The Guardian, 2nd Oct 2010
Gardening: taking geranium cuttings
I used to be frightened of taking cuttings and worry that my knife wasn’t razor sharp and then get confused about how many leaf joints I was supposed to bury beneath the soil and how many should appear above it. The result was that I didn’t do any cuttings at all. Now I am more carefree about it. Even if only one works, I’m up on previous years.
I use a sharp knife, yes, and cut a convenient stem (preferably one without any flowers) a little way—maybe 1-2cm or so—beneath a leaf joint. I trim off most of the leaves (and any flowers) so that the energy of the cutting will go down into forming roots rather than growing leaves or flowers (that comes later). Than I stick that cut off stem into a pot of root powder and bung it in a pot of compost mixed with perlite or grit. You don’t want the compost to stay soggy and rot your delicately forming little roots, so anything that helps drain the compost is good to use. I water just a little bit every now and then. I keep them in the greenhouse, but put them anywhere where they can get as much light as possible and where the temperature is consistent and they’ll be fine.They can take the cold, but not a frost.
Recipe: Poached Plums
In Autumn, poached plums are particularly good at breakfast, as an alternative to blackberry compote or apple puree, and eaten with greek yoghurt and granola.
225g sugar
225 ml cold water
450g plums, cut in half with their stones removed.
First make a syrup by putting the water and sugar into a saucepan and bringing them slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally, so that the sugar dissolves. Allow to simmer for two minutes, then add the plums. You will almost wish you had more syrup for the plums, but don’t worry, you have plenty. Cover the saucepan and cook very gently till the plums are just beginning to feel tender (if you have one of those glass or see through lids, so much the better, so that you can easily check that the plums and their syrup aren’t boiling furiously). Turn off the heat. The plums will continue to cook in the syrup as it cools.
Guest blog: Six great great songs you’ve probably never heard by David Nicholls
David Nicholls is a really good, really successful writer. The first thing he wrote was an adaptation of Sam Shepherd’s play Simpatico with director Matthew Warchus. Then he wrote the best series of Cold Feet and other great TV stuff. (His updated version of Much Ado About Nothing is inspired). His first novel Starter for Ten was a big hit—it’s a great book—and made into a movie starring James McEvoy and Rebecca Hall. Meanwhile, Nicholls was busy writing screenplays (Tess of the D’Urbervilles, And When Did You Last See Your Father?) and his second novel, The Understudy.
Last year his third novel One Day arrived, and immediately became everyone’s favourite book. It’s now been made into a movie too (to be released next year) by Lone Scherfig who made An Education. Anne Hathaway plays Emma. Good luck, Anne Hathaway. Everyone loves Emma and has their own idea of her. One of the things Emma does well is make mixed tapes, which she gives to her best friend, Dexter. Obviously, she has great taste in music. How do we know? Because we know Emma, all right. But also because Nicholls himself is famous for compiling fantastic playlists. And because he’s done the right thing and revealed Emma’s playlist on his website, which is also linked to Spotify.
But was that enough for us? Nah! We wanted our own playlist. We wanted great, great songs that we’d probably never heard, and we wanted pithy, perfect descriptions to go with them, of a) why we don’t know them, and b) why we should. And we wanted them linked to Spotify. We got the lot. Here is one perfect, perfect playlist:
‘Singer-songwriter’ is a chilling phrase, conjuring up images of whey-faced lank-haired troubadors, but it doesn’t have to be that way. ‘Blue’ is a fine album, but if you need a change, below are six fine songs by lesser-known artists.
Karen Dalton – Something On Your Mind
Brilliant and distinctive, Karen Dalton recorded only two albums, both wonderful, both flops. Like so many great blues singers she succumbed to drink and drugs and died, homeless in New York in 1993. The great lost voice of the Sixties New York Greenwich Village scene.
Dory Previn – The Lady With The Braid
If Karen Dalton is the Village, then Dory Previn is the Upper East Side. Laconic, wry, satirical, she’s the musical equivalent of ‘Seventies Woody Allen. Take this song for instance, about the one-night-stand from hell.
Ellen McIlwaine – Can’t Find My Way Home
From the same tradition as Karen Dalton, I don’t know much about Ellen McIlwaine, except that she – I was about to type the phrase ‘plays a mean slide guitar’ but stopped myself just in time.
Ruler of My Heart – Irma Thomas (There is no good recording of this song on Spotify, alas, but you can download the song from itunes instead for £0.99)
Before she was twenty years-old Irma Thomas had produced four children and had been married twice, which gives some idea of the depth of experience that went into this song. A contemporary of Etta James and Aretha Franklin, the Soul Queen of New Orleans has never achieved the same commercial success, but this song alone is enough to justify her reputation.
Not singer-songwriters at all, more Brooklyn-based experimental art-rock. A lot of their music is, um, challenging, but I’m sneaking this song into the list just because it’s such a beauty.
Mark Mulcahy – Ciao My Shining Star
Mark Mulcahy was the lead-singer with Miracle Legion, one of those ‘could have been REM’ bands. Instead he’s recorded a series of wonderful solo records, the first of which, ‘Fathering’, is a neglected classic. See also ‘Hey Self Defeater’ on the same album.
Shopping: Summerill & Bishop
If you drool over wooden lemon juicers and salivate at the thought of a bowl perfect for whipping egg whites then this Notting Hill kitchen supplies store is a must-visit. There are traditional accessories – brushes you never imagined you needed (mussel scrubbing brush anyone?), gorgeous baskets and linens – as well as the very best kitchen and tableware.
Bookshops: Persephone Books
You can find the entire collection of Persephone’s beautifully bound books at their Bloomsbury store which is situated in the increasingly cool Lamb’s Conduit Street. The petite shop is as charming as you would expect from this woman-friendly publisher, with squishy armchairs and prettily wrapped books to give as gifts, although you do have to hustle a bit to get around the cramped interior.
Cafés: St. John Bread and Wine
Before the crowds get to Spitalfields on a Sunday morning, St. John Bread and Wine is breakfasting heaven. The café has the same no-nonsense aesthetic as its Smithfields mothership – a sparse industrial interior with bare wooden tables and bistro chairs, and the menu is just as trad with Old Spot bacon sandwiches, porridge and prunes and Lowestoft kippers. Lunch and supper menus are similarly old school and you can even take some of the restaurant’s fantastic bread or Eccles cakes home with you.
Restaurants: Le Café du Marché
Le Café du Marché is a typical French bistro, hidden down an alley just off Charterhouse Square. It’s a bustling in-the-know place for locals who come here for the delicious French classics including cote de boeuf, tarragon chicken and fantastic patés and terrines. This is a great place for dinner with friends but it’s also a perfect date spot – book a cosy table for two by the wall and you can gaze at each other over candlelight and steak-frites.
Restaurant: Morito
There aren’t many places in London where you can get great food that starts from as little as £1. OK, it may be olives, anchovies and onions for £1, but at Morito, even the main dishes—think seared pork fillet, octopus with salpicon salad, and quail’s egg and jamon—rarely cost more than £6.50. The latest venture from chefs Sam and Sam Clark, of the next door Moro, month-old Morito is more of a quick-paced, down-at-heel Spanish tapas bar than its more grown up, much loved neighbour. With its orange formica bar and wooden stools, Morito isn’t luxurious but with food this good, and this cheap, who cares.
Vogue, Oct 2010
Easy Living, Oct 2010
Cafés: the Royal Institute of British Architects
Venues for a discreet coffee with potential bosses are hard to find in central London but the café in the Royal Institute of British Architects fits the bill neatly. The grand interior with floor to ceiling windows is spacious, and the cakes they serve are heavenly. It’s also a good spot for an afternoon tea treat if you’ve tired of the usual suspects.