Minimal

Courtesy of me mutha, here’s a quick recipe for one of the mightiest cakes I know: banana loaf. Enjoy!

Components:

• 8oz self-raising flour
• ½tsp salt
• 3oz butter
• 4oz caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2tbsp natural yogurt
• 2 medium-sized ripe bananas

Algorithm:

1. Sift flour with salt. Rub in butter until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar.
2. Beat egg with yogurt. Mash bananas well and stir into flour with egg mixture. Dough should be soft but not too wet. Mix well.
3. Turn into a greased 1.1lb (500g) loaf tin and bake at 180°C for about 1 hour or until cocktail stick comes out clean.
4. Turn out onto wire tray to cool and leave for 24 hours before cutting.

Real Madrid sign Woodgate [BBC Sport]
Well, it looks like Real Madrid don’t read my blog. Otherwise, they would’ve backed out of the signing, obviously. Damn their oily hides.

P.S. apologies for the shockingly bad headline — it’s all a bit Evening Chronicle, isn’t it?

Late notice, but tonight on Newsnight, they’re going to be looking at the thorny issue of pensions and how today’s workforce faces a bleak future. Call me grim if you will, but this stuff absolutely fascinates me. Maybe I’d find it more disturbing than fascinating if I couldn’t afford to put money aside for my future, but it’s a gripping dilemma nonetheless. Will we really just have to work ourselves into an early grave?

Meanwhile, on a related note, my dad finally retired last month after years of wanting to do so. Now, he and my mother are living it up as part of the jet set, spending my inheritance on round-the-world tours. Envious, moi? ;)

Real ‘table £14m Woodgate bid’ [Guardian]
Bloody hell. Of all the things we don’t need right now, one of our star players being unsettled has to be near the top of the list. Can’t they just take one of our midfielders? I hear Kieron Dyer’s going cheap on Ebay. Actually, I take it back. £10m is far from cheap for someone of his calibre. I still wouldn’t boo him, mind. Not while he’s playing for us, anyway. ;)

After my earlier failure (well, partial success) with regards posting via email, I thought I’d have another pop. Here it is, forcibly posted in plain text format. Fingers crossed.

Got back to work today after a week of holiday that took me from Silverstone to Edinburgh and on to Manchester, returning via Garsdale in the Yorkshire Dales. I knew I’d enjoyed my week off, but it only really hit home when I could contrast it with how I feel in the daily grind. While the people I work with are great people, the work we’re doing has to be the most demoralising I’ve ever experienced. I think it’s time to book another holiday.

P.S. Just emailed this entry! Oooh, the thrill of it. :)

...I won another trophy at karting this week. Yay for me! :)

Once again, it was on the outdoor circuit at Warden Law and, as seems to be the tradition for summer events, the track was soaked. But at least we got to use the full-length circuit.

Quite apart from the result (fastest lap too!), this has to have been one of the most enjoyable races I’ve been in. The fastest lines round the corners were so far removed from the natural racing line, it was like driving a brand new circuit. A spot of oil at the exit of one corner also called for a fantastic degree of throttle control, but that just made getting it right all the more of a thrill.

Of course, I might’ve viewed it differently had I not been leading the race, but that’s the benefit of experience, I guess. Roll on the next one. :)

Have to say, I got quite a surprise this morning when I heard on breakfast telly that Jenson Button is to be a Williams driver next year. What’s all that about?

I don’t know whether it’s just the British love of an underdog, but I was really enjoying watching him do so well for a supposedly lesser team. I also liked the fact that Jenson and BAR had apparently gelled so well. To see that good relationship broken up in such a dramatic way is not good and, if it goes through, I think I’m about to lose some respect for the young Brit.

I might not be the world’s greatest cat-lover, but even I wouldn’t kill one. Not on purpose, anyway. But when a cat and a car collide at 70mph, there’s only ever gonna be one outcome — I just wasn’t prepared for the shock of seeing it. Truly, truly horrible. :(

There are days I feel like this too. ;)