Salmon Fish

Salmon is one of the few things that are cheaper in the UK than in Australia. The average price is £8.8 per kg. Normally a piece of salmon steak for £2.50 is good enough to feed both of us. Today while doing our normal weekly food shopping, we noticed that they were selling whole salmon fish for half price! That means only £4.4 per kg. The deal is too good to miss, we didn't hesitate and bought a whole salmon straight away. Here it is:

 

The whole fish is 2.1 kg and cost us about £9.50 - that's about 20 Australia dollars.

After quickly watching a Youtube video of how to chop salmon, Brad dissembled the fish into several pieces - 12 decent salmon steaks plus the head and some other small cuts! That will give us at least 8 meals! What a bargain! We love salmon.

 

 

The Difference a Day Makes

High street Guildford on Christmas Day then Boxing Day.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from The World of Brad and Ying

German Style Christmas Market

Evidently German Style Christmas Markets are very popular in the UK and Europe. One weekend of mid December, we visited one in Winchester , 45 minutes drive from Guildford. The market was set in the Inner Close of the magnificent 1000 years old Gothic Style Cathedral of Winchester and was made of over 90 beautiful wooden chalets selling all sorts of nice gifts and foods.

Despite of the rain and cold, people were in high spirit and the air was filled with the aroma of gluhwein and roasted chestnuts. We certainly had a great time exploring the gifts and the different European foods.

 

We are planning to explore some more Christmas markets next year, maybe the Hyde Park one, the Leeds one and the Lincoln Christmas market...

Christmas Lunch

Very untraditional, we had Oxtail Stew for Christmas lunch this year. We found a recipe on the Internet and simply followed it. Despite the length of time it took to cook, it was a quite easy recipe. And above all, it was very tasty! Here is photo of our lunch table:

It may not look that appealing, but the taste was a 1000 times better than how it looks. The sweet potatoes and parsnips were melt inside the stew and only the potatoes and the oxtail survived the 3.5 hours oven "torture".

For desert, we are going to have Belgian Chocolate Pudding. Too full to have it now, we can only show you the packaging (can't open it yet).

Happy Christmas!

P.S.: Guildford felt like a ghost town today as there were hardly anyone on the streets. The ever crowded High Steet was deserted - giving us a great opportunity to look around properly without having to concentrating dodging people.

Our Shared Basement Cat - Tommy

Tommy is a shared cat in our neibourghhood. His other names are "Jack", "Shadow" and more... He used to belong to some students living around the corner, but was left alone when those students moved out. He was called Jack by those students and also by the lady across the road who often feeds him.

"Shadow" is another affectionate name given by the people living in this neighborhood as Tommy simply loves chasing people and walks with them like a shadow as far as possible.

We didn't know Tommy's other names when we discovered him not long after we moved in. He always walks up to us as soon as he spots us, with his tail up high in the air, he says hello. He enjoys a good rub and returns with "purrrrr".

Tommy doesn't belong to anyone now; he is a shared cat in our neibourghhood. Lots of his admirers (including Brad) feeds him and he sleeps with the lady and her family across the road in cold nights.

Tommy likes to sit on our car where the engine is straight after Brad pulls in from a trip. He sits there until the engine goes cold. I'm tempted to buy a big superman coat for Tommy as his Christmas present - mainly to keep him warm in such cold days. But Brad doesn't think he'll appreciate it. Maybe we'll just feed him some chicken instead..

James Bond goes Green

James Bond's signature car the Aston Martin has gone green with a low CO2 output, 2 door city car.

The Cygnet is the size of a Smart Car For2 and is based on the Toyota iQ platform, but with some very Aston stylings.

With just 72kW output, the little 1.3l engine is not likely to help Bond outrun the bad guys, but at least he'll find a parking spot when he has to visit M.

At least it is closer the price range I can dream about :)

Article here.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from The World of Brad and Ying

Wey River, Guildford in Winter

The snow fell again on Saturday night and with very cold conditions all day Sunday created very icy roads & footpaths.

Ying & I planned on driving to hills for a walk, but after getting petrol up the road decided on going home and walking to the river.

It's a good thing that we did because the icy was really bad, we had to hold on to each other and anything else we could going down the hill to High street because of the ice. Once on High street it was pretty fine.

The river was very still, small amounts of ice & snow remained on the grass and foot paths but the grass was still a vibrant green nd pushed its way through the snow.

We walked along the river a little way and then just stood for a few minutes in the glory of the sun, warming us up and feeling lovely on the face.

On the way back we came across a Porche that had skidded on the ice into the gutter and couldn't get out, there were already three people pushing, so I jumped in to help try and push it up the hill a little so that it could turn & get back on the road. The ice was amazing and afforded absolutely no traction to car or shoe. Eventually we pushed (slid) the front end around to point down the street ( I took a slide at one point) - part of the winter fun.

Here is the river Wey at Guildford in winter - taken with my Nokia N95:

Posted via email from The World of Brad and Ying

Guildford Snow Part 2

We awoke yesterday morning to a blanket of snow on the ground and cars.

After a nice warming bowl of porridge we decided to have a quick walk before work on the Surrey Hills area near us of Newlands Corner to see what it looks like in the winter snow compared to the usual lush green that we are accustomed to.

As we drove up to Newlands Corner we marvelled at the snow on the roads, the fences, the cars and houses. Once we were there we breathed in the morning crispness and were amazed at the difference between the white wash we saw and the usual green.

It was beautifully cold and crisp with that freshness about the air that only snow can bring.

Here is the view from the hill:

Ying decided a snow ball fight was in order:

Here are some more pics - fingers crossed for a white Christmas.

The bottom few pics are from sILENT pOND.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from The World of Brad and Ying

Guildford Snow - December 09

On Wednesday we had snow for most of the day, it was lovely to watch it fall and build up on the trees and grass. After lunch we went for a walk up the street and took these photos of Guildford in snow.

It snowed quite a bit last night, so we are going to have a look at the Surrey Hills this morning to see them covered with snow. Not much chance of a white Christmas the weather man is saying - but we will enjoy it today

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from bradandying's posterous

TV Licensing - Poor Use of Resources

A funny thing in the UK (quaint old world charm maybe?) is that they still have TV Licenses.

Now I totally understand that channels such as the BBC need to be funded by the public, no qualms there, but the problem that I have is actual licensing model and the way that it is enforced.

We don't have a TV here. When we first moved in we got a letter from the TV Licensing saying the house was unlicensed and we better get a license or they will fine us £1,000. We rang to say that we don't have a TV and were told that someone would come and check. How is that for intrusive - we can expect someone to come to our house at anytime to check - I asked if they will check in our cupboards and under the bed!

So we then got another 3 letters from them - each of them very rude and condescending - I rang another time to say we don't have a TV.

Finally we got the letter shown below which annoyed me greatly. So I figured if they can be rude & condescending, then I can too, and I rang up to complain about. At least the woman I spoke to this time was pleasant enough and told me that she would stop sending out the letters.

My problem is with the TV licensing model - it seems ridiculous that a huge organisation like that should exist to extract money from the public for TV funding when you could have a public funding model to pay for it.

I see massive waste with the TV Licensing board - how much money is spent from their income on sending our rude letters, how much on staff who check if you have a TV, not to mention the detection equipment, software and the bureaucracy managing it all.

Imagine how many more millions of pounds can be funnelled into the BBC if the TV Licensing board didn't exist.

In Australia back as far as 1974 the government abolished TV Licensing because of the universality of TV (just about everyone had one) so it was seen more of a public funding issue.

If you are going to keep the licensing model, then at least be pleasant about it - the aggressive & threatening tone doesn't endear you to the buying public.

Posted via email from bradandying's posterous

Netley Abbey in Southampton

The weekend before last we took a drive down to Southampton and had a walk around the old city wall and also went up to the ruins of an old Abbey - Netley Abbey.

Netley Abbey was built in 1200's and was a lovely Abbey with a big church. Henry the VIII had it decommissioned in 1536 and gave it to a friend and politician who turned it into a mansion.

In 1704 the new owners decided that it was an unfashionable house and had it pulled apart to use as building materials. Luckily for us (not so for the poor chap) but a worker was killed during the recovery and all work was halted.

It is now a `romantic ruin' with the shell of the building and the church providing a very photogenic location. Jane Austen visited and Netley Abbey is said to be the setting of Northanger Abbey.

If you get down to Southampton - make the effort to visit Netley Abbey - we loved it - moody, quiet and just so picturesque.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from bradandying's posterous

Winter Walk in the Surrey Hills

Saturday was to be a warm (6 degrees) day with no rain, so we decided to take a walk up to St. Martha on the hill, a lovely stone church at the top of a hill in the Surrey Hills.

The Surrey Hills is officially "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" which is like some parkland reserve similar to national parks but still retain human use like some farming, housing etc.

We drive up to Newlands Corner and then walk across the lovely open fields taking in the view across the rolling hills, the patchwork colours of the English hills with their infinite shades of green, the reds & browns of the winter trees and filter sun. This section is extremely popular for dog walkers, we see dozens of people each time here with their dogs running around like mad - big open spaces & a ball or stick makes for happy dogs.

After the open fields we skirt a farm along a bridle track and spot the busy squirrels trying to find that last bit of pre winter food. Then we start to climb up St. Martha's hill which is fairly gentle, but just stunning. The tracks are winding all throughout the hill making their way through thick forests of dead ferns and wintery trees whose leaves carpet the ground providing a nice spongey walkway. The air is cold & fresh and has a delightful earthy smell to it.

When you get to the top of the hill there is a great view of the surrounding country side and the lovely old church.

The view the sandy trail as you head up to St. Martha on the hill.

St. Martha on the hill.

Ying enjoying the walk in the ferns

Norwich Cathedral

Last weekend we went up to Norwich Cathedral - it has the second highest spire in the UK and one of the longest naves. It is a truly spectacular building.

One of the great aspects of the Cathedral is the fact that it is sitting in a 44 acre walled town within Norwich city. The whole effect is like that of a giant cloister with the cathedral as the centre piece.

The cathedral has been in place since 1096 and is a masterpiece of Norman architecture.

After wandering around the walled cathedral town we stumbled upon a lovely old church call St. George Tombland. We had a lovely little tour by someone there who pointed out the history of the church. It has a magnificent wooden ceiling untouched by fire and some fantastic ornate carvings of angels. Parts of the church date from the 13 century.

Norwich itself is a lovely city with some great pedestrian shopping streets.

We stayed at the Premier Inn near the train station which was great, it had a fantastic modern restaurant that was half pub half restaurant - but with very private seating, not crowded at all.

All up, Norwich was a great visit.

Now in Guildford - England

It has been awhile since we updated here and there have been many changes since living in Manly.

From Manly we moved to Everton Hills in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. We bought a lovely house there with a backyard and trees - we were living the suburban life.

In Feb '09 we brought the digital pen business into the Acorn Software business (makers of simPRO).

Then in June '09 we moved to the UK to open up a simPRO UK office. We have been doing that since July.

We are based in the lovely town of Guildford, about 1 hour south of London.

So now that we are back on the grid, we will do some regular updates.