Category Archives: Writing

Physical versus mental effort

I once heard a story about a couple, let’s call them Claire and Mark. They lived together and they both worked (she earned more than he did) and they didn’t have any children. Claire felt she did almost all of … Continue reading

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Stitching together an alternative food policy

I have been thinking about an alternative food policy for the last few years. I am trying to put my finger on exactly what it is that is wrong at the moment (and there are many good things – cheap, … Continue reading

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Famine or Feast

In 2009, I wrote a blog about food called Famine or Feast. It resulted in my first published piece of journalism in a broadsheet – an article on English apples for The Guardian. However, during 2010, work and pregnancy got … Continue reading

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A working definition of good journalism

This week, I read the transcript of Lionel Barber’s evidence to the Leveson Enquiry, which he gave on 10 January. My own rough paraphrase: Accurate information, set in context. Multiple sources; at least 2 but preferably more, on or off … Continue reading

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2012 resolutions

New year, new year’s resolutions. Mine is to write daily. I threw a euro into St Bernard’s well in Fermoy on New Year’s Eve and made a wish. Even though 12 days have passed and this is my first paragraph, … Continue reading

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Guess when this was written

Guess: “You, sir, are a poor gamester. When you squeezed out the three small groceries here in Berkeley by virtue of your superior combination, you swelled out your chest, talked about efficiency and enterprise, and sent your wife to Europe … Continue reading

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Me & Jane

The only problem with box schemes and farmers (I’ve given up trying to decide about the apostrophe) markets is that cooking and eating can get a wee bit monotonous. I end up doing the same things over and over again. … Continue reading

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In Elizabeth David Country

We are in Elizabeth David country. I know Provençe was here long before she wrote about it, but I think the way that you experience a place is influenced by how you come across it, and I first came across … Continue reading

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The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

This is probably not the best book to read whilst staying in America. The description of what happens to meat as it is being processed, and the sneaky suspicion that some of these practices, somewhere, are continuing, makes you contemplate … Continue reading

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Hungry City by Carolyn Steel

I started reading this book a month ago; one of the reasons it has taken me so long to finish it is every time I pick it up it drives me into such a frenzy that I have to go … Continue reading

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