My first...

Please take our Poll here

We love sushi. Any type of sushi: sushi served rolled inside nori  (makizushi ); sushi made with toppings laid with hand-formed clumps of rice (nigirizushi), and inside-out rolls (Urumaki). But they are not cheap. So we only have it as a treat.

We were in Nuneaton when I saw a sushi making kit with the dry ingredients and methods included. All needed were the fresh ingredients such as cucumbers, tuna etc.

I made the easiest sushi, the Tsunamayomaki a kind of makizushi filled with canned tuna tossed with mayonnaise :-). All you need to do is microwave the sushi rice, add the vinegar and mixed carefully.

The hardest (and messiest) part was spreading the rice thinly on the nori, adding the fillings (which I tend to go overboard) and rolling it using the bamboo mat. I'd to undo several times cos the filling was too thick.

And after several tries, tada...my first sushi. Bon Appetit 

Then Coventry was swept with its first gale-force winds in May for more than 25 years sending trees crashing to the ground across the city. Areas of Stoke and Earlsdon were badly hit, with gusts of up to 45 mph.

I'd to bring some of my plants indoors and the rest were huddled together, sheltered by the garden seat. Luckily, my first flower from the courgette managed to stay on. I could see several buds forming.

On tv, hundreds of lorry drivers were blocking the main roads in London. A 2-mile line of lorries crawled along the M4 towards Cardiff. They were protesting against the planned 2p fuel tax rise in autumn. I hoped the government will think it through. The economy is going to collapse. We could feel the pinch even now.

After a nice long break, I started work on Wednesday. We were greeted with the closure of Library Road. There was a fire engine besides the Chemistry building. Oops...someone's experiment has gone wrong...

Staff and students were already out. I pitied the students cos they should be sitting for their exams. Oh dear...Some took the opportunity to do last minute swot by the roadside. Good luck kids.

It was also Amnesty International Day and the 60th anniversary of  the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). World leaders had failed to deliver on the promise of justice and equality. In the past six decades, many governments are more interested in the abuse of power or in the pursuit of political self-interest, than in respecting the rights of those they lead.

Aren't you outraged by human rights abuses?The list are endless. Among them Guantánamo Bay; in Malaysia, 20,000 migrants detained by Rela, the People’s Volunteer Corps, a body used by the government to tackle the “problem” of “illegal” immigration; repression of Tibetan dissents by China; Palestinian refugees remained marooned in impoverished camps in Lebanon, where their families had fled at the time of Israel’s creation in 1948; death penalty continued to be used extensively in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq Yemen and the USA; Darfur crisis; UK government's policy of "deportation with assurances"; violence against women...

What am I going to do about it? I might Join Amnesty International. I already kept myself informed. I made contributions from time to time and the next step I think will be to write to my local MP.

On a lighter note, England defeated USA in a friendly at Wembley. A dull game but at least the rousing songs from the fans kept me awake.

And this morning, I saw my first insect, a cardinal beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis). Just look at its bright red colouring and feathery antennae. Isn't it a real beauty?

We didn't venture far this weekend. Just did the normal weekly shopping and I also made enquiries about joining a book club at Borders. More on this later. Spent most of time pottering about in the garden.

Also all the best to NH who's leaving the Library for greener pastures at the Law Society. The first person to call if you're sick :-)