Sacred Cows

Lucky old India has the sacred cow.

Poor old Britain has two scared cows: The NHS and Islam. Dare talk rationally about either of them and you will be treated like a heretic or a phobic.

Chappati Corner v Rusholme Ruffians and The Smiths

It's a definite sign of the times to me Chappati Corner, a very good one too.

I went to school in Rusholme, Manchester. In my first year there was one curry house, a sari shop and an Asian bank. By the time I was in sixth form we were having samosas and seek kebabs for lunch, today it is known as The Curry Mile.

For a few years Rusholme ruled supreme and you could get fantastic, reasonably priced curries. Then in my view, something went wrong. The prices soared and the standards plumetted. The food was no longer unique to each particular restaurant and a similarity between most restaurants crept in. I've since been told that many of them now use mass produced jars of curry paste. Not good.

So a few years ago I started experimenting further afield and now, when I'm in Manchester, I go to Cheetham Hill, by far better than many of the restaurants in Rusholme but not the place to go for a romantic meal. Most of the best are cafes or takeaways with two or three tables. You won't usually get a pint to quaff either, it'll be Coke or the jug of water on the table. But the food is home cooked, excellent quality and fantastic value.

I took a great friend to my favourite on Wednesday before the FC United game, Chappati Corner on Cheetham Hill Road, a short walk from the wonderful Jewish Museum.  The menu changes every day usually a lamb dish, a chicken dish and a vegetarian. When you're next in Manchester you must visit but be careful, it closes around 5-00pm.

If you are in Manchester in the evening and really want to go to a restaurant rather than a cafe I recommend Darbar on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, near the Great Western Street junction. It's nowhere near as cheap as Chappati Corner but the food is fantastic.

Which leads me nicely into one of The Smiths' greate tracks, Rusholme Ruffians:

Fighting Politicians

Now if our politicians showed this kind of passion, they might, just might, garner a little respect from the electorate.



In fact it would be a much better way of settling international disputes. Blair could have saved thousands of lives by just contacting Sadam Hussein and asking him to send his 50 hardest politicians to, let's say Geneva. Blair sends his hardest 50 and they settle it that way. Don't tell me that is less civilised than British squaddies having to give their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The only problem we would have is finding 50 politicians with any bottle. You wouldn't immediately think "oh, I'll send Lady Mandy of Mandelson" would you? On second thoughts.....

Bloody Animal Rights Wallahs!

I hadn't realised that snake charming had been illegal in India since 1991, thanks largely to animal rights activists. But now the Indian snake charmers are fighting back.

Good luck lads!

Politicians and Principle

The Bombay murders were truly horrific not to say extremely cowardly. But one thing that demonstrates the stark difference between public life in India and the UK is this story.

It seems that people in public life in India actually take responsibility. In the UK, as far as I'm aware, nobody in public life took responsbility for the London bombings, the Manchester bombings in 1996, or the shooting of an innocent Brazilian at Stockwell. In fact the last resignation, on a point of principle, that I can think of was John Profumo.

Even complete stinkers like Blunkett and Mandelson hold out until sacked, then quickly make a comeback when Blair/Brown think the public aren't looking.

Time to think about moving to India I think.