Johnny Ball on maths & memories

Liz Nicholls

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Liz Nicholls chats to Johnny Ball, 86, who’s on a mission to make maths easy for all & stars with his daughter Zoe at Wantage Literary Festival  

Hi Johnny! Did you enjoy school?
“I had a dream time in primary school in Bristol. Aged 11, we moved to Bolton and though I was at a grammar school, I was neglected; two illnesses caused me to miss most of the autumns in years 2 and 3. I achieved two O-Levels. So they were surprised when they saw I’d got 100% in maths.”

Q. What would help youngsters master maths at school?
“The main problem is the neglect of geometry [in the curriculum]. It’s geometric thoughts and ideas that help our future engineers as well as artists. Geometry is a visual explanation of mathematical concepts and thus far more relevant than just numbers.”

Q. Can anyone become good at maths, even those who are frightened?
“Being frightened of maths can happen. But everything we get wrong in education is repairable, if and when we get the student in the right frame of mind. Often when school is ending, youngsters get the urge to achieve, despite recent failings. Things can be turned around in sixth form.”

Q. Who was your hero growing up?
“As regards my maths and science career, Jacob Bronowski’s TV series and book, The Ascent of Man, became my bible especially when I was writing Think of a Number and Think Again.”

Q. What do you love about life in Bucks?
“We moved to south Bucks just as my TV career took off and Think Again had won a BAFTA. We bought a wreck of a house, but today it is our pride and joy. Every aspect of the house has been improved over the years.”

Q. What was your favourite book a child?
“I read Treasure Island when I was about eight. In my 30s my mother told me they had been advised to keep me away from books as was clearly so clever, I might have a brain tumour.”

Q. I asked you about Strictly when we chatted years ago & you were not enamoured with how you were treated. How do you feel about it now?
“I went out first through a series of circumstances I don’t wish to revisit. But the very day after I was thrown out, the Strictly Tour asked if they could pencil me in, as they understood how badly I had been treated. Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace (who I had danced with at a sort of audition) said they wanted me to play the old man in their touring show, but I could not accept, due to other work.

Q. I loved you on TV as a child! Do you have any favourite shows?
“Sadly, BBC children’s TV on its own channels get nowhere near the viewing figures we achieved. It was a criminal decision by the BBC. It was clear when we were making our Think programmes, that our script and editing standards were very high – the best in the world. I often worked in the adult sector and never saw anywhere near the directional standards we achieved. I turned down Tomorrow’s World three times.

Q. What has it been like writing your memoirs?
“I have a quite detailed memory and my problem in writing my memoires, is cutting it down to only feature stories that are worth telling because they are unusual and often unique – Like Dad walking home with me on his shoulders while totally asleep – Mum being machine gunned in Bristol with me in the pram – The lad who robbed a bank and caught a bus home – The thief, who proved how good a thief he was, by stealing the Charge Book from the Police Station – The time I did the Val Doonican show with not one rehearsal and how the camera broke down after a couple of gags – we were live to 19 million viewers. Why, when Roy Orbison and The Bee Gees did their ONLY appearances at British Clubs, I was chosen as the comedy before their spots.

Q. If you could make one wish for the world, what would it be?
“For the world I worry a lot, but if you examine every say ten years back through your life, you see that things do get better when compared with the past – I hope we can always say that this continues. For me, I make wishes every day – mostly that I can keep on working.

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Recipes with Clodagh McKenna

Liz Nicholls

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Liz Nicholls

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We’re sharing two recipes to make the most of the last of summer thanks to Irish chef, author & TV star Clodagh McKenna

Read the Q&A with Clodagh McKenna here.

Prawn Coconut Curry

Check out this light, fragrant curry recipe! It’s quick, easy and packed with juicy prawns, creamy coconut milk and crunchy green vegetables.

Ingredients
Serves four, cooking time 15 minutes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp dried or chilli flakes or one whole red fresh chilli chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric (optional)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
• 1 tin of coconut cream or milk
• 1 tin of tomatoes (whole or chopped)
• 450g / 15oz fresh king prawns
• Green vegetables – spinach, chard, pak choy, green beans, or peas
• Zest of 1 lime
• Fresh dill, flat leaf parsley or fennel
• Sea salt

Method
1. Place a saucepan or casserole dish over a low heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic and ginger, cover and cook for two minutes. Next remove the lid and add the garam masala, chilli, mustard seeds and turmeric. Stir and cook for two minutes.
2. Stir in the coconut cream and tomatoes and season with sea salt.
3. Next stir in the fresh king prawns, and cook for five minutes.
4. Lastly add the green vegetables and zest of one lime, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
5. Sprinkle fresh herbs on top and serve with lime wedges or any of these if you have them, rice, yogurt and naan bread.

Rosewater pavlova with soft summer berries

One of my favourite desserts, this is so decadent and looks fabulous, too. I sometimes swap the raspberries for other soft fruits. I make the pavlova the night before and leave it to cool overnight in the oven; switched off, of course.

Ingredients
Makes one pavlova, cooking time 90 minutes
For the pavlova:
• Nine egg whites
• 500g caster sugar
• 2 tsps cornstarch
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp rosewater

For the filling
• 500ml whipping cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tbsp rosewater
• 200g fresh raspberries / loganberries

Sprigs of red currants to decorate

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Use an electric mixer to whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly until mixture is thick and glossy and the sugar completely dissolves. Add the corn starch, vinegar and rosewater and gently fold until just combined.
3. Pour the mixture on to the prepared baking tray in a circle shape and use the back of a wooden spoon to shape the meringue into a nest. Place the meringue in the pre-heated oven and turn the heat down to 140°C and bake for 1.5hrs. Once the meringue is baked, turn off the heat, open the oven door and allow it to cool completely.
4. When the meringue is cooled and ready to serve you can start assembling the filling. You don’t want to add the cream too far in advance as it will soak into meringue. Gently whip the cream until it thickens and then whisk in icing sugar. Fold in the rosewater and then spoon the filling into the centre of the meringue. Add the fresh berries on top.

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Heart & Craft: Polymath William Morris

Liz Nicholls

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Image: Wallpaper, Daisy (2) / © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Liz Nicholls

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Liz Nicholls delves into the world of celebrated designer, maker & polymath William Morris thanks to a beautifully reissued V&A book

William Morris’s designs will be familiar to you, either by stealth (as the backdrop of your favourite pub) or as peacock flourishes you’ve chosen to adorn your own home.

Image: William Morris, photographed by Frederick Hollyer, 1886 / © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Such is the legacy of the man who said: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not known to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” What’s more, this pioneering radical believed in a utopian design democracy. This is why you’ll find his mesmerising patterns inspired by British wildlife, such as The Strawberry Thief, on walls, tea towels and… just about everything in between, in homes from the humble to the haughty, to this day. No individual has had such a lasting impact on the history of British design.

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

What’s more, William’s world view and love life were as colourful as his exquisite creations, as William Morris, V&A, edited by Anna Mason, illustrates in lavish style. Where to start…?

Image: Strawberry Thief. Designed by William Morris, registered 11 May 1883 / © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Image: Redcar Carpet. Designed by William Morris, 1881 / © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

William Morris was born in east London in 1834. The financial success achieved by his broker father gave him a privileged childhood, as well as inheritance. Time spent exploring parkland, forest and churches, and an enthusiasm for the stories of Walter Scott, helped William develop an early affinity with landscape, buildings and history. At Marlborough College he gained a reputation as an eccentric nicknamed “Crab” and loved the Savernake Forest and other local beauty spots.

He went up to Oxford University, reading classics at Exeter College, to prepare him for the Church. It was here that he met Edward “Ted” Burne-Jones, who was to become one of the era’s most famous painters, and Morris’s life-long friend. Ted introduced William to Dante Gabriel Rossetti – a central figure in the Pre-Raphaelite group – joining a team painting wild, whimsical murals at the Oxford Union. This led to a chance meeting with a local stableman’s daughter, Jane Burden. Never one to stick to snobbish class rules, William married Jane in 1859. Her striking looks were to make her a model of idealised beauty for members of the Pre-Raphaelite group for the next 30 years. As Anna Mason notes, Jane’s surviving correspondence reveals her lively and inquisitive mind, and their children Jenny and May were raised by creative, loving parents.

Image: Jane Burden, unknown photographer, 1868 / © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Image: The textile printing shed at Merton Abbey / © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

William and Jane moved into Red House in 1860 which they furnished and decorated. Meanwhile, Jane became Rosetti’s principal model and the relationship between them became romantic. However, there was no separation or scandal; William continued to treat his wife with kindness and respect. In 1871 they leased Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire, AKA “Heaven On Earth”, which inspired William’s design and literary works. It’s well worth a visit today; Kelmscott Manor

Over the next decade he continued to design at an impressive rate, adding at least 32 printed fabrics, 23 woven fabrics and 21 wallpapers – as well as more designs for carpets and rugs, embroidery and tapestry – to the company’s range of goods. By 1881 William had built up enough capital to acquire Merton Abbey Mills.

Towards the end of his career, William began to focus increasingly on his writing, publishing a number of prose narratives, including his most celebrated: News from Nowhere (1890). Infused with his socialist romantic ideals, this book offers his vision of a simple world in which art or “work-pleasure” is enjoyed by all.

William’s artistic versatility, technical prowess and imagination are evident across everything he tried, in fields including painting, drawing, stained glass, furniture, tiles and tableware, wallpaper, textiles, calligraphy and printing. The fruits of his creative mind and prolific work ethic remain in continuous production.

Visit V&A (vam.ac.uk) for more info & to shop.

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Billy Billingham: Always A Little Further

Liz Nicholls

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As featured in Spotlight: A Diary For The South East: https://youtu.be/hRZ4aR0vLHE

Liz Nicholls chats to SAS: Who Dares Wins star Billy Billingham MBE QCB whose new Always A Little Further tour visits Wycombe Swan on 25th November, plus Aldershot, Newbury & more beyond

Billy has had many astonishing experiences. He left school at 11 and ran with gangs in Birmingham before joining the Royal Marine cadets and Parachute Regiment, to rising to the rank of sergeant major in the SAS and undertaking hundreds of classified and extremely dangerous missions.

He spent more than 20 years in the Special Forces serving in countless warzones, winning a commendation for bravery, and being awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II, before embracing for the life of a bodyguard to celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Sir Michael Caine, Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe.

Billy will also take us behind the scenes of his hit TV shows where he gained a reputation for excellence, integrity, and a no-nonsense approach. A transformational leader, Billy inspires contestants to take on mentally and physically demanding challenges.

So, Billy, how did these big talking tours of yours come about?
“I got asked to help raise some money for a charity for bereaved children and of course I said yes. I thought I’d be talking to about 30 people. I went down to the venue on the morning and… there’s 300 people coming, and my heart fell out! My wife said; well, what are you going to talk about?! So we put a logical sequence together of trials, tribulations, lessons learned. And off we went! But I didn’t feel frightened, I enjoyed it.

“And I think this is now our fourth year. I love the response from the audience. I believe in giving back, especially to people who are looking for advice or just a bit of motivation.”

Q. You’ve had quite the life haven’t you? I mean literally highs and lows. What was your lowest moment, do you think?
“There’s a few. And that’s where the journey starts with me.
“So, I was a bd kid. My mum said I ran with a bad crowd but I knew right from wrong and I was bad, and it’s about owning that… Everybody should nowadays, instead of blaming others for our own mistakes. An old man I stole a hat from chased me, and rather than give me what I expected, when he caught me, he actually gave me the time of day and said come to learn boxing. That was a lightbulb moment.

“Then the next was in the cadets. I was taught proper discipline. And it was a hard discipline, but you were treated fairly, and I was learning great skills. I’m not academic. I’m a ‘monkey see, monkey do’ kind of guy.
“And then the saddest turning point in my life, which I talk about, was when I got stabbed and nearly died at 15. I felt more of an idiot, looking at people who love me, my family and my friends thinking I was going to die. I remember thinking if I get out of it, which I did, of course, I’ve got to change my life. And then getting into the military, and the military really was my saving grace.”

Q. And what advice would you have for anyone whose child is really struggling with school?
“At school, in English, maths, everything, I was the worst. I was petrified or sweating with anything academic. My strength was on the running field, doing physical things. So my advice to any child who’s struggling: do your best, be respectful, and find out what you’re good at and embrace that. Because there’s an avenue for everybody.”

To book tickets visit: Billy Billingham MBE | Projects | Fane

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George Egg grilled before Big Feastival

Liz Nicholls

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As featured on our YouTube channel

Liz Nicholls chats to the thoroughly entertaining anarchist cook, comedian & dad George Egg who will star at Big Feastival in Kingham this coming bank holiday weekend

Q. Hello George. Lovely to talk to you, our snack hacker! Are you looking forward to Big Feastival?
“Yeah, I’m really excited, it’s my second time. I’m doing a cookery demo and a stand-up set both on the same day [Sunday].”

Q. And can you tell us a bit about your shows for those who haven’t seen you live? “So in theatre show, I cook on stage, live… real cooking as well, not some sort of clowny gesture towards it, it’s decent stuff! But the twist is that I don’t have any conventional kitchen equipment; I cook with power tools and things like a laptop that I’ve converted for cooking on. I’ve got a sort of flame-thrower thing, a wallpaper stripper and I cook three plates of food the audience can try. I’m also the Snack Hacker. And my stand-up is straight stand-up… but with props!”

Images by: Matt Lincoln

Q. Who were your comedy influences when you were younger? “Laurel and Hardy! Not just when I was younger, now as well. I also love lots of comedians including James Acaster.”

Q. So your first Edinburgh show, How To Cook in a Hotel Room was in 2015? “Yeah, that’s right. It was a totally self-produced show, not even any posters, and it sold out! I toured that for a couple of years then I realised I’d created this niche which led to more shows, using power tools and stuff!”

Q. Are you surprised how popular it’s been and what amazing fans you’ve picked up along the way?
“Yeah, I’m really surprised. I mean, I’m wracked with self-doubt! I think the success comes down to the fact that it is unique. And it comes from a real genuine passion. I love cooking, I love being inventive and creative…”

Q. And do you think we could all maybe go a little bit more rogue, like you, with our cooking?
“Yeah! If you kind of look at cooking as art you should be creative and break rules and challenge convention!”

Q. Like me you’re thinking about food pretty much every waking thought… what would your last supper be? “Crikey. Do you know what, I need to figure out before next week what my favourite last supper is. I’m writing a cookbook at the moment, and I’m crippled by choice, always. There’s a lot of nostalgic stuff in there because my dad did all the cooking when we were kids. And there’s loads of things that he did that bring everything flooding back. He used to make this lemonade with a whole lemon and ice cubes and sugar and a liquidiser…”

Q. What were your school dinners like? “Oh, I’ve such fond memories of school dinners! I went to school in south-east London, and they had this tuck shop, basically, all the things that they couldn’t sell. There’d be lukewarm fish fingers and sausages and things, which they’d sell for 5p, 10p. It was lethal! I’d go there towards the end of the lunch hour and just have like, eight fish fingers.”

Q. And what I really like about you is that you don’t have any sort of notion of guilty pleasures… Everything’s a pleasure! There’s never this snobbery about food that you sometimes get. “Yeah, oh, utterly. I mean, that’s my kind of ethos certainly with the Snack Hacker stuff. I don’t feel like salad cream is a naff ingredient: personally I call it white ketchup. I mean, it’s very similar; it’s full of vinegar and sugar. We didn’t have salad cream when I was growing up. We were quite a middle-class family and my parents frowned on salad cream like they frowned on ITV. So at school, I got a sachet of salad cream and had that with fish fingers. I was like, oooh, in heaven.”

Q. You’ve got some great fellow foodie famous fans haven’t you? “I mean, yeah, well, Craig Charles has really taken me under his wing. That’s lovely. So I do this weekly chat with him on BBC 6 Music every Monday where I give him a sort of quick, easy recipe idea. He’s so positive! I mean, every idea I come up with, he’s like ‘oh, God, I want to eat that’. Gennaro Contaldo too; I just I love him: he’s so funny, he reminds me of that Laurel & Hardy era.”

Q. What’s your favourite bit of kitchen kit? “A pressure cooker is something I discovered in the last few years. The recipes you can do! Check out the book by Catherine Phipps: you can do like a joint of roast beef in something like five minutes and it’s perfect, pink in the middle. It’s incredible! Otherwise, a microwave! We didn’t get one until after my dad had died but it’s amazing. You can do all sorts like chicken crackling and stuff which is just heaven.”

Q. You’ve got a cookbook coming out soon, haven’t you, as well as your theatre shows this autumn?
“Yeah, that’s being published June next year, see you at Big Feastival for a taste!”

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Will Young’s luminous return to pop

Liz Nicholls

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Liz Nicholls

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Multi award-winning British pop star and actor Will Young is back with his ninth studio album Light It Up

Multi award-winning British pop star, actor and all-round good egg Will Young is back with his ninth studio album Light It Up – out now via BMG.

To celebrate the new album, Will is also embarking on his most intimate tour yet this autumn. The sold-out Light It Up Live 2024 Tour is an up-close-and-personal evening of acoustic performances of all his hits and new songs, stories and conversation. The tour kicks off on 3rd September.

Light It Up is a shimmering return to from for one of Britain’s best-loved and steadfast pop singer-songwriters of the 2000s. The new body of work captures the musical richness of 1970s and ’80s soulful pop with a modern twist. A testament to Will’s magnetic vocals and storytelling prowess, each song – whether designed for escapism or reflection – feels perfectly tailored to soundtrack a moment.

Will says: “I really hope this is the go-to pop album for a dance, for a cry and for a celebration. I know I do all three with it. It is just so exciting to produce a complete pop album. Crafting pop music can be so fun and the challenge to sing those songs is something I’ve relished.”

“I really hope this is the go-to album for a dance, for a cry and for a celebration.”

Young has teamed up with renowned Scandinavian hitmakers PhD (who has worked with Kylie and Little Mix), and reunited with Andy Cato of Groove Armada, as well as long-term writing partners Jim and Mima Elliot (who worked on Will’s defining album, “Echoes”).

The euphoric lead single Falling Deep (BBC Radio 2’s Record of The Week) sets the tone for the ’80s pop inspiration that colours the album. Punchy synth-pop numbers like ‘Talk About It’, which Will wrote with Jim and Mima Elliot, and ‘Feels Just Like A Win’ bring confessional lyrics to the dancefloor.

The Worst is an introspective song that stands tall next to Young’s evergreen classic Leave Right Now as one of his best ballads yet. It is produced by PhD, who co-wrote the track with Celine Svanbäck (Dagny) and Sam Merrifield (Mimi Webb).

The intimate acoustic arrangement illuminates every relatable lyric that portrays an overthinker terrified of opening up to the possibility of new love in fear or being hurt again. Will sings: “I hate not knowing how the hell it’s gonna end. What if you’re the worst? What if this could hurt? Maybe I should self-sabotage as for nothing, cutting you off when I start feeling something.”

A theme that appears to underscore the album is the joy and complexity of life in your 40s. The anthemic title track Light It Up (BBC Radio 2 A-List) is a life-affirming call to celebrate your individuality and to never let the world diminish your true self. Over a sumptuous, soulful ’70s pop production, Will sings: “Light it up, and let them know it. You’re too loud to be quiet, too bright now to stop glowing. Don’t waste who you are.”

On the wistful electronic pop track Midnight, we get a glimpse of Will’s humour in the tongue-in-cheek lyrics. “Texting every ex, trying to get my fix. Why does no-one tell me that they are married?”

The album closes with a reimagination of ’80s hit I Won’t Let You Down, co-produced by Andy Cato. Showcasing Will’s uncanny ability to breathe new life into a song, the new arrangement, with its transcendent electric guitar solo and spacious rhythmic beat, is the perfect soundtrack to drift away into the sunset.

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Giles Luckett’s hurrah for Pinot Noir!

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Our resident wine columnist shares his picks in time for International Pinot Noir Day on 18th August.

Hello. I shall be celebrating International Pinot Noir Day in my usual way by opening a magnum of Romanee Conti 1985. I keep a couple on my yacht in Monaco in case I fancy an early morning pick me up with my dodo eggs on toast. Putting my #livingmybestlife Instagram fantasy to one side, this is a grape anniversary I will be observing as any excuse to drink Pinot Noir is fine by me.

Pinot Noir is the queen of grapes. Ask any producer who’s ever tried to make wine with it and they may refer to it as the drama queen of grapes. Few if any varieties are as fickle, prone to mutation, picky about their site selection or as downright infuriating as Pinot. Its thin skins have earned it the nickname of the ‘heartbreak grape’ as they break so easily, though when done well its beauty will steal your heart away.

Burgundy in eastern France is the home of Pinot Noir. This long, thin strip of land produces wines of truly astonishing splendour, complexity and ethereal charm that are like no other. Alas to afford wines like Romanee Conti or some of other rare Grand Cru you’ll need pockets deeper than the Mariana Trench. A bottle of Leroy’s Musigny 2015, for example, is currently on offer on WineSearcher for £175,000.

Happily, great Pinot Noir is available to us mere mortals, and to celebrate Pinot’s day in the sun, here are my top recommendations for affordable Pinot Noir.

Must-taste Pinot Noir wines

The Spacenine A23 Pinot Noir (Perfect Cellar £14.95) isn’t produced by the side of the Brighton Road as the name might suggest but in France’s Languedoc. Some will tell you that great value French Pinot Noir doesn’t exist. Twenty years ago I’d have agreed, but better site and clone selection combined with infinitely better winemaking have given us crackers like this. Mid-red, the bouquet offers red berries, cherries and a touch a raw beetroot. The medium-bodied palate is lively with lots of raspberries, strawberries, red cherries and a hit of minty spice to the finish. Try this with barbecued red meats or hot smoked salmon.

Next up, are three wines from New Zealand’s Marlborough region. Following Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc’s explosive entry on to the UK market in the late 1980s, winemakers started looking at other vines and, inevitably, decided to try their hand at Pinot Noir. The results can be exceptional. A cool climate, poor, free-draining soils and a long growing season, New Zealand has all that Pinot could want.

The King’s Wrath (Majestic £9.99) shows New Zealand’s Pinot delicate side. Mid-red, the nose is gentle, combining summer pudding with mint and cream. While no blockbuster, there’s a gentle intensity to the red and black berry fruit that makes it feel bigger than it is. The use of oak is well-judged and adds a creamy, smoky tone without overwhelming the fruit’s mellow beauty.

If you prefer your Pinot big, bold, and boisterous, then the Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir (Waitrose £16.99) is for you. This mighty wine has an old-school feel to it. The nose is crammed with sweetly toned red and black berries, vanilla, loganberries and jam. The palate is equally well-endowed, offering masses of rounded berry fruits, damson conserve, sour cherries and spearmint-tinted minerals on the finish. Decant/leave open for a couple of hours and savour this joyful Pinot with bruschetta, mushroom dishes or lamb.

“Classy” is a word I associate with The Ned Pinot Noir (Ocado £16). It’s quite European in its refinement, but it retains New Zealand’s upfront fruit. The bouquet is fresh, clean, zesty and red berry-driven with an undertow of something darker, something herbal and smoky. On the palate, it continues to walk a fine line between reserved and ebullient. Strawberries and raspberries are offset by black cherries and stewed plums, tangy acidity by creamy oak and mushrooms. Lovely with all sorts of red meats and creamy white cheeses, it’s equally at home on its own with a light chill.

If the Ned can be summed up as classy, then the Moorooduc Estate Pinot Noir 2020 (Caviste £27) is revelatory. I visited this peerless Mornington Peninsula estate when the first wave of cool-climate Australian wines hit our shores. It’s an astonishingly beautiful area just south of Melbourne. Surrounded by cooling water on three sides the wines can be stunning; combining grace with power, precision with intricacy. The Moorooduc Estate Pinot Noir 2020 is the best Australian Pinot I’ve had this year by some margin. Ruby-garnet in colour, the nose blends red berries and cherries with a lift of flowers and darker notes of earth and undergrowth. Cherries dominate the fruit profile, though there are berries and fruits of the forest in the background. Toward the finish, a bright, cleansing acidity comes through alongside smoke, and a savoury, gamey. Still young, this will be age well over the coming 5-10 years.

Chile is noted for the excellence of its Pinots. If you want a truly memorable experience splash out on the Las Pizarras Pinot Noir (Berry Brothers, £60.50). From the same winery but for everyday drinking, I have two very different recommendations, the Errazuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2022 (Wholefoods £16.45) and the Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2022 (Taurus Wines £19.50). I wouldn’t normally recommend close siblings in the same column, but the difference between these two was so striking I feel it’s worth doing.

The Wild Ferment – so called as it’s made using natural “wild” yeasts – has a deep tawny red hue from which emerge scents of overripe raspberries, black cherries, and roses with an undercurrent of undergrowth and wood smoke. The palate is bright, crisp and full of energy with lots of summer berries and brambles set off by spicy oak and coffee bean bitterness to the lingering finish. Pair this with creamy cheese flans, baked fish or roasted poultry.

The Aconcagua Costa is from the Pacific coast and the cooling effect has imparted a freshness and delicacy, but behind the red fruit sits green herbs and black cherries. This was love at first sip for me as a flood of raspberries, tangy cranberries, alpine strawberries and cream rushed forth. In their wake came red cherries, a hint of citrus, vanilla, and a dash of balsamic. Precise and clean, it’s also satisfying and brilliantly complex. Give this a couple of hours open and serve just below room temperature – too warm and it loses some of its edge – with rich dishes such as liver, filet steak, coq au vin, or game birds. This will age wonderfully too.

I can’t talk Pinot Noir and not mention a Burgundy. While it’s not easy to find affordable brilliance in Burgundy if you follow the golden rule – producer, producer, producer – it can be done. Take the Louis Latour Cotes de Beaune 2021 (Tesco £21). I was quite surprised to see this in Tesco as this “challenging vintage” (wine speak for the nightmare that keeps on giving) was tiny. The little wine that was produced was often lovely though. Freshness and fragrance are 2021’s signatures and these are evident here. Mid-red, there’s a distinct floral note attending the raspberry, cherry and blackberry bouquet. These appear on the supple, yet bright palate, which gives generous quantities of red fruits, cherries, spices, and a crisp, firm finish. Time is on its side, but if you’re drinking it now, pair it with tomato-based dishes, full-flavoured cheeses, duck or spring lamb.

Well, that’s it from me for now. Next time out I’ll be looking at some Argentinean wines and exploring it’s offerings beyond Malbec.

Cheers!
Giles

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Atul Kochhar’s Chicken Tikka Pie recipe

Liz Nicholls

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Atul Kochhar, star of our second Spotlight podcast, shares the recipe for the delicious pie he cooked up for Angela Walker

Watch the podcast episode -> https://bit.ly/3WwheIF

Chicken Tikka Masala Pie

For the first marinade:
• One garlic clove, peeled
• 1cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• One teaspoon chilli powder
• Juice of ½ lemon

For the second marinade:
• 250g Greek-style yoghurt
• One teaspoon each garam masala and ground coriander
• 50ml vegetable oil
• Half a teaspoon each ground cinnamon, chilli powder and dried fenugreek leaves
• Two teaspoons gram flour

For brushing:
• Small knob of butter
• Two teaspoons lime juice
• One teaspoon chaat masala or garam masala

For the pastry:
• 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• One teaspoon sea salt
• 250g cold unsalted butter

For the masala:
• One small onion, peeled
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• Vegetable oil
• 6cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• Three level teaspoons each ground coriander, chilli powder, turmeric and garam masala
• Two large bunches of fresh coriander, leaves picked
• Three ripe tomatoes

Method:
1. For the first marinade, finely grate the garlic and ginger and place in a bowl. Add the chilli powder, lemon juice and chicken, then set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. For the second marinade, add all of the ingredients to the chicken, mix together well, then leave to marinate for a further four to six hours.
3. Skewer the marinated chicken pieces and cook over a barbecue, or in a hot oven at 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6, for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Brush with a mixture of butter, lime juice and chaat masala and set aside.
4. For the pastry, sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Cube the butter, then rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 105ml of cold water and gently mix into dough. Dust the dough with flour, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/ gas 3. For the masala, chop the onion and garlic, then add with a little vegetable oil to a pan over medium heat and sauté for five minutes until soft. Finely grate the ginger into the pan and cook for two minutes until golden.

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Towersey Festival Q&A with Billy Bragg

Liz Nicholls

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Liz Nicholls chats to singer songwriter and activist Billy Bragg who will star at the last ever Bucks highlight Towersey Festival – the 60th highlight – from 23rd to 26th August, and urges you to book your tickets

Q. Hi Billy, how are you?
“Not too bad thank you. I wish the weather was a bit better! As we’re into festival season and it’s a bit worrying. The likes of Glastonbury [where Billy helps curate the Leftfield stage] is always fine as they’re sort-of recession-proof but it’s the smaller festivals like Towersey which are hard hit. Near me where I live there’s the Tolpuddle Martrys festival in Dorset and it was cancelled because of torrential rain. The damage that does to the logistics of a small festival run by people who love music like Towersey is huge. I feel for the volunteers and audience too. I’ve been doing festivals for 40 years and it has to be climate change. The folk audience are generous, and the ones that have a tradition going, you’re coming together with people who maybe only see each other once a year. The nice thing about a folk festival is you can wander round, get a pasty and a beer and people are groovy about it. It’s not like some mad festival where people are charging around to the next mosh pit: the worst thing that can happen to you is you might get knocked over by some Morris dancers… but you generally hear them because they’ve got bells on. Let’s give Towersey a great send-off, shall we?!”

Q. What’s your first memory of music?
“We went to Blackpool for a holiday and stayed with a cousin of my dad’s, this has to be 1963/64 judging by the photos, as my brother was a baby. They had a record player which we didn’t have at home, and a record called The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen, which I was obsessed with, and played over and over again! It’s a dreadful old song but it kind of connected with me in some deep emotional place, and from then on I was really into music and my parents recognised this. When I was 12 they bought me a reel-to-reel tape machine for Christmas so I could tape stuff off the radio.”

Q. You read a poem out at school didn’t you?
“Yes, I read a poem out in English language and got called out of class by the teacher: they asked my parents if I’d copied it out of a book! So I wrote to a local radio station and it was the first time I thought ‘this is something I could actually do’.”

Q. What’s your favourite lyric…
“And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind, Down the foggy ruins of time, Far past the frozen leaves, The haunted frightened trees, Out to the windy beach, Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow, Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky, With one hand waving free, Silhouetted by the sea, Circled by the circus sands, With all memory and fate, Driven deep beneath the waves, Let me forget about today until tomorrow... Yeah Mr Tambourine Man [by Bob Dylan] really brought me into the idea that poetry and songwriting was the same thing. That stayed with me for a long time.”

Q. You love Woody Guthrie too don’t you?
“Yeah, he was a massive influence on Bob Dylan. Until I was 14 or 15 you couldn’t really find Woody’s records… in Barking anyway. Eventually I picked up a cassette. It wasn’t until I went to America 40 years ago that I was finally able to really connect with Woody and hear his voice clearly, rather than second hand from people who covered his songs.”

Q. Do you have a big vinyl collection?
“I have loads of vinyl but no record player. It’s a terrible thing to admit but my son took the record player when he moved out which is fair enough. But if I get the urge to listen to a song I can usually find it online, on one of the streaming services. I’m never without music!”

Q. Do you and your son share any musical tastes?
“Yeah, he does turn me on to people like Jamie Webster. And he and I shared a lot of musical loves when he was younger. When we went to college in Yeovil and came back and said ‘Dad, tell me, why has nobody at college heard of The Skids?’ And I thought oh, damn, I wonder if I’ve given him a musical education that’s not quite age-specific for him, the poor lad! He’s a huge Ramones fan, and because he’s out on the circuit he sees a lot of brands and he does trip me up to some of that.”

Q. Who was your hero growing up?
“In those times it was music that had the ability to articulate the ideas that could bring about change. The people I was listening to were people like Marvin Gaye, the Clash, the Jam to some extent… That seemed to be a time when change was very much in the air. Are there bands like that now? I’m not sure but then again music is no longer the vanguard medium of youth culture. Back in the late 20th century music was the only medium available to us if we wanted to talk about the way the world was. It allowed us to talk to our parents’ generation as well, let the world know how you feel. Now, if you want to let the world know how you feel there are social media platforms, you can make a film with your phone. I don’t think people now immediately think of writing songs as the route to get their voice heard. I don’t think music has that dominant role any more. It still has a role to play but it doesn’t sum up the feelings of an entire generation the way it used to.”

Q. Do you have a favourite book?
“Yeah, I do: The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell. It was written during the second world war, and Orwell struggles to reconcile his left-wing beliefs and socialism with the patriotic necessity of winning the war. He has to come to terms with that and ask himself what he loves about England. The subtitle of the book is Socialism and the English Genius and I first read it in the 1980s and since then I’ve gone back to it many times. 1984 is another book that you can keep going back to. Every decade I have a run-in with it and realise it’s about something else. Is it really about spin rather than dictatorship? Is it about fake news? It is isn’t it!? The way that truth has become untethered from fact, which is what we’ve seen in the last few years, with the Johnson premiership and Trump in America. It resonated with me in a way it hadn’t before. A great novel can do that, it can change with the times.”

Q. If you had a magic wand what would you wish for?
“I’d like to see Arsenal relegated. I’d like to live long enough to see that, yeah! That would really cheer me up.”

Q. Haha! What would you do if you were education minister?
“Pay teachers more. They do a great job, teachers. For some reason I get a lot of them at my gigs. Young people, if they recognise me, which they seldom do, they say ‘oh my teacher says you’re great’. I much admire teachers. I think they have a much greater chance of changing the world than I will ever have as a musician. So investment in teachers is an investment in our future, in our young people. Teachers now are not only having to deal with education, they’re also having to deal with helping young people with their anxieties or mental health problems. They’re almost like glorified social workers. We need a much greater social care regime. The police the same, they spend so much time doing things that we as a society should undertake, looking after people who’ve fallen through the gaps of the system. The police should be able to be out chasing criminals instead of helping people who can no longer cope in our society. Those people have always been there but there are more now. I do a bit of work sometimes getting guitars into prisons. Prison is the last place that can’t say no. Hospitals can say no, schools can say no and expel you. Social care can say no. Prison can’t, that’s why they’re over-full. That’s not a society that’s healthy. It needs a lot of thought about how we do something about that to help.”

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Enjoy later life

Karen Neville

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Later life gives much to embrace and much to consider but it can also be a worrying time, help is at hand whatever your needs

With a variety of options available how do you choose the care which is right for you and yours? Broadly speaking there are three main options: domiciliary, live-in and residential.

Domiciliary care allows you to stay in your own home with visits from a carer. The intensity and frequency of domiciliary care visits will be determined by your needs, it maybe that short-term ‘dom care’ will suffice after a hospital stay for example, but it may be that more regular care is needed albeit for relatively low-level care needs. You may find that just an hour or two a day is sufficient to meet your needs which may include just daily care and essential tasks.

Dom care allows you to maintain easy contact with family and friends and grants a degree of independence where possible.

If your care needs are more acute but you would still like to stay in your own home then live-in care may be suitable. You’ll benefit from one-to-one care from a professional caregiver focussing on your needs and giving you and your loved ones peace of mind. This increasingly popular option is more financially viable than residential care. Some care assistants live in all the time whilst others work on a rota system.

There are a wide number of residential care homes providing comfortable living specifically for elderly care. Many are purpose-built to account for a wide range of circumstances with one of many people’s key deciding factors being the social aspect they offer with the chance to live alongside others on a day-to-day basis and enjoy a variety of activities.

Residential care is designed for those needing round the clock care and can also provide practical, emotional and personal support. Residents can keep their independence but also enjoy help with tasks such as bathing and house keeping.

Whatever your living circumstances in later life, staying in touch with friends and family are essential for your wellbeing. According to the Campaign to End Loneliness, half a million older people go at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone. Technology can help connect people and provide access to essential services online.

Two devices are tailor made for seniors. GrandPad is an eight-inch tablet which has a touch sensitive screen and includes simple one-touch buttons to access video chats. Families can create a secure social network that only includes approved contacts who can communicate with the GrandPad and share photos and emails. They can also be customised to suit the user’s needs.

KOMP is a one-button computer designed by No Isolation specifically for video chats with loved ones. Looking like an old-style TV with a large screen it has just one button.

KOMP is a receiving device and loved ones will need to download an app to start a video conversation.

The Amazon Echo Show also allows video calls. The latest version includes an interactive screen that rotates with you as you move or interact with it.

There are many kinds of smart devices that can make a big difference to quality of life and help keep you connected with essential services and loved ones.

Smart heating controls can help ensure the home isn’t being heated when it needn’t be and will help save money. Most devices can be fitted to a boiler or heating system and linked to an app. Smart lighting and plug controls can also be activated automatically. Voice activated devices can also help control heating and lighting and can be set up with a ‘trigger word’. Most devices can also make voice phone calls with just a command, vital in an emergency or if not near a phone. Camera doorbells are also worth considering for added peace of mind, especially if you live alone.

How to spot and prevent scams

It’s a sad fact of life that as you age you are often more susceptible to cruel scams and ruthless fraudsters trying to trick you out of your money. It’s perfectly normal to feel worried about these scams but there is plenty of advice to help you spot and avoid scams.

On average, four people aged 50+ are scammed in England and Wales every minute. Age UK has embarked on the Scams Prevention and Support Programme with the aim of helping older people be more aware and to help avoid them.

There are various methods of being scammed to be aware of: Phone scams and cold calls, postal scams, doorstep scams, email scams, investment scams and pension scams.

In all cases, the old adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” should be paramount. Being scammed can be very distressing, and the impact is often emotional as well as financial. There is support available.

Call the police on 101 if it’s not an emergency or 999 if you feel threatened. If you notice any unusual activity on your bank account get in touch as soon as possible, you’ll find a contact number for your bank on the back of your card.

There are various other support services out there too – Action Fraud: Action Fraud or call on 0300 123 2040. Victim Support provides 24/7 free and confidential support to victims and witnesses of crime. Find out more at Victim Support or call 08 08 16 89 11.

Contact Citizens Advice for information and advice about how to avoid scams and fraud. Their consumer services also provide information and advice on consumer issues by telephone and online, Citizens Advice.

For more advice and support visit Scams advice – How to spot and avoid scams | Age UK or call the free advice line on 0800 678 1602.

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