Tag: turkey

bookmark_borderShhhh, can you hear Santa?

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It’s Christmas Eve which means it’s time for our traditional watching of the Muppets Christmas Carol, a few glasses of wine and possibly even a mincemeat pie*.

I hope, whether you celebrate it or not, that you are having a peaceful time with you and yours, and I hope that Santa is good to you (not YOU obviously, you’ve been bad).

It will be a little quieter than normal here, with posting based largely on my ability to recover from the several hangovers I have planned… well, I’m not planning the hangovers, more the drinks the precede the hangover. And yes, I could drink a little less. In fact I could drink a lot less but this is when I get my binge drinking done so shush.

Right, I hear the sound of cork popping so I’m off.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow, and remember that it’s all about the people you love, not the presents you get or the turkey you burn.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

bookmark_borderHo Ho Ho

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I hope, whether you celebrate it or not, that you are having a peaceful time with you and yours, and I hope that Santa is good to you (not YOU obviously, you’ve been bad).

Have a wonderful day tomorrow, and remember that it’s all about the people you love, not the presents you get or the turkey you burn.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

bookmark_borderThe weekend! It's the weekend!!

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I’m sitting on the sofa with some weird MTV programme blaring at me, but my niece seems to be enjoy it, despite my protestations…

Yesterday was the first Xmas ‘event’ of the year, namely the Development Team’s away day. 50 of us, crammed into a nearby gastro-pub, crackers, crap toys, and turkey. All washed down by … Guinness. Still the food wasn’t all that bad, and it was good to unwind, the last two weeks have been manic as we headed towards a release deadline.

And so my attention turns to Christmas. We are heading through to my parents today to help put their tree up. Something I’ve not done for many years, and at some point I’ll need to start thinking about buying some presents.

It also means I now have time to get on with those other things I had hoped to get finished by Xmas. A website or two, another 100 CDs to rip and get into the loft, not to mention considering what I’m going to buy in the New Year sales.

Toying with a super-compact camera, for when my current camera is a little too big, Sky HD, or… umm.. a PlayStation3. The latter is expensive and scarce and I might hold off for another 6 months or so… which then brings the Wii into play, presuming I can get hold of one.

Decisions, decisions.

But first. Coffee. And some more painkillers…

bookmark_borderThe F Word

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Seems that Mr. Ramsay is in the papers again – no such thing as bad press, right? – for showing the deaths of six turkeys. For once I happened to have watched the show, and can admit that it was a bit of a shock (geddit!!).

For those who aren’t aware, Gordon Ramsay and his family have been looking after some turkeys for the past few months. The primary aim was to slaughter them and eat one for Christmas dinner, one of those “life lesson” things I guess. Fairy muff you might say, that’s his business etc etc.

Of course it’s slightly different as, when it came time to slaughter the birds, you saw it all. The method of slaughter is to insert an electric probe into the mouth of the bird, flip a switch and pass 600 volts through the animal until it dies. Apparently this is the most humane way (according to the farmer who was providing the service, but then he would say that…) and was described in detail – “Flip the switch, watch for it’s eyes to roll back… there we go” he intoned as the bird, shocked into rigidity, spends the last few seconds of it’s life straining every muscle and sinew… perhaps painfully, perhaps not, we’ll never know.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that for me to enjoy eating meat (and I do) something has to die. And whilst I did find the images being broadcast a little… unpalatable?… it certainly won’t stop me eating turkey again. Was it too graphic to be shown at tea-time on a Saturday night? Well I’d argue that the audience for The F Word isn’t young children, or at least shouldn’t be, and if the adults that were watching it found it offensive maybe, after the first of the five birds had been slaughtered (executed?) they should’ve taken the hint and turned over?

On the flip side of this is the fact that it took just seven people to complain about this to trigger Ofcom into action. What kind of culture are we creating here? A handful of people complain and the PC-sensitive ‘authorities’ leap into action and start banning things, left, right and centre. It’s getting ridiculous.

As for Gordon Ramsay but I hope he comes out with a statement on this, and I sincerely hopes it consists of little more than the abbreviated F word used in the title of his show. This madness has to end sometime.

bookmark_borderParty on

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And so, that timely reminder that the end of the year is fast approaching, rolls around. Yes, tonight is our company night out. A night of festive merriment with co-workers. A night of turkey and tinsel, dinner and dancing, food and flirting. Ohh and copious amounts of alcohol.

Well that’s what usually happens. This year, I fear, may be a tad different. Now, I say this every year but this year things are definitely different. For a start none of the high heidjuns are coming (directors), and instead of the usual 50 or so, we are down to 30. Factor in the cost of drinks in the Glasgow Hilton and I’m not entirely sure how this evening will be.

I’m sure we’ll all have a laugh, but I just don’t think it will be as good as the past two years have been. The obvious factor is the change of venue, the Hilton is notoriously overpriced, and the hotel of choice for the last two years, the Radisson, surpassed everyone’s expectations the first year we went then did it again the second year. Of course there are other considerations, the working atmosphere in the office is completely different these days, and then there is the whole “Christmas is on Saturday” thing.

You know what I mean, right?

No? Well, I’m convinced that having Christmas on a weekend is a bad thing. It just doesn’t seem right to have a full working week and then BAM it’s Christmas day. Or is it just me?

And whilst I’m on the topic, I’ve been wondering. Since when did Christmas become this horrible, stressful, draining event. It used to be fun. I distinctly remember having fun at Christmas in the past but in the last four or five years it’s all gone sour. Why so?

Yeah you can blame the added consumerism but I’m pretty sure we are all able to resist that, and yes it can be tedious when the shops start putting up decorations in November but… come on people. We are made of sterner stuff than this surely. I say this year we take back Christmas. ENJOY your day, relax and it might even be fun.

Of course I could say the same about the party tonight…