The sun shone bright and needing to go into town for some ink cartridges this afternoon I decided to save a little on petrol and car parking by only taking the car to the bottom of the hill and walking along ocean road into King Street. I continue to marvel at the ability of such a concentrations of eating houses and small bed and breakfast hotels to survive. There are over 50 places for food and entertainment just along Ocean Road plus 25 Hotels and over 60 if you includes those in King Street and the Market Square and 70 if you include those leading to the station from the junction separating Ocean Road and King Street, including 9 public houses (one closed), nine night clubs or late opening bars, three Subways and the famous fish and chippy where three different fishcakes will set you back just under £14. There are two other less expensive eat in or take out fish and chippies in the same street and the Chinese and Indian takeaways will also make you an offer. If need be I prefer those on the sea front a short walk further which serve in cartons wrapped up in white paper, gone are the days of the newspapers.
The Italian Da Vinci now has a sponsored menu booklet available from a small holder by the entrance. There are 18 starters from the Soups of the Day, Bruschetta or mixed salad at £2.95 to three King Prawn dishes at £ 5.95. If you fancy King Prawn as a fish course or main dish there are four alternatives at £10.95. There are four other fish dishes £1 less. 12 chicken dishes between 8 and 10 pounds, six steak dishes £10-12 with a choice of sauces £2 more. 12 Pizza £5-£6 and 16 Pasta from £4 to -£6 they obviously ran out of advertising at this point because there is no reference to puddings or drinks.
I speculated on the impact of the new Morrison’s large restaurant cafe on those immediately nearby, especially the Museum and Art gallery. Some establishments are closed including Fleurette’s which was under offer over a year ago with the starting price for the three floor modern building close to I million. I was successful in my mission only being charged £15 for 8 cartridges, 5 Black, 2 Cyan and 1 Yellow with the consequence that I now have two each of the colours and seven black in stock.
Noteworthy from the walk is that Franks’ Floors has now opened at the first floor former linen store that has been vacant for a couple fo years. I wonder what kind of business assessment plan was made given that the there are already two good size stores in the town, one with excellent parking a short way towards Jarrow/Newcastle from Asda and Mill Dam and the other along Westoe Road towards Cleadon and Sunderland. Whe I visited both were without customers
Earlier in the day I had a good swim but no sauna although I was late to bed deciding to watch episode 3 of Blood Brothers where the subject was diplomatic immunity. There was a sudden spate of attacks on young woman, sexual assaults with one a rape and serious other injuries requiring hospital care. The team are able to identify a vehicle whose owner is the divorced wife of a South American diplomat with immunity. The evidence points to the college student son. The father is called in to discuss waving immunity and the young man agreeing to his DNA being taken. Father falls for the cup touching trick so his DNA is checked and suggests the son will be a match with on the victim. The country refuses to give approval and the situations appears stalemate.
The detective notices that the boyfriend of one of the victims has the same Tattoo as the prime suspect and on pressing the boyfriend reveals that he was responsible to for the attack on his girlfriend as an initiation activity where he was required to remove an undergarment trophy. However the son of the diplomat who led the group had gone wild and raped and hurt the girl he had chosen at random. The team work out how to get the DNA from son after exerting pressure on his mother and then find that it proves that the son was guilty of a similar crime back in his home country. They persuade his father to wave the immunity rather than see his son forced to return to his homeland and face imprisonment there, far more dangerous and challenging experience than in the USA. This I find difficult to believe or that the authorities in the home country would not want to pursue the charges in any event. However it serves to make the point about the issues of diplomatic immunity and the quid pro quo approach of not wanting to create a situation where USA nationals face retaliation when they get into difficulties when visiting other countries.
There was an excellent football match between Arsenal and the best football playing team in the world at the present time :- Barcelona. They beat Arsenal last year at the quarter final round 6 3 on aggregate with a four goal haul their centre forward Lionel Messi. They now have acquired Villa who like the rest of the team has great skill making perfectly weighted passes which cut through the best of defences. The thing about Barcelona is that they do not spend their time looking for defensive holes but enjoy having defences closely marking so that they can exhibit their skill and outplay. Their other outstanding ability demonstrated time after time on this night was to place themselves just on the line between being in play and offside and then because of the accuracy and timing of passes and their natural seed they are able to break forward to score.
Arsenal opened well on the night taking the game to their visitors but this time it was Messi whose pass put Villa through on his own with the flag rightly held down for him to score. At that point Barcelona moved up a gear and had several opportunities the best of all falling to Messi who again put through and with only the goal keeper to beat was marginal inaccurate so the ball crept past the far goal post and the stadium let out a collective sigh of relief. Had they scored at that point one feared that worse was to follow. However Arsenal held out and had chances themselves but always under pressure none came close. Twelve minutes from time Van Persie who had failed a couple of times before struck one of those amazingly angled shots and it was all suddenly Arsenal and with time running out Ashavin who had come on as substitute struck the ball with force into the opposite corner from where the goal keeper was positioned to take the score to 2.1. The match is still in favour of the Nou Camp home side who have only to score once to take the tie on the away goal advantage. However this is the first time Arsenal have beaten the team they try to emulate and the opportunity is there to write the history book. The previous night Tottenham had scored a vital away goal to win 1.0 against a very noisy Greek home crowd.
Earlier I watched a light hearted and warm offering for Valentine’s week released in 2001 and based on an original Chinese production called Eat Drink Man Woman, written by Hui-King Wang, Ang Lee and Jams Schamus. This film version Tortilla Soup is story of an American Latino cook Martin Naranjo who has lost his sense of taste and smell and has left the Restaurant where he was the boss with a partner who has taken over. As a widower of 15 years he has successfully brought up three daughters into adulthood although imposed who own values and dreams for their futures.
The eldest Letica was a Catholic who has becomes an evangelical Christian ands who teaches chemistry at high school. She is full of sexual guilt and has become even more conservative than her father. She resists pressure from her sisters to go adventuring. She begins to break out with a domestic plate smashing rebellion against their parent’s continuing control over their lives. She is also attracted to the school baseball coach who she thinks is responsible for a Valentine card and love poems, actually sent by students. He is shocked at first when she decides to respond but they quickly realise their passion and decide to go to Las Vegas and marry after beginning a sexual relationship. Father responds well as the film develops looking forward to a visit with his new son in law to the Dodgers although he eschews the offer of sausage dogs and cola for his own snack creations.
The middle daughter is successful in business and reached the point of leaving home buying a new Condo which is still in the process of being built. She is then offered a well paid job in Barcelona which she decides to take saying she will rent out the Condo. Her real passion is cooking and wanting to have her own restaurant. She makes it to the airport where father gives her some of his cooking knives which she is about to take as hand luggage in this pre 9/11 film. She changes her mind and at the end of the film she has her own restaurant and has the now extended family at a table.
The youngest is aggressive, angry with herself and the world and uncertain of her future, She is due to go to college but after a row with her father she moves into the small flat of her new boyfriend without asking him and then reorganises the flat and his life without seeking his views. When he expresses his reservations she reacts and leaves. The precipitating cause is some papers which he subsequently admits he had hidden away because he had applied to the college in order to be with her. They make up and go off to college together.
Entwined with their stories is food, glorious Mexican American food dishes always banquet style even for Sunday lunch let alone for special occasions. At one meal father is called away to his old restaurant because the outer covering of a baked pears dish has burnt. He works out how to use the pears into a coupe with great success. When he finds the daughter of a family friend is not enjoying her lunches he provides them for her in secret, at least for a while. He find it difficult to cope with his lack of taste and smell and this is affecting quality of the food he is preparing at home
The friend of the family is a young divorced and when her mother comes to visit she has immediate designs on Mr Naranjo. When is former partner suddenly dies and all three daughters are about to embark on their separate loves he announces at a family gathering with everyone present, including grandmother, mother and daughter that he has decided to sell the family home and all its past associations and but a new home large enough for everyone to come and stay. He is of good health and then proposes marriage to the daughter rather than the grandmother, the daughter is about the same age as his eldest daughter. She accepts and in the final scene at the restaurant of his doors, his wife is evidently pregnant in this everyone happy ever after story. He even gets his taste and smell back.
Thursday has been a day of frustration. I stayed up late again watching La Boheme from the London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera with the Jonathan Miller production first night. Nothing unusual about that except that the opera was being shown on both channels with the option which I chose of the live (recording) of the behind the scenes documentary which followed the on stage action on a small screen with the full sound but with overplays of interviews with the performers as they went on and off the stage including chorus and actors, scene shifters and production staff and the orchestra including during the intervals. The landlord of the tenement in which the bohemian 1930’s era setting gap year quartet lived appears for a few minutes in the first act and then in the third during which time he said he was able to relax, listen to the opera including while he had a supper in the restaurant. It was enthralling.
The consequence of going to bed late is that there was only one during night getting up, waking for only the second time just before 5 am. I decided to stay in bed until fully awake with the consequence I went to sleep again waking at 5.40 and a great rush to get up and get to the Hotel for my swim arriving just before 6.20. I decided on joining the other regular in the pool and commenced a what appeared to be a good session when we were joined by two hotel guests around 6.45, a rare event. As they are staying for nine days it means having to share the pool for the period unless their appearance was a one off, unlikely as both were better and more energetic swimmers than me. However the session was cut short because the chlorine levels needed to be adjusted. I checked later and it had been sorted so I will try and make the effort tomorrow to completed the session when it had been planned as a day off.
I managed to finish the shopping for the week after forgetting milk and needing some fruit I returned home before nine and felt like relaxing before commencing work for the day and then could not find the mobile phone used each day to message that I had survived the night. I could not find the phone which should have been my jacket pocket. It was under the brake handle in the car. Then I decided to change my glasses back having used the older pair with the right eye lens slightly damaged the replacement after the original pair was lost had caused a problem with the nose bridge. I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon checking the car and one of the four drawer filing cabinets, the most likely places without success and then the rest of the house. If the case has been lost it contained my name address and telephone number. The search reminded that I was not sure where I put my London Oyster card and although the next London trip is six months away I conducted another search again without success. There are two remaining possibilities, one requires removing books and artwork files from five storage units in the downstairs work room. I will do this when in the mood as the units require a clean and a dust. The rest of my day was affected.
The Italian Da Vinci now has a sponsored menu booklet available from a small holder by the entrance. There are 18 starters from the Soups of the Day, Bruschetta or mixed salad at £2.95 to three King Prawn dishes at £ 5.95. If you fancy King Prawn as a fish course or main dish there are four alternatives at £10.95. There are four other fish dishes £1 less. 12 chicken dishes between 8 and 10 pounds, six steak dishes £10-12 with a choice of sauces £2 more. 12 Pizza £5-£6 and 16 Pasta from £4 to -£6 they obviously ran out of advertising at this point because there is no reference to puddings or drinks.
I speculated on the impact of the new Morrison’s large restaurant cafe on those immediately nearby, especially the Museum and Art gallery. Some establishments are closed including Fleurette’s which was under offer over a year ago with the starting price for the three floor modern building close to I million. I was successful in my mission only being charged £15 for 8 cartridges, 5 Black, 2 Cyan and 1 Yellow with the consequence that I now have two each of the colours and seven black in stock.
Noteworthy from the walk is that Franks’ Floors has now opened at the first floor former linen store that has been vacant for a couple fo years. I wonder what kind of business assessment plan was made given that the there are already two good size stores in the town, one with excellent parking a short way towards Jarrow/Newcastle from Asda and Mill Dam and the other along Westoe Road towards Cleadon and Sunderland. Whe I visited both were without customers
Earlier in the day I had a good swim but no sauna although I was late to bed deciding to watch episode 3 of Blood Brothers where the subject was diplomatic immunity. There was a sudden spate of attacks on young woman, sexual assaults with one a rape and serious other injuries requiring hospital care. The team are able to identify a vehicle whose owner is the divorced wife of a South American diplomat with immunity. The evidence points to the college student son. The father is called in to discuss waving immunity and the young man agreeing to his DNA being taken. Father falls for the cup touching trick so his DNA is checked and suggests the son will be a match with on the victim. The country refuses to give approval and the situations appears stalemate.
The detective notices that the boyfriend of one of the victims has the same Tattoo as the prime suspect and on pressing the boyfriend reveals that he was responsible to for the attack on his girlfriend as an initiation activity where he was required to remove an undergarment trophy. However the son of the diplomat who led the group had gone wild and raped and hurt the girl he had chosen at random. The team work out how to get the DNA from son after exerting pressure on his mother and then find that it proves that the son was guilty of a similar crime back in his home country. They persuade his father to wave the immunity rather than see his son forced to return to his homeland and face imprisonment there, far more dangerous and challenging experience than in the USA. This I find difficult to believe or that the authorities in the home country would not want to pursue the charges in any event. However it serves to make the point about the issues of diplomatic immunity and the quid pro quo approach of not wanting to create a situation where USA nationals face retaliation when they get into difficulties when visiting other countries.
There was an excellent football match between Arsenal and the best football playing team in the world at the present time :- Barcelona. They beat Arsenal last year at the quarter final round 6 3 on aggregate with a four goal haul their centre forward Lionel Messi. They now have acquired Villa who like the rest of the team has great skill making perfectly weighted passes which cut through the best of defences. The thing about Barcelona is that they do not spend their time looking for defensive holes but enjoy having defences closely marking so that they can exhibit their skill and outplay. Their other outstanding ability demonstrated time after time on this night was to place themselves just on the line between being in play and offside and then because of the accuracy and timing of passes and their natural seed they are able to break forward to score.
Arsenal opened well on the night taking the game to their visitors but this time it was Messi whose pass put Villa through on his own with the flag rightly held down for him to score. At that point Barcelona moved up a gear and had several opportunities the best of all falling to Messi who again put through and with only the goal keeper to beat was marginal inaccurate so the ball crept past the far goal post and the stadium let out a collective sigh of relief. Had they scored at that point one feared that worse was to follow. However Arsenal held out and had chances themselves but always under pressure none came close. Twelve minutes from time Van Persie who had failed a couple of times before struck one of those amazingly angled shots and it was all suddenly Arsenal and with time running out Ashavin who had come on as substitute struck the ball with force into the opposite corner from where the goal keeper was positioned to take the score to 2.1. The match is still in favour of the Nou Camp home side who have only to score once to take the tie on the away goal advantage. However this is the first time Arsenal have beaten the team they try to emulate and the opportunity is there to write the history book. The previous night Tottenham had scored a vital away goal to win 1.0 against a very noisy Greek home crowd.
Earlier I watched a light hearted and warm offering for Valentine’s week released in 2001 and based on an original Chinese production called Eat Drink Man Woman, written by Hui-King Wang, Ang Lee and Jams Schamus. This film version Tortilla Soup is story of an American Latino cook Martin Naranjo who has lost his sense of taste and smell and has left the Restaurant where he was the boss with a partner who has taken over. As a widower of 15 years he has successfully brought up three daughters into adulthood although imposed who own values and dreams for their futures.
The eldest Letica was a Catholic who has becomes an evangelical Christian ands who teaches chemistry at high school. She is full of sexual guilt and has become even more conservative than her father. She resists pressure from her sisters to go adventuring. She begins to break out with a domestic plate smashing rebellion against their parent’s continuing control over their lives. She is also attracted to the school baseball coach who she thinks is responsible for a Valentine card and love poems, actually sent by students. He is shocked at first when she decides to respond but they quickly realise their passion and decide to go to Las Vegas and marry after beginning a sexual relationship. Father responds well as the film develops looking forward to a visit with his new son in law to the Dodgers although he eschews the offer of sausage dogs and cola for his own snack creations.
The middle daughter is successful in business and reached the point of leaving home buying a new Condo which is still in the process of being built. She is then offered a well paid job in Barcelona which she decides to take saying she will rent out the Condo. Her real passion is cooking and wanting to have her own restaurant. She makes it to the airport where father gives her some of his cooking knives which she is about to take as hand luggage in this pre 9/11 film. She changes her mind and at the end of the film she has her own restaurant and has the now extended family at a table.
The youngest is aggressive, angry with herself and the world and uncertain of her future, She is due to go to college but after a row with her father she moves into the small flat of her new boyfriend without asking him and then reorganises the flat and his life without seeking his views. When he expresses his reservations she reacts and leaves. The precipitating cause is some papers which he subsequently admits he had hidden away because he had applied to the college in order to be with her. They make up and go off to college together.
Entwined with their stories is food, glorious Mexican American food dishes always banquet style even for Sunday lunch let alone for special occasions. At one meal father is called away to his old restaurant because the outer covering of a baked pears dish has burnt. He works out how to use the pears into a coupe with great success. When he finds the daughter of a family friend is not enjoying her lunches he provides them for her in secret, at least for a while. He find it difficult to cope with his lack of taste and smell and this is affecting quality of the food he is preparing at home
The friend of the family is a young divorced and when her mother comes to visit she has immediate designs on Mr Naranjo. When is former partner suddenly dies and all three daughters are about to embark on their separate loves he announces at a family gathering with everyone present, including grandmother, mother and daughter that he has decided to sell the family home and all its past associations and but a new home large enough for everyone to come and stay. He is of good health and then proposes marriage to the daughter rather than the grandmother, the daughter is about the same age as his eldest daughter. She accepts and in the final scene at the restaurant of his doors, his wife is evidently pregnant in this everyone happy ever after story. He even gets his taste and smell back.
Thursday has been a day of frustration. I stayed up late again watching La Boheme from the London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera with the Jonathan Miller production first night. Nothing unusual about that except that the opera was being shown on both channels with the option which I chose of the live (recording) of the behind the scenes documentary which followed the on stage action on a small screen with the full sound but with overplays of interviews with the performers as they went on and off the stage including chorus and actors, scene shifters and production staff and the orchestra including during the intervals. The landlord of the tenement in which the bohemian 1930’s era setting gap year quartet lived appears for a few minutes in the first act and then in the third during which time he said he was able to relax, listen to the opera including while he had a supper in the restaurant. It was enthralling.
The consequence of going to bed late is that there was only one during night getting up, waking for only the second time just before 5 am. I decided to stay in bed until fully awake with the consequence I went to sleep again waking at 5.40 and a great rush to get up and get to the Hotel for my swim arriving just before 6.20. I decided on joining the other regular in the pool and commenced a what appeared to be a good session when we were joined by two hotel guests around 6.45, a rare event. As they are staying for nine days it means having to share the pool for the period unless their appearance was a one off, unlikely as both were better and more energetic swimmers than me. However the session was cut short because the chlorine levels needed to be adjusted. I checked later and it had been sorted so I will try and make the effort tomorrow to completed the session when it had been planned as a day off.
I managed to finish the shopping for the week after forgetting milk and needing some fruit I returned home before nine and felt like relaxing before commencing work for the day and then could not find the mobile phone used each day to message that I had survived the night. I could not find the phone which should have been my jacket pocket. It was under the brake handle in the car. Then I decided to change my glasses back having used the older pair with the right eye lens slightly damaged the replacement after the original pair was lost had caused a problem with the nose bridge. I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon checking the car and one of the four drawer filing cabinets, the most likely places without success and then the rest of the house. If the case has been lost it contained my name address and telephone number. The search reminded that I was not sure where I put my London Oyster card and although the next London trip is six months away I conducted another search again without success. There are two remaining possibilities, one requires removing books and artwork files from five storage units in the downstairs work room. I will do this when in the mood as the units require a clean and a dust. The rest of my day was affected.
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