Banoffee Pie

A truly amazing dessert which I will choose every day of the week and twice on Sundays, if it is presented to me. I’m not a dessert man, but I could happily turn into one if this was readily available. A beautiful mix of biscuit, toffee, banana and cream it kicks the arse out of most cakes and is head and shoulders above other pies. In an even fight, I would choose it over my childhood favourite Lemon Meringue Pie.

I’ve transcribed my friend’s recipe before, so give it a go if you get the chance. It can be found here

And keep a slice for me.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

At college, my favourite was a pint of Special (or Heavy) which is basically a dark, watery substance which is tasty and cold. Gets you drunk too. When I moved to Edinburgh, I dabbled with more creamier brews with some substance; together with IPA, bitters were a good move for me. Plus, I got right into real ale.

Everything went fine, and other than picking up a slight appreciation for wine (although I am NOT a connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination) everything was safe.

Then Kate introduced me to Sierra Nevada and all bets were off. A wonderful beer, brewed in the US, with such a great robust flavour; spicy tastes giving a warmth for the cold nights and a freshness for the warm. Within only a few pints, it took pride of place at the top of my favourite beer list.

Of course over here its not as easy to buy any, and when you do get it it is expensive. But its worth it, and I know I will be picking up a few for the Holiday season. Watching the Queen’s Speech will be infinitely more palatable with Sierra Nevada in my hand.

(Action) Half-Life

Half Life was arguably one of the best games ever. The single player campaign was superb and absorbing; slightly frustrating too when you had to bash head crabs with a crowbar. The multi-player was nothing short of fantastic fun, and many a lunchtime was spent playing in the office all those years ago. Of course this was turned up a notch when one erstwhile person found a fully mod version called Action Half-Life.

Instantly, crowbars were replaced with knives that could be flung; double handed pistols replaced the more boring single handgun and… oh my, getting to dive and shoot at the same time? Hot.

Of course after playing this version over several suitable maps (Chinatown anyone?) there was little chance of going back to the original version.

Now, can we all remember the names we chose?

Peter Cushing

I’ve written about my love for British horror movies of the 60s and 70s before (thank you YMB archive) and it is still as strong, lo these 30 years later. While I described at the time the fond memories of watching them with my gran, there was another reason why these films worked and stayed with me for so long … Peter Cushing.

Undoubtedly his iconic performances as Baron Frankenstein or Abraham Van Helsing first brought him to my attention, but watching his appearances in films such as Twins of Evil, The Ghoul, The Gorgon and Dr Terror’s House of Horrors it was easy to see that even though the films themselves could be described as kitch and got more sex and gore focused, he was a genuine actor who was able to bring a presence and gravitas to every role he played.  It was obvious (although not until I was older and read about his life before Hammer) that he had started out in theatre, radio and television.

My respect for him was so strong that for about 16 years I hunted to get his autobiography and finally managed to get my hands on a re-issue last year. Reading it demonstrated that he was also a talented storyteller, replaying fascinating anecdotes from every period of his professional and personal life. The latter, documenting his love affair with his wife and her eventual death is one of the most emotive pieces I have ever read.

While we will forever remember him in those classic Hammer roles or for those great performances as Holmes, Doctor Who and Grand Moff Tarquin in Star Wars, not to mention the hilarious backwards cameo in the Top Secret, for me he is one of the only actors whose performances I would watch no matter what the plot or review.

A true gentleman and a legend.

JLA/JSA Team Ups

Isn’t it always the same?

You and your pals get together with some other friends (and in most cases alternative versions of yourselves) from another universe once a year. As part of this annual catch up, amidst the cheese pineapple hedgehog and prawn cocktails some threat appears which could destroy both worlds. What ya gonna do, other than team up and save the world(s)… again. Le sigh.

In reality, the annual Justice League and Justice Society team ups were some of my favourite comics of the time, especially when they teamed up against the Secret Society of Supervillains, or brought in a third string such as All Star Squadron, New Gods or Legion of Superheroes. These were huge stories, with a wide, rotating cast of characters; meat and potatoes to a young boy growing up in Scotland and getting into the whole Superhero comic thang.

There have been a few attempts to recreate the team-ups, but nothing has stuck. We live in a different age though, one with multi-part crossovers and huge universe changing Crises. Surely there’s some place left for a return to the fun, annual event.

Huh? Whatdya say DC?

In the meantime, pennies will be saved for the DC Classics Library or some of the volumes of Crisis on Multiple Earths.

Soap

Confused? You won’t be…

Soap for me is classic television, let alone classic television comedy. Parodying daytime Soaps, but with the stories turned up to ludicrous, it has at its centre 2 sisters and their different lives. While the normal soap staples were there (sex, murder, revenge, amnesia, secret children, power etc) very quickly the story arcs widened to include alien abduction, devil possessed children, cult abduction, regression hypnosis. You know what though, it never seemed silly. Interestingly, these self same plots could now be considered passée with real soaps.

It was essential Sunday night viewing, but I wonder whether watching it again about 30 years later would still be as good.

Would some of the magic be lost?

Could it stand up to repeat viewings?

Will I add the DVD sets to my list for Santa this year?

“These questions—and many others—will be answered in the next episode of Soap.”

Kate Bush

When I was young we had a long, faux chestnut cabinet which held the record player and enough room inside for LPs and 45s. I remember it, because other than playing some BBC children’s LP (and even then mostly the Doctor Who theme) it scared me, or rather the music that often blared out from it at silly o’clock in the morning scared me. That was when various family members would arrive home from the pub and decide to play records as loudly as possible. All along the street you could hear the music roaring out through the night, as if it was some sort of competition.

I digress.

The only song I can remember which never made me clasp my hands over my ears and mutter “Turn it down” was Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush. Even now, looking back, I think I was able to understand the beauty in the lyric and the sweeping instruments, but what really struck me was the vocal range and performance of the then 17 year old Kate Bush.

Our paths didn’t cross for many years, until one day I bought her greatest hits The Whole Story. The rest, as they say  in France, was histoire.

Kate Bush was and is not only a fine singer/songwriter, but an actress and performer and it is those qualities which make you believe she can be the cheated wife in Babooshka, the frightened yet vengeful child in Cloudbustin‘, the doting wife providing comfort and strength to her husband in Don’t Give Up and the haunted lover in that first hit record all those years ago.

Truly, a legendary artiste.

Sunday Breakfasts

You can’t beat ‘em can you? Whether its because of a wild Saturday night, or taking time out to chill and graze whilst reading the morning papers with their 700 supplements or just a time to chill with the family, Sunday Breakfasts are without a doubt a beloved meal. Nae experience.

Dare I say it, could the Sunday breakfast be the best meal of the week? For me it certainly is and has been for quite some time and while in my younger days that was because I was resting after a wild (or at least late) Saturday night and would load up on a full Scottish, breakfast (washed down with a pint on rare occasions) now it is because we have a tradition in the Little household and that is pancakes.

I make them each Sunday, and Liam helps in most cases, and its a true family ritual. I’m hoping it lasts for a good few years, not because I need to carb up every Sunday morning, but because I’m sure as the kids get older then we won’t have as many meals together.

If the Sunday pancake breakfast allows us to have at least one meal a week together, then it’ll be my favourite meal for quite a few years.

Wood Finish Whisky

I don’t drink whisky much, but when I do I stick to a few old faithfuls. Talisker, MacAllan and Lagavulin are the favourites and lovely one a cold winter’s night with a half 80 or IPA. However, a friend once offered me a Port Cask Glenmorangie a few years ago and I have to say that its something I would drink more often.

For those of you who haven’t experienced these before, I highly recommend. Basically, the whisky is matured as normal for 10 years in Oak casks. It is then finished off in barrels which once held Port (or indeed Sherry, Madeira) for a further 2 years and it is this process which gives it a distinctive, sweeter taste.

A few other distilleries have done something similar, but I think that Glenmorangie was the first to get something out to the mass market, or at least it was for me.

Right now, with the stinking cold I am cultivating (hence the lateness of Day 6), the thought of cracking open my own bottle for a toddy (or just for a warm half) is very tempting.

Sensible World of Soccer

I first discovered Sensible Soccer as a demo 3.5″ disk on one of the PC Gamer magazines but I didn’t buy it. When I read how great it was I went back for said magazine and they were sold out. Curses! I waited patiently for the game to eventually be released for the PC (Amiga owners had been loving it for a while) and paid full price for it. I then cut myself off from the world for quite some time.

Its such a simple and highly addictive game. Fast, fun and with simple pixelated graphics (the one eyed men) you could spend minutes or hours playing. Plus, with editing facilities you could customise to your hearts content or download updates (thank you Internet).

When a new version was released, Sensible World of Soccer (aka SWOS), I was awestruck. Leagues and career modes sucked me in and I was immersed in the same simple, fun world but it was truly epic in scale if you get my meaning. I even ran a website on Geocities (got bless them and all who sailed in them) with a competition, but it petered out after I realised how boring it was to watch 20 games in a row without actually getting to play.

Le sigh.

Every so often I break it out and play again, reliving the fond memories that are tinged with sadness because I could have achieved so much in my life if I hadn’t had that addiction. Oh, and now I have it for the PSP, so can play on the go.

Truly wonderful.