I struggled with what to write about today. I thought of three titles, on subjects which are on my mind at the moment, but decided to dispense with them and go with tomorrow's election - I think I need to get my prediction in fast and prove all the other pollsters wrong.
Just to let you know what you would have got (and to remind me, in case I decide to write about them at a later date) here are the titles I was thinking of:
The Really Fat, Obnoxious, (American) Football Fan I Met in Paris
Why Do Traffic Wardens Have Wobbly Arses, When They Spend All Day Walking Around?
The Judgemental Git Who Works in Nickelbeys.
So on to today's piece. You may (if you're British) recognise the title as being an adaptation of the Conservative Party's election slogan, with an extra word added on the end - the word yawn relates not just to the Conservative party election campaign but to the entire shebang. What a pile of utter toss!
I've not been so bored in years - and I'm normally interested in elections (from a purely academic, sophological perspective of course - I don't really care who wins* - I tend to believe in the concept: The illusion of choice is no choice at all).
So my prediction?
Firstly I need to give you my justification and reasoning.
Every general election the pollsters in Britain get the percentage of votes cast wrong - normally by a margin of about 4-8%. The margin is always in the same direction and underestimates the number of votes cast for the Conservative party whilst overestimating the votes for the Labour Party. The reasons for this are believed to be that people who vote conservative tend to be more traditional folks with a view of voting as some sacred inalienable right which must be kept secret: "I'm not talking to some oik who knocks on my door asking me which way I'm voting - that's my business and mine alone." or secondly (the majority of incorrect claims) people are embarrassed about voting Conservative as it makes them seem selfish and mean, so they lie (the Labour Party being seen as more socially aware and less individualistic).
It's also interesting to note that the majority of people who vote Conservative are women - it is believed that if only men were allowed to vote, the Labour party would have won every general election since the second world war.
So my prediction?
From the above you'd think I was going to say the Conservatives are going to do well but that's not what I think. I think people generally lie about voting Conservative so as not to be seen as selfish and I think the Iraq war will be an irrelevance for exactly the same reason in this election.
Every time a poll is taken and they ask people "Do you think the Iraq war will make a difference on how you vote?" They answer yes - but when they get in the voting booth I think it wont matter a jot - they'll vote on what affects them personally not some more over arching moral reason - people are selfish and lie about their voting intentions.
So impartially I think that Iraq will not be a factor and people will think "Mortgage low, income up, I don't like some of the government's policies but I seem to be doing fine myself." And their cross will go in the red box and Tony will be back next week.
So here's my final prediction:
Labour do fairly well: They still lose 30 to 40 seats but end up with a majority of 90-100.
The Liberal Democrats do well and gain 15 or so seats.
Conservatives (who ran an awful, negative campaign) don't make anywhere near the progress they hope for and gain only an extra 10 - 20 seats.
Final Guess:
Labour: 360
Conservative: 185
Liberal Democrat: 65
Others: 30
*I do care who doesn't win however, I wouldn't want the BNP or UKIP getting elected.
Stacey gave me a packet of mixed seafood (it was buy one get one free) so I made some tempura. It's not entirely traditional tempura as the recipe contains some breadcrumbs to give it extra texture (makes a good knobbly crisp batter). Also I didn't serve it Japanese style but more American style with some fried potatoes, salad and thousand island dressing.
As you may notice from the photo I made an absolute mound of the stuff - far more than I could eat. I've never had more tempura than I could eat and think I may be the first person in history to have been forced to stop eating tempura due to being stuffed.
Cake Blog
Ben and Jerry's Fisch Food: I didn't take a photo because it just looked like ice cream in a tub. It tasted like ice cream too, but jolly good ice cream.
Menu
Seafood Tempura
Buttered Fried Potatoes (fry potatoes in oil, add buterr and parsley)
Garlic Bread
Salad and Thousand Island Dressing
Ingredients*
Seafood Tempura
150g Seafood Cocktail (Tiger Prawns, Mussels and Squid)
50g Cornflour
50g Plain Flour
1 Egg
50ml Soda Water (Ice Cold)
Pinch Salt
25g Breadcrumbs
Oil for Frying
Preparation
Tempura: Dust a little flour on the seafood (to make sure it's good and dry). Mix the dry ingredients first, then add the egg and mix. Heat the oil - only when the oil is hot should you finish the batter by whisking in the soda water. Put the seafood in the batter and then fry the seafood until crispy. Easy peasy lemon squeezy (and have some lemon to squeeze as well).
