DROPPED THE MOON

  Ladies and gentlemen, I have an admission to make.    I am a competitions junkie.     LATEST WINS   The Times Atlas of the World (First prize in the Sunday Times crossword) £50 (Sunday Post cryptic crossword) If I see a prize worth going for, I enter.  In past years, I have won:   a Mini car (that's a real car, not a toy!) a £4,500 holiday to Alberta, Canada a £500 cosmetics/perfumes hamper a £120 Cross ballpoint pen a TV an X Box tickets to see The Three Tenors at Wembley a bench top tool system/saw set a weekend in Cornwall a cookery school weekend in Aldeburgh several National Lottery tenners several Premium Bond £25s and a couple of £125s an outdoor jacket a laptop computer a selection of computer accessories a lot of books a lot of DVDs a lot of CDs several gift cards etc etc £1,000 cash in a radio competition a hamper of ancient grains, flour, yeast and a bread recipe book Some of these prizes are comparatively small, but a win is a win and the thrill of the chase and all t

  India Knight is a very popular columnist writing mainly in the Sunday Times (UK). She is not a fan of the "badly equipped kitchen" in holiday accommodation. Last Sunday (( July, 2023), her In the Kitchen piece in the magazine suggested the following to take on a self-catering holiday cottage in the UK. "Assuming that you're driving, here's what to bring from home to make your life easier." To me, this is somewhere between practical and bonkers.  I like the surprise element and a basic set-up in self-catering places.  It's part of the fun.  Here goes: Proper corkscrew Teabags Kitchen tongs and a fish slice Biggest pot Big colander Weighty chopping board One good knife Shallow 30cm sautés pan with lid Can opener Mini chopper Robust shallow roasting tray Vegetable peeler Big salad bowl Pepper mill Zester Foil, beanbags, dishwasher tablets, squirt worktop cleaner, sponge Preferred herbs and spices Kitchen scales One good cookbook Makings of one simple meal

  A Pebble In The Throat Growing Up Between Two Continents   by   Aasmah Mir   Headline 2023 Amazon link let's you have a peek inside: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Voices-Aasmah-Mir/dp/1472288521/ref=sr_1_3?crid=MIIISIS3FSRA&keywords=aasmah+mir+book&qid=1688392850&s=books&sprefix=Aasmah%2Cstripbooks%2C63&sr=1-3     My favourite book genre is memoir.  I have read quite a few in my time.  Some such books hit the spot with honesty, emotion, humour and great storytelling technique.  Others come across as self-serving yawn-fests of self-praise and faux-saintliness .  A Pebble in the Throat  is firmly in the first category.  It is up with very best memoirs I have ever read.  In fact, it could well be the best memoir I have ever read.   It is, as part of the blurb reads –  “Two generations, two places and two stories in unison.”   It skilfully interweaves the story of Aasmah’s mother and family in Pakistan with Aasmah’s and her family’s move to Scotland, specifically Glasg

I  have written a lot about Stephen Boyd in the past few years and even I ask myself whether or not there is much more to add to his story. Maybe so, maybe not, but on this 92nd anniversary of his birth, I think there is more than enough reason to fly the flag again as a reminder of his rather impressive success on the big screen. But more importantly than that, I wanted to share a letter I received during my research on his life, a letter from his widow Elizabeth, a reply letter that I had given myself nil odds of ever receiving. But I will get to that later. For the knowledgeable, I apologise for the repetition, but for those vague on Stephen Boyd or those that have never heard of him, here is a nutshell biography. He was born in Whitehouse in 1931, christened William Millar, raised in Glengormley, did okay at school, enjoyed sport, worked as an office clerk and dabbled in amateur dramatics with various Northern Irish touring groups, as well as several parts in Ulster Group Theatre p