Two great chocolate mousse recipes feature in my world tour cookbook and I used the simplest (just chocolate and eggs) for this summer party. Friends were with me to celebrate two very mature birthdays and at least four wedding anniversaries (from…
Even being totally blind for over 20 years, the prospect of a guide dog was never persuasive. A warm, cuddly companion who could give me new freedom to roam was very attractive. I could bear the costs if the hound…
Bottling is the order of the day: tomatoes, damsons and even green beans! Tomatoes are easy: wash, remove stalks, cut in half, pack tightly into a preserving jar with a couple of teaspoons each sea salt, thyme leaves, a teaspoon…
I don’t often get incensed but was listening to a glibly naïve and patronising piece on the BBC Radio 4 “Today” programme about the million people who decided not to go back to work after Covid. They’re part of the…
The sous-chef has just extracted his summer harvest from the hives. The trick is detailed preparation and delicate choreography: clearing bees from the honey boxes (known as supers), lifting wooden frames of sealed comb to a special tray for removing…
I spent three very happy years in Naples, Italy, as the newest Women’s Royal naval Service Officer (WRNS) around the time of the 1980 earthquake. Michael Dibden’s super detective story, “Cosi Fan Tutti” captures the vibrancy and vigour of the…
Officially on the “Speaker Circuit” this week (see the #YesSheCan website). I’ve loved being in front of an audience all my life: from the Angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary for school and church Nativity plays before I was 11, performing in school…
I’ve been working in the disability field for over 20 years (www.pennymelvillebrown.com/disability-dynamics) but a recent study shows that nothing has substantially changed! The excellent and very thorough research undertaken by University College London here reveals that the employment prospects of…
The Baking Blind mission has always been to showcase the work ambitions and aspirations, competences, and capabilities of people with disabilities. Too often we face the fears of employers. They are fearful of saying the wrong thing, embarrassing themselves or…
Yes, I agree, it should be trades-people but it scanned better this way. I was complaining about the demise of the long cherished cooker (now revitalised) but also the men and women who helped for decades are disappearing as they…
