SouthseaScene

First thing this morning, I heard of the death of a great aunt. I didn't know she had cancer and last night she collapsed, went into a coma and died. Only yesterday I was pondering about death and how unexpected it can be. That singer Amber died while at the operating table, so unexpected to get a complication on a routine knee surgery. And the woman in Tenerife who was decapitated on entering a supermarket. Such a random chance. I used to get depressed thinking about death and how I would go etc. Strange, I know, but at some point we all must have thought about it. I was only little and so my expectation of death was more scary. I think it was the fact that I might go somewhere strange without anyone I know. Somehow now the thought that I won't be conscious of anything when I'm dead is rather comforting. Nothing to worry about. What these deaths remindes me of is that we must take each day as it comes and cram it full of what you want to do. You don't know when the end

I've always wanted to do lots of things, but negative self-talk always talks me out of things! So today I declare war on negative self-talk. Given the chance, I know I'm charming and friendly and good at what I do. There; I feel better already! Moving along the positivity vibe...I'm really enjoying this new doors to social media period I am having. I was preparing for my work 'performance development review'. There is a new form to fill and it has helped me looked back into the past twelve months and review what I have done. I've done lots! But the one thing I haven't done was to identify a social media training course! A quick work on-line to find those courses I've been dreaming of, I've now booked myself into a couple of amazing workshops to which I'm very much looking forward. Give yourself a positive self-talk and see for yourself what joy it brings!

It's Friday and it has been an inspirational day for me. My team at work was discussing social media in the morning and their enthusiasm seemed like an encouragement that I'm not alone in this and should really embrace social media. This seems a very positive way forward. I've always been wondering about my writing. Although I've always loved writing and wanting to write, it's always been in the more personal forms of letters and keeping a diary. Looks like I can't keep it that way for too long. First of all, Andy Stanford-Clark, who came to give a talk at the Cafe Scientifique session I organised last month has now asked me twice whether I blog. I evaded the question once, but I think that's not the right attitude! So I've promised him I'll write. Annabel Souter is another person I've met on Twitter who a few months ago, or maybe even a year ago, requested some writing from me which I managed to avoid. On reading her blog about her own writing I

I'm buoyed by all the good weather so far and everything I do seems to be influenced by it. Like the starting of cooking of all sorts with salad and Spanish flavours this weekend. According to my search, this sauce is either called 'samfaina' or 'sanfaina' - whichever way is the same, although there seems to be various versions of this vegetable sauce. The one I made fits one of the descriptions I found and it says that people think of this dish as the ratatouille of Catalan. I have altered the recipe to suit ingredients that I have at home. Enjoy! Chicken in Sanfaina Sauce 1 tbsp olive oil 4 chicken thighs 1 onion, chopped 1 clove of garlic, chopped 1 green pepper, sliced 1 yellow pepper, sliced 120g bacon pieces 1 tinned chopped tomatoes 100ml red wine 100ml water (or stock if you have) 1 medium bay leaf 1 tbsp chopped thyme salt and pepper to taste Heat the oil in a casserole dish, brown the chicken and then remove. Add the onion and garlic into the dish and fry