Snow More

Well it seems as if the snow is finally thawing. A combination of the wet snow and grit has painted the city centre a lovely shade of brown slushy mud. Bring back fresh white snow. We are never happy are we?

Wonderful Words and Phrases - Glaikit

Stupid, foolish, thoughtless, vacant. As in "Awa, yi glaikit eedjit!" Often used interchangeably with gadgies, minkers and schemies.

Curry Facts

The Food Standards Agency have come up with the following interesting information.

A curry can be defined as a dish made with spices, cooked in oil with a sauce made from puréed onions, garlic and ginger.

Here are some more tasty facts and figures:

The origin of the word 'curry' can be traced back to the Tamil word 'kari' meaning spiced sauce.

Indian food is the UK's favourite cuisine. In the latest keynote survey, retail sales accounted for 42% of total sales of ethnic foods and was valued at £250 million.

The term 'curry' isn't really used in India. There are many types of curry style dishes, which have characteristic regional variations.

One of the earliest known recipes for meat in a spicy sauce appeared on tablets found near Babylon in Mesopotamia, dated about 1700 BC.

The Indian food industry in the UK is worth £3.2 billion and accounts for two-thirds of all eating out.

The first commercial curry powder appeared in about 1780.

Britain's first curry house opened in 1809. Called the Hindustani Coffee House and located in London's Portman Square.

Indian food now surpasses Chinese food in popularity, with Indian restaurants outnumbering Chinese restaurants by two to one.

Indian restaurants in Britain serve about 2.5 million customers every week.

Chicken tikka masala remains the most popular Indian dish. It's thought to originate in Britain after an enterprising Indian chef had the idea of adding a tomato and onion paste to the grilled chicken – to satisfy the British preference for food that isn't dry.

There are about 9,000 Indian curry houses in the UK, employing an estimated 70,000 staff.

In London alone there are more Indian restaurants than in Bombay and Delhi.

The word 'balti' means bucket.

On average we each eat 4.4 kg of rice every year, according to data from the Rice Association.

The latest keynote survey reported that curry fans spent £480 per minute in supermarkets and a leading supermarket sells 1.1 million packets of chicken tikka masala each year.

It is estimated that ethnic food sales will reach £792 million by the end of 2003.

Scientists at Nottingham Trent University have discovered that people begin to crave for a curry because the spices arouse and stimulate the taste buds.

100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross

6pm, Sunday 19 Dec 2010, Channel 4

Presented by gadget, gizmo and toy collector extraordinaire Jonathan Ross, 100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross is a three-hour countdown of the nation's favourite toys and games.

From Action Man to Yahtzee and from Barbie to Trivial Pursuit, inventors and toy-makers tell the inside stories of their creations and success. And to fully explain the impact of these toys and games, the children of yesteryear - today's celebrities, authors, actors and journalists - reveal exactly what it was that made them love a particular toy.

Find out how Action Man evolved from the American GI Joe action doll and just how Tomorrow's World inspired his haircut. What was the genesis of Barbie? And who came up with the iconic design of the Raleigh Chopper?

There's also the chance to learn how a one-time wimp created the world's toughest action figure and how the Vietnam War almost destroyed Britain's Matchbox toy car range.

The shortlist of 100 toys was selected by a panel of industry experts and the final countdown decided by a Channel 4 online vote.

This was great programme with something for everyone and for those of you who didn't see it, here is the list in full.

100 Raving Bonkers (boxing robots)

99 Teletubbies

98 Holly Hobby (rag doll)

97 Ben 10

96 Major Matt Mason

95 Bratz

94 Peter Powell Kites

93 Pippa

92 Super Striker

91 Bey Blades

90 Johnny Seven

89 Clackers

88 Trouble

87 Dr Who Cyber Mask

86 Magna Doodle

85 Stretch Armstrong

84 Tickle Me Elmo

83 Cross Fire

82 Girls World

81 Stylophone

80 Trolls

79 Weebles

78 Cabbage Patch Kids

77 Simon

76 Polly Pocket

75 Escape From Colditz

74 Furby

73 The Six Million Dollar Man

72 Beanie Babies

71 Buzz Lightyear

70 Power Rangers Action Figures

69 Buckeroo

68 Tiny Tears

67 Sindy

66 Hula Hoop

65 Tracy Island

64 Hungry Hippos

63 Evel Knievel

62 Mr Potato Head

61 James Bond Aston Martin DV5

60 Care Bear

59 Ker Plunk

58 My Little Pony

57 Spacehopper

56 Tonka Toys

55 Game Of Life

54 Tamagotchi

53 Super Soaker

52 Operation

51Slinky

50 Playmobil

49 Yahtzee

48 Master Mind

47 Barbie

46 The Raleigh Chopper

45 Pictionary

44 Frisbee

43 Jenga

42 Fuzzy Felt

41 Sylvanian Families

40 Mousetrap

39 Hot Wheels

38 Battleships

37 Pokemon Cards

36 Twister

35 Chemistry Set

34 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

33 The Yo-Yo

32 Top Trumps

31 Roller Skates

30 Risk

29 Spirograph

28 Subbuteo

27 Plasticine

26 Play-Doh

25 Pong Atari

24 Rubik’s Cube

23 The Teddy Bear

22 Etch A Sketch

21 Matchbox Cars

20 Action Man

19 Airfix Models

18 Connect 4

17 Horny Trains

16 Meccano

15 Cluedo

14 He-Man

13 X Box / Halo

12 Transformers

11 Star Wars toys

10 Nintendo Game Boy

09 Trivial Pursuit

08 Scalextric

07 Scrabble

06 Sony PlayStation

05 Nintendo Games consoles

04 Nintendo Wii

03 Dungeons and Dragons

02 Monopoly

01 Lego

2010 - What Will We Remember?

Well the year is coming to a close. What will you remember about 2010?

Here's my starter for ten:

April - Apple iPad released

May - Gordon Brown's "bigotgate" PR disaster in Rochdale seals the end of the Labour Government and the formation of a Coalition Government

June and July - World Cup in South Africa - the world is introduced to the vuvuzela and England's disasterous performance delights 5 million Scots

October - the PR fiasco of the Dehli Commonwealth Games

October - the amazing rescue of 33 Chilean miners

November and December - the worst winter snow for decades

December - Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan convicted of perjury during his 2006 defamation case against the News of the World newspaper.

Wonderful Words and Phrases - Doolally

OK no doubt you'll say I'm mad to mention this but that is what this word means, behaving, odd, crazy or deranged. "He's gone doolally."

Dreaming Of A White Christmas?

It is almost noon on Sunday and three weeks since we were covered by the largest and longest blanket of snow I can remember in years. The low temperatures ensured that snow lifted very slowly, with patches of pavement and road surface appearing in increments and huge mounds of snow standing defiantly, the remnants of human shovelling or ploughing. What was left had turned to thick ice so that three weeks later the city still looked battle scarred. For the first time yesterday however, I felt able to go out without my walking books which have hitherto given me a sense of balance and confidence.

Today however, this morning there is a nice heavy fall of snow that has again painted everything white and the promise of a white Christmas looks like it may well be fulfilled.