Category Archives: shopping

Just A Piece Of Cake

Posted on March 12, 2020 by

I remember clearly where I was when I tasted my first palmier. I was following a designated tourist route around Marseille’s Old Port accompanied by a woman from the local office de tourism: she pointed over there for the embarkation … Continue reading →

Posted in health, shopping, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

where am I? A very meaty issue?

Posted on October 31, 2019 by

I don’t know how many times I have driven east towards London over the course of 25 years on the A303, passing Stonehenge making for the M3? Let’s settle for 150 times, it can’t be far off. So imagine how … Continue reading →

Posted in health, shopping, travel | Leave a comment

Never Not Never Go Back – a taste of Viareggio

Posted on June 1, 2019 by

My life is one of stringent rules: Never wear aftershave; always polish my shoes; stand up for elderly people and women with young children on the London underground; never vote tory; spread the jam on top of the cream upon … Continue reading →

Posted in Seashores, shopping, travel, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

An Inconvenient Truth – the end of the high street just a click away

Posted on December 11, 2018 by

Don’t you ever think convenience is, well, getting out of hand. What began as convenient  – tv dinners for those too rushed to peel the potatoes stepped up a level to embrace teas-mades and bread-makers. Then supermarkets to save the … Continue reading →

Posted in gone west, shopping, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Price Of Fame

Posted on July 3, 2018 by

It’s flattering to receive an exclusive invitation, especially one from a Michelin rated chef. It reaffirms one’s faith in elitism, that select order of hedonists that has has a lot of bad press recently for being too clever and influential … Continue reading →

Posted in gone west, media, shopping, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Last Orders At The End Of The World

Posted on September 6, 2017 by

There’s nothing quite like the imminent end of the world to focus one’s thoughts on food. Long before Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump the father of a school friend of mine set aside a bedroom in the large detached family … Continue reading →

Posted in health, shopping | 2 Comments

Hello, I’m Seamus – give me your money

Posted on November 16, 2016 by

  I’m not unique. We’ve all been there. The phone rings and a voice introduces themself as Andy, or John: One insisted to me his name was Seamus without so much of a hint of an Irish accent; although perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in shopping, Uncategorized | 1 Comment