Britons have insisted they will ‘go insane’ cooped up in their homes for weeks as Boris Johnson today announced a three-week coronavirus lockdown. Mr Johnson plunged the UK into a lockdown as he ordered the immediate closure of all shops selling non-essential goods, as well as playgrounds and churches in a bid to stop the … Read more
My mother messages from Italy with a tiny but telling anecdote that sums up the difficulty of the situation. The assistant manager of her local Carrefour Express in Turin (like Tesco Express, only with nicer wine), is being driven to distraction by little old ladies roaming endlessly around his supermarket. He keeps telling them to … Read more
Margaret Bartlett, 77, is one 142 UK holidaymakers left in limbo on the Grand Princess off the Californian coast, where 21 passengers have tested positive for the virus A grandmother has complained of going ‘stir crazy’ on board a coronavirus-hit cruise ship in the US where passengers are having to fight over ‘rotten food’. Margaret … Read more
COOKERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR COOKERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR RICK STEIN’S SECRET FRANCE RICK STEIN’S SECRET FRANCE (BBC Books £26, 320 pp) Rick Stein’s love affair with France began when he was 16 and he is still under its spell. His new book, all about rustic French cooking, is full of old favourites like … Read more