ceebee

Ah, okay. Thanks. No difference here, then, I don't think. I've never bothered with jam sugar for some reason, so if I'm using low pectin fruit, I de-zest and juice some lemons (use those bits for something else) and chop up the pithy remains. Boil them in a little water to extract the pectin and add to the fruit; tie the pithy pulp up in a muslin and add that to the pan too. Works a treat. It might work with apple cores, too. How is European butter different from American butter? (Sorry for all the Qs - am intrigued!)

What's normal jam? Wondering if there's a transatlantic difference!

An innuendo-laden episode! I never really enjoy the gingerbread challenge. It just doesn't strike me as a 'real world' thing, but I guess it's televisual and suitably dramatic. We had Sue doing a history bit about dunking biscuits and then they didn't really make anything dunkable. Tsk! Mmmm. Viennese Whirls. Yummity, scrummity! I prefer them as they come, though, without a filling (which also makes them dunkable for the daring!) Jam's easy and fun to make, though I would never rustle some up just to fill some bickies. It's a store cupboard item made when the fruit's in glut.

I'll love to defend my countryfolk, but have to concede on this point. I have a feeling this has something to do with the move to Channel 5. Big Brother has never been classy television, but they have pursued a much tackier agenda in the past few years and celebrate the worst of society. I suspect very few people actually vote and many will have given up in exasperation this series. Of those who do, I think some just really enjoy watching other people suffer, but wouldn't themselves wish to be in a room with the prime irritants. I don't know if there's any truth to the leaked voting figures, but they showed Ricky and Bear to be extremely close in the end, each polling around 37% give or take. Apparently Bear has been on TV moaning that even though he won and 'everyone' voted for him, no one has congratulated him or found anything nice to say about him. I think he may have misunderstood his constituency!

Ha! Whereas I groaned. I only know Tameka from her role in EastEnders (which I loathe) and have always found her irritating. I fear I may have been guilty of confusing her with her soap character, because she came across well on Extra Slice. (She's recently been announced as a contestant on my favourite dancing show starting soon. Now she's redeemed, I can look forward to her on that. Phew!)

It isn't an 'arbitrary addition of ethnicity' though - it's used here as a 'credit of origin' (even if mistakenly credited). I think if Jo had asked the Extra Slice audience to 'do a wave' they would have waved their hands or looked bemused ... at least the first time they rehearsed it ;-)

I'm scratching my head about why this should be uncomfortable - could you explain? Whatever it's origin, it became a popular phenomenom (outside the US) after the World Cup was held in Mexico in 1986, hence the name, which seems innocent and without side to me.

Len will be on Strictly this season. It will be his last one.

Looking at the speculation in the comments, it could be Maureen McCormick.

Nadiya was on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs last week. I have a feeling this may be geo-blocked and time-limited, so there's a summary here if you're unable to access it.

I think Gleb was on the Australian show prior to DWTS US, but, yes, the point still stands - he doesn't stick around very long. Gleb tweeted yesterday that he'd be at The Grove event ("join us" or some such), so I think it's pretty likely he's back on the show in some capacity. ETA: https://mobile.twitter.com/Gleb_Savchenko/status/765965256686342145

Allegedly Gleb Savchenko will be back on the show this season. https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/1628476/strictly-come-dancing-star-gleb-savchenko-to-head-back-to-the-us-for-dancing-with-the-stars/ In the troupe? With a partner? (*Eye-roll* at the 'replacing Derek' part).

BB have tweeted that the transcript being circulated is 100% fake. I had wondered if they would actually show us what he said, or choose to protect him, but I think they'll have to show it now to limit the damage. In other news, Bear took the gift of eternal nomination so well! I'm sick of the Bear Show, but sadly don't think he'll be evicted in a vote to save.

I'd never heard of him before launch night and thought he'd get right up my nose, but ... so far, so indifferent. I just don't think he's featured very much, and, in comparison to some most of the other grisly bunch, he's registered with me as 'mildly irritating, but largely good-natured'. I don't much care for Biggins, James and Saira et al, but the ex-reality show "Squad" of Lewis, Bear, Marnie, Heavy and Chloe is so utterly foul, I find myself rooting for absolutely anyone other. Mind you, from last night's live feed, they appear to be self-combusting, so there may still be hope for this series.

Yep, seventeen is too many (I hope). My best guess is that the two youngsters are being brought in as a troupe of sorts and they'll learn the ropes this year. Strictly have used regular 'additional dancers' for a few years without crediting them, so perhaps announcing them is a step towards creating a more flexible 'team' arrangement. Who knows?! They'll start announcing celebs in a couple of weeks and the launch show (with the pair-ups) is being recorded at the end of August to be broadcast the first Saturday in September.

Len to quit Strictly after the 2016 season. I'll miss him ..... some of the time. Hasn't he just signed a very lucrative deal with DWTS? Was that just for one season or for longer?

I'm pretty certain they offered Gleb a contract, so I really don't believe that dropping Natalie or annoying wardrobe or offending Len with some off-piste choreography - or his family commitments - really came in to it. The BBC invested quite heavily in Gleb as the new hunk at Strictly and he's appearing in Celebrity Masterchef next week, so they must have viewed him as a marketable asset. The problem seems to have been his indecision. Perhaps they just wanted clarity and commitment from him; maybe they thought his dithering was an act of brinkmanship; there could be several reasons; but ultimately, I just don't think they tolerate being messed around, and whilst I wish he was coming back, I'd have to support them on that score.

It's just a 'base pattern' you make (or buy) which comprises the garment pieces reduced to their simplest possible interpretation (without any seam allowances) and from which you can develop a more complex design, or just a pattern that exactly fits your measurements. You trace the block pieces onto pattern paper and then embellish/reshape/adapt/add seam allowances etc Also known as a 'sloper'.

Strictly pro line-up has finally been announced. As we knew previously, Aliona, Ola, Kristina and Tristan have decided to quit, but Gleb has also decided not to return because of "family commitments". The behind the scenes gossip suggests this has been a fairly recent development. [ETA: Same source on DS now saying Gleb was 'let go' weeks ago. Makes me think he could have made demands the BBC wouldn't countenance. Pay? That Elena got a spot, too??] Joanne should have a partner this year and three newbies have been announced to make a total of 14. The BBC statement leaves the door open for further announcements, so perhaps we'll see another male pro added. Newbies are Katya Jones (Russian/British; successful competitive dancer representing UK with her husband Neil Jones), Oksana Platero (Ukrainian/American; formerly DWTS troupe) and Gorka Marquez (Spanish; Burn the Floor)

Sorry, but not surprised, to hear that piece of news.

I think the British tabloid gossip about poaching pros from elsewhere is just idle chatter. I have read from someone who claims insider insight that some of the contracts have already been signed for returning pros (which would be earlier than normal) and that one male pro is definitely leaving. I have given up hoping for a Brendan or Anton departure any time soon (though I liked A much more this year. Brendan not so much), and whilst I hope I'm wrong, my guess would be Tristan. He has expressed frustration at the lack of creative control, sounded exhausted after a very long series and was unguarded in his and Jamelia's exit interview on ITT in a 'here goes nothing' kind of way. I suppose it could be Gleb if he wanted to continue his rather rootless wanderings through the DWTS landscape, but he's been a big hit with audiences, so think TPTB would make every effort to keep him. There was certainly lots of discussion online about whether his choreography was show over substance and much grumbling about whether he tried hard enough to correct Anita's technique (especially her darn feet!!), but seeing him on the tour, I'd say he's become an audience favourite. There was much jokey banter about his handsomeness and he took it all in good heart and joined in the joking around. Performing out to the audience in huge arenas is a different skill from working the TV camera, and I thought he was great at it. I'm not sure how I'd feel about Mrs Gleb being on the show. I'm not so keen on having 'power couples', though I think the producers like it. Most likely male recruit being rumoured is Neil Jones. He might come ready packaged with his wife Katya. A possible female dancer is Jasmine Takacs. I know nothing about her really, except she's already in 'the family', having appeared on the main show, in 'Strictly Confidential' and on the 'Strictly Live' tour as an 'additional dancer'. I think she's also been part of Brendan's own tour (or was it Pasha's? Or both?!). Giulia Dotta might be worth keeping an eye on, too. (Has been a troupe dancer on the show; Burn the Floor alumnus; currently on Brendan's tour).

Article in the Daily a Mail confirming Kristina not returning. She says she almost didn't sign for this year and wasn't happy (I think we could all see that, love!). Alludes to creativity being taken away from the pros (as other pros have said). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3392943/CBB-star-Kristina-Rihanoff-talks-Ben-Cohen-s-shock-pregnancy-news.html

I don't know if you'll be able to view this, but Kristina tells her CBB housemates she's almost three months pregnant. http://bigbrother.channel5.com/kristina-rihanoff-makes-big-announcement-day-3 I guess that answers any lingering questions about whether she'll be back on Strictly. Congrats to Kristina and Ben (for I assume it is he she means when she talks of 'my boyfriend and I')

The newspapers reporting the line up for Celebrity Big Brother say Kristina will be in (and not Ola). If true, then I'd imagine that's the reason they think she's leaving Strictly.

Oh, for sure. It's one of the (many) reasons I've pretty much abandoned DWTS. The fanwarz between the Ballas-Hough contingent and the Fam supporters is pretty toxic, too. Interestingly I don't feel great support for the Cliftons from the public, so I'm a bit perplexed about why the producers persist in trying to make them happen as a 'thing'. I suspect when Kevin joined they were happy to have a new 'character pro'. Perhaps they do see a time when Anton might be put out to grass and think KFG is some kind of successor...