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  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Smashburger, Wednesbury

    ★★★★ | Smashburger, Wednesbury

    Smashburger launches the first site in the Midlands, and what a messy affair it was!

    The method of smashing is a unique way of enhancing flavour into the burger as the meat is cooked in its freshly pressed juices. The result is a delicate, intense and a full-flavoured burger inside your soft bun. According to General Manager Colin, the ingredients are prepared and cooked fresh every day, and the burgers are almost smashed to order. Situated at the heart of Gallagher Retail Park in Wednesbury, this restaurant is certainly worth a sharp right on your way out.

    The Beef Bacon Cheeseburger, made with Applewood smoked bacon and American cheese, mustard, ketchup, pickles and red onion served on a multi-grain bread is probably one of the best burgers I have had in my mouth. The bread was soft and complemented the burger beautifully soaking up the juices and sauce oozing out of the burger. There is no way to avoid running mustard/ketchup sauce down your hand as it is a truly messy encounter. The sour pickles married well with the tangy mustard and galvanised the whole meal – Fourth of July happened in my mouth. My plus one had Spinach, Cucumber & Goats Cheese Beef Burger on a brioche bun which was very well presented and it had plenty of fresh vibes to it.

    What was very impressive about Smashburger was the excellent customer service experienced throughout the joint. Chloe was particularly pleasant and very hospitable offering us to try the churros at the end which was an offer you could not refuse. The atmosphere was very busy but the staff bantered and looked after every customer with genuine care.

    There was a problem with the fryer as a couple of items of the meal were slightly over-fried, particularly the Haystack Onions, and the Churros also were overly cooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside. It was not a happy ending, but I would read this book again! I would like to think it was a one-off blip.

    The service was second to none. The quality and concept of the burgers through smashing was ingenious. The highlight for me of it all was the Oreo Hand-spun Shake – O.M.G! The best chunky shake I have had – it is going to take a lot to beat that!

  • EARPHONE REVIEW | Jam Ultra

    EARBUD REVIEW | Jam Wireless Audio Ultra

    Introduction

    If you’re not a fan of the headphone, then earbuds are the only other option – and what with Apple doing away with the standard audio jack, wired head and earphones could be a thing of the past. Wireless earbuds are a marvel – no tangled wires, no choking yourself when getting up from your desk when you’re still attached to your computer. There’s a lot of freedom. But there are problems too. Earbuds don’t always stay in the ear, you have to remember to charge them and then there’s the worst bit – pairing them. Jam have sorted two of these issues out perfectly with their Ultra earbuds – the pairing issue – not so much.

    Build And Quality

    Out of the box and charged in their own little charging dock, the Jam Ultras are incredibly easy to use. The individual earbuds have built-in batteries and as you lift them out of the dock they pair with each other – pairing them to your device, be it, phone or desktop isn’t too much of a sweat either. Most of the time.

    Speaking of sweat they are resistant to it, which is fantastic if you should use them whilst out jogging or in the bath. They are dark in colour and once fitted into the ear are almost unnoticeable. None of the ridiculous white stork thing that’s going on with Apple’s own earbuds.

    They last for three hours on one charge – but with their own charging dock, which can charge them up to 10 times, these buds can last for 30 hours. Rather brilliantly because there’s a USB port you can also charge your phone while you’re at it.

    They have a simple look to them, dark and with a slight material texture to them. Once they’re in, the noise blocking from the external world is brilliant. If you’re looking for noise cancelling headphones these, although not actually “noise cancelling”, are a great find.

    Now here’s the problem – I found that these were impossible to use for TV or for watching any kind of streaming. They can’t keep up with your device and the lipsync is terrible.

    They also, rather annoyingly have a habit of desynchronising with each other – meaning that one ear suddenly goes dead and then comes back after a moment. Considering the wireless feature is probably why you’d buy these earphones, it’s utterly infuriating.

    Controlling the earbuds is a simple process. There’s a pause button, which doubles up as the pairing and off button. You can’t change the volume or skip to the next tune on these.

    You can use them to answer calls and speak wirelessly.

    The JAM ULTRA’s come with their own charging dock.

    Sound

    The fact that these earphones do a great job of filtering out external sounds, means audio feels very present – and up close. The bass response is good for the tiny speakers – but perhaps the top end feels a little dead, which gives an overall mid to bottom sound palette.

    Verdict

    If you’re looking for sub-£100 wireless earphones that come with their own docking station – which are easy to set up then these are a good fit. If you’re looking to watch TV with your earbuds then these aren’t for you.

     

    LOVE

    Good bass response for little speakers

    Nicely packaged

    Charging Dock

    LOATHES

    Desynchronising earphones

    Shortish battery life

    You can buy them from Amazon.com

  • 21 Things I learned about me having sex in my 20s

    In my 20s I still had no sexual experience. This was not a lesson learned at school but with anonymous partners in public places.

    The danger of getting caught was part of the initial thrill, until I moved on and became true to myself about who I was.

    1. I cum too quick. OMG, I have a one-shot willy with a “hair trigger!”
    2. Doesn’t matter because I can immediately do it again. What a relief.
    3. Still cum too quick,  but it’s not a single shot; it’s a repeater.
    4. Hey, no problem I can still do it again.
    5. It’s boring now. How long has this been going on? Now I want to cum, I can’t.
    6. It’s OK; I can fake it! (Thought it would never end)
    7. What do you mean it’s not just about my cock?
    8. “Hey take your finger out”, discomfort and then “Oh! So that’s what my “G” spot is!”
    9. I like that do it again
    10. Learn to do it myself, pokey bum wank, oh happy days.
    11. I have a narrow view on who I will consider having sex with.
    12. “Have a drink”
    13. Now I have a wider view on who I will have sex with
    14. “Have another drink”
    15. Now I would even have sex with you.
    16. He told me what felching is and wants to try it…
    17. I hide my hamster.
    18. Sex in a house; and an introduction to foreplay instead of looking out for passers-by
    19. I like foreplay, but it makes me cum too quick
    20. Cuddles
    21. Sleeping together

    Read more from The Knee Jerk column

  • Denise Van Outen and Coleen Nolan defend homophobia by Jack Maynard

    Both Denise Van Outen and Coleen Nolan have defended I’m A Celeb star, Jack Maynard after past homophobic tweets come to light.

    Loose Women’s Denise Van Outen and Coleen Nolan have defended Jack Maynard after the Sun unearthed a number of homophobic and racist tweets sent by the YouTuber a number of years ago. They believe he “deserved a second chance” because he was only young when the Tweets were sent.

    Speaking on today’s show, Denise said,  “I think if you’ve apologised then you deserve a second chance. If it’s something you have done when you are young… how many times have you said things that may have been out of character when you were young?

    “You don’t really think about what you are saying or doing and if it is just young kids talking amongst themselves…”

    Coleen added, “To be fair to him, he has said age is no defence, I disagree. It is massive defence. The difference between someone 15, 16 or 22… And also I do think people should get a second chance when it is historic tweets.”

    The YouTuber himself said that some of the tweets had been sent in response to someone who was bullying him.

    Jack’s spokespeople released a statement on the star’s behalf saying, “Jack is ashamed of what he said in these tweets, many of which were deleted a long time ago and were sent in response to a neighbour who was bullying him. Jack was a lot younger when he posted them in 2012 but realises that age is no defence. He would never use that language now and realises that, as someone who was bullied himself, this kind of retaliatory, inflammatory, insulting language is completely unacceptable.”

    An ITV spokesperson issued a statement which said, “Jack has issued a full apology and has deleted the tweets that he sent.”

  • COLUMN | Know ourselves: LGBT+ rights should be covered in the school curriculum

    I am discrete about my sexuality because it is my choice. I don’t have to be as I live in the UK and have been openly gay in the past.

    I am known on my medical records as being homosexual because I chose to make the disclosure. Publicly I have spoken openly about my sexuality and it is known by the police.

    I have never been victimised by any authority in this country because of my sexuality. Policies of governments, education and employment support the diversity of our culture.

    When I read about the oppression of people in other countries because of their sexuality I realise how much freedom I have that is implicit in being a UK citizen.

    There is an inner desire within me to do something to express that I do not take these rights for granted. I want to show support and solidarity for people who are being oppressed.

    The problem I have is when it comes to politics these days I am nothing more than a “keyboard warrior”, who has an opinion but wants an involvement that takes me no further than my armchair.

    Perhaps if I was part of an army of warriors with typing fingers we could have an impact. Maybe a lobbying group? It’s free to send an email, or post on social media. It would not be too difficult to share a common message. Does anyone else feel the same?

    The other part of my conscience when it comes to the rights I have is I feel LGBT+ rights should be covered in the school curriculum. When I left school I did not even know what a homosexual was, let alone that I was one or more importantly what my legal status was.

    There is a history of campaigning and standing up to be recognised that has come at a cost. If we all knew some LGBT+ history it could help to give respect to us as a group and to be more accepted in the community; because to get to where we are, there has been a journey.

    Our place in law and our rights were not gifted to us, they came as a result of landmark changes which eventually led to equality. By knowing our history and the route that got us to where we are today might help all of us remember not to take our freedoms for granted.

  • COLUMN | Is it wrong to give someone you met on a train a BJ?

    Double whammy!

    I was coming home and so grateful to have such good friends, to have been treated to a weekend away in London. With careful planning and just one change of train I was able to stay later; leave from Waterloo, change in Taunton and be home for teatime.

    I sat back on the train acknowledged my fellow passenger, who was going all the way to journeys end, returning to university and started to do the crossword in the newspaper.

    At the first stop, a number of passengers got on. A few of them came into the carriage where I was seated. The first 2 sat down with no fuss and the minimum of apology to people who had to stand to let them sit or those they reached above to stow luggage.

    The third was a portly lady of middle age. She wore an outfit which contained within it all the textures found in Chelsea girl and all the colours of the rainbow. On her feet, she had Arabian style slippers that curled up at the end and coming to a tip carrying a bell on each foot. She stamped along as I imagined an angry hippo might, with every footfall ringing out like a death toll for “Tinkerbell” as she got every nearer.

    At arriving to be parallel with where I was sitting it all became too much for her. She started to go off into some sort of panic-meltdown about having to be seated at a table and not being able to find her seat. The other passengers with true Englishness ignored her. I got up and offered to look at her ticket. She thrust it into my hand and from the number, I realised she was sitting behind me and not at a seat with a table. I indicated the seat to her. The incumbent of the inner seat next to the window was, unfortunately, unable to kill me with the death stare he gave as he looked up; though I did feel a little withered by it. I returned to my seat.

    She took a call on her mobile phone confirming she was getting off at Newton Abbot. Her friend with whom she spoke needed the mobile device. The female passenger behind me did not. I was relieved the call was of short duration as my eardrums were at their limit.

    She started to tell the passengers either side and any who met her stare she had booked a seat at a table. I heard her go on to say she wanted to watch a DVD.

    I could hear the sound of leads being connected and a disc inserted into a player. I eased myself back into my seat and picked up the newspaper to once more immerse myself in a puzzle beyond my ability.

    At glancing behind me just to be certain, I saw she was inserting her earpiece. Then it started. The DVD player still played an awful soundtrack that was loud enough for those of us nearby to hear indistinctly, but enough to know it was an abomination. I considered the title must be “Death of a musical and a career”, as surely no one with any hope of ever working again would be involved with such a thing.

    Worse, she, had seen it before. She knew the words or at least some of them, mostly the end of sentences to choruses from the big songs in the show. The scratching screeching irritating sound of the DVD player would suddenly be drowned out by the loud monotone howling of “Love”, “Like a Dove”, “Until the very end!” Oh please let it be soon.

    The conductor came along. When he checked my ticket I asked how much it would be to upgrade to first class. I could hear disgruntled muttering from my fellow passengers. I paid the amount requested of me (£15).

    The conductor went to the passenger behind and told her she had been upgraded and would get a seat with a table in first class.

    He duly escorted her away.

    The sighs of relief and change of atmosphere were both audible and palpable. A man from somewhere behind got up and on coming past on his way to the refreshment car or the loo, left a £2 coin on the table in front of me. This started a bit of flow of money and I had quickly recouped most of the expense of her upgrade. I am sure in first-class passengers would have been too polite to comment and have suffered in silence.

    At Taunton I alighted.

    There were a number of other people waiting for the connecting train. I would guess at around 18-20 of them. I cast an eye around for any male totty. My gaze may have lingered a milli-second to long as through the crowd a very handsome young man of about 6’2” made his way past others and over to me.

    He looked at the train opposite and commented a leak from it seemed to be like a long urination (though not in such eloquent language). I thought OMG, another one. I must have a label on the forehead that reads “Nutter friendly”, for now, I was engaged in conversation with a man I could best describe as “The Somerset Fruit Loop!” The only saving grace being he was gentle on the eye and caused the right stirring in the groin.

    In the next 40 minutes, there were 3 announcements informing passengers of a further delay making for the arrival of the connecting train, later and later.

    Had I made a mistake? I never got his name but he was 24, coming home from a festival, where he informed me he had been a steward as he was SIA registered. He was tactile in conversation and offered to show me restraint holds. He certainly seemed to be giving me a lot of attention.

    Perhaps he was OK after all. I was getting mixed messages. Was he flirting with me or wired up wrong? Perhaps he was wired in the chemical sense. Maybe he had tried something he had confiscated at the festival.

    The train arrived and I climbed aboard. My new best friend got on with me. There was nowhere to go. To get to my seat would have taken longer than the remaining journey so I resigned to stay between carriages with some others.

    At this juncture, I think I was mistaken by a woman across from me as being the carer or support worker of the fellow who got on with me. He was leaning on me and standing intimately close. He was striking up a conversation with people who were trying to be polite but doing their best to end the exchange. Then he turned to me and said: “Are we there yet?” That left no doubt in anyone’s mind he was my responsibility. Worse I already knew we were getting off at the same stop.

    At Tiverton Parkway we got off and walked over the footbridge together. I am not sure if he was uncomfortable or making a final play for me as he was rearranging himself in the trouser department and seemed to be wrangling with a python in his pants. I elected safety and made my farewells. He started to walk along the long lane to the connecting road.

    In the car park, I breathed a sigh of relief. As a younger man I would have taken the risk, played the odds and provided a blowjob or at the very least a Hand-Shandy. But for today it was safety first.

    I started my car and drove along the lane. There he was looking back at me and standing in the middle of the road. Should I stop or swerve to avoid him? I’ll let you decide what action I took given a second chance.

  • Morrissey Defends Sex Assault Claims Against Spacey And Weinstein

    Steven Patrick Morrissey in an interview reportedly defended Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein by saying the sexual assault victims “know exactly what’s going on” and that “they play along.”

    The English singer-songwriter, in an interview to the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel on Nov. 18, spoke about a variety of topics ranging from his new…

  • CAR REVIEW | Jaguar XF R-Sport 250ps AWD

    ★★★★ | Jaguar XF R-Sport 250ps AWD

    CAR REVIEW | Jaguar XF R-Sport 250ps AWD

    House Trained Cat With Trimmed Claws

    With all of its extras, £59,000 worth of Jaguar sits on the drive. It sounds a lot except its starting price is just £42,000.

    Just don’t tell anyone.

    Sat there in its big blackness of black paint, black wheels and privacy glass, it attracts attention. It attracts compliments. It is safe to say that on the road the compliments are equally forthcoming.

    There is something about a Jaguar that you don’t get with any other premium brand car. There is a lot of acknowledgement and a lot of admiration. Perhaps it’s because of its inherent Britishness that does it. Perhaps it’s the drama that has surrounded the Jaguar brand.

    Since being taken over by the Tata Group in 2008 the changes at Jaguar were slow and steady at first. Within 8 years they started getting it together. Add a couple of years on top of that and Jaguar now have a bigger range of cars than ever before and the brand is now as desirable as it was in the 60s.

    It’s not to say that the 80’s and 90’s Jaguars were not desirable, it’s just that they were questionable in terms of reliability, build quality and resale.

    It’s not all good news though. The XF R-Sport I tested failed me in one area. I’m being picky, probably more so than I usually would be but only because I saw it, it annoyed me. The top of the boot area under the parcel shelf lacks a cover. You wouldn’t see it. I can’t quite explain it. It’s just missing. It’s an area that gets missed by many. To me, it’s like the final piece of the boot lining jigsaw.

    What isn’t missing is driver enjoyment. From the outside, the big cat is very attractive. Sleek headlights and integral grill now replace the tired retro look they tried. The looks work. It makes for an elegant design. The lines flow from bonnet to boot. There are no tricks.

    Driving the XF R-Sport AWD is made easy thanks to the parking assist pack with surround cameras. An option worth having. The cameras show the front wheels making parallel parking a breeze. There is now no excuse to scuff the alloys on a curb.

    Adopting a perfect driving position is very easy with almost infinite adjustment available on the memory seats. Handy to have should you wish to car share with a significant other. This then sets you up to enjoy anything you want to throw at the XF R-Sport. I wouldn’t want to be a passenger in the XF. It’s not that you don’t get enough space to stretch out or comfort, it’s just that driving the Jaguar is where you enjoy it the most.

    Together the car flows along. The 250ps turbocharged 2 litre Ingenium engines power delivery is smooth and progressive in its application of power making the XF R-Sport a pleasure to drive. It lacks some out and out slam-you-into-the seat throttle reactions but that would only remove you from the linear feel of the cars flowing progress. If you want that from your XF you can always opt for the S model. Don’t think that this XF won’t get out of the way of its own shadow. With a 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds, it isn’t slow. And all this with a commendable low Co2 output.

    All this power gets transmitted via an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The ratios are nicely spaced. If pushed it will hold on to the gear which can be a minor inconvenience. Pull out hard and fast and then come off the throttle would often result in a sudden jerk in the ride where the gearbox had held onto the low gear. The price you pay for all that power and the 0-60 time.

    The big structure of the shell is in aluminium and this helps make the XF feel light yet being of light construction does not in any way feel like it flexes. It is a taut chassis and good job too. The handling of the all wheel drive system fails to fail you. It holds on with immense grip. Adaptive Surface Response (AdSR) along with adaptive dynamics make split-second changes to the car’s behaviour. It works well. There were times when you could feel it change from soft barge to sports saloon and its job of keeping you on the road was good. I can’t say I went out of my way to provoke it but I tried a couple of times and I can say it sort of left me feeling a little flat.

    It’s not that it is a bad thing in any way. All the gizmos go someway to make the big cat very safe if a little too safe. It keeps the car planted to the road and while it makes you feel like the king of the road, unlike some power saloons, it won’t try and kill you. I can live with that.

    There were a few things that to me didn’t quite work. The cruise control seemed a little finicky to set at first. There are many switches on the steering wheel. What I expected to find was adaptive cruise. For such a big and powerful car I expect to find this standard equipment for anything that comes with cruise control.

    The Jaguar illuminated kick plates were a nice touch. I’m not a fan of blue lighting though. What would have been nice was illuminated steps in the rear. ‘XF’ set in these would have looked quite nice.

    I can forgive it the kick plates and boot trim. However, the XF does go some way in making a luxury barge a great British barge. Driving dynamics aside It’s not quite up there with the Germans in interior tactility. It’s very close though and what would look better on the drive? A Jaguar or a Munich motorway muncher? I’ll tell you this for nothing, I’ll have the Jaguar thanks. For a start, people let you out in traffic.

    Love

    Price
    Smooth progressive engine
    Economy

    Loathe

    Lack of adaptive cruise control
    A bit too safe in the handling department
    Trim tactility

    The Lowdown
    Car – Jaguar XF R-Sport 250ps AWD
    Price – £58,860 (as tested)
    MPG – 40.9 mpg (combined)
    Power – 0-62mph – 6.2 seconds
    Top Speed – 147 mph
    Co2 – 159 (g/km)

  • Jeffrey Tambor Exits From ‘Transparent’ Amid Sexual Misconduct Claims

    Jeffrey Tambor recently announced that he will no longer return to more episodes of Transparent. While speaking with Deadline, Tambor said that the atmosphere on the set of the hit Amazon original series has become “politicized” ever since he was accused of sexual misconduct. “Playing Maura Pfefferman on ‘Transparent’ has been one of the greatest privileges… (more…)

  • Jack Maynard in homophobic and racist Tweet shame

    He’s only just gone into the jungle, but Jack Maynard’s time on the show, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here could be cut short after racist and homophobic tweets were found on his Twitter account.

    The YouTuber, Jack Maynard has come under fire after a series of homophobic and racist tweets were discovered on his Twitter timeline. The tweets included the use of the “n-word”, which he used to describe a friend and “faggots” which he used as a slur.

    He also used the term “retard” as an insult towards people.

    The tweets, which were uncovered by The Sun,  date back up to six years. He was a teenager at the time of publishing these tweets.

    The 22-year-old YouTube star has over a million subscribers on the video platform and has hundreds of thousands of fans on Twitter and Instagram, he has 700,000 and 600,000 followers on each respective social media site. Before becoming a YouTuber he worked as a personal trainer.

    In the unearthed tweets he mocked gay men and called friends the racist “n-word” term repeatedly. He also poked fun at people with facial disfigurements.

    “Faggots”, Retards and “N-Words”

    In a post dated February 2013 he replied to one critic saying,  “hahaha shutup you f****t… By the way who hit you with a shovel?”

    In one tweet, posted online in June 2011, he wrote, “At alices with my n****s!”

    He also repeatedly calls people “retards”.

    “Ashamed”

    A spokesperson for the YouTuber said, “Jack is ashamed of what he said in these tweets, many of which were deleted a long time ago and were sent in response to a neighbour who was bullying him. Jack was a lot younger when he posted them in 2012 but realises that age is no defence. He would never use that language now and realises that, as someone who was bullied himself, this kind of retaliatory, inflammatory, insulting language is completely unacceptable.”

    An ITV spokesperson issued a statement which said, “Jack has issued a full apology and has deleted the tweets that he sent.”

    THEGAYUK.com reached out to ITV for comment.

    Last week, a former editor, Josh Rivers, of Gay Times Magazine was fired after just 20 days in office, after an investigation by Buzzfeed into Rivers’ Twitter account. Dozens of racist, homophobic, fat-shaming and antisemitic tweets were found. The bosses at Gay Times briefly suspended and then fired Rivers, in a move which was widely praised by critics.

    • This story has been updated with Jack’s full statement.
  • Who is Dennis Wise and what is he famous for?

    Who is Dennis Wise and what is he famous for?

    Dennis Wise has just entered the Celebrity jungle, but what do we know about him and what is he famous for?

    Wise, 50 is a former Footballer and former Executive Director of Football at Newcastle United. The former midfielder is just 5ft5.

    Is Dennis Wise gay or does he have a girlfriend?

    Nope, Dennis Wise is married to his wife Claire. They married in 2004. The pair have two children, Henry and Amber.

    How old is Dennis Wise?

    Dennis is 50. He was born in Kensington on 16 December 1966.

     

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