Temperance for the modern man
My main challenge of this month has been that abominable test of willpower known as the dry January. This is my twenty-third day off the sauce, and I can say…
The best of intentions
I never understand why everyone is so disparaging about New Year’s resolutions. Of course the gyms will not stay as busy as they are this month, and the joggers thronging…
For the price of a stamp
One of my jobs every Christmas, inherited from my dad, is to take a big lump of Blu-Tack and spend several hours sticking a hundred or so Christmas cards to…
A pint pot of short-term cheer
Last night I met my old mate Jon for a couple too many pints at the Real Ale Taproom. In case you haven’t heard about it, it’s a pop-up bar…
Jamon iberico y manchego
I love the global era in which we live, though its benefits can sometimes be drawbacks too. While it is rather fine that less than 24 hours can elapse between drifting through a…
Mr Whippy
This morning, as I sat sleepily in the cold kitchen sipping on bitter Nespresso, a news story came on the radio about this ice cream van mafia attack. My maternal…
Festive fire cooking
The latest edition of Scouting magazine came out this week, including of course my latest cookstrip. The recipe hails once more from Derek Wright’s test kitchen. Benjamin Zephaniah would not…
On the QT
It was my manager’s birthday last week. He tried to keep it quiet, presumably hoping to avoid the routine humiliation of a load of people clustered round his desk singing…
Bond, Holmes and Braime
Look. I have more in common with Sherlock Holmes and James Bond than they do with each other.
Helicopters in the glades
As E and I came into the main clearing, a short man in an oversized grey fleece, scuttling off past the toilet block with a couple of campers, turned and…
