Cracking Christmas Brunch or Hangover Breakfast

A few people know that I really like cooking... because I love food.. LOL.

What I've prepared for you here is a great recipe for a brunch or...in my case a hangover breakfast.

What you will need is:

1 Ciabatta bread

Some salad leaves

Bacon

2 large eggs

Parmesan

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Oven - set to 230c  

Pan for boiling your egg - 4m 50sec

Get your oven hot and ready before you start anything.... and get that kettle on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OzxX5_dVdc&feature=youtube_gdata

In the video I forgot to spread the Parmesan on the top at the end..so make sure you do...or get a fresh piece of parmesan and grate thin slices of it on top.

Enjoy!!!

Merry Christmas

Well…it’s almost here….no not Winter…that’s been here a while…I am of course talking about the wonderful time of year that is Christmas.

I love Christmas, as I’m sure most of you reading do…but what is it that we love about it?  Are we thinking about what it truly means...and the whole point of Christmas spirit… or just thinking about the time off work, eating too much and watching crap TV?

Happy Friday..Become a Do'er!

Hello Bert friends and Bert friends not yet known...

I want to start by wishing a Happy Thanks Giving to my USA friends.  I hope you have a wonderful time being together with loved ones.

I’m still reading my books (6 on the go at the moment), Gees...Alan Sugar can talk, but boy does he have an eye for business opportunities...and is very hands on with all his businesses. He likes to know all the details about his products, process and employees.  He makes them feel part of something, makes them feel they are contributing...sounds familiar to one of my posts a month or so ago.

San Diego

I’ve been extremely fortunate to travel to some amazing places in the world and thought I’d start to share some with you.  I thought I’d give you some insight into what San Diego, Southern California has to offer should you be struggling to find a place for your next summer holiday...in actual fact, it doesn’t have to be summertime to visit SD.  The weather there is pretty much always great...one of the most stable climates in the world...never too hot and never too cold.  Even in January you can walk around during the day in a T-Shirt..10-15 degrees...but for the most part..the weather hits 20+ degrees every day.

The beaches are amazing...so much so that here we are in November and I took my first surf lesson this week.  I had to meet my buddy at the beach at 5.30am...which is such an amazing time of the day...check out the clear blue skies...and then here is me looking eerrrr yeah.... moving on swiftly...

OK Lee...You've made a start!

Sorry...I know I haven’t posted for a week or so but I want to explain why.

I wanted to ensure that the quality of my posts wasn’t compromised and that I wasn’t just writing for the sake of writing...who am I trying to satisfy by doing that?  Well actually, considering the blog is my way of being able to get things off my chest, the only person I need to please is me.  This isn’t meant in any way to be selfish, it’s just my way of talking about the things that interest me, concern me or that I have a valid and constructive opinion on.  I’m not about to start talking rubbish about stuff I know nothing about.  I want to keep things interesting for those that take time out of their day to stop by and read and hopefully come away from the blog feeling positive, having laughed, having felt a sense of relating to a post or hopefully, inspired to make a change...a positive one for themselves.

Well Being Wednesday - Detox Your Anger

This is quite a deep one today but hopefully it will give you some food for thought about how to not only recognise anger, but control it.

It’s within our human nature to have angry thoughts when presented with certain situations.  However, there are different degree’s of anger...irritation, annoyance, frustration, rage...and all need to be dealt with in different ways.

It all stems from our caveman/woman days...when we were being chased by larger predators or felt threatened by another human to the point where we fear for our lives...commonly known as ‘Flight/Fight’..meaning we either remove ourselves from the situation or we stay and fight for our lives...literally.

Motivational Monday - Read Your Way To Success

It’s been a while since I’ve written a Motivational Monday blog...and the reason is because I’ve been doing some reading...and learning.

We are fortunate enough to live in an era that has so many publicly visible entrepreneurs that we can plug into...even if we don’t actually know them.

To think that we know it all and that we don’t need the advice of others is quite simply...business suicide.  Even the likes of Peter Jones and Alan Sugar constantly seek to improve...to do better...to discover the next big thing or fun money making opportunity.

Why Women Should Love Golf

This one goes out to all those people that do not play golf and give their partner grief for playing it...(you could substitute it for any other sport that keeps him out of the house with his mates).

Clearly there are many thousands of women that enjoy playing golf, even if just for the social side...in fact, the women at golf clubs seem to have more of a social side than the men do so fair play...but there are those that have zero interest in trying it and for some odd reason, hate it when their boyfriend/husband goes off at the weekend to play.

Well Being Wednesday - Detox Your Mind

This is part 2 of the ‘Detox’ series designed to help you focus on getting what you want.

It’s not rocket science that focusing your mind on what you want to achieve will without question bring positivity to you, your life and those surrounding you.

I’m a great believer in not moping around and most definitely not telling everyone that asks how I am, all my troubles.  We each have our own set of life challenges...daily, weekly, monthly...it’s just a fact of life that we need to accept.  The sooner we accept that we aren’t being dealt all the bad cards in the world, the better you will feel and the happier you will be.  When people ask how I am I always respond ‘I am great thank you...how are you?’.  Even if that is not technically correct, I am repeatedly telling myself I am great and the person asking gets a positive response...they really don’t want to hear you say ‘well actually, things are terrible, my life’s a mess, I hate my job, I don’t get paid enough, I work too hard, etc, etc’... Clearly we all need to unload on someone at some point...but let that be someone close to you, someone that understands you and can offer good sound advice...don’t unload on an unsuspecting work colleague that has no real interest and no way of being able to help.

Controversial Thursday - Crime & The Death Penalty

A very controversial subject for this week’s Thinking Thursday...but one I’d like to cover...and may need to come back to as time, circumstances and people change.

The last execution in the UK (by hanging) took place in 1964...this was prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder which happened in 1969 in Great Britain and 1973 for Northern Ireland...but yet the funny thing is...the death penalty remained on the statute book for certain offenses right up until 1998.

Now when you look at the history of this within England it would seem we used to use the death penalty for quite a lot... some 220 crimes to be precise... including... ‘being in the company of gypsies for one month’!   Between 1770 and 1830, 35000 death penalty sentences were handed down but only 7000 were carried out.

"Quis Separabit"... X

 

Sean Clifford O'Brien 25 March 1925 to 23 September 2011

As me and my family embark on a difficult day, the funeral of Uncle Sean, I try to draw strength from those around me.  I am humbled by all the kind words that have been offered by many of my friends...people that never knew him and yet can understand our pain...the world really does have some amazing, caring, sensitive people...thank you.

When I look at his picture...surprisingly, I don't feel upset...it's difficult to describe what I feel...clearly sadness... but actually I draw a smile and feel emmensly proud of what this great man gave to us.

He cared about us all deeply and always comforted us in our hours of need...giving us the strength to get back up.

Today Uncle Sean, me, my brothers and cousin Richard, will do you the great honour of carrying you...where we can only hope to show you the respect and grace befitting an Irish Guard and an amazing human being.

"Quis Separabit"...'Who shall separate us?'

Lee...You've Been Lazy!

Today’s post is really an action item for myself...something to drive my own behaviour...and if it drives you too...then that’s a bonus.

Helping the less fortunate or needy is something we should all get involved in.  We ourselves will one day be old or be unfortunate to become ill...and so will be dependent on others.  We might not be able to get to the shops to buy food, be able to stand to cook or even possibly unable to feed ourselves, unable to look after our house or garden or tend to paying bills...the everyday things that we all take for granted.  So who is there to care for us?  Clearly we would all like to think that our children and family will be around to take good care of us...but what about if they aren’t?  Who do we turn to?  Who is going to care enough to want to help me?

I Love Travelling But...

Sometimes we lose touch with the past, we get wrapped up in our modern world of cars, planes, trains, work and holidays that we forget what is on our doorstep.  I for one was never any good at History at school... I tried.. ’god loves a tryer’ my mum says...and I managed to scrape a result.  I do very much enjoy listening to someone explaining about history...the stories behind things...the tales, letting your imagination run wild as you picture what life must have been like hundreds of years ago...I just struggle to remember it all!

So imagine casting your mind back to 1132!... no...not 11.32am or pm... I mean the year 1132...the place...Fountains Abbey...near Aldfield...2 miles south west of Rippon, North Yorkshire...England.

Oh boy how they grow...

Remember a couple of weeks ago I introduced you to my nephew...Harry... well I thought I'd share a few pictures of him as i'm on my way to go and collect him to spend the weekend with him.


He's growing so fast and is very tall for his age... as you'll see from the pictures... he is still not even 4 yet... I'll try to put some dates on the pictures so you can judge for yourself...

It's not just a talent show...

I feel the need to somewhat lighten the mood...well...actually, lift my own spirits after the events of the last week so I needed to write about something that makes me smile...makes me feel like we live on an amazing planet and I’m proud to be here...

This is a strange one...I find myself wondering if I should be writing about this at all...but then I remember that it isn’t about me...it’s about the people involved in it...and the fact that they touch us...even though we don’t know them.

Reflections

Berts back online...but unfortunately, now is a very sad time for me and my family as we prepare to pay our final respects to my mum’s uncle and my godfather, Sean O’Brien.

I’m not sure anything I can say will ever take away the pain my family is feeling right now... so...I’d like to say a few words that I hope will explain what he meant to us.

Thank You!

Here it is people...your favourite day of the week...finally the weekend is in sight...pubs, bars and clubs all over the world have your name on the guest list and a bottle of vodka has your name on it.

I want to start today’s post by saying a big thank you.  To you, the readers.  I could never

Controversial Thursday - Weapons of Mass Destruction

I know there has been a lot written about this subject and I’m sure there will be a lot more but I felt the need to get it off my chest...then I promise not to discuss it again as it upsets me, those around me and many, many more families I’m sure.

I am of course talking about the reason we went to war in Iraq...for the second time!

I have 2 brothers in the Royal Air Force (RAF), one works in the Nimrod surveillance aeroplanes and the other is

Well Being Wednesday - Detox Your Friends

Welcome to my second favourite day of the week...and not because it’s ‘hump day’ as some people call it... i.e. once we get past today there is less of the week left at work.  I like it because it’s Well Being Wednesday.  A day dedicated to making me feel good and hopefully, some of you feel better about yourselves.

So I mentioned on Monday that I am studying the ‘Detox Your Life’ book... I’m nearly half way through it... and it makes for an interesting read.  Yes there’s some cliché stuff in there but

Why Do Men Take So Long?

This one is to satisfy those people that keep asking me to write more stuff that makes them laugh and not so serious like my other stuff... namely Rebecca!

I’ve heard many stories from women that tell me about a guy who just wouldn’t ask them out...even though they had shown them interest.  Let me tell you...this baffles the hell out of me.

Guys by nature I guess need to feel in control and yet they

Don't Look Back In Anger

Well, well, well...here we are...A fresh and crisp Monday morning.  Welcome to another fantastic week here on planet earth.

Firstly...shock...no one wanted a free iTunes voucher...oh well...guess I will just have to

Normal Service Resumed...Well...Kind Of!

Following yesterday’s clear rant over the London 2012 Olympics games, I thought I’d lighten the mood and do something fun for Friday... (and not Frisky Friday like a certain someone keeps pushing me to do..naming no names... Rebecca Eastwood)

It comes in the form of a few things, a joke, a two

£2.4bn...Are You On Crack?

Not my usual style...but none the less...topical and I’m sure it will spark debate...in fact...I’d love to hear your side... I am but 1 opinion... normal positive service will be resumed tomorrow so stick with me..

I totally get why so many people would want to have the Olympics in Britain... the atmosphere, the parties, the feel good factor, the memories, the history... I’m sold on all of those things...but at what price do they come?

So much has been made about London 2012... so many promises made... and broken when

Well Being Wednesday - You Can Do It

Eating healthily is not an easy thing to do when you live alone.  it’s easy to slip into the ‘I’ll just have a take away’ mentality.  It can also be difficult when living with someone due to our busy lives that mean we may eat at different times...so you must above anything else, remain strong on this.  It’s important to fuel your body in the right way so it will perform when needed.

Eating the right foods makes you feel healthy, look healthy and

Has The Internet Killed Conversation?

As I think about how I communicate today and recall how my parents communicated when I was a child, which wasn’t all that long ago as I’m only 35, I think to myself...do I communicate more now than people aged 35 did 30 years ago?...cast your mind back to 1981...

My parents often say “The art of conversation is dead, you young ones don’t know how to talk anymore”.  But is this really true?  Has Technology really killed

Don't Worry...It's Out There

We’re all looking for our ‘purpose’ in life.  The job that finally feels like it was made for us.  The job that gives us rewards both financial and personally.  But sometimes it takes longer for us than it does for others.  We must learn to accept this and move forward, life will seem much easier if you can achieve this mindset.  However, we must continue striving to find it by putting ourselves in front of as many people as we can, by asking as many questions of people about what they do, how they got into it, what did it take, what do they enjoy about it.  It is this kind of thinking

Oh Harry..You Do Make Me Laugh

A light hearted, short, but true story...

 

I’d like to introduce to the world my nephew.. Master Harrison Oliver Jones.. queue cute picture... He’s now 3 yrs 9 month old...but was only 2 and a half at the time of this story.

As I don’t currently have any children of my own, those that know me well would agree that I take great pleasure in being the family idiot and entertaining other people’s children.  But on this day, it was something serious, something I am passionate about, something that I wanted to share with Harry.  I wanted to get him interested in golf....stay with me on this... it’s not about the golf that I want to talk about.

Now, you might slate me for it, but I’d rather him be exposed to as many different things in life as possible in order to realise his full potential.  If he never plays golf, how would we know he isn’t the next Rory McIlroy?  It’s not about being a

Filthy Money

What is success?  What a great question.. in my opinion..people judge success in the wrong way... by the size of your bank balance.

This seems like a natural assumption....right?.... wrong... where along the way did we lose sight of what’s really important.. where did this disgusting greed for money come from? 

What happened to personal success.....life success... looking at what we are, who we are and who we are with.... the great achievements we’ve had along the way that don’t require money....our first swimming badge ... the first time we rode our bike without dad holding on to the seat... the first day at school... school sports day...the birth of

I'm No Hero....But I Know Quite A Few!

I often hear this word branded around...I’ve even been called one myself... I immediately react by saying ‘I am not a hero’... yes I might help people with computers or daily work challenges... but a hero.. really?  Most definitely not!

In my humble opinion, there are many ‘true’ heroes/heroines...many professions, many people that go unrecognised for their true heroic acts... doctors and nurses that perform miracles and save lives every minute of every day... firemen that run into blazing properties, children that look after their sick parents, and one that is close to me, the men and women of our armed forces.

Life's Pleasures

We need reward in our lives; this does not however and especially should not be, financially driven.  If you make changes to your life in other areas such as thinking positive, creating lists, setting goals, I guarantee you that positive things will happen, put yourself in positive situations, surround yourself with positive people that want to achieve.... all this will lead to great prospects, to job satisfaction and happiness but as a net result of all that you will discover that you will be earning more money... just don’t let the money be the focus and the reason for doing something. 

Blow Away Monday

Welcome to another week.. but fret not.. Monday should a happy day.. We have so much to look forward to, so much to achieve ahead of us.

If we change the way we think about a Monday it can have a profound effect on the rest of the week.  If we spent just a little time planning ahead.. setting some daily goals and understanding what needs to be done over the course of the week, we can visibly see progress.. We can feel like we are achieving something... Making a difference.

The Perfect Sunday

Different for everyone.. Yet we all crave it.. That one day of the week we look forward to.. The day of rest.. Or not as the case may be for many..
For me.. It starts by waking up next to that special someone.. The person you could happily lay next to for ever.. No rush to get up.. Apart from to make a brew of course..
Then it can only be bacon sandwich time.. It just seems to fit a Sunday morning.. The smell of it wafting from multiple households.. It has resurrecting powers... No matter how bad your hang over is.. The smell of cooking bacon is sure enough to bring you back to the land of the living..
Now.. Here is where I am sure we will be divided.. I love golf.. Love everything about it. I am at peace when I'm walking the fairways.. So its off to the golf club for me... I guess its only fair for the other half to be given the credit card to go and do some retail therapy..

I'm so glad people are different..

Wouldn't the world be a dull place if we were all the same? If we all liked the same things.. Had the same views, beliefs and opinions... We all liked the same sports teams and the same food...
That honestly sounds to me like it would an awful thing... Life is so much more interesting because we all have our own perspective, our own likes and dislikes.. We enjoy conversation and debate about things we agree or disagree upon..

Being Positive....

If there is one thing i have learned in my short 35 years on this tiny blip in the middle of the universe... it's that being positive, thinking positive, acting positive, WILL have a positive impact on your life.  I've experienced sadness and heartache throughout my life, as i'm sure most of us have.. so i know i'm not unique in this, so i can only offer my experience in how i handle these situations.... some people spend their whole life looking for the negative in things, how you dress, how you look, how you talk, how you speak.. they spend all their waking hours picking fault. 

Hello World!

Hi, My names Lee....but my friends call me Bert...makes sense....right???  This blog is going to be made up of various things...from my life experiences about travel, food, wine, books and golf,  through to motivational advice for those that care to read it.  I don't profess to being the oracle of knowledge, i just want to have fun posting about things that i enjoy and maybe, just maybe, help someone....so standy... it's bound to be a bumpy road... i'll be sure to be sure to find an Irish person to tarmac it to smooth it out for ya!