11 April 2012
He would always win the fight
The course is going well. There's a small group of us, and we all get along. At the moment we're all in together, but later we'll split for a day, I think. There's one other inspector, four sergeants and the rest are PCs.
Obviously the PCs want to end up transferring to Firearms, and I think some of the sergeants do, too. Whereas we inspectors are learning how to manage firearms situations more.
So today, having all done our homework, we actually got issued Glocks, and took them apart (a little bit) to see all the bits and understand how they actually work. It is interesting.
It would be fair to say my name is...known, here and there, in the Met. So people keep asking me if I'm moving departments, or what I'm doing there. So far I've pretty much got by with just shrugging and saying I don't know either. There are a lot of rumours. I mean, I know why I'm there, but it's still interesting to hear what theories people have.
Been trying to manage my team via phone and email, which isn't easy.
But todays bike ride went peacefully. Really dark clouds on the way back, looking as if they'd burst any moment... But I got home dry.
And I think stilton ice cream sounds nice, Mycroft. Should have got some brown bread ice cream to go with it...
64 comments:
Glad it's going well but being the subject of gossip must be a bit weird. How outlandish are the theories? The face you know why your there is the important bit though I guess ;-)
Brown Bread ice cream would be such a good idea that way all of dinner could be ice cream!!
Anonybob
Can we make ice cream?
Where have all my paragraphs gone??
Brown bread ice cream is delicious. Find some and try it! It's really tasty. But not very savoury.
The theories... They're not too bad, and not really about me, more about the direction of the force and the changes we're going through.
We can, Mycroft, yes.
Not all of us live in places with ice cream selections that go beyond vanilla and strawberry you know ;-)
They sound 'boring' theories I thought you were going to say people thought you were about to be made boss of the world or something ;-) of course in all seriousness firearms training having something to do with 'the direction of the force and the changes we're going through' is actually quite worrying!
It's always...enlightening, is that the word I want?...to hear other's theories about things you know about, isn't it?
I live in the land of Ben and Jerry's and Baskin Robbins, so odd-sounding flavors are, well, not so odd-sounding to me. :)
We have both those too but I like the nitro ice cream better and anyway brown bread ice cream is really really old and people had it when ice cream was invented.
You could make bacon ice cream, tomato ice cream, and lettuce ice cream, have it with the brown bread...and make an ice cream sandwich.
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
I would happily eat that sandwich John ;-)
I'm sure brown bread ice cream is really old Sherlock but it still hasn't made it to boring places :-(
You went in the spam again! But I got you out.
Lestrade says you can make it with breadcrumbs and sugar and butter and vanilla ice cream but it's a lot of work and you probably won't want to so you should probably ask him to make it like I do and then you'd get some easily.
I stand enlightened, Sherlock! (When was ice cream invented, anyway? Inquiring minds want to know. :) )
Ha, John!
(You could add the trout ice cream from Iron Chef America, if you want to get fancy.... :D )
I'm not sure it would survive the 300 mile trip still as Ice cream Sherlock but it's a nice idea :-)
I guess I could try and find a recipe and give it a go myself while you enjoy Lestrade's efforts ;-)
Ps. thankyou for rescuing me from spam :-)
Here's a recipe for brown bread ice cream that looks like it's not a lot of work, although it might not be authentic enough for purists: From Allrecipes.com. (You're very welcome. :))
(And here's Alton Brown--who hosts ICA show--on eating the infamous trout ice cream: He doesn't recommend it. :D )
If you and the other inspector are there to learn about managing firearms situations (which does make sense) which department is he from? If you're allowed to say.
I'm from the time when ice cream was vanilla, fruit flavoured or chocolate (or revolting rum and raisin) although I actually prefer sorbets if I get the choice.
I don't know what half of the ingredients in that recipe are RR but I might take the time to do some research and give it a go :-) either that or take a trip to London and steal Sherlock's ;-)
That's a bit more complex than what I'd do, yeah.
Sherlock says he'd share with you. Which is not an offer he makes often! But he adds that if you like it you have to get your own, hah.
My word Sherlock I am honoured, you really are a lovely lad you know :-) I promise if I ever come to share your ice cream I'll bring you something nice in exchange.
That's a bit more complex than what I'd do, yeah.
Really? I thought it looked really easy, if you have an ice cream maker. Is it that you don't have Grape Nuts, then?
I'm glad your course is going well, Lestrade! It sounds like half the fun is hearing the theories they're coming up with to explain your presence.
Did you know there's gluten in a lot of ice cream? I did not, until I couldn't eat it. I was so sad.
But I have a lot of other ice cream I can eat, like mint chocolate chip, and regular chocolate. But no more cookie dough or chocolate fudge.
I can make my own ice cream, though, as I have an ice cream maker, so I'll have to play with it and see how it turns out!
I'm not sure I understand what function the grapenuts have - Except to replace the brown bread...which I would have down as a vital ingredient of brown bread ice cream!
I'd go egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, cornflour and a vanilla pod for the ice cream, and brown bread, sugar and butter for the flavour, if I were to make it. Which it seems like I am, if Sherlock gets his way.
Danger - have you ever had lettuce soup? I'll make that too. It's lovely.
According to one of the comments on the recipe, L, the Grape Nuts are to save the time of chunking and carmelizing the bread, yes. (Which is how it can get away with 10 minutes of prep time, I presume.)
But Grapenuts don't taste like bread. They taste like...well, dirt, basically.
L - Lettuce soup? All right, sounds interesting. (Also custard creams, please.)
I'm still left wondering why have brown bread ice cream? Brown bread is for toasting and putting marmite on (or not toasting and putting marmite on). Now, marmite ice cream???
You'll have to tell me when your making it Greg and I'll come and see if Sherlock's offer was for real or if he thought the 300 miles would put me off ;-)
Is lettuce soup warm or cold? sounds interesting :-)
John, going by the recipes I saw online, you can have fast and non-authentic, or authentic and "a lot of work". *shrug* We don't have an ice cream machine, and we have nowhere to put an ice cream machine, so I'm not likely to be having any either way. :)
Marmite ice cream would be...interesting :)
All you'd need to do for breadcrumbs is blend up some old bread in a food mixer - or if it's dry enough, crumble it by hand - then stick some melted butter and sugar in a pan, mix it all up and stick it in the oven to 'dry'. Then mix it in.
Not that there's anything wrong with muesli/granola ice cream, but it's not brown bread!
(and this conversation is taking an odd turn in my head because 'brown bread' means 'dead' here in London, and dead ice cream doesn't sound so appealing...)
And warm, AnonyBob!
Ok warm is interesting! Recipe?
Dead ice cream sounds like it would be of great interest to Sherlock ;-) I'm sure he could come up with some sort of recipe for you to make it aswell!
I may not be "brown bread", but I am definitely "cream crackered" so I'm off. Good night, badgers.
N'night, SH, sleep well. You're not the only one, mind - I'm almost asleep on the sofa.
Lestrade - if you're going to make ice cream, can I bid for some too, please? Just not marmitey ice cream...
Ok, so right now was not the time to work out what song that is was it Greg?
Hope you sleep well tonight ready for tomorrow, not long till weekend now :-)
Anonybob
I got an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer for chirstmas - can't wait to give it a try. Brown bread ice cream sounds really tasty! I've done Guiness ice cream with dark chocolate honey sauce, and the Guiness definitely gives the ice cream a dark, nutty, brown-bread-y sort of flavor.
So...feel free to tell me to piss off or whatever, but what sort of theories do people have for you being at the course? I'm sort of curious as to what they think, knowing what we know over here.
God, you guys are making me hungry and I just ate lunch!
I've thought about buying an ice cream maker, but I only have a little freezer, so I don't think it would work. I've always wanted to try Salted Caramel ice cream, and Egg Nog ice cream.
I love Black Sesame ice cream, Ginger ice cream, and there's a local company that makes one called "Spice", which uses christmassy spices. Yum.
In Tasmania there's a company called Valhalla, and they make a fabulous one called Blackberry Cheesecake, which has neufchatel cheese in it. (Their Jamaican Coffee is fantastic, as well).
And now I might wander to the shop over the road to see if they have any interesting ice creams in stock...
AnonyBob - I still wonder if anyone cares about my lyrical titles!
Maz, Ro, both your ice cream flavour experiences sound brilliant!
I still wonder if anyone cares about my lyrical titles!
It depends how obsure you wish to go. Never liked that song.
I generally see them as a sign of something though I'm not always sure what ;-) I should have looked earlier than I did though because I might have asked why that song.
I hope today goes well and quickly,I still can't shake the weird feeling that goes with the idea of a room full of people with guns but there you go.
Anonybob
It is a weird feeling. I do still feel a bit like I'm in a movie.
Song lyrics...yeah, they do always mean something, but sometimes only very superficially.
This one...not entirely superficial. I do like this song - Nancy Sinatra version, which was criminally unpopular until Tarantino used it. And it has relevant lyrics on many levels. Although not all of the bits it was relevant to made it into the final post.
I got that feeling Greg, lots going on behind a fun discussion of ice cream, but I would probably only have bugged you with questions if I'd worked it out before (not that I wouldn't happily hear the answers if you wanted to say)
If you don't put everything here do you at least put it somewhere? This place is great for 'advice' but I'm guessing clearing your head isn't always easy? Maybe you need to write a post and block comments from it ;-) then you can say all you want and we can't bug you for it ;-) (or just tell us to get lost! )
Don't all boys dream of being a gun wielding hero in a movie when they grow up? (not funny I know)
Anonybob
I don't put anything anywhere but here, no. And yes, clearing my head isn't easy at all.
So having said that, not sure what else I can say! Some behaviours just take a long time to change, I suppose. I've worked on some, not others yet. Rome wasn't built in a day and all that.
And from your comment last night - I won't be offended if you slip and call me hunny! Been called far worse ;)
At three in the morning on the 76th night in a row I have still been awake I find myself wishing someone would invent something to wash things from brains so they can never return!! weird I know ;-)
I'm told a tortoise will reach it's destination just as well as a hare and generally in better overall condition so one step at a time will get you anywhere you want to go ;-) and as the saying goes you know where we are if there is anything we can do :-)
Hope you're nearly finished for the day now and that your boys have great stories to tell you when you get home
Anonybob
Well, L, whenever you want to talk about anything, we're here.
(Of course, we're also here when you don't want to talk. Always a catch... ;))
Yeah. First step is coming to terms with thinking certain things. talking might follow. one day.
Yum icecream! It all sounds remarkably delicious, that blackberry cheesecake, nom nom.
For the ice cream maker deprived Badgers, can I recommend alcoholic ice creams? I make a margarita ice cream (nigella lawson's no churn one) which requires 10 minutes with a mixer, and a few hours left alone in the freezer, and is unfathomably good. The alcohol content stops it creating ice crystals, and you can eat it straight from the tub (at 1 in the morning after waitressing) very easily. I'm experimenting with a cuba libre and pina colada one too, but it would be easier with liquid nitrogen!
I have a friend who when I met him was in a real mess with more going on in his head than could possibly fit. His doctor told him that thinking to talking was too big a leap to try to make all in one go and instead he needed to find someone he could tell when he was thinking something without having to tell them what it was. I got texts and phone calls at all times of day and night (I didn't begrudge any of them) most simply saying 'I was thinking and I wanted you to know' It took a while before he said any more but eventually he got there.
I'm sure John would, happily isn't the right word but you know what I mean, be someone you could tell you were thinking without going any further :-)
That said though what the hell do I know? you know what's best for you I'm sure of that :-)
I hope friday is a short day on your course and you're home for the weekend soon :-)
Anonybob
you know what's best for you I'm sure of that :-)
I'm not sure about that at all! But thanks. I try to find a balance. Struggle sometimes, but try.
you know what's best for you and you know you do. Whether you can always bring yourself to do what's best is another matter but the important thing is you try. :-)
very true - the doing part. Or not doing part.
Today is hard.
(As Mark Twain said - "Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time." Half the time I'm happy enough to let it quietly hide in the wardrobe, and not coax it anywhere.)
course hard, work hard, or own brain hard? not that it really matters which I suppose although weekend will be without the course, hopefully without (too much) work but sadly until they invent the brain washer (could be an idea for Sherlock or Mycroft ;-) ) your brain goes with you everywhere!!
I hope you're heading home to your boys soon :-)
Anonybob.
All of the above. And homework too. But not too much.
Hey, Lestrade. When is you and your bike's one-year anniversary? Should be soon, no?
Sorry hunny hope you're feeling better soon and that the homework is done tonight so you can focus on having fun with your boys tomorrow :-)
I would send you a hug if I knew how but the internet is rubbish for that!!
Anonybob
Cheers. It's not bad, it's just... makes me glad I've got another week of this, because I'm certainly not ready yet!
DW, I will work it out!
If you're waiting for this course to give you a moment of clarity that makes you suddenly think it's all ok I think you might be disappointed Greg I'm afraid.
Must be nearly home time now? :-) I hope the trip home is uneventful and that the weather is as good as it is here because it seems like the perfect weather for a ride :-)
I don't know if this is your usual set of music, Lestrade, but it's a feel-good song that my flight's been playing for the last month. Maybe good for a bike ride, to help clear your mind and get ready for a weekend with your favorite people?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPUM_sT_M6s
Thanks, DW. Very catchy.
AnonyBob - am on the way home, just stopped to get a few things sorted for my homework before I forget, and just...adjust to the weekend. Weather isn't bad, bit cold, bit cloudy, but sunny too.
Danger - I'll be home in a bit. Just need to have a think about things first, before getting caught up in the mania of our flat. (There you go, AnonyBob, thinking!)
DW - bikeiversary is next month, I think. I'll know when the renewal forms for the insurance and tax and everything else turn up ;)
I looked back to a year ago, to find out if DW was close with the bike question. And realised a year ago yesterday I got back in touch with Bryan.
Everything in that year has changed for the better.
Good thinking :-) glad everything is better :-)
I want to smile lots now :-) hope you are too :-)
Anonybob
L - just back from an Internetless holiday and am catching up with your blogs. I know that conversations have moved on (things don't stand still around here!) but I just wanted to leave a quick comment here, in the hopes that your notifications will let you know it's here.
I loved the Mark Twain quote you put up: "Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time."
I've never heard that before but I love it, it's perfect. I've got various bad habits of my own that I'm trying to break, and that phrase is a really lovely way to remind oneself that these things don't magically happen overnight... Thanks for that :)
I hadn't heard it before either. It is a good one, isn't it?
John - at risk of sounding like Arthur (Shappey), I have to say it's really brilliant :) Sometimes you just find a phrase or piece of poetry that so perfectly encapsulates a thought or feeling that it leave me flailing and going 'Yes, yes, THAT.'
Also liked reading about your weird cheeses! They all sounded tasty. If you've not yet tried Wensleydale studded with cranberries then I can highly recommend it. Friends and accquaintances have been know to leap tall buildings in a single bound to get their grubby paws on some ;)
Ha! Well, Lestrade is pretty brilliant too, so it only makes sense, right? It is a good way to think about it. More effective I'm sure than beating myself over the head with perceived failures, no matter how tempting that may be.
I haven't tried that one, no. Sounds like something Mycroft would absolutely love. Maybe we can find some while we're out tomorrow, thanks.
Thanks, Kate L. It is a very good quote, and one I should remember more often.
And don't worry, no matter how far the conversations and posts move on, we still get them :)
Good luck changing your habits.
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