@ 2009-05-31 – 09:18:26
" . . . . . AND EVERYBODY ELSE WAS DOING IT"
(The Times)
An MP used his expenses to claim for a £5 donation he made during a church service to commemorate the Battle of Britain.
Frank Cook, a Labour backbencher, sought reimbursement on his office expenses after the memorial service in his constituency town of Stockton-on-Tees. It was rejected by the parliamentary fees office.
@ 2009-05-30 – 10:15:53
Perhaps alive and running around.
On the other hand, you may like to eat them.
DEMAND GROWING FOR SQUIRREL PIE
A pest controller who has already helped to cull more than 22,000 grey squirrels in the North East is moving south to feed demand for squirrel pie.
Paul Parker, 45, from Newcastle, is part of a conservation group trying to rid areas of grey squirrels and preserve native reds.
Now he says demand for greys from top chefs means he needs to expand.
He is working with landowners in the south of England to maintain supplies of squirrels for restaurants.
The father of three is a founder of the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership (RSPP), which says trapping and shooting greys is the only way to save native reds from extinction.
His method has been so successful grey squirrels have been eradicated in many parts of Northumberland and the reds have returned.
In the past 18 months, the group have caught 22,622 using a network of spring-loaded boxes.
Mr Parker said: "I cannot personally get enough of these grey squirrels, people are eating them.
"If I was getting 100, they would take 100 each and every day, the demand is so high. They are sold as soon as they hit the counter.
"They are going to top restaurants, butchers, the working man. They are a delicacy.
(BBC Newa)
Here is a recipe to make your own squirrel stew:
Ingredients:
1 squirrel, quartered
1 cup diced onion
2 large tomatoes (from your garden) or 1 can of tomatoes
Assorted fresh ,or canned veggies
Preparation:
Sprinkle seasoned salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper (optional) liberally on the meat. Pour some cooking oil into a large pot (dutch oven). Sauté the meat with the onions until well browned. Drain the excess oil, add about 2 cups water, and bring to a boil. Cut up the tomatoes and add. If you use canned tomatoes add them now. Turn down the heat, and let slow cook for at least an hour. Important: older squirrels may require cooking longer than an hour. Check periodically for tenderness. If you don't you will have a hard time chewing the meat. After the meat is tender, add the veggies, carrots, potatoes, banana pepper, what ever you like. Cook until the veggies are done.
@ 2009-05-29 – 09:54:10
Have you heard of the Australian sculptor Ron Muec?
He creates amazing life-like human sculptures.
Early on in his career, Ron Mueck started out working in children's television shows and then moved on to working in special effects.
Shortly after, he started his own company based in London making photo realistic props. His work was designed to be photographed from just one angle, and eventually he moved on to realistic sculptures, which would be able to be photographed from any angle.
Ron Mueck's sculptures meticulously detail the human form. His sculptures range from very tiny to massive, but they are never life-sized. He does this to play around with the visual senses.
He uses fiberglass and silicone to construct these sculptures. This is done so that human hair can be punched in by a sharp needle, one by one.
Here are a few examples of his work:
@ 2009-05-24 – 08:39:24
The Juvenile Lead 1908
This is not my idea of an aspiring young actor.
But I will let you into a secret - it is a self-portrait of the artist himself, William Sickert.
@ 2009-05-07 – 09:25:10
Bottom of class for Morrisons as it stocks spelling blocks that say 'U is for 'Umberlla' and 'Y' is for 'Yatch'
They seemed the perfect toys to teach inquisitive young minds the basics of the ABC.
Unfortunately, even a child could spot something was seriously wrong with the set of alphabet building blocks.
The block for 'U' was marked with the word 'umberlla' under a colourful brolly, while the side for 'Y' had a boat sailing over the word 'yatch'.
A third face had some creative punctuation, with 'X' standing for X'mas tree.
Suzanne Toulson, 60, noticed the howlers after the £3.22 set of blocks was bought for her nine-month-old grand-daughter, Millie, from Morrisons in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester.
She complained to the store but was initially told only that no more of the Chinese-made toys would be ordered.
Yesterday, however, Morrisons backed down, and the misspelled blocks are being taken off the shelves of its 382 stores.
'There are only 26 words on these blocks,' said Mrs Toulson, a tax manager. 'You'd think they'd be able to get them all right.'
Her son Kieran, 29, bought the set of blocks but Mrs Toulson quickly realised they were riddled with errors while Millie was playing with them.
'I took the bricks back to Morrisons,' she said. 'They are presented as educational toys and I told the manager that they simply didn't do their job if the spelling on them was wrong.
'When I contacted their customer services, they told me that new stocks were on their way but they were not going to withdraw the ones with mistakes. They were going to let them "fizzle out" instead.
'I couldn't believe their attitude.'
(Daily Mail)
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