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Farewell my lovely
Cradled in its amphitheatre of hills under a cloudless sky, Bath’s signature oolitic limestone gleamed like gold in the low winter sun as Helen’s family and many friends gathered at …
Fiendish for Yule
Usual rules apply. Solution in January ACROSS1 Alpha male’s wake-up call? (4-1-6-3)7 Play about a broken King Coal (4,4,2,5)8 Female veneer (5)9 Exotic tailpipe in regular use (5)12 Bachelor with …
Darkness descends
There are no words. Helen Lewis is dead. For forty years she was my comrade, my confidant, my muse, my beacon, my rock, my soul-mate, my mentor, my counsellor, my …
A mere trifle
An old friend visited for the first time since pre-pandemic, so I pushed the boat out a bit and made a nice lunch. Nothing fancy, just simple, nourishing peasant food: …
Toms harry Dic
Every year when spring arrives I can’t resist growing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum). And every year, around this time in the dog-days of summer, I vow never to grow the bloody …
What a woebegone world
With apologies to Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) and Bob Thiele (1922-1996) & George Weiss (1921-2010) I see forests burnAnd heat domes fry,Foretastes of doomFor you and I,And I think to myselfWhat …
Yotam got ’em
I’ve collected all the various recipes accumulated on the blog under the umbrella of a new ‘Recipes’ category. To mark the occasion, a tribute to Yotam Ottolenghi GRUEL Prep 15 …
Avant-garde a clue
ACROSS9 Ghastly old queen gets to do little – primarily breed, eat, thieve and hunt (9)10 Creep’s typical behaviour? (5)11 Boy, I set extraordinary weight! (7)12 Protection is worn out …
Annibendod Mynwy
When I was in primary school my parents decided I should sit the scholarship entrance exam for Monmouth School. Then as now the private, single-sex boarding school was a bastion …
It’s over
Text message received from my sister 29/1/21: Dad passed away peacefully today. I’m collecting his stuff from the hospital x He was two weeks short of his 97th birthday. I …