Category: positive thoughts

Solo Piano

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A compilation of Solo Piano pieces by Ludovico Einaudi. Available to stream, buy on CD(!), several different types of vinyl, or even as sheet music. 17 tracks that between them have amassed well over a billion listens on Spotify alone.

And, given that he’s written a lot more than 17 tracks – a video with a bit of detail telling us how and why he chose the music that he did for this album.

Mmm. WordPress still not quite up to speed with sizing Youtube Shorts.

Anyway, it looks like a stress free weekend now that I have 77 minutes of Einaudi to keep me company.

Bye!

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Any football news from Up North today?

Only this:

Not the 20-0 rout that some foolish people were predicting. It was never going to be like that.

But the history books will record that Wednesday were relegated at Bramall Lane, and that’s what really matters. The three points are also very welcome, but Derby days are all about beating your rivals, and to send them on their way to League One…

…well, that was just the icing on the cake.

Incidentally… recent local derbies have been won by Us (obviously), Liverpool, ManU, Arsenal and Sunderland.

Red is clearly the colour of local dominance.

Test Drive

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I test drove our new hob yesterday.

And wow. What an amazing difference from the old model.

The old model was in here when we moved in several (or more) years ago now. The old model shouldn’t have been in here when we moved in, because it fails the gas certificate of compliance even at the most basic level. But, as longer-term readers might remember, there was an awful lot that failed the CoCs on this house, because the certificates were issued by knobheads by friends of the previous owner.

Dodgy as.

Still, that’s all water under the bridge now (which was probably due to another pipe that needed replacing).

The new hob is bigger than the last hob, and the gas is more controllable, thanks to Bosch’s new FlameSelect™ function. It’s still not anything professional, but I’m not exactly a professional cook either, so the match is good. But that extra 150mm and the ability to have a very low flame without the danger of blowing the place up, make a massive difference, and last night’s curry really benefitted from me being able to leave it to simmer without concern.

We’re slowly becoming a bit of a Bosch household. Not because we have any particular affinity to the brand, but just because they’re stuff is good value, good quality and it just works. German engineering, made in China. But then, isn’t everything?

Anyway. One of those purchases that needed making, but has had a huge positive effect already.

If you’re looking for a sign to make one of those “I’ve got to get one at some point” buys, then consider this it.

Don’t forget…

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…that you’re supposed to be doing a blog post each day.

It’s late and you’ve been busy, I get it.

That gas hob wasn’t going to buy and install itself. United weren’t going to win at Portsmouth without your support, and yes, that was an absolutely superb braai.

The steak was especially good.

But don’t forget that you still need to sort a blog post before bed.

Ok?

I could live here

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It’s Denmark, which is the most boring of the Scandinavian countries I have been to (n=3), but still – look at this:

This bar will give you a free beer between 12 and 1pm.

There’s no catch, no obligation to buy another beer or any food or any other product. You just turn up and ask for your free beer, please. And then you can leave, although I’d advise you to drink the thing once you’ve ordered it, obviously.

The only T&C here is that you are only allowed one per customer per day, and that seems a bit tight perfectly reasonable.

As a loss leader for the bar, one presumes that it must work, otherwise they wouldn’t be running it. And – according to the guy who shared this – it’s not a limited promotion either. This has been going on since New Year already, and shows no sign of stopping.

I’ve seen beer offers before, but they’ve always come with the inevitable hidden catch. There isn’t one here. And for reference, a bar-bought 500ml Tuborg costs about 60DKK in Denmark, which is a terrifying R127, so this is a pretty sweet deal.

Sadly, the price of flights alone make this one a bit of a non-starter for us here in Cape Town, but if any of the local pubs are reading this and thinking that something along these lines might be worth a bit of a trial run… well… let me know and I’ll see you at noon tomorrow.