Its December 1st today which means that there are only 24 days left until Christmas and 31 days until 2010. To help with the Countdown the CT in conjunction with the other RYL staff teams are here to help with RYL's very own New Year countdown!
To make RYL look a bit more 'festive' why not decorate your posts by making or finding a festive avatar and/or signature. Do you have a favourite Christmas picture or have you seen a groovy Christmas scene near where you live? Alternatively why not look around Google images for a cool looking, festive picture.
For some of us this time of the year is hard. Seeing lots of festive stuff may be tough so do remember that you can hide avatars and signatures in the forums.
Last edited by Freedom Fighter : 08-12-2009 at 12:55 AM.
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
The people across the road from me have had their decorations up (including flashing outdoor lights) since last week. I would perhaps understand if there was a small child in the house but there's not. Madness!
Anyway, yes, I'm a bit bah humbug about Christmas, but whatever makes peoole happy.
oh non-believer, please believe me.
is there honestly nothing in this world
that keeps you living & breathing?
you're a ghost in your own
goddamn city.
5 oz plain white flour, plus extra for rolling out the pastry
1 oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
3 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
a little cold water
pinch of salt
1 x 400g jar of mincemeat
a little milk or egg white
How to make them!
First of all make the pastry by simply mixing the flour, sugar and butter in a bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes so it will be easier to mix, and mix until the ingredients start to resemble breadcrumbs. Then slowly add a little cold water so it becomes dough like.
Turn your oven on to 200 centrigrade.
Place the dough onto a well-floured worktop. Using a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of around 1-2 mm thick.
Grease your baking tins well with a little butter or oil if they are not non-stick.
The circles you cut from the pastry depend on the size of your tins - make sure that each circle of pastry is large enough to come all the way up the sides of each tray indent. Don't worry if you don't have pastry cutters, a glass with the right-sized top will do. For each bottom you cut, don't forget to make a top, using a slightly smaller cutter or glass.
Once you have lined each tray indent with a pastry bottom, place a teaspoon of mincemeat into each pie. Don't be tempted to overfill them, the filling will simply escape and make a mess of your tins.
Add the smaller circle to form a pastry top and seal the top and bottom by using your fingers to gently pinch them together around the edge.
Pour a little milk or egg into a small jug or bowl and then using a pastry brush, gently brush a layer of milk or egg over the tops of the pies. Then sprinkle around a quarter of a teaspoon of caster sugar over the top of each pie.
Place the trays of pies into your oven. They should take around 20 mins to cook - until they are just turning golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, the pies will keep for at least a week in an airtight tin.
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
To get you in the mood why not decorate your room using these videos to come up with some easy to make decorations that you can customise as you wish. Alternatively why not post other suggestions here!
When we lose twenty pounds... we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have! We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty. ~Woody Allen
Is a chocolate muffin loving glitter ball
Struggling what to get one of your friends, blokes do you need an idea of what to get the women in your life for Christmas then here are a few ideas to help you.
Chocolate calculator
For the chocoaholic girl around town why not buy this fab looking chocolate calcuator
For the girl who loves customising clothes why not buy her these T-Shirt graffiti pens to enable hours of customising fun
Make up - most girls like putting make up on and to look nice
Perfume for girls who like to smell nice
Cd's work out what she loves to boogie to and you can't go to wrong
Dvd's a chick flick often works or a good horror that you could hide behind the sofa with her.
The party season is upon us and being prepared with some yummy warming drinks and scrummy nibbles is sure to guarantee that yours is a bash to remember!
Hot Cran Apple Cider this is a yummy warming mocktail that is perfect for these cold nights.
Ingredients :
2 quart of apple cider
1-1/2 quarts cranberry cocktail
1/4 cup brown sugar
3-inch cinnamon sticks
1-1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
Method :
Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Strain. 25 servings (about 1/2 cup each)
Mulled Wine is a traditional Christmas drink though it does contain alcohol as suggested by the name! As an alternative to making it from scratch many supermarkets sell sachets of the spices pre mixed!
Ingredients
1 bottle red wine
60g/2oz demerara sugar
1 cinnamon stick
grated nutmeg
1 orange, halved
1 dried bay leaf
60ml/2fl oz sloe or damson gin (optional)
Method
1. Put the wine in a saucepan with the orange, sugar, bayleaf and the spices.
2. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Taste to see if you want the wine sweeter, and add more sugar to taste.
3. Off the heat, stir in the sloe or damson gin if you are using it.
4. Strain into heatproof glasses and serve at once.
Always an important part of any party catering for your party can be as simple as opening a few bags of crisps and if you are feeling extra kind putting them into bowls and dotting them around through to a full on feast!
These recipes are really simple and easy to prepare and whilst they look impressive are also really cheap.
Sweet Chili Phili
Ingredients:
1 carton of philidephia cheese
1 bottle of sweet chili sauce
1 packet of crackers
Method:
Tip the philidelphia onto a plate trying to retain it's shape
Pour the sweet chili sauce over the top until the philidelphia cheese is covered
Serve with crackers
Glazed honey & mustard sausages
Ingredients:
2 tbsp sunflower oil
48 cocktail sausages , separated if linked
3 tbsp clear honey
3 tbsp wholegrain or Dijon mustard
ketchup and mustard , to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6/fan oven 180C. Pour the oil into a large roasting tin and heat in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Tip the sausages into the roasting tin and toss to lightly coat in the oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
Drain the sausages well on kitchen paper, then tip them into a clean roasting tin. Blend the honey and mustard together in a small bowl, pour over the sausages and stir and shake them so they become coated. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, turning them over halfway. Serve hot or warm, with cocktail sticks and little pots of ketchup and mustard for dipping.
The knitted Jumper, Shower gel, Socks. These are some of the most common things that blokes open up on Christmas day but no man likes to open these things even if they asked they are lying. So here is a list of ideas what to get men.
For the man who likes things military
Heroes: Band of the Coldstream guards
The Soldiers: Coming Home
To test if he is a man or a mouse why not try one of the ranges of extreme hot sauce
A game to make him feel that little bit more like a man
A good read that will keep his attention with a big twist
“The good things don’t always soften the bad, but vice-versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.”
“Nobody important? Blimey, that’s amazing. Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important before.”
“If it’s time to go, remember what you’re leaving. Remember the best. My friends have always been the best of me.”
Loving all the cool ideas in this thread - and the work that has gone into it so far... keep up the good work! As a side, I would so eat that calculator :P
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