What's Hot, What's Not! - Alice TT Assen, 79th Edition 2009

For those of you interested in motorbikes, the 79^th annual TT motorbike race in Assen will be held from the 25^th – 27^th June 2009.

With 100,000 motor enthusiasts eagerly descending on Assen for this event, this famous motor race is dubbed as the Dutchman’s answer to Formula 1 in Monaco and Wimbledon in London. A bit of a high-flown comparison there chaps, but I’m not going to stat bursting any bubbles!

For this motor spectacle, entrance with standing room begins at € 20,00 for adults (dependent on the day). For children entrance is free up to age 15 on the first two days, but only up to age 12 on Saturday 27^th June.

The tribunes can seat up to 56,000 people. For more information and to book tickets please see their website here (Dutch). As with everything popular, these sell very quickly. The circuit in general is clearly visible by all and if that wasn’t enough there are also ten Big Screen Vidiwalls so that you won’t miss a thing.

So, whether or not you are a motorbike fanatic, with a penchant for men dressed head to toe in tight leathers, sitting astride an enormous hunk of metal that shoots around a track at mind bending speeds and belches out more CO2 than should actually be allowed in this day and age, why not try the TT Assen and decide for yourself as to whether it’s Hot or Not!

Photo source here

© Alison Day 2018Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #23 Spring 2009 

Intelligent Fridges

Are the new ‘must have’ techno inventions of today really necessary or are we just being manipulated into believing that we need all this?

I remember the uproar when the old vinyl disc was replaced by the compact disc, and the perturbed few who realized that they could never ‘not be at home’, any more with the introduction of the mobile phone. But what seems to have followed is a conveyor belt of new inventions, which I doubt the necessity of. Added to the blackberry, iPod, Mp3 player and iPhone there is also an intelligent fridge!

Well I suppose it could well be true. This mammoth fridge, not only keeps your food cool, makes ice cubes, is self-cleaning, and due to a cunning little strip underneath each product knows how much milk is left. It then tells you when to buy a new pack. Pretty handy, one may never have to write another shopping list again. It also has a built-in screen for TV and Internet—Hooray! I may never have to leave my kitchen again.  

Don’t worry about not having ever to think again, this will be compensated for by the fact that one regularly trains ones brain with the brain trainer programmes offered by a Nintendo DS Lite.

For those of you as cynical as me there’s a super short story called ‘The Machine Stops’ by E. M. Forster, which shows what could happen to the human race if we continue along this tack. But having said that, in a couple of years I will probably be the proud owner of one, once I’ve bought a bigger house of course.

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #21 Autumn 2008 

What's Hot, What's Not! - Garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Seeing as in the last few issues of the Connections the ‘What’s hot what’s not’ section has only covered ‘what’s not’ hot, we thought it was about time to include a ‘what’s hot’ article. So what about garlic? A hot favourite and integral part of many a cuisine the world over. It is also healthy, delicious and said to ward off evil spirits, what more could you wish for?

Love it or hate it, garlic has been around for over 6,000 years and is native to Central Asia. The word garlic comes from Old English garleac, meaning, "spear leek." Both the Greeks and the Egyptians used it as an ingredient in many a medicinal remedy. The Egyptians even worshipped it, clay models of garlic bulbs having been found in the tombs of the Pharaohs. Garlic has even been used as currency. The Vikings took garlic on their long voyages of pillaging and destruction, whilst the French used it in the 1770’s in Marseilles against the plague. Garlic has been known to stop dysentery and according to Louis Pasteur garlic has antibacterial properties.

From the garlic plant it is not only the bulb, which can be eaten, but also the leaves and the flowers. Health-wise garlic is good for you because of its two sulphur-containing antioxidants, germanium and selenium, which help to boost the immune system. Regular consumption of garlic has been found to fight cholesterol and lower blood pressure by thinning the blood. Included in a normal diet, garlic reduces the body’s production of fat and helps to break it down.

The downside to many is the smell. A raw garlic clove is sharp and spicy and is guaranteed to make your breath smell. Cooking garlic will reduce the smell and the flavour becomes more mellow and sweet. The bad breath or halitosis is caused by the sulphurous compounds in the garlic that feed on the bacteria in your mouth. To get rid of garlic breath chewing on masses of fresh parsley helps (according to some cardamom seeds help too). If you are planning a night on the town, a serious flossing session is a must as parsley between your teeth is also a turn off. For the garlic wimps there are a variety of garlic supplements available on the market, one such supplement being Kyolic garlic.

Garlic may be delicious but there is such a thing as overkill. Many years ago I met a man whose staple diet was sardines on toast, with a layer of thinly sliced, raw garlic on top. The multiple cloves of garlic were painstakingly sliced, very thinly as a topping for the small fish, until very little of the toast remained visible. Unfortunately, parsley was not on the agenda, and the resulting pungent aroma, which followed him everywhere, meant that it was not only very difficult to stay in the same room with him for very long, but one could always tell where he had already been.

And finally, although health and taste-wise the pros far outweigh the cons, when it comes to eating garlic, if you don’t want to smell of garlic (a large pot of parsley not being to hand), the answer is not surprisingly, not to eat it!

For an interesting restaurant where they are totally passionate about garlic: The Stinking Rose. Or for a restaurant nearer to home: Garlic Queen

 Sources: Wikipedia,  Home Cooking,  Innerself - Garlic

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #20 Summer 2008 

What's Hot, What's Not! - BMI – Travel the Bungling Mindless Idiots way!

Having notched up a fair few air miles over the years to a multitude of destinations around the world, I generally assume that when I touch down again so will my luggage.

Oh, how wrong can one be? This Christmas, what should have been a short jaunt from Schipol airport Amsterdam to London Heathrow turned into a guess where your luggage is marathon and an insight into what lying toads BMI are when they claim: ‘yes, madam your bag will be with you within 24 hours.’

Two of us were left standing helplessly at the carousel at Heathrow without our luggage. The helpdesk assured us that our luggage would re-appear and be delivered to wherever we were in the UK. At this point, I wasn’t that worried and was mildly amused by the jokes from the BMI personnel, who said that two missing bags was nothing per flight and that one had to experience everything in life at least once!

So, I continued my onward journey to Oxford and in the interim time bought some new makeup and borrowed underwear. But three days later, on Christmas Eve, when my luggage still hadn’t turned up I was getting worried and disappointed as I hadn’t planned on wearing the same outfit for three days.

After many frustrating phone calls, to what turned out to be a call centre in India, of all places, visits to the BMI website to track my luggage (totally useless, as it never seemed to get updated), and the attempt to find a real person to talk to at BMI in England, instead of a computerized voice, my luggage finally turned up.

The case was delivered by a man in an unmarked, white van: ‘Which one is yours?’ he said, as I peered into the back of the van, choc-a-block with lost cases. Ignoring the bumper deluxe Chanel suitcase, relieved, I dove for my own black suitcase, which incidentally was also full of my Christmas presents.

The story doesn't end there. A friend of mine, Kim, was less fortunate. Going through the same bungling procedure, her bag didn't turn up at all, even after 10 days. Yes, on Christmas Day she had no Christmas presents to give out BMI! Finally, being pretty annoyed she phoned BMI and offered to come and pick it up herself. At Heathrow she was ushered into what turned out to be an enormous hall filled wall to wall with thousands of suitcases. Here she found her luggage but what about the fate of the other bags? In a blonde moment BMI had removed all the labels with the baggage numbers, so now their job of re-uniting the lost bags with their owners was made even more hopeless.

In these high tech days it doesn't really promote ‘peace and goodwill to all men’, when one is unable to get an honest answer as to where ones luggage went from a computerized telephone voice. Also, wearing the same clothes for longer then two days and going out to buy interim underwear is a bore, when you know your case is full of all those lovely clothes specially packed for the festive season. So BMI, at the very least you owe me, Kim and all the other owners of the mislaid bags an apology and if you were feeling really generous…the next flight should be on you! 

Original Cartoon: Matt, Daily Telegraph, GB

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #19 Spring 2008