French Leek Pie

1 (22cm)	Pie Crust
1tbsp	Butter
3	Leeks (washed and chopped)
250ml	Cream
160g	Gruyère (grated)
1 pinch	Salt
1 pinch	Black Pepper

Serves: 6
Yield: 1 9″ Pie
Ready in: 50 mins (10 mins Prep - 40 mins Cook)

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.

2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in leeks; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until soft.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and cheese, and warm through. Pour mixture into pie shell.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until custard is set and golden on top. Allow to sit 10 minutes before cutting pie into wedges.

I have a new obsession, staring into my lavatory. I can’t help it. It’s fascinating. I bought some of those Toilet Duck Fresh Discs that you fire onto the inside of the loo and they work like those hideous old rim-block things that my Dad’s always had a vendetta against as they can easily get flushed and clog up the pipes. They’re also a haven for germs and how anyone could touch one to clean/replace it, well… eugh! These things, though, are fantastic! You push the tube towards the bowl, press the button and push. SPLAT! It leaves a jewel like disk of fresh smelling disinfectant in the bowl. It lasts about a week, you don’t have to touch it to replace it, just zap another disk on, and there’s no risk of it clogging up the plumbing. Such a wonderful idea. (I am easily pleased.)

I recently found a place on eBay selling PSUs for old SFF PCs like my old Shuttle SpaceWalker SV25. I bought one and although the dimensions are perfect, it’s not set out in the same way as the original meaning I’ll have to cut a hole in the side of the case which is not ideal.

I really thought that once I’d plugged the PSU in it’d just be a case of sticking an OS on and away I’d go. I never envisaged the nightmares! I’ve built so many machines now I’ve lost count. Both for work and home. I just wanted a nice lightweight OS like FreeBSD or Fluxbuntu. Nothing would install! FreeBSD gives me a Fatal Trap 12 and reboots every time. All Ubuntu variants have kernel panic at installing files. DSL ran fine from CD but refused to install yesterday.

Today I managed a frugal install, but it wouldn’t boot without the CD. I’ve just given up and tried Windows 2000 (which was on the machine previously) and it did get to the configuration which is further than anything else, but then it crashed. I tried about 4 times. Same outcome. I’m giving XP a go now, more for a laugh than anything else. I’m not even sure it could run XP without the hardware problems! I’ve narrowed the issue down to the HDD, but sadly it’s the only spare IDE HDD I have. I’m not buying another as it completely ruins the whole point of rebuilding this out of spares.

As for my OU Coursework, I was 3 chapters behind due to being ill, playing some time-consuming 360 games(!) and general apathy. I finished reading all about Faraday last night and went though the DVD on him today. So now I’m only 2 chapters behind, but I reckon I can get the Stalin chapter read tonight as there aren’t any other exercises for that one. Then I’m on to ‘The Diva’ from Monday getting me right back up to date again. Phew!

I’ve decided I’m not going to be a very social person, at least for a while. Almost every time I’ve been out in the last few months I’ve been let down at the last minute and I really don’t think people appreciate what a big deal it is for me to get into town. It’s not just a 10 minute bus ride for £1.50 for me. If I walk, it’s a 45 minute walk then a 15 minute train journey for £3 (also, I can’t walk down my road when it’s dark as there are no lights and no real surface to my road). If I get a lift it’s 25 minutes, but I can only get lifts when it’s convenient for other people, so it has to be arranged in advance and can’t be spontaneous. Getting back is even worse as I can get a train back to Wokingham before 22:30, but taxis there know my road and refuse to drive there. Leaving me stranded. This means I have to fork out £25 for a black cab back from Reading. I just can’t justify it a lot of the time, especially when I’ve spent the evening sat in a pub all on my own because no-one can be bothered to let me know they’re no longer coming out.

I’ll probably go out more during the day when I can walk back from the station in the light or get a lift when my Dad’s on his way back from work. Evenings are saved for special occasions now though. Xmas and NYE don’t count as taxis are like £50 for that and that’s ridiculous!

Sooo… as I have no money at the moment I decided to buy a pair of shoes. I know, bad Jo! They were only £39.99 though and then I got 10% off with my NUS card - wheeee! I love them though, they have brought me joy. Shoe joy. They’re a pair of T.U.K. Black/Red Skull/Bow medium heels. So comfortable and easy to walk in, and they make me tall.

I wore them out on Monday when we went for Tony’s birthday meal at Xen. Very nice food. Wish I’d worn my trousers though as my skirt was a little tight so I shared Claire’s rice rather than getting my own. I had Thai Chicken Satay and Thai Green Curry. Yummy! I really wanted Indian food (they do Thai/Indian/Japanese), but as I can cook it so well myself now I’m loathe to pay for something that I don’t like as much! Can’t wait to make my onion bhajees at Christmas, they’re so lovely!

I updated my 360 today, the NXE update didn’t take too long. I hate the avatars though. I was annoyed when my Mii could only have natural hair colours and Microsoft have gone the same way. Seems so silly as surely it can’t be that hard to have a wider palette?! So my avatar looks more like Abby Sciuto than me now as I’ve given it black hair. Gonna see if I get any hassle, if I do I’m making a male avatar. Best thing about NXE though is definitely being able to transfer the games to the HDD so you don’t have to listen to the loud DVD drive. It’s bliss Played around with it a little more and it seems it keeps on crashing in the friends list which is well annoying. Lots of other people having this issue too. Hopefully they’ll sort it.

Ginger Biscuits

Ginger Biscuits

115g/4oz Butter (softened)

85g/3oz Caster Sugar

140g/5oz Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Vanilla Extract

2tbsp Ground Ginger

Makes 18-20

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric beater until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.

3. Sift the flour and ginger together and work into the butter mixture. Bring it together to form a dough.

4. Take teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls.

5. Place on the baking sheets 5cm/2in apart and press down to flatten slightly. Bake for 12-15mins. Remove from the baking sheets and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Melting Moments

115g/4oz Butter (softened)

85g/3oz Caster Sugar

140g/5oz Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Vanilla Extract

2tbsp Cocoa Powder

7-10tbsp Porridge Oats

Makes 18-20

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric beater until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.

3. Sift the flour and cocoa together and work into the butter mixture. Bring it together to form a dough.

4. Take teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls, then roll lightly with wet hands and roll in the oats.

5. Place on the baking sheets 5cm/2in apart and press down to flatten slightly. Bake for 12-15mins. Remove from the baking sheets and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

I spent some time in Reading town centre this weekend. On Saturday lunchtime and Sunday afternoon. I realised there are still an awful lot of people using plastic bags. For years and years my Mum has taken her own bags to the supermarket, I just sort of stopped noticing bag usage. Or maybe I never paid any attention in the first place. I do know it’s only now becoming easier to say “I don’t need a bag thanks”. There have been a number of occasions where I’ve had my canvas bag/rucksack/old plastic bag ready and waiting while the cashier paid no attention and thrust my goods into a new and completely pointless plastic bag. Sometimes I’d take my purchases out and make a big deal of putting them in my own bag. Most often though I’d just sigh and resign myself to getting another future bin liner.

I looked at the people scuttling around, arms laden with plastic. It’s madness! One woman had one of those over-sized handbags that were all the rage last year, it looked almost empty. Yet she had what was probably a eye-shadow and a bottle of perfume in a plastic bag. WHY?! I just don’t get it. Not only is that plastic bag pointless and a symbol of doom, but surely it would be easier to carry just one bag? The more I looked around, the more I felt like the odd one out; having not one, but THREE canvas bags in use. I ended up buying one in Waterstones as even though I’d taken an old plastic bag out with me I realised all my canvas bags are huge and their ones are more conveniently sized. The killer came as I left M&S, a family walked past me loudly declaring their disgust that they’d been charged 5p for a plastic bag! Apparently it’s disgusting as plastic bags should be free, they always were and this particular family would be shopping elsewhere in future. The fact that the goods they bought could have easily fitted inside the mother’s handbag didn’t even cross their tiny little minds. I despaired. Openly. They glared. Good, it proves they heard me.

I’m sure reading ‘Crap At The Environment‘ has had an influence on me noticing these things. I chuckled when reading about Mark’s tussles with Kevin at the checkout. The idea of counting how many “I don’t need a bag thank you”s in a day was something I’d already done myself! I don’t want to come across as preachy here as I’m as guilty of plastic ownership as the next person. I have a whole host of Vinyl figures for a start. However, I am a total hoarder and this makes it slightly easier to justify as I try to save my plastic treasures from ever going to landfills. I even take discarded disposable lighters just so they don’t end up floating around Midway. Instead they float around in a box on my floor. I haven’t noticed any dead waterfowl around them though… yet.

For a short while I tried to influence my friends; get them to buy refillable lighters, use their bags instead of plastic carriers. I’ve given up now. It seems that those who care are already doing something and those who don’t care can’t be made to care. Unfortunately much as the apple-haters are now more fanboyistically annoying than the original Apple-ites, being anti-environmentalist is the new cool I often hear the younger generations claiming it all to be nonsense, why should they care anyway, it’s all going to happen long after they’re gone. I simply cannot understand this viewpoint. I want to scream at them “BUT IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING!” I know they’d take no notice though, declaring me a tree-hugger and sneering. They should also learn that once things start to change they can do so at an unimaginable rate.

While I’m on the subject of such things, if anyone knows where I can buy (wholesale) biodegradable packaging for the jewellery I make please let me know! UK based is best. Thanks!

Decided I’ll probably buy myself the iPod Touch. 8Gb is a hell of a difference to 80Gb, but it has wifi-ness. Which my phone doesn’t have. So at the Turtle internets will be free. I am tempted by the 120Gb iPod Classic. But they’re both pretty much the same price and also the only 2 that are cheaper than getting mine repaired.

Current plan is to call up Apple and ask to get on the Higher Education discount. See what I can get it for. Might end up going for the 32Gb Touch if haggling goes well.

Got most of my OU stuff through. I’ve managed to read all my set texts, in fact I only have the DVD of ‘Bhaji on the Beach‘ left to watch. Looked through my Assignment questions and got terrified! Looked at the student forums and saw almost everyone doing AA100 is equally terrified - felt much better! Got my Tutorial dates through as well, was a bit miffed at first as I’m meant to get to Oxford (for the record, bloody miles away) for 09:30 on a few Saturdays which is never gonna happen. Luckily an e-mail from my Tutor confirms these aren’t mandatory - phew! I’m hoping to OD on the on-line aids provided so I don’t miss out too much from not attending the day schools.

Went to listen to my iPod (5.5G 80Gb) on Saturday and it refused to play. It whirrs up but just sits at 00:00. Video seems to crash it completely. Reset it about 8 or 9 times with no joy. Did a full restore, still dead. Found quite a few others have had this happen since the latest firmware update (v1.3). Downgraded the firmware to v1.2.3, still no joy. Going to try putting RockBox on it and see if that works. It’s out of warranty and getting it fixed would cost as much as getting a new one. I don’t mind getting a new one so much, but I hate the thought of getting rid of this when everything except music/video works on it! Even if it’s just an expensive Mah Jongg player, it’s something!

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Went to exchange my ticket for a wristband on the Thursday and found the signs for the exchange were absolutely dire. In fact we only saw one and the only place you could see it was AFTER you’d been through the exchange tent. Not good enough…

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Friday

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Got up late and really could not get motivated to get to the site. As a result missed Future of the Left and Barry Castagnola. Can’t remember why I missed Mitch Benn, but I did.

Missed Vampire Weekend too as they clashed with Queens of the Stone Age. Really gutted to hear that Vampire Weekend’s set was one of the best of the weekend as QotSA they weren’t all that great this year. It was alright, but I’ve seen them play better. Ended up going to see Does It Offend You, Yeah? with some friends even though I hate them (the band, not my friends). It’s safe to say I still cannot stand DIOYY. They may be local, but their on-stage banter is utter tripe and their music does nothing for me. Stayed around the Festival Republic tent for Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - MUCH more like it! They were genuinely happy that people had come to see them while Rage Against the Machine were playing. Not a hard choice for me, I’m in the minority of RatM haters. I cannot stand Zack de la Rocha as I think he’s way too hypocritical to be doing a lot of that political stuff on stage and his voice grates. I don’t mind their music, but it all sounds exactly the same. I hadn’t realised until I found myself singing along to “Bulls on Parade” on GHIII with the words to another of their songs… Walked back through the main road which handily was an actual road this year as they’ve moved it all about. Nice and mud-free which made a change.

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Saturday

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Didn’t have to get in that early on the Saturday which was a definite bonus. I did miss Milton Jones though which was a real shame. Wandered in through the Orange campsite using my new shortcut (15 minute walk - whee!) and choked on the smoke from the White CarPark fire. Saw some of Seasick Steve’s set, but the sound in the NME tent was really bad. I could hardly hear anything and further in there were too many idiots. I’ve seen him quite a bit over the last couple of years so decided to go for a wander. The shops are total trash these days which is a shame. Just as all town centres are becoming clones, as are the festival shops. Caught a bit of Jason Rouse’s set, did not laugh once. Found it completely unfunny, so sauntered off again. The people working in the arena were incredibly miserable this year. Makes me wonder if they’ve been given a huge paycut as everyone was happy last year. Even the people at The Fine Burger Co. practically threw my burger at me whilst having a bitch with each other in foreign tongues. I was really disappointed.

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Moved up to the main stage and met up with Janine for The Raconteurs. They mostly played stuff from their new album which I really love, but I much preferred them in the smaller tent. Stayed around for Bloc Party. Enjoyable, but a little dull for some of their set sadly. Went out to the Yellow camp bar with the free beer vouchers Simpson had thieved worked hard for.

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Sunday

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Didn’t get to sleep until 04:30 which well and truly scuppered plans to see Robots in Disguise, the headache didn’t help either. Got a text from my mate to say her tent had been trampled by idiots during the yellow camp ‘riots’ in the night, she’d gone back to her car this morning to find it was one of the ones in the big fire and was burnt out. Understandably as she was ill anyway and none of the bands had been that great so far she decided to call it quits and leave. As I understand it Festival republic paid for their cab fares home. I cannot believe this happened. They’re saying it was an accident, but I find it very hard to believe as the fire was reported by people in the campsite who saw the massive column of black smoke when the fire had already claimed a couple of cars. If it was an accident and started by a BBQ I cannot help but think it would’ve been reported much earlier on and caused nowhere near as much damage. I felt totally helpless as I couldn’t think of anything I could do to help her out. I don’t like bad things happening to my friends

I got to the main arena entrance while Hadouken! still had about 15 minutes left in their set. Unfortunately I then got trapped in a mass of people who decided they were going to stand still for the next 20 minutes… So I missed the only band I was desperate to see all weekend. They were fantastic last year and from what I’ve heard they were just as good if not better this year. To say I’m gutted I missed them is an understatement. Ended up meeting people outside the NME tent anyway and stayed there for Pendulum’s set. Would’ve been better had I been able to get in the tent I think. Still, was the first band I’d seen all weekend (except Dan & Scroob) that I was glad I got there for. After that I headed to the main stage for Tenacious D. OK, so they were filling a lot of time (silly bands pulling out at the last second), and yeah it was blatantly all scripted. It was still damn fun though. Enjoyed their set a lot. Wandered about some more, saw a few minutes of Metallica. Seen em loads of times before and I still don’t like them. Really just not for me. Found some people, failed to find some other people. Went back to the bar with the last voucher. Walked back through the smog that was Orange campsite.

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Bought my 2009 ticket this morning.

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(Excuse the pathetic dots everywhere, WP is refusing to let me use any line breaks).