Five great cheeses from just down the road.

OK time to confess. Nibbles may well be the death of me. I’ve never been able to resist them in all their unhealthy glory.

What makes a good cookbook a good cookbook gift?

The golden age of school dinners is a myth. Children will always want lunch boxes – so what can go in them that’s different without offending the lunchbox police.

Picnics are too often lard-based ordeals when they should be summer treats.

We’ve all sat at one time or another in a sad excuse for a pub garden with a fantastic view of several derelict sheds or far too close to the main road for comfort.

The perfect chip is one that someone has taken trouble over, thought about, created.

If you can’t get a decent restaurant offer in a recession then when can you? There’s a lot out there right now if you look for it.

Gadgets make cool gifts – so long as they work. So often pretty is also pretty useless. Good design is both practical and beautiful. Great design is cost-effective too.

There is rarely a day of my life when, at some stage, I don’t eat chocolate. I could go without most other things, but life without chocolate is not to be contemplated.