Inferno by Dan Brown

Inferno by Dan Brown

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Inferno  is the latest of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon books.  Ever since The Da Vinci Code, and especially since the Hollywood film of the same name, Dan brown’s books have been very successful even though he is not a very prolific writer and does not release books very quickly.  It is in fact 4 years [...]

Doctor, Doctor – Not so funny

Doctor, Doctor – Not so funny

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Supposedly our NHS service is the envy of the whole world.  It is free at point of source and you can get treated for anything.  Well to be honest this seems to be the biggest and best “Doctor,Doctor” joke there is.  The NHS was a wonderful idea, don’t get me wrong.  When it was originally [...]

Asus S200E Netbook – My new toy

Asus S200E Netbook – My new toy

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As I will be travelling a lot in the next  few months for work, I have had a conundrum to solve.  My Samsung Galaxy 8.9 is a really good tablet and very light, perfect for carrying on the metro and travelling around.  However the office support on android is sorely lacking especially if , like [...]

Changes Afoot

Changes Afoot

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You may notice some changes, hopefully subtle ones to my website.  Please let me know what you think of them and whether I should keep or change them.  I would be really grateful for any suggestions or opinions left in the comment section below.  The more I get, the better I can make the site. [...]

Grape Expectations – Caro Feely

Grape Expectations – Caro Feely

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I came across this book while doing one of my trawls through the Amazon Kindle catalogue to see if any of my favourite authors had released any new books.  While doing this I decided to download a series of trials – a wonderful concept from Amazon whereby you can download the first 30 pages of [...]

Alternative Egg

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Chocolate Eggs with Cheesecake Filling You will need: 6-8 hollowed chocolate easter egg shells 150g cream cheese, softened 30g icing sugar, sifted 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 125ml thickened/heavy whipping cream For the ‘yolk’: 1 passion fruit, 1 tbsp apricot jam 1 tbsp unsalted butter Using a small serrated knife, carefully [...]

Still Winter Here

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So having left Moscow for warmer climes at the end of January, I have just spent a week here on a business trip. I am working for Global Hospitality Services, a hotel management company. We are trying to expand our portfolio to Russia, so I was dispatched to Moscow. My first business day in Russia [...]

Spiced fillet of lamb in filo pastry

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This looks truly delectable, I cannot wait to try this out, might give it a go this weekend.  I love to eat lamb but since coming back to the UK I haven’t really had a chance to cook with lamb.  It is a shame but one of the problems with the UK is  that we are [...]

London Transport Maps

London Transport Maps

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To help all those trying to get round London here are some helpful maps both for the Underground and the Bus network.  Basically all the systems that come under London Transport.   I would highly recommend using a journey planner if you don’t know where you are going but need to get to a specific [...]

Touchdown – The only way to exchange mail

Touchdown – The only way to exchange mail

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Touchdown for various different systems is an exchange email client for all types of phones and Windows 8.  There are many different types of exchange clients for phones and tablets on the market and I have tested all of the leading ones.  Many have much more attractive UIs than Touchdown and feel much more modern and [...]

IM+ An all-in instant messenger

IM+ An all-in instant messenger

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For those of you who don’t already know and haven’t really found your way through my site, I use android systems when it comes to phones and tablets.  This is purely because I have found that the system allows me to do more and be in more control.  Ever since I had an Android phone, [...]

Dumbing down of Britain

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Since time immemorial (well around 1215) one of the rights most ingrained in British culture is the right to be tried by 12 men (and women) equal to you.  Even the Lords in the House of Lords can only be tried by their friends as us common folk are not their equals.  Now I have always believed [...]

Technology – life is easier?

Technology – life is easier?

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Given the rise in technology, the amount we depend on it in our every day lives, I was under the impression that it was there to make our lives easier.  That was until I came across Microsoft Exchange.  It is the most temperamental thing I have ever had to deal with (well with the exception of the [...]

Developing to Developed – really?

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Officially the UK is a developed country and Russia is a developing one, although over the last few days I am starting to question the UK’s status.  This feeling began on Saturday.  I had had a nice day relaxing and not doing much when I decided that what was called for was a nice warming [...]

Beef chilli with bitter chocolate

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Another fantastic recipe from the Hairy Bikers. This old-fashioned chilli recipe uses chocolate to take it to another dimension. Enjoy on wintry evenings. Less than 30 minspreparation time Over 2 hourscooking time Serves 2 Ingredients 4 tbsp vegetable oil 500g/1lb 2oz good-quality beef steak, finely diced 500g/1lb 2oz good-quality beef mince 1 white onion, peeled, finely chopped 1 red [...]

Smoked salmon and dill tian

Smoked salmon and dill tian

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Smoked salmon and dill tian with warm potato galette and fennel and apple salad This is a wonderful main course just right for Valentine’s day. This elegant dish for two has all the fresh tastes of spring and enough wow factor to impress any dinner date. 1-2 hourspreparation time 30 mins to 1 hourcooking time [...]

Yakitoria – Sushi chain

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If you live in Moscow you will already know that sushi is like Chinese in the UK (i.e all over the place). There are many to choose from and or varying quality; from fast food to normal restaurants. Yakitoria falls into the second type and can meet seen in many locations across Moscow. I must [...]

Metro Public Vote.

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Recently the Moscow Metro has updated their map and it has sent travellers into uproar over the new design.  Muscovites seem confused looking at the new map now that there is no river marked on and also they say there are other key mistakes.  To be quite honest, I really like the new map, it [...]

Moscow Journey Planner

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Just before leaving Moscow to go back to the UK and live, I have found a remarkably useful website that allows people to journey plan their routes between two points in Moscow using all forms of public transport and taxis.  It even gives you a selection of routes that you can then e-mail to yourself [...]

Chameleon Launcher – Driven by Context

Chameleon Launcher – Driven by Context

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Chameleon Launcher by Teknision a Canadian based firm was originally a kickstarter program for android tablets.  If you don’t know what Kickstarter is, it is basically where small time companies can present an idea to the general public and gain funding to start the project off.  Originally Teknision started the campaign back in April 2012 [...]

Winter Wonderland

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I often complain about the weather here on my blog, either comparing London to Moscow or the other way round.  Often I make facetious comments about something that Russians are doing regarding making life harder or more complicated.  Yet today I am in a good mood, it is the weekend, and the weather outside is [...]

Quietly flowed the Moscow roads

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Unlike like the rest of the world Moscow does not start the new business year on 2nd January, the federal authorities are nice enough to give everyone ten days off. It is the only time of the year when the city gets to sleep, mainly because as many people as possible try to go on [...]