Sometimes I wonder if I’m all there. I know my wife does and thinks that I seem to daydream my way through life. She’s got a point as it appears that I’m always considering some grand plan or unreasonable (as far as she’s concerned) ambition such as running a bar on a bankrupt Greek Island […]

It’s like a war out there. Who would you trust? After all, it’s down to you. You’re the one who’s going to determine whether you survive and ultimately succeed. It’s apparent, just by the fact that you’re reading this blog, that you’ve got what it takes; that you’re intelligent enough. So, who do you believe? […]

“This is absolutely wonderful”, she said. “It’s a doddle”, I replied, but I could instantly tell she didn’t believe me. “You cook such lovely meals and I appreciate how much effort you put in”, but I was already thinking she didn’t actually understand. Of course I was pleased she was pleased. That’s what cooking for […]

I’m used to making mistakes. After all, I run a restaurant and while I start every day with the intention of avoiding faux pas, the truth is that the real skill is in putting things right when they inevitably go wrong, even though you didn’t want them to go wrong in the first place. It’s […]

Frank Field, the Labour MP for Birkenhead, is one of those rare animals: an intelligent politician who oozes scruples and integrity. You don’t necessarily agree with everything he stands for but you know he believes in what he says and he’ll listen and make his mind up irrespective of party lines. It’s easy to respect […]

Over the last few years I’m lucky enough to have been asked, by some very carefree people, to test-drive a number cars and then write about them. I like cars and the physical and mental act that goes with driving them. It’s probably reinforced by my engineering background but, even from before I started school, […]

I believe we’re unfair to fat. Recently I was reading about a new only-slightly invasive technique for ridding the body of fatty deposits that stop one being attractive to other people – or so we’re told – and I was wondering how far I’d have to be pushed before I resorted to such measures. There’s […]

It’s all right you laughing at the disgust, loathing and fear on the faces of those chosen to do the bush tucker trials in that I’m-someone-selfimportant-camping-in-the-so-woods-please-allow-me-to-make-gratuitous-amounts-of-money-again TV programme. Yes, the foods they are asked to eat may be different. But they are actually foods; at least to some creatures. And there are many people in […]

You may well understand it but I find it increasingly harder to make sense of the news fired at me every day. For obvious reasons my ears prick up at the mention of anything food-related that appears in the news and I have a file I keep on my desk where I keep printouts and […]

As a child I went through a period of being obsessed by what would happen to me after death. Not in a religious way; Sunday school and RE lessons had sorted that one out – at least until I hit the argumentative stage. No, it was to do with the bit they burnt or buried; […]