Latest news with #EmmaBrockes
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Don't take the pistachio out of Sicilian pesto
'I saw a recipe recently for 'pistachio pesto' – nobody wants that,' writes Emma Brockes (Everyone has gone nuts for pistachios. But they're just an upmarket green peanut, aren't they?, 26 February). Pistachio pesto is actually a delicious traditional Sicilian recipe. It should be properly made with pistachios from the town of Bronte, which are of the highest quality. The cultivation of pistachios was probably introduced to the area by Arabs in the Middle Ages; locally the pistachio is known as frastuca, a name derived from MussiRome, Italy We in the Green party campaigns committee have taken up Umberto Eco's baton (Letters, 25 February) and produced a set of 'how to spot a fascist' beermats. On the other side are suggestions for what to do about fascism when you spot it. They've proved very popular. Maybe the Guardian could consider beermats in the future, to replace HarrisLondon Tell you what, I'll stop eating kebabs if the government stops building runways (UK urged to act now on net zero – and skip two kebabs' worth of meat a week, 26 February).Nick RogersBaldock, Hertfordshire When did it become appropriate for a visitor to the Oval Office in the White House to keep their hat on, as Elon Musk did? Another example of declining standards?Hugh CraigEdinburgh In the late 70s, one of my history teachers described me as laconic (Letters, 26 February). Being a man of few words, my da had to look it up. Polly LlwyndedwenAberhonddu, Powys 'It is impossible to assess Alison's work as she has not done any.'Ali CrusoeGoudhurst, Kent Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
05-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
How about HMS Backpedal for the new Royal Navy submarine?
Never mind the possibility of offending the French by naming a submarine HMS Agincourt, Emma Brockes (Digested week, 31 January). What is often conveniently forgotten is that Agincourt (1415) was a strictly English victory. Scotland was on the other side, allied with France. Naming a vessel of the British Royal Navy after a defeat for a significant part of Britain seems odd, to say the least. If the Royal Navy was minded to name a vessel Agincourt, perhaps it could restore the balance by calling another one Castillon, the 1453 Auld Alliance rout of a much larger English force that brought an end at last to the hundred years war. Curiously absent from the history syllabus in my English MitchellEdinburgh The Royal Navy could probably power HMS Agincourt with the furious backpedalling of anti-woke Tory MPs after it was revealed that King Charles, rather than the Labour government, had instigated the name change to Rushton Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
