I like mustard and it seems for once I am a GOOD GIRL as a new study suggests that wholegrain mustard is good for you and that 10g – or a heaped teaspoon – eaten every day, can help to achieve a healthy blood glucose and/or cholesterol level.  The research, presented at the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST), was carried out by Tracklements in association with Cardiff Metropolitan University.  The results show that 86% of participants in the study saw a significant drop in their blood glucose and/or cholesterol over a 12-week period

But hey. listen…  wholegrain mustard isn’t just good for you, it’s really nice and has been used throughout history with mentions in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman texts.  The Romans, in fact,  introduced mustard into Britain. They felt it had medicinal qualities as well as making unappetising meat palatable and most travelled  with a pouch of mustard seed to plant, Once settled, they would grind the mustard seed, crushing and mixing it calling it Mustum Ardens, (Fiery Must) and that my friends is how we reach the word Mustard.

Sadly in the 18th century wholegrain mustard lost favour, and flavour no doubt,  as mustard flour took its place. That is, until Tracklements launched their first wholegrain mustard in 1970 and I for one, am glad they did. Tracklements wholegrain is similar to the Roman forerunners, 100% natural and if one keeps an eye on research likely to do you good too.

I have tried and tested it, ooh yes I have, and all I can says is the Oliver refrain, Please Sir, may I have some  more. It is robust, delicious, and if it does me good too, it makes me feel virtuous. This feeling is not  necessarily something one would equate with  Margaret Graham, so I bask in it.

Try it with practically anything, scrambled eggs, avodado, ham, in yoghurt, mayonnaise… You get it, give it a try.

For more information: Tracklements

@tracklements #tastytracklements #LifeandSoulofthePantry

As an ardent coffee drinker – best not disturb me before I’ve had my morning shot of caffeine, I was interested to hear about the concept of burning of  Coffee Logs in domestic wood burners and multi-fuel stoves. It seems to be an  a step towards the phase-out of coal and is also more sustainable than burning wood.  Not only do Coffee Logs burn 20% hotter than kiln dried wood, but they also avoid the hefty carbon footprint created by imported wood logs.

I have to admit that having ground my beans, slurped my  coffee, then put the used grounds in the bin, (as they are not suitable for compost I was told) it seems such a sensible idea to recycle them,  though there is not, as yet a collection point for domestic drinkers. Will there ever be, without creating a carbon footprint? That is for more knowledgeable minds to discover, not mine.

Coffee Logs are produced by recycling used coffee grounds collected from nationwide coffee chains, independent coffee shops, cafes and restaurants around the UK, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.  The UK alone drinks 95 million cups of coffee a day, resulting in a quarter of a million tonnes of waste which would otherwise go to landfill or other inefficient disposal methods.  By recouping and recycling the coffee grounds into Coffee Logs, bio-bean generates 80% less greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfill.

The coffee logs are available to buy in a number of major outlets including Tesco, B&Q and Waitrose priced at £8.50 a bag.

You can read more about this thought provoking idea here: https://www.diy.com/departments/bio-bean-coffee-logs-8kg/5060599680002_BQ.prd

Book of the Week grandstands A BRUTAL SEASON by Judi Daykin, the third instalment in the DS Sara Hirst spine tingling series  Daykin’sJudi’s UNDER VIOLENT SKIES — book 1 in the DS Sara Hirst series — was longlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasy New Blood Dagger Award in 2021.

So best not to  miss the gripping new book in the award-nominated Detective Sara Hirst series.

It’s carnival week in Cromer.  The body of Daisy Shaw, the Carnival Queen, is discovered in a back alley, stretched out on the cobbles.  Her long blonde hair lies matted and dishevelled around her head, her fingers clutch a sparkly plastic tiara.  The atmosphere in Cromer soon grows nasty. The town turns against the outsiders. The roads are closed. The town descends into chaos

Can Sara solve the case before anyone else gets hurt? 99p/ 99C

We all like to receive invitations, but to Murder?

An invitation to Murder by Norman Russell, out this week.  99p/99c

The Baron of Renfield Hall wants to marry his daughter off to a rich American, but she is already in love with Alan, a penniless nobody — to the glee of Alan’s greedy uncle, Guy, who believes he’s uncovered a secret in Renfield’s past.  Tensions run high until Guy turns up dead. A convenient coincidence? Detectives French and Edwards are on the case.
Murder on Sea by Jane Adams. What a title, it attracted me immediately – it sounds fun, if murder can be.

Meet Rina Martin, a retired actress with a taste for tea, gardening and crime solving.
She played a TV sleuth for years, but now she has to do it for real.  99p/99c “Miss Marple fans will find a lot to like.” Publishers Weekly

Are you looking for a bit of nostalgia to sink your teeth into this weekend? Well this might do it for you.

This weekend Joffe are bringing you Paul D. Gilbert’s Sherlock Holmes mystery THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA for free. The book will be FREE from Friday 12 November till Monday 15 November.
Whether you’re a fan of the great consulting detective, or simply love exquisitely plotted historical mysteries, it might be an idea to grab your free copy of THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA before it’s too late.

Autumn 1898. London. A scandal in the making.  Dockworkers are stunned by the arrival of the Matilda Briggs, a long overdue tea cutter returning from Calcutta. The dust-covered vessel has been abandoned by its crew, and seems to have drifted into a vacant berth guided by an unseen hand.  Sherlock Holmes and his faithful Watson are called to divest the Matilda Briggs of its secrets, only to be warned off. Then a young man appears at 122B Baker Street with a mysterious packet from his missing father – who disappeared journeying to London from Calcutta. A confounding conspiracy seems set to boil over.  What was in the cargo besides innocent tea chests? And is the world finally ready for this tale to be told?

Please check this offer is live and available in your location before downloading.

And now for a peek behind the scenes at Joffe Books.   KATE LYALL GRANT:   PUBLISHING DIRECTOR  tells Frost Magazine about herself and her role.

WHAT I DO
Having joined Joffe Books on 8th November, I’m the newest member of the team.  My role is to spread the word amongst the literary agent and crime fiction community about all the exciting things we’re doing at Joffe, and to acquire brilliant new authors for the list, with particular emphasis on the American market, where we are actively looking to expand.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2022
I’m looking forward to finding the next big thing in mystery fiction, and to acquiring at least one Kindle Top Ten bestselling author.

FAVOURITE BOOKS
Most recently, I’ve loved The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton: a subversive and highly ingenious take on the classic country house murder mystery; Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: a wonderfully atmospheric love story, coming-of-age novel and intriguing murder mystery all rolled into one; and Girl A by Abigail Dean: very dark but utterly gripping, with a surprising twist at the end.

Lots more goodies on Joffe Books here

“will delight audiences with its endearing characters”

To bill something as ‘a comic triumph’ on the flyer is, perhaps, setting yourself up for a fall. This comedy doesn’t fall, but it does stumble around quite a lot.

Two characters trapped together (almost – they could leave, but they don’t) unwittingly help each other in this predictable rom-com. Rose wants a baby but doesn’t want a man about the place. Adam is appalled by the idea of being tied down but needs somewhere to live… let the shenanigans commence!

Jacoba Williams and Derek Murphy play the unbelievably hapless couple who are completely mismatched but destined to fall in love. It is their amiability that keeps the play going, their chemistry that holds the interest.

The set – superbly designed by Humphrey Jaeger – is reminiscent of a farce, with three doors to have fun with. Sadly, they are not used for humour. So much of the script and the direction feels timid, as though holding back. Jokes are missed, action just slightly mis-timed. The whole production is off-kilter and lacks confidence, when there is obviously so much potential on show. Maybe a run is just what it needs, allowing the whole thing to find its feet and earn the self-labelled ‘triumph’.

Love Match highlights the difference between a laugh and a smile. I enjoyed this play. Everybody in the audience did. But I didn’t love it. And I so much wanted to.

A few glaring mistakes in it can be so easily rectified – for instance, is Adam meant to teach Rose the waltz incorrectly on purpose? [He’s not leading as he has her to believe, he’s actually in the woman’s hold…] Can he really play the guitar? Not on this evidence.

Once confidence grows, this production will delight audiences with its endearing characters and we may even forgive the bizarre driving scene…

Photography Molly Manning Walker

Performances until Saturday 27th November 2021   Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm

Saturday Matinee at 4pm

Location Chiswick Playhouse, 2 Bath Road, London W4 1LW    Nearest tube: Turnham Green (District and Piccadilly Lines)

Tickets Tickets are £22 (£19.50 for concessions)   Via the Box Office on 020 8995 6035

Or online at www.chiswickplayhouse.co.uk

Director Lesley Manning    Writer Andy Walker

Running Time 75 minutes (no interval)

Twitter @chiswickplay

The Crown and Anchor pub can best be described as built of brick, cosy and offering real ales, and well kept wines. But… more… it is here you will find classic pub grub, a restaurant where you’ll be spoiled for choice,  and all around, the friendliest atmosphere you could imagine.

Situated in Sowerby which is closely linked to Thirsk and known as Soreb in the Domesday Book, there is parking at the back, and outside tables front and back. Sowerby is indeed lucky to have landlords Kirsty and Miles to take over from the popular Tony, Debbie, Tim and Nadia.

Best of all, it was no outsider who moved  in , one with grandiose ideas to change this heart of the village into some urban fashionplate. Believe it or not, Miles  is not only Sowerby born and bred, he actually lived next door, and longed one day to take over the Crown and Anchor, and – readers – he and Kirsty did it .

The Crown and Anchor serves pub grub in the bar. I had a fabulous steak pie and the vegetables, which I admit to being picky about, were al dente, just right, not overcooked even by a second. There is a restaurant with an excellent menu – and both the bar and restaurant are open for lunch from Wednesday and in the evenings.

The restaurant also  hosts  private occasions. Just ask Milesand Kirsty and they will see what can be done.

There is a pool table in the semi partitioned bar, and we ate pub grub in one end,  I had  a good, and cool pino grigio and Dick an ale. As we ate we heard the dulcet commentary of a cricket match on the TV in the other bar and all around the murmur of a relaxed clientale – all very relaxing; the epitome of a village pub. As someone said as he was leaving. ‘I wish this was our local.’ Lucky lucky us because for us, it is.

Sowerby is a gorgeous village with the lines of Roman roads still visible in the fields to the east and north of the village along the Green Lane. It was called Soreb in the Domesday Book but Sowerby it became when the Normans landed in Britain. It means Farmstead by the Muddy Ground in Norse, which ,let’s face it with Cod Beck a stone’s throw, is pretty accurate as the fields do get a bit water logged.

Nearby, just down Blakey lane, and off to the right is Pudding Pie Hill, a barrow in which the remains of a Saxon warrior and two other skeletons were discovered along with cremated bones, various artefacts and coins.  And there’s also the ancient Packhorse Bridge, but… No.  Tell you what, just come, walk, look, and lunch at the Crown and Anchor, meet Miles, Kirsty and the rest of the village. You won’t regret it.

Ah, one more thing, James Herriot lived in Sowerby along Topcliffe Road. Herriot is of course the author of the hilarious but thought provoking and hugely bestselling series All Creatures Great and Small. Oh, and another thing: The Yorkshire Vets series has also introduced us to Julian Norton and Peter Wright who both live and work nearby.

How can you resist? Come, enjoy the Crown and Anchor, 138 Front Street Sowerby, Thirsk. YO7 1JN 01845 522448

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