Some things from the last week or two…

At Easter we watched Jesus Christ Superstar. What a joy! I’m not into musicals, but if you can’t enjoy the Pharisees and Herod, then there’s something wrong. And Judas is truly great. 70s kitch at it’s theatrical finest.
Have been enjoying the almost warm weather… sitting on our roof at night in the stillness really soothes those rough edges. Leaning back and watching the bats fly past and the moon waning…
Tried to have Mojitos this weekend, but forgot to buy limes. Bugger.

This Saturday, York Minster did a full bell peal. This is…

Minster Bells to Celebrate Queen’s 80th Birthday

To celebrate Her Majesty’s 80th Birthday the bells of York Minster will be rung to a full peal of Grandsire Cinques, which will take more than four hours to complete successfully. The peal will be rung on Saturday 22nd April starting at 9.30am.

The ringing of full peals on the Minster bells is comparatively rare and is reserved for special occasions. Full peals were rung to celebrate Her Majesty’s 60th birthday in 1986, and her Golden Jubilee in 2002.

For the ringers a peal involves intense physical and mental effort. Every bell is swung round in a full circle every two seconds, and all twelve bells ring in a different place in each row. Concentration is intense, with the ringers working out the mathematical permutations to ensure that every one of the 5,080 changes is different. The ringing of a full peal of any bells is tiring, and the Minster’s bells are some of the heaviest in the country.

The Minster’s bells are arguably the most magnificent ever cast, and bell ringers from all over the country are eager to ring a full peal on them. For this full peal attempt, the Minster team will be joined by ringers from St Paul’s Cathedral, Liverpool Cathedral, Leeds Parish Church and Towcester Parish Church.

The English art of Change Ringing is a unique way of ringing church bells. It is a special part of our heritage, and the peal at the Minster will be a fitting tribute from the City of York to help celebrate this very special birthday.

It was quite something, hearing it going on all around town for so long.

Went to the fabulous vegetarian restaurant, Vanilla Black again. They changed their lunch menu and I was STUFFED afterwards. Eyes bigger than belly. Before lunch, anyway.
From today… why you should make your own food whenever possible (part 94):

Now take a look at the ingredients you might find in a fast-food strawberry milkshake: milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high-fructose corn syrup, guar gum, monoglycerides and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, citric acid, E129 and artificial strawberry flavour.

And what does that “artificial strawberry flavour” contain?

Just these few yummy chemicals: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphrenyl- 2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol), ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, undecalactone, vanillin and solvent.

But you know this!

Oh, and I just wanted to add my amazement at Tony Bliar, with his lawyer wife, multiple  properties, six-figure income and side benefits (“Mr Blair registered his wife’s activities in July “to err on the side of caution” and to be “open and transparent”.  Mr Blair listed two flats in Bristol and a house in London from which “rental income is received”. He also declared a free 26-day stay at singer Sir Cliff Richard’s Barbados villa”[…])… stating his wonder that so many Lords and MPs, and others, are out of touch with the public at large! Laugh of the day!

I wonder if maybe Gordon Brown has his music pumping out banging techno at all hours, and a crack den in the cellar, which has given TB this taste of the plebian lifestyle.

Can the Home Office be trusted, asks MP [Do we even need to ask, says Me!]
JAMIE LYONS [for the Scotsman]

THE Home Office was yesterday accused of showing a “casual disregard” for taxpayers’ cash after criticism from spending watchdogs.
The Auditor General was forced to issue a “disclaimer of opinion” on the Home Office’s accounts because of fundamental problems with them.
It led a member of the Commons public accounts committee to ask whether taxpayers could trust the Home Office’s handling of money.

[…]

And he singled out the Home Office for particular criticism. He said its accounts presented “such fundamental problems” that he had to issue a disclaimer of opinion because of the lack of audit evidence which he needed to reach an opinion on the truth and fairness of the accounts.
Sir John said the Home Office had not maintained complete financial books and records during the year and as a result was unable to deliver its accounts for audit on time.
The Tory MP Richard Bacon, who sits on the public accounts committee, said the Home Office had shown a “casual disregard for the use of taxpayers’ money”.
And he called for Sir John Gieve, a former Home Office permanent secretary and now deputy governor of the Bank of England, to be called back to explain the “mess” to parliament.

He said: “How can taxpayers possibly have any confidence in the proper use of their money if the Home Office cannot even reconcile its cash?”

Looks like we can’t even guarantee how much of our money will be wasted by the shennanigans of Captain Hogwash and his Home Office pirates. Avast Behind!

Welcome to the new BLOGDIAL.
Same as the old BLOGDIAL.