Another day, another few hours spent fulminating against the @britishlibrary.bsky.social 's STUPID continued insistence on accepting ebooks in lieu of actual books when a) you can't access them due to the cyber attack - STILL; and b) the system they used was always shite anyway.

Remarkably regressive (and frankly appaling - not to memtion idiotic) recruitment policies from @trinityhallcamb.bsky.social here.

Hard agree:

Being able to sneak in and watch (and later consume the results of) the HCP kitchens christmas events remains one of the high points of my costumed days. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I reinterpreted the 1950s clown cake.

Am overjoyed to finally share that @historicalhippo.bsky.social & I have been working with The Food Museum in Stowmarket on a new series of videos. Perfect for anyone reeling from the imminent demise of Mrs Crocombe. youtu.be/PNBu-9xkkow?...

Obvs real bookshops are infinitely, inarguably, better than bloody ama*on. But it wouid be remiss of me not to repost this ---

My guest presenter slot on BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme was pick of the week! Well chuffed. -- and for more festive food content, The Kitchen Cabinet's xmas special aired today. Both available wherever you get your podcasts from + BBC Sounds.

Obvs I forget to say that as it ia xmas, don't forget my book is VITAL and an excellent stocking filler. And not to late to buy it. From a bookshop. Bookshops are great.

Guerilla signed books in @dauntbookspub.bsky.social while pissed after lunch with agent. This is exactly what I wanted my life to look like when I was 9 and desperate to be a writer one day.

I have just noticed that @foxlanebooks.bsky.social has At Christmas We Feast - SIGNED - for the bargain price of £6.99. Contains the best port wine chocolate recipe you'll ever find, plus quality ranting and a lot of historical FACT. www.foxlanebooks.co.uk/product-page...

Coming up this Friday.... me deciding on this year's xmas dinner in real time, with help from a wide range of people, exploring Christmases past, present and future....

Exciting things afoot @ The Food Museum with @historicalhippo.bsky.social and self rising forth once again.... Fans of Mrs Crocombe still mourning her demise, fear not! Onwards and upwards.

Everyone needs six puddings. At least.

The 1950s called...... with ideas for cakes. No wonder my parents were traumatised by their childhoods.

I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight www.cityam.com/the-british-...

I can report that getting covid in 2025 is still really shitty and still involves cancelling all your work because just making a cup of tea makes you need a lie down. On the plus side, I watched all of Riot Women, which otherwise would have taken me weeks.

In my experience no.s 5-8 tend to coexist and are where I am at rn. Mainly 8, but it is not linear.

Well done to everyone who remembered to vote. Once again the Restore Trust group were seen off. Let's do it all again next year.

The last couple of days have been brilliant - meeting the inestimable Tom Herbert of The Long Table in Cirencester, doing a thought-provoking event with Mary Portas for Ciren History Festival (which is just brilliant - kudos to the organisers) and curating my very own display case for the museum.

All of this. I keep telling @adobe.com to fuck off as it offers helpfully to summarise everything from my own books to train tickets, but there's no 'stop draining the world's resources for nothing good' button. It's like the Microsoft paperclip got supersized VERY BADLY. ETC.

Mild Monday Pimpathon: next week I am in Cirencester for a Past/Future of the High St discussion, with Mary Portas, as part of Cirencester History Festival (I am getting a hair cut for this, because Portas still has really good hair). cirencesterhistoryfestival.org/event/mary-p...

My take on the Lenny Henry reparations news item today profcorinnefowler.substack.com/p/reparation...

Ok. But are there any downsides?

Anyone who has written cookery books (or published recipes where people can comment) will now be nodding furiously and saying uh huh, and 'that's a very measured response'

A rather wonderful jolly to Jersey for Jersey Festival of Words. Great food, a chilly but highly invigorating swim, live music and a really engaged audience. Books and book people are wonderful.

Happy paperback release day to me! This beauty is now out, and available in all good bookshops and also some which you really should avoid because, especially given the topic, your best bet is to toddle off to your (or someone else's) high street to shop at an actual shop.

This is not OK www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/how...

One of the effects of writing The Bookshop, The Draper... is that I've become even more anti-shopping and even keener to support businesses keeping quality craftsmanship alive and doing very nice things very well. Bye bye my beloved Doc Martens, hello Solevair, based in Northamptonshire. 1/

A few online spaces are still available on the what can be done to help save our #pubs event. Event is free & open to those who work in pubs, those who campaign for them, or anyone who is passionate about #pubs. Contact me for more details

More pudding content. This one's lamb steak and kidney and was very nice thank you yes please none of this death of the pudding crap around here.

Early modern breakfast: pain perdu / poor knights + white puddings (sweet, the best one made with macaroons) and a bonus rice pudding, all in guts. #foodhistory #skystorian

I'll be on the Beeb tonight trying not to say that the whole DEATH OF THE BRITISH PUDDING thing might be a little bit contrived so that English Heritage can publicise a baking book. On the other hand... entirely coincidentally I made C17 white puddings. They were not entirely a success.

A box of bird feet, neatly labelled.

It's a terrible picture, but I can report that Elizabeth Raffald's heavily plagiarised 'to barbecue a leg of pork' is incredible. (It's 90% in the sauce, and of that, quite a lot lies in the quality of your lime pickle). Obviously it's a complete and utter bastardisation of the original concept 1/

New event! Celebrating the paperback launch of The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: www.waterstones.com/events/an-ev...

Horribly true. Usually in my field ends up being Some Victorian Bloke Down The Pub. Or Dorothy bloody Hartley.

This is a proper good book and a cracking offer- get ye to the interwebs-->

Anyone out there know Vancouver? (& Vancouver Island). I've got a holiday coming up and am keen for restaurant or other eating recommendations (other stuff too, but I'm realistic about my interests which centre on books, food, swimming, food and food. And ice cream. But also food).

The 1980s called.... (This is a pear salad, apparently. Supposed to look like bunches of grapes. Cream cheese is involved. Yes.)

That the incredible cognitive power of the human brain and body takes only 2000 calories a day to fuel, and occupies quite considerably less than the space of Manhattan, suggests there is something catastrophically wrong with the design of AI.

I love crepes suzette. Particularly enjoy the ferocity with which a very tiny group of late C19th chefs argued over who created it and who it was named for. Will we ever know? 'Course not. (My money is on Escoffier, but that might just be because I rather adore him).

Solid work here. If we can branch out into Emma, Mrs Elton would be all over Mumsnet, especially the politicians eating biscuits stuff. The level of opaque acronym in her life would be immense.

V pleased with this. V pleased indeed.

The end of June is in sight, hoorah! Poss should have posted this self publicity alert sooner, but - June. Anyway, here's what's left: -what makes a classic @ Fortnums (tonight) -Austen & ice cream in Dorchester (tomoz) -Chalke HistFest (Fri/Sat) So if you're keen to tell me trifle is OK etc, come!

🍴 Food History at Chalke. Starter: Ancient loaves to stargazy pies with @neilbuttery.bsky.social Main: @dranniegray.bsky.social shops the historic high street Dessert: Royal recipes + scandalous suppers with Tom Parker Bowles & Annie Gray It’s history you can almost taste: chalkefestival.com

🚨 CHALKE SPECIAL🚨 📖 That elegant old cookbook? It was more lifestyle mag than meal planner. @dranniegray.bsky.social unpacks aspirational food culture at @chalkefestival.bsky.social . Listen now 🎧 pod.fo/e/2d8afd Tickets: www.chalkefestival.com #Chalke2#Chalke2025 #HistoryLovers #AmazingHistory

🚨 @CHALKE SPECIAL🚨 🇮🇳 Curry powder on the shelves in 1711? Believe it. At @chalkefestival.bsky.social , @dranniegray.bsky.social busts myths about British cuisine with spicy facts. Listen now 🎧 pod.fo/e/2d8afd Tickets: www.chalkefestival.com #Chalke2#Chalke2025 #HistoryLovers #AmazingHistory

Ealier today BUT ALSO ON BBC SOUNDS.

🚨 CHALKE SPECIAL🚨 Discover the truth behind British cuisine at the @chalkefestival.bsky.social ! Join renowned food historian @dranniegray.bsky.social to debunk long-standing myths about historical food. Listen now 🎧 pod.fo/e/2d8afd #Chalk#Chalke2025 #HistoryLovers #LiveInHistory #AmazingHistory