One wonders how many bottles of champagne have been drunk in Oxford colleges over the last 350 years. Probably millions, without the students or dons ever considering how the clever little bubbles got there. Yet it was Oxford men who…
Published in 'Petits Propos Culinaires 120 - Essays and notes on food, cookery and cookery books on 4th August 2021 Good Question.. and one that has raised several eyebrows in the past. Champagne is a region in North Eastern France…
Most of the suppliers and growers used by SOL are in Somerset with a scattering in Cornwall, Dorset, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Devon and Wiltshire. “The county of Somerset, commonly called Somersetshire, is a large and plentiful County, the soil is very…
Like many people I was saddened to hear of the recent death of John Fowles the novelist who lived in Lyme Regis. Over the years I had met him on many occasions usually at his home. You dropped in when…
James Crowden explores the wonderful world of perry and perry pears. For many people early summer heralds long drawn out evenings, picnic parties by the river, weddings and outdoor jazz concerts. Local strawberries are just in season, the air is…
Do the names Manaccan Primrose, Breadfruit, Captain Broad, Cornish Gilliflower, Colloggett Pippin, Cornish Mother, Queenies, Ben’s Red, Tommy Knight and Tregonna King mean anything to you? No they are not racehorses nor even fishing boats but Cornish apples. Everybody raves…
James Crowden investigates the enticing world of 'real' cider. Ten years ago if you admitted to being a cider drinker people would have assumed that you were either a teenager in a bus shelter or a farm worker on your…
Westcountry writer James Crowden looks at some of the problems of fighting an air war in Afghanistan After weeks of bombing in Afghanistan it is debatable that the air war is being won. There have been so many own goals…
Feature written for the Somerset Life Magazine October 2001. Nobody can write about Somerset without mentioning orchards and cider farms. They are so much part of the landscape and history of the county that to ignore them is a criminal…
From the Western Morning News, September 2001. After the tragic events in New York last week, the Somerset writer James Crowden looks at the wider historical issues that surround any potential retaliation against Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan. It doesn’t…