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HP Sauce is a glorious thing. The French may have their five, gastronomic Mother Sauces but we in this sceptered isle have HP and that’s what counts. Because nobody wants a pool of hollandaise with their Full English. It first appeared on our dining tables in the late nineteenth century and has since grown to account for three-quarters of sales in our brown sauce market. Its story begins in 1884, when a Nottingham grocer, Frederick Gibson Garton invented the sauce in his pickling factory in New Basford (later also the home of Cussons Imperial Leather soap). It was a classic culinary product of Empire, with tomatoes, tamarind, dates, molasses and

‘Like a sea beast fished up from the depths, or a diver too suddenly hoisted, my veins threatened to burst from the fall in pressure. I had great anxiety and no means of relieving it […] And then it was that the Muse of Painting came to my rescue – out of charity and out of chivalry.’  So said Churchill in 1915 after the disaster that was Gallipoli. Salvaged by the Muse, Churchill found solace from the pressures of political life in art. Last week, another sea beast emerged from the depths, consoled this time not by a Muse (he does, however, like to paint) but by the Sirens of

When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at Holyrood House to watch a drive-in screening of the Disney film Cruella with NHS staff last month, the Daily Telegraph reported that the couple ‘paid tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh’ by travelling in one of his ‘beloved’ Land Rovers – which, as any Landy fan will tell you, was a long wheelbase station wagon in Bronze Green with glass ‘alpine lights’ in the roof and, unusually, a colour-co-ordinated hard top and bumper. Judging by the royal couple’s un-dishevelled appearance – he in a dark two-piece, white shirt, no tie; she in a belted, ankle-length coat of muted blue tartan

There’s a little fact about Frank Skinner that you might have heard before. That before his big television break, the future comic and Three Lions scribe had a rather different vocation: as an English teacher in an FE college. Throughout his time in the spotlight, it’s been one of those things that gets brought up every now and then as trivia. An interesting titbit on an otherwise familiar CV. Then, at the beginning of last year, Skinner decided to go back to his educational roots: and launch a poetry podcast. Okay, it isn’t quite a full return to the classroom. But it isn’t far off either – at least not

BBC One’s new jailhouse drama is surprisingly watchable. ‘Time’ had me itching in my seat. And not in a good way. As a former prison officer, I remember the ‘NATO standard’ woolly pulley worn by Stephen Graham’s character with no affection but at least his seems to fit, which is bad continuity. All chafing aside, Sunday’s opener was a harrowing masterpiece. Having advised TV production companies on prison dramas in the past, I am used to producers saying, ‘Yes, we understand that’s not what happens in the real world, Ian, but we are trying to tell a story.’ It is a mark of the genius of director Jimmy McGovern that he’s

After a dreary May filled with biblical proportions of rain, I’m relieved to be putting my umbrella away for a while and reaching for a summer hat instead. The classic Panama straw hat is a timeless and versatile summer accessory that looks good with almost any summer outfit, casual or smart. From garden parties to Centre Court at Wimbledon, it’s a summer season staple. Panama hats originate in Ecuador, where the traditional art of weaving them from toquilla straw was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2012, reflecting the unique skill, craft and cultural significance around their creation. I have always found straw hats a little tricky to

It’s all eyes on Cornwall today as the G7 summit kicks off, bringing the leaders of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan to Britain.  The various heads of government, having spent months in lockdown, will no doubt be brushing up on their small talk ahead of their various diplomatic meetings, with leaders’ spouses set to mingle under the watch of newly wed Carrie Johnson.  Should the policy debates prove too fraught here’s everything they’ll need to know to navigate the (somewhat) safer subject of their better halves and children: The Bidens, USA First Lady Dr Jill Biden will sit down to tea with Carrie Johnson ahead of the G7 summit. Whilst their policy interests may

This morning, as I was attempting to adjust my 17-year-old Audi’s LED clock which was 11 hours behind as a result of a flat battery, the sage words of F. Scott Fitzgerald sprang to mind: ‘Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me…..’ Which succinctly explains why the very rich couple who commissioned Rolls-Royce to build them a bespoke car from the ground up didn’t have to cut corners with a digital clock. Instead, they asked the designers at the proudly British, German-owned marque to collaborate with Swiss watch house Bovet 1822 to make not just one ‘timepiece’ to grace the car’s ‘fascia’

House prices are increasing at their fastest rate for seven years, jumping by as much as 10.9 per cent according to the Nationwide in their most recent survey. Is now the time to stay put and extend rather than go through the hassle of moving into a supply constrained rising market? And if you do extend, is it guaranteed that you’ll add value? Adding an annex or a loft extension, according to Shawbrook Bank, a home improvement loan provider, indicates that you’ll add 5 per cent to the value of a home and separate research by Nationwide suggests that 20 per cent of the value can be added if you build in