Random great Everton goals #6

Steve Watson - Bolton v Everton
Reebok Stadium, January 28, 2003

The current dip in temperature always excites certain sections of the press. I always get the impression that they can’t wait to fill their pages with pictures of traffic accidents, snowmen and the weather doing what it does in November and December i.e. get cold. What the populations of Russia and Canada, where large sections would regard our winter as a mild spring, must think is anyone’s guess. In the past few years more and more games seem to be being called off for conditions around the ground rather than the state of pitch, probably either to due to the home side having a particularly troublesome injury situation or to stop the inevitable scruffy meff taking a dive outside and trying to sue the club. When they do go ahead, winter games are often an excellent diversion from either shopping for the family, or just being with them (especially Boxing Day), but it doesn’t change the fact that they can be ball-achingly cold at times. This January encounter has largely been erased from my mind by the passage of time save for two memories. The first is the fact that for the ninety minutes sat in the upper tier of the away end, there can have been nowhere colder on earth. Second was this out of character acrobatic effort from perennially sweaty, very occasional centre forward Steve Watson early on, that propelled/shuffled the Blues to an almost instantly forgettable away win. Forgettable bar the cold that is. It actually hurt…

Genius - No5

Of all France’s many great artists of the twentieth century, few people’s work appear to be as frequently visible through postcards and posters as that of the photographer Robert Doisneau. The evident commercial appeal of his work does not detract from its quality though. Along with the likes of Willy Ronis and Edouard Boubat, his perfect captured representations of the varied minutiae of life in Paris in the 1940’s and 1950’s evoke a sense of warmth at an apparent simplicity of life – especially amongst generations of children making their own entertainment - as well as displaying the broad, varied character and elegance of the city’s streets and buildings. Particularly depressing are suggestions that this style of photography is being made increasingly more difficult by the largely hysterical and unfounded concerns surrounding the principle of taking photos of the young. From a personal point of view, Doisneau’s success however lies in the fact that it is his work that is brought instantly to my mind whenever there is a mention of mid twentieth century life in Paris.

Le Manege de Monsieur Barre (1955)



La Baguette Parisienne (1953)



L'Enfer (1952)



Rue Marcellin Berthelot, Choisy le Roi (1945)



Bolides (1956)

Viva Brazil

36 Castle Street
L2 0NR
website



Set in a beautiful building on Castle Street and with the capacity for 160 covers, Viva Brazil was somewhere I'd wanted to go since its recent opening, having greatly enjoyed the concept of rodizio - Brazilian barbeque with table service - at Rodizio Rico in London. After a quick Sagres in the small but perfectly formed bar area, we shown to our table and ordered what transpired to be a superb bottle of Tarquino 2009 Malbec from Mendoza.



The principal of rodizio is simple. Meat carvers or passadors patrol round the restauarnt with any one of fifteen different meats on skewers, cooked on a charcoal barbeque. Provided with a coaster on arrival, one side green with "yes please" written on it and other red with "no thanks", you simply display the green side and summon a passador when you see something you like. He expertly carves pieces until you tell him to stop.



A self service salad bar with a variety of side dishes is available, and among these was a smooth garlic mash and a superb celeriac salad with capers. The undeniable star of the show though is the meat. In the interests of research I managed to sample thirteen of the fifteen meats. Particular highlights were the Picanha com alho (garlic cap of rump), Cordeiro (leg of lamb), Frango com bacon (chicken wrapped in smoked bacon) and Contra filet (sirloin), but there was nothing that disappointed. Given the array and variety of meats available, the idea of pudding was never seriously on the cards and at £22.95 per person (£12.50 at lunch), the rodizio provides excellent value. All in all this is another excellent addition to the increasing number of top quality city centre eateries