mince pies 2010 calorie counts

The pub on Wednesday already had "New Year 2011" streamers and those little poppers strewn around and I asked the barman whether he thought it was a little unusual.

"It is really," he replied, "..and the owners will change it two or three more times before the new year in any case."

This year we have Christmas merchandise jostling next to a surprisingly green-themed Halloween (what happened to orange?) and security cabinets full of explosives ready for November 5th. There's also a few hot crossed buns around so I guess anything goes.

I decided to test reactions by buying some mince pies (99p standard version) but no-one is at all phased and I've been reliably informed that another store is selling star shaped Christmas cakes as fast as they can stock them.

Instead, I'll be preoccupied with the individual payload of a single 'shop' mince pie.

My first selection are an already respectable 245 kcalories and as they are the ''basic edition" I'm sure there will be others with higher counts. A single pack of these would blow out almost a whole day's worth of recommended daily allowances, according to the packaging.

The quest continues. Tip-offs welcome.

snow go slow blow (Yo Ho Ho)

The last time I drove to France (earlier this year), there was an Operation Stack in effect on the M20. It is where they close the motorway and convert it into a lorry park.

Well, guess what? I have tickets to travel again this weekend, using the Tunnel to avoid the problems of the Ferries at this time of year.

Except.

Port of Calais is closed.

The M20 motorway to Folkestone is closed

Four or five trains were inserted into the French end of the tunnel in some form of destruction testing spree. "Hmm, one won't work, let's try another, and another."

Thankfully everyone has been rescued, but I wasn't expecting the journey to be such an adventure.

I may need a different Chris Rea track this year.