And there it is. You don't like it because it's Muslim, not because you care about animal welfare. At least you're honest Abs, unlike some round here.

Do you have a link to that Phil?

I don't think he'll give a toss. It doesn't take long to get into shape, he's had two sets of management on his case for 12 months. If he wanted to be there he would have made the effort. He'll have to leave the Premier League if he's to have any sort of career left, he's obviously not going to up to the physical demands of it ever again.

I've got a feeling you might be thinking of the Mystery Jets there Gav?

I can't believe we managed to shift that fat @#/? for £2.5 million! What's even more baffling is that some people doubted it was the right thing to do.

Way more than half then! I'm not passing any judgement on Eminem, but chart records definitely can be used as a a supportive argument on that evidence.

Who are the other 15? I bet at least half of them are garbage.

What do you make of Broken Social Scene's effort sleepyjack? I've been waiting for this one for years, and I must say I was very disappointed after the first listen. Since then it has grown on me, although I think the middle of the album is still very weak. Going to give it quite a few more listens yet, I'd already bought my ticket to see them live before I heard it so I want to try and like it as much as possible! Definitely my least favourite album of theirs at the moment though. The vocals have changed quite a lot from previous efforts, that's what I'm struggling to like in most songs at the moment. Sweetest Kill is probably my favourite song on it, followed by World Sick and Meet Me in the Basement.

So...ex-Rovers coach Karl Robinson has replaced Ince as manager of MK Dons. Another kick in the teeth for Ince, excellent.

I don't get it. How is it different from a takeaway?

Thanks Tris, I'll have to check Booths. You're right about the texture, although I didn't find it a problem in the casserole I had (probably because there were many other textures in there as well). You can't really say that without trying it. A company like that wouldn't put their name on a product unless they thought it was up to the required standard, the damage to reputation wouldn't be worth the tiny sales it generates. As Tris said, that taste is authentic but the texture slightly different. It's nicer than most black puddings I've eaten (it's not that long since I stopped eating meat so I can recall it), certainly I'd say this is better than supermarket/mass produced 'real' ones.

In what way? It's barely marketed at all, try finding a company that stocks it!

Ah yeah, I didn't think of clearing that up! http://www.blackpuddingsbury.co.uk/index.php?s=products (bottom right) It's created by a Lancashire company famous for it's (real) black pudding. It was nicer than almost every non-veggie black pudding I've had. After all, it's the combination of herbs and spices that make a really good black pudding. Not sure what gave it texture to be honest, but it was delicious.

Went to three restaurants over the weekend; Saffron (buffet style) in central Manchester was excellent, although very spicy. Excellent choice of food though. I'd had quite a few by this point mind, and things always taste better at that point. Went to Great Kathmandu in West Didsbury and was quite disappointed to be honest given it's reputation, especially in comparison at Saffron the night before. Ordered the Makhan Aloo and it was distinctly lacking in any tomato flavour, and seemed a little salty. Finished with Greens (again in Didsbury) last night and that was beautiful as usual, I had the black pudding and lentil casserole. I've yet to have vegetarian food that compares to anything in there, perhaps down to the way Simon Rimmer approaches vegetarian food.

Really sad. I saw Sparklehorse play in Manchester a few years ago and they were brilliant.

I, for one, do. It hardly costs any more. It would cost even less if more people did (economies of scale and all that). You blatantly know nothing of the subject. Neither does the theno...although he wonderfully squeezed immigration into the subject. Nice one.

Is no-one else livid about the axing of BBC 6Music? I can't believe they're getting rid of it, it's about the only consistently good thing the BBC produce. The argument is to do with reducing money spent on digital, as well as promoting 'quality over quantity'. How the hell has BBC3 survived in that case? It costs more for Chris Moyles' annual salary than it does to run the entire 6Music station for a year. It's disgusting, I hope their are real protests. I know a lot of musicians and DJs are very angry, many have already spoken out.

Watched Harvey for the first time last night (the original 1950s one), what a wonderfully charming and intelligent film. I can't believe it's made by Universal, I wish they still made films like that instead of brainless tripe they serve up now. Apparently a remake is being done, I bet it's gash. I hate remakes of classics, why do they bother?

Think they split up about 10 years ago didn't they? They were brilliant though, I still play their stuff pretty frequently now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2jBkWBjNMg Went to see Yeasayer last weekend and they were amazing, the sound was brilliant for such a small place. Fans of Animal Collective etc will probably like them.

Yeah that's fair enough, I deliberately didn't quote your post earlier because you didn't mention animal cruelty or anything.

I don't really want to debate the farming methods/Halal, I'll come off sounding like a preaching soap-boxer and I really don't want to do that. My only point is that anybody who buys chicken from KFC can't pretend to care about the welfare of the animals involved.

If you actually gave a ###### about animals you wouldn't have been going to KFC at all, Halal or not. http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/ I get annoyed when people piggyback on the ethics of animal cruelty to moan about Muslims again. Halal meat is a drop in the ocean compared to the mass producing farming methods used elsewhere.

Anybody know a good place to buy sold out tickets? I know of getmein.com but they don't have any.

Sounds great. Reckon a can of good quality chopped tomatoes could replace the 8 large fresh tomatoes?

Seconded!