Tonight there's a new Rick Stein series, Food Heroes (a series so new that BBC Food - normally really on the ball - haven't created any webpages for it yet). If it's anything like his other fish ones, it's one of those programmes where you wish you could smell what was going on (whatever happened to scratch-n-sniff or smellievision?)

A guide to British Pub Etiquette - very funny and would cause some arguments down anyone's local...

A history of canning from Canned Food UK. Having worked in a canning factory while I was at college I can definitely say that working on the production line checking potatoes is the most boring thing in the world to do!

Hardly any UK celebrity chefs have websites. Which is extremely surprising.

Delia and Keith Floyd last night on The Way We Cooked. Still don't like Delia's style of cooking and her insistence on measuring everything down to the nth degree, but it was fascinating to see her climb from obscurity to national treasure. I don't have a book of hers in the house, which says a lot...

I've just discovered the website of the amazing cookware shop we visited in Paris - E. Dehillerin. In real life it's a cornucopia of things you never knew you needed but now just have to have. More pastry moulds than you can shake a stick at. Cooking pots big enough to fit a person inside. A selection of knives to make you shiver.... I came home with a plastic dough scraper.

Bought the most amazing book in my local Oxfam bookstore yesterday. Called Indonesian and Chinese Cookery, it was printed in Singapore in what looks like the 50s or 60s. The adverts are the best bit - all for things like haircuts and permanent waves in Raffles Place, and for mysterious flavour enhancers and new fangled electric rice cookers.... I don't think I'll ever try any of the recipes (Roast Suckling Pig in glorious technicolour kind of put me off) but it's the type of thing that I love to collect. Matches neatly with my other favourites - Cooking with Men in Mind, Cooking for Caravaners, and Cooking with Your Breville Toaster...

In fact my collection of cookery books is ever expanding. Currently reading Nigella Lawson's How to Eat, and the glorious Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Missed Saturday Kitchen at the weekend, which was a shame - I really like the laziness of Saturday mornings, lounging around eating brunch and watching cookery on BBC2. The 'live' segments in the kitchen where a new chef comes in each week and does some designery food are really fun to watch. Ah well. Will try to not arrange anything urgent for next Saturday morning.

With all the Elvis celebrations that went on last week, I was really surprised that they didn't repeat the programme about Elvis and his favourite food. I must have seen this documentary a couple of years ago - was fascinating to find out the proper recipes for things like fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches...

The quest has ended! Finally found Fentimans Ginger Beer. It's chilling in the fridge as we speak. Road-testing will begin shortly.

Good programme...Graham Kerr definitely came off better than Fanny Cradock, as everyone seemed to like him! It was interesting to see what he was up to now (mostly cooking the healthiest food you can think of....in contrast to his old butter loaded sauces!). Delia next week, so I'm preparing things to throw at the tv....

Tried a new Thai recipe last night, involving rice noodles, prawns, beansprouts and peanuts, with a dressing of cayenne, muscovado sugar, lime juice and nam pla. Or it would have been nam pla if we had any! Tasted good, but I think next time I'm going to replace the beansprouts with something - perhaps thinly sliced courgettes? Not very Thai though...

Can't wait for 8pm tonight - a new series on BBC 2 called "The Way We Cooked". I'm a bit too young to have seen Fanny Cradock, but I certainly love Graham Kerr...

Discovered Fentimans in Tesco last night. They'd run out of ginger beer though...the wait continues.

Came to the conclusion on holiday that oysters are not for me. We tried some at a tiny seafood restaurant called L'Ostrea in the 1st arrondissement. They're just too slimy, and these were too seawatery too. I had a pie with oysters in once, and that wasn't bad, but these were just a bit too much. The rest of the seafood was fantastic - I had a huge prawn salad (the salad was huge and so were the prawns) which comes highly recommended.

I've not tried these drinks made by Fentimans, but Ian reckons they're the best thing since sliced bread if you're into ginger beer....Tasting soon, once we've tracked a few bottles down...

Well, long time no exploding chef. I had a great excuse, honest - got married and went on honeymoon. So now I can recount my tales of food across Paris and the south of France, and bore everyone to tears. Cool.