May brings us the start of British watercress season, thanks to The Watercress Company’s recipes
Watercress is packed with over 50 vitamins and minerals, including exceptionally high levels of vitamins C, E and A, folate and calcium. It is also rich in iron (nearly twice as much as spinach) that’s more easily absorbed, making it an essential addition to any vegetarian or vegan diet.
Another little-known fact about watercress relates to amino acids; compounds that play many critical roles in the body, including regulating the immune function and building muscle. The best sources of essential amino acids are animal proteins like meat, eggs, and poultry but, unusually for a plant, watercress has a full complement of the nine essential amino acids.
Hot honey salmon & watercress salad
Ingredients:
• 80g watercress
• Two salmon fillets
• One lemon, quartered
• One avocado, sliced
For the hot honey:
• 50ml honey
• Two garlic cloves, halved
• 1-2 tsp chilli flakes
For the quick pickled red onions:
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 2tbsp vinegar – white wine or apple cider
• ½ tsp salt
•1tsp sugar
“Watercress has a full complement of the nine essential amino acids”
Method:
1. For the hot honey, warm the honey gently in a small pan. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and allow to infuse. Once fragrant and spicy, remove from the heat.
2. For the red onions, in a bowl or jar with a lid, add the sliced onion. Pour over the vinegar before sprinkling in the salt and sugar. Give it a mix, or shake, to combine and let it sit while you prepare everything else.
3. Brush one side of the salmon with the hot honey. Lay it coated side down in a hot pan and cook for five or six minutes. Brush the topside with a little more of the honey, flip and repeat.
4. To assemble the salad, split the watercress between two plates. Add ½ the avocado to each plate. Top with the salmon fillets and a spoonful of the red onion. Drizzle everything with a little more of the hot honey.
5. Serve with the lemons, squeezing fresh lemon juice over everything.
Ä Roast broccoli, Parmesan & watercress salad
Ingredients:
• 140g broccoli florets, about half a head of broccoli
• 40g watercress
• 30g Parmesan, shaved
• 15g pomegranate seeds
•Oil, salt & pepper
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°. On a baking tray, arrange the broccoli florets. Spray or drizzle a little oil over the broccoli and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 10-12 mins, until the broccoli is cooked.
2. In a bowl, toss the cooked broccoli together with the watercress and arrange on a plate. On top, shave the parmesan over the salad. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds for a pop of sweetness.
For these and other inspiring watercress recipes, visit watercress.co.uk or find LoveWatercress on Facebook and Instagram
Ready to rumble? Liz Nicholls looks at the fabulous festivals on offer this summer, for happy campers & fairweather fans, with tickets up for grabs, too!
Miss out on Glasto tickets!? Never mind: there are so many festivals to choose from, large and small, with something for everyone. And Astonbury might well give Glastonbury a run for its money! Read on…
Cookham Festival, 2nd to 19th May, has a line-up of literary and musical stars, including Lorraine Kelly, Theresa May, Ross Kemp, Will Gompertz, Terry Waite, Stars of the West End with Toby Cruse, Rogue Opera, Formosa Fest, Cantorum Choir, local comedians, The Cookham Ceilidh team and more. Enjoy art, at this community fave; cookhamfestival.co.uk
Immerse yourself in the magic of live classical music with the Investec International Music Festival, with world-class concerts, walks and talks across the Surrey Hills, including RHS Wisley, West Horsley Place & The Menuhin Hall in Stoke d’Abernon 7th-18th May; iimf.co.uk
The 45th Newbury Spring Festival offers a fortnight of world-class classical music, including the Sheepdrove Piano Competition, 11th-25th May;newburyspringfestival.org.uk
Wholesome family favourite WOOD is back at Braziers Park in Oxfordshire, 17th, 18th & 19th May with children’s fun including the marvellous Nick Cope, music and more workshops than you can shake a stick at; woodfestival.com
Live music and horse racing is odds-on for a good time, and Newbury Racecourse has both! Firstly, Lovely Laura & Ben Santiago will star at the Lockinge race day on Saturday, 18th May. Then the mighty Sigala will star on 20th July & Dizzee Rascal on 17th August for Party In The Paddock sizzlers! newburyracecourse.co.uk
An amazing team of volunteers have been working flat out to make the 51st Chippenham Folk Festival, 24th-27th May the best yet. Melrose Quartet, Breabach, Tim Edey, Bruce Hamilton, John Tams, patron John Kirkpatrick & more will star; visit chippfolk.co.uk
Chesham Fringe Festival, 25th-27th May, will offer you a vibrant array of local, national and international talent, music, comedy, theatre, cabaret, spoken word, book and poetry readings, food & drink; visit cheshamfringe.com
Sorted for Cheese and Fizz..? That’s not me making yet another (wholesome) reference to Jarvis Cocker’s lyrics. It’s the name of a fantastic local four-piece band who’ll bring their ’90s bops to Shynefest. This fun, family-friendly festival returns to Merrist Wood College in Worplesdon, on 31st May & 1st June. Other stars set to keep all the generations entertained include (the actual) Dodgy, Counterfeit Kylie and The Faux Fighters, with kids’ fun including a climbing wall, Bubble Fairy, football and circus skills, with camping & glamping options. Please visit shynefest.uk
Returning to Cheltenham Racecourse for its 18th year wondrous Wychwood will dazzle you with music, comedy, kids’ fun, literature & workshops, 31st May to 2nd June. Sister Sledge, The Coral, Seth Lakeman, Seasick Steve, Dexy’s, Stereo MCs and CBBC’s Hacker T Dog and Katie Thistleton will star; wychwoodfestival.com
Witney Music Festival on 7th & 8th June will dazzle The Leys with Lucille & The Lightning Soul Train & more; witneymusicfestival.com
The Lightyears will star at Astonbury, 3-11pm on Saturday, 15th June at Aston Rec near Didcot, with a perfect blend of music, family fun, food & drink. Limited £15pp tickets at eventbrite.co.uk
Madness, Tom Jones, Nile & CHIC, Placebo, Air, Paloma Faith, Loyle Carner & more will star at Southampton Summer Sessions, in Guildhall Square, 16th-30th June; smmrsessions.com
Hampton Court Palace Festival is the jaw-dropping backdrop for Tom Jones, Nile & CHIC, Jack Savoretti, Sam Ryder, Björn Again, Sheryl Crow & Paloma Faith, as well as a Tudors live edition of The Rest is History Podcast, 11th-17th June. Visit hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com
Raise vital money for Hampshire Medical Fund by enjoying action-packed, family-friendly highlight Good Festival at Dummer Down Farm near Basingstoke on Sunday, 16th June. Activities include bushcraft, bubble football, alpaca walking, crocodile encounters, yoga and delicious food & drink Visit goodfestival.co.uk
Hold tight! The Prodigy and The Streets will help get The Isle of Wight Festival, 20th-23rd June off to a flying start on the Friday. Pet Shop Boys, Green Day, Suede, The Pretenders and Johnny Marr will also star. Visit isleofwightfestival.com
Award-winning Beacon Festival, Oxfordshire’s best family-friendly festival, is back at Watlington Hill Farm, 21st & 22nd June with local bands & loads more;beaconfestival.net
Hold tight! The Prodigy and The Streets will get The Isle of Wight Festival, 20th-23rd June, off to a flying start. Green Day, Suede, and Johnny Marr also star; isleofwightfestival.com
Nathan Moore will host another marvellous Marlow Rock Bottom with Coldplace, beer aplenty, family fun, live music, street food on 29th June; visit marlowrockbottom.com
Legends The Stranglers will star at Guilfest which returns to Stoke Park, on 29th & 30th June. Other stars on the impressive line-up include Sam Ryder, Peter Hook & The Light, Black Grape and The Blockheads. Please see our competition & visit guilfest.co.uk
I’m still buzzing after my chat with Chaka Khan (see our Q&A). She’ll star at Love Supreme Jazz Festival in Glynde Place, 5th-7th July; lovesupremefestival.com. You can also catch her and Sister Sledge on 13th June at Blenheim Palace thanks to Nocturne Live. And Soft Cell & Heather Small star here on 14th, Sugababes & Melanie C on 15th with Crowded House & Sheryl Crow on 16th; visit nocturnelive.com
Run entirely by volunteers on a not-for-profit basis in a stonking Cotswold location, Nibley, 5th-7th July, prides itself on being the friendliest festival of the bunch! General Levy, local legends EMF, The Hoosiers & Dodgy will star, with fun such as retro gaming & The Flying Seagull Project;nibleyfestival.co.uk
Small & mighty Childreyfest will bring you a winning blend of family-friendly music and fun to Childrey in Oxfordshire on Saturday, 6th July: childreyfest.co.uk
Celebrating disability lifestyle & inclusivity, the award-winning Parallel Windsor on 7th July, in Windsor Great Park’s Long Walk, will offer live music, storytelling, arts & craft, sport, wellbeing, dance, family fun and more, all accessible, with a quiet space & sensory zone. Tickets just £7.50pp; parallellifestyle.com
Ash, Echobelly, a Goldie Lookin’ Chain DJ set, Republica, Fabio & Grooverider, Dub Pistols and Reading Community Gospel Choir are among the delights at Readipop in Caversham, 12th-14th July, with Purple Turtle bars and an indie market, all for a great cause helping local people; readipop.co.uk/festival
Gladys Knight, Rylan, Nicole Scherzinger, Nigel Kennedy and Sam Ryder will make for another sparkling riverside black-tie Henley Festival 10th-14th July; henley-festival.co.uk.
Barrioke (EastEnders’ Shaun Williamson) will star at Fi.Fest in Maidenhead on 13th July, with Cast, Heather Small & Rick Parfit Jnr;fifest.co.uk. And Monty Don, Ronan Keating, Beverley Knight & more will star at Kew the Music, 8th-14th July; kewthemusic.org
Sadly the organisers of PennFest have made the tough decision (after our May editions of Round & About went to press) not to hold a festival this year, but the Bucks favourite should hopefully return next year! pennfest.co.uk
Fleur Fest is back at The Fleur De Lys in East Hagbourne, 19th-21st July, with Miss Disco, The Style Councillors & more. Plus Ronnie Scott’s All Stars & Fleur Stevenson on 16th June, and AJ Clarke & Richard Digance on 17th August & more! thefleurdelyspub.co.uk
Raising funds & awareness for mental health in memory of the much-missed Caroline Flack, Flackstock will offer music, dance & comedy galore, including Olly Murs, Joe Wicks, Shaznay Lewis, The Neptunes Choir & a Gok Wan DJ set at Englefield House near Pangbourne on Monday, 22nd July; visit flackstock.com. Also at Englefield, enjoy Madness with the Lightning Seeds on Friday, 19th July, Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics, a Groove Armada DJ set & more on 20th and Elbow on 21st; heritagelive.net
WOMAD brings cultural delights from the whole wide world to Wiltshire (Malmesbury’s Charlton Park to be exact) 25th -28th July. Expect a huge array of genres from R&B, rap, rock, blues, punk and jazz all the way to New Orleans brass bands, Qawwali, mambo and flamenco. The line-up includes Young Fathers, Sampa The Great & Alison Goldfrapp with food galore on the Taste The World stage. You can chill out in style in the World of Wellbeing and WOMAD Spa, plus you can enjoy spoken word in the World of Words, science exploration at World of Physics and fun in the World of Children; visit womad.co.uk
Bestival’s little sister Camp Bestival, organised by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank will star Pete Tong with his Ibiza Classics, one of my fave star Q&A interviewees the mighty Paloma Faith, Orbital and manny more at Lulworth Castle in Dorset, 25th-28th July; dorset.campbestival.net
Jamie T, Wet Leg, The Streets, Idles, Holly Humberstone, The Snuts and Sub Focus will star at tremendous Truck Festival, 26th-28th July at Hill Farm, Steventon; truckfestival.com
Multi Grammy-winning songwriter, composer, producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers & Chic will star at Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday, 26th July, as part of the sizzling Summertime Live highlights; visit summertimelive.co.uk
Wilderness will thrill the wild crowd at Oxfordshire’s Cornbury Park, 1st to 4th August, starring Michael Kiwanuka, Faithless, BICEP, Alison Goldfrapp, as well as banquets, wellbeing including lakeside hot tubs and theatre, workshops and more; wildernessfestival.com
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be! Rewind to a simpler, better time, 16th-18th August in Henley on Thames. Stars set to dazzle include Billy Ocean, The Jacksons, Gabrielle, Jason Donovan, Kim Wilde & more, plus funfairs, a silent disco, inflatable church, kids’ zone and much more. Check out the fabulous Jenny Powell trailer & book at south.rewindfestival.com
Inspired by late beloved music-lover Jody Dickinson, J Fest will dazzle in Carswell near Faringdon on 2nd & 3rd August. The highlight, powered by bass, features accessible elements including DJ workshops, glamping & more to prove dance and festivals are for everybody;j-fest.co.uk
Strap in for a Revolution of Imagination with chapter three of Boomtown, 7th-11th August, near Winchester. This fabulous parallel world promises sensory overload, with 12 main stages, 50+ hidden venues, and one red-hot secret line-up. I went for the first time last year and had a blast. (I recommend you book the following week off work). Visit boomtownfair.co.uk
Dreadzone, Kosheen, Dub Pistols & more will star at wondrous Weyfest at Tilford’s Rural Life Museum 15th-18th August; weyfest.co.uk
Jools Holland & his rhythm & blues orchestra will star at Windsor Racecourse on Friday, 16th August, as part of the sizzling Summertime Live highlights; visit summertimelive.co.uk
Groove Armada, Leftfield, Dillinja and more will star at Stowaway, 16th-18th August at Stowe which also offers immersive theatre, comedy, paddleboarding, feasting and a roller disco. See our competition to win tickets & also visitstowawayfestival.co.uk
Fred Again.. Lana Del Rey, Liam Gallagher, Raye, Pendulum and Skrillex are sure to thrill at this year’s Reading (& Leeds), 21st-25th August. Visit readingfestival.com
Or head on up to Creamfields in Cheshire 22nd-25th August to rave to Robbie Williams’ dance project Lufthaus, Calvin Harris, Chase & Status live, Tiësto & more; creamfields.com
Shambala in Northamptonshire, 22nd-25th August. This summer’s line-up includes Sampa The Great, The Congos, The Beatbox Collective and a brand new stage show from HENGE; visit shambalafestival.org
Towersey Festival, which is the UK’s oldest independent music festival, will deliver a new programme of delights for its 60th anniversary celebration, 23rd to 26th August on the Claydon Estate near Buckingham. Comment & Comedy, curated by Gavin Osborn, will offer comedy straight from Edinburgh Fringe, award-winning short films, authors as well as Billy Bragg, The Staves and Seth Lakeman. See our separate article & visit towerseyfestival.com
CarFest lands at Laverstoke Park, 23rd-25th August;carfest.org. You’ll also love Billing, June 29th & 30th, the UK’s largest 4×4 show, with two off-road courses, 100+ trade and autojumble stands and family fun family; thebillingoffroadexperience.co.uk
Big Feastival on Alex James’ Kingham farm will serve up family fun, food and frolics, 23rd-25th August. Becky Hill, Ministry Of Sound Classical & Snow Patrol will headline with Raymond Blanc & George Egg on the menu, too. See our competition & thebigfeastival.com
Idles, Slowdive, Bonnie Prince Billie, Ty Seagull, Yo La Tengo & more will dazzle at the award-winning End Of The Road, 29th August to 1st September in Blandford Forum; visit endoftheroadfestival.com
Beloved Bunkfest is back with bounce in Wallingford, 30th August to 1st September;bunkfest.co.uk
Hop down the rabbithole with Congo Natty, General Levy, LTJ Buken, Beans On Toast & more at the Wonderland-themed Mucky Weekender, 5th -7th September near Winchester. Visit mucky-weekender.co.uk
Leftfield, Orbital & more will star at The Last Dance Dreamland in Margate, 14th September, as well as other bangers! dreamland.co.uk
Great Barn Festival returns to Great Coxwell, SN7 7LZ with music, family theatre, art and nature for all; visit greatbarnfestival.com
Liz Nicholls shares a chat with singer Chaka Khan who will star at Nocturne Live at Blenheim in June & Love Supreme festival in Sussex in July
Q. Hi Chaka, wonderful to talk to you! What’s your first memory of music?
“Hello! I was lucky to be born to parents who are artists. I recall hearing a lot of opera and jazz growing up: Billie, Ella… my father played Max Roach a lot. My mother was a dance instructor, she taught modern and ballet, so we did a lot of dancing around the house. We had a big ol’ Zenith hifi and big ol’ speakers and we all sang, danced and did our chores on Saturdays. I thought everybody did that, haha! We had murals, frescoes on every wall in the house. In our bedroom we had a circus scene. In the kitchen we had flowers, fruit. It was great to grow up with art everywhere.”
Q. You’ve worked some greats in your time, including Prince. Are there any other artists you’d love to collaborate with?
“Well I’ve done some stuff with [the R&B star] H.E.R and Sia and I are doing some stuff together.”
Q. How do you decide who to work with? Do you listen to the radio or stream new music?
“Well they [the collab artists] mostly find me! I’m not on any kind of quest, haha! I don’t listen to the radio, no. I listen to as little music as possible because it’s what I do for a living. I think too much and if I listen to music I have a hard time having fun with it. I don’t go out to clubs any more – when I was younger I did a little bit. For me a fun day is doing absolutely nothing, lying on my chaise lounge watching telly, a movie… passive entertainment!”
“I’m not nostalgic, I’m really a next girl”
Q. Do you feel nostalgic looking back on your 50 years in the biz while curating this year’s Meltdown festival?
“No, I’m not nostalgic, I’m really a next girl! I don’t live in the past, I don’t remember a lot. This is a good thing! The only thing I’m interested in is what’s happening in the moment. All we own is this moment right now. And how it’s going to affect what’s going to happen next. I don’t get caught up in things I can’t do nothing about, like yesterday. But I can influence tomorrow.”
Q. What’s been your personal biggest achievement?
“Getting out of the city and moving; leaving LA is the biggest and best thing I’ve done. I’m communing with nature here in Georgia, with all this beauty here. I truly get rest here, I get silence. And I’ve got my family here with me. My mother lives in the east wing, I’ve got my sisters, my nephews.”
Q. You lived in London for 30 years. Did you like living in the UK?
“I loved it but I’m happy now as my neighbours are miles away! I did a lot of great work in the UK, including with the London Philharmonic and worked with a lot of people I’ve loved for years. I’ve lived in many places; Germany, Switzerland… Why?! Well, I live on Earth, the whole planet, that’s the way I look at it! I’ll be in the UK all summer which will be great.”
Q. So many of your songs have been covered many times. Are there are songs that are so precious you wouldn’t want them covered?
“Well I wouldn’t want any of my songs to be copied or covered if they weren’t done well or with the best of intentions, honorably… I don’t want anybody to do a shlock job! But having said that, music is a free agent unto itself – it doesn’t belong to me, it’s for everybody.”
Q. You’re considered one of the great divas. How do you feel about the term ‘diva’ and do you embrace it?
“I know inside what I am. Whatever everybody wants to say about me, so long as it’s in a positive light, I’m happy. Titles don’t mean a lot to me, they do not define me.”
Q. You’ve achieved so much. Anything you still want to do?
“I can’t think of anything else but believe me that doesn’t stop stuff happening. I’m just very open and willing, that’s all I can do. I’ve been doing a lot of talks with children in schools. We have an open floor and they can talk about anything. I’m looking to start doing some podcasts with younger kids, young adults. That’s half of my job right now as a human being. I love my grandchildren and the focus on young people because they’re our future. We owe them a great deal of our time, energy and respect.”
Q. What advice would you give young performers paving their own way?
“Be true to yourself. Honesty is the best policy, even if it hurts! Especially if it hurts: that means it’s meaningful. This is the best thing you can do for yourself and everyone who’s around you.”
Q. How will you cater to a jazz crowd at Love Supreme festival?
“I’m not doing anything specific! I’m a multifaceted singer, I can sing anything. The best thing I’m doing is getting rid of that Queen of Funk s***. I hate to be boxed in. I do as much as is humanly possible on that stage. And everyone’s happy! I’m going to start implementing strings in my show, so I can do To Sir With Love and Big Spender and all that. I’ll be very happy to be doing shows. And I have my hits. I keep it moving, changing, that’s how you keep it interesting.”
Q. What do you think is most challenging about the music industry today for new singers coming into the industry?
“There is so much that needs to change, it’s horrific. First of all how women are set up to compete with one other. There’s no place for competition in self-expression. But often labels count on us [women] being competitive with each other, which is stupid.”
Q, What advice would you have for younger singers and your younger self?
“I think be honest and faithful with yourself and don’t be afraid. You have to keep yourself clear on what your goals are and stay true to yourself, which is a tough thing to do for young people, I think. I control my life and I’ve never let success run away with me. I’ve taken it and ran. The only thing that could threaten my stability is me. I’m my only threat and my own worst enemy. You’ve gotta follow your own path, trust your heart and listen to the warnings. You can’t argue with the universe. It’s not about that. It’s more about relaxing and knowing that you can handle it and feeling empowered. Knowing you have the power to do whatever the hell you want to do! That’s what it’s about. It really is.”
Musician Paloma Faith tells us about her new break-up album The Glorification of Sadness ahead of her UK tour which starts this month
Q. Hello Paloma; congratulations on your album, your best yet! Are you happy with it?
“Thank you. Well, yes but it’s difficult! I’m the sort of person who takes any sort of success with a pinch of salt… When people say ‘oh it’s really great’ you never know whether that’s going to translate into popularity or streaming figures.”
Q. Do you have imposter syndrome?
“Yeah and I think it’s part of what drives me. We live in a real era of isolation; it’s all internet or social media-led and quite confusing. I’m not quite sure what’s real and what isn’t. I look at my following of 800,000 and then I look at peers of mine, who have 2 milllion and they don’t sell as many records. So I tend to be a bit blinkered and just go: ‘oh I’m gonna give the best show that I can’.”
Q. Do you think women have to play a role to win popularity?
“It’s funny, I didn’t announce my break-up but when the press reported it all the comments underneath were either ‘she’s a bloody handful’ or ‘I’m sorry he cheated on you’. It’s so weird that people think in those two narrow-minded terms and neither one is correct. As a woman either you’re a victim, and if you’ve got kids with them you’re expected to stay and suffer, or you’re perceived as this nightmare femme fatale character. I don’t think I’m either! So it’s wrong on both counts. There’s the expression of sadness [on this album] and remorse and vulnerability but also there’s a lot of empowerment, standing up for myself and saying this isn’t for me. In this way society needs to catch up. Quite often I listen to songs by women and they’re celebrated when they express vulnerability or victimhood but not so much when they express their strength.”
Q. You were moved by something Madonna said…
“Yes, Madonna says the most controversial thing she did was to stick around & I relate! A woman’s longevity is always under attack more than a man’s. I’m lucky; I’ve always looked quite young for my age, partly because I don’t do the injectables that, I think, make people look old. I hope to stick around!”
Q. Who would be your dream collaborators, alive or dead?
“I think I’d like to stick with the people who are still alive, please! I would love to work with SZA and Miley Cyrus.”
“Performing is my favourite thing to do and the only time I’m not anxious”
Q. How do you take care of your mental health?
“I do exercise and I go to therapy. I’ve done EMDR [eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing] and think it’s really good. One thing I’m learning more recently in my life is that avoidance or distraction mean your issues just come back to bite you in the bum. You can choose to address & face your issues and own up to who you are or else you’re just prolonging the agony.”
Q. Do you like being on tour and will you take your children on this one?
“I’ll take my youngest but the oldest is in school so she can only come for the dates in the Easter holidays; she’s gutted about it and has real FOMO! I love touring. I get a bit nervous beforehand but performing is my favourite thing to do and the only time I’m not anxious.”
Q. Are you looking for love?
“I tried dating for a bit and it just feels difficult to navigate when you’ve got children. The last time I was single I didn’t have any kids and I wouldn’t ever put anyone before my children. And I just don’t have the tolerance I used to have. When we as women are looking to pursue relationships and we don’t have kids, we compromise a lot. People keep talking to me now about compromise but I think ‘oh f*** off with your platitudes, I don’t have to compromise, I’d rather be on my own’. Maybe I am a nightmare woman after all, haha! You know better than you did when you were younger that you can do it without anyone.”
Paloma Faith is on tour including the Hexagon in Reading on 3rd April and New Theatre Oxford on 14th May as well as starring at Southampton Summer Sessions on 28th June. Visitpalomafaith.com
Author and journalist Michael Smith is talking murder this month with the popularity of whodunnits, a good mystery and quirky characters all adding to the killer plots
Those easy-paced detective novels – where you try to solve the crime before the detective – are perennial bookshop favourites. Witness the recent success of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club novels or Robert Thorogood’s similarly titled The Marlow Murder Club series.
Now the Crime Writers’ Association is getting in on the act with a new addition to its legendary Dagger awards. The Daggers have tended to go for more complex and innovative crime thrillers, with interesting settings and psychological twists rather than the more traditional Agatha Christie-style detective mysteries. But the Whodunnit Dagger will celebrate the increasingly popular “modern cosy, traditional crime, and Golden Age mysteries”. The association says the new award “will focus on the intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery and revolve around often quirky characters”.
The quirky character is of course one of the most important staples of the ‘whodunnit’. Dilly Knox, himself one of the quirkiest of the Bletchley Park codebreakers, and his two brothers Evoe, a journalist, and Ronnie, a successful writer of murder mysteries, devised a set of 10 strict rules to which whodunnits must adhere. They included that the killer must be mentioned in the first five chapters, and that no supernatural causes, no previously unknown poisons and no more than one secret room or passage were allowed. The rules were adopted in 1929 as the Solemn Oath of the Writer’s Detection Club, which included such luminaries as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers.
The small south Oxfordshire town of Wallingford, where Round & About is put together and published, can fairly claim to be “cosy crime central”. Agatha Christie was one of the town’s most famous inhabitants. She and her husband bought a house there beside the Thames in 1934 and she was still living there when she died in 1976. There’s a bronze bench statue looking out over a park where you can sit beside her.
The town and the surrounding villages have also been repeatedly featured as locations in that long-running cosy crime series Midsomer Murders. Now Marlow, just down the river, is to be featured on television as well with Thorogood, a successful television writer and producer with Murder in Paradise, bringing The Marlow Murder Club to the small screen. Samantha Bond plays the lead character Judith Potts, a retiree living alone in a Thames-side mansion who drags two of her friends into investigating murder.
Artist Helen Grimbleby shares her love of the natural world through her work in a monthly series of observations
March many weathers is here. Although, the first month of meteorological spring, March is such an unresolved month, sometimes clinging on to freezing conditions and snow, unsure whether or when to allow the slow warm fingers of spring to get a hold.
It is nevertheless a joyful month with spring flowers ignoring the meteorological hesitancy, harnessing the sunshine to bring us verges of yellow primroses, cowslips, celandines, dandelions and narcissi/daffodils.
Where there are flowers, there are usually butterflies. In March we begin to see them emerge and arrive. Red admiral butterflies typically migrated from North Africa and were seen from spring onwards. In 2023, there was a 400% increase in their UK population. Experts suggest this may be due to the species now overwintering here rather than migrating due to warmer temperatures resulting from climate change.
Many of our early spring flowers are yellow as early pollinators, mainly insects, are attracted to the colour which appears as ultra-violet blue to them.
And it is attraction which brings us to the final association with March, and idiomatic mad hares. I have seen hares in West Berkshire but not engaged in the boxing behaviour which inspired the phrase. This is a tale of unrequited ardour with male buck hares pursuing female doe hares in the hope of mating and then, it seems, taking it too far. The unimpressed doe will demonstrate her lack of interest in dramatic fashion by turning on the buck and thumping him, initiating the boxing when fur may fly!
Helen Grimbleby is a West Berks/North Hants based artist who is inspired by the natural world’s changing seasons. After exploring outside, she enjoys writing and illustrating her Nature Sketchbook and painting larger landscapes at her home studio (@burbleartstudios).
We chat to the bestselling author, comedian, actress and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax OBE who stars at Sheldonian Theatre with Buddhist monk, Gelong Thubten on Monday, 18th March.
I wholeheartedly recommend you read I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was, Ruby’s latest book. It grabs your attention from the first page, where Ruby documents her recent breakdown. She is writing from a mental institution where she is undergoing RTMS, likening herself to Frankenstein’s monster.
She eloquently describes how this recent episode of “depression, the black hole of diseases where you sit helpless as your mind hammers you with accusations and it’s hard to stay alive and listen” took her down.
“These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult,” she says. “Thank you for your comments about my book. I haven’t read it back but I’ve taken all my books on tour and this is the most pleasurable so that’s a clue.”
“For those readers who are deep in the darkness of mental illness, I hope my book makes you feel less alone.”
In Hard Times and Fearless Living she will star with fellow author Gelong Thubten for a conversation, following a group meditation, on Monday, 18th March, as part of Oxford Literary Festival. Book your tickets here.
Academic, TV presenter and author Alice Roberts tells us about her Crypt theatre show, based on her latest book, which visits Guildford’s G Live and Wycombe Swan this month…
Q: Hello Alice. You’re taking your new show, Crypt on the road. What is it about?
“The show is all about my new book, Crypt, illustrated with lots of great images and packed full of intriguing stories and surprising revelations. I’d like to say it’s an all-singing, all-dancing romp through the worst injuries and diseases of the Middle Ages, but – my audiences will be thankful – there’s no singing and dancing in it. But I can promise plenty of plague, syphilis and leprosy, gruesome murders, archery and sword fights. Crypt is the final instalment in a trilogy that started with my books Ancestors and Buried. It pulls together some of the threads from the first two books but also moves us on in time. Ancestors focused on prehistory, while Buried was about the first millennium: Romans, Anglo Saxons and Vikings. With Crypt, I move into the Middle Ages, but once again I’m looking at how archaeology is being radically transformed by new science, from chemical techniques which allow us to analyse tooth composition and work out where out where somebody grew up, to ancient DNA – where we’ve now entered the era of “archaeogenomics”.
Q: Can you tell me more about why ancient DNA is so exciting?
“Yes – we’re now sequencing entire genomes – in other words the entire set of genetic information contained in an organism. And that’s providing us with all sorts of revelations when it comes to human history – allowing us to trace family relationships between individuals in cemeteries and communal tombs, and to track migration in the past. But the focus in Crypt is on diseases and what this genetic investigation can tell us about them. It’s completely transforming our understanding of how diseases have affected human societies in the past because we’re suddenly able to make definitive diagnoses using DNA – and see how diseases have changed genetically over time, too. During COVID, we used similar techniques – PCR and sequencing – to test for the disease and to track the emergence of new mutations and strains of the virus, and we can do the same with ancient pathogens.”
Q: Does it have any relevance to today?
“Yes, absolutely. It means we can understand the impact of disease on past populations much better – and that’s very useful information for archaeologists and historians, but it also means we understand more about how diseases actually work.”
Q: Do you draw comparisons between disease in the Middle Ages and COVID?
“Not explicitly, but it’s interesting to look at how epidemics and pandemics emerged and spread in the past – and how society responded. You might think that, 500 years on, we’d be dealing with infectious disease very differently – but actually, up until the point we had vaccines, the only protection we had available was similar to what people had in the Middle Ages – quarantining, keeping away from people, wearing a mask.”
Q: Do you look at how diseases were treated in the past?
“Yes – I’m interested not only in how we can use new science to look at old diseases but also the experience of those individuals with diseases – how they were treated by society and the management options available to them. If you had leprosy, for example, there was certainly no curative treatment available but there were hospitals – more like the hospices of today – where you could be cared for.”
Q: What is the genome research you cover in the book and talk about in the show?
“I focus on the exciting 1000 Ancient Genomes Project at the Francis Crick Institute in London, led by Pontus Skoglund – and already generating some incredible results. It’s the most ambitious ancient DNA project in Britain to date. But there’s lots of other genetic research mentioned in the book, too.”
Q: Can you give us an example?
“One really fascinating case is the Justinianic Plague of the sixth century CE. Through DNA research, we now know that the three big pandemics of history – the 19th-century Hong Kong Plague, the 14th-century Black Death and the Justinianic Plague – were all caused by the same pathogen, Yersinia pestis. It’s a great example of how DNA can lead us to a precise diagnosis of diseases in the past – and a sobering lesson about how diseases can lie dormant for centuries, then re-erupt into a pandemic. If we can understand why that happens – that will help us combat disease today.”
“I love campervanning – heading off on adventures, and not necessarily knowing where I’ll end up.”
Q: Do the audience need to be science boffins to follow the things you mention?
“Definitely not. I’m interested in sharing science in a way that’s detailed and interesting but accessible to everyone. That’s not about dumbing down – but just about explaining technical terms and not using impenetrable jargon! I want to open up this amazing science and history – to tell these brilliant stories and reveal secrets – without talking down to people.”
Q: What else happens in the show?
“I can promise a very entertaining evening, which may sound weird to say when it’s about death and disease. There’s a lot of new science, and it really is this collision of science and history that for me is very exciting. There’s also a Q&A with the audience and a book signing afterwards.”
Q: Has an audience member ever asked a question in a Q&A that stumped you?
“Yes, of course! There have been times when I’ve genuinely never thought of a particular question and it’s really exciting to be challenged. I find that with my university teaching too – I love being asked interesting questions. If I can’t answer a question, it means I either have to go away and find out – or if the answer doesn’t exist that could be a whole new avenue for research. And some questions can be more philosophical or ethical – and those questions invite everyone in the audience to form an opinion.”
Q: You’re a qualified doctor, who once treated living patients. Do you think of the skeletons you work on as dead patients, as it were?
“Yes I do. When I’m looking at a skeleton I’m not just looking at a bunch of old bones, I’m very much looking at a person. I’m looking for the traces of that life, written into the bones. It’s a kind of biography.”
Q: You’ve packed a lot into your career – doctor, academic, author, television presenter, artist and now children’s author. Do you have a favourite?
“I enjoy all the strands of my career, and feel very lucky to be exploring ideas I find fascinating in my writing and broadcasting – and sharing those ideas with an enthusiastic audience. The different aspects of my work might seem quite separate, but they all flow together. I started writing because of television, and I started doing television because of my academic work, by writing bone reports on Channel 4’s Time Team, back in the day. I really enjoy the teamwork and camaraderie when I’m making documentaries, but I also enjoy the monastic solitude of writing, and I also love teaching medical students. It sounds like a lot of different things, but they all inform each other and are quite synergistic. I also really enjoy ranging across different disciplines – bringing together ideas from biology and history, genetics and archaeology.”
Q: Will people get to see your art in the show?
“I’ve drawn chapter headings for the new book, so I’ll certainly be sharing those images. I’ve always enjoyed art, but have been making more time to develop new techniques and use new media in recent years, and I’ve recently been made an honorary academician of the Royal West of England Academy. I offer some of my artwork as giclee prints which people can buy via my website.”
Q: What projects are you working on at the moment?
“I’m writing the sequel to my children’s novel Wolf Road, and I’m currently working on a series for History Channel called Royal Autopsy, where we explore the medical histories and causes of death of various monarchs. We’ve already autopsied Elizabeth I and Charles II, and in the new series we’ll delve into the insides of Henry IV, Mary Tudor, Queen Anne and George IV. We interrogate what was written about their deaths at the time, but also approach them with modern eyes. There’s also a new series of Digging for Britain – series eleven – and it will be available on iplayer, of course – where viewers can also catch up with my earlier landmark series such as Ice Age Giants and the Incredible Human Journey. I’ve also got an exciting programme on the Herculaneum scrolls coming soon on Channel 5. And I’m very much hoping to embark on a science podcast soon with my good friend, the geneticist and broadcaster Adam Rutherhood. So I’m keeping myself busy!”
Q: You’re famously part of the campervan community– how did that start?
“It’s all down to the wonderful, late Professor Mick Aston, of the University of Bristol and Time Team fame, who used to have a campervan which he used to drive to filming locations. I bought it from him – it was a very special Type 25 Syncro – and I sprayed it a lurid green! I’m now the proud owner of a slightly younger VW T5 California. I love campervanning – heading off on adventures, and not necessarily knowing where I’ll end up!”
Q: Do you use your camper van when you’re on tour?
“Yes I do – on my last book tour I stayed in some fantastic campsites across the UK. I had a great time touring round northern Ireland and found some really special places to stay in the Yorkshire Dales too. Our ancient ancestors were nomadic hunter-gatherers – perhaps that’s why I love camping so much!”
We’re sharing a taste of The Sweet Polish Kitchen: A celebration of home baking & nostalgic treats by Ren Behan.
Wuzetka – chocolate cream sponge
The wuzetka cake originates from Warsaw, and it was said to have first been baked in a bakery along a road named the ‘W-Z route’ in Warsaw shortly after the Second World War (the road connected the eastern parts of the city to the western, the Wschód-Zachód areas, hence ‘W-Z’). It is a classic chocolate sponge cake, baked in a square tin, filled with cream (the line in the middle of the road) and topped with a cherry. If you are baking this for adults or a party, you can add a little cherry vodka to your soak.
Serves nine
Ingredients: • 120ml vegetable oil or mild olive oil & extra for greasing • 200g soft light brown sugar • Two eggs • 1 tsp vanilla bean extract • 240g sour cream • 200g self-raising flour • 75g cocoa powder • 1 tsp baking powder • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda • 240ml fresh hot black tea
For the soak: • 50ml cherry vodka or fruit tea
Optional jam layer: • 250g cherry jam or plum jam
For the cream filling: • 250g mascarpone cheese, at room temperature • 800ml double cream • 3 tbsp icing sugar
For the chocolate glaze: • 2 tbsp butter • 100g quality dark chocolate • 100g icing sugar • 1 tbsp runny honey • 2 tbsp boiling water
To serve: • Whipped cream for piping • Fresh or canned cherries
Method: Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4/350°F. Grease and line two 20 x 20cm/8 x 8in square baking tins with baking paper.
In a stand mixer, beat the oil and sugar until it starts to thicken. Add the eggs, one by one, and the vanilla bean extract. Stir in the sour cream. Next, sift in the self-raising flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and stir until there are no lumps. Finally, pour in the hot tea and mix again thoroughly.
Divide the batter evenly between the tins and tap them gently on a work surface. Bake for 30–35 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool slightly in the tins, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack and leave the sponges to cool completely.
To assemble, place one layer of sponge into the bottom of a lined tin and brush liberally with the soak. If using jam, spread a layer evenly over the soaked base. For the cream filling, whisk the mascarpone, then add the cream and icing sugar and whisk until the mixture becomes firm. Spread the cream over the base and flatten slightly with a spatula. Place the second layer of sponge on top and place the tin in the refrigerator, ideally overnight.
When you are ready to serve, make the chocolate glaze by melting the glaze ingredients together in a non-stick pan over a medium heat until thick and glossy, then leave to cool slightly.
Remove the cake from the fridge and carefully take it out of the tin onto a serving plate. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake and smooth out. Cut the cake into squares. Serve with some piped cream and a cherry on top.
Blueberry & almond Babka loaf
The babka seemed to have something of a resurgence over lockdown and, of course, it is a well-known staple treat within New York delis. The original recipe is said to have originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. This type of babka (a sweet braided bread, as opposed to a fluted bundt) was likely taken by the diaspora to Israel, and beyond, establishing itself as a ‘yeast cake filled with chocolate, cinnamon and sometimes fruit’. I was interested to learn that in the early 19th century, challah dough was rolled up with jam and baked as a loaf and that the addition of chocolate and other spices was a much later incarnation.
Some say the word babka comes from the Yiddish bubbe, also meaning ‘grandmother’. A babka made in this way, of twisted strands of dough baked in a loaf form, is different to my earlier recipes for a more cake-like babka, baked in a bundt tin and reminiscent of a grandmother’s skirt. Rather than using chocolate, I like to make mine with either a home-made preserve or, in this case, with a wild blueberry preserve. There are Polish and French versions of such a preserve in most supermarkets. Ground almonds add a little additional texture and another layer of flavour, but you could use finely chopped hazelnuts, instead. Poppy seed paste also makes a good alternative filling to jam.
Ingredients: • 350g plain flour, plus extra • 14g fresh yeast, crumbled (or 7g active dry yeast) • 75g caster sugar • 75ml lukewarm milk • Two eggs, plus one egg yolk, beaten (save white for glaze) • 1 tsp almond extract grated zest of one orange • 1 tsp salt • 75g butter, cubed, room temp • Sunflower oil, for greasing
For the filling: • 300g wild blueberry preserve or any jam of your choice • 50g ground almonds • 50g soft light brown sugar
For the streusel: • 25g cold butter • 40g plain flour • 25g caster sugar or soft light brown sugar
Method: In a jug, combine 1 tablespoon of the flour with the yeast, 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar and half of the lukewarm milk. Stir with a whisk, then set aside in a warm place for 10–15 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining flour with the rest of the caster sugar and mix well. Pour in the yeast mixture and keep mixing. Switch to a dough hook and add the eggs and egg yolk, the rest of the milk, the almond extract and orange zest, and mix well for around 5 minutes. Finally, add the salt, followed by the butter and keep mixing/kneading for at least 10 minutes. It should form a lump of dough.
You will need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. If the dough is still sticky at this point, add up to 2 tablespoons of extra flour.
Brush the inside of a clean bowl with a little oil. Transfer the dough to this bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Leave somewhere warm for at least hours, but ideally four hours.
When you are ready to bake, line a loaf tin, measuring 30 x 11 x 7cm/12 x 4¼ x 2¾ in, with a single sheet of baking paper, so that a little hangs over the long edges.
Tip the dough out onto a board sprinkled with a generous amount of flour. Punch the dough to get rid of any air pockets and knead for a couple of minutes. Roll out the dough to a 30 x 20cm/12 x 8in rectangle. Spread the preserve/jam for the filling all over the dough, leaving a couple of centimetres clear around the edge, then sprinkle over the ground almonds and the brown sugar. Roll the dough into a log, starting from one of the longest edges. Take a sharp knife and cut down the centre of the log, dividing the whole length. You will then have two long pieces and be able to see the filling on the inside.
Starting at the top, join the two pieces of dough, then cross them over each other. Keep going, as though you are making a braid. You can trim both ends to neaten them up. Carefully transfer the whole piece of twisted dough into the lined loaf tin. Cover with a clean cloth and chill in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the streusel topping. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the mixture resembles a crumble or a sandy texture.
Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4/350°F.
Brush the top of your loaf with the lightly beaten egg white, then sprinkle over the streusel topping. Bake in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes, checking after 35 minutes to see whether the top looks golden.
Once it is golden, cover with foil and continue baking for the remaining time. Remove from the oven and leave the babka to cool in the tin.
Album number nine finds the Canadian band dealing with grief in the best way possible
You’ve probably heard of Mother Mother without even knowing it. After their song Hayloftblew up on TikTok they became something of a viral hit – if the earworm “daddy’s got a gun” means anything to you, then you’ve definitely come across Mother Mother. Hayloft was in fact 12 years old before it discovered a new life as a trend, having appeared on the band’s second album, 2008’s O My Heart. Social media eh? A rabbit hole of wasted time scrolling it might be, but breathing life into old songs is one of its more positive aspects.
Life is at the heart of Grief Chapter, the band’s 9th or more specifically, contemplating the vagaries of life and the inevitable final chapter. It would appear that Mother Mother has reached something of a midlife/end of life crisis. Not that you would notice if you’re not paying attention, because they have a habit of wrapping up complex and disturbing ideas in finely crafted indie pop. Take for example The Matrix, on the surface it’s a booming, thunderous pop anthem, but at its heart, it’s a defiant and rebellious rejection of the status quo. It’s about making the most of this life because you only get one go around and as vocalist and principal songwriter Ryan Guldemond croons at the start of the song “…you’re going to die”. However, as the song progresses, it veers from nihilism to the spiritual as he starts to ponder the possibility of an afterlife. If all this sounds overly heavy, rest assured, it possesses a hook that is impossible to ignore and a deluge of profanity, which is a pretty fine combination.
Head back to the start of the album, and the basic premise behind most of these songs is laid out in stark fashion. Nobody Escapes, cuts to the chase from the off. You’re dead too. This daunting idea could be overwhelming in the hands of the darker souls out there, but Mother Mother can make heavy concepts feel like a party at the end of the world. If anything, it feels entirely positive. In part, this is down to the band’s capability of mixing tight, catchy rock riffs with dance inspired beats, and vocals that wouldn’t sound out of place on a kids show. This is at play on Explode, a song whose main refrain is the line “when I die, I’ll let go”, which in plain black and white looks like the kind of thing an Emo band would have no problem in over-emoting (the clue’s in the genre name). But with the twin vocals of Ryan and Molly Guldemond it’s all oddly celebratory. As the song reaches its conclusion, it becomes clear that this is an album not so much about shuffling off this mortal coil, as embracing every moment and making the most of the time we have here.
Pinning the band down to a specific style is quite tricky. They can veer from folk stomp to overblown pop ballad in a heartbeat. They throw in Pixies inspired guitar riffs and vocals (Monkey Gone To Heaven and Where Is My Mind? have definitely made an impression on them), strange off-kilter segues, choral flourishes, punk attitude, classical orchestration and occasional discord just for good measure. Somehow, they can deliver lines like “Innocence is just a bridge to pain” or “What if I just rip out her throat?” and make them sound entirely viable as a chart hit. Part of this is down to the smart vocal interplay between Ryan and his sister Molly, but essentially it points to intelligent and subversive songwriting.
Grief Chapter isn’t an exercise in navel gazing – despite its main subject matter. There are moments of social commentary (Normalize tackles gender and sexuality politics), amusing stoner concepts (God’s Plan ponders what the great creator must have been on whilst devising their Earth project), and self-aware in jokes. Anyone who can consider the end of their life and imagine that anyone attending their funeral will just shout for Hayloft has a keen sense of humour.
Ultimately, this is an album packed with pop songs that address the apparent pointlessness of life whilst simultaneously encouraging everyone to embrace their time here on this rock. Mother Mother might have just written a new chapter in the stages of grief, and it sounds pretty damn fine.
Mother Mother are currently touring the UK Grief Chapter is out now on Warner Music / Parlophone. Photo Credit: Mackenzie Walker
