A bar story from AnnieGoose Every bar has its regulars. Most are a joy. Some are a project. And every so often, one moves from the first category to the second, and you realise you've been gritting your teeth for weeks. The Regular 😔 I'll call her M. She comes in most nights, and for a long time I had real sympathy for her. Her husband died a few years ago, and she … [Read more...] about Put It On My Bill 🍸
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Wizball (Retrospec) – I Didn’t Expect to Get Addicted Again… but It’s Excellent!
Wizball is so good. Nearly forty years after I first discovered it in the 1980s, I'm playing it all over again - this time the superb Retrospec Windows remake, running perfectly under Linux using Wine and the WineCharm front-end. Back in the day, I played the DOS version (click to play in your browser) on my trusty 8088 PC with a CGA graphics card. It managed just four … [Read more...] about Wizball (Retrospec) – I Didn’t Expect to Get Addicted Again… but It’s Excellent!
Hummus Pizza Toasties (Air Fryer or Grill) – Quick, Light & Easy
Delicious Hummus Pizza Toasties are Something Special There's something wonderfully unexpected about swapping tomato sauce for hummus on a pizza-style toastie 🍅➡️🫓 - and once you try it, it's hard to go back. These open-faced ciabatta toasties are light, never salty, and completely more-ish, with layers of flavour that build in the best way with every bite. The hummus and … [Read more...] about Hummus Pizza Toasties (Air Fryer or Grill) – Quick, Light & Easy
Spicy Pineapple & Mushroom Coconut Cream Quiche
🥧 A Quiche That’s Anything But Ordinary This Creamy Mushroom, Pineapple & Cheese Quiche combines rich, savoury flavours with a subtle tropical twist that makes every bite … yummy! The buttery Scottish Shortbread crust takes it to a gourmet level. 🍄🍍 Unexpected Flavours That Work At first glance, mushrooms and pineapple might seem like an unlikely pairing (except … [Read more...] about Spicy Pineapple & Mushroom Coconut Cream Quiche
Brown Butter Cheese Soufflé with Caramelised Pear, Danish Blue & Jalapeño
Pear and blue cheese soufflé is a classic pairing — elegant, a little fancy, totally expected. But throw jalapeño into the mix and suddenly things get very interesting. Sweet, funky, and just enough heat to make you raise an eyebrow and immediately go back for another bite. 🌶️ These Brown Butter Pear, Jalapeño & Blue Cheese … [Read more...] about Brown Butter Cheese Soufflé with Caramelised Pear, Danish Blue & Jalapeño
🤖 AI – When the Student Becomes Smarter Than the Teacher
There's a topic that's dominated bar conversations lately, and it isn't sport or politics. Well, it's a bit like politics. It's AI - and depending on who you're drinking with, the predictions range from "humans will be fine" to "we'll end up in zoos." 🥵 Here I am, writing a blog post questioning AI's intentions, while asking AI to help me write it. The irony is not lost on … [Read more...] about 🤖 AI – When the Student Becomes Smarter Than the Teacher
The Ingenious Engineering Hidden Inside a Wood-Fired Hot Tub
“I did not expect the most interesting engineering lesson of my holiday to come from a hot tub.” Like many visitors to 5 Mountains Lodge, I came here to escape the noise and pace of everyday life. Nestled beneath the mountains at the entrance to Bainskloof Pass, the lodge is a peaceful retreat — a place where time slows down, evenings stretch out under the stars, and the … [Read more...] about The Ingenious Engineering Hidden Inside a Wood-Fired Hot Tub
Chaos on Tap: When the Chairs Started Flying 🍻
Round One: The Wild West 🤠 The idiots were at it again last week. For a while, the bar resembled a low-budget Wild West film - minus the horses, but with plenty of shattered glass and testosterone. Two enormous men decided that civilised conversation was overrated and launched into full chaos mode. Both were spectacularly drunk and spectacularly angry. Chairs flew. … [Read more...] about Chaos on Tap: When the Chairs Started Flying 🍻
Ceasefire Without Peace: Trump, Iran & the Oil Shock Reshaping the World 🌍
The fragile ceasefire around Iran is starting to look more like a pause button than a solution - and the global consequences are escalating fast. ⚠️ Trump Rejects Iran's Deal - Tensions Stay High 🧨 Iran came to the table with what seemed like a reasonable opening move: reopen the Strait of Hormuz 🚢 and agree to delay nuclear negotiations until after the war formally … [Read more...] about Ceasefire Without Peace: Trump, Iran & the Oil Shock Reshaping the World 🌍
Hormuz Crisis Contradiction: The Strait Is Open. Please Turn Around. 🤣
Since the Islamabad peace talks collapsed last weekend, the situation around the Strait of Hormuz has been doing what this crisis does best: getting worse, then briefly seeming better, then getting worse again. Here's the dizzying sequence, because the news cycle now operates at the speed of a Trump Truth Social post - which is, terrifyingly, quite fast. Friday: Iran's … [Read more...] about Hormuz Crisis Contradiction: The Strait Is Open. Please Turn Around. 🤣
