Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay

Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort & Spa

The most exclusive five-star resort in Malta, the Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort & Spa is located on the edge of a cliff overlooking the unique Sandy Beach. The average "daily" room rates off-season are around 200 euros rising to over 400 euros in peak season, so luxury really does come at a high price!

Low Cost, Clean and Safety Checked Holiday Apartments in Bugibba, Malta

The resort is a short drive from St. Paul's Bay and the town of Bugibba, where perfectly acceptable self catering accommodation can be booked for as little as 19 euros per day. It takes 15 minutes by bus to reach Golden Bay from Bugibba with regular buses running throughout the day.

YOU CAN MAKE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS BY CONFIGURING BUDGET FLIGHT DATES WITH DAILY RATE SELF CATERING APARTMENTS

The Traverse and Rock Scrabble a Cautionary Tale: At first the going was quite easy, as many people have trodden a narrow path that traverses the rocky shoreline at the foot of the shear cliffs. After about 20 minutes scrabble along the rocks, I found the perfect spot to setup my tripod and take 6 shots to form a 180 degree panoramic view of Golden Bay.

Twenty minutes later; I found myself clinging on to a very tiny handhold 50 feet up a shear cliff face with nothing but jagged rocks and pounding waves below me!

I can remember looking around and thinking, "well, couldn't have picked a more picturesque place to die".

360 degree panoramic image showing the Ta' Kola Windmill, Gozo, Malta. It was a VERY hot and sunny day. However, I used my "home-made" pano head and using the backup Pantax camera to take 12 shots around a 360 degree panoramic view.

The tripod was setup in the shade of a small palm tree in the quiet village square garden directly opposite the windmill. This minimised the "flare" from direct sunlight that often spoils my full 360 camera lens.

Ghajn Tuffieha Tower

360 degree panoramic image taken close to the Ghajn Tuffieha Tower located high on the cliffs separating Golden Bay and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay located on the north east coast of Malta. This is one of the many towers that were build during the times of the Knights of Malta.

Try tilting the image down towards the sea to get an idea of how high the cliffs are and the spectacular view from the small plateau where the tower is positioned.

Malta, Valletta Inner Harbour

360° panoramic image showing the inner harbour at Valetta. It was a VERY hot and sunny day, so once again there's quite a bit of over exposure. However, the crystal clear blue waters of the Mediterranean are clearly visible.

GGANTIJA TEMPLES, GOZO

360° panoramic image showing the inner chamber of the Ggantija Temples located near the small village of Xaghra, Gozo, Malta. It was a VERY hot and sunny day, so once again there's quite a bit of over exposure. However, this time I got a bit smarter and used my hat to mask the direct sunlight on the curved lens.

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Need Wheels For Your Road Trip?

The mode of transport used for your road trip is obviously very important, if only when selecting a viable route. For example; if you're planning to use a bicycle as the main means of locomotion, then routes that do not include motorways and duel-carriages would have to be planned for. The same goes if you're going to use a horse, donkey, camel or your own two legs. Fairly obvious information everybody should know. However, recently a couple of backpackers were arrested for walking southbound on the northbound hard shoulder of the M1.

Personally, the thought of walking or riding all day in all weathers and then setting up camp is a nightmare best best kept in dreamland rather than actual reality.

This article aims to discuss the merits of using a Motor home as the main means of locomotion for your real or virtual road trip.

The motor-home Virgin

I didn't think it would be too hard to find out the basics of touring by motor-home when I first started this research. However, as it turns out; there's a LOT of factors to consider before hiring, buying and preparing a motor-home for even the shortest road trip.

Fortunately, there are some excellent web sites dedicated to motor-home information covering the basics right up to "Road Warrior" status.

motor-home Facts have a first class primer pack of information covering four main topics:

Beginners Guide to motor-homes & motor-homing

Introduction
This is the first of four beginners guides to motor-homing that will hopefully smooth your entry into this fascinating and enjoyable pastime.

Table of Contents

Starting Out on motor-home Ownership

For some, motor-homing is a hobby, for others it's a way of life, living in their motor-home full time, and enjoying the freedom that the lifestyle brings.

Part One - The Basics of motor-home Ownership and Legal Requirements

So I Want A motor-home - What Types Are There?
Currently, there are over 90 manufacturers of motor-homes available in the UK.

Which Is The Best?
The smaller the vehicle, the better the fuel consumption, and the convenience in day-to-day use from the point of view of parking and access to narrow roads.

How Do I Choose?
There are a number of criteria you should use when choosing the best motor-home for you.

What's your budget?

How much can you afford to spend?

What seasonal use do you expect?

All motor-homes are good for use in fine spring to autumn weather. Some motor-homes are designed for slightly harsher environments, especially with regard to temperature.

How many people / pets?

motor-homes are built with the ability for people to sleep in them.

Where will you use the motor-home?

Some motor-home owners are content to visit areas of the UK, where you can normally enjoy reasonable access for a large vehicle. But if you wish to travel to other countries, there are other aspects to consider.

Fuel consumption

Most modern motor-homes use efficient diesel engines, but our expectations in terms of facilities raises the weight, and hence increases fuel consumption by a small amount.

Size limitations for storage

A lot of people these days keep their cars on a drive at the front or side of the house. A motor-home can be a much bigger, and heavier, vehicle.

Driving licence restrictions?

Towing

Having decided which sort of motor-home you're looking for, you now need to look at some!

Should I Look For A New motor-home Or Second Hand?

It's an age-old choice. Some people love the smell of a new vehicle, and the thought that no one has used it before you. However, like cars, there is no doubt that the value of a motor-home drops as soon as you drive away from the dealer's forecourt.

Where Can I See Some motor-homes?

There are dealer's who specialise in selling motor-homes, and there are several monthly magazines available featuring adverts to enable you to find a dealer in your area.

Shall I Buy Privately?

This is an age-old question. There's no doubt you can save money, and sometimes many thousands of pounds, by buying from a private seller. However, if you're new to motor-homes, you have to be aware that you have no recourse if something goes wrong with the motor-home after you drive it away.

The Viewing

When viewing your motor-home, try to remain dispassionate about it. Don't "fall in love" with the appearance of it from outside. Of course, check the quality of the bodywork, looking for rust and accident damage.

The Test Drive

Whatever the situation, whomsoever you're buying from, always insist on taking a test drive.

Negotiations

Some people are born negotiators; some have learned to negotiate; others hate negotiating. The first piece of advice is: if you're not good at negotiating, take someone along who is, if you can.

Part 3 - Picking Up Your motor-home

At this point, we have assumed you've performed your extensive research on the motor-home market, you've visited several dealers, and some motor-home shows, and you have decided on which motor-home is for you.

Before The Pickup

When we picked up our first motor-home, we took a checklist, but most of it got ignored.

The Pickup - Checking Over The Van

The day eventually arrives. All the money is in place, and the van is apparently ready to pick up.

Water Systems

Most motor-homes operate with a fresh water tank and a grey water tank, mounted under the floor. The vendor should show you where the fresh water filler cap is, which is usually a locking cap to stop contamination.

Electrical systems

Get the vendor to show you the location of the habitation battery, and use a voltmeter, set on its 20 volts dc range, to show that the voltage rises when either the engine is running or the 240 volt charger is operational.

Gas systems

Most motor-homes have some sort of LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) system, which is used for a cooker (if fitted), a fridge, and possible water heating.

If you are unsure about any part of the gas system, try to arrange an inspection by a Corgi-registered gas engineer, who can check for leaks and bad installation.

Toilet

Check the flush (either manual or electric) is working, and that the trap door into the storage cassette operates easily.

Mechanical systems

Most motor-homes have opening windows, which should all operate (sometimes, they can be a little "sticky" on the rubber seals if they haven't been used for a while), and locking mechanisms to hold the windows open should work.

The First Few Days

Unless you are an experienced motor-homer, take great care on your onward journey from the pickup. Don't attempt to drive too far on the first day, and don't immediately start off on a huge tour.

Part 4 Getting Acclimatised

Happy motor-homing!

The Other Side of the Coin...

Well, that was a comprehensive introduction to owning a motor-home. However, not all people have found the "motor-home Experience" entirely without its own unique problems and set backs:

So you think you want a motor-home?

Some practical ownership experience from an ex-motor-home owner.

"We've just sold our motor-home. After approximately four and a half years and 45,000 miles we thought we had given the experience of motor-homing a good go. We've greatly enjoyed the experience of using the 'van (important apostrophe). We've weekended in it; toured for a month in it; lived in it when between houses; slept in it on people's driveways, Scottish beaches, service station car parks, forestry commission pull-ins and, of course, paid-for campsites. We've used the van's carrying capacity (the seating was removable to create a space approximately half the van's size), and we've towed with it. If there is a camping experience better than waking on a sunny Scottish beach, then it is doing so with full breakfast-making capability on board. A highly recommended experience.

What we've enjoyed less was the experience of owning a motor-home. Not the cost so much (all vehicles depreciate and only you can judge whether you will use one enough to justify the cost), but the hard work and hassle. This article is about the downside of owning a motor-home. Many of the things we experienced were difficult to predict or understand in advance. If you are about to go motorcaravanning for the first time, these are things which we think you might want to take into account."

This small snip from the auspiciousdragon.net web site certainly does give a full on report on the "Life-on-the-Road".

So, as in most things we encounter daily; the choice is yours and the road is always open.

May the wind be always at your back and your beer cold!

The following Etext book has been republished and converted into HTML using the original text file found at Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext02/5wiab10.txt

The full copyright, disclaimers and republishing instructions are included in the header of the the original text version.

I wanted to find out how easy it would be to convert a complete text file into HTML using Joomla CMS.

1. The original text file is restricted to 60 words per line. I used NotePad Lite to join the lines and then pasted into Joomla using mospagebreak at the start of each chapter.

This took about an hour to set-up. I had hoped that Joomla would then automatically produce a clickable index for each chapter. However, a single page was way to big for the program and my computer to process and JavaScript errors kept occurring along with screen freeze.

2. I split the full text into sections of roughly 10 chapters and then built a master index by hand.

This took about two hours of building and testing.

Conclusion

Joomla can be used to publish an E-Text book of almost and size. It would be good to get the index to publish sub page titles instead of page 1 etc.

The index below gives direct links to each chapter of a classic Jules Verne novel.

"Five Weeks in a Balloon" is, in a measure, a satire on modern books of African travel. So far as the geography, the inhabitants, the animals, and the features of the countries the travellers pass over are described, it is entirely accurate. It gives, in some particulars, a survey of nearly the whole field of African discovery, and in this way will often serve to refresh the memory of the reader. The mode of locomotion is, of course, purely imaginary, and the incidents and adventures fictitious. The latter are abundantly amusing, and, in view of the wonderful "travellers' tales" with which we have been entertained by African explorers, they can scarcely be considered extravagant; while the ingenuity and invention of the author will be sure to excite the surprise and the admiration of the reader, who will find M. VERNE as much at home in voyaging through the air as in journeying "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas."

CONTENTS.

-----

CHAPTER FIRST.

The End of a much-applauded Speech.--The Presentation of Dr. Samuel Ferguson. --Excelsior.--Full-length Portrait of the Doctor.--A Fatalist convinced. --A Dinner at the Travellers' Club.--Several Toasts for the Occasion

CHAPTER SECOND.

The Article in the Daily Telegraph.--War between the Scientific Journals.--Mr. Petermann backs his Friend Dr. Ferguson.--Reply of the Savant Koner. --Bets made.--Sundry Propositions offered to the Doctor

CHAPTER THIRD.

The Doctor's Friend.--The Origin of their Friendship.--Dick Kennedy at London. --An unexpected but not very consoling Proposal.--A Proverb by no means cheering.--A few Names from the African Martyrology.--The Advantages of a Balloon.--Dr. Ferguson's Secret

CHAPTER FOURTH.

African Explorations.--Barth, Richardson, Overweg, Werne, Brun-Rollet, Penney, Andrea, Debono, Miani, Guillaume Lejean, Brace, Krapf and Rebmann, Maizan, Roscher, Burton and Speke

CHAPTER FIFTH.

Kennedy's Dreams.--Articles and Pronouns in the Plural.--Dick's Insinuations. --A Promenade over the Map of Africa.--What is contained between two Points of the Compass.--Expeditions now on foot.--Speke and Grant.--Krapf, De Decken, and De Heuglin

CHAPTER SIXTH.

A Servant--match him!--He can see the Satellites of Jupiter.--Dick and Joe hard at it.--Doubt and Faith.--The Weighing Ceremony.--Joe and Wellington. --He gets a Half-crown

CHAPTER SEVENTH.

Geometrical Details.--Calculation of the Capacity of the Balloon.--The Double Receptacle.--The Covering.--The Car.--The Mysterious Apparatus.--The Provisions and Stores.--The Final Summing up

CHAPTER EIGHTH.

Joe's Importance.--The Commander of the Resolute.--Kennedy's Arsenal. --Mutual Amenities.--The Farewell Dinner.--Departure on the 21st of February.--The Doctor's Scientific Sessions.--Duveyrier.--Livingstone.--Details of the Aerial Voyage.--Kennedy silenced

CHAPTER NINTH.

They double the Cape.--The Forecastle.--A Course of Cosmography by Professor Joe.--Concerning the Method of guiding Balloons.--How to seek out Atmospheric Currents.--Eureka

CHAPTER TENTH.

Former Experiments.--The Doctor's Five Receptacles.--The Gas Cylinder.--The Calorifere.--The System of Manoeuvring.--Success certain

CHAPTER ELEVENTH.

The Arrival at Zanzibar.--The English Consul.--Ill-will of the Inhabitants.--The Island of Koumbeni.--The Rain-Makers.--Inflation of the Balloon.--Departure on the 18th of April.--The last Good-by.--The Victoria

CHAPTER TWELFTH.

Crossing the Strait.--The Mrima.--Dick's Remark and Joe's Proposition.--A Recipe for Coffee-making.--The Uzaramo.--The Unfortunate Maizan.--Mount Duthumi.--The Doctor's Cards.--Night under a Nopal

CHAPTER THIRTEENTH.

Change of Weather.--Kennedy has the Fever.--The Doctor's Medicine.--Travels on Land.--The Basin of Imenge.--Mount Rubeho.--Six Thousand Feet Elevation.--A Halt in the Daytime

CHAPTER FOURTEENTH.

The Forest of Gum-Trees.--The Blue Antelope.--The Rallying-Signal.--An Unexpected Attack.--The Kanyeme.--A Night in the Open Air.--The Mabunguru.--Jihoue-la-Mkoa.--A Supply of Water.--Arrival at Kazeh

CHAPTER FIFTEENTH.

Kazeh.--The Noisy Market-place.--The Appearance of the Balloon.--The Wangaga. --The Sons of the Moon.--The Doctor's Walk.--The Population of the Place.--The Royal Tembe.--The Sultan's Wives.--A Royal Drunken-Bout.--Joe an Object of Worship.--How they Dance in the Moon.--A Reaction.--Two Moons in one Sky.--The Instability of Divine Honors

CHAPTER SIXTEENTH.

Symptoms of a Storm.--The Country of the Moon.--The Future of the African Continent.--The Last Machine of all.--A View of the Country at Sunset.--Flora and Fauna.--The Tempest.--The Zone of Fire.--The Starry Heavens.

CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH.

The Mountains of the Moon.--An Ocean of Venture.--They cast Anchor.--The Towing Elephant.--A Running Fire.--Death of the Monster.--The Field Oven.--A Meal on the Grass.--A Night on the Ground

CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH.

The Karagwah.--Lake Ukereoue.--A Night on an Island.--The Equator. --Crossing the Lake.--The Cascades.--A View of the Country.--The Sources of the Nile.--The Island of Benga.--The Signature of Andrea Debono.--The Flag with the Arms of England

CHAPTER NINETEENTH.

The Nile.--The Trembling Mountain.--A Remembrance of the Country.--The Narratives of the Arabs.--The Nyam-Nyams.--Joe's Shrewd Cogitations.--The Balloon runs the Gantlet.--Aerostatic Ascensions.--Madame Blanchard.

CHAPTER TWENTIETH.

The Celestial Bottle.--The Fig-Palms.--The Mammoth Trees.--The Tree of War. --The Winged Team.--Two Native Tribes in Battle.--A Massacre.--An Intervention from above

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIRST.

Strange Sounds.--A Night Attack.--Kennedy and Joe in the Tree.--Two Shots. --"Help! help!"--Reply in French.--The Morning.--The Missionary.--The Plan of Rescue

CHAPTER TWENTY-SECOND.

The Jet of Light.--The Missionary.--The Rescue in a Ray of Electricity.--A Lazarist Priest.--But little Hope.--The Doctor's Care.--A Life of Self-Denial. --Passing a Volcano

CHAPTER TWENTY-THIRD.

Joe in a Fit of Rage.--The Death of a Good Man.--The Night of watching by the Body.--Barrenness and Drought.--The Burial.--The Quartz Rocks.--Joe's Hallucinations.--A Precious Ballast.--A Survey of the Gold-bearing Mountains. --The Beginning of Joe's Despair

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURTH.

The Wind dies away.--The Vicinity of the Desert.--The Mistake in the WaterSupply.--The Nights of the Equator.--Dr. Ferguson's Anxieties. --The Situation flatly stated.--Energetic Replies of Kennedy and Joe. --One Night more

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIFTH.

A Little Philosophy.--A Cloud on the Horizon.--In the Midst of a Fog.--The Strange Balloon.--An Exact View of the Victoria.--The Palm-Trees.--Traces of a Caravan.--The Well in the Midst of the Desert

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXTH.

One Hundred and Thirteen Degrees.--The Doctor's Reflections.--A Desperate Search.--The Cylinder goes out.--One Hundred and Twenty-two Degrees.--Contemplation of the Desert.--A Night Walk.--Solitude.--Debility.--Joe's Prospects.--He gives himself One Day more

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENTH.

Terrific Heat.--Hallucinations.--The Last Drops of Water.--Nights of Despair. --An Attempt at Suicide.--The Simoom.--The Oasis.--The Lion and Lioness.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTH.

An Evening of Delight.--Joe's Culinary Performances.--A Dissertation on Raw Meat.--The Narrative of James Bruce.--Camping out.--Joe's Dreams.--The Barometer begins to fall.--The Barometer rises again.--Preparations for Departure.--The Tempest

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINTH.

Signs of Vegetation.--The Fantastic Notion of a French Author.--A Magnificent Country.--The Kingdom of Adamova.--The Explorations of Speke and Burton connected with those of Dr. Barth.--The Atlantika Mountains.--The River Benoue.--The City of Yola.--The Bagele.--Mount Mendif

CHAPTER THIRTIETH.

Mosfeia.--The Sheik.--Denham, Clapperton, and Oudney.--Vogel.--The Capital of Loggoum.--Toole.--Becalmed above Kernak.--The Governor and his Court. --The Attack.--The Incendiary Pigeons

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIRST.

Departure in the Night-time.--All Three.--Kennedy's Instincts.--Precautions.--The Course of the Shari River.--Lake Tchad.--The Water of the Lake.--The Hippopotamus.--One Bullet thrown away

CHAPTER THIRTY-SECOND.

The Capital of Bornou.--The Islands of the Biddiomahs.--The Condors.--The Doctor's Anxieties.--His Precautions.--An Attack in Mid-air.--The Balloon Covering torn.--The Fall.--Sublime Self-Sacrifice.--The Northern Coast of the Lake

CHAPTER THIRTY-THIRD.

Conjectures.--Reestablishment of the Victoria's Equilibrium.--Dr. Ferguson's New Calculations.--Kennedy's Hunt.--A Complete Exploration of Lake Tchad.--Tangalia.--The Return.--Lari

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOURTH.

The Hurricane.--A Forced Departure.--Loss of an Anchor.--Melancholy Reflections.--The Resolution adopted.--The Sand-Storm.--The Buried Caravan.--A Contrary yet Favorable Wind.--The Return southward.--Kennedy at his Post

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIFTH.

What happened to Joe.--The Island of the Biddiomahs.--The Adoration shown him.--The Island that sank.--The Shores of the Lake.--The Tree of the Serpents.--The Foot-Tramp.--Terrible Suffering.--Mosquitoes and Ants.--Hunger.--The Victoria seen.--She disappears.--The Swamp.--One Last Despairing Cry

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIXTH.

A Throng of People on the Horizon.--A Troop of Arabs.--The Pursuit.--It is He.--Fall from Horseback.--The Strangled Arab.--A Ball from Kennedy.--Adroit Manoeuvres.--Caught up flying.--Joe saved at last

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVENTH.

The Western Route.--Joe wakes up.--His Obstinacy.--End of Joe's Narrative. --Tagelei.--Kennedy's Anxieties.--The Route to the North.--A Night near Aghades

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHTH.

A Rapid Passage.--Prudent Resolves.--Caravans in Sight.--Incessant Rains.--Goa.--The Niger.--Golberry, Geoffroy, and Gray.--Mungo Park.--Laing.--Rene Caillie.--Clapperton.--John and Richard Lander

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINTH.

The Country in the Elbow of the Niger.--A Fantastic View of the Hombori Mountains.--Kabra.--Timbuctoo.--The Chart of Dr. Barth.--A Decaying City.--Whither Heaven wills

CHAPTER FORTIETH.

Dr. Ferguson's Anxieties.--Persistent Movement southward.--A Cloud of Grasshoppers.--A View of Jenne.--A View of Sego.--Change of the Wind.--Joe's Regrets

CHAPTER FORTY-FIRST.

The Approaches to Senegal.--The Balloon sinks lower and lower.--They keep throwing out, throwing out.--The Marabout Al-Hadji.--Messrs. Pascal, Vincent, and Lambert.--A Rival of Mohammed.--The Difficult Mountains. --Kennedy's Weapons.--One of Joe's Manoeuvres.--A Halt over a Forest

CHAPTER FORTY-SECOND.

A Struggle of Generosity.--The Last Sacrifice.--The Dilating Apparatus.--Joe's Adroitness.--Midnight.--The Doctor's Watch.--Kennedy's Watch.--The Latter falls asleep at his Post.--The Fire.--The Howlings of the Natives.--Out of Range

CHAPTER FORTY-THIRD.

The Talabas.--The Pursuit.--A Devastated Country.--The Wind begins to fall.--The Victoria sinks.--The last of the Provisions.--The Leaps of the Balloon.--A Defence with Fire-arms.--The Wind freshens.--The Senegal River.--The Cataracts of Gouina.--The Hot Air.--The Passage of the River

CHAPTER FORTY-FOURTH.

Conclusion.--The Certificate.--The French Settlements.--The Post of Medina.--The Battle.--Saint Louis.--The English Frigate.--The Return to London.

FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON.

Probably the world's best food.

Banana Curry is for sure; a weird dish to eat.

Banana Wine will give you the World's greatest hangover.

Now, Banana Cake... is something to die for!

The Joys Of A Good Banana Cake

Gin Cocktails - Free Recipes and Mixer Ideas

Celebration Weekend

Gin should never be left to age, it never improves. So, when I was given a litre bottle of London Gin on Friday night it seemed only natural to drink it before Monday.

A little bit of online research revealed a whole host of cocktail recipes. The standard "gin and tonic" is OK, but there's a lot of other options and I tried them all!

In fact; I invented a few new ones.

The Irish Hero is basically a Tom Collins but double the gin content turning it into a "Mick".

4 oz. Gin
1 oz. Lemon juice
1 teaspoon Sugar
Soda water

Michael John ("Mick") Collins (16 October 1890–22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary leader.

He was shot and killed in August 1922, during the Irish Civil War. Although most Irish political parties recognise his contribution to the foundation of the modern Irish state, members and supporters of the Fine Gael political party hold his memory in particular esteem, regarding him as their movement's founding father.

About Gin
Gin started as a medicine then descended to a cheap drink of the working class before it became what we know today. The name was derived from the French word genievre, which means juniper, which in turn got corrupted, to Geneva and then to gin. Gin is regarded as a simple spirit as it consists of a pure grade alcohol, water and flavouring. Most British gins are of the type known as London dry. They are a neutral spirit redistilled over juniper berries, and other aromatics. Gin is never left to age

Holland was the first country to produce gin, and the Dutch gin of today is more aromatic and heavier bodied than other gins, it is to dominant for cocktails.

Plymouth gin has a distinctive flavour due to the water used to make it. A soft water, which runs through, the Devon moors

Sloe gin is made from sweetened dry gin flavoured by sloe and is drunk as a liqueur

Admiral

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz cherry cordial

Juice ½ lime

3 ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add gin. Cordial and lime shake to mix strain into glass and serve

Alexander

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz crème de cacao

½ fluid oz double cream

2cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add gin, crème de cacao, and cream. Shake to mix pour into glass and serve

Angels face

1 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz apricot brandy

¾ fluid oz Calvado

3 crushed ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add gin, brandy, and Calvados. Shake to mix, strain into glass, and serve

Bermuda

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz peach brandy

2 dashes grenadine

2 dashes orange juice

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake to mix strain into glass and serve

Bijou

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz green Chartreuse

¾ fluid oz sweet vermouth

Dash of orange bitters

3 cracked ice cubes

1 green olive

Lemon peel

Put ice into mixing glass add the gin, Chartreuse, vermouth and bitters stir, and strain into glass. Decorate with olive on a cocktail stick squeeze the lemon peel over the surface and serve

Blackout

1 ¾ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz blackberry brandy

Juice of ½ Lime

2-3 ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake to mi. Strain into glass and serve

Bronx

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 ½ fluid oz sweet vermouth

1 ½ fluid oz dry vermouth

3 fluid oz fresh orange juice

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake to mix. Strain into glass and serve

Café de Paris

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

½ fluid oz anisette

½ fluid oz double cream

1 egg white

2-3 ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake vigorously to mix. Pour into glass and serve

Collinson

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz dry vermouth

3 teaspoons Kirsch

Dash of orange bitters

3 cracked ice cubes

Piece of lemon peel

1 cocktail cherry

Twist of lemon

Put the ice into mixing glass add the bitters, gin vermouth and kirsch stir well. Strain into glass squeeze lemon peel over surface, and decorate with cherry on cocktail stick and lemon on side

Clover Club

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

4 dashes of Grenadine

Juice ½ lemon

1 egg white

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake to mix pour into glass and serve

Cooperstown

2 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz sweet vermouth

1 fluid oz dry vermouth

2-3 cracked ice cubes

2 sprigs of mint

Put ice into shaker add gin, vermouths lemon juice and egg white. Shake well to mix strain into glass, Decorate with mint and serve

Dry martini cocktail

3 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz dry vermouth

3-4 cracked ice cubes

1 green olive

Put ice into mixing glass add gin, vermouth stir. Strain into glass decorate with olive and serve

Elton blazer

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 ½ fluid oz Kirsch

3 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar syrup

Soda water

2 cocktail cherries

2-3 cracked ice cubes

Lightly beaten egg whit

Castor sugar

Dip the rim of the glass into the egg white, and then into castor sugar add the ice, gin, kirsch, lemon juice, and sugar syrup. Stir top up with Soda water decorate with cherries and serve

Gin Fizz

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar syrup

1 teaspoon crème de menthe

3-4 cracked ice cubes

½ egg white

Soda water

1 slice lemon

Sprig of mint

Put ice into shaker add gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, crème de menthe, and egg white. Shake to mix strain into glass. Top up with Soda water decorate with lemon slice and mint serve

Gimlet

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 teaspoon Castor sugar

Juice ½ lime

2 ice cubes

Soda water

Put lime juice and sugar in glass, and dissolve add gin and ice cubes. Top up with Soda water stir slightly and serve

Gibson’s

1 fluid oz dry gin

2 teaspoons sweet vermouth

2 teaspoons dry vermouth

3 ice cubes crushed

Pickled onion

Twist of lemon peel

Put ice into mixing glass add gin, and vermouths stir. Strain into glass decorate with pickled onion, and lemon peel twist and serve

Gin Sling

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

Dash angostura bitters

Juice ½ lemon

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

2-3 ice cubes

Soda or mineral water

Mix the gin, bitters, lemon juice, and sugar in glass add ice top up with Soda or mineral water serve

Hawaii

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz fresh pineapple juice

1 dash of orange bitters

1egg white

2 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake well to mix pour into glass and serve

Horses neck

2 ¼ fluid oz dry gin

Dry ginger ale

3 cracked ice cubes

A spiral of lemon peel

Hang lemon peel down side of glass. Add ice and gin top up with ginger ale and serve

John Collins

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

Soda water

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon castor sugar

1 slice lemon

Cracked ice

Put sugar into glass add lemon juice, and stir until sugar has dissolved. Add a little cracked ice and stir. Add gin then Soda water to taste decorate with lemon and serve.

Martini (dry)

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

3 fluid oz dry vermouth

1 green olive

Cracked ice

Put a little cracked ice into glass pour over gin and vermouth, and stir decorate with olive, serve.

Martini (sweet)

3 fluid oz dry gin

1 ½ fluid oz sweet vermouth

1 cocktail cherry

Add gin and vermouth to glass. Stir to mix add cherry and serve

Milano

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 ½ fluid oz Galliano

1 ½ fluid oz lemon juice

1 cocktail cherry

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add gin Galliano, and lemon juice. Shake to mix strain into glass decorate with cherry and serve

Napoleon

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

½ fluid oz Dubonnet

2 dashes Fernet Branca

2 dashes curacao

Crushed ice

Twist of lemon peel

Put a little ice into glass add gin, Dubonnet, Fernet, and curacao stir. Decorate with lemon peel and serve

Orange blossom

2 fluid oz dry gin

2 fluid oz unsweetened orange juice

1 slice orange

2-3 ice cubes

Pour gin and orange juice into shaker. Shake to mix put ice cubes into glass strain the cocktail over. Decorate with orange and serve

Paradise

2 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz apricot brandy

1 fluid oz fresh orange juice

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker shake to mix. Strain into glass and serve

Parisian

2 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz dry vermouth

3 dashes crème de cassis

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into strainer shake to mix. Strain into glass and serve

Perfect

1 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz dry vermouth

1 fluid oz sweet vermouth

Twist of lemon peel

2-3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into mixing glass add gin and vermouths stir. Strain into glass decorate with lemon peel serve

Pink gin

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

2-3 drops angostura bitters

Iced water

Put bitters into glass. Swirl around until sides are coated. Add gin and ice water to taste serve.

Pink lady

1 beaten egg white

Castor sugar

1 ½ fluid oz gin

1 teaspoon grenadine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ egg white

3 cracked ice cubes

Dip rim of glass into egg white then into sugar leave to set. Put ice into shaker and add the rest of the ingredients shake to mix. Strain into glass and serve

Red kiss

¾ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz cherry brandy

1 ½ fluid oz dry vermouth

1 cocktail cherry

Spiral of lemon peel

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into mixing glass; add gin, cherry brandy and vermouth, stir. Strain into glass decorate with the lemon peel and cherry. Serve

Red lion

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz Grand Marnier

¼ fluid oz lemon juice

3 dashes grenadine

2-3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake to mix. Strain into glass and serve

Royal smile

2 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz applejack

4 dashes grenadine

Juice ½ lime

2-3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into mixing glass add rest of ingredients. Stir, then pour into glass and serve

Singapore sling

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz cherry brandy

2 teaspoons Cointreau

Juice ½ lemon

Soda water

2 cracked ice cubes

1 slice lemon

1 slice orange

1 strawberry cut half

2 cocktail cherries

Put the ice into glass add gin, brandy, cointreau, and lemon juice. Stir, top up with soda water decorate with fruit and serve with straw

Society

3 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz dry vermouth

4 dashes grenadine

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients shake to mix. Strain into glass and serve

Stormy weather

2 ¼ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz Manderine Napoleon liqueur

3 teaspoons dry vermouth

3 teaspoons sweet vermouth

Twist of lemon peel

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add gin, Napoleon, and vermouths. Shake to mix strain into glass decorate with lemon peel and serve

Stop press

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 ½ fluid oz Kummel

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Twist of lemon peel

2-3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into glass pour over gin, Kummel, and lemon juice, stir and decorate with lemon peel. Serve

Turf

2 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz dry vermouth

1 fluid oz sweet vermouth

Dash angostura bitters

Dash absinthe

3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into mixing glass add rest of ingredients stir. Strain into glass and serve

Torpedo

2 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz dry vermouth

Dash of Pernod

2-3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into mixing glass add rest of ingredients stir. Then strain into glass and serve

White horse

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

¾ fluid oz crème de menthe

¾ fluid oz lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar syrup

1 egg white

Soda water

4 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shake add rest of ingredients except Soda water. Shake well to mix, strain into glass top up with Soda water serve with straw

White Lady

2 fluid oz dry gin

1 fluid oz Cointreau

Juice ½ lemon

1 egg white

2 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add rest of ingredients. Shake well to mix strain into glass and serve

Woodstock

1 ½ fluid oz dry gin

1 ½ fluid oz dry vermouth

3 teaspoons Cointreau

1 ½ fluid oz unsweetened orange juice

1 slice orange

piece orange peel

2-3 cracked ice cubes

Put ice into shaker add gin vermouth cointruau and orange juice. Shake to mix strain into glass squeeze the orange peel over surface. Decorate with slice of orange and serve.

Links to Other Cocktail Recipes:

Kings Clipstone Cocktails
Brandy
Vodka
Whisky
Rum
Gin

AskJack Cocktail Recipes

Liberated Cocktails

Mixture of cocktails

The member sign-up is fast and user friendly.

If you have a question, serious, wacky or just plain mad; why not sign-up, it's free and you might have a good laugh at the reply!

Here's a list of answers, news articles and political comments posted in response to user questions and feed back:

Item Title	Author	Hits
Step Back 360 Years Using 360 degree Panoramic Technology	All Round Chap	286
Panoramic Photography, Coolpix 4500, Panoramic 360, Settings MrotatorQ, Mrotator, FC-E8 Fisheye Lens	Pro Photo	191
Broadway, England - Located in the Cotswolds	Stumpy Loft - Kinky King	170
Making a Difference	JackC	164
Welcome to the Ask Jack Content Area	Administrator	146
Typing in the Nude and a Head for Lacy Lingerie	Jack	142
Ask Jack Updates	Administrator	91
The Amazing Animated Camel and Gordie Brown	Jack	87
AskJack Shows Emotion - Cooking Slave Style	JackC Chef	74
Love, Love and More Love and ArtiJokes	JackC	67
A Flood of Flood Web Sites Flow Online	Brown Wet Waster	66
What IS Foot and Mouth Disease	JackC Cowboy	59
Barbecue and Adventures in South America	AnnE	57
Offensive Language, T-shirts and Web Sites	Jack	55
Panoramic Web Walk Project - Update	Jack C	54
Cider and AppleJack Something New Every Day	Rot Me Liver	53
Camping it UP in the USA	Jack	53
Fishing for Life or Just Food	JackC	52
Magellan has a Good Day 488 Years Ago	Jack	52
All About Hangovers and Alcohol Intake	Day After	51
The Fishing Lakes of Kings Clipstone	Jack	51
Cows, Cows, Mad Cows and Bovine Scatology	JackC Cowboy	51
Bob a Job Leads to Unexpected Rewards	Administrator	50
Advertisements That Make Money	Jack	49
Technology, Science and Engineering Research		48
Cup of Tea... Black, White, Green or with Milk	The Vicar	47
Happy to be Alive in a World of Gloom	Dead Guy	46
What is Decoupage and How Can I Take Part	lesley	45
Having a Beer Belly is Bad for your Heart	Jack	43
Animation 2 GO!!! Do I LOVE this Guy?	lesley	43
Whiskey the Liquid of Life	Stagger On	40
Sucking Joomla Timeout	Administrator	38
Tips for a Web Site Build From Scratch	Administrator	38
Language Battle - UK v USA and the Rest of the World	english yankee cobber	36
A New School Term and Supply Teacher Tips	AnnE	36
Today is World Potato Day	Jack	36
Roman Eating Habits and Other Things Roman	BigBellyEatsaLot	34
Who Makes Red Wine	lesley	34
FREE Finance and Loan Research	Nelson	28
Marrakech: Exploring the Red City	Passepartout	8

Quite a few users take part in answering questions. I like the wacky user names.

New member content is always posted in three seperate directories. Each article must be approved by an admin or full member with editor status before "going live". This ensures blatent affiliate spam is deleted before any harm can be done to AJ's search ratings.

AJ reserves the right to delete or modify content and membership in the event of user abuse.

Recipes and Cooking ( 2 items ) Free to read cooking and recipes submitted by members of AskJack. General/Random ( 6 items ) This category displays information that doesn't fit into anywhere else. Information can cover completely random topics from political rants to long legged pants. Destinations and Travel ( 4 items )

Members get upgraded to full editor status after posting a minimum of 10 articles or answers in the forum.

Finally, new members can post messages to the Joomla Fireboard, which is a very smart forum program.

Drop me a PM, if you would like to own a fully working Joomla site and article directory.

A sunny day almost destroyed some great pictures:

Chatsworth Park, Derbyshire, Peak District	Sculpture Dedicated to British Miners, Located in Mansfield
360 panoramic image showing the weir at Chatsworth Park. Every day of the year, the 1000 acre park, on the banks of the river Derwent, is open for free, for everyone to enjoy as they choose; walking, playing or picnicking. This panoramic was taken on a hot sunny day and shows lots of people enjoying a day out. I like the way you can pan down and see the "drop" over the edge of the weir. [map]	360 panoramic image showing the sculpture of a miner, commissioned by Mansfield town and dedicated to the bravery of all British Miners. The sculpture is located on probably the most busiest crossroads in Mansfield, which is a shame really. However, the proud and determined look on the miner's face as he surveys the passing traffic makes me wonder what he would think of today's values. When the Applet starts, try tilting up, to get the full sculpture in view and then zoom in slightly to get the detail. [map]
Mansfield Business Park From the ROOF!	The Famous Major Oak, Near Edwinstowe
360 panoramic image showing the view from the roof of Mansfield Business Park. The panorama shows an almost vertical drop to the well tended gardens at the rear of the business park. I had to really spread the tripod legs to get right to the edge of the roof's wall and set the timer for the second shot and then hide behind the fire door. Unfortunately, the sun came out half way through the shoot and has overexposed the centre image. I like it, because it shows the magnificent trees in the background. These trees change colours during every season. This is the Spring view, but in Autumn the colours are spectacularly. I plan to take another panoramic at that time of year just to show the difference. When the Applet starts, try tilting down, but watch out, it's a long drop! [map]	The Major Oak is a huge Oak tree near the village of Edwinstowe in the heart of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood's headquarters. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a waistline of 33 feet, and is about 800-1000 years old. Since the Victorian era its massive limbs have been partially supported by an elaborate system of scaffolding. In February 1998, a local company took cuttings from the Major Oak and began cultivating clones of the famous tree with the intention of sending saplings to be planted in major cities around the world. [map] See if you can spot AskAnn... the ice-cream stealer!
The Water Sculpture, Cafe and Various Craft Shops, Edwinstowe
The craft centre has a lot of interesting shops and actual workshops, which display a wide range of handmade goods and products. Don't miss the Creamed Scone and Tea deal at the cafe. Superb, homemade scone, jam and Cornish Clotted Cream accompanied by real tea (not tea bag) [map]

You'd think that using a computer mouse and keyboard would be the safest occupation in the world.

Well, you'd be wrong.

The last two years have been full of pain.

I've always used the standard Microsoft Mouse as I found it "did the job" and in light use it does. However, if you are a heavy user (more than 3,000 left clicks per day) serious damage can be done to your index finger joint, wrist and shoulder. When it first happened to me, I just thought it was caused by a bad sleep position. At the time I was developing a huge web site and built over 400 web pages per day. The click, click & drag, double click count must have been exceeding 20,000 per day. This went on for at least 3 months.

During this period I damaged my index finger and shoulder to such an extent, I'm still in pain today.

Trigger Finger This is a serious condition caused by repetitive trauma to the tendon and its sheath over the finger's knuckle (bony and joint) area where a tendon swelling occurs and the lump catches under a thick ligament that ordinarily acts as a pully, but the tendon gets stuck in the flexed state and cannot then relax back straight in even partial extension.

My doctor's best advice was to "not use the mouse".

Useless... my mortgage, family income etc all depend on being able to use a computer; fast.

I tried it all, keyboard shortcuts, changed mouse hands/fingers had days off, got a speech program and lots more.

Useless... despite the pain I always dropped back to the quickest method.

Anyway, I finally found a solution.

A vertical mouse that eliminates the use of the index finger.

It cost nearly £100, but has given me such pain relief.

I now take greater care of my hands, fingers and shoulders.