MrBen

Hi guys, Hopefully you can see all the pics on Flickr now If not try this direct link: They show the build up in chronological order - from Surf bobbys arrival at The Plough at 12.24pm to the aftermath at 3.15pm If you click "show info" on top right you can get the captions to each pic. The pause /play button for the slideshow is on the right. If the pics dont come up click the link "back to Barry Barry Set" then select the slideshow option. Let me know how you go.... Mr Ben (Barry Barry Press Officer)

Indeed. Looks like a 6 week run or so. Brilliantly cryptic flyer. "Not just a sexy little bring your own Cocktail and Wine Bar, Flambe Restaurant, Lobster Shack, Couscous House - But also a care in the community charitable & semi co-operative social enterprise. Open Tuesday to Sundays, 6pm to 10pm at the Blue Brick Cafe, Fellbrigg Road. BYO wine. Sample menu both vegetarian and for "Meatarians": - Cous cous African stew of roots & spring vegetables - Baby Lobster Carbonara w ham and cream - Warm salad of young spinach, smoked bacon and mange tout - Oven baked field mushrooms with avocado and Stilton - Chicken or Lamb tagine "We welcome vegans, vegetarians, babies, young and old, Natives and all other oppressed minorities..... ....casual munchers welcome but Serious Diners will always make a reservation" And a 24 hour reservation mobile to call. First night is this Tuesday June 16th. Whatever this morphs into - I'm in!

Great stuff people! From the moment Surfbobby made his glorious entrance at The Plough, respendent in yellow attire, to a sharp suited (and extremely generous) SM Barry Jones presenting the prizes to winners Paul, Natalie and Julie at the end, it was an epic day. Interesting too to see some things that look certain to become part of future tradition such as the "seeing off of The Bear" before the start of the race - to great cheers! The Barry Press team has been busy this morning and further photo's, commentary and a video interview with organisers will be posted to the above link by the end of today.

Spoke to Help-ma-boab this morning and I can confirm this years event promises to be more wonderfully chaotic and hilarious than the last. Surfbobby is sounding fitter than ever. " It promises to be a fun day. And our special guest, Station Master Barry Jones offering to attend in person and donate free train tickets to the winner is phenomenal." "The Grand National has Bechers Brook. We have Underhill Road Junction." Then with a smile he adds "It promises to be Barry". The Barry Barry Road Race is TODAY.

Hooray! Wonderful. Could it be that East Dulwich is getting interesting again? Praise the lord!

Declan - if you have not heard the healing vibes on a Saturday afternoon then you must be deaf! Reggie - I am also a middle class warrior, surfing on the wave of a free market economy, smoking the odd fat one and spreading healing vibes through my vegetable patch on Fellbrigg Road. Can I join you?

Nice one quids. Big up the Fellbrigg Road Gambling Association

Kind of gets me that Blair is off scott free, making millions on the book and after dinner circuit after a neat hospital pass to Brown just before the world went tits up. Brown has then fumbled one crisis after another with everything from expenses to Ghurkas...although he has not had luck or timing on his side. And the knives are out as the cabinet jostles to save themselves rather than acting in the best interests of us The People. Which is what I pay the f**kers for with my 40% tax. A change of some kind has to happen but must it be Cameron, an expert at capturing the mood in his rhetoric but with no real balls or substance behind it. And why aren't the Lib Dems stepping forward with more conviction to take advantage? I'm so disillusioned I'm about to vote Green - not a bad vote considering. Anyway - how long do you honestly think Brown has left? I reckon less than 4 weeks.

The Rise and Fall...and Rise Again. Gerald Ratner - My Story.

I've been a Palmerston fan since the day it opened and still am. I'm having to travel a lot for business and eating in diff places. Anyone who has to endure the same will know that dining alone in a nice place is never fun. The opposite? Coming home to your bustling local eaterie with good friends where you know you are going to get some great food, a table at the back and quality service. I've always had all of that at The Palmerston. Really impressed they have managed to keep it up, consistency is the holy grail of the restaurant trade. And in this climate even more so. It's still great and a quick glance through the windows on a Saturday lunchtime shows how many agree.

After an hour in a City gym on sat morning, staring at myself in the mirror and listening to Genesis, I turned my attentions to Sky News where a respected clinical psychiatrist was interviewed and, based on his observation of her erratic behaviour was fearing the worst. This prompted Piers Morgan to phone in, slate the man with 25 years on Harley St and explain that Boyle was fine, what a load of nonsense, its all show business etc. Before no doubt driving off to the studios in his Ferrari (also listening to Genesis). Cowell has a genius self orchestrated business model that generates superlative income from TV ratings, phone ins, the albums, the tours then hiving off the international rights. And he can't lose. And for that alone he is one of the very few Small Things that causes me Irrational rage. Morgan has his own thread so clearly no comment required. I hope our "SuBo" gets well soon and wish her well.

But still a complement right?

Borough Market bacon roll stall. Today. 9.30am. " I like you're T shirt where is it from?" Me: " Walmart in Canada" "Is that near Bermondsey?" Me: "No Canada, the country. I got it in the Yukon. For about $5" " I recommend Asda - I get size age 14/15 yrs teenage boys for a tight fit" At this point I realised the dude I was chatting to was clearly gay - all I get these days is gay dudes....

What pubs do they let you into these days Macroban?

I like Oliver Sweeneys shoes - chestnut zip up boots are great. Jeans and shorts for summer are always tough to buy. I get one pair I like and then wear them solidly until they die. Paul Smith luxury suits are also a good cut for the slimmer British gentleman. Don't wear trainers except down the gym but do have lots of canvas plimsole things - all in white.

citizenED Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I dunno, white trainers go pretty well with my > suits; particularly my birthday one. Patrick Bateman style?

The suit / gym trainers combo is morning choice at ED station and is so bad it's clearly for commuting comfort only. I'd love to wear my Nike Air Max for the schlep in but can't bring myself to do it after spending a good sum on a suit that fits. I will however, dispense with the tie until I'm in...give it 20 years I predict ties will go the way of bowler hats. A good, quality, open necked shirt with a stiff collar is less formal but can look great with a suit. Jacket and jeans? I still BELIEVE and wear this on occasion but the key is not to just wear your work suit jacket - should be a blazer /tailored / casula style (strictly no brass buttons) and again teamed with a decent shirt, no rips in the jeans and some smart brown/black shoes. Get it wrong and you look like a Fulhamite or my old Geography teacher, Mr Cuthil.

BBQ went well - as Brendan said a friendly S'Affer was on hand and when confronted with a the terrible prospect of a Brit at the grill...could not help but lend some helpful advice. That is before actually doing all the cooking and stealing my girlfriend at the end. Ok..last bit not strictly true. Anyway - I learned a lot and now feel the need to share this. Here goes: 1. Don't pour charcoal out of its bag onto already hot coals. It will catch fire and you will be left holding a flaming bag of charcoal and look stupid before you have even started (yes I did this, no wonder S'Affer stepped in). 2. Arrange the charcoal so that coals are on one side with a cooler area to the other - this allows you to control cooking heat. 3. 3 finger test - If you can't hold your hand 3 fingers width off the grill for 3 seconds its too hot to cook. Cooking on a too hot grill is a classic British error and makes food black outside and raw in the middle. 4. The too hot phase is also the "burn off" phase and allows you to get rid of any black stuff built up on the grill. S'Affer tip at this point is to use half an onion on a fork to wipe down the grill - the chemicals help remove the build up. 5. As a general rule. Cook Sausages and then chicken first. Steaks last. Obvious I know but.... 6. Chicken - try to avoid breasts and fillets as they can get quite dry barbecued. Much better to get jointed thighs and legs on the bone and with skin on. Skin provides better protection and can get a little blackened. Bone seems to keep it juicy. 7. Flames - when cooking fat from the meat can ignite on the coals and cause flames = black meat. Pour some water or beer on the flames to keep them down and move meat until they're under control. 8. Turning meat on a fully hot grill really is a full time job. Resist urge to ogle bare legged women in bikini tops / find beer or you will screw it up. 9. Great salads and sides - as per one of posts above. Good tip. If you screw up the meat it won't matter much. Then again - don't screw up the meat! 10. Gas vs charcoal - I say BOTH. I used charcoal to cook on then my gas BBQ with lid on a low heat to keep the meat rest and keep warm so that it could all be served at once. Gas BBQ's also great out back in spring and autumn when you wouldnt bother lighting a fire. Finally - don't walk into a packed William Rose and mispronounce boerewors "Burrough-Worst" they will laugh at you, snort and ask if you have just read that on the East Dulwich forum. Snort again like over fed swine and make you feel generally stupid. Or you could vist the van on Northcross Road. Hope the above helps. :)

Watching it I imagine what he looks like. A big beard and dungarees for sure. And Brendan - William Rose sold out boerewors today as a result of your post (which made them all snort like piggies with joy at the power of the East Duwlich forum). I kid you not!

Wise words Brendan - thanks. Got some quality chicken, steaks and everyone else should be bringing stuff.... This made me smile:

Nothing really. Just a lax expenses policy with vague rules finally ending up as you'd expect. Funny to watch them all squirming but not sure it's done anyone any favours. As a tax payer I'm more concerned with the fact that the very wealthy get taxed less than the average working man on the street than some MP claiming a flat screen telly. Or lightbulbs or whatever.

Let's be honest. As a nation we don't do it well. On the few days of the year when the sun coincides with a weekend, a faint whiff of charcoal drifts across the sleepy terraces of SE22 telling us summer has arrived....black sausages, raw in the middle, economy burgers, a crap bowl of salad and bad white rolls from the corner shop. I propose it is high time that the modern British man learnt how to do a decent barbie. And today, after liberating one of these monstrosities, I'm keen to make my first "proper" barbecue count as I take another tentative step into middle age. The UK bbq ritual used to be about meeting women and the food came second - not today - so I'm selecting my cuts, marinading my chicken and carefully choosing my salads. With 8 women due over and rain forecast (a pre-requisite for any British bbq planned in advance) I have to grab a beer and do my bit. I also plan to fire up an old charcoal grill to see what works best. Any BBQ tips / recipes? Thoughts on the charcoal vs. gas debate? Any master classes from our antipodean / s'affer friends?

I'm circumcised.

In the Euromillions lottery draw. If you are interested, I can confirm that the winning numbers will be: 18, 7 , 36 , 11, 14 with stars 3 and 7

I saw the following famous local people all in Franklins at the same time last Friday: - Dr "Kingy" King fresh from curating his near sell out run of excellent blues nights at the EDT / Magnolia - Simon the builder (who did my fireplace) - Jah lush (outside smoking and in lively form) And best of all... The organisers of the famous annual Barry Barry Run...plotting this years event and dancing. In Franklins. Respect.