Is salt bad for you? I visit the salt basins of La Baleine in the south of France to find out more.
Travel
Timber festival 2019
Timber is a new festival, only in its second year, run by the National Forest, based in the Midlands, near the exotically named Ashby-De-La-Zouch. I’m into the Japanese concept of ‘forest bathing’ and trees in general so this sounded right up my street. The festival is small, clean, and very much directed towards families. Although…
Picota cherry season in Spain plus a recipe for cherry gazpacho
The Picota cherry comes from the Jerté valley, in Extremadura, Spain after being introduced by Arab farmers in the 14th century. Earlier this year I went to visit the valley in a cloud of snowy blossom. Last week I visited the trees while in fruit, drooping with ‘red diamonds’ as they are called locally. The…
An interview with Felicity Cloake
As the author of the weekly Guardian column ‘How to make the perfect…’ Felicity Cloake, at a mere 36 years old, is fast reaching national treasure status. Fair-skinned with laughing eyes, originally from Hertfordshire, she lives in North London on the Caledonian Rd. With the publication of her latest book ‘One more croissant for the…
Summer in the Alps, Val Gardena plus recipe for apple fritters
I’m usually more of a beach person in the summer. But having visited the Dolomites in southern Italy only a couple of weeks ago, I was keen to visit the northern end of the range up up towards the Alps. This area, Val Gardena, is one of the most beautiful Alpine areas (unlike the grim…
Slow food on a Staffordshire canal
I follow the A5 north from Staples Corner in London to reach the Shropshire Union Canal, a watery spinal cord up the centre of England from Birmingham to the Staffordshire potteries. From there I rent a narrowboat, from Countrywide Cruisers in the pretty village of Brewood (pronounced brood). This canal trip, lasting a week, is…
Naples
The streets smell of marzipan and sewage. The men have names like Fortunata and Pompeo. The old ladies wear cotton aprons and stare out of doorways. They all look like my nan. Nobody has a spin dryer. Or are Neopolitans paid by the tourist board to hang their drying laundry out on the street? I…
Discover Basilicata in Southern Italy
Basilicata, formerly known as Lucania, persists as one of the lesser known Italian regions. For the visitor, this is an advantage: it’s cheaper, there are less tourists, the people are friendlier. You have everything in this region: mountains, countryside, historic cities, archeological sites, palazzos, forests, two coasts – the white sandy beach facing the Ionian…
Paisley vegan
Popped up to Paisley in Scotland for the food and drink festival which now features a vegan section. Paisley is famous for the ‘paisley’ pattern, a decorative woven teardrop, known in Persian as a ‘boteh’. The local museum is closed for refurbishment until 2022, but the brief history is that 19th century soldiers, returning from…
Wasabi farm, Winchester
Last winter, I met farmer David Turton of the Wasabi Company just outside of Winchester. This area has been famous for watercress – which has similar growing requirements to Japanese horseradish, known as wasabi, the small pea-green mound next to the salmon-pink pickled ginger when you order sushi. The Wasabi company has moved from watercress…