bitful

I have given up eating between 11pm and 7am for Lent.
Last night we went to Body and Soul, the new jazz night that debuted on 6 February at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
Jonathan Paul Hellyer (the man inside the D.E. Experience) was performing a double set and we were very curious to see him perform sans [...]

To diminish or destroy the province or effectiveness of; undermine. To sell at a lower price than or to work for lower wages or fees than (a competitor).

I have given up eating between 11pm and 7am for Lent.
Ah, last night.
Last night we had our first meal sitting at a table at home since we met. The table we liked but was originally not in stock was delivered to us on Saturday and on Sunday we went to buy chairs (only found [...]

To take (money, for example) for one's own use in violation of a trust.

I have given up eating between 11pm and 7am for Lent.
It was all going so well, so I thought I'd conduct a trickier experiment, and in the interest of science I downed three cans of Stella at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern yesterday afternoon, then left straight after the D.E. Show and went home via the [...]

Machine for tapping the energy of running or falling water (hence a prime mover) by means of a set of paddles or buckets mounted around a wheel.

I have given up eating between 11pm and 7am for Lent.
So I said I was going to crank things up a notch and I did: last night we went out for yet another round of birthday drinks (many friends of mine have their birthdays in February, which makes May pretty much a shagfest among our [...]

This grilled goat cheese and walnuts salad has something in common with the great British tradition that is cheese and beans on toast, namely that the title of the recipe is the recipe itself.
It is one of our favourite salads because it requires minimum shopping and can be prepared very quickly but it still has [...]

To take more time than necessary. To move aimlessly or lackadaisically.

I have given up eating between 11pm and 7am for Lent.
Last night we went out to a pub (The Rose in Vauxhall, a surprise view over the Thames and in particular Tate Britain from the first floor room that was reserved to us).
I was worried that on the way home I was going to give [...]

London Underground's Jubilee Line was originally going to be called Fleet Line after the river Fleet (now subterranean). Plans to go east towards Fleet Street were shelved, and the line's battleship grey colour ('fleet') became silver for the Jubilee after which it was eventually named.
Before time zones were invented, most cities relied upon their own [...]

A medieval catapult for hurling heavy stones.

I have given up eating between 11pm and 7am for Lent.
Night 2 of going cold turkey then. I made it through once again quite well. I got up at 1am to go to the loo and afterwards managed to take the first door on the right (back to the bedroom) instead of the second (into [...]

I have just realised that I cannot remember the last time I purposelessly switched on the TV just to have something playing in the background.
I usually only ever turn it on to set the PVR for a specific programme I want to record, knowing fully well that nine times out of ten it will be [...]

To divide (a region or territory) into small, often hostile units.

Yesterday I was thinking about what I could give up for Lent.
I considered an option, then talked about a Plan B in case the first option was not feasible, and I might have been particularly unclear about what I was going to do.
I fear it might have been my subconscious trying to sabotage my attempt. [...]

I really, really hate having to say this, but when I learnt a couple of weeks ago that the fragile coalition in power in Italy had finally agreed on a draft law giving unmarried couples some rights (they have none now), not for one split second did I believe that it would stand a chance [...]

To approve, encourage, and support (an action, a plan of action, a person); urge and help on.

Italy is a country of hypocrites.
I lived there for over twenty years, was close to most of the local clergy (my brother is a priest), people around me got baptised, confirmed, married in a church, buried with a funeral, and not once have I met anyone who was giving something up for Lent.
It was only [...]

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #cccccc; padding:2px; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Stitch 'n' bitch, originally uploaded by bitful.

Six gay men meeting on Shrove Tuesday to knit together.
Delicious drop scones (which I suppose are the homosexual equivalent of pancakes) with apple slivers and cream are passed [...]

Any of a series of projections on a shaft that fit into slots on a corresponding shaft, enabling both to rotate together. The groove or slot for such a projection.

In June 2005 we went to Sitges with a few friends. Our flight was very early in the morning, so we spent the night before at one of our travelling companions in West London and shared a cab to Heathrow.
He kindly gave up his bed for us to sleep in. That is when we discovered [...]

A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding an animal in place, allowing a short radius in which it can move about. A similar ropelike restraint used as a safety measure, especially for young children and astronauts.

When I lived in Paris I went out with an Icelandic man for five years. He introduced me to a large group of expats, and it is through them that I became familiar with the concept of the saumaklúbbur.
It literally means 'sewing club', but of course it has been at least thirty years since there [...]

A person regarded as stupid or clumsy.

This is one of our favourite recipes. We call it 'Nigella beans' or simply 'Nigella', because we first saw it on one of Nigella Lawson's cooking TV shows.
I think we originally saw it made with asparagus, but tried replacing it with French beans (cheaper and easier to find) and it works just as well.
Ingredients

French beans
Parma [...]

A perch on which domestic fowl or other birds rest or sleep.

My Nabaztag/tag is not the only one that developed a floppy ear syndrome. It is now more and more likely that my wi-fi bunny will go back to the burrow whence it came, and it is very sad to see an innovative idea that is developed with style but not very much substance to sustain [...]

Last Sunday I turned forty years old.
I had a very hard time trying to understand why everyone around me saw this as a milestone. I agree that it's a round number, but that's about it for me, it still does not feel like the big fat scary four-oh.
Dr B. wanted me to do something big [...]

A small shore bird (Crocethia alba) related to the sandpipers, having predominantly gray and white plumage.