Lahmacun

Last night I made Lahmacun. It is a traditional Turkish dish of flat bread with a spiced meat topping, usually minced meat as it is forbidden to eat pork in Turkey (which I assume is due to 98% of the population being Moslem).

Here's my recipe (serves 4):

500g self raising flour
2 table spoons, salt
1 teaspoon, sugar
1/2 cup, water
1/2 cup, olive oil
500g natural yoghurt
2 medium onions
1 clove, garlic
3 medium tomatoes
1 large green pepper
2 bunches of parsley
500g minced beef
1 teaspoon, black pepper
1 teaspoon, cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon, mixed herbs

Sift the flour into a wide bowl and mix in with 1 tablespoon of salt, 1/2 cup of water and olive oil. Slowly empty the yoghurt into the mix, forming a soft dough until it ceases to stick. Knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes and leave to stand.

Finely chop the onions, garlic, parsley and green pepper. Dice the tomatoes. Fry the mincemeat until brown and then add the onions, garlic, parsley and green pepper along with 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Split the dough into 4 equal pieces. Grease a tray with a table spoon of oil. Immerse hands in flour and spread the single pieces of dough into circular sheets of about half a centimeter thick. Spread the mixture on all the circles of dough, leaving about a centimeter of space at the edges. Add the above ingredients on top and cook for 10-15 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200c and serve piping hot.

BAM!

Blog Rant

I'm not sure how many of you read other blogs other than my own. I'm not even sure anyone reads this most of the time but I mainly write it for myself so it doesn't bother me. It's more of a memory check of things I've done. At the end of the year I will be compiling The Ulsterville Cookbook - 50 Recipes to Burn On The Stove. I may also put together a similar list for films although it will more likely be a Top Ten of best and worst films of 2005.

Personally, I only read two blogs now that Darth Vader has no doubt been slain by his own son and cannot commit to making any new enteries.

I read James Lileks blog - The Bleat - everyday. I'm always amazed at how he can crank out so much everyday that other people are interested in. I guess it helps when you're a journalist with your own column. Still, respect where it's due. Only sometimes do I have the passion to turn lifes little nuances into a paragraph of interesting diatribe.

I also used to read Wil Wheatons blog everyday. It took a more geek orientated view of life than James and various issues that he talked about struck a resonnance with a lot of people. What put me, and other people, off was using his fanbase to pay a medical bill for his cats.
However, the real reason that I was turned off by Wil is his incessant talk about poker. Every other post concerns some poker-related story or a copy and pasting other peoples blogs about poker. Eventually it just gets boring for the non-poker fanbase. It's like using my blog to talk about music that no one is interested in which is why I only talk about gigs that I've been to. No one wants to know that my two current favourite bands are Maths & Physics Club and Amusement Parks On Fire. Whoops, nearly lost you there.
The final nail in the coffin was his June 27th entry, about poker, stating that he recieved his receipt in the mail for a $10,000 deposit he put down for The World Series Of Poker. If he can't find $7,000 to pay for his cats medical bills and has to whore his books to his loyal (and overally scyhophantic fanbase), where did he get the $10,000 from?
Well, from now on, I couldn't care less. So long Wil and thanks for the geek times.

Beard Science

I have recently begun to regrow my beard. I got so bored of shaving it everyday. It's just too much hassle shaving. Sometimes I enjoy the feeling of removing it in slow motions up and around my chin - a sensual pleasure as an area of growth is removed like the amazon being quickly deforested. Most of the time it's just going through the motions and occasionally nipping the front end of my chin and on the rare occasion taking a nick off the skin on the adams apple - ouch!
So I thought I would get some ideas on possible shapes and fashions on the subject and as I did some googling I found this bizarre site:

Babies With Beards - "Your Window to a World of Bearded Babies". That's creepy man.

Anyways, I'm still not sure whether I'll keep it as a "summer beard" or whether it'll last the year.

Feel free to leave a comment suggesting a style of beard I could run with.

In Good Company

Lou and I watched In Good Company last night. It stars "up and coming" actor Topher Grace of That 70's Show and Traffic. Also in Traffic and one of the main characters in In Good Company is Dennis Quaid. Topher plays a groomed advertising executive who, at the age of only 26, takes over Dennis Quaids position in a company. The snag is that he doesn't know what he's doing and keeps Dennis on as a wingman. Topher is also going through some marriage problems - his wife leaves him and he finds solace in none other than Dennis' daughter played by Scarlett Joahansson.
The film sounds a little clichéd but it cleverly staves off predictive plot lines in favour of something refreshing which I'll not go into for fear of ruining the movie. Nonetheless it's a nice little film to watch if you're in the mood for a comedy drama.

I would give this film 3.5 porches out of 5.

Gamespot #21

This is a surreal little game called Carrot Chase.

Let me know what you think. It reminds me of what a PBF game would be if anyone was crazy enough to do it.

Wimbledon 2005

It's not often I make gratuitous sweeping statements to generalise something but why are British sportsmen so bad at games their ancestors invented? It's true. Let's read on...

Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Darts, Football, Golf, Ice Skating, Rugby, Skiing, Squash, the list goes on. All invented by the British who haven't been world champions at their respective sports since 1896 or any other falsely divised date not of this century.

Of course the most prevalent sport being televised at the moment is Tennis. It's mid-way through Wimbledon 2005 and where are all the British contenders? On the side-lines.

Our best chance this year was not Tim Henman. It certainly wasn't Greg Resedski. They have no chance of ever winning the title. Tim has all the personality of a wet sponge after being used by a tramp who spends all his time in a dumpster. And personality goes a long way. Greg will never win either because he's just crap, plain and simple.

Now the "new hope of British tennis" is Andy Murray. My question is this. How can a country who invented the sport only have one hope? Shouldn't Britain have plenty of well trained, eager players ready to fill the gaps when old and busted players loose their grip?

There are many reasons. Tennis is seen as an elitist sport, ethnic minorities are excluded, there are no role models (Tim? Ha!), funding issues etc etc.

Unfortunately until these issues are addressed, British tennis will only have one-hope wonders and we will probably never see a British player in the final.

Incidentally, my reason for writing this was actually to showcase the Murry vs Nalbandian match which was exciting until the 5th set when it was clear he had no chance of winning. You can watch the match on the Audio/Visual link on the site above. Check it out if you have a few hours to spare and want to see a great match.

Toolbox Murders

I was going to review Toolbox Murders, a horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. Incidentally, he hasn't directed a decent film since 1982's Poltergeist. If bad films were nails in a coffin, Tobes would look like a pin cushion. So, instead of reviewing it, here's a thread I've commented in.

I would give this film 1.5 floors [that's a mezzanine!] out of 5.

Berts Birthday

Finally some pictures of Berts birthday. Have a great weekend!

Action Tony

Grimmace Boy, Couching Brian, HIdden Jill, Mexican Wave Bert, Riker Keith 

Cheesiest Grin of the Night Man, "Thumbs Up" Keith 

Mary, Simon, Colin, Bert & My Finger Points 

Jill (Aged 6), Jill, Poseur Extraordinaire, Colin fixing the deck 

Everyone 

Don & Brian 

Glastonbury 2005

Glastonbury 2005 kicks off today.

It's always something I look forward to. My earliest memory of the festival is in 1994/5 when I had a tent in the backgarden and watched the TV in the living room from outside. I've never been to Glastonbury and I'm not that fussed about going. I was at the Leeds festival in 2003 and although I had a good time it's not something that I would do again with great enthusiasm. I prefer watching bands in a pub, drinking beer in a glass and falling into my own bed without getting woken up 10 times during the night with drunkards bumping into the canvas.

The line up this year looks pretty boring as far as main act performances go. I'd have to spend my time running from stage to stage to catch good bands and since the timetable never runs according to schedule I'd probably end up watching total drivel. Bands playing I would really want to see include:

Friday - M83, British Sea Power. That's it. Suck.

Saturday - No-one. Super suck.

Sunday - Brian Wilson, Cake. Whoopee.

There's around an extra 3 bands a day I would try and catch but have seen before and wouldn't be in a rush to see again - nevermind put up getting flooded for.

My advice is to set up a tent in the garden, get in some beers and if you don't like the music you can change the channel.

Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

Last night Don created Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad.

Here's a recipe that I've slightly adapted to show how we created it:

3 lb. chicken, cooked, boned and cut into bite-size pieces
12 oz. pasta
1/4 c. dried basil
1/2 c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
Pine nuts and/or pistachio nuts

Mix basil, olive oil, cheese, nuts and garlic that has been put through garlic press in blender; reserve 1/4 cup cheese. Cook pasta. Combine with chicken and pesto sauce; toss with remaining cheese. Serve hot! Serve with side salad! Consume!

It certainly hit the spot on a very warm and balmy night. It was probably the warmest day of the year [24C].

Good show!

Links #6

This weeks links are various assorted pieces of nonsense to astound and provoke laughter. They are:

David Elsewhere - Kollaboration 4 - Watch David do his moves. Weird.

VH1 Storytellers: Neil Diamond - Neil Diamond recounts the memories that inpired his music.
Played by Will Farrell on SNL. Hilarious.

The Monster Engine - What would a child's drawing look like if it were painted realistically?

Enjoy.

House of Wax

I was very surprised watching House of Wax last night. Firstly because of the acting of Paris Hilton. It was spot on horror acting: believable corny. Secondly because it was a decent plot.

It starts off pretty formulaic. A group of teenagers on a road trip to a football game get lost and wind up in a small town where their vehicle breaks down and then the horror part kicks in.
There are typical situations the characters find themselves in i.e. they split up and are picked off one by one but it was how they were killed that set it apart from the usual genre deaths.
It scored 5/10 on the above link but if you look at the rating breakdown you can see that a lot of people scored it either 1/10 or 10/10 which of course skews the results.
If you're looking for a no brainer action horror romp then you can't go wrong with this film.

I would give this film 3 candles out of 5.

Gamespot #20

W00t! Gamespot #20.

Here's a neat little German game to play called Global Player. You have to click on the arrows to ensure that the colour packages coming from the conveyor belt reach the colour coded destination.
Simple but fun.

Batman Begins

Last weekend a few of us went to see Batman Begins. It concerns the emergence of Batman from Bruce Wayne as it takes us back in time to see how the shooting of his parents and an unfortunate fall down an abandoned shaft turned him into the man he becomes.
It's largely an enjoyable film thanks to the performances of Christian Bale and Morgan Freeman. It's hard for me to watch Liam Neeson because in my opinion he always acts in the same style and thus doesn't draw you into his characters. I think his best film to date is Les Misérables and you should check that out . Another bad performance come from Katie Holmes - there's a surprise. Unfortunately due to her impending marriage to Tom Cruise you'll probably be seeing her in more good films dragging it down by poor acting. Some folk should stick to soap operas. A delight to watch on screen was Michael Caine. He plays Alfred the Butler and has some great lines delivered with panache.
The director Christopher Nolan has done a great job in turning the Batman franchise around and with any luck he will get another crack at a sequel.
All in all it's a pretty good action movie and worth checking out.

I would give it 3.5 Jokers out of 5.

Summertime!

The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the summer solstice - the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. It typically occurs on June 21st - the first day of summer.

Pierrot Le Fou

I re-watched Pierrot Le Fou yesterday afternoon as I have not seen it since watching it in the QFT several years ago.

It is written and directed by the godfather of modern cinema, Jean-Luc Goddard. I would say that this particular film is "classic" Goddard. It concerns Ferdinand who escapes the boredom of high society and goes on the run with Marianne who is being chased by gun-runners from Algeria.

The film itself runs like a vine with little plot offshoots throughout adding the overall feel providing a surreal insight to the characters and their situation. Although the film is shot in 1965 it still feels refreshing and original.

If you're looking for a quirky nonsensical romantic comedy drama then such a film cannot be recommended enough. If you have never watched Goddard, starting here is as good a place as any.

I would give this film 4 Eiffel Towers out of 5.

Ong Bak

I actually watched Ong Bak last week but I'm only getting a chance to review it now.

The whole plot is based around a head of a statue being stolen from a village which provides it with blessing and prevents it from becoming forlorn. A young martial artist is sent to retrieve it from the known theif and so begins nearly and hour and a half of gang members getting the crap kicked out of them until the head of the statue is returned.

The point of the film is not the plot as you may gain an inclination from my watery synopsis. The beauty of the film lies in its choreography and of course the martial arts. It's impossible to describe such acts and one really has to see it to know what I'm talking about. If you're looking for a good action film then look no further.

I would give this film 3.5 roundhouse kicks out of 5.

25th Birthday [continued...]

Here's more photos from my birthday that Ian passed on to me. As soon as I get pictures from Keith I'll post the pictures from Bert's birthday.

Phil 

Lou 

Keith 

Everyone 

Heather & Ricky

Colin, Tony, Brian & Alison 

Brian 

Tony & Colin 

Gamespot #19

Love pie? Then you'll love Pie Hard!

It's like Marioworld only with sweet succulent delicious pie!

What File Extension Are You?

Here's something to waste your time for 2 minutes.

I am:



Which File Extension are You?

Links #5

It's been 2 weeks since the last set of links so I've posted everything hot and juicy that I can find to make it up to you. They are:

Real Men of Genius: Silent Killer Gass Passer - Mr. Silent Killer Gas Passer was originally one of the many radio spots for Bud Light but was so good that they made it into a TV commercial.

Pulp Fiction in 30 Seconds and re-enacted by bunnies - Yep.

Learn to Dance with Napoleon Dynamite - Flippin' Sweet.

Glenarm River 

Field With Sheep - Glenarm Forest park 

Waterfall in Glenarm Forest Park 

Inlet at Glenarm 

Antrim Coast Tunnel 

Sunshine Hit Me

Friday

I was out of the office at the City Hall as part of promoting volunteering and recruiting volunteers. Myself and Conor manned the coffee stand and were handing out free columbian coffee to passers by. It was a great day because everyone was having fun. There were bands and stilt walkers, balloon making and face painting. The weather was fantastic and I'm slightly sunburnt on the face and arms and my neck is lobster red.

Most people were grateful for it and some pleasntly surprised that it was free evening trying to put money into our hands but of course we couldn't accept it. A small few were bitchy because we weren't serving free tea. Jesus Christ, it's free so how about a nice cup of Shut The Fuck Up? Does it say "Free Tea" on the sign? No it does not. Now step aside or you'll be wearing it.
After everything was taken down and packed up we headed out for beer. We ended up sitting outside Katy Dalys in the bright sunshine getting slowly sozzled. It was really good craic and it was great getting better aquainted with the people you work with. I had to leave around 7pm for dinner and a quick change as Don and Colin were coming round to have a few drinks before going to see Jaga Jazzist at the Spring & Airbrake.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a band described by Sleazenation as "like Charles Mingus with the Aphex Twin up his arse". It was certinaly a visual and audio treat. The 10 piece Norwegian band play trumpets, trombone, electric guitar, bass, tuba, two bass clarinets, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone and a rack of electronics. The drums featured heavily in the performance and it was fantastic. Everyone playing at once with sudden break pauses before continuing in a different direction was incredible and it was one of the best gigs I've been to in recent years.

Saturday

Woke up on Saturday with a not too shabby feeling, perhaps a few cobwebs but nothing serious. Started playing an old game called Serious Sam 2 which harks back to the days of Doom. Point and click. Splat! My favourite character so far is some dude with his head in his hand and cannonballs for hands who runs at you screaming until he gets close enough to explode. The first time he came running at me I was flabergasted. It's really good fun so I suggest tracking it down as it may be pretty cheap now and will still provide hours of enertainment.

Took a visit to the supermarket in the afternoon and bought the weekly shop alongside some food for a BBQ at Dons new house. Unfortunatley I took a severe case of what I think was indigestion [because I haven't had that in so many years I've forgotten what it feels like - incidently it feels like you've been suckerpunched in the gut]. I bought some antacid and that seemed to do the trick.
It was a bright sunny day and we arrived at Dons around 5pm. It's a great place - study and 2 bedrooms, good size living room and a nice little back garden - great for having said BBQ.
Lou and I also made Roasted Salmon Fillets with a Crusted Pecorino and Pesto Topping which was gorgeous. We sat out until everything was eaten and tidied away - easy when you're using paper plates :)
We walked to the bottom of the street where there was a row of shops including a video rental. We chose some bizarre movies - Wilbur Wants To Kills Himself [good film] and HurlyBurly [awful]. By this time I was extremely tired and we played a few rounds of cards before getting a taxi home.

Sunday

Today Lou and I went to Glenarm Forest Park along the Antrim coast. As you can see from the photographs, it was a gorgeous day. We even had time to stop for a picnic!

The Edukators

After sitting outside briefly in the early evening humidity currently hanging over Ireland, we retreated indoors to watch The Edukators.

It's a film about three activists who get caught up in a kidnapping of a wealthy businessman and a discussion of modern political movements and ideals.

It's also a romantic crime drama as there is a love triangle between the three activists after one leaves briefly and the girl falls for his best friend.

It's difficult to discuss without giving away too much but it was a highly enjoyable film from Germany that addresses moral and ethical dilemmas involved with anti-establishment activists. Are they no better than terrorists?

I would certainly recommend this film for any night of the week as it's a film to keep everybody happy.

I would give this film 4 hostages out of 5.

So Fragile I Dare Not Whisper Its Name

At the risk of destroying a beautiful thing I will declare that summer is finally here. This still gives me a few weeks of lee-way as officially this isn't until 21 June so don't blame me when we return to April weather by 10am on Saturday when you're thinking about a BBQ.
This is without doubt my favourite time of the year because you can discard the winter coat, turn down the heating and enjoy those few hours after work before it gets dark sipping a cold beverage outside until it gets chilly or the midges become overbearing.

In the meantime I've been playing Far Cry whenever I get a chance. It's a great little FPS game set on an island where monsters stalk under the canopy. So far I've been fighting normal human GIs who are out to kill me for reasons I have yet to find out. I'm one of those people that play FPS games for 30 minutes or until I get killed repeatedly before giving up for an hour and then having another attempt. This means it could well be wintertime before I see the finishing credits.

I also heard back from the NIFTC who told me that something important has come up that has superceded the interview process and that they will get back to me in due course. What does "due course" actually mean? Something that is expected or anticipated which is still very ambiguous. The dictionary defines it as a "reasonable length of time". Also ambiguous. What is reasonable to someone else may not seem reasonable to me or you. At the end of the day it's irrelevant as I will just have to suck it up and wait.

I'll post a new Links section tonight as I require additional software which I can't install in work as I have some photos of Berts birthday. I also have some pictures from Fridays work night out so I might wait and post them all at once. OOo - the suspense!

Now get outside and catch some rays!

Maria Full Of Grace

I went with Lou yesterday evening to watch Maria Full of Grace. The film is based around Maria, played beautifully by Catalina Moreno, a flower picker in Columbia. She lives with her mother, grand mother, sister and sisters baby in a small house. The film accurately portrays the difficulties in living in such close quarters with a family who does not share her values and outlook on life. It also manages to capture without going into meticulous detail, the hard work and mundane life at a flower picking factory. She is forced to hand over most of her pay to provide for her sisters child which she sees as understandably unfair and life in the factory is getting on top of her. An opportunity presents itself for her to become a drug mule and she seizes the opportunity.
However, as you would expect, this opportunity has hidden pitfalls and tragedy awaiting around the corner. What the film unravels is an emotional rollercoaster neatly examining the character of someone in Marias position and the trials and tribulations of choosing such a lifestyle without pulling any punches. I highly recommend going to see this film.

I would give it 4.5 cocaine pellets out of 5.

Party Central

Friday

It was a very humid afternoon in work and Yvonne played the trump card and closed early so we could all go for drinks at Skye for Stephens leaving night. Most people left after their first drink and by 5pm there was only 6 of us left.
Earlier in the afternoon I got an hour after lunch to go shopping for his leaving presents. I bought a nice tie, cufflinks, fragrance set and a butt plug. I bought it in a shop behind Castle Court [where else are they in Belfast?]. I was met at the door by the owner who was Total 80's Porn Dude: Bleached blond hair, open white shirt showing off chest hair and dodgy shades. "Come on in man! Have a look around, ask any questions now or hold your peace!". I had a quick glance around the shop. The back room was wall to wall magazines all neatly set out by ruler precision. I knew what I was in so as I searched the rows my mind was saying "butt plug, butt plug, butt plug...butt plug!". There it was. I lifted it off the shelf and brought it over to the counter. "Ah, I love a man that knows what he wants!". I knew it was useless to say "This isn't for me" as it's a bit lame. It cost £15 which was a bit expensive in my mind for a squeezy gel filled rubber toy. I wasn't going to haggle. I left the shop into the bright sunshine and it hit me as the ultamite cliche. It was raining that morning and the forecast was for scattered showers so I wore my duffel coat. It then picked up in the afternoon and was pretty damn hot. So here I am sweating profusely, waring a duffel coat leaving a XXX shop. Luckily I didn't bump into anyone I knew or they would have gotten more than they bargained for.
We presented the gift to Stephen and he took it really well almost as if to say "I have a better one at home". All in good fun though. We had a few more drinks before a two man band took to the floor and started doing some really bad covers of songs. They were killing them and what's more at incredible volume. We had to leave. We made our way to Auntie Annies and stayed there for hours talking absolute gibberish before making our way to Fionas house stopping at Billy Beggs Fish N Chip shop for some late night junk food to quell the beer fuel. Fiona lives just around the corner from myself so it was an easy swagger home. She had a cool disco projector and some kind of plastic strip lighting system. It was a good night and I hope there's more work nights out.

Saturday

Despite the previous nights intake I was up and in town for 10am buying birthday cards and such for tonights birthday party at Bert and Jills. Bert is now a manly 26. After some early afternoon shopping, we taxied over and began the merriment around 3pm. I fixed myself a White Russian and we all sat out the back yard. It was very light scattered showers all afternoon but it didn't dampen the spirit of the party. Keith and Heather arrived later with Simon and Mary as their house boiler exploded and the kitchen and living room to some flak. It was a cocktail themed party so everyone mixed their own good or bad concoctions. It was funny because we all must have had around 10+ drinks but no-one seemed drunk. I think it was the intake of juice with the alcohol that quelled the buzz. We played some games later in the evening and left around 1am.
It was a great day and kudos to Bert and Jill as they must have put a tremendous effort into staging everything. The BBQ was fantastic and there was more than enough to go around. A lot of the time was spent fiddling with fridge magnets making ludicrous sentances. I believe there's some photos of all this so I'll post them later in the week.

Sunday

Woke on Sunday morning feeling peachy. I ran myself a bath and relaxed for a good bit reading the paper as my calf muscles were aching probably due to running up the gardens steps the previous night. Lou and decided to go for a walk and we tried Lagan Meadows footpath just off Annadale Embankment. Holy crap was this a pointless public way. It's just a field surrounded by developments. We quickly made our way back to the car and after consulting the map we decided to go to Crawfordsburn Country Park near Bangor. Neither of us had been there for years and we had a very enjoyable walk along the coast. It would be a great place to come back to with more people for a picnic mess about. Did some grade A lounging when we got back and cooked chilli for dinner.
That night I met up with Colin at the Empire to see Patrick Wolf. It was criminal as there were only around 15 people in the audience. The warm up musician, Robyn Shields, was having a tough time. The second act, The Misty Roses, were better but you can only clap so loud to disguise a small audience. By the time Patrick made his way to the stage there were more people but only around 30. He called it "intimate" which was a nice way of putting it. Colin and I thoughorly enjoyed it.

Gamespot #18

This weeks game is Poom!

It's a bouncy ball tile strategy action type thing.

Enjoy!

Lamb Paprika

Last night Colin cooked Lamb Paprika. I've linked a slightly different recipe to what Colin used but you can't go far wrong. Anything that cooks in it's own juices for an hour is worth eating in my opinion. Top notch.

It was washed down with See No Evil, Hear No Evil, which wasn't as funny as I remember but still not a bad film.

Everyone seemed pretty exhausted and I was too. I guess it could be numerous things. One likely suspect is the heavy weekend that preceeded the week. Another could be the weather. Yes, it's Northern Ireland but it's still pretty miserable for June. Last night Lou very kindly gave me a lift to Ulsterville because the rain was pounding the ground into submission. And finally I think it could be my lack of sleep. Although I usually hit the sack around midnight I haven't been sleeping well. This could also be the heat which reminds me that with summ-hhah--summe---*cough*. With summertime here I need to get a lighter duvet as I've been tossing and turning more than a stir fry in a hot pan. So my plan tonight is to be in bed half an hour before sleep and read a book to coax my brain into deep slumber.

I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow.