Never buy anything from Amazon unless Dr M von Vogelhausen has reviewed it first…
12 Kelso Table Forks Cutlery Dining Set Canteen*****
forky genius
First, let me start with the design. Tines, to hold food: check. Handle, to hold fork: check. Next, materials: metal, and this is wise. The short-lived experiment in hamforks was a lesson painfully learnt. But all of this you could probably tell from the picture. How does the fork feel? It feels magnificent! There is a cold brilliance to it. Its clean, unerring lines. The way the reflections chase across its smoothness almost evasively, the heart-rending weight of it… The only problem, perchance, is that one might catch sight of it as one guides food towards one’s mouth, and, lost in contemplation, allow the tasty morsels to grow cold. To summarise: superforks x12.
Ainsley Harriott – Just Five Ingredients [Paperback]
***** brave and courageous
This is a movingly written account of one man’s battle to survive with limited resources at his disposal, as the title suggests. Like me, you may well be familiar with Mr. Harriott from the documentary “ready, steady, cook”, where chefs and members of the public are made to prepare meals while competing in a variety of track events. The hardship of that brutal series is as nothing, however, when compared to the travails described in this book.
Ainsley (I feel I can use his first name, having followed him this far) displays ingenuity and more than a little resolve when forced to make his five ingredients (pasta, potato waffles, loganberries, Tizer and ham oil) stretch for as many years. By the end, when the “recipes” are really just the scratchings in the sand of a mind pushed to its limits, I saw that it wasn’t really about food; it was about fear, anger, joy, and seasoning.
Full length mirror
***** clear, but different
For a long time I have relied on the often horrified expressions on other people’s faces as a guide to the success or otherwise of my dressing and grooming routines. So it was that this beauty of a mirror came galloping to my aid. I like the way it only shows me my face when I am looking at it – how does it know how to do that? What a sophisticated gadget. I like the coquettish interplay between wood and glass – who wouldn’t? – but I must admit that I am slightly troubled by a consistent distortion, which sees words and pictures “flipped around”, although I remain the same. That aside I am as happy as a mirror can make a person.
Far more useful than any Which? guide. Thank you.