As ever, it was an opportunity to check out the London restaurant scene - including Dalla's frittatinas

"Recently, my sisters and I spent a couple of windy days in lovely Lahinch amongst frustrated golfers and exhilarated surfers. As you know, I’m neither a golfer nor a surfer… Yes, I know there are some 70-year-olds who still ride the waves but sadly not me."

This gorgeous new book celebrates the joy of comfort food.

"For me and other members of the Guild of Irish Food Writers, it was a deeply moving experience to walk around the city on top of the old walls, past the now peaceful Bogside and the Free Derry Wall."

"I love to make a foragers' salad or a silky foragers' soup from a mixture of wild leaves, flowers and herbs like wild thyme."

With a few basics, you could make a myriad of dishes in a very short time

Freshness is everything with fish

The latest book to arrive on my desk is entitled Agak-Agak (pronounced 'aga-aga'). The author is Sham Hanifa, an award-winning Malaysian chef, businessman and broadcaster who now lives in Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim

We made a pilgrimage to The Sportsman in Seasalter, Stephen Harris’s pub. His recipe for The Sportman’s Soda Bread is below

Many farmers tell me that they would not no longer be on the land if it wasn’t for the Farmers’ Market movement. Remember farmers are fortunate if they get paid a third of the price on the supermarket shelf and are super lucky if they’re paid within a month.