.......

ingredients:

180g flour

175g butter

75g sugar

4 eggs

175g dates (use date paste or can use actual dates chopped and pitted)

3 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

120ml milk

1teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Preparation:

1)sieve together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda

2)beat the sugar and butter together until fluffly and light. (with an electric mixer, much easier)

3) add eggs one by one

4)add vanilla, milk and date - beat until well mixed

5) add the flour mixture, add in 2 or 3 parts while mixing. do not mix for too long (2/3 mins)

is Muslim

“They said I need to stay here for a year. Can you believe it’s been 9 months already. Another three and I’ll be going back to the UK” If Abdul knew what was in store for him, he wouldn’t have been looking so forward to going back to the UK.

“Why did they send you here for a year? That’s a bit random isn’t it?” I just didn’t, and still to this day don’t, understand why truant youngsters are sent ‘back home’ to live with a random uncle for a year.

“They said it’ll get me off drugs and all that innit. I started doing lines and stuff. Hanging with Raf and his boys bruv. They do a lot harder stuff than me. They proper G’s cuzzy”

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“Don’t worry Usman, I’ll drop you off.” I said. I didn’t fancy going straight home anyway. It was an overcast day and I knew I’ll be stuck indoors all day and it was only 1.30 in the afternoon.

“You sure bro, it’s out of the way for you isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is. So if I drop you off you owe me. Lunch tomorrow?” I joked as we walked to my rusty Vectra.

“You really need a new car bro, if I didn’t have to be home I’d rather walk than get a lift from you. Your car is just embarrassing.”

“You have a nice way of showing your appreciation. Just get in...!!”

We spoke about many things on the 10 minute drive to Usman’s house. We spoke about dragons, cars, jobs, Luke, houses and glab jams.

Imagine. a train. one of them old fashion ones with a locomotive.

now imagine you're digging a tunnel through a mountain. and you've been digging for two years. that's me.

and the train is coming, high speed, and now its so close its also doing that whistling sound, on top of the chug-chuging. and that's putting you more on the edge...the whistle.

and you're digging and you havent finished the tunnel but you'v managed to make a small dent to other side, or somehow you've made this picture in your head of what's it like on the other side and you cant wait to get there. you're pretty much DESPERATE to get to the other side by now.

but you're still digging, frantically digging, digging digging digging

Exams are over.

I have a huge gap in my life that was filled with revision.

They were all crammed into the small kitchen. All four of them. Deciding what to eat.

“Should we have fish and chips?” asked Sannah, the youngest member of the family.

“Or should we eat out” suggested Adam. Their other child.

“We ate out last week, can’t be eating out every weekend, we just don’t have that kind of money at the moment – tough economic times and all that…” Typical dad!!

“Let’s just make fish and chips. We all like it and it’s cheap enough and it’s what we would have got if we went out anyway.” Ah – how the mother has an amazing ability to keep everyone happy. Gotta love her….

A year ago I passed my driving test.