Jamie's Italian

Well, you can't expect me to do a blog and not talk about food, and I have waited till the fourth posting (the jelly babies reference in the previous posting doesn't count)...

I've always been a sceptic of celebrity-chef restaurants, so when Jamie's Italian opened in Glasgow a few months ago, I really wasn't in a rush to try it.  However, having read several reviews, my curiosity finally led me to stand in a (thankfully short) queue outside the restaurant one afternoon.  Never one for booking in advance (I'd like to think I'm spontaneous, but in reality, I'm simply disorganised), I have no problem with the no booking policy, but many seem to be quite offended by that.

While it may not have been the best Italian in Glasgow, we had a very enjoyable lunch.  The cold whitebait dish was a bit odd, but the pasta was delicious.  Our favourite was probably the courgette fritters.

The Herald review described it as "a shrine to the patron saint of celebrity chefs" and "overdose of Jamie Oliver", I couldn't find better words myself.  This does make me wonder though - perhaps we ought to be more ambitious with Operation "Bottomless Pit", go beyond the standard renovations for the mortals and build a shrine to the patron saint of all good things in life!?

Upping my Game

Getting coaching is a bitter sweet experience, and last Saturday, I had a coaching session at Glenmore Lodge.  I have always thought of myself as quite a keen climber, but on reflection, my commitment has been a bit sporadic.  It's becoming clear that if I want to climb at the level that I aspire to climb, I really need to up my game.

Admittedly, the end of the climbing season is quite an odd time to get coaching.  There were four of us keen beans: Kai - a camp manager from Malaysia with little experience, bionic Dave who is an experienced mountaineer, hill runner and climber all round, Steve the tree surgeon who is a regular winter climber and has done rock climbing with his mountain-rescuer father in his youth and me.  After a brief chat about expectations, Nick, our instructor soon put us through a day of bouldering and climbing, indoors and outdoors.

It had been a day of revelations:
- climbers of different sizes and climbing abilities often have similar limitations in their climbing
- lots of bouldering, especially outdoors, is critical to success
- I may only be 165 cm tall, but when I'm climbing outside, my arms are not as short as I'd imagine
- jelly babies are the best way to refuel on a long climbing day

Overall, the verdict is - I'm good at fluidity but pretty bad at efficiency.  It seems there is much work to be done.

Living Dangerously

One of the ongoing projects is Operation ‘Bottomless Pit’. I have never had the urge to document this, but it's been going on for so long that people are now demanding photographic evidence of the domestic chaos to prove that we're not simply being antisocial. So here goes the latest...

We have now come to sorting out the fireplace. In true 'bottomless pit' style, while we managed to get a new slate hearth, we lost the fire. It was condemned on the spot and apparently, there was simply not enough space on the gas man’s form to list all the hazards.

So few weeks on, the guys came back to carry out much drilling and hammering, I now have a new and perfectly safe fire. Not sure if it’s just me, or the obsessive-compulsively lined up coal... I still think the old “death trap” is more in fitting with everything...

Process of Elimination

After much procrastinating, I'm finally making a start on this wee blog.  There are too many projects in my head, and I'm beginning to doubt that I can do them all (not simultaneously anyway).  This blog is my attempt at helping myself prioritise, eliminate and identify the one to take beyond my garden shed.


And if all fails, I still get a good rant - it's all therapeutic, so they tell me...