The British Pie Awards 2015

Last Wednesday I was in St Mary’s Church in Melton Mowbray – light streaming through the stained glass windows, and a voice booming from the pulpit: “now take your control pie…”

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Gourmet baked beans: a ‘gastronomisation’ too far?

You can get posh versions of everything from scotch eggs to marshmallow – and now you can buy a fancy version of the Heinz classic at Fortnum & Mason, for almost a fiver. Does gourmet always taste better? First published in The Guardian

Using up Sunday lunch leftovers

 Stick insects are resilient creatures. One summer I was given the dubious honour of looking after the class stick insects. I took the tank back home, and put it in the corner of a room.

A Dissertation upon Roast Pig and Other Essays

Lots of people confess to having a streak of madness running in the family, but eighteenth-century essayist, Charles Lamb, had stronger claims than most.

Friday Pot Luck| Week #6

It’s back to school week! Even though it’s been four years since I left education, I always see the first week of September as the start of a new term, and I don’t think I’m alone. It’s a time for buying stationery, tidying my desk, and making pledges to myself about being more organised this… 

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