I spent most of my visit to Hanoi in 2005 totally freaked out by the traffic. For starters, there were barely any traffic lights, and any that did exist were customarily ignored by drivers with barely any concept of road rules. Not only was crossing the wide road intersections (filled with 10 lanes of […]
My January detox isn’t going toooooo badly, although the other day I spent much of the afternoon lusting after a packet of Salt ‘n Vinegar Pringles spied in the kitchen of the flat opposite my office – made it completely impossible to concentrate on ANYTHING. Damn you, Pringles. So with this detox thing, sugar is […]
Happy 2014! Or is it? Just to make January even more depressing, I’m doing a detox diet. It’s full of things like quinoa and kale and pulses. *Sigh*. But frankly, something has to be done to counteract the seasonal abuse which I put my body through every Christmas. I’m trying to unlearn certain habits – […]
Before I talk about the stew, I need to have a rant. About those expensive shops that purport to be selling the notion of comforting nostalgia, fine craftsmanship and warm, old fashioned values…at a whacking great price. Yes you, SCP. Yes you, Labour and Wait. And others that I can’t be bothered to mention, but […]
So my dear friends A and P are moving back to Australia. It’s a real toughie for them – A’s from England, and P’s from Oz, and every six years or so, they find themselves moving from one side of the world to the other. They start all over again from scratch, get new jobs, […]
Holy smokes, we’ve had a lot of apples this year. We’re the proud adoptive parents of three gnarled apple trees, and as opposed to last year, when the harvest was limited to just ONE apple on a twig, we’ve been inundated with bounty this autumn. But the thing is, life’s too short to be peeling […]
If you like Thai food that is properly spicy and tastes just like it comes from a stall in a sweaty Bangkok night food market, you MUST head over to West London to eat at 101 Thai Kitchen. The dishes here are so far removed from the tragically dumbed-down food you get in most Thai […]
I just had a holiday in Brittany where by the end of my 10-day stay, salted butter was pumping through my veins. The Bretons make the BEST butter. I did feel I would explode if I ate any more French bread. Or cream/cheese/pastries. Dear Gawd, by the last-but-one day, I went into a sort of […]
Sugar free muffins? Sugar free? Yup, that got your attention didn’t it. Well, it’s true – it is actually possible to have a delicious teatime muffin that doesn’t taste like pappy diet food, has no added sugar and is REET GORGEOUS. Ok, so purists among you might point out that having dried fruit and mashed […]
I snuck off to the cinema on my own last week (shhhhh! was meant to be working) to catch an early afternoon matinee. That, to me, is total bliss. I’ve been going to the cinema on my own for years. I saw the new Woody Allen film, Blue Jasmine, which I loved. I used to […]
Toast & Butter 