I made a steak and ale stew the other day and thought it needed a bit of a lift. I used Czech dark beer instead of ale which was a bit different for starters but to push the boundaries a bit further I put a few drops of Portugese chilli oil and some small bars of Ritter Sport chocolate in from good old Aldi.

The chilli kick and the smoothness of the chocolate worked really well.

Different indeed. They do it in Mexico I think!

Wow, George Bush with all that ducking and diving must mean he is a bit of a cockney at heart.

Actually I thought he was pretty good with that first one.

George Bush and shoes on TV.

That photo of the photograph looks likes it has been photoshopped to remove the mass of bruises all over the face.

Forget the X-Factor versions, this is the one, the only truly haunting version.

Jeff Buckley sings Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.

Aldi

Having been a fan of Lidl for a while and their European meat selection I thought Aldi had even better stuff available. Garlic sausage, salami, tapas and the lot.

My downfall came in the frozen foods section. Bloody marketing. Actually I was very satisfied with my box of langoustines, huge scallops, duck legs in orange source, duck legs in plum source, lamb shanks and beef ribs in red wine. All very gourmet it seems. Should make for a tasty Christmas. Anyway, I hate Christmas so some yummy food and nice wine will take the edge off!

£50 I spent. What credit crunch, more like credit munch!

Spooks Series 7 DVD

Still using the old series DVDs to help with passing the time away whilst ironing!

Tesco are doing Montes Alpha Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon at half price. £5 something for these beauties is something not to be missed.

Get there before it is all gone. I normally pay full price without quibble so finding them half price was so annoying and hence I had to buy a few up to stop anyone else taking advantage.