I'm very much in agreement with this. 400 years ago there wasnt much of a high street, and fixed shops tended to be for the wealthy. Markets were where most of us shopped until well into the C20th. Where they still exist, they are still big draws, as well as incubator spaces for retailers.

A thread on problems in how archaeological research is communicated to the public 👇😵‍💫

I had some thoughts on Bridgerton (I have not watched the latest series, btw, because I wanted to kill Daphne so hard in the first one). youtu.be/dsmIlgb1fPQ?...

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... This was a lot of fun and my GOD I love radio.

Hoorah! Hoorah! This is exactly what I hoped readers would say. ❤️

🤣🤣🤣 I have STRONG feelings.

🙌 (though apropos of a discussing on a historians whatsapp group I am in, I am a bit scared to emoji now)

It is a lovely sunny day here FINALLY and for more joy, mine and Kathy Hipperson's collaboration with The Food Museum is going great guns. Latest video here youtu.be/_snt5Th3a_M?... (I am having a lot of fun with these).

Today in Dorothy Hartley made it up world.... Clifton puffs (not made up per se, but lifted from Cassell's and then because she included them everyone following her decided they were canonical and then someone invented a story to justify this). Next up: Mrs Clements' Durham Mustard.

This is a brilliant piece of writing (and both jaw-dropping and darkly - at times - funny in equal measure ).

We made one for a TV thing once. Due to a variety of factors, let us not dwell, eh, it got gangrene.

Accidentally saw a review of High Street on Audible (I narrated it). Reviewer described me as 'like @lucyworsley.bsky.social on speed' but like it was a bad thing??? Considering adding it as a cover blurb.

A Friday night pic of a glass of wine, a cat called shrimp. Oh, and the brand new paperback edition of the Kitchen Cabinet book, a fabulous piece of work by @dranniegray with a foreword by me. Its publication took us a little by surprise because the hardback came out in 2021.

This is lovely to read - exactly what I wanted to accomplish with the format.

Apparently The Kitchen Cabinet #BBCTKC official compendium (which I wrote in 2021 and very much enjoyed) is out in paperback this year. Double woop from me as a) it's jolly good fun and b) means I continue an unbroken run of something releasing every year since, um, a WHILE. Buy from real shops etc.

A quick head's up for my monthly subscribers...The Secret British Food History Podcast has loads of new material: uncut interviews from my Burns Night specials (+ a bonus whisky tasting) AND the season 8 Easter Eggs featuring good folk such as: Jp McMahon, @dranniegray.bsky.social & Ivan Day

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.