Tuna and tomato noodles

Pap, the p*ss artist formerly known as Nicey, nudged me the other day and said: "Hey, you haven't updated your blog for a week now."
Well, my mind has been so befuddled by the new happy hub that I nearly answered: "What blog?"
So what's been happening? Well, at last I have got the recognition I deserve and have been elevated to God-like status in the eyes of the good people of Cardiff. In other words, my face now appears on Viewpoints, the letters page of the South Wales Echo. It means that every sad sod with something to moan about seems to get in touch with me. I must admit I always envisaged this role when I was slaving away planning award-winning sports pages for Wales on Sunday or designing 16-page supplements for the Irish Sunday Mirror.
Amazingly, it does make a bigger impression on the public, too. I have been using my laundrette for as long as I can remember and have quite often waltzed in, dropping the odd hint to Cardiff's version of Dot Cotton that "I'm in the papers".
Until now, I think she thought I had been up in Cardiff Magistrates Court on a charge of drunk and dishevelled and that it had been reported in the local rag.
This Sunday was different, however. "Hey, I see you're working for the Echo now. Editing the letters." Fame at bloody last.
I am also now readers champion, so anyone with a complaint seems to be shown straight to my door. I hope to God they spell world champion boxer Joe Calzaghe's name right when he appears in Las Vegas in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, I am now sitting here on a Friday night, at least one-and-a-half hours after my normal boozing time, working away on the Western Mail. Well, not working I suppose, just blogging. But being on the happy hub, which sits just behind the editor's office, I have to keep closing down my blog every time he wanders past and pretending to be busy.
At the same time I keep getting assorted texts from the Prince of Darkness, Smashy, Pap and Danny Boy (the poipes, the poipes) who are all getting steadily merry in Sh**ty O'Grim's. The swines!
Still, I have Boston to look forward to. Boston? Well, sitting around messing about on Wren's computer on Sunday morning I decided to book a B and B there, then hope we can get some Red Sox tickets for one of the September games. We've still to book flights, too.
That followed a very enjoyable Saturday night in Bristol walking across the suspension bridge then having a pint in the pub next to the Avon Gorge Hotel followed by a yummy takeaway curry. Unfortunately, due to working hours we haven't seen each other much, but are hoping to rectify that in the near future.
As for cooking, I just don't feel up to it these days. Last week I put in more than 50 hours and this week must be closing in on the same figure. I did rustle up a quick meal the other day, though, and very nice it was, too.
It involved quickly whisking two cloves of chopped garlic and two dried red chillis around a hot wok, then adding half a red onion after about 10 seconds. Turning the heat down, I cooked the onion until it was fairly soft then added a drained tin of tuna and some parsley and cooked for a short while. In the recipe it said to add black olives but as I had none I settled instead for mushrooms.
When they started to cook well I added a tin of tomatoes and seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper. Leaving on a low heat for 15 minutes I then cooked up some egg noodles in a pan of salted water, boiling them for four minutes before dunking them in cold water and then adding to the tuna and tomatoes. Nice and simple and pretty tasty.