What the fashionable woman of 1888 was wearing to do her gardening. Illustration from the magazine, The Woman's World, edited by Oscar Wilde.

We had this fabulous lunch in Scala, Kefalonia recently. Stuffed aubergines and roasted peppers, and chicken souvlaki. Back in England now with all the rain - desperately wishing I was still there eating this meal.

My elephant garlic grew well this year. Here's a couple of the biggest heads, with a pound coin for scale (and to show I'm not cheating!).

A vending machine from 1898. Insert a penny in the slot and choose from hot chocolate, tea, or beef bouillon. The signs on the bikes are for the beef drink, made with Valtine Meat Globules.

Eclipsed by a brewery! I can think of worse. Enjoying a pint at the Three Tuns Brewery in Bishops Castle, Shropshire.

I'm delighted and honoured to have my book - The Cooking Colonel of Madras - recommended as "Further Reading" in such an important book as The Philosophy of Curry by Sejal Sukhadwala, published by the British Library.

As this is a new account for me (same handle as the other place) I thought I'd catch up by posting the cover and blurb from my previous book, The Cooking Colonel of Madras.

Another highlight from our Shropshire trip was Stokesay Castle. More a fortified manor house than a castle but amazing all the same. Here's the great hall, built in 1291.

Talking of Tipu Sultan, here's my photo of his Summer Palace in Bengaluru. From my visit to southern India in 2015 when I was researching my book: The Cooking Colonel of Madras.

Just back from a short break in Shropshire. The trip was organised around visiting the Clive Collection at Powys Castle. So glad I went - lots of fascinating artifacts. Here's the campaign tent of Tipu Sultan, "acquired" by Edward Clive.