DIY Getting the home fires burning CHRISTMAS GIFTS Are you a ...

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18 November 2003 Online: www.thisisthenortheast.co.ukgadget man● Don’t missBurton’s Bytes– gamereviews in TheNorthern Echoevery FridayIt’s small, butpacks amighty punchPhones have been getting smarterfor years but 2004 could be whenthey finally replace the officeFilofax once and for all. NIGELBURTON looks to the futureI’VE always enjoyed a healthy scepticismabout mobile phones that promise theearth. Call me a techno luddite but, untilnow, the only thing I’ve needed a mobilefor was to speak to people while I’m on theroad.Phones that combined the best features of aPDA (personal digital assistant) are nothing new.I actually owned the very first of these devices –Nokia’s 9000 Communicator. It looked like youraverage mobile (maybe a bit bigger) but thechassis split apart to reveal a keyboard and afull-sized monochrome screen.As well as the usual phone options, theCommunicator also offered a fax, rudimentaryweb browsing, e-mail and a jotter. No wonder itcost a cool £1,000 when it went on sale six yearsago. Today, anyone who uses a Communicator isasking for trouble. Take the size of the thing; the9000 was big for a mobile in 1996, now it looksgargantuan. Use it for simply making a call andpeople are apt to look at you with a mixture ofbemusement and pity. For what was a cuttingedge device a short while ago, the Nokia lookslaughably old fashioned these days.Every mobile you can buy includes some formof memory to store phone numbers and basicreminders. I always find them a pain, though, forthe simple reason that without a keyboardentering anything even approaching a sentencetakes an absolute age, even with T9 predictivetexting (for the uninitiated T9 tries to guess theword you want before you finish pressing thekeys – it’s good, but not that good).So when Orange asked me to try the latestconvergent handset, I approached it with ahealthy degree of scepticism.The Sony Ericsson P800 has been out for acouple of months now. With an Orange contractit costs less than an equivalent Pocket PC PDA.Interestingly, the P800 eschews Microsoft’sPPC operating system in favour of Symbian – anOS written specifically for phones and spun offfrom EPOC, the system used by Psion for itsSeries 5 and 7 organisers a few years back.The P800 therefore gives PDA lovers atantalising glimpse of what might have been hadPsion not thrown in the towel.In fact, the P800 may be small but it packs amighty punch. It’s a tri-band handset thatsupports multi-media messaging (texting withpictures and music) plus the ubiquitouspolyphonic ringtones so your loved one can callyou up to the Hawaii Five O theme tune orwhatever.Java support allows for the downloading ofprogrammes from the Net and there’s 12MB ofmemory plus an aperture for a Sony MemoryStick (mine came with a 16MB card) so you haveroom to install the free games and apps thatcome on the included CD ROM.That storage space can also be occupied byMP3 tunes or digital pictures taken on the builtin640x480 digital camera. The little Sony alsoplays back MPEG 4 video files so you can watchtrailers for movies, your favourite premiershipgoals or even download a whole film onto aMemory Stick for multi-media on the go.Configuring the P800 to access my e-mailaccount was a piece of cake. Just enter name,password and the number to call and thehandset does the rest.Certainly I soon found my entire life revolvingaround the little Sony. All my calendar detailswent into it and during conferences I could e-mail my colleagues so they could be working onstories we had agreed to cover before I returnedto the office. Heck even the camera came inhandy for taking pictures. The games and videoreplay were great for showing off but, really, theP800 is a killer business device not an expensiveGame Boy Advance.The screen is ample (208x320 pixels) andthere’s a flip-up keypad for users who prefer topress a button when they dial a number. When itflipped open I couldn’t help but think of CaptainKirk’s communicator in Star Trek. Sony reckonsthe battery life is an impressive 400 hours instandby and 13 hours talktime. Certainly I foundthe lithium ion cell had to be topped up everythree days just to be on the safe side.The P800 changed my mind about so-called“Smartphones”. Originally I had dismissed theidea of an all-in-one device as pointless. Now Idon’t think I could be without my P800 (which isgoing to cause me grief when Orange ask for itback).And while the Sony may be the best on themarket, it’s by no means the only such device.Buyers on a budget could do worse than trythe Orange SPV, a dinky handset that uses theMicrosoft PPC OS. It costs roughly half theSony’s price but you do give up handwritingrecognition, a built-in camera and Blue-toothwireless support.Others are coming soon and I’ve no doubt thatin six years time the P800 will look as antiquatedas my Nokia 9000 Communicator does in 2003.For now, though, the Sony represents the state ofthe art.
November 2003 Online: www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk19foodEATING OUTJUDGES COUNTRY HOUSEHOTEL, YARMHot on the trail of thehamper manThe Gourmet House and Durham Hampers offer a wideselection of fine cuisine. CHRISTEN PEARS reportsTHE Gourmet House isn’tdifficult to find. The smell offresh curry wafts up throughDurham’s indoor market and,like one of the Bisto Kids, Ifollow my nose.A few seconds later, I find myself infront of a stall where the shelves areoverflowing with of pickles, jams,mustards and chutneys. There arebiscuits, pastas, breads and cakes, teas,coffees and fruit juice, as well as freshlyground coffee. And there, in a silverdish, over a burner, is the curry – and ittastes as delicious as it smells.The Gourmet House was started lastyear by former chef Stuart Alsop.Originally from Lanchester, he workedin Harrogate for several years beforemoving to Sunderland.“Unfortunately, not long after Imoved, I got made redundant. I still hada real passion for food but I didn’t wantto go back to being a chef so I startedlooking round for something else to do,”he says.The result was The Gourmet House –a tiny but incredibly well-stockeddelicatessen. Most of the products arefrom local suppliers – Lanchester fruitjuices, Taylor’s of Harrogate tea andcoffee and cakes from Jenkins andHustwit of Bishop Auckland. There arealways tastings and new products forcustomers to try.“I believe in the quality of everythingI stock so I’m passionate about what I’mselling. We’re always trying to inspirepeople to try something a little bitdifferent. Chilli jam is one of our mostpopular. People aren’t quite sure at oncebut everyone who has tried it has comeback for more.”The freshly made curry sauces areparticularly popular, with customerstravelling from as far afield asSunderland and Northumberland tostock up. Made to exacting standards,they contain no artificial flavourings orpreservatives.Stuart works with other food retailersin the city – butchers, fishmongers andfellow chef Joe Keenan, who runs theFood Shop on Claypath – to make suretheir products don’t overlap. They pointcustomers in the right direction ifthey’re looking for something inparticular and are always on hand tooffer recipe ideas and tips.Earlier this year, Stuart decided toexpand the business by setting upDurham Hampers. There are pre-packedhampers to suite every occasion andtaste. Some come in baskets, othersboxes, and there are also picnichampers, complete with crockery. Withnames such as Gentlemen’s Pleasure,Totally Organic and Some Like It Hot,they are filled with goodies from thedeli. There is also a pick and mixservice, which is proving extremelypopular.“Some people might see a particularhamper and love everything in it exceptone thing. They don’t have to have it.They can choose something else insteador they can choose the hamper fromscratch. We want them to choosesomething for a friend or relative thatthey know they’re going to like,” saysStuart.This time of year is particularly busyas people start buying hampers forChristmas. As well as the usualproducts, there are Christmas chutneys,puddings and cakes.Customers can choose their hamperseither at the stall or via the Internet.They can also buy individual productsfrom the deli and by registering with theFood Lovers Club, they receive regularupdates and free recipes to download.QUALITY TREAT: Stuart Alsop, mainpicture, with some of his wares❛We’re always tryingto inspire people totry something a little bitdifferent. Chilli jam is oneof our most popular.Stuart says: “We’re just passionateabout what we do and the food we selland we want our customers to feel thesame about what they buy. There’s ahuge range out there and we want tobring it to as many people as possible.”● For more information about TheGourmet House or Durham Hampers,call 0191-375 7511 or visit the websiteat www.durhamhampers.co.uk.HE jury has been out on Judges andthe verdict is a stylish new menu thatTwill appeal to both palate and pocket.The hotel’s general manager, TimHoward, who came to the post only lastmonth, put it succinctly. “We wanted tobring in a new menu that would suit peoplewho come to the hotel, so we just askedthem what they wanted. It was as simpleas that.”Judges’ restaurant, which, under newhead chef Jason Whitelock has just beenawarded three AA rosettes, already has anenviable reputation for its Conservatorymenu but now has widened its appeal withthe new table d’hote choice.The hotel itself certainly has much torecommend it. Set in 22 acres of gardensand woodland, the house, formerly thehome of the Richardson engineering familyof Hartlepool, was latterly a country lodgingfor visiting circuit court judges – hence thename. And the country house atmosphereis still there to be enjoyed, especially asyou sit back on the sofas of the beautifuldrawing room, nibbling the complimentarycanapés while taking your time to studythe menu.OUR CHOICETo start, I choose king prawn brochetta,with cous cous salad and chilli dressing.When Judges say king prawns, they meanit. Drizzled with the sweet chilli, they werealmost a meal in themselves. My partner’schoice, a warm salad of lambs’ kidneyswith pancetta, apple and pinenuts wasequally delicious and generous.Superlative would be the best way todescribe the fillet of Dales beef I choosefor my main course. Served quite rare, ithad a melt-in-the-mouth texture and aflavour of hay meadows. It came with africassée of wild mushrooms, asparagusand a port sauce.Peter’s whole char-grilled sea bass, aplateful in itself, was delightfully delicateand perfectly accompanied by garlic mashand crisp vegetables.For pudding Peter choose the raspberrycrème brulée (which passed his ‘can youskate on it?’ test) while I went for thecrepes suzette with vanilla ice cream,which, apart from being totally delicious,had the added bonus of watching theamazing pyrotechnics as they wereprepared at our table.THE COST£22.50 for two courses; £24.95 for threecourses.Peta KingREADER OFFERJudges are offering a half bottle ofwine with lunch or dinner per table forall readers who mention this articlewhen booking.Judges Country House Hotel, Kirklevington
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