OK, might have to try some. I'll let you know.

I'm not a great beer / lager drinker but I would have a pint of Peroni any day, whereas I can't remember the last time I drank Carlsberg probably 30 years ago. Has it got better?

I've had many good nights here but haven't been for many years. We used to have a lot of business in Scotland which required regular visits to customers. When we were in the central belt I always tried to stay at a nice B&B in the West End and then go to The Chip. This is probably 7-8 years ago, it was very good then. There were also plenty of other good places in the same general area, in fact I can't recall a bad night. Disappointing to hear it's perhaps not what it was. For £105 I'd expect a damn good meal.

Ate at Vincent on Lord Street, Southport last Sunday. This was our second visit, the food was even better and the service excellent.

Absolutely agree. Don't want to spoil this for people so i'll just say I know what I was expecting and it was utterly different.

Went to see Inglorious Basterds tonight. Strange, strange film. Really enjoyed it but not sure what, if anything, I was expected to take from it. Some very, very dark and funny moments, yet nobody laughed. Some superb characterisation and a plot line that borders on farce at points. Go see it, a great 2.5 hours.

think I'd have made the same choice

I have never suggested Blackburn centre could support a decent restaurant. But don't worry just keep on spouting your own interpretation of what people actually post. It's what makes everything you say so amusingly daft...........and utterly irrelevant.

Recently I've read "After You'd Gone" by Maggie O'Farrell which has a central plot following the life of one partner after the ending of a relationship / marriage. Inter-twined with the main story are several side plots dealing with similar issues aptly described by the title. This is a really good novel which you won't want to end, human tragedy, loyalty, betrayal, twists and turns throughout and beautifully written. Highly recommended. I've also just whizzed through "Child 44" from Tom Rob Smith which is set in Stalinist Russia. Our hero is a member of the secret police driven to investigate child serial murder in a society in which murder is not recognised, crime being something which only occurrs in the West! This is a great read, not a classic but keeps one turning the pages, though I did guess the probable outcome about three-quarters of the way through. As much a good read for an insight into daily life in Stalin's Russia as anything else. A thriller to keep one interested. Christopher Brookmyre's "Quite Ugly One Morning" is OK, - I've dipped in and out while reading the two above. Very dark humour in places, it could be read in a few hours and then easily forgotten.

Yes but now you say it I think I did know he'd done the Frost / Nixon film - though I couldn't have told you that. First time I'd seen him was on the One Show last week. I'm really awful with actors, celebrities etc. I might have heard of them but wouldn't recognise them at all. I'm famous in our house for watching a film and asking "is that so and so" at which point things get thrown at me! If you put ten images of famous actors in front of me I'd probably get 9 wrong.

That's interesting I had assumed the book and the film purported to be true accounts. We went because we fancied a film and it had good reviews rather than because we knew much about either the book or the film. My wife said she had read the book was much darker. Out of interest did the TV interview featuring both Clough and Revie ever take place in the real world?

The DamnED United and Michael Sheen. I don't do actors! Had never heard of him till this week

Went to see The Damn United last night. I think it's difficult to asses a film which claims to give a true account when as the general public we can only be sure of some of the facts. It's a good film, occassionaly touching the real passion of football, it certainly paints a vivid picture of professional football in the late 60s/ mid 70s - you forget the terrrible grounds, the awful pitches and the thuggery of Leeds Unted! Martin Sheen captures, in flashes, Clough's public face which we all know. I don't think the film was unkind to him but I don't know what the family's objections to David Peace's book are. Good stuff, not brilliant but well worth seeing.

About 5-10 miles generally if going from home. If we go to Manchester for theatre, see the eldest boy etc then obviously it's a bit further. Living near Chorley / Blackburn this does tend to limit the choice! As we are going to Southport at weekends we are finding there are some interesting looking places there which is about 23 miles from home but we have reasons taking us there in the first place.

If you find yourself in Southport DON'T go to the Hesketh Arms, Churchtown - fastest service you'll ever see! However do go to Vincent's for excellent food, service and wine list. We rolled up here about 6.15pm on a wet Sunday, it was the first place we'd seen that looked open. At that time one might expect bored staff, reheated food etc but no everything was first class. Pricey for a full meal, as we paid about £45 for two wines, two mains, one desert and two spoons plus two espressos. well woth the money and will be going back again. Also has a nice looking Sushi bar / menu. Currently researching a lot of places in Southport, for reasons some know about! Everywhere else we've been has been average, not worth a mention. Any recommendations?

well you live and learn

Yep that's what we think....now I wonder why the restaurant says it's in Pleasington?

Don't want to be picky but I have Pleasington down as in between Blackburn and Preston! As for 9.00pm on a Friday, I think you'd have to book The Clog at that time or be prepared to wait perhaps 30-40 minutes. Can't suggest anywhere else as we rarely eat Chinese and I don't know where to get fish and chips other than a chippy. I suppose you might try the Red Cat at Wheelton. Portions are small and it's pricey. The food is very good but I'm never sure if I enjoyed myself. Desperatley pretenious restaurant.

Second vote for The Clog, spot on for those needs

Read a few good ones recently so briefly here we go: His Illegal Self by Peter Carey deals with the story of a boy whose parents are 60s radicals and abandon him to the care of his grandmother. The boy is taken one day by a friend of his mother to see her, the mother is wanted by the authorities and can't / won't visit the family home. things go badly wrong for the meeting and the friend and boy end up in a hippy commune in Australia. Worth reading but can drag a little in parts Untold Stories by Alan Bennett. A great read dealing with a very personal account of Bennett's family, the interaction and relationships within the family. Will make you think - hard. The Lemon Table by Julian Barnes. This is actually a collection of short stories all centred around the theme of love and our reactions / behaviour at different times of our lives. So we have the story of the young man in love for the first time, the long time married now retired man who seeks "love" once a year with a prostitute. There are sevearl other stories as well, each dealing with different aspects / attitudes and reactions to love. One story is pretty tedious but the rest are well worth reading

Well I seem to spending a lot of time in the cinema at the moment. Recently been to: Defiance - enjoyed this but thought it was a bit formulaic. I knew the basic story and hoped to know a bit more after watching the film but didn't. Keeps you watching though which I always feel is a sign of a good film Valkyrie - I didn't know this was based on a real assasination attempt on Hitler and had the feeling it was going to be a "what if" type film. Seems a bit like a good yarn to me though obviously must have been well researched and reasonably factual. Decent movie but you'll see many better The Reader - FANTASTIC. Only went to see this because my good lady wanted to go. As it happens I'm away with work this week as we couldn't find anywhere local showing it last weekend I went on my own last night. Had no idea what the story line was other than Kate Winslett's character (which I'm not going to mention in case it spoils the film for others). This is a GOOD film, kept me gripped for the whole thing. I associated with the characters and felt myself pulled in opposite directions by the events and storyline, which I suppose is the whole point. I feel I need to see it again to understand the whole thing, i.e what is behind the story line. I have several ideas but not sure if I'm correct or not. If you see one film this year make it this one. Last weekend we rented Sliding Doors. A film I'd never heard about. This is a "what if" film. The storyline is based around a young woman who loses her job and rushes home via the tube. As she reaches the tube platform the train doors shut in her face, then a second story line begins where she manages to board the same train. The film then goes on to chart how her life changes according to whether or not she caught the train and how major events in her life depended on catching or not catching that particular tube. An excellent film, very funny and very entertaining. May go to see the Benjamin Button thing later this week

SG194 - I'm not involved anymore so I don't know if that is correct or not. AESF - I still hold the opinion, purely personal now, everything has to be paid for and nothing is truely free. In 2004 I don't think I was aware of the recent Amazon type links we saw, but certainly today this is what I, as a member, hope we don't see on the site as I feel that type of link completely disrupts the flow of a post. I would hope the membership can see a way to providing any funds the site needs rather raising money through advertising. It's been done before and I hope it will happen again. It does of course rely on people who promise money actually stumping up the cash

Saw the trailers for Defiance at Christmas and again when I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. I immediately recognised the story but can't think of why or where I've read it. Does anyone know if there's been a book / article etc in recent years as this is not a widely known story.

Went to see Slumdog Millionaire last night. This is Danny Boyle's film of the book Q&A by Vikas Swarup which tells the story of Ram (the book) or Jamal (film) a poor young boy who is arrested after winning 10m Rupees on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" - the top prize is 20m. The film tells the story of his life, how he comes to know the answers which allow him to win a fortune and shows us a little of how it must be to grow up and live in poverty in India. I'm not pretending this is the central theme but there are some small insights into modern India. Interwoven with the plot is the love story of Jamal and Latika. All four of us thought this was a really good film; not especally true to the book (not that this is important), very noisy, very entertaining, well acted, well paced and keeps one interested throughout. Two of our party have read the book, I read half way and gave up, and I'm glad I didn't know the outcome as it made the film more entertaining.

Not unlike the Bible then