Reading Renaissance

The influence e-books have on their paper-based cousins is still a hot topic for debate. However, a recent New York Times opinionator blog adds a note of optimism.

In his The Reading Renaissance post Timothy Egan points to figures from the American of American Publishers, which show an overall rise in books sold across all formats. The suggestion is the more people read the more they want to read, regardless of the medium.

With e-readers in the UK edging towards the sub-£50 price point, and the rise in popularity of digital newspaper subscriptions, this has to be an encouraging sign.

Speaking as a writer, long may it continue.

Ted Hughes

The airwaves have been full of tributes to the larger than life poet Ted Hughes, after a memorial was unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner. Numerous poets, writers and celebrities offered their thoughts on the man and his work. Some performed readings of the poem fragments that touched them the most.

However, nothing can match a reading by the man himself. His voice has an immense and immediate effect. He spoke directly from the soul. Words hung in the air, visualisations whirled around the mind. The poem breathes; it exists. It's a feat that can only be approximated by others, with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Many say Hughes had such an immense presence he could hush a room simply by walking in. Nevertheless, it's his powerful, highly original voice that's burned into our consciousness; words that resonate inside our soul.

But, that notion brings both joy and sadness.

Hearing someone else read a poem I find there's something missing. It's the same if I read a passage myself. An extra dimension has been lost. It doesn't have the gravitas, authority and pure force of energy it needs and demands. Hughes lived those words; the delight, the pleasure, the heartache and the suffering.

Sadly, Ted Hughes cannot read to us any more. His words will always have the capacity to unleash a torrent of emotions and imagery. But I for one will seek out a reading by the man himself.

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

So, you've got one of those clever coffee machines at home. But do your creative efforts miss the mark when compared with your local coffee shop? Are you struggling to make a great cappuccino or latte?

You're not alone, making the perfect cup is quite an art. Maybe a few professional tips wouldn't go amiss. But where to go for definitive advice?

I decided to pop down to my local Caffè Nero, a regular haunt in any case, and have a chat to award winning coffee maestro Eniko Marta. The resulting conversation was quite revealing, so I thought I'd share it with you.

First, let's make sure you're fully prepared. You already have your coffee machine and built-in steamer. But what else do you need?

A coffee tamper tool is one item - maybe it's still in the box? A strong, heat-resistant jug, stainless steel being an excellent choice. The jug can have a round edge or pointed lip (it makes a difference, as we'll see later). A thermometer is another key item. Full, semi, skimmed or soya milk, but it has to be fresh. Your favourite blend of ground coffee. And a pre-warmed coffee cup.

In reality there's not much to go wrong with the expresso part of the coffee making process. Loading the machine is straightforward enough, but tamping the coffee into the filter holder will make a difference. Tamping slows the flow of water through the coffee, increasing the shot strength. Some machines also have an adjustable water flow setting.

For best results the milk should be added as soon as the expresso is ready. This way you'll capture the rich crema (a creamy foam) floating on the top of the coffee. Wait too long and the crema will dissipate, so timing is important.

To create a perfect cup of white coffee, you'll have to pay close attention to milk preparation. There are a number of little tips to pass on. Firstly, the temperature has to be right. Too cold and you'll have a lukewarm beverage, too hot and as Eniko says, "You'll burn the milk!", giving your coffee an unpleasant after taste.

Let's get started. After putting the required quantity of milk into your sturdy jug, place the steamer nozzle deep into the centre. This is where the thermometer comes in.

Taking cow's milk first, the target to aim for is 60C (140F). Watch the thermometer carefully, and turn off the steamer as soon as it hits this temperature. "Notice," she says, "after turning the steamer off, the temperature rises a little more." And it does, by around 10C. For an extra hot cup you can leave the steamer on until it rises to 72C (160F). Any higher and it's likely to burn.

Soya milk is a little more sensitive to heat than cow's milk, so here you should be aiming at 50C (120F). "Is soya milk harder to work with?" I ask. "No," she answers, "with soya it's actually easier to get the right consistency." which is an interesting observation.

Talking of consistency, what exactly are you looking for? Well, as you'd expect all this aeration produces thousands of bubbles in the milk. However, what isn't obvious is you're aiming to create small, even-size bubbles.

After steaming, raise the nozzle gently and wait around 20 seconds for the milk to settle. Now for a key trick. Sharply tap the jug of steamed milk onto the worktop a few times (hence the need for a strong jug). This tapping removes the larger bubbles and makes for a smoother, creamier end product. Get it right and you should see a flat surface on your aerated milk.

How do you add the milk to the coffee? Well, it depends on the drink you're trying to make.

For a cappuccino it's poured slowly and carefully into the centre of the cup. "Choose a jug with a simple rounded edge." Eniko advises. For a latte it's still poured carefully into the centre, but initially the froth is held back with a spoon, then released towards the end.

Wondering how to create a flat white? "What you need to do" she suggests, "is pour the milk under the surface of the crema." Holding the cup at and angle and pouring it near the edge will help. And as she revealed, "Using a jug with a pointed-shaped nozzle makes this a lot easier."

So there you have it, a perfect cup of coffee. Well, maybe not the first time - but practice makes perfect, as they say.

If you'd like a book recommendation on the subject of artful coffee, Eniko recommends The Art and Craft of Coffee by Kevin Sinnott.

Last Flight of the Space Shuttle

On reflection every engineering project has a beginning and an end; an era in space and time. Sooner or later technology is replaced by a superior version, or becomes hopelessly outdated by changes in society. The internal combustion engine will eventually go this way.

Groundbreaking engineering projects can also find themselves relegated to museum pieces due to financial implications, public ambivalence and political manoeuvring. The revolutionary, and still unmatched, Concorde met its fate in just such circumstances.

On 21st July 2011 the Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at NASA's Cape Canaveral runway in Florida. It marked the end of the Space Shuttle programme, the touchdown messages being particularly poignant. Just as with Concorde, without an obvious Shuttle replacement we've tumbled into an indeterminate period of history. One where the usual inexorable flow of advancement and innovation has folded in on itself. It's as if we are suddenly trapped inside a strangely out-of-sequence time bubble.

NASA's plan is that the private sector will eventually pierce this time bubble. It could be decades before we'll know if they made the right decision.

John (Richard Thomas) Sullivan

John Richard Thomas Sullivan failed his 11-plus exam and left school at 15 without any qualifications. The result was a succession of uninspiring jobs until one day a friend showed him a newspaper article about the TV scriptwriter Johnny Speight. He read that Speight earned £1000 for each of his Till Death Us Do Part episodes; equivalent to Sullivan's annual salary. It made a seminal impression.

He bought a second-hand typewriter, self-help books, studied English, and started work on a upmarket sitcom called Gentlemen. However, his self-motivated endeavours provided little in the way of success. At the age of 30 he took a job as a BBC scene-shifter, in an attempt to make useful writing contacts.

After encouragement from Ronnie Barker he started writing comedy sketches for The Two Ronnies and Dave Allen. Subsequently legendary producer producer Dennis Main Wilson accepted his story idea about a suburban social revolutionary, and Sullivan immediately took time off work to write a pilot episode. His Citizen Smith sitcom proved to be a great success, and was ultimately extended to four series.

He continued by writing the incredibly successful Only Fools and Horses, set in his childhood South London stomping ground and full of its colourful, down-to-earth characters. In the process he also penned many other notable series, including Just Good Friends, Dear John, Roger Roger and Heartbreak Hotel.

A fall out with the BBC led to the ITV Dickens-influenced comedy drama Micawber, followed later by the Fools and Horses spinoff Green Green Grass. In 2011 his final series Rock & Chips was aired; a Fools and Horses prequel set in the 1960s. A fitting tribute following Sullivan's untimely death, at the age of 64 on 23rd April 2011.

It's a remarkable story. A source of inspiration and encouragement for any writer.