As in a meal, so in our cookery course, the bahjis were only a starter. This week we moved onto our first curry, with basmati rice. Now I didn’t actually pay any attention while CB made the rice (it was supposed to be collaborative, but my onio[…]

SENSATIONS WATCH: Always first to sell out round our way = Thai Sweet Chilli.[…]

There’s a point at which I can’t believe this is ever going to work. Two tins of what can only be described as brown sludge have been in the oven for the exact time specified in the recipe. I can’t see them actually bubbling and spi[…]

Blink and you miss it commentary on Blaine from the back of yesterday’s Guardian, by Jerry Sadowitz. Sounds like a convincing debunk to me — but what do I know? — I think all magicians are paid to lie to us, like politicians. Which […]

Second week at my cookery class, and we actually get our hands on some hot oil. I’m a bit worried when my bhaji-mix is looking a much darker orangey-brown than everyone else’s (onion + gram flour = yellow, mostly). But CB points out that[…]

The cautionary tale below reminds me of the time I spotted one of Britain’s best-selling authors, whose popularity stems at least in part from the intimate portrait and celebration of his native city which backs up his whisky-sodden and lovelor[…]

Perhaps it’s too tempting to compare The Crouches with Second Generation. After all, they only have anything in common from a single (white) perspective which assumes that all attempts to represent non-white sides of British life must somehow b[…]

JAMIESON – Complete
Slow on the uptake as ever, this song only really grabbed me when I heard it being played in Next. Is there something about retail outlet sound-systems that makes great pop stand out? The acoustics? The relief from the horro[…]

It seems slightly ironic that the first day I pitch up in my new place of employment as an Educator (of sorts), I should also be going back to school myself in the evening. Having commuted back early from Glasgow to be able to attend, I am now offici[…]

What do we learn from Mike Reed’s appearance on Life Laundry? Once again, the show serves up actually quite powerful psychological renewal, disguised as a simple exercise in house-clearing. Read’s refusal to empty his boxes of rubbish did[…]