Wise Thoughts

As I am still on the hunt for a good Indian restaurant the other evening I decided to take my partner along to a nice Indian restaurant where we would hopefully become regulars. I came across Raj of India whilst doing a web search for Indian restaurants in Hertfordshire and decided to check it out. I thought it would be best to call up and make reservations and I’m glad I did because I called on a Tuesday evening to book the following day (Wednesday) and it was fully booked! I made reservations for the next available day which was Thursday evening for 6.30pm.

As it was fully booked I was hopeful that it was a good restaurant that many people keep going back to because the food and service is great. When we first got there I was a little put off as the area is very deprived, there are yobs hanging around everywhere and kicking a football about as well as intimidating passersby on their bikes. My first impressions were that the area was too rough and I would be constantly checking to make sure my car was ok.

When we ordered we weren’t offered a drinks menu so I’m not sure if they have one and didn’t offer it to us or they did not have one. As I was intent on having spicy food I asked if they made mango lassi’s and they said they did so we ordered two. Of course while we waited we had a few poppadoms with the usual condiments but the mango lassi took ages to arrive but we were told this. I was hoping it was worth it but when it finally came it was really sour and not at all as expected, it made me feel sick.

The food took ages to arrive around 35 – 40 minutes even though there wasn’t that many people there, there was us, another two couples and a party of around 9. I specifically ordered all the really spicy dishes but none of them were hot so I had to request some fresh green chilli. The food was very disappointing it was nothing special and the shrimp dish was just really small prawns! I wanted some desert but my partner wasn’t too happy so we decided to leave straight after. The manager came to us with the card terminal for payment and asked us how everything was, I told him that the food wasn’t hot enough and he said that we should have said when ordering how spicy we wanted it! The reason I didn’t specify was because each dish has its level of spiciness next to it, I forgot to tell him the mango lassi was disgusting.

Although the area is unsafe and dangerous the food was appalling and I cannot recommend going there for a meal. I don’t know how people can keep going back when it’s simply not good enough, very bland and service was too slow.

As a resident of Welhat I was a little surprised when at the beginning of the year a leaflet through my door advised of some new changes to the refuse and recycling collections. I had never heard of the council’s decision to change the collection service and cannot remember if I was even consulted prior to the change going through. Instead of coming on a weekly basis it will be alternate weeks instead, so one week household waste and the next brown bins and recycling.

How will welhat’s refuse and recycling affect you?
At the beginning of March a new black bin for refuse and a black bin with a blue lid for recycling were delivered to all the houses on my street. Later that day a leaflet was posted explaining the change in waste collection and that household waste would be collected every other week or twice a month! I initially thought it was a mistake but found out that all the residents will be forced to recycle everything that will be thrown out. Before we were able to put cardboard and food waste in the brown bin but now we can recycle junk mail, glass, plastic and everything else in the new blue lidded bins.

Even with the new bins I will struggle to recycle all waste, we currently have two bags of rubbish a week and with a new baby on the way, dirty nappies will add at least one more! So even if I manage to bring my household waste to two bags a week I will still have to make an extra trip a month to dump my rubbish in a recycling centre. The new bins are slimmer than the brown and blue lidded bins; they only hold 3 black bins! So in a month I can only chuck out 6 bags whereas the minimum I can bring it down to is 8!

One of the worries I have about this silly change is that those who rely heavily on take away meals and an easy life will not do their share of recycling so will end up fly tipping all over the county. I don’t see many people who cannot recycle all their waste going to the recycling centre to get rid of it as after a while it will become a nuisance.

I understand we need to do more to recycle but I haven’t received a sticker to put on my bin like I did with the brown bin advising me of what I can and can’t put in it. I hope this new change doesn’t become much of a hindrance but I suspect that when its winter many people will start to fall behind in recycling as they well be too cold to even open up the door to sort out their rubbish.

I’m not really into celebrating Valentine’s Day but as it will be the last one as a couple before baby arrives I thought it would be nice not to cook and have a takeaway instead. I chose Khyber Balti House in Hatfield because it was close and the reviews were good. I haven’t had Indian food in over 6 months so was looking forward to having this special treat and nigh off from cooking.

I ordered my meal online from Khyber Balti House with the expected delivery time of around 45 minutes to an hour which is standard to all the takeaways in the area. I ordered:
1 mango lassi
1 Shazani chicken
1 king prawn bhuna
1 aloo gobi
3 naans

Being pregnant and suffering from heartburn I didn’t want spicy food which was great because I didn’t order any, my favourite Indian dish is a king prawn bhuna but the one I ordered was terrible, it had no taste and the prawns were not very good quality. I was disappointed with that dish, the mango lassi is also a favourite drink of mine when I have an Indian curry but it was too sweet and was delivered in a white takeout container, not a takeaway drink cup like at fast food places.

For some reason the chicken made me feel sick and didn’t taste of anything, it was supposed to be tangy because of the lime but it did not taste of anything at all! The aloo gobi (potatoe and cauliflower) would have been ok but the cauliflower was too hard so I couldn’t break it into smaller pieces let alone eat it.  The naan bread was nice and was still soft the next day.

We also received 2 complimentary poppadoms with mint sauce and some strange sliced onions and tomatoes but we didn’t really want them then so saved them for the following day. The mint sauce already started to curd and went off so we had to throw it away. All together the meal came to £24.25 but it wasn’t really worth it, I could’ve gone to Tesco, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s or Marks and Spencer’s and gotten a 3 course meal for two for £10!

Save your money and don’t bother eating anything from Khyber Balti House in Hatfield as none of the dishes were tasty, it’s supposed to be an Indian restaurant I could have done a better job with the pre-bought sauce at the supermarket!

Before I even got pregnant I always knew that I wanted to have a 4D san of my baby before he/she  was born, so when I did my baby budget I also included £200 for a private scan package so I wouldn’t be left short when the time came. A year after the budget was made I am now 30 weeks pregnant and went for my 4D scan at Golders Hill health Centre in Golders Green.

What is a 3D/4D scan compared to 2D?
A 2D scan is what is normally offered in all NHS hospitals as part of your antenatal care and so see of the baby is growing properly and to determine an accurate due date. 2D scans are flat images that are black and white and show an outline or skeletal image of the baby. A 3D image is shows you the features such as ears, eyes, nose and body parts such as the legs and arms. It is also more realistic and looks more like a photograph of the baby than a scan image. 4D is basically moving 3D images of the baby moving in ‘live time’ you can see things such as kicking, smiling, sucking their thumb, yawning and sticking their tongue out. It is also easier to determine the sex of the baby as it would be very hard to miss at this stage and with better imaging.

I know most people will not be able to justify the cost of a 3D/4D scan but it was one of those things that I wanted and I planned and saved the money long before I fell pregnant, but the money was never the issue in the first place. I wanted to find a place that was well known and had many satisfied customers and reviews.

Like all private 3D scan companies they cannot guarantee a good clear picture, it also depends on the co-operation from the baby and the size. If the baby is in a good position you will get good pictures if you are further along the baby may be squashed because they have run out of room so the pictures will not be varied.

Babybond Golders Green
I wanted my family to experience this with me as it is my first child and the first grandchild for my mum, I emailed and was told that up to 4 people could come in with me. I took along my husband (of course), mother, sister and my 76 year old grandmother. Being 76 my grandmother never had scans in her days for any of her four children as they didn’t exist then. She also never got to see her children have scans so I thought it would be a good experience for her to see how technology had evolved and we could now see our future children in 3D beforehand. The Golders Green centre have a small parking at the rear of the building for their clients but as appointments are on a Sunday you can park on the road outside if you wish too. If you have to use the A406 leave in good time as the traffic is really bad due to the road works that have been ongoing for the last few years. To enter you need to use the side entrance where there is a bell for Babybond.

We were 20 minutes late due to the horrible traffic but we were welcomed and told that they were also running behind by 20 minutes so we waited in a very cosy and clean lounge area. The receptionist brought down the paperwork and I signed and paid the remainder of the scan, they only ask for a deposit of £30 at the time of booking to secure the appointment. You can pay the rest on the day; I went for option II that was £179, so I paid the remaining balance of £149 by card when I arrived.

After a little while we went to the top floor but there is a lift should you need to use it, on the top floor there is another little waiting area where you can see a few pictures of previous 3D scans. We then went in and were greeted by a male sonographer. He took down my estimated due date and put warm jelly on my stomach area, it starts of in 2D then switches to 4D. It was amazing to see my little person with little features staring back at me. We didn’t want to know the sex so the sonographer told us to look away when he had to measure the femur (leg bone).

We got to see our baby move, make faces, stick out his tongue and open his eyes. It was an amazing experience and wasn’t rushed at all. We got a 15 minute DVD of the scan in 4D and another CD with all the pictures; we got 4 or 5 thermal 3D pictures and many more black and white printouts too. I really enjoyed the scan and thought that it was professional and fabulous; it only took 5 minutes to make the DVD, CD and print out the pictures.

Babybond in Golders Green was excellent and ideal as they did them on a Sunday making it more convenient for those who work during the week. There are many other clinic locations but my experience was for the one at Golders Green and I couldn’t fault it.

From June 1st 2010 the new hospital for North Middlesex was open and ready for patients to come and receive treatment. The new building is still on the same hospital grounds and cost £123 million, services such as A&E, operating theatres, outpatients, intensive care, inpatient wards and diagnostics have been transferred to the new building. It has been welcomed by most as the old buildings used for the above services were in poor condition and navigating was horrendous.

As a local resident my father is a pensioner that regularly attends North Middlesex Hospital for blood tests and outpatient appointments. Finding where you need to go for appointments and clinics in the old hospital was a nightmare, the signage was out of date and with clinics being moved and building works being carried on nearby it was a maze.

Since the new hospital has been opened for 7 months now I thought that any problems and kinks would’ve been sorted by now and I took my father to his latest appointment at the new build. It looks very impressive from the outside and as you arrive you can drop off patients just in front and continue through to the car park. As you walk in the hospital there is a large desk with a receptionist who can assist with directions and a board with endless information on where to go.

If you need to go to the outpatients department there is a reception desk just down the corridor that is very hard to miss. You need to check in and a bleeper is handed to you with no explanation, you are then told to proceed through the double doors. When you go through there are clinics numbered 1-8, it was manic, arriving at the reception desk the receptionist was rude and didn’t even greet me or anyone else who was waiting for booking in.

You get bleeped when it is your turn though this wasn’t explained; many older people looked confused as this new technology was not explained. I was there for a 10.30 appointment but didn’t leave until gone 11.45, far too long to spend in a waiting room; the appointment itself was over in 5 minutes.

I would like to note that there aren’t enough car parking spaces and you should leave a little earlier as you may need to hunt one down. Overall the new system is a sham, not enough staff, seating or explanations into the new appointment system. Yes it may look clean and new but it is by far the worst place for outpatient appointments!

In the UK we only get 8 bank holidays each year, 2011 will see us have a temporary bank holiday as Prince William marries Kate Middleton bringing it to 9 bank holidays that year only. Back in the 1820’s we had a whopping 33 bank holidays annually! Over the years this has decreased dramatically but we are still one on the only places in the world to get such little holidays. The United States get 12, Spain 14 and Italy 16! Although it may seem that we do not get that many spare a thought for those countries that only get one or two a year! I have found some countries have as much as nearly 30 bank holidays a year, but I have to say we are luckier that some as officially a working week is Monday to Friday so when a bank holiday falls on a weekend we get in it lieu on the next working week of a Monday, some places such as France do not give it to you that easy. In France if a public holiday falls on the weekend then that is the day you will have it, you will not get the Monday off as you would in the UK.

Here is a summary of the bank holidays we currently have in the UK:
January 1st – New Year
March / April – Good Friday and Easter Monday
May–Early May Bank Holiday, first week of May
May –Spring Bank Holiday, last Monday of May
August –Late summer bank holiday, Last Monday in August
December 25th – Christmas Day
December 26th – Boxing Day

In the New Year an announcement will be made to see how the public reacts to changing the May Day bank holiday from beginning in of May to late October instead. Many people have welcomed this move as there are too many bank holidays clustered together in the first half of the year alone. By moving one of the bank holidays to the second half of the year much of the working class will get a well deserved rest before the Christmas period. Businesses will also benefit as many people have said that they were likely to go away for that weekend within the country. So B&B’s, restaurants and general tourism will increase as many will also hit the shops early in a bid to stock up on some well needed Winter shopping essentials.

I think it would be a wise move to have a bank holiday towards the second half of the year but for personal reasons as I don’t see it benefiting the economy greatly. It’s so much cheaper to holiday abroad even if it is for just a few days as here in England the prices always go up when there is a public holiday or school holiday. As for shopping most people will use this day for rest and relaxation not traipsing around the shops all day hunting for bargains. Many people have turned to the internet to shop for winter essentials as braving the harsh winter months can be more dangerous than previous years.

In the small town of Welwyn is a highly rated restaurant called Bipash, it is called a tandoori restaurant but I think it’s more of an Indian restaurant has they have more choice in curries than they do tandoori dishes. I have been in search of a good Indian restaurant for a while now and many colleagues recommended this restaurant to me. One evening my partner and I decided to give it a try, there was no special occasion just a lazy Friday evening.

As you enter Bipash there is a small bar and waiting area for those who want take away and waiting for their food collection. We were seated immediately by a friendly waiter, all of them were male. It is very small inside but cosy and the tables are not that close together and there is room to move. The menu is a little long but repetitive, they have different names for certain dishes when they are in fact the same when you look at the ingredients. The waiters are all very busy but very attentive too and it was no problem getting one’s attention.

The food is ok nothing spectacular, much easier on the stomach than most Indian restaurants as it wasn’t very spicy although it was meant to be. The poppadoms at the beginning were nice as was the choice of Indian dips that came with it. The naan bread was very big and could feed two if your meal also came with a side of rice, as most of them do. By 8.30pm the restaurant was very busy and all the tables were full, there were loads of waiters which was nice to see so service was prompt. The price was also very reasonable and portion sizes were also very good. We had a lamb dish with a side of rice, a prawn dish, 2 naan breads and a paratha. It was enough to feed us again the next day as we only ate half of everything.

I found Bipash to be a very pleasant experience with good waiters and good food, the only thing I didn’t like was that the menu was a little sticky when we were choosing our meals and it was a little slow to pay as it was getting very full. The decor is also very dated as are the plates and cutlery.

Overall if you’re stuck for a good meal out then head here, if you want exceptional food that leaves you wanting more than this is not for you.

A week ago there was an advertisement for all Sky customers, they are giving all their customers access to their HD channels as part of a Sky HD weekend.

The Sky HD weekend will start Friday 29th October 6pm until Monday 1st November 6am this is for Sky customers. For Virgin customers the Sky HD weekend will begin from Saturday 30th October 6am until Monday 1st November 6am. There is a selection of movies to suit all tastes and genres, family movies, action and also romance.

There is no need to register if you are already a customer as these channels will unlock automatically, as long as you have a HD ready TV you will be able to take advantage of this weekend’s viewing pleasure.

I have only seen this advertised twice in the space of two weeks and even a search on Virgin does not give me any information on this weekend pass. Doing a search with Sky is also as bad as you need to do some digging before you find the FAQ’s and all other related information. For something that is free and will benefit Sky you would think that more advertising and awareness would be raised.

Having previously looked into getting a HD subscription the lack of channels available is what put me off not the price. It’s a shame that so many people have a HD ready TV but are unable to benefit from watching HD films and programmes. The only way to benefit from having a HD TV is to rent a film that is HD.

Well we can only hope that this weekend pass will go without any glitches so we can see what the fuss is really all about.

Like me I am sure that there are people all over the UK that do not like Halloween and the ‘trick or treating’ that comes with it. Halloween is an old tradition that is very popular in the US, there people go out of their way to enjoy the festivities. I’m sure if you were to ask any young child here in the UK they wouldn’t be able to tell you why it is celebrated. Children think Halloween is a fun time where you dress up and get loads of sweets. When will parents learn that by lying to their children they are creating much confusion for them and they should be told the real reason no matter how scary it is.

Other than small children dressing up and going with their parents there are older teenagers who will terrorise youngsters and see it as an opportunity to wreck homes and driveways. Although it is rare those who live in rundown neighbourhoods and impoverished areas will suffer the most by uneducated scum.

Common stupid Halloween pranks

• Trashing the driveway
• Throwing toilet rolls over trees
• Vandalising cars
• Throwing eggs
• Throwing flour
• Throwing rotten food such as tomatoes

If you do not want to answer the door for a trick or treat then the Metropolitan Police have advised you put up a sign saying so. If you are lucky enough to have a wireless door bell you can just disconnect it as that’s what I’ll be doing this year. Don’t put up decorations or pumpkins if you do not plan on opening the door it’s just an invitation for kids to press the doorbell.

Halloween has been come a commercialised holiday with many shops profiting from the sales of cards, pumpkins, sweets and other themed items. Most people now also have a Halloween themed party as an excuse to get together but after paying for the costume, decorations, Halloween sweets and food the cost can soar and it is worth putting towards something else. When will people understand that Halloween is not an important holiday to celebrate and in recent years has become even more dangerous. In some states sex offenders have to display a coloured poster in their window to alert parents that there is a very dangerous sexual predator living in that house, here in the UK there is no such measure so children are knocking on doors at their own risk!

As of 4th October 2010, there will be a few changes to the practical driving test. There will be an independent part that will be added to the test. Now as with every change, people tend to hate them because it deviates from what they are used to. Therefore some learners will like them and others will not.

So what exactly will happen to learner drivers. Well the new driving test changes 2010 are supposed to make them better and safer drivers. They will need to drive for 10 mins without any instruction from the driving examiner. They will either be told where they need to go and have a diagram shown to them which would indicate the route they need to take. The reason behind this is that a good driver needs to know where they are going because they are in charge of the vehicle and therefore when they pass their test, they will be driving on their own without any instruction from anyone else.

If you think about it carefully, it’s not really something to worry about because as a learner, you are taught the skill of driving. Yes you get instruction from your instructor telling you where to go but at the end of the day, if you need to take your car from your home to your work place or to visit family, you cannot expect someone to be sitting next to you to give you directions. Of course, learners are scared at the th0ught of changes to an already diffcult test (for some actually) but at the end of the day, if you’re ready for the driving test, then you would be just fine. So don’t panic and give your best shot!