Sainsbury’s 4p curry – who’s tried it?

Sainsbury’s continues to expand its Basics range – and drive down the prices. In one case, the price seems almost impossibly cheap: 4p to be precise.

This low price begs two questions: first, how on earth can Sainsbury’s make any profit whatsoever on it, and second, more importantly, what does it taste like?

While big firms can achieve economies of scale that smaller ones can only dream about, when you consider all the costs involved in making that curry, packaging it, transporting it and putting it on the shelf, 4p seems ridiculously cheap. Not that we should complain, of course.

Crucially, though, does it taste good? The list of ingredients suggests it should, but I’ve not tried it, so couldn’t comment. There’s a Facebook appreciation group been set up, but it has a rather modest member count – 29 at the time of writing.

Has anyone else tried it? Post your comments here if you have…

 

New look

I’ve finally got round to changing the name and look of this blog to reflect my move from London to the West Country.

I’ll try to post random thoughts and observations, some related to the West Country and others not, as and when. The first, in fact, will be in a few minutes…

 

X Factor judge Louis Walsh needs a maths lesson

Would someone please give X Factor judge Louis Walsh a maths lesson?

Almost every show, he comes up with some gushing praise for one of the contestants, finishing off by saying something along the lines of “a hundred and fifty per cent yes” or even “a million per cent yes”.

Now last I heard, per cent stands for ‘per 100′ (cent, being French for one hundred). So you can’t have 150 per 100, it just doesn’t work – all it does is make Mr Walsh look a bit silly.

 

Big City Life – a change of focus

The ‘Big City Life’ title of this blog has served a double purpose over the past year, referring to both London (where I lived) and City University (where I studied).

As I now complete my time at City University and prepare to leave the bright lights for a job in the west country, I feel that the title of this blog ought to change to reflect this.

Over the coming months I will consider how I will do this, and what the focus of the blog will be. Watch this space.

 

Security guards at Parliament/Portcullis House

Here in Britain, we are renowned for being polite, and for doing things the right way. Bump into someone, and you will inevitably both say “ooh, sorry!” and laugh nervously. Or ask a policeman for directions, and they will address you as “sir” or “madam”.

This made the two security guards who I had to deal with whilst entering Portcullis House the other day stand out, but not in a good way.

Portcullis House

Firstly, when I went to the front of a queue of people waiting outside to ask how to get in, the first guard said: “Yes, there’s a queue of people here.” Fine, I had to join it, no problem. Only then, as I turned away, he decided to add: “Haven’t you ever heard of queuing before?” Now why on earth was that comment necessary?

 

Look left. No, look right. No, left…

I’ve always thought the way that pedestrians are told which way to look for oncoming traffic when crossing a road was a good one – I can’t recall seeing it in any other country.

Only it isn’t always as simple as it seems, as this photo, taken near King’s Cross shows…

Which way is left?

 

2009 Confederations Cup South Africa – team-by-team guide

Not strictly to do with London, but see my team-by-team guide to the 2009 Confederations Cup, which kicks off this weekend in South Africa, on the Guardian website.

 

Buskers at London Tube stations

They lighten up many a London commuter’s journey. Hearing the melodious notes of a steel drum, or the upbeat strumming of a steel-string guitar echoing along the tunnels can make you forget the stresses and strains of everyday life momentarily.

Sometimes, (don’t say this too loud), you might even walk slightly more slowly, to enable yourself to enjoy the music for a few seconds longer.

A tube busking pitch

Perhaps as a result of London Underground’s licensing system for buskers, the quality of the performers is very high. To be able to play on any of the stations, performers have to have a licence – and even if you are the next big thing, getting one isn’t a foregone conclusion. At the time of writing, London Underground says that it has a “full complement” of buskers, and is “not considering new applications”.

 

Richmond’s new CO2 parking proposals

The London borough of Richmond-upon-Thames recently held a consultation on its new proposals to extend CO2-based parking charges to its on-street pay-and-display spaces.

The borough already charges residents for their permits based on their car’s CO2 emissions if the car was registered after March 31st, 2001. The new system, it seems, will apply to all vehicles.

The proposals are designed to encourage people to drive more environmentally-friendly cars.

This video explains how the new system would work.

Note: This video is in no way affiliated to or authorised by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was not created for or by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of material contained in the video, viewers who rely on the information do so at their own risk. The creators are not responsible for any inconvenience, loss or damage caused as a result of any inaccuracies.

For more details, see the council’s frequently asked questions page on the proposals.

 

Is the Highways Agency reading my blog?!

Is someone at the Highways Agency reading my blog?

After my recent post in which I berated middle-lane crawlers, one of the information screens on the M4 (somewhere along the Slough-Maidenhead stretch) was displaying “Keep left unless overtaking” this morning.

While this Highways Agency campaign has supposedly been running since May 2008, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen one of the messages displayed, despite having driven past enough of those screens since that date.

Did somebody read my post and take note? Hey, I can dream…

Image thanks to the Highways Agency.