is simple and involves stuffing the bird with a mixture of onion, breadcrumbs and pine nuts. I cooked it using a Lemon infused olive oil to exaggerate the citric flavours but the dish also features bay leaves, julienne orange peel, juniper berries, clove, thyme, lemon juice, flat parsley, black Greek Olives (I used kalamata), red wine, fresh breadcrumbs and toasted pine nuts. The dark base surrounding the chicken is due to the breadcrumbs absorbing the wine and caramelising. The scrapings are utterly heavenly and the flavour combination is very hard to describe and complex. It's a bit like trying to describe certain Japanese dishes - they're alien to the western palette and the there are no direct comparables. I was going to do it with some Caponata but after 11h of video conferencing and talking on the phone, I just wanted to eat so made some cous cous and added some sultanas. The sweetness of the sultanas worked well but next time, I think I'll make sure I include aubergines.

You won't be disappointed. I find I read all the recipes in Raymond's voice as well. It's the Morgan Freeman or David Attenborough effect. Or maybe it's just me. Dear Santa...

I think this might be a first world problem but when it arrives, I can say with certainty that as a proud male of the species, I will also not read the manual. I think what amused me reflecting on it later was what an utter idiot I was in not recognising the situation I found myself in. That was the point of the story. Nothing to do with name dropping. I'm entirely unbothered by all of that but I am always held in awe of someone who has attained a level of knowledge and craft skill to those sort of levels in any discipline. Particularly when you have an appreciation of what it took to get there. On a slight segue, you should check out Rick Beato on Youtube if you play. He does a technical song analysis - 'Why is this song great' and he deconstructs songs by their elements. I know he has done a few Led Zep tracks, you might enjoy. Great to have something cheerful to look forward to.

Just to lower expectations, I've not committed to nearly enough practice to be playing a set right now. Although I'm very excited about a new amp I have on order (Boss Nextone Special) and apparently it's arriving on 31/12. I don't have a ship to follow on a map or anything. Feel slightly shortchanged. What's the latest on your boat? Apols to all, I think I lost the plot yesterday. I'd done 17 hours of video conferencing over the last 3 days across three time zones. Can't.wait.for.this.to.be.over. Which I appreciate is the same for everyone.

I like the scale of your ambition @tekobo I will be over the limit and I'm not afraid to admit this will happen. 😆

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Now you're talking. Geuze is my favourite style and this is my go to beer: https://beerconnoisseur.com/beer/oude-geuze-boon My father in law is a beer aficionado and pointed me in the direction of this. I don't drink huge amounts of beer but there are some situations where only a beer will do.

There are two drinking experiences which stand out in my life which offered two of the most traumatic hangovers known to man. The first involved cider. The second involved cider. The first, I was a student and started drinking at lunch after lectures and managed to cause a traffic jam because I decided to cycle back home to my res. I was on the local radio (traffic helicopter also known as 'The Flying Fox') as I'd been drunkenly weaving up a steep hill in Oxford and caused a massive traffic tail back because I wouldn't let anyone past. Oxford is a cyclist city but congests very easily. The Police officer who encouraged me to get out the way was very playful and kept chasing me about until I was given a lift home. I woke up around 7pm the following evening and couldn't lift my head from my pillow. The second time. A suitable amount of time having lapsed between incident 1 and this incident, we had been drinking something called 'Old Pig Squeal' in Devon. Their slogan was 'It'll separate the men from the boys and the tankards from their handles'. Cider is dangerous.

The UK has just had new COVID-19 tiers announced. The lowest infection rate areas are allowed the greatest freedom (Tier 1) which is about 1% of the population. Tier 2 allows you to go to the pub but you have to have a meal with a drink. Tier 3 is the toughest lockdown. So to translate: Tier 1: Pints Tier2: Pints with chips Tier 3: No pints So depending on where @RokDokis on the Tier system, I think we'll be ok to help out.

You're sourcing sauces eh @Basher I hope you have a good chimichurri in your repetoire?

My wife says that I'm enough to drive her to drink which generally prompts me to offer her one. I try to be helpful. 😀 There is no such thing as a bad G&T, it's only bad when your glass is empty. If you can get your hands on Rooibos, the infusion is easy. It's not the same as running it through a still as part of the distillation process but if you steep it for a day or so, I'd say it wouldn't be that far off. When we have parties, I do a spring punch and instead of getting carried away with sugar, introduce some sweetness with rooibos and honey.

Excellent. After 7 years, I expect you support all the right Rugby teams and act in an appropriate way when people ask if you'd like 'wors... Constantia is a superb part of the world. I think you can find beauty in so much of the world though, you just have to look.

Thanks Troble. Growing up in Africa and going back regularly, I've done a lot of outdoor cooking. I've had my meals interrupted by Hyaena, Lion, Baboons, Elephant and Buffalo on at last a dozen or more occasions. The birdlife also seems to like inviting itself along too!