I’m a vegetarian – you’ll probably have noticed from the blog title. Recently I have fallen back in love with being vegetarian: the creativity required to make interesting and tasty food and growing varieties of vegetables that can’t easily be found in the supermarket. Part of the source of this re-born love of vegetarianism? Of all things it was River Cottage Veg! Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall! I am not a huge fan of celebrity chefs but I do like cooking shows. Sadly I am not chef material as I’m not very good at creating new exciting dishes. However I am very good at following instructions, so re-creating some of the dishes from River cottage veg holds no fear for me. (apart from blind baking… I’m lousy at it! Still if I keep practising maybe I’ll figure out where I go wrong.)

I suppose you’re wondering what this has to do with New Year’s resolutions. Last year I did not spend much time in the garden, despite the fact I enjoy growing things. This year I want to spend at least part of every day doing things in the garden. To try and stick to this resolution I shall start now – which hopefully means the habit will have formed before January making the resolution easier to stick to. Although I shall probably pass on that if the garden is knee deep in snow… I hate snow.

I have other commitments that I have been neglecting – my photography is demanding my attention, so another resolution – do some photography every day. And this is where the gardening will help. A weekly blog post with picture of things achieved in the garden! Possibly I am being too ambitious but I can try!

Recipe review: Raw chocolate ganache tart

My attempt at the raw Chocolate ganache tart!

I saw this on River Cottage veg and had to try it. There were two things about it that instantly appealed to me, one was the ‘no-cook’ aspect. The ingredients for the base are put into a food processor and whizzed until dough-like, then you press it into a tin and bung it in the freezer. The second thing was the avocado. For the chocolate moose-like topping you use whizzed up avocado and once you’ve added the cacao powder it tastes very chocolatey and not remotely of avocado. I can really recommend this recipe it tastes delicious and is very filling.

One or two things I must add for those trying it out, but at the risk of incurring the wroth of the recipe’s creator Laura Coexeter.

Firstly I didn’t soak and dry the pecans, I’m not convinced that this process makes much difference to their digestive properties. Also I think you can get away with using any type of dates provided they are sticky ones. I tried using dried dates but they don’t blend too well. Himalayan salt… hmm… I hate to say it but salt is salt really.

As for the filling: I used vanilla essence instead of vanilla seed pods. Cacao powder – just go to the hot chocolate aisle in the supermarket and look at the ingredients on the packets. You want to look for the ones that you need to add milk to, and the ingredients should say something like 100% cacao powder.

I bought the coconut oil and agave nectar online. But I think you could probably use runny honey instead of the agave nectar – but you would probably have to adjust the quantities for sweetness. The next time I make this…and I will it’s great, I’ll try out using honey.

As for the coconut oil… well I haven’t figured out what easier-to-get ingredient you could use instead of this yet. Suggestions on a postcard!

What’s the use of a good quote if you can’t change it
- The Two Doctors

The set up right at the beginning of the series promised a nail biting conclusion, oh well. In addition Steven Moffat insisting that the Doctor was definitely going to die built up the tension as to how he would escape (then Moffat spent the series dropping in plot devices for different ways the Doctor could get out of it). The fact that the Doctor would escape was beyond question in my mind – the Christmas special being a big hint. Naturally there were lots of theories floating around as to how he would escape; would the flesh be involved? Would the Doctor re-write time so there would be no meeting at lake Silencio? Surely some complex time extravaganza was going to have had happen in order to resolve the series, or as Rimmer puts it:

Poppycock!  It will be happened; it shall be going to be happening; it will be was an event that could will have been taken place in the future.  Simple as that.  Your bucket’s been kicked, baby!

In the end the ‘resolution’ was the last five minutes of the episode!

Spoliers (actually there is no way I can spoil this but for those who want to retain some mystique stop reading here…)

The ‘fixed point in space and time’ has been used throughout Doctor Who’s history. The story that immediately springs to mind is ‘The Visitation’ where the fifth Doctor is instrumental in starting the Great Fire of 1666. Since RTD took over the ‘fixed point’ plot device has been used time after time. The Doctor’s death in this series was supposed to be one such fixed point, but as I have already mentioned we knew it was not going to be. In a sense we were prepared for a conclusion that would see the Doctor ‘cheat’ death. Unfortunately the episode spent about 40 minutes meandering around and procrastinating before we arrived at the conclusion. I suppose it could be argued that the point of this time wasting was to show the Doctor that he was in fact loved and no-one wanted to see him go. Or perhaps it was to show that the date at Silencio lake was unavoidable and the whole of time would be in jeopardy if the Doctor somehow side stepped it. I think that was Moffat’s excuse for what followed, namely wouldn’t it be fun if: you had trains coming out of the pyramids, or hot air balloons carrying cars, or steam trains using the gherkin as some sort of station. Actually I liked the look of the world Moffat created I just wish there had been a better use for it all.

Although I am complaining about the resolution of the episode there were elements of it I quite liked. The fact that the Doctor had this in his mind all along and he was going to use it as an excuse to disappear completely (Hmmm elements of Sherlock Holmes here?) was very interesting. Did he intend to let Amy, Rory and River Song  think that he was dead? Was it the fact the that they simply wouldn’t let it drop that made him give the message to River that he was going to weasel out of it?

The beginning of the episode I found to be the saddest and most touching. The fictional death of the much loved, much respected, much missed Brigadier Alistair Gordan Lethbridge Stewart. Sadly Nicolas Courtney passed away earlier this year, and the Brigadier was such an amazing character, it was inevitable that it would be mentioned in the series nevertheless it came as a surprise and to hear it was incredibly sad.

Overall I would rate this episode at about 4 out of ten. It didn’t keep me glued to my seat. The resolution just said ‘cop-out’ to me. Again if I may employ another quote from Futurama:

Paradox resolved! Someone get a mop!

Gary Oldman was excellent as Smiley. I am not sure whether he has watched the BBC series but there seemed to be a lot of Alec Guinness in his portrayal, but Oldman brought his own skill to the role. Thankfully Oldman is not doing a direct copy of the way Alec Guinness played Smiley, it is similar but both performances in their own way are quite far apart from each other.

Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant as Guillam, who was one of my favourite characters in the TV series as well as the book. Some of Peter’s background is cut which again I put down to time constraints. However then we catch a glimpse of Peter’s home life which I don’t remember in the book (that’s not to say it isn’t there, it been ages since I read the book last). I am not objecting, but why couldn’t another scene from the book have made it in instead? I liked the scene that was included, it was played very well and quite touching, it told you more about the character and made him more sympathetic with the audience. I imagine if any more of the books are made Guillam is being set up as ‘the sidekick’, so that the movie makers/writers do not have to set up and introduce another character. With this in mind I am now thinking about Toby Esterhase. I won’t mention the pronunciation of his name – John Le Carre is named as executive producer and I imagine they must have gone to him for the pronunciation, but I preferred the way the BBC series had it! I didn’t like him. Probably the portrayal of Esterhase was more true to the book, but throughout the film I was nostalgic for Bernard Hepton. I can’t really imagine this Toby in ‘Smiley’s people’. Toby Jones does his best with Percy Alleline but I don’t think he got the pomposity of the character. Colin Firth does a good job as Bill Hayden. He gets across the sarcasm and natural charm the character has.

There are a couple of omissions from the book in the film which I do miss. The often repeated phrase of Control and later Smiley : “There are three of them and Alleline.” It is only one phrase but neatly summarises the number of suspects. The next thing is the code name for the mole which Ricky Tarr learns from Irene, namely Gerald. These two things are only small and do not detract from the film as a whole but having read the book, as I stated from the beginning, I sort of expected them in the film.

Overall I enjoyed the film and definitely wouldn’t mind seeing it again. When I comes out on DVD I shall probably buy a copy. I would award the film a 7 out of ten.

Spoilers

The Cybermen make a return in their continual search for a new Cyber-controler. Why they can’t promote one is a little confusing. Imagine the interview: “So what makes you think you should be Cyber-controller?” “Well I’m a good team player, I enjoy challenges but above all I believe all humans should be deleted…”

The focus of this story is relationships. The Doctor’s relationship with the humans he takes along with him on his jaunts and the relationship Craig has with his new-born baby son Alfie (or Stormagedon…watch the episode). Both can’t cope. Craig is failing to cope with fatherhood, the Doctor (in this episode at least) failing to cope with his responsibility for his companions. These relationships are played out very well in the episode and the evolution of the emotions displayed by both characters do not interfere with the Cyberman story…mainly because there isn’t much of one. The Cybermen do not make much of an appearance, why they are in a shop in the first place is a little fuzzy, the reason they need a new Cyber-controller is missing – but hey look! The baby’s cute! Look at the baby! (Again watch the episode you’ll see what I mean!)

This was a good episode for the Doctor who usually gets the short straw with writers concentrating on Amy Pond. Even with Craig the Doctor gets the opportunity to be the centre of attention which makes a refreshing change. I liked the portrayal of the Doctor’s curiosity getting him into trouble yet again.

I liked the Pat Troughton reference: “Oh you’ve re-decorated haven’t you? I don’t like it!” and I have to say the Doctor’s new coat – I hope that stays.

Overall I liked the episode. Craig Owens is a good character and the ‘emotion’ plot carries the story. I think I would award this a 6 out of ten, I am docking the story one point for the gratuitous use of Amy and Rory!

Intelligent reviews for responsible people can be found here.

Spoilers ahead

The characters that the Doctor, Amy, and Rory meet were well drawn. I particularly liked Rita – even though she seems to be the latest in a long line of ‘companions that never were’. Sally Sparrow, Dr. Nasreen Chaudhry, Canton Delaware, Craig Owens and Miranda Cleaves to name but a few. There is nothing wrong with this. However there are very few examples of ‘potential companions’ in the classic series; whether this is because the writers of the classic series felt that the companions should not be in competition with other characters in the story or for another reason I couldn’t say.

David Walliams‘ character was a nice complex addition. At first you dismiss him as being a coward until you realise there is something sinister and malicious in his cowardice. He wants to stay alive and he will do anything and sacrifice anyone in order to do so. There were also elements of sarcasm from him which were fun: “I’m reminded of my old school motto…resistance is exhausting.” To explain, Walliams‘ character comes from the most invaded planet in the Galaxy, reminiscent of a description of Ankh-Morpork from Terry Pratchett: “No enemies had ever taken Ankh-Morpork. Well, technically they had, quite often; the city welcomed free-spending barbarian invaders, but somehow the puzzled raiders always found, after a few days, that they didn’t own their own horses any more, and within a couple of months they were just another minority group with its own graffiti and food shops.”

I liked the way the story was structured. At the beginning of the episode, you meet a policewoman who enters the room in the hotel. Inside is her worst nightmare. She comes out again and writes down everything that happened to her and to her companions.

“You don’t know what is inside the room until you open the door. Then you realise it couldn’t be anything else.”

The Doctor opens his door (number 11 of course). You hear the sound of the cloister bell, and he says: “Well of course it had to be you.” then closes the door. You don‘t see what is inside his room, which I thought was very well done. The temptation would be to show what the Doctor sees but in this instance less is more.

Rory doesn’t get a room! He keeps seeing a fire exit. The Doctor explains later that the monster isn’t interested in Rory because he didn’t put his faith into anything specific. I thought this was oddly appropriate.

The comparison made between the monster and the Doctor was a little cheesy but excusable as the rest of the episode was excellent. The death of the monster was done in a sensitive way. But as fans of the classic series will know the Doctor has a fondness for huge hairy monsters… the third Doctor liked to sing them lullabies.

In conclusion I will award this an 8 out of ten. It was very good. Keep up the good work!

Intelligent reviews for responsible people can be found here.

P.S

By the way an idea for Steven Moffat if he wants a cheap idea for comic relief. Show the bit with the Doctor opening his door saying his line “Well of course it had to be you.” Then slowly pan around to show the interior of an ordinary hotel room then have Lenny Henry appear and say “everything’s premier but the price!”. The Doctor closes the door and hangs a ‘do not disturb’ sign from the handle.

Arthur Darvill did exceptionally well and this episode is quite the showcase for Rory. Instead of being in the background, he is the one your watching as the conflicting interests of the two Amys unfold.

Spoilers ahead!

I didn’t think the slow motion stuff was any good. It just left me thinking that they had run out of story and were trying to pad out the episode. Rather like the Matrix films – which as everyone knows was almost entirely filmed in slowmo towards the end. Slow motion does have it’s place but in this case case I think it was misused.

I liked older Amy’s argument that she did not want to help rescue her younger self because then she would cease to exist. Even though she described her life as ‘Hell’, and even though she had spent 36 years alone with just some homicidally kind robots for company. The counter argument being that if you could escape those 36 years wouldn’t you take it? Well…Older Amy doesn’t want to die and if she allows Rory and the Doctor to rescue her younger self she will occupy a redundant time stream and cease to exist, which she sees as a form of dying. I can accept this argument. I can also accept why the scene at the Tardis changed her mind.

There is one problem with this episode and with the previous episode that I just can’t get over. Melody Pond, Amy and Rory’s daughter. I just don’t see them thinking “Oh she’s going to grow up to be River Song so everything alright.” There is still the fact that Melody grows up being brainwashed by eye patch woman and I can’t see them accepting that if there is a remote possibility of changing that. Okay, this is probably going to be dealt with in the last episode, my point is we have had two episode where Amy and Rory don’t seem to show any concern for their daughter at all. I don’t think so.

The garden was very good. I have been to the place where they filmed it though I can’t remember where it is! The garden is divided into sections and I remember being particularly taken with the Roman part.

So all in all probably a 6 out of 10. Not a bad episode, but I wouldn’t actively seek to watch it again!

Spoilers ahoy!

Just to prove the ‘Doctor Who’ is ‘with’ the masses this story is set in an apartment block. The family is average too – struggling to make ends meet, missing the rent and having trouble with the landlord. A struggling sweet family unit you can’t help but have sympathy for. You’ve met all the other characters too. No matter where you live these people are in some way instantly recognisable. The ‘little old lady’, ‘Tough guy’ who of course would not been complete without the ‘tough guy dog’), ‘chav’ ( who got pregnant almost immediately after secondary secondary school). My point it you know these characters and know their backgrounds without the need of adding a back-story. They are stereotypes which means the plot can go on with the tedious business of squeezing in a their stories.

An eerie yellow light shines through Georges bedroom window. Misshapen shadows lengthen and dance strangely in the torchlight that George shines around his room. Amy and Rory find themselves in a house which seems normal one first glance but as they look closer are out of place and strange: a wooden frying pan and a clock with painted hands.

The theme is no stranger to science fiction. It is the ‘changeling’ or cuckoo idea. It has been explored by ‘star trek’ (on numerous occasions) and ‘the tomorrow people’ to name two. This is done so well, you do not suspect anything of the innocent little child.

The psychic paper hasn’t been lost either, in case you were wondering where it had gone since David Tennant’s tenure. Since Steven Moffat is leading River Song’s character inexorably towards the encounter in the library he can’t afford to throw it away, even though it lack of use in the series seems to suggest that it use in previous series got to Doctor too easily out of trouble. Reminiscent of the reason the sonic screwdriver was murdered in Peter Davidson era possibly.

There are some great moments in this. The Doctor saying that he has to invent a setting for wood on the sonic screwdriver because ‘it’s getting embarrassing’. I don’t rate the ‘peg dolls’, maybe they wood come across as creepy if I were seven.

The ending is great, very emotionally charged – and I doubt that can be beaten in future episodes.

So in conclusion this gets about a 6 out of 10. It is a lot better than ‘Lets Kill Hitler’ but that wouldn’t be hard.

Intelligent reviews for responsible people can be found here.

So we have River Song who is not quite River Song but will begin to be River Song by the end of the episode. There, now you don’t need to see the episode.

‘Lets Kill Hitler’, set in 1938 Berlin. Hitler is chancellor of Germany, he is not yet at war with Great Britain but war is not far off. Europe is in turmoil. The Doctor arrives with three companions who must have studied the second world war in school. Could he prevent the war? Should he prevent the war? Millions die. There is plenty of material there for moral dilemmas, choices for the greater good and teaching a little about the war. What happens? Hitler gets decked by Rory, shoved in a cupboard, and isn’t seen for the rest of the episode. The story is taken over by River Song. I suspect the backdrop of Nazi Germany was specifically chosen for it’s familiarity, but to be honest any period in history would have served just as well. The deux-ex-machina for this story is the justice department vehicle or Teselecta, which is basically a robot that can morph into anyone and has a crew of miniaturised humans. It purpose is to find all the great criminals in history and take them out of their timeline towards the end of their lives and ‘give them hell’.

Maybe I am seeing this through an adult’s eyes. Maybe if I were a teenager I would be excited at the return of River Song. After 5 or so years (it may not be that long, it seems that long) of waiting for her story to be revealed I am getting quite tired of it. It was quite a novelty to see the complex interweaving of the Doctor’s and River Song’s timelines. My point is we know her by now so can we please get on with the reveal? River Song beginning takes over the story. The character of Mells, who is the hitherto unseen best buddy of Amy Pond, has her back-story crowbarred in so we know who she is. Then she regenerates into River, who then tries to kill the Doctor. Surprise surprise. It seemed obvious to me from the point we first learn she is in gaol for murder that the person she murders is the Doctor. Possibly I was supposed to gasp at this point, I failed. River then risks her life to save the Doctor – I am still waiting for the ‘surprise’.

Overall I wasn’t impressed with the episode. I suspect this was largely due to being fed up with the whole River Song question. It isn’t an episode I would actively seek out and watch again. On the whole scale of reactions I would rate this episode as ‘Meh out of 10′.

Intelligent reviews for responsible people can be found here.

Whats growing?

The tomatoes haven’t been the success they were last year, mostly because they were not planted early enough.  The varieties I am growing are green sausage shaped tomatoes and white tomatoes. They are only just fruiting at the moment. Now I have a sparkly big green house the tomatoes should be back in abundance next year.
Courgettes – not your boring green ones but yellow ones! and round one! and round yellow ones! Some of the plants are fruiting at the moment. I had my first courgette a few days ago. What I have to get used to is the fact I don’t have to wait until the courgette is ‘supermarket’ size to eat them. It is possible to eat at whatever size I like. Something I will also try this year is courgette flowers. Ever since I found out you can eat courgette flowers I have wanted to try them – watch this space.
I have perpetual spinach this year! I tried growing it last year but for whatever reason it didn’t grow. This time I grew it in a seed tray and transplanted the seedlings and success!
One of my staples (things I shall grow every year), is speedy salad. It is not an interesting colour just quick it also saves on buying salad from the supermarket.
I have also discovered purple podded peas! The pea flowers are so pretty. Some of the peas are at ‘mange tout’ stage and taste very fresh straight from the garden. I must also mention the broad beans with their flesh coloured beans – ten times nicer than if you buy them from the supermarket!
Other things I have growing is cucumber…not green cucumber of course but yellow! Various varieties of aubergines – long stringy looking ones to round white ones. I am trying potatoes again this year. Trying to grow potatoes for Christmas last year didn’t work out. I have two varieties – salad blue and pink fir apple, both of which are in flower at the moment.
Other new things in the garden are the trees. Two family apple trees and two cherry trees. Family apple trees are trees (no kidding!) on to which different varieties are grafted. My two trees each have four varieties of apple on them! I also have an olive tree which is threatening to produce olives.
As I have mentioned in earlier posts I have discovered a wonderful new word this year – perennial. I found much to my dismay that my french tarragon after having been frozen by the cold winter’s snow, and despite the fact it is not supposed to be hardy, came back! The mint coming back was not a surprise, however only one of the two sages made it through the Scottish winter. This year all the herbs will go in to the greenhouse to sit out the winter.
I have discovered a few new perennials – a variety of rocket,  African basil and Vietnamese coriander were the most interesting. There were others that are more well-known, such as pot marjoram, lemon balm, parcel (not parsley, this stuff is supposed to taste like celery leaves), borage (which isn’t a perennial but it self seeds so it sort of counts), and my favourite wild garlic!
The challenge, and believe me it is a considerable one, is to eat it all!

The episode starts of as a tribute to ‘Carry on don’t lose your head’. But once that’s over, and I breath a sigh of the relief, things really gets started (sorry, I can’t stand carry on films!).

I liked the episode, but I thought it might be a bit too dark and dramatic for the beginning of the series. There was plenty of story to get your teeth into and you felt you had to pay attention in case you missed some clue as to what would happen in future episodes.

Matt Smith was excellent. He seems to have settled into the role of the Doctor very well. Amy Pond and Rory portray a believable married couple I believe! There is one moment at the diner where Rory says a line and my immediate response was “yep! Married man!”

River Song, ahhh what to say about River Song. Slightly over hyped. However this does not deter from Alex Kingston’s portrayal which is very good. As a character however I think she is a little stereotyped; as in “sassy single female maverick”. Okay, there are not many of these characters around but I would like more individuality.

As for the episode itself, Moffat strikes the right balance between story and character development. The story itself was jammed packed with details that you felt you could not miss. There was more story and plot in this episode than actual action which may disappoint RTD fans. But I felt it was a return to quality rather than the “oooh shiny!” feel of past series.

Here be spoilers!

The monster’s in the episode are good, if somewhat predictable. Just as you have to keep looking at a weeping angel, you have to keep looking at these guys or you’ll forget they’re there. Even when you had a demonstration as to “oooh how bad” they are, so far they have come across as less scary than the Weeping Angels. As my husband pointed out having to keep looking at something and not blinking or it will kill you is more scary than “now, what did I come up here for?”. I suppose from the point of view of the audience such aliens are scary, as you see a favourite character blithely wonder into danger and unable to remember there are big bad aliens around. Still we’ll see how these develop. My husband is convinced that their overall plan for world domination revolves around stealing keys, pens and all those other things you swore you had a second ago.

Time lines play a big part in the episode and, if I can make a slight prediction, will probably continue to do so throughout the series. At the end of the last series we saw Moffat sending the Doctor back in time several times for comic effect. The opening of this episode shows the doctor about two hundred years older than when Amy and Rory last saw him. Later they reunite with the Doctor, who is just one year older. The Doctor is making his way through River’s life backwards; the effect being, as she says ‘each time I see him he knows me less’. With such a mess of time lines about something has to give eventually or you’ll end up with a granny knot!

Questions

Instead of making predictions for future episodes or what Steven Moffat is planning (I’ll badger my friends with those!) I have decided to pose questions the answers of which will probably be turn up towards the end of the series.

First of all there are at least two questions (that I can think of the top of my head) that need to be answered from the previous series:

Why did the TARDIS blow up?

Why doesn’t Amy remember the Daleks? (The Churchill episode, anyone? The Doctor said she should know and she doesn’t…)

Apparently the question the Amy was going to ask at the beginning of the Red Nose day short is also ‘going to be addressed’. Thanks to more observant fans for this one as I had to watch the episode again to find out what they were going on about!

More questions

At the beginning of the episode, what book was Amy reading? (My guess: A spotter’s guide to Timelords farting about in history)

Why had Amy and Rory left the Doctor before the start of this series but after the events in Space and Time (Red Nose Day episodes)?

How did the Doctor manage to appear in the Laurel and Hardy film? Giving that Rory has clearly watched it a few times and ‘explained the jokes’ to Amy? Probably not a vital question, but I’d still like to know.

Why does River Song bother with the ‘Stormcage’ prison? Given that she treats the place like a hotel!

Stetson versus Fez. Why did the Doctor change his mind and decide ‘Stetson’s are cool’? (I’m asking this one because of a rumour I’ve read, and I think this might be linked to it. However since it is just a rumour and I don’t know if it is true I’ll ask it as a question instead.)

When did the Doctor get a duplicate River Song diary? Up ’til now he’s relied on his memory to sync with River Song.

With all the events at the lakeside, a guy to answer some of the companions questions, a can of gasoline and a handy boat didn’t one of the companions think “Hang on, isn’t this a little too stage managed?”

According to River, the Doctor mustn’t know of the encounter with his past self. Has she never seen ‘The Five Doctor’s', ‘The Three Doctor’s', ‘The Two Doctor’s and so on?

River knows killing a timelord during their regeneration cycle kills them. How? (I believe I know the answer to this. Since we already know that River kills: a good man, the best she’s ever know, a hero to many etc. Which leads me to my next question, Why hasn’t the Doctor hasn’t put two and two together yet? However since he didn’t figure out what was in the Pandorica, (i.e. what was every evil alien scared of) and this was actually fairly obvious, I shouldn’t be surprised!

According to River – the companions do as they are told. Pardon? Since when?!

How does a child fit into and adult space suit? Stilts, or on a dwarf’s shoulders?

Do the silence go to the same tailor as the tenth Doctor?