lectrolove

If it looks like a giant steak I'd treat it like one, sear it on both sides then bung it in the oven at 170 fan or 190 conventional. Ah just noticed the date on this, obviously much too late for Christmas. Maybe next year.

I recently finished In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin, in which he journeys around Patagonia in the footsteps of an ancestor. Although this is ostensibly a travel book there's little actual travel in it, it's very light on the mechanics of getting from place to place and not much in the way of descriptions of places or scenery. It's all about the people and situations he encounters, with quite a lot of history. If you have any curiosity about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid this is the book for you. A classic and deservedly so. Have now started on Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and enjoying it so far.

So is Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

This. We gave our children both our surnames for exactly this reason. I'm not sure this is going to be practical as an ongoing thing though, what happens when two people with double-barreled surnames have children and want those children to have the surnames of both parents. Quadruple-barreled surname, anyone?

The strongest wine in my cellar at the moment is Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz at 14%. Chilean and Argentinian wines can be pretty robust in flavour if not necessarily in alcohol, look for Carmenere and Malbec, they might not be more than about 13% but they can taste like they are.

Nearby there's also the recently opened and wonderfully named Just Falafs. I understand they specialise in falafel The weirdly named Burger Lols opposite Abbeydale Picture House is also vegan.

It's the same on our road. It was running like a river when we had even a moderate amount of rain because the drains were completely clogged with leaves. OH rang the council and to give them credit they did come and clear out the drains within a week or so, but the pavements are still a-slime with rotting leaves.

Their vans used to have "Making Sheffield Greener" emblazoned on them, recently I've noticed they say "Making Sheffield Brighter" - probably due to the lack of tree cover.

We love Oisoi, have been several times and never been disappointed with anything we've ordered. I'm craving their stir fried prawns with asparagus as I type. Time for another visit I think

Did you click on a Paypal link in an email?

I don't know about the cat shelter but over the years I've taken loads of old towels, sheets and duvets and even curtains to the animal shelter on Spring Street and they've always been extremely grateful.

Sad news. I've never been a Fall fan but my husband is completely obsessed with them, so Mark E Smith has been a significant figure in my life for the last 38 years whether I liked it or not. A unique and prolifically creative man.

The meaning of Valentine's Day seems to have changed since I was young. Back then it was all about sending anonymous cards to the people you fancied and hopefully receiving some. The fun was in trying to figure out who they were from. Nobody "celebrated" it or wished each other Happy Valentine's Day.

Cheap bubblegum.

My Dad lived in Beighton for the last 20-odd years of his life and it was fine, quiet, never any trouble. He never really made many friends there but I think that was mostly down to him being a cantankerous old so-and-so and nothing to do with the area per se. When I came to sell his house I was inundated with offers so clearly a very sought after neighbourhood.

The entire ecosystem doesn't just revolve around humans y'know ...

I've never read any Le Carre either so we can be a sub-species of two. I don't read detective fiction either, or anything with the words chocolate, tea shop or Christmas in the title. After watching Howard's End I've been on a bit of an EM Forster binge but am now on The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit. It's kind of a story about stories without being fiction. Highly recommended.

Not this year, but one year my parents bought me a bottle of Southern Comfort. Unfortunately I hate the stuff. It gathered dust in the kitchen until the following Christmas when they presented me with another bottle, because "You obviously love it because there's always a bottle in your kitchen ..."

We went looking for this the other day and it seemed to be completely inaccessible. Surely her remains will be respectfully exhumed and reinterred? Have shared on Facebook.

We've been to see the Manor Operatic production of Sleeping Beauty this afternoon and for an amateur production it's an absolute stunner. In fact it would put a lot of professional efforts to shame. Very funny, very talented cast, brilliant special effects complete with pyrotechnics. It's still got a few days left to run so if you can get tickets go to this, you'd have to be a complete miseryguts not to enjoy it.

In S7 have a stroll around the Kenwood area of Nether Edge, Victorian with a vengeance, and in particular check out the Lantern Theatre, a perfect little theatre in miniature. We once spent a day travelling the entire tram network and it took us to lots of places we'd never seen before. Never particularly wanted go back to any of them but an interesting exercise in knowing your city.

If I'm making cheese on toast I'll toast one side, flip it over then put the cheese on the untoasted side before popping it back under the grill. Other wise toast is done in the toaster on both sides. But ... we have a new toaster! It's one of those that you can see all the way through and watch your toast browning. We've been making an awful lot of toast recently, it's better than the telly.

I'm not familiar with the Who track, but Seriously? You haven't heard these before?

Yep definitely either next door or next door but one. Blimey.