Roberts Chicken and Rice

Hello Gentle Readers. Robert helped make dinner tonight so his name is on it.

Ingredients

5 cups of rice
green pepper
yellow pepper
red pepper
2 red chillis
1 chicken breast
4 rashers of bacon
2 garlic cloves
red onion
tomato pasta sauce

Method

Chop the chillis and crush one garlic clove into the rice cooker and cook.

Chop the peppers, onion, chicken and bacon and place in the wok. Add the garlic and brown in olive oil.

Add the tomato sauce and simmer until the sauce is cooked through.

When the rice is cooked pour it into the sauce and stir.

#recipe

Today in History: January 28th

Hello Gentle readers, its time once again to spread the butter of history thickly onto the toast of time.

1547: Henry VIII of England dies. He is followed as king by his 9 year old son Edward VI.

1813: Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" is published for the first time.

1912: American artist Jackson Pollock is born.

1956: Elvis Presley makes his first TV appearance.

1986: The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes just after take off, killing all 7 astronauts.

#todayinhistory #january28 #elvispresley #challenger #jacksonpollock #henryviii #edwardvi #prideandprejudice

Better late than never

Hello Gentle Readers. I know it was a while ago but I was looking through my phone and I found these photos from New Years Eve in Sydney.

#sydney #newyearseve #fireworks

Post 600: 3 years gone. A letter to the Gentle Readers

Neil
A Scotsman in Guangzhou
27th January 2018

Happy to see you again Gentle Readers. Today is a double celebration.
Not only is it the 600th post but it is also the Blog's 3rd birthday.

When Lena suggested I start writing a blog I had no idea what it would become. It started as a way for me to be creative with my writing and also to keep people educated and hopefully entertained.

I am absolutely flabbergasted that my stuff has been read by people all over the world and I hope those of you who are new to the blog will keep reading.

Since I started writing my blog I have got married, bought a car, had my gall bladder removed, adopted a son, been to loads of places for holidays, moved to China and much much more. This year I turn 50. So you see there are always things for me to write about and as long as you keep reading, I will keep writing.

Thanks
Neil

p.s. I am going to start writing my novel "Lazarus Rising" again soon, so please go back and revisit it.

#600 #3years #lazarus rising

Today in History: January 24th

Hello Gentle Readers. Lets put on the sunglasses of time as we drive into the darkness of history.

41: The Roman emperor Caligula is assassinated by his own bodyguards.

1908: Robert Baden-Powell arranges the first Boy Scout camp.

1949: Actor John Belushi is born.

1965: Former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill dies.

1972: A Japanese soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, is found in the jungles of Guam where he had been hiding since the end of World War II.

1984: The Apple Macintosh personal computer goes on sale in the US.

#24january #todayinhistory #caligula #applemac #churchill #johnbelushi #shoichiyokoi #scoutingforboys

Wednesday Thought: Robert Burns

Hello Gentle Readers. In 3 days time, my blog will be three years old. I actually am pretty amazed that something I started just "to see what it would be like to do" has become so important to me.

In this weeks Wednesday Thought, I want to look back at the first week of my blog and revisit Robert Burns. On 27th January 2015 I had just delivered my speech to the British Chamber of Commerce in Riga.

Please go and read it. It was the 2nd post on the blog.

http://ascotsmaninriga.blogspot.hk/2015/01/for-my-first-post-want-to-share-with.html?m=0

In todays Wednesday thought here is the wisdom of one of the greatest Scotsman to ever put pen to paper.

Dare to be honest and fear no labor.

There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.

Critics! Those cut-throat bandits in the paths of fame.

Suspense is worse than disappointment.

I foresee that poverty and obscurity probably await me, and I am in some measure prepared and daily preparing to meet them.

I pick my favourite quotations and store them in my mind as ready armour, offensive or defensive, amid the struggle of this turbulent existence.

#robertburns #wednesdaythought

Lena's Rainbow Potatoes

Happy Cooking Gentle Readers. I have not put a recipe up for a while so I hope you like the sound of this great dinner that Lena came up with this evening.

Ingredients

1 chicken breast
6 large potatoes
a red onion
half red pepper
half green pepper
2 garlic cloves
2 red chillies
8 table spoons Black Pepper Sauce
Olive oil
Salt

Method

Part peel and cut the potatoes and par-boil for 10-15 minutes.
Chop the vegetables and chicken and mix in a bowl. Add some olive oil and the black pepper sauce and stir some more.
When the potatoes are done place them on an oven tray with some oil. Chop some unseeded red chilli and sprinkle over the potatoes. Crush a garlic clove on top and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.
Spoon the chicken and veg mix around the potatoes.
Place the whole oven tray in the oven and cook on a high heat for 40-50 minutes.

The black pepper sauce and the chilli and lots of zing. Very yummy.

#recipes #lenasrainbowpotatoes

The Wednesday Thought: Muhammed Ali

Hello Gentle Readers. Today is Muhammad Ali's birthday. If, like me you grew up in the 1970's he was probably the most famous sportsman on the planet. Even if you didnt like boxing, you liked him. He would appear on talk shows and recite his poetry and make jokes.
His conversion to Islam could have been the end for him but despite the prejudices he faced he kept punching.
His subsequent decline through Parkinsons disease was tragic. A clear sign that Boxing is damaging even to the best boxers.
Here for you are some of his best quotes and a few of the best quotes about him.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.

I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick.

Sure, I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free

#muhammadali

Today in History: 15th January

Hello Gentle Readers its time once again to pull on the Speedos of History as we dive headlong into the pool of time.

Thats just Baaaad!

1559: Elizabeth I is crowned at Westminster Abbey.

1889: The Pemberton Medicine Company which would later change its name to the Coca-Cola company is founded in Atlanta, Georgia.

1929: Martin Luther King Jr is born in Atlanta.

1967: The first Superbowl takes place. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Los Angeles.

2001: Wikipedia, the biggest online encyclopedia goes live.

#january15 #todayinhistory #wikipedia #superbowl #martinlutherkingjr #cocacola #elizabethI

The Wednesday Thought: Conversation

Greetings Gentle Readers. I love to talk, I love to write and what could be better than a blog post about talking.

Lena today did a speaking examination where she had to have a conversation in English.

That got me thinking about the art of conversation. Here for you are some other peoples thoughts about having a bit of a natter.

A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.

Mark Twain

Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.

Cicero

After about 20 years of marriage, I'm finally starting to scratch the surface of what women want. And I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate.

Mel Gibson

Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Oscar Wilde

There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees.

Michel de Montaigne

It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.

Yogi Berra

#conversation #wednesdaythought #twain #wilde #berra #montaigne #gibson #cicero

Today in History: 8th January

Greetings Gentle Readers. Its time once again to Swivel your hips to the sound of history as we feed the hound dog of time.

1935: The Kjng of Rock n Roll Elvis Presleyis born.

1942: Physicist Professor Stephen Hawkibg is born.

1947: Rock star David Bowie is born.

1992: President H.W. Bush vomits all over the Japanese Prime Minister.

#hwbush #elvis #bowie #stephenhawking #todayinhistory #january8

Make you feel my love....in Chinese

Hey Gentle Readers, long time readers will know that I am a Bob Dylan fan.

I found this and wanted to share with you. Its the lyrics to Make you feel my love in Chinese.

#bobdylan #makeyoufeelmylove

• 小编

When the rain is blowing in your    face,

当雨打湿了你的脸庞

and the whole world is on your    case,

当世界都在指责你

I could offer you a warm embrace

我可以给你一个温暖的拥抱

to make you feel my love.

让你感受到我的爱

When the evening shadows and thestars appear,

当夜幕降临，星光点点

and there is no one there to dry   your tears,

当无人为你擦去泪水

I could hold you for a million years

我愿永世将你捧在手心

to make you feel my love.

让你感受到我的爱

I know you haven't made your   mind up yet,

我知道你还没有做出决定

but I would never do you wrong.

但是我永远不会让你受委屈

I've known it from the moment that we met,

我知道与你相遇的那一刻起

no doubt in my mind where you belong.

我就知道你属于哪里

I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue,

我愿意为你受尽苦难

I'd go crawling down the avenue.

我愿意为你吃尽苦头

No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do

没有任何我不能做的

to make you feel my love.

让你感受到我的爱

Top 10: Celebrities turning 50 in 2018

Hello Gentle Readers. As you may be aware the year 2018 has a special importance for me. Yes dear friends I will become 50.


50 is not as scary as turning 30 which was absolutely terrifying. 40 was actually really easy. Lena suggests that on my birthday in August I should actually start counting down so instead of 50 I will be 48.

It did get me thinking about famous people who are turning 50. So here is my list of the top 10 nearly half a century aged people in the world.

Some of you may be surprised. I know I was.

1. Will Smith: Born on  September 26 1968.

Not so Fresh Prince?

2. Hugh Jackman: Born on October 12 1968

X man or L man?

3. LL Cool J: Born January 14 1968

LL "so uncool" J?

4. Daniel Craig: Born March 2 1968

Double Oh my God!

5. Lucy Liu: Born December 2 1968

Still Liuking Good

6. Kylie Minogue: May 28 1968

She should be so Lucky

7. Celine Dion: March 30

Her heart may go on but her bladder control may not

8. Cuba Gooding Jr : January 2 1968

Show him the Vitamins

9. Thom Yorke: October 7 1968

The Bends....the creaks

10. Damon Alburn: March 23 1968

Blurred Vision?

Happy Birthday when it comes to everyone who is turning 50 this year.

#50 #celebritiesturning50in2018 #willsmith #hughjackman #cubagoodingjr #llcoolj #lucyliu #kylie #celinediom #thomyorke #damonalbarn #danielcraig