Centre Travel

900g boned leg or shoulder of lamb 1 red pepper salt and pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 chopped cloves garlic 1 finely chopped onion 115g diced Parma ham 400-450g tomatoes Put pepper under hot grill. Cut lamb into 40-50mm cubes, removing excess fat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan. Fry garlic until golden. Add onion, lamb and ham. Cook over moderate heat until lamb is browned. Stir the chopped pepper and chopped tomatoes into the pan. Simmer the lamb, covered over low heat until tender. Serve with buttered rice, crusty French bread and a tossed green salad.

The Christmas symbol in Spain is the Nacimiento . A miniature manger scene in wood or ceramic. In towns, international Christmas fare is turkey or suckling pig. In the mountains districts they favour lamb. But the turron , a sweetmeat based on nougat, is not to be missed.

The Christmas symbol in Spain is the Nacimiento . A miniature manger scene in wood or ceramic. In towns, international Christmas fare is turkey or suckling pig. In the mountains districts they favour lamb. But the turron , a sweetmeat based on nougat, is not to be missed.

1 goose about 4 1/2kg 450g white pudding 1 crushed garlic clove 2 large dessert apples, peeled and grated 75ml port salt and pepper Skin the white pudding and pound it until smooth with the goose liver and garlic. Blend the apples and bind the stuffing with the port. Stuff the goose with the mixture. Prick the skin all over with the skewer, and rub it thoroughly with salt and pepper. Place the goose in a roasting tin and cover with foil. Roast on the lower shelf of an oven, preheated to (200%) (400F) Gas mark 6 Allow 15 minutes to the pound plus another 15 minutes. After 1 hour, drain the fat from the pan and pour 120 ml cold water over the goose. Remove the foil 30 minutes before cooking is complete, and baste the goose every 10 minutes with pan juices. Serve the goose on a thick bed of unsweetened apple puree'. Garnish with polished apples set on cocktail sticks.

French families decorate their homes with small Nativity scenes. After Midnight Mass , the main Christmas meal the " Reveillon " is served. The menu of course includes : pate de fois gras oysters or other shellfish stuffed goose or turkey with chestnuts or truffles. and a must the white pudding.

French families decorate their homes with small Nativity scenes. After Midnight Mass , the main Christmas meal the " Reveillon " is served. The menu of course includes : pate de fois gras oysters or other shellfish stuffed goose or turkey with chestnuts or truffles. and a must the white pudding.

At the x-ray unit, at a hospital. A nurse took a gown from the pile. She handed it to the patient. He had to undress and put the gown over his head. By mistake. a pillowcase got mixed up with the gowns. When she returned, she found a bewildered man, completely undressed, except for the pillowcase over his head.

It is Western men who wear trousers. There are men who wear kaftans and lounging robes. The Romans, considered trousers fit for barbarians. For hundred of years , Romans wore the long, loose-legged trousers. Today , these kind of trousers, are only worn by peasants.

The aardwolf , of the savannas of southern and eastern Africa is related to the hyaenas . But it lacks their strong jaws and teeth. It feeds almost exclusively on termites and insect larvae. It varies its diet with mice and eggs of ground -nesting birds. It may gain protection by mimicking the striped coat colouring of the hyaena .

A unique relative of the seal, the walrus, is assigned a family of its own. It feeds on molluscs which it takes up from the sea-bed with its large tusks. A large male ( a bull) may be more than 3 m long. It weighs a tonne The tusks may reach 1 m in length.