A juvenile sparrowhawk resting on the bait box beneath the birdfeeders. Must’ve seen something tasty! What a delightful surprise.

Potato puffs, Burnt Hill Herb Co.’s beetroot-cured smoked trout pâté, trout roe, radish and pickled shallot.

Made a trout bowl.

An early one this year.

@adrianedmondson.bsky.social Have just devoured ‘Berserker!’ in under 24 hours. What a splendid memoir it is. As a Yorkshire-born chef, (and hobby drummer), it hit so many notes, and brought me to tears and fits of laughter in equal measure. Thank you!

Dishes from the 2010s, when I still had my mojo. These days, I don’t know. Definitely not as much of a perfectionist as I once was.

A reminder: please, this year, if you’re celebrating Burns’ Night, make sure that your mature haggis is locally-caught in the wild, and not farmed.

Can’t stress this enough. Too many flavourless Chilean haggis flooding the domestic market.

#BurnsNight #protectthewildhaggis

Very occasionally, I miss the ol’ restaurant game. Very occasionally.

Giving this a spin. The icy production and sparseness always makes me think of it as a cold-weather album. Their finest hour, I think. #NowPlaying

Just finished ‘What We Do In The Shadows’. A more perfect finale you couldn’t wish for. Hilarious and a little heartbreaking. And the alternate endings (in ‘extras’ on Disney+) are absolutely tremendous. What a superb show.

My favourite albums of 2024, in no particular order.
Kim Deal, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Metz, Floating Points, Lia Kohl, Squarepusher, Field Music, Chat Pile, and The Cure.

Close calls: Tyler, The Creator, Ride, The Smile, The Wolfgang Press, English Teacher, Rafael Toral and The Jesus Lizard.

Back at the Brudenell, tonight enjoying the music of Battles. Hope they do ‘Atlas’!

Bittersweet tonight. Bidding adieu (hoping it’s au revoir) to Canada’s finest, the mighty Metz, at the Brudenell Social Club. I’ve seen them every time they’ve played the Bru, and they are always unfailingly magnificent.

Tonight’s supper, the best thing to do to a potato. That’s right. It’s saucisse and aligot night. #aligot

I bloody love the snow. Never fails to fill me with childish glee.

A few scenes from the annual pilgrimage to Maison Bras last week. Exceptional as always. (www.bras.fr)

A cautionary poem from French wordle today.

Some recent ceramic stuff.