Sharas Blog

The fact that they contain so much fatty cheese to induce a heart attack? Wrong!

I read this rather interesting article on Yahoo News, where a pizza delivery guy actually saved the life of a customer when he began to suffer from a heart attack as he was waiting for his pizza delivery. Heart attacks are very serious, in fact a few weeks ago I had a pain in my leg and thought there was something wrong with the Leg Read the rest of this entry »

Who knows where the future of Great British television lies? Leg vein treatment documentaries? Or perhaps Blind Date will make a come back with the ever ginger Cilla bursting back on to our screens? Who knows. I don’t, that’s for sure. I barely watch it and when I do all I seem to be seeing is the same thing over and over–

It’s frightening.

Does anyone else not think what has happened to TV in recent years is a bit Read the rest of this entry »

I woke in mad panic. I was hot, covered in an emulsion of sweat, and thinking (this is the articulate version, because actually if I typed what I was really thinking then you wouldn’t be able to read it) The house is on fire bloody hell bloody hell!

The house wasn’t on fire. Actually what had happened was this: in my stupidity I had gone to bed without turning the heating off. It being the start of summer, the two Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone feels that they can get more done if they spend all their time doing so. Skipping things like watching TV and playing video games may be positive as instead of sitting on your rear end you could be at 100% productivity and get some extra things done, like extra revision projects.

However this could blow up in your face if you misuse this. Sooner or later, you could end up skipping breakfast or lunch in the hope of getting Read the rest of this entry »

I am constantly loosing things; the last thing I lost was a brochure on Newport property . I don’t mean every now and again, or every so often. I mean that if I put my car keys down then some force of nature will make it impossible for me to find them again five minutes later. That’s all it takes! The problem wouldn’t be so bad if the force of nature wasn’t located deep inside my head–

And let Read the rest of this entry »

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Ah, London: glorious, full of interesting things, place of creativity. Or is it? While it may be the capital of the UK, and considered by many to be the thriving epicentre of all things great and monetary and fashionable, some, in villages throughout the rest of the country, believe that London is ‘too busy’. Shockingly, they rarely visit the capital, and some are even scared to mention its name any louder than a whisper–

Here are some things about London that need to be said. Along with some advice if London is a strange and new thing to you.

1) London is actually a very friendly place. But friendly has a limit. Don’t expect friendliness when in the underground, for example, because you’ll be all out of luck. Another thing: keep an eye out for Londoners in a hurry. They hate nothing more than to be slowed down by non Londonites! Failure to comply may well result in hair loss …

2) Don’t wreak havoc on the escalators! When using escalators, always stand on the right-hand side; this is so that speedy pedestrians can rush down on the left.

3) Don’t be afraid to ask people questions. If you’re lost just ask! Many Londoners will be only too happy to help.

4) Work out your route before you arrive at a busy London terminal. Trust me, you’ll have enough to do with taking in all that new culture. By planning you’re making life a lot easier on yourself and a lot less stressful.

My grandmother – Nonna, as we say in Italian – was a very wise woman. But she was also headstrong at the same time as being generous. There is a lot that I learned from my Nonna, about life and relationships, but mostly about cooking. Now that she has passed, I look back at the many things that I have learned from this great lady. During all though summers I spent with her walking the shorelines with my summer beach bag. Here are four important things that I learned from my Nonna.

1. Family is all that matters. This has been the main lesson taught to me by my Nonna. She firmly believed that a man is not a man if he doesn’t spend time with his family. This was the case with my Nono (grandfather) who I suspect was firmly trained by his wife to be the best possible father. I now know the importance of family is and what I need to do. Respect of my wife, my kids, and my own parents are what make me a man.

2. Sugar never hurt anyone. When I was a youngling, my Nonna used to give me a spoonful of sugar every day. Although my mother despised this, my Nonna managed to sneak in at least one spoonful per day. This was one of my favourite treats when I was growing up. And now, I continue this tradition. I don’t eat a spoonful of sugar anymore, but I do give myself a sweet treat every day.

3. A good pasta sauce takes all day. Most people will prepare a simple pasta sauce within 10 or 20 minutes. Pasta is always great as a quick meal. But my Nonna taught me that a true pasta sauce takes all day to make. She would start every Sunday morning at 6 o’clock sharp. The ingredients would go into the huge vat of sauce (enough to feed you all week) and then is slowly simmered throughout the day, adding meat as you go. And it was worth it!

4. Wine is fine any time! My Nonna was a firm believer in the healing power of red wine. This is why I drink my fair share every day. It is perfect for any meal (maybe not breakfast) and during the day time while you sit outside on a summer day.

I’ve never really enjoyed having birthdays, and I’ve got worse with age. A birthday, to me, is not dissimilar to a particularly irritating varicose vein.

My main reason for not being bothered is this: is the birth day that special? A day filled with pain, misery and blood (not to mention all kinds of weird liquids that come from all kinds of weird places). If I had the opportunity to exchange the birthday for another day, I think I would make it the day of conception. That just seems to make more sense to me, since that’s the day when everything started.

But even people who don’t particularly like their own birthdays like to feel special, you know? The last thing I want to get on my birthday is a feeble-looking text. A badly written one at that. Could there be anything more impersonal?

Maybe it’s just me being old-fashioned, but I’d like to receive a few more phone-calls on my birthday. That’d be nice. Text messages are all good and well, but they aren’t the same as hearing someone’s happy voice proclaiming how important your birthday is for them and the rest of humanity, are they?

And it isn’t just text messages, no. In fact, text messages seem astoundingly polite compared to messages cropping up on Facebook. It might seem that people think of you extra fondly when they write to you on Facebook, but here’s why it’s the opposite: Facebook tells them and anyone within a million mile radius it is your birthday. Hence, there’s nothing particularly special about someone ‘remembering’. Because it isn’t remembering, and that’s the point.

Black and white films are classic, aren’t they? They should be celebrated, lauded, and re-enacted by the new generation of actors and actresses. Well, that’s supposed to be the way it is but if it really is so then how come nobody actually watches these staples of film-making anymore? Tragically, there are places all over the world where the playing of a black and white film will send people to sleep. In some horrendously insulting cases men have even been known to say the once unfathomable: “This is really boring, let’s watch something else”.

It is indeed a slippery slope. We have only ourselves to blame for this descent in to the darkest recesses of human debauchery and behaviour, of course: after all, we decided to start watching colour TV and colour film, and we did so without thinking twice. And what would the stars of the olden-days say if they could see us now!?

This is my theory as to why some old people are often so bitter and angry and filled with a hate that does not diminish, even when their feet are met with slippers and their mouths are met with pipe; and especially as to why they funnel their fury in to the ears of the younger generation: they are annoyed, quite rightly, with how the black and white films of old, films of class and elegance, have been replaced by mediocre romantic affairs as provided by waste-of-space-staples Sandra Bullock and Sarah Jessica Parker. I mean, it’s truly worse than tragic, they may as well be a walking advert for Botox Manchester. Films now just aren’t the same. And it isn’t just this new world of colour that has impregnated the minds of old people with a rage so mean it would make the Devil seem like ’not a bad guy’, it is films which harness the nasty and opposing facets of technology and progression, thus making films as different in every single way as they used to be when the classic old black and white days were in full throw.