Stuffhere Projects

KFC vegan is now a viable option. The fast-food chain is the latest to provide a vegan alternative -and rightly so. I love meat and I definitely love my chicken including examples served up by the holy colonel. But I believe that of course a vegan alternative should be served up for those who have chosen the vegan lifestyle or even just want to occasionally eat vegan. And as much as I do love my meat, it does not mean every meal I ever have has to have meat in it, there are so many great ingredients to use. And if KFC’s vegan burger annoys Pierce Morgan, in the same way, Gregg’s vegan sausage roll did, I’ll probably have the burger every Tuesday just to help ensure it’s a success. You can order the burger on it’s own or with a drink, there is not an option to have a side, as part of a meal deal.

So, you can see from the box they have still got the famous 11 herbs and spices into the fillet. A fillet which I wasn’t sure exactly what it was made of whilst eating it, but found out after it was a fillet of Quorn. Sitting underneath the Quorn was some shredded lettuce and some vegan mayonnaise. I wonder if perhaps it could of also done with something on top of the fillet as I found that side of things a little dry.

But the fillet tasted nice enough to me and you can see how it had a similar texture to the chicken counterpart. There was a flavour there.

I really liked the vegan mayo, it was light, cool and refreshing. As I say though, and you can probably see from the picture, I did find it a little bit dry, and maybe some vegan cheese or another vegan sauce on top could help. But it wasn’t too dry, and I was getting enough taste from the herbs and spices, along with the fried taste, running through that fillet. Like quite a lot of the menu at KFC these days, I’d say the burger is pretty overpriced for what it is. But it’s sure to be a hit with many, and good to see some vegan burgers now added to the menu. Furthermore, I noticed how the ordering screens were now listing what is, and what isn’t vegan.

Published: 2019 The 26th book in the hit DCI Banks series.

I have very much enjoyed the DCI Banks books since M.r Robinson wrote his first, all those years ago. I have not read them all yet, but seek them out whenever I can. It’s one of those series’ that I feel I will enjoy each offering, and won’t close the book disappointed. As a side note, whenever I read a book from this series since I have watched ITV’s DCI banks, I do picture the character as Stephen Tompkinson. Unfortunately, it does seem ITV have no plans to continue with their adaptation.

Anyway, back to the review, and Many Rivers To Cross is a police procedural I did very much enjoy. You could enjoy this book as a standalone mystery by all means, but depth is added if you are familiar with the returning characters and their histories. Plus, although the books main advertised mystery is solved, a side story bubbles throughout the book involving Zelda, and this will no doubt be continued into the next book. I finished the book intrigued to wonder what’s next for this formidable lady. So, this story kicks off when a body of a teenage boy is found stuffed into a wheely bin on the East Side Estate, At the same time, DCI Banks also has his attention on Zelda, who is helping him track down his old enemy, has put herself in danger and alerted a powerful group of sex traffickers- the ones who brought her to the UK. I do think Peter Robinson is a great writer. Like other thriller series’ such as Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, even of one particular book is not doing it for you, you’ll likely appreciate and enjoy the solid writing.

This books eventual conclusion, after some solid detective work, is not groundbreaking or full of massive twists. The red herrings are planted, and some of you may guess them to be of such, as otherwise the crime would be too easily resolved. But in fairness, it is always understandable why the law is following a certain path, and so never feels too convoluted. Sure, whilst the books ending may satisfy some and others not so much, it certainly was enough to keep me reading each page, and I think would for the most, too. Overall for me, this was a solid thriller, with likeable characters, and a well written and developed plot. I like how the writer does not forget to let us in on Banks’ home life, as I think this adds a lot to the overall roundness of the character. Like many other authors, Peter Robinson likes his pop culture references, which are mostly used to paint more of DCI Banks’ character.

So, all in all, I’d recommend the book to anyone who wants to read a solid thriller, maybe on a smaller scale then some past books, that deals with plenty of real-life considerations, and is a good page-turner. A definite thumbs up from me, and I look forward to reading the 27th book.

The next fiction book I will be reading is Stephen King’s classic Salem’s Lot. I have never read this before, so will be interesting to see how it stands up for me all these decades after it was written, and having read so many other King works. Until next time…

There are many different investment opportunities in life, however, some offer a much more stable chance of return than others. Wine investment is a practice that finds itself on the more stable side of things thanks to the continued, and not likely to diminish, strong wine market. Purchasing investment wines is something that has gone on for hundreds of years and continues to be a popular activity to this day-some may say it is more popular than ever. Once wine collecting was seen as a bit more of a specialist hobby, a somewhat exotic market, but now it is that bit more mainstream with more people taking the plunge. This is a solid investment area, so if you are looking for something new to invest in as we lead into 2020, it is an excellent option. Even someone who does not have a massive knowledge of the wine industry could soon bring themselves up to speed. A novice building a strong investment portfolio around wine is an easily reachable goal. At the very least, it would be advisable to have a good understanding of how wine vintage and provenance affects the value of a wine bottle.

Of course, you will need to have sufficient funds to invest, but this does not have to be huge amounts, When doing your research on wine investing-and do spend plenty of time doing so-work out a realistic spending budget. Some people will focus on collecting a certain type or vintage of wine only, others will just seek to add whatever they think they can make a substantial return on. It is up to you what approach you take. Another essential consideration in wine investment is storage. You must make sure you have the correct type of space to store your wines-if they get ruined you can not expect a decent return on them. Poor storage can lead to the flavour of the wine being spoiled. If you do not have a suitable space in your own home you may consider paying a fee for a professional wine storage service. As with all areas of business and investment you need to watch out for potential fraud. Some people have set investors up for a fall by creating knock-off versions of big names. The main key to avoiding such a pitfall is to only purchase your wine from limited, trusted sources. Keep to well-established names and avoid any cold callers. Remember you should be able to view all of the necessary paperwork with the bottles that will of tracked their history. In this digital age, we do have a great number of sources for helping us to spot fakes online, so use the internet to your advantage.
Speaking of the internet, The London International Vintners Exchange has been online since 1999 and has become the industry standard for the tracking of wine prices. With this in mind, it is highly recommended that you bookmark that site for all of your investment wine needs. The site also contains the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index which charts the top 100 most-sought-after wines, a valuable resource.

Lastly, there is another approach to consider taking to help make sure you are not alone in your wine adventure. Some experts recommend that you hire a manager. For example, a famous small network such as Berry Bros & Rudd or Cult Wines will help you to invest your money wisely, in line with your buying budget and risk level. They can suggest what to buy and track your portfolio. Of course, fees will be payable for such a service, but with the potential return, in the long run, it may well be worth it. Usually, the services will include storage of the wines as a bonus.

Hi all. I am sorry if this post is a little rushed, the Wifi set up in my new flat (Talk Talk) is currently very poor and keeps dropping out completely (phoned to complain as it was slow and they made it even worse!) so I have had to write this in a matter of minutes before I loose the connection again!

Anyway, I went with a good friend to see the new adaptation of Rope at the Queen’s Theatre.

Rope is a 1929 British play by Patrick Hamilton. There is a good chamce you may be familiar with the 1948 Hitchcock film adaptation.

The story follows two well off, young university students Wyndham Brandon (George Kemp) and Charles Granillo (James Sutton) and is set entirely on the first floor of their London house.

The men have murdered a fellow student Ronald Kentley, with no motive, rather as an expression of their believed intellectual superiority. The corspe has been hidden in a locked chest, which is center to the room where they invite friends and family around for drinks and a buffet. The buffet is served on that very chest! Can the two get away with their murder, even with the body in the same room as the guests? And what happens when a guest in particular starts to get suspicious?

I enjoyed this production of Rope directed by Douglas Rintoul. I felt it was tightly mapped out, keeping you guessing untill the end, with enough time spent on character development and plot advancement, for a well balanced unraveling thriller. The lighting helped evoke a film noir style which was very effective. Also the story still managed a nice line in humour too.

The whole cast did a great job from an acting point of view, nicely judged performances in both the more subtle moments and the more tense and dramatic ones, with beliveable chemistry and friction rubbing against the characters. They all played off each other very well. The play also explores interesting moral dynamics.

All in all, this story of a daring cat and mouse game is well worth catching at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch.