Journalism has changed radically over the last 50 years. This is not news. The ‘Golden Age of Journalism’, so-called because of the thriving scope of newspapers and magazines and the associated ‘glamorous’ lifestyle of journalists in the 1960s, seems a world away from journalism today. Continue reading The Golden Age of Journalism
Monthly Archives: February 2014
The Lemon Grove book review
Everyone is familiar with the sense of trepidation you get when you just know something is going to be a bit different and you have no control over it, but you can’t possibly explain just how it’s going to differ until it’s actually happening or has passed. And it’s how people act in those moments of change that can redefine us and alter our outlook on life.
The Lemon Grove revels in what can happen during those times of flux.
The story takes you on a summer holiday to a villa in Mallorca with a non-nuclear family: Jenn, our protagonist, her husband Greg, his teenage daughter Emma and her new boyfriend Nathan, the unknown and the stranger of the group. The novel cleverly observes how the dynamic changes when someone comes in and disturbs the ‘peace’ of a family who are not without their own tensions; Jenn frequently battles with the innate complexity of raising someone else’s child; Emma struggles with her own hormonal ‘weathervane’ moods and everyone has secrets. So how does one manage a stranger amongst the family as well as attempting to keep things relatively tranquil and enjoy a well-earned break simultaneously?
Helen Walsh’s answer is simple: you don’t. Instead, you have lots of fun with them. You invert familial convention and direct little energy in resisting temptation. You focus on attaining the thing you desire, as Nathan very quickly becomes the object of Jenn’s extremely intense affections and fixations.
It’s a beautifully written and smartly constructed novel. You feel the plot progress with the same rhythm of Jenn’s (asthmatic) breaths. Disaster is contracted into a few words as it happens rapidly, which is in stark contrast to the long, atmospheric descriptive passages of the abundant lemon and olive groves in the heat. The sense of place is a powerful one: you too feel like you are going up round the narrow, mountainous winding roads of Deià with everyone. As the family goes for a walk they find themselves close to the edge of a cliff, which proves to be a catalyst for action. Afterwards their holiday happiness rests on similarly unstable ground. Jenn is critical of her middle-aged body, feels very unhappy about her loss of youth, and, like her name, she feels abbreviated and incomplete, so vents her frustration by behaving recklessly. Cue very steamy sauce on the sand!
The Lemon Grove is a fierce book which encompasses so much and manages it so well: it directly challenges the notion of entitlement; characters move in unexpected ways.
You’ll be gripped and you will love it!
The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh is released on 27th February 2014, published by Tinder Press, RRP £12.99.
My copy of ‘The Lemon Grove’ was kindly sent to me (on my request) to review.
Pure Collection shops
Valentine’s Day Chocolate Fondant Recipe
Here is a recipe for what can only be described as the chocolate version of a hug. A delicious chocolate sponge pudding with a melt-in-the-middle chocolate fondant centre. This recipe makes about six small puddings, so you can halve the amount if you’re just serving two. Obviously the smaller the ramekin dishes the more you’ll make. Serve with your favourite vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
75g butter, softened
300g good quality milk chocolate (or 70% dark if you prefer)
75g light muscovado sugar
4 organic free range eggs
40g plain flour
Half a tsp vanilla extract
A chocolate truffle or a square of chocolate per ramekin dish
Optional: either 2 tbsp strong filtered coffee or Tia Maria
Preheat the oven to 190°C/400F/gas mark 6. Grease out the ramekins with extra butter.
Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a bowl over a saucepan of water on a low heat. Place to one side.
Separate the egg whites and yolks into two bowls. Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until fluffy and starts to form soft peaks.
Place the softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk together. Add the egg yolks and stir.
Add the egg whites and whisk until smooth. Don’t over-whisk as the eggs will curdle! Add the melted chocolate – check it’s cooled first – and mix together.
Sift in the flour and stir until smooth. Add the coffee or Tia Maria, if using.
Pour the mix into the ramekins filling each one three quarters full.
Place a mini chocolate truffle or a cube of chocolate in the middle of each one before putting them in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes.
A Taste of Art Exhibition at Guildford House Gallery
St Mary’s Guildford by Henry Pether (Image from Guildford Borough Council)
A local art exhibition has opened at Guildford House Gallery displaying beautiful images of Guildford past.
The collection includes paintings of the River Wey and atmospheric Surrey landscapes as well as ceramics from the borough art collection.
Landscape towards Peaslake by William Hyde (Image from Guildford Borough Council)Guildford House Gallery lends itself nicely to the character of the paintings as it’s such a lovely building, with a fantastic feature staircase, intricate ceiling design and charming panelled walls.
‘A Taste of Art’ is on until 22nd March 2014. Open Monday – Saturday 10am-4.45pm. Free Entry.
T: 01483 444751. Guildford House, 155 High Street, Guildford GU1 3AJ.
Liz Earle perfume set
2013 marked the centenary of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and to celebrate Liz Earle made this absolutely beautiful perfume, Botanical Essence No.100, which bottles the scent of a British flower shop. I first spotted it for sale in the RHS Wisley gift shop last year and it was love at first scent.
It’s not at all overpowering, yet the longevity of this perfume is truly remarkable. I sprayed some on my Fairisle scarf on Friday and on the following Monday I was greeted with the fresh smell of it once more; the top notes of mandarin and bergamot harmonise with comforting rose, light vanilla and sandalwood. I wish there was a way you could smell it for yourself by reading this!
So you can imagine my excitement when I went into Liz Earle in Guildford to find this lovely perfume in a limited edition set: for the price of a 50ml Liz Earle perfume (£47) you also get a Liz Earle Sheer Lip Gloss (worth £13.50) in Water Lily – a shimmery nude and a bright Strengthening Nail Colour in Pink Perpetue (worth £7.50.)
Obviously perfume choice is so personal and you can also choose one of the other Liz Earle perfumes (Botanical Essence No.1, or Botanical Essence No. 15.) to be in your set.
It’s only available until 17th February, making it a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day!
Liz Earle The Look of Love £47 available in store and online
Andrew Graham-Dixon Guest Lecture at St John’s School
(Picture courtesy of St John’s School)
St John’s School in Leatherhead opened its doors last Thursday to host a guest lecture by the world-renowned art critic, historian and broadcaster Andrew Graham-Dixon.
Past St John’s pupils gathered with current students in the school chapel to hear the lecture on Caravaggio and his relationship with Christianity in his art.
Andrew Graham-Dixon’s talk ‘Whose Christ is it Anyway?’ explored Caravaggio’s unruly and indeed obscure background; in fact there are few concrete biographic details, and some of the most illuminating information about him can be found in criminal records of the time. He famously killed a man and was regularly in fights. His artistic technique mirrored his shadowy life, as Andrew Graham-Dixon observed that: ‘Light and shadows are key to his work and he himself was like a living chiaroscuro.’ He skilfully played with light on his canvas while dodging the spotlight in life, as he purportedly wore black and had his hair untidy to aid his camouflage!
Caravaggio lost most of his family to the bubonic plague when he was young. The Renaissance was a time of great uncertainty over what happened in the afterlife, so the present-day tensions only heightened those concerns. Graham-Dixon explained that Caravaggio often captured that very doubt in his paintings. Also, in a similar way, Caravaggio’s treatment of miracles is particularly interesting, paradoxical even, marked in a step away from the ‘fanfare’ announcement of a miracle taking place. The audience was told that: ‘Miracles are subtle in Caravaggio’s paintings. The Supper at Emmaus shows those who see the miracle, and those who don’t.’
Caravaggio frequently revisited the dramatic physicality of death in his paintings. Andrew Graham-Dixon told the audience that we can learn through the x-ray of Judith Beheading Holofernes that Caravaggio repositioned the head of one of his subjects to depict the most dramatic and bloody angle; and that Hollywood director Martin Scorsese had remarked to him that it was Caravaggio who had taught him ‘How hard it is to kill a man!’ – the similarities of the difficulty involved in showing the physical elements of death on screen and in art.
I thoroughly enjoyed the informative lecture.
Andrew Graham-Dixon’s book ‘Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane’ published by Penguin. RRP £12.99
Carrot Cake recipe
Feeling inspired to make something sweet from the garden? Try this easy carrot cake recipe.
Ingredients
For the cake
2 organic free range eggs
175 g muscovado sugar
150 ml olive oil
50 g butter, softened
200 g carrot, finely grated
225 g plain flour or wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp honey
Frosting/filling
115 g half fat cream cheese
4 tbsp butter, softened
85 g icing sugar (Tate and Lyle)
1 tsp grated lemon rind
Preheat the oven to 190° C/375°F/Gas 5. Grease out the cake tin with a bit of extra butter.
Put the sugar, oil and softened butter in a large mixing bowl and beat together. Then add the eggs. Mix well with a large spoon. Add the carrot, then mix again.
Sift in the flour and baking powder gradually by stirring as you go. Add the cinnamon and the honey. Mix everything together until well incorporated.
Pour the mixture into the well greased cake tin and bake at the bottom of the oven for 40-50 minutes until it has risen nicely and has a spring to the touch.
Carefully take it out the oven and turn it out into a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Put the cream cheese in a (new clean) bowl with the softened butter and mix slowly. Add the icing sugar gradually, stirring as you go. Add the lemon rind and mix everything together.
You can either spread the icing over the top of the cake or carefully cut the sponge cake in two and use it as a filling for the middle of the cake (as I have done in the pic!)
If you choose the latter option, sift some additional icing sugar and sprinkle the grated lemon rind on top and enjoy!
RHS Wisley New Food Hall
A new food hall has opened at RHS Wisley which makes use of the delicious fruit and vegetables grown on site in the gardens.
The new restaurant area provides a buffet-style set up where visitors can enjoy tasty treats such as a hot smoked salmon platter with beetroot and a horseradish and crème fraiche sauce, a freshly baked cupcake with a cup of coffee, or grab a homemade sourdough loaf to save for later.
On one of the sunnier days last week I went for a walk round Wisley and had a look at the enviably abundant vegetable garden. I always admire the way it subtly marks a change in season: last time I went there were dozens of pumpkins tumbling out onto the paths, but this time I saw the peeping tops of turnips and leeks through the soil, and the dramatic silhouette of purple kale nodding in the breeze.
Now with the thought of food firmly in my mind I went to see the recently revamped restaurant and new food hall – you can always rely on the dominating foodie in me to seek out the latest edible offerings wherever I go – and both places seemed very popular indeed. Clearly the relationship between gardener and chef is a strong one, as they meet regularly to plan menus according to what’s growing and how well, so the food will always be seasonal.
