There was so much to admire about Fanny Cradock. And then it all went wrong... I can’t quite make up my mind about Fanny Cradock. I’m on the fence about this one. There are many things to admire: the innovative cookery programmes, the slick, ball-gowned cookery demonstrations presented to packed audiences ... Read More...
Britain
Worm guides us through the jerry-built plotlands of Great Britain... Plotlands began in the 1870's as a way for speculators to offload marginal farmland as Britain's agrarian populace uprooted en masse to the big cities. Whether barren or dangerously flood prone, worthless land was portioned up and sold off square by ... Read More...
Dabbler editor Gaw explains his role in the popularisation of one of Britain's finest dishes, the Balti... Accompanied by a family-nan, there is surely no more restorative, tasty and cheap meal to be found anywhere than a Balti. It means 'bucket' in Hindi, and was invented in Birmingham. I gather it's ... Read More...
Following his posts on our geography and sporting pastimes, David Cohen continues his (very) occasional series giving a US perspective of the British with a succinct summary of our history... The history of England is the history of colonialism, mostly with the English on the sharp side of the spear. Being ... Read More...
Suggestions for a fun family day out this summer... By some distance the least impressive museum I have ever visited is the Tomato Museum on the island of Guernsey. I think I was about fourteen when we went, so you can imagine the impression a tomato-based attraction would have made on ... Read More...
Henry wonders whether a 'Good Pub Guide' actually has any pubs in it... Due to the capricious workings of the UK Border Agency, we went on holiday to Norfolk last year rather than France as originally planned. One of the highlights of the trip was the pub next door to our ... Read More...
In which Nige goes for a walk in the Surrey Hills... Against the hot blue sky, the terraced knoll loomed enormous, its summit lost in a shimmering heat-haze. The grassy flanks seemed to radiate a reflected heat, enfolding us in a weighted, thyme-scented silence, enhanced rather than disturbed by the monotone ... Read More...
Jonathon Green reviews a new edition of a groundbreaking work of Anglo-Indian lexicography... Hobson Jobson A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive was published in 1886. Its name comes from an Englished pronunciation of ‘Ya Hassan! Ya Hossein!’ as cried at ... Read More...
Rita marks the Queen's 60th coronation anniversary with an extraordinary confession involving an old-fashioned loo, a taste for lead, and Her Majesty's nose... The most irritating thing about being a Brit in America is the expectation that I must be as enamored of the Royal family as Americans are. Except in the ... Read More...
In a special guest post, Canadian commenter Peter muses on the English-speaking world's various attitudes to booze... The British and Americans have more in common than language to divide them. The joys of intercontinental blogging and a long time bedtime addiction to police mysteries have led me to understand that a ... Read More...
