Friday, May 13, 2011

Mepeed @ Gianyar

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Ada banyak rangkaian upacara di Bali, salah satunya upacara Mepeed, sebelumnya saya sdh pernah posting ttg upacara ini, tapi sekedar untuk mengingatkan upacara Mepeed adalah Upacara semacam parade yang diikuti oleh para perempuan Bali yang mengusung Gebogan yaitu rangkaian buah dan aneka jajanan tradisional Bali yang dihiasi dengan aneka janur setinggi kurang lebih 1 meter yang dibawa secara berjalan kaki dari Banjar menuju ke Pura Kahyangan Desa.

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Upacara Mepeed merupakan salah satu rangkaian kegiatan upacara piodalan di pura yang bertujuan sebagai ungkapan rasa terima kasih umat Hindu Bali kepada Sang Hyang Widhi dengan menhanturkan persembahan. Piodalan biasanya dilaksanakan setiap 6 bulan sekali jadi klo mau liat upacara pastikan jadwalnya karena biasanya upacara ini berbeda2 di setiap desa.

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Kali ini Desa Pranian di daerah Gianyar melaksanakan upacara Mepeed, Acara iring2an dimulai dari jam 3 sore semua masyarakat desa memenuhi jalan untuk mengikuti upacara ini. Yang menarik bukan cuma perempuan dewasa yang ikut parade tersebut tetapi anak-anak kecil desa juga ikut di dalam barisan.

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Berbekal informasi dari salah satu teman kantor saya berdua hubby sudah prepare dari siang ke tempat ini tapi dengan bodohnya ternyata baterai kamera saya habis karena lupa di charge full semalam (ini salah satu kebodohan yang hrs dihindari utk para travelling) jadi terpaksa untuk photo2 saya serahkan keseluruhan upacara yang menarik ini untuk di potret oleh sang hubby dan bisa dipastikan hasilnya memang lebih bagus dari hasil jepretan saya pastinya ^_^.....

Cheese & Spinach-Stuffed Portobellos Recipe

INGREDIENTS
  • 4 large portobello mushroom caps
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce




Preparation
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray rimmed.
  • Mushroom caps, gill side up place on prepared pan. Salt and 1 / 8 teaspoon Sprinkle with pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1 / 4 cup Parmesan, olives, Italian seasoning and remaining 1 / 8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. A small bowl, cover and warm, 30 seconds in the microwave on high 1 1 / 2 minutes Place marinara sauce.
  • When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the cap. Return pan cap gill-side up. Spread 1 tablespoon of each cap marinara, the remaining sauce to cover to keep warm. Mound a generous 1 / 3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and the remaining 1 / 4 cup sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake warm, about 10 minutes. Serve with remaining marinara sauce.
  • Nutrition
  • Per serving: 201 calories, 10 grams fat (5 g sat, four g mono), 28 mg cholesterol, 13 grams carbohydrates, 14 grams protein, 2 grams fiber, 680 mg sodium, 677 mg potassium.
  • Nutrition bonus: (31% daily value), calcium, vitamins (25% DV) A, potassium (19% DV).
  • Carbohydrate Servings: 1
  • 2 vegetable, 1 medium fat meat, 1 fat: Exchanges

Cheese & Spinach-Stuffed Portobellos Recipe

INGREDIENTS
  • 4 large portobello mushroom caps
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce




Preparation
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray rimmed.
  • Mushroom caps, gill side up place on prepared pan. Salt and 1 / 8 teaspoon Sprinkle with pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1 / 4 cup Parmesan, olives, Italian seasoning and remaining 1 / 8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. A small bowl, cover and warm, 30 seconds in the microwave on high 1 1 / 2 minutes Place marinara sauce.
  • When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the cap. Return pan cap gill-side up. Spread 1 tablespoon of each cap marinara, the remaining sauce to cover to keep warm. Mound a generous 1 / 3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and the remaining 1 / 4 cup sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake warm, about 10 minutes. Serve with remaining marinara sauce.
  • Nutrition
  • Per serving: 201 calories, 10 grams fat (5 g sat, four g mono), 28 mg cholesterol, 13 grams carbohydrates, 14 grams protein, 2 grams fiber, 680 mg sodium, 677 mg potassium.
  • Nutrition bonus: (31% daily value), calcium, vitamins (25% DV) A, potassium (19% DV).
  • Carbohydrate Servings: 1
  • 2 vegetable, 1 medium fat meat, 1 fat: Exchanges

Fanciful Freeze Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 4 ripe bananas, peeled
  • 1/2 c. Raspberry Fanciful

Procedure:
  • Bananas wrapped in plastic wrap and freeze at night. Remove Fro
  • Freezer, 4 or 5 pieces break and have standing room temperat
  • Bit processor for about 10 minutes to soften. Mix th
  • Banana in a blender or processor until creamy. Add Raspbe
  • (or other flavor) is imaginary and briefly mix. This can be served
  • Immediately, or stored in the freezer. Serves 4.

Fanciful Freeze Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 4 ripe bananas, peeled
  • 1/2 c. Raspberry Fanciful

Procedure:
  • Bananas wrapped in plastic wrap and freeze at night. Remove Fro
  • Freezer, 4 or 5 pieces break and have standing room temperat
  • Bit processor for about 10 minutes to soften. Mix th
  • Banana in a blender or processor until creamy. Add Raspbe
  • (or other flavor) is imaginary and briefly mix. This can be served
  • Immediately, or stored in the freezer. Serves 4.

Grilled Double-Cut Pork Chops with Rhubarb Mostarda


Note:  I've been nominated for Babble's 100 Top Food Blogs!  I have 30 more votes to get into the top 50.  If you like what I've done here, would you follow the side link to Babble and vote for me?  I am on page #2 "Snippets of Thyme"


{Thank you to FoodBuzz for choosing this article for today's Top9 FoodBuzz!!}



I remember as if it were yesterday the day my husband bought his first brand new car.  Little did I realize at the time, what a monumental day that was for him.  You see, now that we have been married 20 years, I understand more about this guy than I did all those years ago.  I understand how truly and incredibly hard he works for the very few items he desires.




We were so young when we married.  We were engaged our senior year of college and planned to marry the summer after our college graduations.  My graduation was the day before his ceremony.  The plan was for me to fly out of NYC to St. Louis and attend his graduation the next day.  We were young, in love, and the world was our oyster.


He said he had a surprise.


When he met me at the airport, the look on his face was pure rapture.  No, this time it wasn't because he laid his eyes on me.  He had worked hard on a full scholarship for an engineering degree.  He had a diploma in hand.  And, he had a wonderful job offer waiting for him.   I had an inkling what this surprise would be but I played along.




I had graduated from college the day before, tearfully said farewell to my beloved NYC,  a wedding to plan, a new job position to begin, and a new move way up to Michigan to anticipate. 


As we held hands and walked into the parking garage for the first time as a real couple about to be married, he stopped and looked at me with the happiest grin I have ever seen on his face.  A brand new red car was sitting proudly in its parking space.  I'll never forget that day.  


Over the 20 years that I have been married to this man, he has owned 3 cars.  Each one of them has been taken care of with utmost tenderness and respect.  I can honestly say, I have never known someone to work as hard as my husband.  He takes care of his car as he takes care of his family, with pure devotion.  Without fail, he is up early, off to work, day after day with seldom a complaint about his job.




Other than his love for beautiful cars, there are hardly any other material items that he desires.  He did want an ice cream maker last year but I think he was just trying to come up with an idea for us.  


One thing I can think of that makes him happy is a nice barbecue.  Well, it's indeed that barbecue time of year.  I was  so pleased with that flap steak soft taco dish the other day, I decided it was again time to open up my new cookbook The Cook and the Butcher by Brigit Binns.




I also really fell in love with rhubarb this year after making Martha Stewart Living's Poached Rhubarb with Elderflower Sabayon this spring.  One of the pork chop recipes in my new cookbook uses rhubarb as a savory side to these smoky chops.  It is called a rhubarb mostarda.


Again, a hit from this cookbook!  And, I'll let you know when I cook something that isn't a hit.  (I have a recipe I will post next week that was NOT a hit, hint, hint).  However, this pork chop dish is amazing.  Another recipe with rhubarb to celebrate this wonderful stalky pink celery looking plant.




Not only are the pork chops a wonderful barbecue treat but paired with this incredibly deep red and fragrant side relish was a dish that I will no doubt make again and again.  It was a 4 thumbs up for all of us.


Recently, I looked at my husband and I told him...it is time.  It is time to make one of his wishes come true.  My husband is a person with few materialistic possessions or desires for possessions.  I probably make 99.9% of the purchasing decisions for our family and he is very content with that.


I told him.  It is time.  Go and live a dream.


And you know what?  He did.


And I am so happy.


It isn't flashy red like his first car years ago.  It is a more mature smoky grey.  I am so happy.


Because he is the best man in this world.  






So here's a great barbecue Sunday dinner.  And a little something else...


 Grilled Double-Cut Pork Chop with Rhubarb Mostarda:


Rhubarb Mostarda


2/3 cup (5oz/155g) sugar
1/3 cup (3 fl.oz/80ml) red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger (Snippets Note:  buy the fresh stuff, not the powdered, it just makes such a big difference)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 lb (750g) rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch (12-mm) chunks
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dry mustard
Freshly ground pepper


For the Pork Chops:


3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 double-cut pork chops, each about 1 lb (500g) and 1 1/2 inches (4cm) thick


To make the mostarda, in a large, heavy pot, combine the sugar, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and cumin.  Place over low heat and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar.  Add the rhubarb and onion, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring frequently to break up the rhubarb, until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the mustard, season with pepper and stir until smooth.  Let cook completely.  If desired, refrigerate overnight.  Return to room temperature before serving.


In a shallow nonreactive dish that will hold the chops in one layer, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, and garlic.  Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt and season with pepper.  Place the chops in the dish and brush both sides thoroughly with the lemon mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours turning the chops occasionally.


Remove the chops from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.  Lift the chops from the marinade and pat dry.  Reserve the marinade if using a charcoal grill.


Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct-heat grilling over medium-high heat or preheat a cast-iron stove-top grill pan over medium-high heat.  Place chops on the grill rack over the hottest part of the fire or in the grill pan and cook without moving them for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes.  Move the chops after 1 minute if the fire flares up.  Turn and cook until the chops are golden brown and crusty, 2 1/2 - 3 minutes more.  If using a charcoal grill, brush the chops occasionally with the reserved marinade.  Move the chops to a cooler part of the grill or reduce the heat, and continue to cook until the chops are firm to the touch but still have a little give, 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to a platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 3-4 minutes.  Serve at once with the mostarda!

Desa Budaya Kertalangu

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Oase hijau buat para warga Denpasar.... Desa Budaya Kertalangu, banyaknya alih fungsi lahan di daerah perkotaan membuat pemerintah kota denpasar membuat pusat pelestarian budaya, di areal seluas 80 hektar di daerah Tohpati By pass sanur tempat ini bisa jadi alternatif kunjungan untuk wisata baik warga lokal maupun wisatawan.

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Tanpa biaya tiket masuk a.k.a gratis pengunjung hanya dikenakan biaya parkir kendaraan, masuk ke area ini dimulai dengan bangunan pusat pembelian oleh-oleh khas Bali dan tempat penjualan keramik-keramik disambung dengan bangunan wantilan yang biasanya digunakan untuk pagelaran kesenian dan bangunan-bangunan kecil lainnya di kanan kiri jalan sbg display pusat industri kerajinan dan pertanian.

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Setelah melalui jalan masuk yang terawat dan sejuk ada sebuah pintu gebyok besar sebagai pintu masuk ke area kolam pancing yang cukup besar dan area jogging track seluas 4,5 km di kelilingi dengan persawahan hijau dan beberapa gazebo untuk beristirahat.

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Selain fasilitas tersebut yang bisa dinikmati pengunjung antara lain, proses pembuatan keramik, arena menunggang kuda, pasar jajanan tradisional, SPA & Beauty Salon, sampai area outbound dan untuk pengunjung yang lapar disini juga tersedia Restaurant dengan konsep terbuka dengan menu aneka masakan lokal seafood dan aneka food finger lainnya.

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Jadi untuk yang mau athmosfer beda selain pantai, bisa coba berkunjung kesini sebagai alternatif akhir pekan.

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Desa Budaya Kertalangu
Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai Tohpati
Denpasar - Bali

Walking the dog

Walking the dog  by good mood factory
Walking the dog , a photo by good mood factory on Flickr.

Friday with an illustration.


A ilustração da semana.

Keep off


Click for bigger.

The owl and the pussycat play together


YouTube link.

Drunk Russian driver makes phone calls with pack of cigarettes

A drunk driver was filmed by traffic police in Moscow trying to make phone calls from a packet of cigarettes.



The unidentified driver - pulled over for driving erratically - first tries to speak into his hand to make a call. But when he realises that is not working, he pulls out a cigarette packet.


YouTube link.

He apparently believes he is having detailed phone conversations, first with his father and then a friend.

Hit and run driver arrested

Bartlesville Police say 20-year-old Andrew Davis was in clown make-up when they arrested him early on Wednesday morning. Now they're trying to piece together the rest of the story.



Why was he wearing make up, and why did he hit a pedestrian and drag him 100 feet? That victim is now recovering after being treated at Jane Phillips Medical Center.

Full story with news video here.

Dog adopts orphaned raccoon

A dog in eastern Missouri adopted an orphaned baby raccoon as her own after losing a puppy in labour. "We saved her life, and she saved the raccoon's life," said Sharon Maag of the St. Peters rescue group, SNUGGLE, Special Needs Under Gentle Guided Love Everyday. "I think what goes around comes around. It's the circle of life. I think that's the way it goes. She's just returning the favour."



Sasha the dog was likely headed for euthanization after being surrendered to a shelter with what appeared to be a large lump. The group SNUGGLE rescued her. "We weren't sure if it was a tumour or if she was pregnant so we brought her here," Maag said. "They did an ultrasound. She had two puppies inside of her. One was born dead." Around the same time, the baby raccoon showed up. It was found alone at a home in Saint Charles under the carport.

"We started off bottle feeding it and just couldn't keep up with its needs," veterinarian Dr. Kelly Hogan said. They thought to try Sasha, and a remarkable thing happened. Mother and pup took to the raccoon as if it was the puppy they had lost - cleaning it, grooming it and nursing it. "Even when he started making little raccoon kind of noises, she didn't have a problem with it," Hogan said. "And she loves him. She's protective of him now."



Sasha even jumps for her baby if workers have to take the raccoon away for any reason. "It's absolutely heartwarming to see that, to see them side-by-side like that and her attachment to him, it's amazing," Hogan said. Sasha will soon have to part with the baby raccoon. It's expected to be weaned in a few weeks, going to a wildlife rescue before being released back into the wild.

Thieves hid stolen sausages and cigarettes in grave

Thieves who fled with a haul of stolen sausages, beer and cigarettes are facing 10 years in jail - after stashing the loot inside a grave.

Krystof Dzielekci, 35, and his 59-year-old father Leon lifted the marble lid on his grandfather's tomb to find what he thought was the ultimate dead drop hiding place.



The pair were caught the next day when security staff at the cemetery in Zyznowa, Poland, reviewed the night's CCTV tapes and saw them digging up the grave.

"It was a good hiding place, but you'd have to be pretty hungry to want to eat any sausage once it's been down there with your grandfather's body," a police spokesman said.

Topless woman who walked into bar left baby in car

Johnson County prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Gardner woman with endangering a child, when she allegedly left a baby girl in her vehicle while trying to enter a bar topless.



The incident happened on Monday evening, when the temperature was near 90 degrees. Kristin Macias of Gardner, also known as Kristin Lowrey, 28, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge of endangerment related to her 9-month-old daughter.

She also has an unrelated pending charge for heroin possession. The manager of Austins Bar and Grill said that the baby was found in the woman’s vehicle after people at the bar turned her away when she tried to enter topless.



With hot weather coming in, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said, his office will prosecute parents who leave children locked in cars. Cases that injure or kill the child can be filed as felonies, he said.

Australian police hunt for meat pie bandit

The hunt is on for a dangerous thief with a hunger for meat pies. A worker at Edmonton Portsmith Fuel in Cairns had a harrowing experience at about 3am on Thursday when the man marched into the store armed with a machete.

But it wasn’t money he was after. Waving the large weapon, the man looked vicious and his order was simple – four pies and a packet of 20 cigarettes.



He demanded the items be placed into a plastic bag and then fled on foot. Police said the robber did not demand or attempt to take any cash.

Police have appealed to the public for help to catch the thief. He is described as being of Aboriginal appearance, about 178cm tall and of proportionate build.

Bull makes dramatic exit from Brazilian clothes shop

A bull trapped in a clothes boutique in Brazil has smashed through the shop's plate-glass windows.



Shoppers in the town of Sao Jose do Rio Preto in Brazil were amazed to see the animal - on the loose after the truck it was travelling in overturned nearby - gazing out from behind the glass.


YouTube link.

After attempts were made to remove the bull with ropes, the animal crashed through the glass shop front. It was eventually caught and taken to a local cattle farm.

Raccoon meat, drugs and liquor seized at car wash

Four people were arrested at a North Houston car wash where, in addition to washes and waxes, illegal drugs and raccoon meat were sold, Houston police said. Undercover officers said they went inside the full-service car wash located in the 4300 block of Yale and were able to purchase marijuana, prescription drugs and liquor.

HPD's deferential response team raided the business after receiving complaints from neighbours. Police said they found two weapons and more than 1,000 prescription pills. Police checked the serial numbers of the two guns, and a 12-gauge came back reported stolen.



In addition to that, investigators said illegal gambling was taking place. There were two dominoes tables set up. Undercover officers who went into the business earlier in the day said there was high-stakes gambling going on inside a shed in the back.

The owner Michael Maxwell said it’s all lies. “I don't know why they are here. They don't have a warrant. They come storming into my place,” Maxwell said. “I got all my permits that go with this place. I am licensed with the city. I pay my taxes. This is my property and it is private.”

With news video.

Camel eats reporter's hair

Tara Morgan of WWBT-TV in Virginia was reporting a story from a farm, when a camel decided to eat her hair.


YouTube link.

The camel had a good grip for a moment, until Morgan's photographer came over to help. The camel eventually backed away and she finished the story outside.

German man who shot neighbour's noisy frogs fined

A man who was so irritated by the croaking of his neighbour’s frogs that he shot two of them was fined €1,500 by a German court on Thursday, for illegal possession of firearms. The man, named only as Frank H., was fined by the judge in Krefeld after denying killing one frog and seriously injuring another, but admitting owning two guns for which he had no licence. Judge Christian Tenhofen heard that Frank H. and his neighbour Andreas van Straelen had known each other for more than 40 years, during which arguments over the noise the nocturnal green frogs make in the springtime had escalated.

Frank H. had complained to his neighbour about the noise several times and threatened to "blow them away," the court heard. Van Straelen had installed a video camera on his house, trained on his neighbour’s window - just in case something happened, he said. Then it did. “I was looking at the monitor. The window opened and the gun was pointing out, and it went off,” he said. “As I went to photograph him, the camera beeped and he ducked down.”



It was too late for Knötti, his favourite green frog, who, with tragic irony, had never made any noise due to a possible genetic defect. That night he died of massive head injuries. A second frog was seriously hurt, one of his back legs blown off. Van Straelen called the police, but Frank H. told them he had been sleeping. He had apparently not reckoned on the police checking his house for weapons. They did so, and found two guns for which he had no licence.

Van Straelen said he had kept Knötti’s body in the deep freeze for several months, in case it was going to be needed as evidence in court. “Anyone could recognise the bullet entry wound,” he said. The injured frog was saved, and has been renamed Ahab after the one-legged captain in the novel Moby Dick. Van Straelen said he was “a bit disappointed” that the killing of Knötti was not discussed in court. But he was “happy the case had been made public,” he said.

Italian bus driver suspended for using mobile phones and steering with elbows

The governor of the region around Rome has asked for action over a bus driver filmed using two phones at the wheel and steering with his elbows. Using even one mobile phone while driving is illegal in Italy.

Lazio governor Renata Polverini condemned the driver's actions as "unacceptable and reckless".


YouTube link.

"People who are responsible for the safety of others must not behave like that," she said, amid calls to have him sacked.

She said she had immediately asked for the regional bus company Cotral to take action.

Traffic warden caught on CCTV riding moped wrong way up one-way street in bid to ticket motorists

An on-duty traffic warden was caught on camera driving the wrong way down a one-way street before pouncing on unsuspecting motorists. The Newham Council civil enforcement officer tore up the Highway Code in Fourth Avenue, Manor Park. But unfortunately for him, he chose to flout the rules outside a shop specialising in CCTV equipment.

Footage from the cameras outside AD Electrical Services shows him travelling into oncoming traffic on his motorbike. Shop owner David Streadwick, 49, who witnessed the scene, said he had been shocked by what he saw.



“The way he came down the road made me think this wasn’t about road safety, it was just about raising revenue. This is making a mockery out of the system and victimising motorists. I think an example needs to be made. If someone is employed to enforce the law then they need to abide by it,” he said.

A Newham Council spokesman said: “We take such allegations seriously and an investigation is already underway. We do not condone behaviour of this type from our staff or from contractors acting on our behalf. It does not reflect the work of the majority of parking attendants who keep traffic in Newham moving.”

With CCTV video.

Taxi driver ordered to remove 'phallic' cross from dashboard

A taxi boss has hit out after York council officials told one of her drivers – a devout Roman Catholic – to remove a cross from his vehicle’s dashboard. City of York Council told Clair Cook, owner of AnD Taxis, that following a complaint by a 15-year-old schoolboy passenger that the cross was a “fake penis,” officers had taken the view it was “very phallic” and should be removed. But she branded the complaint “ridiculous,” and said she was appalled that anyone could think it was anything other than a religious ornament.

Clair also said she believed that if the driver had been carrying a symbol of any other religious faith, the council would have reacted with more caution and investigated fully before any decision was made to ask for it to be removed. The driver, who does not want to be identified, said he was a Roman Catholic and had bought the cross on holiday in Greece about six years ago. He said he had put it on his dashboard a couple of weeks ago because he was proud of it and of his faith.



Asked what his reaction was when he heard the complaint that it was phallic, he said: “Incredulity. I couldn’t believe that anyone could think it wasn’t a cross. I have taken it off the dashboard as requested, because I do not want to lose my licence, but I do not think this has been handled properly.” Clair said the complaint had been from a boy who was being taken to school in the taxi, who had also complained about the driver’s driving ability.

Colin Rumford, head of Environmental Health and Trading Standards at City of York Council, said: “City of York Council takes any complaints raised by members of the public very seriously. In this case a complaint was received from a child regarding, what they thought, was an inappropriate item in a taxi. Careful consideration is always taken when any complaints. In this instance it appears that the taxi operator was wrongly advised to remove the item and our intervention should have been confined to making them aware of the complaint.”

Woman died after being pinned face down in tiny pond by garden gargoyle

A popular teacher and Guide leader drowned in her shallow pond after being pinned underwater by a garden ornament. In a freak accident, Ann Newton, 58, tripped and was dragged face-down by a carved tree trunk which hooked on to her blouse as she went outside to feed the birds.



An inquest heard how the pond at her home in Thirkeld Place, Penshaw, was just four feet by four feet and only one-and-a-half feet deep. Her devastated partner, Norman Lunn, said: “It’s such a bizarre death. It has broken my heart.”

Miss Newton, a former teacher at Pelton Roseberry School, was pronounced dead after being found face-down in the back garden pond. Grief-stricken Mr Lunn told how he struggled in vain to save her against the weight of the sculpture.



He bought the artefact – which has spooky eyes carved into it – as a souvenir in Scotland and now plans to put it back in place in his garden. “Nobody liked it. People kept telling me to get rid of it. If I had done she might have got out of the water,” he said. Sunderland Coroner Derek Winter recorded a verdict of accidental death, citing the cause as drowning.

Burglars caught due to wet underpants

A couple of burglars who took a dip in a family's garden hot tub before breaking into their home were caught by discarded underwear. Ashley and Cherie Deakin were asleep at their home in Orchard Drive, Oswaldtwistle, when Thomas Pendlebury, 19, and Glynn Threlfall, 18, had a cheeky soak and then stole £3,500 of possessions.

The incident happened around 1.30am on December 13 and police discovered a trail of wet footprints leading away from the outdoor spa. Det Sgt Geoff Warbuton of Accrington’s burglary team said there was no forensic evidence, but inquiries around a pair of discarded boxer shorts led them to Pendlebury.



He said: “That was the catalyst to the investigation. They had dipped into a neighbour’s hot tub one night and then gone in next door’s the next night. His boxers were wet so he left them at the scene of a crime. It started off as a wheeze, but burglary is an intrusive crime which left this family distraught. None of the stolen property has been returned. We are delighted with the sentence.”

Threlfall was jailed for two-and-a-half years and Pendlebury was given a 12-month suspended sentence. Mrs Deakin, 40, who works for Citizen’s Advice Bureau in Blackburn, said: "We were shocked at how cheeky it was. It is so unusual having people trying to sneak on to your property to use the hot tub. It is bizarre."

Mother's fury over ‘needle’ in lump of lard

A mother from Sheffield says she is ‘disgusted’ after finding a piece of metal – which she thinks could be a sewing needle – in a pack of lard. Katie Greaves, 26, of Longley, who bought the lard from a local Tesco Metro store said she noticed something unusual when she was unable to cut through it while making breakfast for her six-year-old son.

“I think it’s a safety issue,” she said. “Whatever it is, it should not be in a block of lard.” Katie said she sliced into the 27p pack of Tesco Value lard while making sausage and bacon sandwiches at breakfast time for her son, Kian.



“I tried to cut a bit off and thought, this is unusual, I can’t cut through it. I cut round where I couldn’t get through and saw there was a bit of metal sticking out. I don’t know how it could have got in there, whether it’s a bit of machinery or what.”

Katie said she rang Tesco’s customer services line and was told she could take the lard back to the shop for a refund. “I’m not bothered about getting the 27p back,” she said. “It’s put me off shopping at Tesco full stop.”

AWRF 2011 - House full sign up for A.A.Gill



Brilliant, charming and vicious food and travel writer A.A. Gill is famously dyslexic. Photo / Gil Hanly

I didn't envy at all popular NZ chef and tv personality Al Brown his task of interviewing the famously acerbic but very funny restaurant critic and food and travel writer A.A.Gill. But after a day out fishing together they had an obvious warm bond and the largely hilarious exchange that flowed was enormously entertaining.
Gill is so very very funny and he had the audience in stitches  as he sent up the Scots, Israelis, chefs, newspapers, travel writers, Al Brown's weight, reality television, the Isle of Man, Gordon Ramsay, the French and much else.
But he also showed occasional flashes of seriousness and became quite emotional when talking about his Dad who died last year, an Alzheimer's sufferer.

It was a great way to finish the day's Festival programme. A.A. Gill was a great performer but Al Brown, right, (who happily played the fall guy), also made a significant contribution to the entertainment..

In this morning's New Zealand Herald the Michele Hewitson weekly interview (always a highlight in the Weekend Herald) features A.A Gill and here is how she begins:

That brilliant, charming and allegedly vicious travel, food and television writer A.A. Gill has been staying at the Langham this week.

He cuts quite a figure. He was wearing a bespoke tweed jacket, a wristful of those ethnic chic bracelets smelly backpacking youth pick up on their travels, and fingering a set of Islamic prayer beads, made from seeds, as he strolled the hallway.

He looks like Bertie Wooster's homosexual brother, a description nobody should attempt to better. You can guess who came up with it.

He blew in to New Zealand on the night of a storm. He said he felt as though he was in an episode of Dr Who. "It was like being blown back to Hull - 30 years ago."

He is a clever bugger, but I already knew that. He is also languidly charming, and, really, the most generous person to interview. He said, "Actually, can I tell you, about the interview? Make up whatever you need." I will, I said. "No, I mean it. I don't mind."

He makes up stuff about himself all the time, in interviews, then other people make up stuff about him and then people like me ask him, in interviews, about all of the mad, made-up stuff.

The rest of the interview ( it is well worth a read) at the NZHerald.

AWRF 2011 - THE POETS LAUREATE

There have been seven NZ poets laureate, five of them were on stage last evening reading their poetry and entertaining us in fine style.

They read to us in the order of their laureateship with Bill Manhire leading off followed by readings from Hone Tuwhare, left, (died 2008), read by Robert Sullivan, Elizabeth Smither, readings from Brian Turner (overseas) read by Bill Manhire, Jenny Bornholdt, Michele Leggott, and finally Cilla McQueen the current laureate.

The laureateship, for two years and carrying a handsome stipend, was established in 1997 by Te Mata Estate Winery to mark their centennial. Administration has since been taken over by the New Zealand National Library with state funding.

A poetic and happy event chaired by Canterbury author Fiona Farrell. I was especially moved by one of Michele Leggot's poems which she wrote for her niece's wedding, it brought a tear to my eye. Pic right Michele Leggott - Gil Hanly photo.