In this gloomy economic climate as one multinational after another announces staggering losses, guess what company has not merely survived but is reporting a staggering increase in business – McDonald’s. The fast food chain started in 1966 by Ronald McDonald has announced plans to open even more outlets this year.
Despite the lambasting McDonalds have had [...]

What is it about oats that makes them such a wonder food, if I don’t have my bowl of porridge for breakfast in winter or fruit muesli in Summer – I seem to get a craving for something snacky and sweet around 11:30am in the morning. All my grandchildren love porridge, Joshua and Lucca eat [...]

Romantic sounding menus, lots of red roses, twinkling candles, a bottle of fizz – hotels and restaurants are using all their ingenuity to tempt us to throw caution to the wind, forget the blues and celebrate. 
My students laugh when I tell them to get out there and find a fine strong farmer with a parcel [...]

There’s a big pot of citrus peel bubbling away on my cooker in my kitchen. The whole house smells of marmalade and I love it. The aroma of freshly cooked Seville oranges brings me back almost 40 years when I made my first marmalade. I was so proud of my few pots of glistening preserve [...]