Margaret Atwood, Albert Hall, Nottingham, 26th September 2015

Shock, horror: this year I became a tweeter. After years of eschewing social media, I joined Twitter and was delighted to be able to follow some of my favourite authors. Margaret Atwood is one of them. I had read her works in the past such as ‘The Handmaid’s tale’, ‘The Penelopiad’, ‘Cat’s Eye’ and ‘The Blind Assassin’. I had also read ‘Alias Grace’ when I was pregnant with my fifth and last baby. My Grace will be eighteen in January 2016.

If it wasn’t for Twitter, I’d never have discovered that Margaret would be touring GB to talk about her new novel, ‘The Heart Goes Last’. So my friend Kate and I went to see her in Nottingham. We each bought a signed copy of the new book. I also bought a brand new copy of ‘Alias Grace’ and plucked up courage (in a rather awestruck, shaky voice) to ask Margaret if she would dedicate it to my daughter. She did so, as you will see. I plan to hand this over on Grace’s birthday. Whether she reads the book or not, it serves as a lovely souvenir of her parents’ inspiration to name her. Not that we supposed she’d ever become as notorious as Grace Marks! (Fingers crossed!)

Fellow tweeters may be interested to note that Margaret Atwood posts regularly and is a keen supporter of human rights and environmental issues, amongst many other things.

For a review of ‘The Heart Goes Last’, head to: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/07/the-heart-goes-last-review-margaret-atwood-stan-charmaine-positron-project-consilience-prison

I’ll let you know later on what I think of it.

Nigella Lawson, Waterstones, Manchester, 22nd October 2015

I have long been a fan of Nigella. I have followed her career (and some other aspects of her life) with keen interest for around fifteen years. In my eyes, she can do no wrong. (In fact, I admire her all the more for being human and fallible.) Although she doesn’t call herself The Domestic Goddess, it is a monika that has frequently been attached to her, largely due to the success of her second book, which is a firm favourite (very dog-eared and spattered in various cake mixtures) of mine and of my family. So (again, thanks to Twitter) I learned that she was to visit a select few Waterstones’ book stores, Manchester being the closest to me.

I arrived in store for 3pm and although Nigella was due to arrive for the book signing at 5.30pm, I was not the first! I sat in the cafe on the top floor, with a scone, a pot of tea and her new book, ‘Simply Nigella’. At around 4pm, staff began to set out a table and chair for Nigella and the queue started to form. I joined it. Whilst waiting, I chatted to one or two like-minded devotees. We discussed our favourite recipes and our plans for which of the new ones we’d make first. Being a liquorice lover, I will initially head to page 280 to try the Liquorice and Blackcurant cake and then to page 336 for the Blackcurrant and Liquoruce ice-cream.

A frenzy of excitement shivered along the snaking queue when at 5.30 precisely, Nigella arrived, flanked by her PA and two chaps in black (her minders? security? Waterstones bigwigs?) Loud applause broke out; I wonder what on earth it feels like to know that folks have queued for hours to see you and can’t wait to have a fleeting few-minutes’ audience with you?

My turn came soon enough. I prattled something to her about being a domestic goddess (as though nobody had ever said that to her before!) What is it about meeting your idols and heroines that turns you into a blithering idiot?! (Me, anyway!) It was over, as quick as a flash. She spoke a few kind words to me – we, her fans, are the real domestic goddesses in her eyes – signed my book and that was it. Next please! Of course, that’s how it has to be: she has to meet and greet hundreds in the next couple of hours. Smile and sign; smile and sign!

     

Unfortunately, it took me until yesterday to try out one of the recipes in ‘Simply Nigella’. The above picture shows my attempt at the Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken Stew (page 221). I wondered why mine looked so bland compared to the picture in the book. Then it came to me: after specially searching out a small sprig of fresh coriander, I had forgotten to add it at the end of the cooking time. Doh! I found it later, lurking (as if in mockery) in my vegetable basket.

My husband, daughter and son-in-law enjoyed the dish; my one-year-old grandson didn’t! Sorry Nigella, you’ve yet to win him over, but please do keep trying!

Can’t wait for 8.30pm: ‘Simply Nigella’ on BBC 2.

Added after the programme: Our ‘Simply Nigella’ teatime: