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malone, you would not have been impressed with the steak and mushroom pie I had today. I usually have meat and potato but they had run out, so was offered an alternative. " I suppose the mushrooms taste like steak" I said but the assistant replied "No but the steak tastes like mushrooms, in fact all our pies taste the same to me." Very honest but unappetising.

Grunger, I loved your pie story - thanks!

Jigjag, I really couldn't face a Gregg programme, sorry! I can cope with him in 'Masterchef' , but I'm not able to face his grinning, gurning, over-excited or over-earnest attitude.

Everyone, I liked the '-ise', '-ize' comments. I have always preferred the former, but simply because it looks better. I used to get annoyed if anyone criticised - mistakenly - the '-ize' usage, but it wasn't enough to make me start using it myself.

Grunger

I also loved it (the story not the pie)

Malone

I will watch it, or record it, as it could provide some interesting information for Ocado/ M&S shoppers.

Hannah

Did you by any chance read, or possible write, the article about Marks & Spencer by Hannah Uttley in the Daily Mail today? It mentions that Head of Food, Stuart Machin and Chairman, Archie Norman worked together at Australian Supermarket Target. You mentioned that you were in Australia, and as you know, we follow M&S closely here, so any info or opinions about Target would be appreciated.

Why do we speak of "a meteoric rise" when meteors exclusively fall?

ChrisE, 'we'? PU members know better!

Point taken!

Thanks, Chris. I think 'meteoric' is like 'plethora' - a misunderstood word. I'm sure there are others....

In a similar vein, why do we call those devices found in buildings with many storeys lifts when they can take you to a lower floor?

On the BBC website today: The real historical events that inspired Game of Thrones. No, they're historic events - events such as the Wars of the Roses that are recorded in history. I've never seen Game of Thrones because I don't subscribe but if it is based on historic events then it could be described as historical.

PS - the BBC changed paired to pared for me (see some earlier postings)!

Malone, Grunger

You made the right decision in not watching “Supermarket Secrets” last night. Grinning, gurning Gregg was unbearable. The Ocado warehouse contains 500 robots, looking more like washing-machines than Daleks, and when his jokes fell flat, I expected “Exterminate”, but sadly not.

It is hard to get enthusiastic about lettuce, but grimacing, gregarious Gregg managed it. On a farm with an annual production of 300 million lettuce, individually supervised by an aeroplane, he volunteered to help harvest the crop. “I know what I am doing. I was a greengrocer for 20 years.”

We met Sainsbury’s “Head of Future Brands” (yes, really), and learned that “Quinoa” is pronounced “qui noir”, as in French, not “Quin-oh-a”. Nobody in this country had heard of this mysterious substance until the England cricket team’s diet sheets were leaked. It is pronounced “Queen-oo-err” here. It is going to replace rice apparently. Well the French can keep it, and it wont be in my Chicken Madras.

Orson

It is possibly because they take you up, but you are supposed to walk down. That's what I try to do when I can.

Congratulations on your win with the BBC.