I’ve noticed something funny about men in knitting patterns of a certain era. There seem to be some set poses you had to perfect if you wanted to be a male knitwear model in the 1930s – 1950s. Forget “Blue Steel”, these are the signature poses chaps needed to learn: Staring at Nothing You could […]
Reading for Self Education – My Mission to be “Well-Read”
I don’t have an English degree and I didn’t go to Oxford or Cambridge. I definitely have a chip on my shoulder about it. But in my head, books are always the answer. And I want to know everything. My cousin has kindly lent me the books from her English degree and I am reading […]
The Joy of Finding Out What Happens Next
Last weekend something rather random happened to me and I have been mulling it over since. Between visiting friends and relatives Mister Deadpan and I went camping in a field next to a very, very rural old fashioned pub. The sort where your beer is poured from a jug and you can have a beer […]
Why I am Not a Book Monogamist
There seem to be two types of readers. Those who read one book at a time, and those who don’t. I definitely fall in the latter category. I tend to have about ten books on the go at any one time. People often say to me, “I can’t do that, I’d get the characters and […]
How to Read More
Assuming that you want to read more of course. You might be completely happy with your book consumption rate. Me? I worry about all the important books out there that I might not read before I die. Then I read another Sweet Valley High novel. But if you’d like to read more, here are my […]
My Most Read Authors
A little while ago, I noticed that my Goodreads account had a “Most Read Authors” title under their tools. I clicked on it, and smiled. I bet anyone who does this smiles because all your old favourites will be there, muddled together like chips and chocolate. Here are mine. In Joint Tenth Place Six […]
Vintage Experiments in Oven Cleaning
I love the idea of vintage cleaning. It seems like a way of making cleaning fun. Not that the old ways were more fun, just that experimenting is fun. This is my cooker. Doesn’t look too bad on the outside. On the inside however, this was what it looked like: And because I […]
Prawn Cocktail Crisp Books – Why I Read Them
Books are like food. We all have different tastes, different appetites. Some books are like eating a fancy five course French dinner where you can’t even understand the menu but you enjoy every perfectly-cooked morsel. Others are like lamb chops and mashed potato. Familiar, cosy, filling. I have a particular taste I crave. An itch […]
Breast of Lamb Stuffed with Eggs and Non-Veal Stuffing
I have a real soft spot for Marguerite Pattern. My first vintage cookbook was one of hers. Here’s a recipe I made from her “Everyday Cook Book” first published in 1968 (but this copy is an impression from 1980). As soon as I saw the photo I knew I wanted to make it. It’s […]
Magazine Adverts – Making Women Feel Insecure Since Forever
It is a human instinct to try to prevent bad things from happening. We can predict a potential unpleasant future and do something about it. It is not a new idea that adverts capitalize on this. I took a quick look at some adverts from three women’s magazines from my shop stock. One from 1939, […]