Many moons ago, while waiting to join the RAF I had a job as a van lad for Wadnos delivering consumables to chippies. frying fat, dried peas etc. It was brilliant, two free dinners a day, which to a hollow legged 17 year old, was heaven. I can't think a a bad chip shop that we ate in, but that might have been to the driver scheduling his deliveries around the good ones for the lunch-time drop. The good chip shops were the ones that used a lot of frying fat, the hotter the fat the better the chips, but it also meant that they had to change it more often. My favourite one was out in the back streets of Blackpool away from the front - No idea where, I've tried to find it many times since, unsuccessfully. Blackburn was never on my round, so never discovered the best of the Blackburn chip shops. But I did used to like the chinese on Stansfield Street with their bullet peas. And the Hake Boat on the Boulevard, but that was a long time ago.

Nah - He was a Man Utd fan

Abbey - Chinatown is all tourist trap fare - Overpriced and not very good - I went to this one last May with about 10 friends - http://joykinglau.com/ - It wasn't bad, but as usual we got ripped off with them adding sides as they saw fit, all the usual stuff when there's a lot of you not taking too much notice what the waiters are doing. - Some ideas for Chinese in London can be found here http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/selections/best-chinese-restaurants-in-london

There's a little French Bistro on New Oxford Street that I love, Savoir Faire - excellent food at a reasonable price and a very nice Malbec on the wine list Savoir Faire Link - The only thing that I don't like on the menu is Fillet Steak with Snail Butter - nasty, but everything else is devine. Jimbo

A mate is after this season's program for the Swansea game, there's none left in the Rovers store - anyone have a spare please ? Jimbo

ONe from the missus here - Thin Blue Smoke - Doug Worgul - A tale of redemption set in a Kansas Barbeque joint - Amazon Link - "Simply the best book she's ever read". Also Dave Nichols, One Day and Starter for ten had her giggling like a buffon on our holiday last year. From me Frederick Forsyth Cobra was a decent enough read - not very twisty as far as the plot goes, but it did keep me reading. I really enjoyed Feersum Endjinn by Ian M Banks - I do like him as an author, whether he's in his sci-fi guise or his more standard fare.

No offense meant, but I see Abbey as the Anti-Kermode - Not all of the films Kermode recommends are good and not all the films Abbey recommends are bad, but as a rule of thumb it works out pretty much as expected.

For anyone in the Coventry area - I was away for a golf break with a few mates last weekend and stayed at the Windmill Village Hotel (http://www.windmillvillagehotel.co.uk/) and was pleasantly surprised how good their food was when we sat down for dinner - 3 courses for 23 quid - I had a confit duck started and confit belly pork for main both of which were excellent and then a very unusual coconut panacotta with pinapple and chilli oil dressing - the booze was a bit pricy, and the rooms weren't up to much but the food was excellent.

Went to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus at the weekend - didn't really enjoy it as it lost me half way though and I started to get bored, it did get a bit better towards the end but frankly if I'd been on the sofa at home watching this, I'd have been off out for a beer as it was the mussus enjoyed it more so leaving the cinema was not an option. Re: Taken - Who's driving the Boat !!!!!!

American - Any reviews on this - I fancy some BBQ

Add my recommendation of Smith and Wollensky to this as well - The Seafood platter starter is superb - especially if you're not paying

Jasper Fforde - The Big Easy - a surreal crime novel set in Reading where Jack Spratt of Reading's Nursery Crimes Division has to solve the murder of Humpty Dumpty with the assistance of his sidekick Sgt Mary Mary. An excellent read, witty and original. I read this in hospital after breaking my leg, swiftly followed by its excellent sequel The Four Bears.

Stayed at Northcote Manor when up for the Hull game, and ate there on the Thursday night to celebrate my nephew's O level results - fantastic food, but Jesus, what a price. Then on Friday ate out at Guide Village Cantonese - brilliant food - my missus absolutely loved it, reckons it's the best Chinese she's ever had. Sadly disappointed by the pudding and chips at the Chippery in town (the chips were just wrong - pudding was fine tho') It was never the best chippy in town, but I don't remember it being that bad.

If you're too idle to research this yourself, I suggest you start here then look here and then make an informed decision on who you would trust with all your data. As quoted by Benjamin Franklin "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"

No, they'd rather just shoot them in the head seven times.

What's the best chippie in Blackburn these days - I used to like Joe Chipchase's on Oozehead or the chinese on Stansfield St - I've been disappointed with the last few I've tried.

My mate wall mounted his and at the insistance of his missus mounted it way too high - it is literally a pain in the neck to watch - you want it to be about level with your eyes when you're sitting down - which can look a little wierd - just have a look at how high your TV is from the deck now and make it about the same

To follow on the theme of down to earth football autobiographies then I'd like to recommend Left Foot in the Grave by Garry Nelson It follows the exploits of the epitomie of the journeyman footballer's drift from playing to managing Torquay United - It is an excellent insight into how difficult things are for the managers of the lower league teams, and although nearly 10 years old I'm sure things have not got better down in the basement of football

This is the problem I have with Dunn - he was a world class player, on the edge of breaking into the England team and then he threw his teddy out of the cot because Souness wanted to play him out of position - too much time spent down Jumping Jacks and ended up as a wasted talent.

I take it you mean an outsourced company in the far east or eastern europe, outside of the current and any proposed data protection laws where the employees have a nice little sideline in selling on your details to whoever wants them.

I must admit I enjoyed Vulcan 607 as well - especially since the Vulcan was the first real aeroplane I got to work on the RAF, but I'm a bit sceptical on the actual claims of the damage done, by it - Good read though

Nice to see the Iranian government's take on 300 as an insult to Islam ???

B*gger - now I'm confused !

The consensus of opinion at work is Jefferes is pure class and was ruined by Arsenal who didn't play him - I'm not so sure, but I am sure that if he gets some serious time on the pitch rather than last 10 minute substitions, we will get a better player back from the tractor boys than we sent.

I'm dreading 300 - I've a facination with the Greco Persian wars and I'm worried it'll end up like another Braveheart - If you want to expand on the reading then Herodotus - The Histories gives an excellent viewpoint written 50 years after Thermopylae and Artimesium and Peter Green's Greco Persian Wars is very good