Sowing the wild oats

The world porridge championships have finished in Scotland. The sponsor, Hamlyn’s Oats, must feel a bit aggrieved when the winner made her speech about the most important factor being the choice of oats. The winning oats were sourced from an independent health food shop, rather than Hamlyn’s inferior offerings. Oh well.
Al Beaton from [...]

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Q&A

I thought I’d have a go at this meme passed on by Nicolemarie. I don’t usually bother with them!
1. If you had to name the most terrifying moment of your life so far, what would it be?
It would have to be the time I got a mystery illness of some description. I was in [...]

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France: Why It’s Cool (Part II)

Food customs. Number one – Le canarde.
 The act of dunking a sugar lump, preferably a large, oblong one, in a cup of coffee is known as “faire un canard” where “canard”, as you know, normally means “duck”. It is quite common, where several people are gathered around cups of coffee, for a person, who hasn’t [...]

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France: Reasons it is cool (Part I)

An odd mood has come over me lately. My mind has been flirting over and over with the idea of moving to France and learning French. I don’t know where it’s come from. I’ve never been there, never had much thought about it until this year.
So, in an attempt to see why it’s so attractive, [...]

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Nigerian Rocket Fuel

For perhaps the first time since Oliver Cromwell’s settlers moved in, there are more people coming into Ireland than there are leaving. Mostly from other EU states – notably Poland. There are a few from Africa too, though, and it’s these immigrants who Guinness had in mind when they started selling Guinness Foreign Stout.
Guinness isn’t [...]

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