Back in the land of not very hot curries (Norwich), I'm on a mission to try out all the curry houses in the city. I'm sticking with my staple Chicken Madras, which I've had in every Indian restaurant I've ever visited! The first thing that struck me about The Spice Lounge was the colour of the lights - they're blue! Immediately you walk in, you feel like you've entered a nightclub, then one of the waiters takes your coat and another takes you to your table. My first thoughts were "Poncey"!

We sat down at out table, conscientiously observed by the waiter, who then gave us the menus and asked what drinks we would like. They had the standard Indian restaurant beers on there, Tiger and Cobra, so I went for the latter. Kate had a Gin & Tonic, which always leaves me in fear because nowhere outside the top bars in London serve them properly. Anyway, despite the alarm bells ringing, prematurely, we were pleased to see the pompous decor and attentive staff weren't accompanied by higher prices. I was, honestly, surprised to see the prices were similar to the other Indian restaurants in the Norwich.

Five or so minutes later, a waiter appeared with our drinks and poppadums. Now, when I sit down in a restaurant I like to make myself comfortable; I'd brushed my cutlery into a single pile to my right, so I could comfortably rest my arms on the table while gazing lovingly into my fiancee's eyes. Obviously, then, I raised my eyebrows when the waiter, with almost German-like efficiency restored the cutlery to its original position! As soon as he'd left, I moved it back again. Another five minutes passed and someone came to take our order; so far, so good - they were waiting just the right amount of time between visits to the table. Of course, I ordered a Chicken Madras, while Kate ordered a Chilcken Tikka Balti.

Ten minutes passed by, while I finished the poppadums. The waiter returned carrying the hotplate and placed it in the middle of the table, between Kate and I. The waiter quickly put my cutlery back in the correct place and disappeared. Five minutes later, the food arrived. Excellent timing. Now, as well as moving the cutlery aside, again, I'd also pushed the napkin as far away from me as I could. No point - after placing our dishes on the hotplate, he swiftly, before I could even stop him, recovered the napkin, unfolded it and draped it over my left thigh! Wow! But why my left thigh? Anyway, I'd lost all resistance by them, so left it there and tucked in to the curry!

How was the Chicken Madras at The Spice Lounge? I'd say about six out of ten. Perhaps, I've spoiled myself with the Patak's Madras paste and I've been putting too much in paste in my curries, but my meal wasn't tasty enough. I definitely wouldn't have Madras there again, although I would like to go back because Kate's Chicken Tikka Balti looked delicious. It tasted good, too, according to her: "One of the best I've ever had! Slightly smoother than I expected - very tasty. And, I like the fact it wasn't too greasy - no puddles of fat on the top - and the chicken was cooked, spot-on."

The thing that really sticks out in my mind, though, was the ruthless - and I mean ruthless - efficiency with which we were treated with. Don't get me wrong, they were very polite and subservient, but you felt rushed, even though I don't believe we were being rushed. Kate felt the same. And the lighting: it's not a nightclub - change it! Incidentally, one of my colleagues at work had been there once before and she commented on the uber-efficient service, making her and her partner feel rushed, too. Oh, and that word 'poncey' has popped up again! Still, I'd go back - just not for a Madras, which is a problem because that's all I eat!

Delia has come in for a lot of stick with this book, which appears harsh when you actually take the time to read it. I bought this book for my mother, but want one of my own, now. Here's why:

Fashionable food nowadays is organic, GM-free and fresh. Why? Organic food is just a form of snobbery; it doesn't always taste better; not all chemical fertilisers damage the environment; and it often rots quicker! GM-free food is a load of twaddle as well, feared by ignorant people who don't really understand what it is or what it can achieve. And, fresh food isn't such a good thing either; nutrients are lost at picking, so frozen products are better for you! Then there's the local thing: we are always being told how we should be buying our meat from local butchers, fruit and veg from the grocers and bread from the nearest bakery - but hang on. Maybe they should work harder to earn our custom. Here's an example - there's a lovely little butchers on my way home from work, also within walking distance of my home. I have often deliberately not bought meat from the supermarket because I wanted to support a local business and get some better quality meat. However, they close at 5pm in the week. That's enough for me to miss them most of the time. Also, they aren't open on Monday afternoons. Why should I support a business which does little to go out of its way and help me? At least supermarkets recognise that most people work in the day, so open late. Instead, I've persisted with the butchers and end up with no sausages because they are closed and have to think of something else to eat!

Anyway, back to the book. Delia has written this with a mind to helping people cook without having to prepare and plan in advance. For me, that's ideal, because it means I can eat what I want without having to think about it at the weekend. She mostly recommends fresh meat still, but the press are slating her for recommending tinned meat (As it happens, I think Marks & Spencer's tinned chicken in white sauce and stewed beef in beer gravy are two of the tastiest things I ever bought!). I think the press are misleading the public with this book. It's awesome!

Walking to town for a haircut, I realised I was going to be early so popped into Oxfam to see if they had anything interesting to read. I found this in the Kids section for 99p, recognising the author from The Machine Gunners (a classic).

There are two stories in the book, the one in the title and another called Brangwyn Gardens. The first story, The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral is the longer story, and so has more depth. It is a spooky affair, told in first-person by a steeplejack working on Muncaster Cathedral and really is a gripping story, although I won't tell any more because I don't want to spoil it.

The second story is, however, disappointing and probably not worth reading, except maybe you might like the twist-in-the-tale ending, if you're into that.

The original story which gives the book its name is well worth reading and I recommend you grab it you can find it for cheap.

Having tired of Civilization I returned to FM2007 and made a promising start as a small club in the Spanish 2B4. Then I noticed on a website that FM2008 had been released. I checked out a few reviews, decided I didn't really care what they said and bought it the next day - just in time for the Christmas holidays!

Awesome! What a game! Like all its predecessors FM2008 is a huge game, and the detail you can go into is astounding. The difficulty is challenging - I gather a lot of people are finding it too much, so SI are creating a handheld version instead - but then it should be hard. This is still the ultimate football management game, but, be warned, it is very, very addictive.

Having been slightly let down by Live and Let Die, I am thrilled to write that this book, third in the series, is excellent. I read the final third of the book in one sitting, staying up well after midnight, it was so gripping.

The story is set exclusively in the UK (apparently, the only Bond story to do this). The beginning builds up towards a card game, which was just amazing, and results in Bond being assigned Chief Security Officer for the Moonraker project, a missile system designed to protect the UK after the World War II. Something is afoot, but Bond doesn't know what and when he does - it's bad! Although it isn't that difficult to work out the evil plot yourself, it isn't painful that Bond doesn't work it out until almost too late. It really adds up to a really good thriller.