ON a cold January evening in Paris in 1938, Samuel Beckett was walking home with some friends after a night on the town when he was accosted and suddenly stabbed by a pimp called Prudent.

I adore homemade ice creams, sorbets and granitas, the latter is a granular version of a sorbet or water ice, so no cream and the ice is whisked while freezing or grated when frozen to produce a more granular texture.