April - A Month in Review

13 Recommendations 

I have now completed 3 recommendations, so I'll need to catch up this month. Still one behind.

13 Recipes:

Another month without proper cooking, but we are doing a big shop tomorrow, so watch this space.

13 Meals Out:

Not a sausage again this month. Not sure why really, it just hasn't come up.... must try harder!

13 Random Acts of kindness:

The niceness is just flowing out of me now. 4 months and 3 nice things. I'm awaiting my sainthood.

13 Letters:

I've bought some nice paper and envelopes, so this will start to happen very soon. And going back on my word, I did say I wouldn't say who was getting a letter before I wrote it, but I have decided one of the letters will be for Ethan to have when he is older. A letter from the past, talking about the first year of having him in my life. Nobody will read it until he is an adult. (Same comment for 3 months in a row now. I am a twat)

13 Blogs per month:

4 months in a row. That's right, look impressed.

13 Family days out:

At least 3 planned for May, helped massively by a certain boy turning 7. 

13 New Foods:

Loads this month, getting ahead of the game. I think I might stop including different curries though, make it harder for myself.

£13 for Charity per month:

6 donations done and one planned. Good.

13/30 Autographs:

I am a proper dick.

13 (minimum) Postcrossing:

Posted. Now we play the waiting game:

13 (minimum) Geocaches:

*facepalm* I forgot.

13 @Replies or Retweets from famous people:

Another month without anyone talking to me. In my defense, if Tiernan Douieb was a bit more famous, he might have a wiki page, so we should at least share the blame.

Synecdoche, New York

MASSIVE DISCLAIMER

I watched this while doing a few other things at once. Normally this wouldn't matter, despite my penis I am quite able to multitask. However, in the case of this film it was an error. There was so much going on, it needed my full attention.

However, I would make this point. On the cover it says this is 'The Smash Hit Comedy of the Year'. I didn't think this was a comedy at all, but that isn't my point this time. Frankly, I hadn't heard of this film before it was recommended to me, so I thought I'd check to see what year it was released.

2008.

Now I'm the first to admit, my film knowledge is poor at best, so I thought I'd do a bit of research and see how successful it was. According to this site, it was the 187th most successful film of the year, behind such classic comedies as Run Fat Boy Run, The Love Guru and Drillbit Taylor. Smash Hit indeed.

Obviously total gross isn't the way to decide if a film is any good or not, but it does prove that stickers are lying bastards.

Anyway, as a brief summing up as to why I found this film so hard to follow, because not only do the characters age massively during the course of the film but the main character is also staging a play about his life, so the main characters all have 2 or 3 actors playing them, who all look very similar to each other.

Basically, I'm going to have to give it a proper watch.

Minty Chicken Tikka Main (with added butter)

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of this meal, so I'll have to rely on google and my memory.

Firstly, how brilliant does Minty Chicken Tikka sound? And as soon as it arrived, I knew I'd made a good choice, it smelt fantastic.... then I realised my mistake. It was a dry curry. One of the best things about a take away curry is naan bread and this was a disaster. Luckily, Katie was willing to give me some of her left over butter chicken sauce, which made for a taste combination that I'm sure nobody has had before. So a challenge completed without any doubt.

The Dixie Dean Story - Friday October 25th

http://www.gladstonetheatre.org.uk/dds.html

THE DIXIE DEAN STORY

The captivating story of the Birkenhead boy who became English football's greatest centre forward comes to Wirral this autumn

And enhancing the local theme, Wirral-based actor Steve Hazlehurst resumes the title role in which he has won a host of plaudits since the curtain first went up on the show in 2008

Steve plays the iconic Everton and England centre forward from boyhood to old age, spanning the launch of his career at Tranmere and his record-breaking years at Goodison, and delivers many of his lines while controlling a ball on stage

The role has a particular resonance for Steve, who went to the same Laird Street school that Dixie had attended decades earlier and, like the Everton legend, played centre forward in the same school team

" It's as if I was meant to play Dixie, " Steve reflects. "I feel I've really got to know him through playing the role through so many performances." "The show's narrative is more than just football.... it's a human interest story capturing Dixie's steely determination and strength of character."

One of the show's many highlights is the segment enacting Everton's game against Arsenal in May 1928 when Dixie scored a hat trick to reach 60 League goals in a season, a feat still unequalled and a record set to last for all time.
"Steve's performance is remarkable," enthuses Everton legend Duncan McKenzie. "It's a fantastic production and I was blown away by the quality of the acting and presentation. " "Quite apart from Dixie's amazing football exploits this is an enthralling story, of how a boy's driving ambition took him to greatness and to what is sure to be a permanent place in the record books."

Steve Hazlehurst is joined on stage by narrator John Keith, the City Talk presenter and author, who adapted the play from his biography of Dixie, and the show is expertly directed by Gill Beattie of Arts2u Ltd. The two hour production, with audio and video backing, also tells how Dixie – real name William Ralph – acquired his nickname and how he had to overcome a life-threatening accident to become English football's greatest goalscorer

It portrays Dixie as a young boy in his native Birkenhead, watching the recruits march off to be shipped to the First World War killing fields, through to his glorious era at Everton in the 1920s and 30s when he became captain and an heroic figure in Goodison’s title and FA Cup triumphs. Dixie’s final career total of 440 goals in 497 games tests credulity and another former Everton star Derek Mountfield says of the show: "It's eye-opening ...... a must-see production for football fans whoever they support."

Dixie was hailed by another Mersey legend, Liverpool’s Bill Shankly, as "belonging in the company of the supremely great, like Beethoven, Rembrandt and Shakespeare."

Theatre critic Chris High said of the Dixie production: “ Such is the power of the performances that if there’s ever been a better tribute to a football legend then it’s not passed this way before. Like Dixie, this is a truly class act.”

Trying new food - Various 'Chinese' starters

I am normally incredible unadventurous when it comes to Chinese food. I'll normally go for Beef Mushroom and chips or Chicken Mushroom and chips, with very few deviations from the meals that I decided I liked when I was young and was introduced to Chinese food at the Joy Garden in Birkeeforenhead.

As an aside, I am reliably informed that that area is now a knocking shop, so that's good news for all you fact fans. And ever better news for whore fans.

Anyway, after our recent trip to Chilli Banana where we tried a bit of everything, I attempted a smaller scale Chinese version from the brilliantly named Wok and Roll. Apart from the below, I also had Chicken and Sweetcorn soup, Prawn Crackers and Prawn Toast.

Crispy Lightly Battered Mushroom in Garlic

These are unlike any garlic mushrooms I've ever had before. I don't want to go into too much technical detail in case people think I've cut a paste a Giles Coren review, but basically these smelt like death and tasted like arse. NEXT!

Crispy Shredded Smoked Chicken

This was much nicer, surprisingly spicy though. About half way through I had to strip the coating off them and just eat the chicken. I am an embarrassment.

Malaysian Satay Beef on Skewers

Now this was the high point of the meal, bloody lovely. I don't know what the sauce is called, I can only imagine it is Malaysian gravy, but it was top notch. I shall be seeking these bad lads out again in the future. Recommended!!

Random Acts of Kindness - Half a Kitchen

An unusual one this one, as it was totally unplanned. I certainly wasn't intending to be nice to anyone, but it randomly fell into my lap and I couldn't help it.

It started when I got a message out of the blue on Facebook from an old friend saying that she was moving house and asking if I wanted a Dishwasher, washing machine and dryer for nothing.

Now I'll normally have anything for free, but we really don't have the space (as anyone who has visited will know, as we have the fridge in the front room)

So I put her in touch with our friend Charlie, the biggest bargain hunter I know, and Robert's your mothers brother, she now has half a kitchen for nothing.

Not the most entertaining of stories I admit, but it does give you a warm feeling helping someone out when you know they really appreciate it.

Postcrossing - Something actually happened!

Well, I finally got around to posting the post card. It takes everyone 4 months to post things right? It's a good job I never go on holiday.

Anyway, now we just have to wait for cards to arrive with me so I can get more addresses to post too... I'm still confident this will happen by the end of the year.

COME ON!!!!

Future Night Out - Daniel Kitson.

Stand up comedy is incredibly popular at the moment, and everyone has their favourite comedian. 

Your favourite might be Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre or even Stewart Lee, but unless your favourite is Daniel Kitson, your opinion is wrong.

You haven't heard of him?

Kitson has a reputation within the comedy industry for shunning television work due to the perceived lack of control over the final product in comparison to stand up. He did appear in an episode of That Peter Kay Thing, The Arena, and as the recurring character Spencer in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, a move that Peter Kay said "of all the great things he's done, this is what he's least proud of, the bastard." on the show's DVD commentary. He then said, "the bastard" each time Kitson appeared. The rift is such that when Phoenix Nights out-takes were screened in April 2006, Kitson's face was pixellated out in some scenes. Kitson himself has been quite outspoken in his dislike of Kay and his experiences on Phoenix Nights, calling Kay "comedically lazy and overrated", and an "obnoxious bully of a man".According to Chortle, it is a show Kitson considers "lazy and racist".He has vowed to eschew future television projects of this nature, and any future work with Kay.

In 2007 clips of Daniel Kitson's standup were shown on the one-off Channel 4 show 100 Greatest Stand-Ups where he came 27th.^[14] In an updated version of the poll in 2010, he was voted 23rd. Chris Addison commented that 'Kitson is the finest comedian of his generation'. Stewart Lee also commented, after seeing a stand-up set by Kitson, that he saw stand-up 'about as good as it could get'.

Whilst in his teens, he appeared as a contestant on the ITV quiz show Blockbusters.

Kitson voices an "alley rat" in the pilot episode of the Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler comedy "Penelope: Princess of Pets" which was aired in 2010 by Channel 4.

Youtube doesn't really do the man justice though. If you weren't one of the lucky few to get tickets to see him in Liverpool on 8th May, you should check out his Bandcamp page, as he has 4 albums available there and 2 of them are even free. You have literally nothing to lose!

Dancing - Free/40p

The Stand - Free/40p

The Ballad of Roger and Grace - £2.50

Weltanschauung - £2

Trust me on this one, you won't regret it!

Future Charity - Tree of Hope.

I haven't forgotten my commitment to donate to Freddie's cause.

You can read more about that here or donate here

Future Trip Out - Walking with Dinosaurs

This 'future trip' isn't even vague... it's going to happen and the tickets have been booked and everything.

I'm not really sure what to expect with this one. I've not even seen Jurassic Park so everything I know about dinosaurs I've learnt from these two fellas

So I'm a bit of an armchair expert. Either way, it should be a good night out for all the family. Tickets are still available if it is your kind of thing, and kids are now half price (we got the whole thing half price with Groupon)

Future trip out - Dr Who Exhibition

A NEW exhibition showing replica Doctor Who costume characters ranging from the 1970s to the present day opens at Spaceport in Seacombe next weekend. 

The Time Travellers exhibition, opening next Saturday, May 4, features life-size Daleks, Cybermen, a TARDIS display, a Sontaran and K9 –plus prop weapons and an activity area.

Councillor Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel, which owns and operates Spaceport, said: "Spaceport is the ideal home for this exciting new exhibit, which ideally compliments the fascinating factual displays about the Moon, our Solar System and the history of space exploration at Spaceport and we hope that people enjoy this new addition to our attraction."

The exhibition comes to Seacombe in association with Hyde Fundraisers, a voluntary organisation which create replica characters from DR WHO, STAR WARS and other sci-fi programmes to raise funds for BBC Children In Need and other charities.

Wayne Broughton, from Hyde Fundraisers said: "This is our biggest exhibition to date and our dedicated team are delighted to be able to exhibit at Spaceport."

New exhibits will be joining the display throughout the duration of the exhibition including a scary Weeping Angel and the very latest version of The Daleks!

The exhibition runs until September 1.

This is totally unofficial, but should still be brilliant. I want a photo with a Weeping Angel!

Charity Donation - Cancer Research UK (Race for Life)

Last month, I donated to the Cancer Research UK because someone brilliant who I am lucky enough to know is running the Race for Life.

This month, I have donated to Cancer Research UK because someone else I know, who is equally brilliant, is also running the Race for Life. Rather than attempt to explain why, I'll steal Jodie's words (She is Dutch, so please read this in your best Goldmember voice)

Cancer, we're coming to get you!

Sophie and I will be taking part in the Race for Life in Chester to do our bit to beat cancer.

We are dedicating this to my mum who has just started chemo.

I am asking all my friends & family to sponsor us and to help fight this with us. Thank you in advance xx

Sophie says: we are serious about this and are going to start training right NOW!!!

Thanks everyone! XX

Clearly, I'm not the only one who thinks highly of JVD (and SVD), as they have already have already reached their target, but they doesn't mean you can't dig deep and throw a few quid their way.

Sponser Jodie and Sophie Van-Dieren here

Food I've never tried before - Pasanda Nawabi

I started this month trying a new curry from Risa Spice, called a Pasanda Nawabi, which was described on the menu as 'Marinated chicken OR lamb tikka cooked with wine in its own pasanda sauce with mild yoghurt, cream, fresh herbs & gently spices'

What it actually was however, was mild. Super mild. If you are the kind of person who doesn't dare risk a Korma in case it causes 'next day bum wees' then, Pasanda Nawabi from Risa Spice is for you. It was tasty enough, but I've have spicier cheese on toast.

It was very disappointing. So disappointing, my face looked like this: