Over the years of collecting cookbooks I have built up quite a collection stretching back to 1720s, including some rare first editions and survivors of time and use. The majority of my collection though is from three eras – the Victorian/ Edwardian, 50-80s and the 00s – each saw booms in cookbook publications due to…
Category: Editorial & Comment
The Evolution of Gaming: It didn't start with Atari
Computer Gaming – 1958 to 2019 When it comes to computer games, and looking at how they’ve changed, you first need to question your definition of a game. Whilst it seems like this has an obvious answer, the simple fact is that the variance in interactive electronic entertainment means that many people have formed very…
New Year’s Resolution - Self Improvement (18th Century Style)
Please don’t try any of this, its frankly dangerous New Year and many of us look to create a new self. But lets face it, most of us never make it past the end of January, and that’s if we’re lucky. I’m still planning on taking up running, having made it my New Year’s resolution,…
Buying Wine for Christmas
So, at last, the “holiday season” is upon us. Every year after the 1st of January the western consciousness begins its inexorable march towards the next Christmas period. One waits with bated breath and slowly building excitement as one holiday passes the other and indulgence and consumption come back into fashion. With the Christmas holidays…
How not to Piss off Londoners on the Tube
The London underground is the worlds oldest subterranean transportation system moving some 4.8million people through its lines daily. Without it, London would grind to a halt; but it only manages to do its job thanks to the unwritten rules that have developed among Londoners. Suffice to say, if you break just one of these rules…
The London Lamppost – Westminster and Coco Chanel
You can’t Google the term London Lamppost without getting the story behind the Westminster lampposts popping up amongst the results. For years everyone has asked why lampposts in Westminster have both a florid style W and what looks like the trademark logo of Chanel and its eponyms founder, Coco Chanel, in gold on them. The…