My Big Fat Greek cookbook

and just to reiterate our commitment to intelligentsia and good taste, (see the blog post 28th august) the library will not be putting in an double digit advance order for Peter Andre's sizzling new "family cookbook" for which he is receiving an estimated £1.5m. Apparently it will be a "single man's guide to keeping a family well fed with delicious and easy to prepare meals." Which family ? - and if you're a single man what are you doing anyway cooking for a family? doh

late summer reading and viewing

Since the last post, on tans sunbeds and kellogs i've had 2 weeks holiday...in ireland....without much sun. But in the meantime Mary Harney the beleaguered health minister has called for a complete ban on sunbeds in ireland. Also in my absense a related book Sunshine: why we love the sun has arrived in the library. Written by Robert Mighall he wants to know why does it make us happy, when did it become the essential summer holiday ingredient? It's a good summer read - 1 for the beach under the (sun) umbrella; witty, idiosyncratic, full of timely anecdotes. Not so easy to read in term of subject matter is Waste: Uncovering the global food scandal by Tristram Stuart a self confessed freegan......agh look it up yourself.












FIGURES
1.6m - the est. number of tons of food waste produced by British retailers annually.
5.4m - the est. number of tons of edible food British households throw away annually.
40% - the est. proportion of UK fruit&veg that supermarkets reject on cosmetic grounds.
40% - the est. proportion of salad that British households throw away.

To finish on a lighter note perhaps, we also saw a slew of good movies arrive over the summer including Ratatouille (prehaps one of the best foodie movies of all time) which i took home and savoured last night.
DIT - intelligentsia and good taste.

Pour out the sunshine

A very readable and informative article by Ester Addley in the Guardian on the social history of tanning and the dangers of sunbeds. How Britain fell in love with the tan. Amongst many of the things i learned was that J.H.Kellogg while not inventing Corn Flakes was busy developing the 1st sunbed or "incandescent light bath". As Richard here in the library remarked, it brings a whole different meaning to "SNAP CRACKLE and POP"

There has been a lot of serious debate recently about the carcinogenic dangers of uv, sunbeds, their overuse by many including children. One of the best places to check on current research and background would be on The Barbour Index which the library subscribes to. And if you're interested you can get their weekly briefings direct to your email. The Briefings are in 3 areas: Food Safety, H&S, and Environmental Health. In this weeks' Environmental there are articles on Pandemic preparedness, Improved drinking water quality, and sunbed risks which includes latest developments and links to other relevant sources. You have to sign up to the Briefings and the Barbour Index is one of those few library resources that you need a password to access - you'll have to contact the library for that. But it's worth the effort.