Narrow escape in Australia for my sister

Was watching with horror the deadly bush fires that swept over parts of southern Australia and praying because my sister who lives in Melbourne was on a weekend break with her family at Chateau Yering, a winery east of Melbourne in the Yarra Valley in Victoria.

They didn't even realise the danger they had been until they saw the devastation on the way back. My brother-in-law was telling me that they smelt the smoke and had heard the fire engines but didn't think much about it as bush fires are quite common during this time of the year.

I guess they are a bit shaken but they are glad that the staff didn't tell them or they might have panicked.

Just check out the picture below and you can see how close it had been for them.


That's the place they were staying.

Read the article in The Age

Thank God they are safe.

A boy, his parents and a dog

Just received this a while from a friend. Absolutely hilarious. Got to admit, this boy has some imagination.

Click on the picture to enlarge and read.

Snowfall in Coventry Feb 09

Went to London yesterday to see my nephew Noah who just arrived on Saturday. A really cute fellow and it was amazing he was willing to let me hold him. He got on fabulously with my daughter as well. However, he became cranky later in the after noon - jet lag I guess.



While we were there it started snowing - a bit at first and then later in the evening, became a blizzard. I was quite worried and decided to drive back before it got worse. I was so worried, I didn't even get chance to say bye to Noah. It was terrible in London but as soon as we hit the M40, the weather suddenly cleared and it was Ok the rest of the way home.



Woke up this morning to find everything white. It was not that bad and I sent the kids to school. I think I made a good decision to come back instead of staying back in London yesterday because we would have been stuck there today. Apparently they had nearly a feet of snow there yesterday.

What the BBC and Sky don't want you to see

This is the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) ad that the BBC and Sky are refusing to air.

According to the BBC, "..broadcasting an appeal for Gaza at this time is incompatible with our role in providing balanced and objective reporting of this continuing situation to our audiences in the UK and around the world."

Gaza Protest at University of Warwick

UPDATED: 30 Jan 2009

Had wanted to blog about this earlier but somehow didn't know what to write.

Students here at the University of Warwick have taken over a lecture room (S0.21)in the Social Studies buildings in support of the victims of the conflict in Gaza. They are still there.

Their demands include:

1. Warwick University should suspend all relations with companies which supply the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This includes BAE Systems, MBDA, GE Aviation, QinetiQ and Rolls Royce.
2. That the University donate old computer equipment and textbooks to universities in Palestine, specifically those that were partially destroyed in Gaza during the current Israeli military operation.
3. That the University fund and provide logistical support for a series of talks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The University authorities has since moved classes scheduled in the room to other alternative rooms.

Check out The Warwick Solidarity Sit-In site for more info.

There were several other protests here in the campus.

A few days back people going to the Library were shocked to see five student protesters covered in white burial shrouds and lying on the ground with red paint covering them. University security moved in and stopped the "theatrical protest" after someone complained. The five second year Theatre students viewed the event as a performance protest.

Israel has collectively punished the Palestinians in Gaza for the actions of the Hamas and left a Humanitarian crisis.

While I am happy that the bombings have stopped but wonder how long the shaky ceasefire in Gaza will last. The recent outbreak of violence is not the first and has been going on for more than 60 years now. Hamas is still there. Israel still hasn't lifted economic blockade.

It's easy for me to sit here in my comfortable chair writing this but I wonder how the people are faring there in concentration camp Gaza.

Healthy recipes

We rarely eat outside and today afternoon I had to cook as my wife was busy with her research work. I am an ovo-lacto-vegeteraian and I didn't want to cook too many dishes. I had a look in the fridge and quickly came up with something with what was available - fried rice with vegetables and eggs.

My daughter was complaining that she was tired of eating the same things and wanted something different. That made me realise that she was right and thought that would make an effort to do some research myself - for vegetarian recipes.

This led me to the Phytolife.com, a new online source that should appeal to health-conscious consumers or to anyone looking for some great healthy recipes. I found out that the name of the site comes from the word 'Phytonutrients', which refer to plant-based nutrients. This site also carries a number of articles on healthy lifestyles as well. I love their green nature themed template.

Phytonutrients are naturally occurring compounds found in fruits and vegetables. According to this site, they are probably the most important part of your diet and are required for the proper functioning of our body. They might help in preventing diseases. According to Phytolife.com, 90% of Americans aren’t getting enough Phytonutrients. I suspect it's the same here in the UK as well.

I am going to try out their Warm Wedding Soup. Sounds delicious and perfect for the cold weather.

Shopping at Stoke-on-Trent

I started out writing this post with "today morning..." but realised that it's already 1am - so a short post before I go to sleep.

Yesterday morning, we set off for Stoke-on-Trent to do a bit of shopping. My sister-in-law who came up from London yesterday was there as well.

For those who didn't know Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, is the home of the UK pottery industry and some of the World's most famous luxury brands like Royal Doulton , Wedgewood, Mintons, Portmeirion , Spode, etc. originated and many still have their headquarters here.

I had the post code for the Waterford Wedgwood factory shop at Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent but couldn't find it on my TomTom. Was quite disappointed because I had just bought the latest UK map from TomTom a few days ago. My wife called up her friend in Nottingham who had visited the store sometime back and she informed us that it was a couple of yards just further down the road from the Portmeirion factory shop. Later found out that the factory outlets for Portmeirion, Waterford Wedgewood and Royal Doulton are all along King Street.



Our first stop was the Waterford Wedgwood shop. I know that Wedgewood products cost hundreds of Ringgit in Malaysia, with some sets costing over RM5000. We were shocked to see plates going for £1 each. As you can imagine, my wife and sister-in-law were in ceramic and China heaven.




Next stop was the Royal Doulton outlet which was having a clearance sale.





I have to say that the staff at the Waterford Wedgwood were way professional and did an excellent job with the packing as compared to those at Royal Doulton.

We also dropped by the Portmeirion shop and they were having a sale as well but both my wife and sister-in-law didn't like the designs and we left without buying anything.

Here are some of the stuff we bought yesterday:











As you might have heard, Waterford Wedgwood is in deep financial trouble and . I doubt that the brands the company owns, namely, Waterford Crystal, Wedgwood, Rosenthal and Royal Doulton will disappear but you never know.

The address of the  Waterford Wedgwood factory shop is:

King Street, Fenton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 3DQ