Allow negativity in and benefit from it — “There is a crack a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in.” (Leonard Cohen) In 2008, film-maker Mike Leigh surprised critics and audiences alike when his movie Happy-Go-Lucky was released. Here was an irony-free film with a main character who was chirpiness personified. Strange, many thought, when this…

Junction-spotting. I wonder if Ewan McGregor would be free for the film version? — In the same way some people (admittedly, mostly men) are into “spotting” all kinds of rolling stock (and thus, become “trainspotters”), I have become an avid “junction-spotter”. Finding a good junction might sound like an easy job, but there are various elements to consider: road markings (or lack thereof), signs…

A spring-inspired recipe leaves this carnivore scraping the plate (and licking it when no one’s watching) — I sang the praises of Meera Sodha’s contributions to The Guardian’s Feast supplement in a recent post. Now it’s the time to celebrate the cooking of Ixta Belfrage (why have I got the feeling she’s got a Basque name?), who sat in for Meera during the latter’s sabbatical. There’s one…

An English garden-scented recipe — “Between ten and fifteen elderflower heads, zest of a lemon, sugar, and of course, vodka.” It’s not the first time my girlfriend’s been stopped by strangers when they see us collecting elderflowers. This time it’s a couple of smiling women, out on a stroll on a warm spring afternoon in…

“I’m proud of my immigrant background” — I had just finished my Felix project shift and was on my way back to Urban Locker in Old Street, when I turned right into Brick Lane. Right there, on the corner of Hopetown Street and Brick Lane, I was faced with a wall-sized, eye-catching mural. You couldn’t miss it…

Peanut bean stew with tofu and roast garlic — One of the advantages of being an omnivore is that I get to enjoy the best of both the meat-eating and the vegetarian- and plant-based worlds. Talk about being lucky, This is the reason why for the last couple of years recipes by the likes of Meera Sodha have become…

The times, they are a-changin’ (or are they?) — “He’s toast,” she stated matter-of-factly as we both looked at the graffiti. “No, he ain’t,” I retorted. “Who they gonna choose? The Tories are not stupid. Starmer might be dull, but they know he’ll give Liz or Rishi a thumping any day of the week. Better stick with the clown…

’Tis the season to show some flesh with pictures on it — I’m woken up by twitches on my feet muscles. Sudden jerks that jolt me out of my deep sleep in the middle of the night. It’s not the first time this happens. I’m beginning to think that I’m overdoing it with the running, cycling and walking. Not that I’ll stop…