prue leith
Bliss on Toast
Quick, easy, comforting and delicious suppers
Rumpole of the Bailey by David Hensley. John Mortimer’s daughters are bringing him back – as a woman
revived – by Emily and Rosie Mortimer, daughters of his creator, Sir John Mortimer. The new Rumpole will be a woman. But what will she be called? Horatia – rather than Horace – Rumpole? Here’s hoping she will have a husband version of Rumpole’s wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed. Latin scholars always liked the idea of that name – one of the few examples of a gerundive in English. Please let He Who Probably Won’t Be Obeyed appear in the new programme. What is a Coval? Anyone can have a Coval – a natural high that suddenly appears out of the blue. You can’t predict them, make them or know when they are going to happen. It may be an autumn day; you could be alone or with friends.
The first authenticated Coval was experienced in Great Baddow, Essex, in 1970. Two old schoolfriends felt a strange feeling of wellbeing. It was a sunny day – all seemed right with the world. It must have a name, they thought, walking along Coval Lane. Prosaic activities can herald this phenomenon – making a sandwich while listening to the radio, or dressing for an evening out. Coval-seekers need to be patient, as a Coval cannot be created or replicated. This mysterious mood change is a law until itself – and as old as mankind. Do write to editorial@theoldie.co.uk with your own Covals. In 1914, Princess Mary, George V’s daughter was just 17. And yet she determined to
Ripe Brie, sweet chilli jam and blackberries on toasted rye
send a Christmas present to all those in uniform. A new book, ‘For Every Sailor Afloat, Every Soldier at the Front’: Princess Mary’s Christmas Gift, 1914, tells the moving tale. By 1919, 2.7 million servicemen had received one of the handsome brass boxes, stamped with her profile. The boxes, contained tobacco – little chance of our boys
getting that sort of present these days.
Princess Mary’s Christmas gift, 1914. Allies’ names appear on the box’s edge
STOP PRESS: New Oldie cartoon book Buy one copy for £8.95 and get £2 off every subsequent copy To order your copies, go to www.theoldie.co.uk/readers-corner/shop FREE POSTAGE AND PACKING IN UK
‘…and here are a few suggestions of topics to chat about while we process your order, madam’
Overseas deliveries: £5 base postage for deliveries to Europe, £8 for deliveries outside Europe and then £5 for every subsequent book.
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