the great twitter summer starter competition

This round of Nickie Philbin’s twitter cookoff was highly competitive, with an array of tempting appetisers for judge Chef Gary Magnani of Horse and Trumpet to choose from.



@NickiePhilbin Gary has run restaurants in Australia, 1 Lombard Street in London, and has been at The H&T for 6 years. Now his results

@NickiePhilbin www.horseandtrumpet.comis fine dinning with rooms, winner of 2 AA rosettes, best restaurant award in East Midlands

@NickiePhilbin >Gary Magnani, Head Chef atwww.horseandtrumpet.comspent an hour going through every shot. Then back again Thanks so much




winners

@NickiePhilbin Most potential goes to @Andyqsmith“This had a great balance of ingreds that I can imediately see wd work well together

@Andyqsmith Posh cheese on toast! Melted camembert with pecan nuts

@NickiePhilbin “Gd texture mix, toast nuts separately then add to cheese before cooking wd add more flavour; lovely ingreds”


@NickiePhilbin 3rd goes to @shar13“lovely combination of subtle ingreds and textures”

@shar13 Prawns in smoked paprika with gazpacho chowder

@NickiePhilbin “I'm liking. Summery, paprika adds depth to prawns without overpowering, fresh salsa cutting through V Good”


@NickiePhilbin 2nd goes to....@edwardclarke“The way he has just finely chargrilled courgette will add flavour to salmon. Beautiful”

@edwardclarke salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons with tomato, basil and lemon vinaigrette

@NickiePhilbin “Summer on plate, delicately balanced,lightly char grilled,fresh flavs nicely presented”

@NickiePhilbin So @edwardclarkewill not be having us all to dinner! Outrage! Damn. I had my coat on ready,too

Part of the great charm of the competition is Nickie’s delivery of the results - the way she raises the tension puts the likes of Chris Tarrant to shame:

@NickiePhilbin So who has won? Who has entered every competition so far and had not great comments?

@NickiePhilbin Who could it be?

@NickiePhilbin Who's game has been raised.......please step forward.......your winner....


@NickiePhilbin >The winner is...@maggiephilbin ! I know! She has no idea! (Hiding stiffled fury) well done sis!

@maggiephilbin Halloumi cheese, butternut squash, fresh figs, peach and Parma ham

@NickiePhilbin “Like a lot, great textures,all works, croutons wd have added to it, good use of balsamic reduction”


finalists


@banerji1 Mixed vegetable bhajis with dips

@NickiePhilbin “Great fan of Indian cooking but bhajis not speaking to me of summer, would have made fantastic autumn entry”

@caalie Pears with pomegranate, parmesan shavings on bed of watercress

@NickiePhilbin “Like seasonality, not pomegranate fan, a walnut oil dressing wd bring out flavour.Great little starter”

@trevorlamont Electric pepper starter

@NickiePhilbin “Trev should know beer kept at 6C. Concerned bolt of electricity may take it too high and spoil!”



@M4ryDeNovo Seared scallops with salsa

@NickiePhilbin “I'm liking tomato/olive mix v summery lovely colours parsley wd be better.Cd be in bistro in Marseilles.”


@JimAnning Oak smoked salmon with dill and cream cheese spiral

@NickiePhilbin “Classic combination but it has been seen a lot”



@handbagpets Madagascan prawns with chili and garlic

@NickiePhilbin “Simply done, Spanish feel. Wd be v happy if someone gave me this. She hasn't over egged the custard”

@NickiePhilbin (didn't see custard as ingred. But glad she didn't over egg it. Easily done!


@stu_art_ist beetroot and goats cheese tower with cheese straws

@NickiePhilbin “Exc't use of seasonal underused veg classic maybe peppered twists or plain straws so not two che/se flavs”


@trevward stir-fry crab with blackbean sauce

@NickiePhilbin “Big fan of Asian cooking, this is maybe a bit too hearty for summer would be great in winter”


@TrinityRhapsody Cumin and courgette soup with tahini bread rolls

@NickiePhilbin “Courgette used as vehicle to carry flavours,Tahini may overpower courgette, good if chilled”


@NickiePhilbin Carpaccio of beef with truffle oil beetroot, horseradish sauce on bed of rocket

@NickiePhilbin “v good, roast baby beets wd give bigger flavour and u should lose parmesan. Nicely presented”


links


The Horse & Trumpet
Old Green
Medbourne
Leicestershire
LE16 8DX
www.horseandtrumpet.com

All entries can be seen in the photobucket group album.

Making my salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons.

Live tweeting the previous twitter cookoff: #summersandwich

pretty and delicious - salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons

Wracking my brains to come up with an entry for this month’s twitter cookoff competion "Summer Starter" (organized by Nickie Philbin), I remembered a very pretty recipe originally published in Loyd Grossman’s 1998 collection, the 125 best recipes ever: salmon wrapped in courgette ribbons with tomato vinaigrette.


Loyd credits Irish celebrity chef Paul Rankin of Roscoff in Belfast for this (the current Roscoff is the second incarnation bearing the name).

I made this years ago and it is indeed extremely pretty, but I remembered I had a bit of trouble with it - there’s some finicky chopping of ingredients. This thought inspired some procrastination, and as usual I was cooking at the limits of the competition deadline.

However, this time the gods of procrastination smiled upon me and I serendipitously discovered a few quick fixes which really work.

As long as one gets one head around the chopping bits, this is actually very easy.

1) Use a potato peeler (I have a Y-shaped one) to slice the courgette into ribbons lengthways.

2) My fridge was too cold and the salmon fillets semi-froze. This actually made them easier to chop! - I lay the courgette ribbon across the fillet to gauge how wide I need to cut the salmon.

3) Wrapping the salmon cubes in raw courgette strip as Loyd stipulates is actually quite difficult - there’s too much fibre in the vegetable to neatly cling around the salmon. Instead, I followed Loyd’s photographer’s food stylist’s lead (as deduced from the recipe photo) - I pre-chargrilled the courgette ribbons flat in a griddle, carefully removing them and wrapping the salmon pieces. MUCH easier.

4) After wrapping the salmon cubes with courgette and skewering them up, I baked them in the oven for about 8 minutes at 160C in a fan oven. Perfect!

5) The vinaigrette requires one to skin, chop and deseed tomatoes. There is no way around this - just go for it. Dunk tomatoes in boiling water for about 10 seconds - until the skins are visibly loose. Remove the tomatoes and (as soon as your fingers can stand it) peel them. Quarter the tomatoes, remove and discard the seeds, and chop the remaining flesh finely. Mix with 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 100ml olive oil, and a handful of chopped basil leaves. Add salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

6) Lay the skewers on plates, and dress with the vinaigrette.

This is a very fresh summery dish and looks extremely pretty and sophisticated on the plate. Also, it’s made out of simple, good and healthy ingredients. This would work as a starter or as a light main course.

Competition results.

new idea from Rupert Murdoch!

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Charge them!!!!

Roops has decided to take on the internet and make the bastards pay. No more free news for you. Even if you can continue getting it for free from everyone else.

Not a massive fan, so am quite pleased he will be putting all his content behind a firewall where it can do less damage. His company does not have a particularly inspiring track record with web initiatives.

Or, maybe this is the future. Hey Roops, any ideas on how to set up a pay per view?

Live tweeting the summer sandwich twitter competition

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SummerSandwich
Originally uploaded by Benjamin Ellis

Anticipation and preparations

bubith had a new thought... hows about a humble chip butty of the #summersandwich ? prebought bread, butter and oven chips! What could go wrong?

M4ryDeNovo now in possession of home grown cucumber for #summersandwich talk about perfect timing from my Italian neighbour bless him

Andyqsmith @NickiePhilbin Okay it will be a team effort, Me and @nicolarse51 both tweeting live in just aprons, from a field #summersandwich

NickiePhilbin @RedMummy I hope you have managed to finish your badger bap for #summersandwich? ( Kill it first, mind)

Andyqsmith Bread making is going well so far #summersandwich http://short.to/l8ny

edwardclarke Quite concerned at all this bread making going on for #summersandwich. Shop bought just clearly won't cut it!!

Andyqsmith @edwardclarke You have to scratch bake!

edwardclarke @Andyqsmith but my #summersandwich is already photographed!!

Andyqsmith @edwardclarke Okay maybe it is a little late!. Did you buy it from Subway?

stu_art_ist @Andyqsmith Just getting a chance to catch up on tweets and pics, just how many 'BUNS' are you entering in the contest #summersandwich :))

Andyqsmith I feel I should apologise for my bottom, sorry. @nicolarse51 made me do it.

NickiePhilbin @Andyqsmith Those buns need no apologisng for. Just dollop of mayo...#summersandwich

edwardclarke @NickiePhilbin #summersandwich looks like it's going to be a bumper edition!

NickiePhilbin To anyone following me but not #summersandwich, I apologise for the next 30 tweets. Can't be helped, as coming up is JUDGEMENT TIME


Announcements begin - the chef’s tips

NickiePhilbin Like the Chancellor on budget day have my pot of tea ready to see me through the onslaught of #summersandwich RT people who may want results


SummerSandwich - Darius Zvinis
Originally uploaded by Benjamin Ellis

NickiePhilbin #summersandwich results about to be tweeted. Many thanks to our Chef Darius Zvinis from The Landings @landingsrestaur

M4ryDeNovo <<< has G & T for #summersandwich results, well have G & T cos its that time of the day!

NickiePhilbin Darius is Canadian with Polish roots, and thoroughly enjoyed himself -fav s/wich is roast pork & onion confit.

NickiePhilbin Tip - key to a great sandwich is good quality ingredients. Kept > eye on the quality of bread, and of the meats used

NickiePhilbin > Darius Tip - less is more. Great sandwiches can be spoiled by being too busy. Now – the comments from Darius...


Chef’s competition comments

NickiePhilbin we have@M4ryDeNovo – great bread! Too bad crusts were cut. Good example of less is more

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin No mention of roadkill or badgers then?


NickiePhilbin and @Andyqsmith @nicolarse51 - prob v tasty, great marinade. Presentation not best, but looked a lot of fun!

NickiePhilbin then @Redmummy - Not too keen on presentation. looks very tasty, especially smoked salmon.





maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin Personally I liked @andyqsmith's presentation.

caalie@maggiephilbin I bet you did..!

NickiePhilbin and @edwardclarke - Pastrami looks good - this is key. Maybe too much flavour - perhaps gherkin, mustard and chilli would be enough



NickiePhilbin then @squidge1997 - you're like me in the kitchen - who needs recipes?! Very Creative and a lot of fun!






NickiePhilbin And @caalie - looks like a real sandwich! Some good flavours.





NickiePhilbin then to @annraulston - this made me laugh. More art than sandwich


NickiePhilbin on to @shar13 - very nice, very creative, an interesting combination which is definitely worth trying

caalie@stu_art_ist what are you doing? it's 6pm on #summersandwich night!


NickiePhilbin then @stu_art_ist - very creative and the flavours are there. How practical is it? It needs to make it to the table..


maggiephilbin @stu_art_ist Defend your sandwich!

RedMummy@maggiephilbin I'm still opting for the Homer Simpson sandwich!


NickiePhilbin so to @JimAnning - you know something about food. Great ingredients, properly put together, looks good.





NickiePhilbin then we have @bubith - this looks really great and really tasty


NickiePhilbin over to @maggiephilbin - a little crazy! (sandwich not person)



NickiePhilbin next @TrinityRhapsody - Nicely done, perhaps a little fussy

NickiePhilbin then (be still my beating heart) @nickiephilbin - too many ingredients, but a great steak sandwich

NickiePhilbin the lovely @TrevorLamont - it should have been a stella! :)

maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin What do you mean crazy? It was bloody delicious.

stu_art_ist@maggiephilbin I can't Im too busy laughing... this guy was hard :))

NickiePhilbin lastly @handbagpets, best unjudged entry and best bikini

caalie@NickiePhilbin not sure if Jim's comment isn't a slur on the rest of us... #summersandwich

NickiePhilbin Darius decided to judge in two categories, fun and serious entries – or too hard to judge them against each other.


two minute pause - critique of judge - tweets *explode*

NickiePhilbin who do you think got what, want a rest for two mins to tweet before I go on?

maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin Am just waiting to see which category he decided to put my entry in.

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin I need a couple of minutes to compose myself & mop up my tears at having my DIVINE presentation so cruelly criticised.

edwardclarke@RedMummy He's a very harsh judge! #summersandwich

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Who's in charge of ensuring next category is soup? I can do soup.

caalie@RedMummy yes, call for the next category quick before the winner decides it's summertreacle or something!

stu_art_ist@NickiePhilbin I'm exhausted after all that, not sure if tears are from laughing or stress :))

annraulston@NickiePhilbin That tweet was more than 2 minutes ago!

maggiephilbin@RedMummy Yes this is where we have to show what we are really made of and rehearse congratulatory remarks, for we have surely lost

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Am already sitting here with rictus grin in case passing Google streetcam catches me. (Muttering new & inventive swearwords).

RedMummy@edwardclarke Am mortified. Never thought I could be quite so badly upset by someone criticising my DIVINE presentation.

edwardclarke@RedMummy It was really good; the cheek of these judges!!

RedMummy@edwardclarke *clutching sides* *helpless giggling*

maggiephilbin@annraulston And you - clearly currying favour with judge with droll humour,

annraulston@maggiephilbin Absolutely! Humour key ingredient of this mad competition!

NickiePhilbin sorry, my tweet blew up, had to relaunch, not on purpose

edwardclarke@RedMummy He didn't like my innovative flavour medley either! Red cabbage needed for colour!! #summersandwich

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin Did you blow your tweet up with one of those culinary blow torches? I do SO want one of those. Not for cooking though.

stu_art_ist@maggiephilbin Never before has my finger been hitting the page refresh button so quickly......

M4ryDeNovo Tweetdeck decided to go belly up blasted thing

edwardclarke RT @NickiePhilbin: sorry, my tweet blew up, had to relaunch, not on purpose #summersandwich

stu_art_ist@RedMummy Fantastic... this is hilarious :)

M4ryDeNovo@stu_art_ist nor mine now!

NickiePhilbin sorry my laptop and twitter now playing up, trying to go too fast, will start, if delay, it is not refreshing


round 1 - fun category

NickiePhilbin Fun category tweeted first, good luck to all! Very strong category.....


NickiePhilbin 3rd - @TrevorLamont (might've won if it had been a stella...)


NickiePhilbin 2nd - @squidge1997 fantastic fun and clearly loves being creative



M4ryDeNovo go andy go andy go andy

NickiePhilbin and drum roll please we have the fantastic1st - @Andyqsmith and @nicolarse51 well done!

M4ryDeNovo yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh @andyqsmith result

TrevorLamont if the judge had sampled my sandwich i bet id have won after all it was carlsberg and probably was the best sandwich in the world


finals - the winners!

NickiePhilbin Next, serious category, the most highly coveted and highly fought after > Runners up - @JimAnning, @caalie & @bubith

RedMummy@stu_art_ist I have a callous on my "refreshing" finger!

M4ryDeNovo yeahhhh @bubith


NickiePhilbin 3rd - @nickiephilbin - it was the ginger with the steak that won me over (bristling with pride)

M4ryDeNovo ohhhh @nickiephilbin well done xx


NickiePhilbin 2nd - @shar13 - really like that combination of flavours next, our WINNER!!!

caalie@NickiePhilbin :) go you!

NickiePhilbin here we go, 1st - @edwardclarke - this just looked so tasty, maybe it's my Polish > roots.. Well done to Ed, winner for 2nd time!!!
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NickiePhilbin Thank you to all who took part and to @caalie and @BenjaminEllis for taking time to take pics to Chef Darius

NickiePhilbin That concludes the votes from Norwegian jury. Over and out. Our fabulous winner @edwardclarke takes the prize again! >


Congratulations

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Go on then, congratulate @nickiephilbin for 3rd prize. Pass the tissues, please.

edwardclarke@NickiePhilbin Oh my goodness!! I take back everything I said about judge! He's fabulous!! #summersandwich

maggiephilbin@edwardclarke You have stolen title from me

edwardclarke@maggiephilbin But it was thanks to you I managed to upload the #summersandwich into the dreaded photobucket!

maggiephilbin@edwardclarke there you go - shooting myself in foot yet again. Should have left you beached up on sands of technofail

edwardclarke@maggiephilbin But you wouldn't because you're a kind lovely person!

maggiephilbin@edwardclarke :-))

M4ryDeNovo@edwardclarke well done you :O))))

RedMummy@edwardclarke SOUP, Edward. Just soup. Congratulations. Now think SOUP. Xxxxx

edwardclarke@RedMummy You've got it, darling!

edwardclarke@NickiePhilbin Haha! I also have Polish roots!! #summersandwich

maggiephilbin@NickiePhilbin well done sis. Am I alone in the crazy category?

M4ryDeNovo@maggiephilbin I think the judge is still trying to think up a category for some of us!

caalie@maggiephilbin I don't think you are alone in that category, the rest of us take care to disguise it on important occasions :)

NickiePhilbin@maggiephilbin yes, you all alone and gurning in crazy category

RedMummy@NickiePhilbin @maggiephilbin Good to see the sisterly love is as ever going into overload! x

stu_art_ist@edwardclarke Yeah for you :)) I bit you are just grinning cheek to cheek :))

annraulston@NickiePhilbin Fabulous fun and results! What is next month's subject?

caalie@edwardclarke congratulations :)

RedMummy@maggiephilbin Where's the smile? I also have Polish roots, my Mum was half Polish & half Russian. Does Darius not like Russians? Hrmph.

RedMummy@edwardclarke Look, a hearty Mazal tov. SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP (& chopped liver). X

stu_art_ist@RedMummy LOL, tears are becoming a regular feature during the cook offs, that was just so funny.... I think I am actually shaking :))

maggiephilbin Many congratulations to @edwardclarke and @andyqsmith/@nicolarse who take #summersandwich titles. Finalists here http://tinyurl.com/nr5oqc

RedMummy@stu_art_ist Tears so useful as they add sodium content to our recipes as we none of use salt any more.

caalie@stu_art_ist ditto - I just looove it!!


Next month’s challenge

edwardclarke I declare next month the month of the SummerStarter, so give free vent to your creativity! #summersandwich

edwardclarke Thanks everyone for a wonderful #summersandwich competoi

edwardclarke Gak ! twitter fail ! #summersandwich

edwardclarke Thanks everyone for a great #summersandwich competition, and especially to @nickiephilbin for organizing it!

RedMummy@nickiephilbin Yes, I second @edwardclarke's thanks to you for organising the comp & also to @maggiephilbin for encouragement! x

M4ryDeNovo Many many thanks to @BenjaminEllis @caalie @nickiephilbin @maggiephilbin and Darius the Lamont Clan had the best fun Again! Thank You :O)

stu_art_ist RT @TrinityRhapsody Well done to all #summersandwich entries. Have had such fun!!!

caalie@edwardclarke you'll have to watch out with the whole summer thing - I think we may have had it..

stu_art_ist@caalie I agree, next months will have to be #Autumnsomething , I'm looking forward to getting less summery with my ingredients :))

edwardclarke@caalie Yes, this month will definitely be the last we can exploit the #summer tag!

maggiephilbin RT @edwardclarke I declare next month the month of the SummerStarter, so give free vent to your creativity!

RedMummy@edwardclarke Seriously, well done you! X


Aftermath

M4ryDeNovo oh my giddy aunt I am slightly worried about @Trevorlamont's version of a #summerstarter

M4ryDeNovo@caalie I have no idea what he will do but it will not be normal he just doesnt seem able to do normal - bless him

edwardclarke Thanks too to @BenjaminEllis and @caalie for organizing the judging! #summersandwich

edwardclarke As a 2 times winner in the twitter tweet cookoff, I am launching a competition consultancy to aid competitors reach their full potential!

RedMummy Oh help. The Joshua is intent on washing his gerbils in bathroom sink. Does anyone have telephone number of emergency vet?

M4ryDeNovo Now Tweetdeck decides to work

M4ryDeNovo drank my G & T so fast in the excitement feel quite light headed now!

caalie@edwardclarke I sign up! I've never even ranked. What do I need to know??

edwardclarke@caalie I think main thing is to think visually - colour, texture, etc - get @BenjaminEllis to do his best artistic shot of your creation!

caalie@edwardclarke yes, he was willfully absent while I was creating!

stu_art_ist@maggiephilbin It was all happening so fast I didn't have time to savour all comments, will spend happy hour now back tracking :))

edwardclarke@BenjaminEllis Thank you! and thanks once again or the great judging photo set! #summersandwich

RedMummy@edwardclarke You obviously have a talent. You'll be in the Clapham local paper again! Remember to tweet the article! Well done! X

RedMummy@edwardclarke I'm just secretly relieved that my sandwiches didn't actually poison my father!

stu_art_ist@edwardclarke And you were worried about your shop bought bagel :)) Told you it would be fine :)

caalie@edwardclarke he was impressed with the pastrami. I was impressed that he could tell...

edwardclarke@caalie Heavens! It was just ordinary Sainsbury's pastrami!

caalie@edwardclarke hah! you've been outed :) I won't tell the judge. there were a lot of things I didn't tell him...

NickiePhilbin Have only just seen the fantastic @BenjaminEllis http://www.flickr.com/photo... #summersandwich they are wonderful!

stu_art_ist @BenjaminEllis Fantastic photos and words, thank you so much for making our fun and hysteria look almost professional :)) #summersandwich

JimAnning @landingsrestaur thanks for getting involved today in judging the #summersandwich comp. Much appreciated.


______________

loveclapham Any good suggestions for a local takeaway (that delivers... it's raining)? I want to try something new.

edwardclarke@loveclapham I've just won the twitter tweet cookoff again! Maybe I should start a takeaway service??!

loveclapham @edwardclarke Ooh, yes please! Award winning food to my door is definitely a good idea. Why not start now?! (congrats btw! what was it?)

stu_art_ist http://twitpic.com/cf3dn - unwanted #summersandwich cutter for sale, any offers welcome:) Swirls were so not in this month :))



landingsrestaur Chef Darius choose the winning sandwich in the cook-off #summersandwich! Enjoy our delicious Clubhouse Sandwich in our lounge daily!


Links

Photos of Chef Darius Zvinis judging the competition are courtesy of Benjamin Ellis

Landings Restaurant
66 Farnborough Road
Farnborough
GU14 6TH
@landingsrestaur on twitter

The monthly twitter cookoff competitions are organised by Nickie Philbin (@NickiePhilbin on twitter)

Next twitter cookoff competition: Summer Starter

Previous twitter cookoff competition: Summer Tart

My Mother at the Zimbabwe Ruins

My Mother at the Zimbabwe Ruins
Originally uploaded by hedgiecc

One of my favourite old family photos.

Windmill Drive

I love sitting at the front of the top deck of a bus driving down Long Road through the Common, with the sunshine filtering through that wonderful parade of London Planes and glimpses of green expanses rolling out on either side. On the other hand, I hate the way our Common is cut up by all the roads bisecting it. You never escape from the sound of traffic wherever you are, with the result the whole common feels like a giant traffic circus.

So it was with delight I read about the proposal to close Windmill Drive and return part of it to natural Common grassland, with just a pedestrian and cycle path remaining. Yeah! Four wheels bad!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I’m a bit of a long-term Harry Potter fan, so I had to catch the latest film at the IMAX when it came out a few weeks ago.

The IMAX experience is wonderful for the super large screen, but the 3D felt a bit gimmicky - only the first 15 minutes or so are 3D (I liked the swooping around London bit). Not essential by any means - being a spectacles wearer anyway I found the whole thing a bit uncomfortable.


Half-Blood Prince is definitely one the of the more successful adaptations - brilliantly dark and foreboding, but shot through with touches of humour. Director David Yates has delivered a superior experience, and I’m looking forward to the final two films in the series.


The cinematography just seems to get better and better with each film, but what really pleased me was the acting. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as the leads are now pretty mature and their acting skills have increased quite dramatically since the last film - so much so I wonder if there is a new drama coach involved. There’s not a trace of the awkwardness of their previous performances. All three come across as natural and engaging presences. This is true too of the minor junior roles - I loved Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy and Tom Riddle (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin age 11; Frank Dillane age 16). Draco in particular is a very small part in terms of screen time but major in terms of plot and character development - Felton did very well to convey Draco’s growing turmoil.


Scriptwriter Steve Kloves has changed the ending, and it’s not particularly clear why, as filming it as written would have been just as easy. The filmed version has inspired some criticism but I feel it works well and doesn’t disappoint. The change is relatively minor but would definitely have required J K Rowling’s approval, I think.

As always my personal favorite is Alan Rickman as Professor Snape. Hugely entertaining.

Summer Sandwich

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It's the twitter tweet cook off time of the month! This time the challenge is to create a "summer sandwich" and my creation appears above. It's an onion bagel topped with pastrami, sliced gherkin, pickled green chilli, pickled red cabbage, capers, and lashings of French's American mustard. A tasty explosion!

We shall see what the judge makes of it. I shall update this post with developments!

Fourth Plinth Revisited

Thoughts developing fast on this one! Definitely moved on since my last post on Antony Gormley's iconic work One & Other on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.

I suppose all that was needed was a plinther with vision, confidence and style and in the last few days I've seen two (not that I've been watching the live stream obsessively, but I dip in and out and follow the Guardian's twitter feed).

This woman was uttterly remarkable:


She stood like that, mouth open, arms extended, blindfolded in the chill night air with drool covering her chin in a flimsy dress for 60 full minutes. She got an enormous cheer from the crowd when her stint was completed.

The next plinthian, "LilacBonzai" was a worker for the Terence Higgins Trust and he used his 60 minutes to publicise HIV charities. He had a series of fantastic costume changes, culminating in standing completely nude in a cheeky homage to Mr Gormley's own work. His musical backing was a superb mix including classical opera and The Carpenters.

google v twitter

Twitter is doing something big, and we are still in the process of working out what. Even someone as technologically challenged as me felt that twitter the site was pretty basic - seriously undercoded - when I signed up. It feels like it's held together metaphorically with sticky tape. Bits like blocking and direct messaging still feel like they don’t work properly.

It took a few weeks for me to get the hang of what twitter can deliver. Yes, it does have narcissists wittering on about what they had for breakfast in 140 characters or fewer.

But as an information junkie I get high on the random apparent chaos and speed of information transfer on twitter.

It's a left-brain/right-brain thing: Google is left-brain - you ask your question and you get your hierarchy of links (all back-dated and checked and verified by the big G). With twitter, you make lots of connections with people who may share some of your interests - they post links to stuff you may have missed or not have known about: instead of a static one-off list you get something organic and evolving over time. It's like being in a fantastically stocked bookshop and browsing, you get these beautiful serendipitous connections. But you can search successfully for specifics as well.

News-wise I heard about Air France 447 on twitter first; the death of Michael Jackson; the Iranian election . . . and just days ago the Australian tsunami warning just 4 minutes after it was issued (as it did no damage it never even made the mainstream media in the UK)



Twitter trumps Google with real time searches; it’s interesting that the new twitter home page now makes this crystal clear. The previous homepage promised status updates to friends, family and colleagues - all gone now. Now when you’re on twitter you’re facing the world.

Last Post

Today is the funeral of Henry Allingham, one of the last British survivors of the World War I trenches. The other last soldier, Harry Patch, is buried next week. With them disappears living memory of the horrors that war generation lived and died through.

Of course, we have the magnificent poetry of the WWI poets. With that awesome legacy towering, our new Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy was brave indeed to accept the BBC’s commission to write a poem commemorating the passing of that generation, but has I feel succeeded quite magnificently - her poem Last Post is a very fine tribute, worthy of standing with Wilfred Owen et al.

LAST POST

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin
that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud…
but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood
run upwards from the slime into its wounds;
see lines and lines of British boys rewind
back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home-
mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers
not entering the story now
to die and die and die.
Dulce- No- Decorum- No- Pro patria mori.
You walk away.

You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)
like all your mates do too-
Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert-
and light a cigarette.
There's coffee in the square,
warm French bread
and all those thousands dead
are shaking dried mud from their hair
and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,
a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released
from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.

You lean against a wall,
your several million lives still possible
and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.
You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.
If poetry could truly tell it backwards,
then it would.


It’s rather encouraging and pleasing that poetry today can still generate so much interest - Last Post has attracted quite favourable and extensive comment.

Love Clapham

If you live in Clapham it’s good to know about a new blog which has started up in the last few months - Love Clapham.

Love Clapham aims to tell you everything you need to know about living in the area - events and news, shops, pubs, bars, restaurants and recreational amenities; interviews, guides, and more. I particularly like the blog’s witty upbeat attitude and it’s engagement with everyday SW4 life.


The site is run by Jack Wallington, who has designed it beautifully - it’s clear, bold, and easy to navigate around. It also has a twitter feed to follow updates.

I’m a big fan of initiatives which aim to build a sense of community and Love Clapham succeeds very well in doing this. It’s definitely an asset to our stretch of London.

One & Other

One & Other, originally uploaded by hedgiecc.

Passed through Trafalgar Square last Sunday with Catriona and paid my respects to Antony Gormley's fourth plinth project, One & Other.

I was so excited about this before, and even volunteered to take part, but now I am slightly less enthused. I don't know if I'll take up the chance if I am selected.

'Real' people just don't make good artworks. What we see is a human being inhabiting an 'ideal' space - the scale is wrong, the plinth fails to elevate the subject; its just a prosaic image of a human in an elevated position.

Michelangelo's David has anatomical distortions specifically designed to read well from ground level - David was originally intended to be viewed from far below. It's this kind of artistic necessity which Gormley's work completely fails to accomplish.

Charlie Brooker in the Guardian said "Gormley's public art project is essentially Big Brother: The Tate Modern Edition". I totally agree.