Length: < 1 min An archaeological dig in Santorini, Greece, found the earliest known (to date) kebap cookers delightfully called ‘fire dogs’  — with a hotbox carved into the shape of a dog — that were in use 3700 years ago. Proof, if such… Read More »Hot diggity dog!

Length: < 1 min A PROPER pinch of salt, that’s what. As a reminder that it doesn’t mean homeopathic levels of grain numbers, here’s a good visual guide… And that’s also why I’m making a salt-pig; so I can get my fingers into the… Read More »What are you going to take that with, eh, eh?

Length: < 1 min Although I think (and ‘believe’ in a totally, 100%, ‘no gods’ non-religion sense) that ones life stops completely when you die, equally, I can’t honestly say that I disagree with the Egyptian idea that relatives (even the dead ones) and… Read More »Feeding your dead relatives

Length: < 1 min Daniel Guérin had it perfectly right of course. And today, especially today, with the nonce’s brother getting crowned, after riding in a carriage covered in fucking gold, gold, it feels as though we’ve regressed to an earlier time; when the… Read More »No gods, no masters.

Length: < 1 min All thanks to Val for her expert guidance; the kitchen god hasn’t turned out half bad… A rectangular ceramic sculpture depicting a being with long arms, blue markings, a spoon cradled in its arms, a round head set on a… Read More »When ancient foreign gods walked the Earth

Length: < 1 min There are a few types of recipes that need a good level of precision; baking & some ferments spring to mind. For the rest? Naaah, not so much. The scientist over at XKCD is over-thinking things here: “It says to… Read More »Pin-point accuracy needed…

Length: 2 mins Today’s STP piece isn’t a story, isn’t even a real long-form piece. It’s partly a rant brought on by just the visceral, bowel-loosening disgust I feel when I see this sort of advert for a small flat costing nearly £800K.… Read More »Not my printer’s devil

Length: < 1 min This panoramic shot was taken when I was much younger and at that time, was often to be found walking my herd of pigs through the woods in the lands stretching out for miles around the castle — everything you… Read More »A ‘photo of the artist as a young man.

Length: < 1 min I think I first recall hearing that phrase uttered in some old Ealing Studios, black and white, Sunday afternoon classic. Which one exactly it came from? Phhhhht. Good luck asking me that one. Long gone. Possibly said by some Army… Read More »What a shambles!

Length: 2 mins Back when I was young — so you know we’re talking geological eons of time ago — there was a US bootleg company called “Trade Mark of Quality” whose product was (certainly, for the time) of almost professional levels of… Read More »A trademark of quality; or the smoking pig…

Length: 3 mins The use of the verb to “butcher” something always conjures up visions of crazed randomness. It seems to me to have implications of pure chance, of berserk warriors uncaring of their actions, merely using the weapons they have to hand,… Read More »The butcher as artist; or the art of butchery. Zip, zoop kids, zip zoop.

Length: 3 mins A scab is the external remains of damage caused; a visible reminder of a hurt inflicted. It fades away — sooner sometimes, later others —depending on the amount of flesh and skin you’ve lost but sometimes, the scar left behind… Read More »Strikes, food and the pain left by scabs

Length: < 1 min As long as Dad’s OK, eh? I found an old poster for Hormel’s SPAM; the palette is predominantly red. It’s the main tone and main colour used. Chosen no doubt, to help to punch up the bright red of the… Read More »Spam and Father…

Length: < 1 min This wonderful, rich, detailed, full of symbols and ideas, OLD picture was lofted my way by Val, earlier today. I’ve been looking at it, on and off, since then. It’s a pure visual delight with so much that bears repeated… Read More »Let me tell you a story. An old one…

Length: < 1 min This HBS series kicks off with the Linda Lindas exhorting someone to tell me a story I don’t know, In look and attitude and feel, they remind me a lot of the late 70s’ The Runaways, that same energy, that… Read More »Loving listening: Lisa Ling and the Linda Lindas

Length: 3 mins There’s no serpents to be found here in this Essex village of Canewdon although countering that lack of a newsworthy beast, it is, at least, situated on a hill; a high point towering over the surrounding flatlands, common to this interstitial… Read More »Praise Paglesham, stan Stambridge, carry a flame for Canewdon & root for Rochford

Length: < 1 min There’s a reason we champion rare breeds. There’s lots of reasons, truth be told, but one of the main ones, at least the one that came to mind yesterday, is the taste. The rare breeds are archetypes, a Platonic ideal… Read More »The Tamworth One didn’t die in vain.

Length: 3 mins Until recently, I’d not actually realised just quite how important — and guarded with strong-houses like silver coinage — were yer’ ordinary, common or garden, rabbits all the way from around the Roman invasion times, on through into the Middle… Read More »Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run…

Length: < 1 min The first time I ate real caviar, drank real Russian vodka — from glass bottles, aye, but unlabelled ones as this stuff was, I was told (proudly), real peasant style, home-made potato, smuggled hooch — ate smoked eel and other,… Read More »From Russia, with love.

Length: 2 mins Pronounced Liwer-po-stigh it’s a traditional Danish pork liver pâté often served hot on rye bread usually with some form of garnish. Served that, you can add crisp bacon and some pan fried mushrooms to the mix, or cold (as in… Read More »Those offal Danes & their Leverpostej