Happy St Patrick’s Day to you. Until around twenty years ago there seemed to be plenty of places to get shamrock on St Patrick’s Day. In our part of West London there were a few Irish butchers that would always have a decent supply of the green stuff, along with their regular stocks of Barry’s… Continue reading Where to get shamrock in Central London
[There are over 4,000 words here] The call came on Tuesday, early, before the school run, before I wake my son, my uncle died in the night, the uncle I’m named after, he died aged 86, north of Dublin, funeral for Thursday, arrangements by phone and text, later there was a long chat with my… Continue reading A Funeral Day (10 March 2016)
Some things are high maintenance and some things are low maintenance. Maybe this doesn’t bother you. If you have a car that needs constant attention you might be the kind of person who enjoys tinkering with cars, so that’s just fine. I prefer it if things just work and don’t need to be tinkered with.… Continue reading Low Maintenance, High Maintenance: Baby Milk, Beards and Smoking
There are many comedians who appear regularly on my TV set who have never made me laugh, not once. They are, in my view, just not funny. By contrast there are many comedians and presenters who have made me laugh, so in the interests of accentuating the positive, I’ll mention a few of them: Eddie… Continue reading Broccoli, and TV Comedians
Taramasalata: 12 letters, 6 occurrences of the letter “a”. It’s the kind of thing I had never heard of, let alone eaten, until I went to university. There are members of my family who have still never eaten it, and have never eaten hummus, tahini or tzatziki. There wasn’t much call for any of those… Continue reading My taramasalata moment
Some years ago I stood three feet away from Paul Weller at a gig in a fairly small London venue. It was at the Half Moon in Putney in August 2011. Ian McLagan (former keyboard player with Small Faces and The Faces) was playing, solo, and I went on my own. A friend who was… Continue reading Keeping out of sight
We had the most enjoyable Saturday. An old friend from university, after a few significant changes in his life, now lives fairly near to us here in West London. Previously he was a two-hour drive away. We hadn’t spoken for over ten years, hadn’t met up for nearly 20 years (my birthday party, in 1996).… Continue reading Snapshots
Today we are halfway through the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday (when it started) was 23 days ago and Easter Sunday (when it ends) is 23 days from now. What did you give up for Lent? My preferred answer these days, when asked that question, is “talking about it”. If you’ve given something up (booze,… Continue reading Halfway through Lent
It’s okay to give things up, as long as you can find at least two reasons for doing so, and can work out what you’re doing as a replacement. Last autumn, just after her 9th birthday, our daughter gave up piano lessons. There were many reasons for this, but the two main ones were: a… Continue reading Giving things up, and replacing them
This is the only recipe you’re likely to find on these pages. It’s a dish that, for me, is steeped in memories. For day-to-day simple meals I believe that the time spent preparing the food should be less than the time spent eating it. This dish fulfils that criterion. I learnt it at university. It… Continue reading Friday Night Dinner (a recipe)
The Compartments 