By Lucy Madden. It’s difficult to imagine, in this world of choices, a subsistence diet based on one foodstuff. We have the privilege, although some might argue with the use of that word, to feed ourselves on a bewildering array of edible matter. We can chew what we want, we can become locavores, frugavores, vegans,…
By Marion Maxwell. They have been found by archaeologists at the bottom of Swiss lakes and in Egyptian tombs. In Germany they were placed under the beds of restless children and sprinkled in coffins. They were widely believed to have the power to banish demons – not to mention bad breath and trapped wind. North…
By Lizzie Gore-Grimes. All over the world people ring in the new year in a thousand colourful and clamorous ways. But they all have one thing in common. Whether they are celebrating New Year’s Day on 1st January, observing Jewish Rosh Hashanah in September/October or marking Chinese New Year in midwinter, every culture does so…