Creed's Spring Flower - the perfect Easter gift

A note to the boys: a chocolate egg is all well and good, but it doesn’t last very long and you may not get thanked for it.
Instead why not call Roullier White on 020 8693 5150 and find out about the fabulous range of Creed fragrances. Creed’s Spring Flower, in a seasonal pink bottle, is the perfect alternative to other more calorific offerings, highly chic and perfect for a glamorous chick this Easter.

Roullier White Easter Opening Hours;
10 to 5 Good Friday
10 to 6 Saturday

Closed Easter Sunday

11 to 5 Easter Monday
BTW girls there are plenty of Creed men's fragrances to turn your fella into a happy bunny

this Easter too, including Green Irish Tweed as worn by a certain Mr Clooney! That got you thinking didn't it!

Peg to differ - twisty pegs by posh pegs. New from Roullier White.

In recent months there has been a dramatic reversal in the use of tumble dryers as the environmentally conscious consumer becomes far more aware of their electricity usage and subsequent carbon output. This has resulted in resurgence of the clothes line; not only is it a more environmental way to dry your clothes, it is also free and your clothes will last longer. Whilst the clothes line, as a laundry option, was going through a slump, traditional wooden pegs were less in demand and as their prices dropped so did their production quality.

The Twisty Peg is a whole new concept in peg technology. Designed and manufactured in the UK the Twisty Peg is a solid one piece design with no moving parts, it will flex and twist as required, but will never break or snap. There is no spring mechanism to malfunction or become detached, sometimes hitting you in the eye! What’s more you can peg out with one hand. No more trying to hold kingsize sheet, peg bag and peg all in your mouth at the same time!

Brightly coloured, the Twisty Peg is readily found if dropped in the grass, and the Twisty Peg will not rust and has complete UV protection so will not rot. Traditional pegs can stain your clothes by either the wood construction getting dirty and wet or by the spring mechanism rusting. None of these can happen with the Twisty Peg's solid one piece construction.

No Pinching or cutting, as there are no moving parts or you will never trap your fingers in a Twisty Peg or be cut by sharp edges. Twisty Pegs are fully child safe. It has three different size holes for a variety of washing line thicknesses and fabric type.

Twisty Pegs are weather and UV resistant. You can happily leave them on the line if you desire, with no detrimental effect to them or there performance. If they do become dirty over time, then just pop them in with your next wash and they will come out looking brand new again.

Should they drop onto your lawn and not be spotted, no need to worry. Due to the natural flex in the material they are completely lawn mower proof. They will simply be spat out by the lawn mower with minimal damage to them and none to your lawn mower. Twisty Pegs come with a lifetime guarantee.

£10 for a tube of 40

From Roullier White, 125 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London SE22 8HU or online at www.roullierwhite.com

Smood potato masher by Dreamfarm - perfect mash everytime

You have heard it said ‘if it’s not broken why fix it?’ If Australian design team, Dreamfarm, had employed such a lasissez-faire attitude then you would be currently witnessing the rebirth of the potato masher. Indeed, Lawrence, of Roullier White, would still be using the trusted potato masher that was given to his parents as part of a utensil set for their wedding fifty years ago!

For something we all do so often, it's crazy that mashing potatoes is such long and hard work. Masher designs have always had the same problem – large holes that don't make smooth mash so you have to repeat the pounding action dozens of times, or small holes that the potato doesn't actually pass through so you end up with squashed potato instead of mashed potato. Smood is the ingeniously simple invention that you'll wish was around decades ago. Smood gives you perfectly smooth and fluffy mash in seconds by trapping your food and forcing it through the thin gaps between Smood's collapsing spring coils. Smood's unique spring design absorbs any pounding impact so you can forget the painful jarring on your wrists too. Potato, avocado, baby food, even pumpkin – there's no food that can't be mashed in seconds with Smood.

• Soft multi-grip handle is ergonomically designed to be held in several comfortable and efficient hand positions.
• Effortlessly creates smooth mash in seconds by trapping food and forcing it through the thin gaps between the collapsing stainless steel spring coils.
• Unique spring design means minimal pressure and eliminates jarring on the wrist by absorbing the downward force.
• Silicone scraper makes it easy to clean the pot or bowl and is heat resistant to 260°CTop rack dishwasher safe

Cooking in Southern India with Diane Seed

At the time of writing it is a wet and windy March Sunday morning in London. Only the most dedicated of dog walkers can be seen crossing Peckham Rye Common outside my window; pulling their faithful, yet reticent, charges further away from the comfort of their baskets and blankets by the Aga. It is a far, far cry from my birthday two Sundays ago which was spent idly drifting across one of the most spectacular waterscapes I have ever seen; the Keralan waterways. I know it must have happened, I have the tan to prove it, but it seems so far away now. I click on the image file on my computer the pictures open as a slide show on my screen; each one brighter and more vibrant than the one before. I can hear the street sounds, smell the garlands, and taste the air. Two weeks ago I really was in India.

I have visited Diane Seed at her Roman Cookery School on several occasions. I love the way she enthuses about every aspect of the culinary experience; from the group visits to the markets to buy fresh produce to cook that day, to the informed and patient imparting of method and the delightful meal time anecdotes. Diane always seems to manage to blend the perfect group; brought together by a love of food and a desire to learn but always relaxed and fun loving. A bond will have developed before the first bottle of perfectly selected wine is even half empty; it is as though Bacchus is still smiling over Diane’s little corner of Rome.

When a trip to Sothern India was suggested I jumped at the opportunity, seldom would one be offered the chance to spend any length of time in such a beguiling country with such an engaging host. I have worked many times in India and I am aware how difficult it can be to make, and moreover execute, the most basic of arrangements - I was a little worried. Doubt should never enter ones mind when Diane is involved. The whole trip was seamless; transfers were painless and even a national strike only delayed our schedule by an hour or so. Diane also managed to achieve the largely unachievable, a perfectly planed itinerary. Never was too long or too short a time spent in the handpicked heritage hotels in which we stayed. Each hotel had a history and an individual charm; which made each stage of the journey unique. From the boutique Goan hotel run by an exquisitely chic sister and her charming brother, a mansion and former Jewish meeting house in Cochin to a merchant’s beach side bungalow in Alleppy; a beach where the locals gather every night to fly kites and watch the sunset on the Arabian Sea. A collage of magenta and cyan saris, highlighted with flecks of silver and gold foil kites, against the backdrop of the largest, most vividly orange, reflected, sinking sun you are every likely to see.

Of course there was also the reason we were there in the first place; the food. In Goa we cooked and ate some of the most piquant and delicate fish curries I have ever tried. Pompfret is a local favourite and quickly became one of mine. As in Italy, each chef we met in each hotel, restaurant or home kitchen we visited, would have their particular way of doing things. We quickly learned that with Indian food there are no hard and fast rules; a cursory glance is much more accurate than digital scales and if you lack one ingredient use something else. The skill is really in the blending of the spices, which are of course key. Kerala – the land of the coconut – boasts a cuisine rich with creamy, subtle favours. Lots of vegetables and fish are eaten, but meat is also on the menu. Kerala and Goa are the only two states in India where beef is openly consumed. From morning appams, gastro lunches, afternoon teas on the loggias of garden villas, suppers on the beach, family dinners on a privately owned spice farm, the tandoor fish and paneer, my birthday banquet on the house boat in Kerala, it would be difficult to choose a highlight. Although that was probably it for me; the crew buying prawns from fishermen over the side of the boat and the unlikely, iced birthday cake.
I would wholly recommend a trip to India with Diane Seed, whether it is your first time and you would like a gentle induction or as a seasoned traveller looking to see a side of the country one would be unlikely to experience without the wealth of experience from which Diane can draw.

If it’s your birthday, just make sure you tell Diane.

Lawrence White

www.dianeseed.com