

The sea, the sea
"Childhood memories of building sandcastles, rummaging in rock pools and splashing in the surf stay with us like little else." Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall The above photograph is from my collection of long ago negatives digitised on my scanner, complete with scratches, like the crescent moon-like one above my son's head at the front of the boat. We are in the Maldives with my young nephew in tow - he was on a trip to Australia with us, after our own trip - business associat
Mar 25


Legends are never quite true - prawns Cipriani
"Legends are material to be moulded, and not facts to be recorded." Hervey Allen It's first recipe time - this book and a recipe called Prawns Cipriani. I thought it was going to be fairly straightforward - a recipe to look into and some stories about this particular book which is one of my all-time favourites. Then I found that it was a known dish - not one that Beverley Sutherland Smith had made up - and then that there was an association with Guiseppe Cipriani and Venice
Jan 25


Classic Thai - a first recipe
"I would definitely classify this as one of the world's greatest soups. I have enjoyed it for some twenty years and have never had quite...
Apr 2, 2025


The Bahamas
"From space, the Bahamas is the most beautiful place on Earth." Chris Hadfield Technically we are still not in the Caribbean when we...
Mar 6, 2025


Almond crumbs - an indecisive lucky dip
"Change is not indecision" Chris Ofili Well that's what I'm telling myself now. I have somehow managed to make myself very confused...
Jan 27, 2024


Christmas dilemmas
“A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” Garrison Keillor I'm...
Dec 20, 2022


An English last meal
"Feasting is about how you eat as much as it is about what is on your plate. It is rarely about greed or ostentatiousness, large numbers...
May 16, 2022


A street library offering and a family saga
"Of course, you’re paying for the view at Watson’s Bay. And if you’re in a retro frame of mind, it might be just what you’re looking for."...
Apr 12, 2022

