Category Archives: Bits and Pieces

Cheeks 6th Birthday

Cheeks is now 6 years old!  Blimey……….

 

Lego minifig display – Ikea large Ribba frame

I’ve finally finished putting together my large Lego Minifig display!  Wooohooo!

Like my previous attempts using Ikea Ribba frames:

*) I glued and pin-fixed some pine strip wood for the shelves and sprayed them up black to match the frame. 

*) Glued in the minifig bases.

So this left me in a quandary regarding the background picture!  What could I use to set off my Star Wars Minifigs!?

With mounted card as my canvas, I used several colours of gloss spray paint and some plant pots to create a galaxy scene with gas giant planets, stars and a nebula.  I’m quite chuffed with it!!!

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So here you are, the finished article.

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Thomas Tank Engine – Indian characters

Thomas the Tank Engine are adding 14 new characters to the sleepy railway of Sodor to diversify the cast.

Mattel have unveiled a fantastic array of offensively politically correct trains representing cultures around the globe.

My personal favourites are Ashima and Rajiv from India; although I think Mattel missed a trick by not adding the hundreds of Indians who hang off the trains?

Here’s a more accurate depiction of Rajiv by yours truly.

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The new characters will make their debut in the new film, The Great Race, which will be released in the UK in May 2016.

The Great Race sounds a bit Nazi if you ask me?

I sincerely hope they bring Ringo Starr back as narrator and let him showcase his best Maharishi accent for the voice of Rajiv.

Kula Shaker – Camden Roundhouse, London 17.02.2016

FINALLY!!!!  After 20 years, I’ve finally seen Kula Shaker live!

As a wannabe musician, I absolutely envied Kula Shaker’s unique fusion of Indian culture and psychedelic rock during the Brit Pop era of the 90’s; it was inevitable and somewhat cliché that I identified with the Hari Krishna public schoolboy converts on a major scale during my Joe Daki self-discovery teenage years for obvious reasons. 

I never got to see them in their hayday because I was so often in the States when they toured; so I knew it was probably my last opportunity to see them play live following the recent release of their new album, K2.0, which conveniently coincides with the 20th anniversary of their debute album K.

K2.0 is a fitting successor to K and I thought the band sounded fucking excellent tonight as they belted out tune after tune with great energy and flawless performing. 

The sight of Camden Roundhouse, packed to the rafters with Caucasians ‘singing’ along to the song Govinda in Hindi gibberish will remain with me until I forget it completely; in fact it made me think of Mark and Lard’s cover of Tattva back when BBC radio 1 was entertaining.

Bindi bhaji poppadom tala!!!

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Kev’s Vegan Bombay Potatoes Quick Quick!

The longest thing about this dish is peeling the potatoes and waiting for them to boil!  It’s well worth the wait though.

Mumbai (offensive) Bombay potatoes are as much a quick snack as they are a side dish to go with curry and rice; personally, I love to scoop them into some paratha and scoff them! 

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This recipe is completely vegan and contains no small children or rabbits.   In fact, it’s fucking pukka.

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients.

Generous pinch of salt

3 large potatoes (around 1KG in total), halved

15g root ginger, peeled

3 garlic cloves, peeled

2 large tomatoes, one quartered,
the other cut into slim wedges.  You can also use tinned chopped tomatoes if you wish!

4 tbsp vegetable oil

¾ tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2/3 tsp turmeric

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

½–¾ tsp chilli powder

Large handful of chopped coriander leaves

Method.

Boil a large pot of water and salt it well. Place in the peeled potatoes and boil until tender (up to 30 minutes). Drain, then cube or half the potatoes. 

Blend together the ginger, garlic and quartered tomato until smooth.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan.

Add the cumin and mustard seeds and, once the cumin starts to darken, add the onion.

Cook for a minute before adding the ginger and garlic mixture, the ground spices and salt.

Sauté gently for one to two minutes or until the garlic smells cooked. If you are not sure, taste.

Add the tomato wedges, stir well and cook for three to four minutes. Tip in the potatoes and cook for three to five minutes to absorb the flavours.

Check the seasoning, salt to taste and stir in the chopped coriander and serve.

Lumiere London

Lumiere London took place around the Capital weekend; this is not to be confused with Diwali because there was no curry to be found down in Regents Street.  Sadly.

The various exhibitions dotted about town were a genuine delight; I also thought it was very cool to see a very strong showing from indigenous Londoners amongst the massive crowds who had turned up for a mooch.

Must have been too cold for the Russians!?

The exhibits varied greatly; elaborate projections onto buildings, a garden of light in Leicester Square and an island of household rubbish in Trafalgar square were all very thought provoking.

I think my favourite ‘piece’ was the CGI elephant on the giant LCD screen; it looked so realistic and the various elephant noises that boomed out the speakers gave it a presence that I did not expect!

Check out ma mad tings!!

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