Posts by Biobbs
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I’d recommend watching the last series of Prime Suspect, where she looks every bit like a barely functional alcoholic at the end of her last tether, ticking off the handful of days to her retirement.
Oh my God, wasn't that just the best telly ever? I mean, all the Prime Suspects were great, but here we have a protaganist who's aging, unloved, hated by almost all her work colleagues, and not only alcoholic but also desperately needy. What other TV series (apart maybe from Cracker) would dare to do that?
And this almost 50-year-old has been told a few times that he dresses too 'young' - as in "who are you trying to impress?" Reply: I've always worn clothes like this. They're comfortable and I feel comfortable in them.
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Muse: TV Review: Good Gods Almighty!, in reply to James Griffin,
Tim Balme? Keisha? Norse gods? Squee! I need to see this show and I need to see it now. Streaming? DVD release? Telepathy ?
And if these are the Norsewood gods, when do their Dannevirke rivals make an appearance? The possibile conflicts are endless.
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Hard News: Hip in the Square, in reply to recordari,
What about this then? Take some Nico, add a dash of Marianne Faithful, a good dollop of PJ Harvey, and make something wonderful:
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Very long time lurker here - finally drawn out of the woodwork by a coffee thread. Yes!
More ChCh props: I've always had great coffee at Ground Floor cafe in Riccarton Rd. Cornershop Bistro in Sumner is also excellent every time. Was a regular weekend haunt of mine. I've had some great coffees at the Honeypot in Lichfield St, but it depends on which barista is on duty - ditto Vivace in Hereford St and the Coffee Shop on Montreal across from the Arts Centre. But yeah, it's surprising there aren't more reliable places in a main centre.
For several years I was making regular work trips to Hamilton and found two places with fantastic coffee: Rocket (in Hamilton East) and Machina.(but again, in both places it depended on who was behind the counter). Machina also made (still does?) _great_ bacon rolls for breakfast. Every other place I ever tried in Hamilton, the coffee was utterly foul.
And some more 1980s Auckland nostalgia: The best filter coffee in Auckland back then, and perhaps ever, was at Nicholas Nickleby in High St, near where Unity Books is now. They also had the best food ever served at any of the old-school tearooms. Their neenish tarts were the size of a saucer, and their pies were to die for. Great atmosphere too, down in the basement and with booths that had really comfy seats.
It really is astonishing to remember how hard it was back then to find anywhere in the central city to have dinner. I was a grad student at uni, often working til 7.30 or 8 in the evening, and wanting to grab a bite somewhere central before catching the bus home to Balmoral from outside the St James. The restaurant scene was well and truly under way in Ponsonby and Parnell, but the city centre? Fuggeddaboutit. Although there was the Parrot Cafe (sic?) downstairs in The Corner, which used to make a brillint lasagne that I became addicted to.
Coffeewise, I love me my long black, and find the notion of contaminating coffee with milk or anything else quite revolting. But I'd also add my voice to those supporting the humble plunger, which is all I have at home - as someone said earlier, as long as you grind the beans freshly, use water that is hot but not boiling, and buy good coffee (my current favourite is Costa Rica), you can make it just as nice as any machine (admittedly without a real crema). Oh, and grind the beans relatively coarsely and let the coffee extract for at least 10 minutes - I promise you, that makes a huge difference.