Octopus a Lagareiro - the sequel.

Decided to purchase an HO scale town square made from card and available from a manufacturer in France called Mirontaine.

I've been an admirer of this piece since I first saw it on the internet about 18 months ago.

It costs less than £5, so presumably it comes as a flat-pack. There's a space behind my ceramic buildings which it would grace beautifully.

************************************************************************************
Currently listening to:


Photek:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

To my surprise, my local supermarket had some fresh octopus on sale. So, eager to establish whether the successful outcome of last month's inaugural cooking of the species had been a fluke or not, I decided to give it another go and bought one.

The preparation is what the Portuguese call "a Lagareiro" except that I don't bother with the potatoes.

Basically, you immerse the octopus in olive oil and white wine (2:1) and place it in a medium oven for approx. an hour,

Then drain it and serve. (Last time I fried it for a couple of minutes before serving so as to brown it up - didn't bother with that step this time.)

Immersing

Served with samphire.

Another excellent result.


Cost per head: £5.25

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently reading:

And,

Q Tip

Not much time to do anything on layout today, but did shift the buildings about a bit.

**********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

This is a CD that I never get sick of.

Recorded in 1999

This CD is 14 years ago and yet I consider it to be a new release - such is the nature of growing old.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Forgot to take a photograph but it was Fish Pie made with haddock that was given to us by someone with connections in the fish distribution trade.

Hence, cost per head: £1.50

Painting scenery HO scale model railway continued.

Continued to paint the roads around the station.

Almost finished - still to re-position one of the buildings.

***********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

Chris Montez:

In his heyday - the 60s

A more recent photograph.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Red mullet, asparagus and cous cous

First meal of the year eaten outside in the back garden.

Cost per head: £7.00

Iris Murdoch

Too tired and busy to do anything on layout today, but found this beautiful image of a map showing the railway regions of France pre- nationalisation ie pre-SNCF.

*************************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

3 scallops, cous-cous and fennel in parmesan

Cost per head: £6.25

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently reading:

Some pages are so full of painful observations about the typical human being that I had to lay the book aside, so utterly exhausted was I taking it all in.

Painting scenery HO scale model railway

From the beginning of this project, some 18 months ago, I have felt at a primordial level that the colour I paint the town's streets is going to be crucial in determining the atmosphere of the layout. I've mentioned this before in this blog: I want the layout to have a murky, urban, Maigret feel. The skies are to be full of foreboding; the sun, if there at all, is to be watery. The colours of the street are to reflect that.

Hence, I picked up my box of acrylic paints:

And got cracking with black, white, ochre and maroon.

I made prominent the brush strokes so that they suggest the movement of traffic.

The job will have to be done in at least two instalments to allow the shifting about of the buildings, but you get the general idea.

************************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

The Fall's Mark E Smith and the Inspiral Carpets: "I want You"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmEQztuvURc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Forgot to take photographs, but I chose Rabbit for my main course. I remember as a child having rabbit quite frequently before the Myxomatosis outbreak in the late 1950s.

Prepared and served at Wee Lochan, Crow Road, Glasgow - another stupendous meal>

While I was waiting outside for an old friend to join me, a couple eating outside under the canopy spoke to me:

Husband: "Excuse me, my wife would like to speak to you."

Me: (Confused and slightly annoyed and turning towards them) "Sorry?"

Husband: "My wife thinks you look awfully sad."

Wife: "You look awfully sad."

Me: Thinking, "Mind your own bloody business."  "I'm waiting for someone I haven't seen for years - almost decades and thought they might be lost."

The conversation fizzled out.

Cost per head including a couple of glasses of wine and ludicrous conversation: £32.00

Cost per head stats for the past week:

Sunday:  £7.00
Monday:  £10.29
Tuesday:  £6.50
Wednesday:  £4.00
Thursday:  £6.50
Friday:  £2.75
Saturday:  £32.00

Average cost per head for last week: £9.86

Average cost per head for previous week: £5.71

Average cost for first 10 weeks of this analysis: £5.30

Conclusion: I'm getting a bit extravagant and undisciplined again.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently Reading:

Have just finished reading:

Extremely surprised to have extracted any pleasure from The Italian Girl, but I did and hence started to read An Accidental Man.

I used to loathe the novels of Iris Murdoch but since re-reading and being impressed by her book on Sartre, I thought I'd give her novels another chance.

Her prose style does not compare to Evelyn Waugh's, in my opinion, but it is passable.

Chemical Metal and Ceramics

Because of the "power of the lever" I didn't trust Plastic Padding (ie chemical metal), on its own, to join the 4th wall to the three already connected.

The first 3 walls were joined successfully with chemical metal at corners A and B. But, I felt that the pressure that the weight and length of the 4th wall joining at corner C would be too great for an adhesive on its own - it would tear itself away. So, I also installed a couple of metal braces.

Firstly, I applied chemical metal to the joint at corner C.

Then I installed a couple of braces behind the walls.

Unfortunately, the brace is set to 90 degrees whereas the corner to be braced is an obtuse angle. Bending the brace to the required angle was hard work.

A brace in position at the bottom of the walls.

And one at the top.

Yes, I attached the braces with more chemical metal.

Finally, using acrylic paints, I painted over the unsightly joint. At some point I'm going to run some HO scale ivy up the corner of the building to disguise the joint completely.

And, believe it or not model ivy is available.

***************************************************************************************

Currently NOT listening to:

 

Radio 3 for the next 7 days.

 

It's "Wagner Week" on Radio - 7 days of crap as far as I'm concerned.

 

200 years on from his birth.

 

My wife stills castigates me for taking her hostage 5 years ago to a 6 hour performance of Parsifal at the Edinburgh Festival.

 

Whenever she has an unpleasant experience (from toothache to a poor meal) she always consoles herself by saying that at least it's not as bad as that  %$*&% -ing Parsifal.

 

Twat.

Talking of which, here is John Cooper Clarke's excellent poem.

 

TWAT

Like a Night Club in the morning, you’re the bitter end.
Like a recently disinfected shit-house, you’re clean round the bend.
You give me the horrors
too bad to be true
All of my tomorrow’s
are lousy coz of you.

         You put the Shat in Shatter
          Put the Pain in Spain
         Your germs are splattered about
         Your face is just a stain

You’re certainly no raver, commonly known as a drag.
Do us all a favour, here... wear this polythene bag.  

You’re like a dose of scabies,
I’ve got you under my skin.
You make life a fairy tale... Grimm!

People mention murder, the moment you arrive.
I’d consider killing you if I thought you were alive.
You’ve got this slippery quality,
it makes me think of phlegm,
and a dual personality
I hate both of them.  

Your bad breath, vamps disease, destruction, and decay.
Please, please, please, please, take yourself away.

 Like a death a birthday party,
you ruin all the fun.
Like a sucked and spat out smartie,
you’re no use to anyone.

 Like the shadow of the guillotine
on a dead consumptive’s face.
Speaking as an outsider,
what do you think of the human race

You went to a progressive psychiatrist.
He recommended suicide...
before scratching your bad name off his list,
and pointing the way outside.

You hear laughter breaking through, it makes you want to fart.
You’re heading for a breakdown,
better pull yourself apart.

Your dirty name gets passed about when something goes amiss.
Your attitudes are platitudes,
just make me wanna piss.

What kind of creature bore you
Was it some kind of bat
They can’t find a good word for you,
but I can...
TWAT.  

The bard of Salford

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night's dinner:

 

 

 

 

Black pudding, fried eggs and fried tomatoes 

 

 

 

Cost per head: £2.75 

 

Assembling a ceramic model building

Here are the 4 walls of the ceramic building.

 

 

 

First of all, I used Plastic Padding to join three of the walls.

 

 

And, placed the walls in position (temporarily) on the layout.

 

Then, I sat the fourth wall against its partners but at this stage did not attach it. I suspect that something more than just Plastic Padding will be required - some kind of  brace sitting behind the walls may be required.

Eventually, a flat roof will be put in place.

***********************************************************************************
Currently listening to:

Deep Chord - Echospace

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last Night's Dinner:

Duck legs and mushroom sauce on cous cous.

Cost per head: £6.50.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Currently reading: