The Lazy Cook

Can't think why I haven't done this before - but then, I don't think I've done a pudding before.  So -
Summer Pudding
You will need - 
A bowl - greased on the inside
Some slices of bread
Summer fruits - raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and such
Caster sugar
Cream or ice-cream to accompany.

Once again, I have not given quantities.  The size of the bowl determines the size of the pudding so work from that.  Put the fruit in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil and simmer until it starts to thicken.  Add caster sugar to taste.  Line the bowl with bread slices.  Pour in fruit mixture and put more bread slices on top.  Put a saucer that fits inside the bowl on top of that and something heavy on top of that - tin of something usually does the trick.  Put in the fridge and leave for at least overnight - longer if poss.  To serve, remove saucer and weight, run a knife round the inside of the bowl, put a plate on top and then invert bowl and plate.  Pudding should slide out onto plate.

Wot - no sandcastles??

Off to the sea-side.  Bucket and spade, yes?  Well, bucket OK, but if you're going to Weston (super Mare, that is) you may as well leave your spade behind, because the Somerset emergency services have warned against the digging of holes in the sand on - well, you can guess, can't you - health and safety grounds. Despite what some newspaper headlines would have it, they haven't actually banned it, but have advised against it.  But it's part of the magic of being on the beach, isn't it?  Try telling your kids they can't dig in the sand? - Good luck with that!

Phew - what a scorcher!

So while we're being un-serious, how about the weather?  "Britain hotter than Hawaii" say the headlines.  Well, we've certainly had to wait for it - the summer so far has been a bit of a  disappointment - and it looks like this hot spell will only last a day or so.  But hey - that's the Engish weather!  Make the most of what you get.

Brexit, Nice and all that

You know what? I've had enough! I can't stand the pace.  I'm zoning out for a few days.  Let's have some silliness and trivia in the hope that things will sort themselves out - not that I'm expecting that they will, mind you, but I don't know about you, I badly need a rest!

War criminal? - come on, get a grip!

You can understand that those whose loved ones were killed or maimed in the Iraq war want Tony Blair's head, and he has done himself no favours by the way he has responded to any criticism of his actions, but really folks, do we honestly believe that he woke up one morning and said to himself  "I know - let's have a war.  What fun!"  He was Prime Minister, for God's sake - it was his job to decide what was in the country's best interests and to take the appropriate steps.  So OK, maybe in hindsight it can be argued that he got it wrong, maybe he was too willing to accept what he was being told without rigorously questioning it, but it was his job to make the decision and that's what he did.  He has been accused of being a liar, but a lie is something which is untrue and you know to be untrue, and personally I see no evidence that he knew what he was saying was untrue.  At best he may have felt uncomfortable about some aspects, but this is where we come back to basics - it was his job to decide.  Just because you disagree with that decision (and I did and do!) is no ground for suggesting that he should face prosecution.

Nice

A picture is worth a thousand words...

So this is the future...

... May as PM, Hammond as Chancellor, Boris as Foreign Secretary (now there's a shock!) and Amber Rudd (who?) as Home Secretary.  Surprised she couldn't find a job for Gove, who surely is one of the sharpest and cleverest minds around.  At least it opens the way for the office of Lord Chancellor to revert to a Lord and a Judge which in my book would be a Good Thing.  Watch this space, as they say.
P.S. Well that didn't happen, did it - the new Lord Chancellor is to be Liz Truss - yet another who is not a Lord, not a Judge, not even a lawyer.

Euro 2016

Were you as disappointed as I was?  OK, it wasn't helped by England going out so early in such a depressing way, but I thought the general standard of football was pretty dire.  The fact that Iceland and Wales will be the teams that most people will remember I think says it all.  This new format, where teams that finish third in their group still have a chance of progressing and which was supposed (so I hear) to make for more adventurous, attacking play obviously didn't work as planned.  An average of just over 2 goals per match is on the low side, and the fact that less that one goal per match was scored in the first half supports that idea that most teams went into their matches with a "let's get to half time at 0-0" mentality.  No, not a competition to live in the memory, I'm afraid.

Sillier and sillier

So Andrea Leadsom has withdrawn from the contest to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, leaving the way open for Theresa May.  Now I know nothing about Ms Leadsom and whether she would have made a good Prime Minister or not, but what I find unbelievable is the stupid, stupid business which apparently caused her withdrawal.  She is supposed to have suggested that the fact that she has children and Ms May has not somehow gave her brownie points - a pretty ludicrous suggestion, but what was even more ludicrous was that it was taken seriously and led to some really nasty and completely over-the-top criticism - all over such a trivial throw-away comment  And I thought the Conservatives were supposed to be a grown-up party? 
And because things are moving so swiftly, a couple of quick comments - (1) does Theresa May need to call a general election?  No - the leadership of the Conservative Party is a matter for that Party.  They already have a mandate from the last general election and that mandate remains valid.  The recent referendum in no way alters that.  (2) Should Jeremy Corbyn be allowed to stand in the forthcoming contest for the leader of the Labour Party even though he may not be able to get the backing of sufficient MPs to satisfy the rules? Yes - the rules were badly drawn and obviously were designed for a situation where the leader resigns or dies or whatever.  They did not envisage a situation where the leader is challenged - and clearly in such circumstances it would be ridiculous for the leader not to be able to defend his position.

The clue is in the name!

What is the BBC's prime purpose?  Over to Lord Reith who practically invented the Corporation and stated its goals as to "inform, educate, entertain".  So first and foremost it is a news disseminator  - its job is to tell us what's going on.  So, although I can understand his annoyance - fury even - at the way the search of his house became public knowledge, I think Cliff Richards' decision to sue the BBC is misplaced.  Reverse the situation - suppose the BBC had decided not to broadcast what was going on, and it later came to light that they had known and chosen not to tell us - I think you can imagine what the reaction would have been - favouritism, cronyism, bias, partiality - you name it.  The police acted badly, and possibly wrongly, in releasing the information but the BBC were simply doing their job in acting upon it.