Category: Food & Drink

Spottiswoode

Does London need a new £500 million concert venue? The rather ugly roundabout where the Museum of London is now (it’s moving to Smithfield Market) is the proposed site, located between the Barbican and St Paul’s. Maybe we would do better to stick to George’s long term economic plan and build flats and offices that… Continue reading Spottiswoode

How About a Bacon Butty?

I expect you have often seen this or similar. At least sixty-one were built and now thirteen remain. It is, of course, a cabman’s shelter. As originally they were parked on public highways and some still are, they could be no  bigger than a horse and cart. 

The Rule of Seven

Great discoveries have been made in a bath in Greece and an orchard in England. I make my contribution in the library bar at the Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner.

Two Prayers

If you read Steps of the Throne here this week you will know that I had a Blue Peter moment. Cutting and pasting is such fun and much quicker than writing an original post. I’m itching to use my electronic scissors again.

A Mixed Bag

There are only two reasons for having full-time employment. One is to get a pay cheque and the other is to have a delivery address for online shopping.

Second Thoughts

How many times have you been told not to be fobbed off with second best? This is usually followed by being told that it’s worth paying a bit more for something that is higher quality. This is misguided advice.

Something Fishy

By the end of this year more salmon will be sold than tuna in the UK. I read this in a newspaper, so it must be true.

Trick Or Treat?

Our Umbrian farmhouse had apparently lovely bowls of autumnal fare including squashes, gourds and pumpkins. Sarah painstakingly prepared them, doing a lot of peeling and de-seeding. Unfortunately there was an ornamental pumpkin in the display. Have you ever eaten a gordo ornamentale?

Snaffles

Snaffles, the early 20th century equestrian artist, unwittingly lent his name to a restaurant in a basement in Lower Leeson Street, Dublin, that opened in 1968. Four friends jointly owned it; a wine merchant called Fitzgerald, a flâneur called Cobby Knight and Rose and Nicholas Tinne. In those days small restaurants were unusual – people… Continue reading Snaffles