I can’t think of anything but ...

While I love its look and feel, integrated email, bit torrent client, Unite for linking multiple computers together and sharing material, it is so bloody clunky at times and doesn't work with www.mobileme.com which for me is a pain.

Over the past two weeks I have been experiencing a lot of crashes and hiccups with PDFs, not just one or two mind you, every single PDF. I don't know if it is the recent update to Opera 10.51 or recent updates to Acrobat as they both updated around the same time. Needless to say I needed a solution and I think I found one hidden on the Opera Community Forums, posted by Pesala, here is my modified version.

1. Go to 'Tools' menu >> select 'Preferences'
2. Select the 'Advanced' Tab and click on 'Downloads' in the left-hand menu
3. Look under the 'MIME types' list, click on 'application/pdf' and then click the 'Edit...' button
4. Click the radio button next to 'Open with default application'
5. Click the 'Save' button

Voila!, hopefully that should fix the problem, we will see.

Wandering on from the Royal Exchange in Manchester on Thursday April 1st, a friend and I looked at a number of places to eat through St Anne's Sqaure, along Deansgate and back up to the town hall and library.  It is amazing how many places have appeared and also how many of them are italian or italian inspired. Hidden amongst this Mediterranean invasion, just off the square in front of the town hall is the  http://www.armeniantaverna.co.uk/ entered via some steps down into a basement.

The guardian review on that site is as relevant now as it was when it was written. The decor is the same and while not necessarily cheery the service is welcoming, efficient and effective.

For those not familiar with the grography, Armenia sits between Turkey (west), Georgia (north), Iran (south) and Azerbaijan (east) and this euro-asian-arabic fusion is evident in the food from the region. It was a light dinner with a wonderful array of meze, that reminded me of working in Jordan many years ago. Delicious, aubergine based, dips of mutabal and baba ganouge accompanied by lavish flat-bread, kibeh, tabouleh and falafel. The portions are generous, too large for me to think of dessert although there is a selection of traditional pastries. The espresso was okay although a little burnt, which was a shame.

A delightful experience, and while the decor is dated and the atmosphere a little austere the food is good homely fayre, don't judge a book by its cover is all I would say.

Thursday April 1st necessitated an unplanned trip to Manchester and as it's my favourite theatre http://www.royalexchangetheatre.org.uk we stopped by on the off-chance something exciting was on. I was gutted that the tickets for the evening production of  'A Comedy of Errors' by wobbly-pike were sold out. Not to worry it was nice to sit in the bar and have a drink. Although the menu at the Round restaurant looked very nice we decided we would venture further afield for nourishment.

     

Click here to download:

royal-exchange-theatre-manchester-nncrvczlFibCkJEFrmka.zip (1660 KB)

I am so lazy at updating this blog but perhaps with time and practice I will get better, at least I hope so.

Sunday 28th March 2010 was such a wonderful sunny day and a great opportunity to meet with my friend Lynn who was house and dog sitting over in Wakefield. Although we originally wanted to head to La Fortezza for lunch when we got there the door read 'Open at 5 pm' (apparently after talking to the waitress we realised they actually opened at 4 pm).

Newmillerdam is a nice place to walk around on a sunny afternoon anyway, although the car park was packed and there seemed to be no concern for the one way system that is supposed to operate around it. Needless to say we went and got some nibbles and sat in the garden with the dogs enjoying the sun.

The place is small, probably around 46 covers arranged over around 10 tables, with little space to squeeze past if the place was full, all dominated by a weeping fig tree, or some such, in the centre. The waitress was cheerful and very welcoming (I had read on some sites the staff were not that polite, but that was not our experience), and we were the only occupants.

We shared some garlic bread with rosemary for a starter and delicious it was, light, thin, crispy with a gentle taste of rosemary bolstered by a heavy sprinkle of salt.

Service is not the fastest, in fact it took well over 15 mins for our garlic bread to arrive and even longer for our mains.

Lynn had risotto of some description which looked nice and she commented on it favourably. I had, what purported to be Lasagne, a volcanic baked puddle in a dish. Letting it cool to an eatable temperature took at good 15 minutes and while the flavour was good, with a nice mix of bechamel, cheese and bolognese sauce coming through, the pasta was virtually none existent just a few wet bracts huddling for comfort deep in the centre. It was far too wet for me more like a thick stew than any lasagne I have come across before.

We rounded off our meal with some vanilla ice-cream, with a green liquid flecked with black which was supposed to taste of kiwi and, well, tasted of nothing.

All in all it was a good experience, prices are reasonable, and one I would repeat but perhaps without the lasagne.

       

Click here to download:

la-fortezza-newmillerdam-wf2-6qq-EqGsdxFuoCcyxioHHxjs.zip (2041 KB)

It's not often I go to a place to eat and everything just fits into a wonderful dining experience. I can usually count on the quality of the company as I am blessed with great friends, but all of the other elements are always a gamble.

http://www.holdsworthhouse.co.uk/ is a hotel and restaurant, and was built in 1633. It is a rambling building, internally divided into a series of small dining rooms and places to relax for a drink, infused with the faint aroma of the many open fireplaces that warm the rooms. Some are paneled with deep, rich, dark wood, with mullion windows and all feature simple antique furniture, with walls adorned with paintings from the intervening centuries.

For me it brought back wonderful memories of my internship at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. It was one of the most wonderful times of my life as I had the luck of living in a shared house, which is still the best house of people I have ever lived in. These friends who, for me, enriched my life beyond anything I could have hoped for and made that experience captivating, memorable, stimulating and the best period of my life so far, were many and varied but one, Cindy, worked at the http://www.tabardinn.com/. Holdsworth House reminds me of the Tabard Inn and memories of mulled cider in front of log fires on Christmas day after walking through the snow and making snow angels in Logan Circle Park. Anyway I digress.

The ambiance, friendly and patient staff and the food all combine into a heady dining experience with only a few low points.

The menu is not wonderful for vegetarians that much is certain, so I plumped for wild mushroom wontons, for my main and roast pepper soup for a starter. Now I am not a mushroom fan and so this was a choice necessitated by the fact there was only one vegetarian starter and one main. I have to say it is the only mushroom dish I have ever eaten which I liked, so a personal triumph.

Fish is obviously the strength here and the sea bass was wonderful. The lamb was also a success although my friend did question what the goat's cheese under the risotto and the crispy olives added to the whole dish. All the food is wonderfully presented but as with most wonderfully prepared and displayed food, large portions are not the order of the day.

The desserts were no less artful in their presentation but the panna cotta had far too much gelatin in it and as a result was too stiff. My rhubarb medley was nice, if simple, but the outstanding winner was the assiette of lemon, with lemon syllabub, a deconstructed lemon meringue and the most devine lemon sorbet I have ever tasted.

Starters and desserts are around £7 and mains around £17 so the prices are by no means astronomical. Situated just outside of Halifax it really is one of only a few gems in the culinary crown surrounding Bradford. Certainly a place to return to.

               

Click here to download:

holdsworth-house-gastronomic-delectation-FJjgpCarqjjndbrpHHyc.zip (3945 KB)

Some pics from Carlisle when I headed up for the Lighting of Hadrian's Wall. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the actual event as we were a little late. I really need to start thinking about taking more pics when I go to events :-)

       

Click here to download:

pictures-from-carlisle-JaDhdcADsfCByFnmemlj.zip (1999 KB)

Here is the wonderful view over the mill pond at my friend Lynn's.

   

Click here to download:

A_Snowy_Mill_Pond.zip (871 KB)

Well I never did post any photos nor allow you to listen to the wonderful accordion playing on the very early morning tram back to the hotel after a night out on the town. It was a memorable trip and a memorable tram-ride.

Well for all those bored with their own Christmas preparations - here, better late than never, they are ...

Click here to download:

Accordion Playing.mp3 (879 KB)

                                                                                   

Click here to download:

Memories_of_Prague.zip (20679 KB)