Girl by the AGA
A blog by Laura James
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02 July 2009 15:16
Right at the end of last year, I mentioned that James McIntosh had won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award. Last night, in Paris, James collected his award, which was for Best Cook Book Series in the World. Here he is pictured receiving the award from Monsieur Edouard Cointreau, who said today, "These small four cookbooks are just as important as big books by Robuchon or Adria or Blumenthal. They correspond exactly to the needs of today's home cooks, cheap, practical and they work."
So, huge congratulations to James!
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26 June 2009 14:04
Mary Berry receives lifetime achievement award
When I first began working with AGA more than 10 years ago, I was introduced to Mary Berry and her lovely assistant Lucy Young. Since then I've worked with them both on a regular basis and we've become firm friends. So I was thrilled when Lucy told me this morning that Mary won a lifetime achievement award at the Guild of Food Writers' annual awards ceremony.
Mary has written more than 70 books, which have sold over five million copies around the world. Her recipes are consistently brilliant and always work perfectly, so this award is richly deserved.
Only the other day I was talking to Jilly Cooper, who said that Mary's original AGA book is quite fantastic and is ideal for those who are new to the AGA.
Mary herself said this morning that the award was a "great honour" and that she was "hugely surprised".
Personally, I can't think of a more deserved award and was truly thrilled to hear the news. I'm also sure that in years to come Lucy Young - herself the author of several wonderful books - will be up there receiving a similar accolade.
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24 June 2009 12:05
The new-look AGA Living magazine is just fabulous - it really is the perfect complement to the AGA itself.If you haven't seen a copy yet, it's terribly easy to get one. You'll find the latest magazine at your local AGA shop or - and this is really exciting - from July it will also be available in selected shops and newsagents nationwide, priced at £2.80.
You don't even have to own an AGA to find it an inspirational read. It's packed with interesting features and interviews and the delicious recipes, by Dawn Roads, are all beautifully photographed and include conversions for conventional cookers too, so everyone can enjoy them.
There's also a new website where recipes from every issue since September of last year can be found in one place. I particularly enjoyed the tea-smoked loch trout from the May/June issue.
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19 June 2009 13:43
Enjoying some time with the girls
I spend my days in a pretty much all-male environment - even the tortoise is a boy. So I was thrilled to have one day this week when I talked only to women. I began by having breakfast with the lovely Lucy Cleland, who edits Country & Town House magazine, which is a must-read for anyone who loves city chic and rural life in equal measures.
Lunch, too, was a girlie affair and then off for tea with the divine Rachel Johnson. She gave me a copy of the American edition of her latest book, Shire Hell, which is published under the title In a Good Place over there.
At the back of the book, there's a glossary of terms and AGA comes top of the list. Here's how she artfully describes it: "The AGA is a two- or four-oven cast-iron cooker, but oh so much more than that. Draped with socks and Irish linen, tea towels and always containing something crumbly in the roasting oven, the AGA, like a lovable old Labrador, is the warm heart of the country kitchen."
Couldn't have put it better myself.
If you're looking for something to read, I can't suggest highly enough that you go out and buy this hilarious book. The main character, Mimi, is just like the best friend you've always wished you had and she even invents something called Agacise. I haven't quite reached that bit of the book yet, but I think it involves a fitness system based entirely around the AGA!
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17 June 2009 11:42
My friend the home economist and food writer James McIntosh is one of those seemingly indefatigable individuals who manages to have fingers in innumerable pies - and yet still succeeds in doing so many things so well and with such flair.
Just savour this for a moment. James, a member of the Guild of Food Writers, is a talented food writer and he won the prestigious Gourmand award for the best series cookbook with his first book, mix. On the back of this success, he is about to publish the follow-up - called simply dinner - and two more in the series are planned, cake and veg.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, former chair of the London branch of the Institute of Consumer Sciences, and, last year, he was invited to speak at the 21st World Congress of the International Federation for Home Economics, held in Switzerland.
But I still best know James - who grew up on a farm in Northern Ireland and, after graduating in Home Economics, worked at Le Cordon Bleu School of Cookery and the Good Housekeeping Institute - as one of the dedicated team who travel the UK giving entertaining, informative and fun AGA demonstrations.
And, as anyone who has attended one of James's presentations will testify, he is one of the best - his knowledge of the AGA is impressive, but so is his energy, boundless enthusiasm, fabulous sense of humour and inimitable rapport with the audience.
There's a chance to enjoy all of that when James hosts A Day on the Aga at Swinton Park in Ripon, North Yorkshire, on June 23. Among the dishes he'll be conjuring up will be walnut bread, popcorn, salmon roulade, Beef Wellington, saffron potatoes, teriyaki beef, white chocolate and cherry fudge pie and meringue roulade with strawberry and mango.
For more on the event - being staged within the hotel's fantastic cookery school - call 01765 680900 or visit http://www.swintonpark.com/
To find out when James will next be demonstrating at an AGA shop near you, visit www.aga-web.co.uk
For more on James and his company, Whisk, visit www.jamesmcintosh.co.uk
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08 June 2009 15:57
While many people imagine that the AGA is only found in country kitchens, this couldn't be further from the truth. From the British Antarctic Survey station at the South Pole through to a castle in China, there are few corners of the world the AGA hasn't reached.
And now, for the first time ever, there's one available to warm the hearts of travellers flying from London's Heathrow airport - an AGA has been installed in bmi's new flagship international lounge at Terminal One.
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bmi was keen to showcase the very best of British and the lounge café is centred around a stunning custom-made black AGA where steaming soup is available all day, alongside a range of delicious round-the clock-dishes.
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04 June 2009 14:25
Plucky Gilbert warms to the AGA
I've heard many stories about lambs being revived in the AGA warming oven, but have never seen a picture. Not until now that is.
Gilbert has saved the day. His mother, Gin, couldn't feed him and - cold and hungry - he was very close to death when Geoff and Pam Ensor, who live in the Lake District, revived him in their cream AGA.
Now he's a happy little sheep gambolling around.Geoff and Pam's AGA has made it on to our list of the 300 most interesting AGAs in the world as an example of the AGA's sheep-reviving skills and the couple will receive one of our limited-edition AGA pots.
You can read more about Gilbert on our AGA stories page, where, over the course of 2009, each of the 300 will appear.
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28 May 2009 15:29
Our hunt for the most interesting AGAs is resulting in some truly inspiring stories, which will soon be appearing on the AGA website.
We're awarding a stunning, limited edition cast-iron pot to the owners of the most interesting AGAs and are hoping to reach all four corners of the globe. So, don't miss out. If you have an interesting story please send it to us.Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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08 May 2009 15:34
I was thrilled when Sophie Dahl's brilliant new book dropped into my letter box the other day.
Part memoir, part cookbook, it's packed full of delicious recipes, anecdotes and memories. The photography is as scrumptious as the food featured and there's a great image of Sophie expertly whipping up chargrilled artichoke hearts on an AGA.
The book, called Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, is available on Amazon
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08 May 2009 15:30
I had the real pleasure of speaking to the very lovely Helen Martin, who is thrilled at having won a brand new AGA in an online competition on loveanaga.com
Like everyone who entered, Helen, from Worthing, was asked to write a few lines on why she would love love an AGA. Helen's winning entry was.
Working mum - loving wife
Something missing from my life?
An AGA - classic cream or blue
Would really make my dreams come true.
British quality, timeless - iconic
Exquisite taste - yet economic.
Traditional fayre, haute cuisine
Culinary excellence supreme.
A way of life enduring forever
As AGA and I grow old together.
Now Helen's only problem is deciding which colour she's going to go for.There will be more AGAs up for grabs, so visit loveanaga.com to find out how you too could be a winner.
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30 April 2009 16:07
AGA's latest advertising campaign, which is due to break this weekend, features AGA owners at home with their beloved cookers. The owners, who are aged between five and 70-something all have one thing in common, they love their AGAs and can't imagine life without the world's most famous cooker. Look out for the ads which will run in the Telegraph on Saturday, Stella magazine, which goes out with the Sunday Telegraph and in Hello's anniversary edition which is out early next week.
Here's a sneak preview of one of the AGA owners...
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23 April 2009 15:44
Firstly, I wanted to thank everyone who's made suggestions on the 300 AGAs with the most interesting lives. Many have been hugely amusing, inventive and moving. Please, please send more. Secondly, just wanted to let everyone know that Girl by the Aga can now also be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Girl_by_the_Aga
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08 April 2009 15:57
As part of AGA's 300th anniversary celebrations we're looking to track down 300 AGAs with the most interesting lives. Essentially, this means that if an AGA could talk, these ones would have the most interesting stories to tell.
I'm drawing up a rough list at the moment and it includes the AGAs of well-known chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Anthony Worrall Thompson - which must surely have cooked up some pretty amazing dishes. Also there are the AGAs of sporting greats including Ronaldo or Rio Ferdinand, which have probably been a source of comfort on days when things didn't go so well on the pitch.
Then there are the AGAs in Royal households, I like to think of the one at Highgrove cooking delicious ingredients from the famous kitchen garden or the one belonging to the Princess Royal drying out horse blankets.
Then there are the AGA cookers that have made it to far flung places. One has apparently just been put into a newly-built castle in China and there is, of course, the one that keeps everyone cosy at the South Pole.
Then there are those that belong stars of stage, screen and television, which must surely be the envy of gossip columnists, when you imagine the secrets they've been party too.
There are AGAs too, that have been boarded up for years, only to be discovered by their new and usually hugely delighted owners who have them polished and re-lit.
Among those I'm most desperate to see are the one at Charleston, home of the Bloomsbury set and the one at Lee Miller's house.
As you can imagine, it's a tricky job coming up with the 300 most interesting, which is why I'm looking for help. If you know of an AGA with a tale to tell, please let me know about it.
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03 April 2009 14:36
I mentioned yesterday my fun trip around the Cotswolds with Amy and Stephen from Traditional Home magazine in America and was delighted to see that Stephen has been blogging about his experiences in England.
Of his visit to the AGA foundry, he said: "The place is an amazing mix of old-world master craftsmanship and modern environmental attitude - not a puff of black smoke hangs in the air surrounding the plant due to high environmentally safe production practices installed in the 1990s and the use of 100% recycled materials."
He continues by waxing lyrical about Eckington Manor Cookery School (it's actually entirely possible he likes it there as much as I do, and that's saying something as I'd move in at the drop of a hat) describing chef Dean Coles as an engaging and spirited teacher.
My only worry about Stephen's blog is that he ends with. Next: Touring the Cotswolds and why I am a confirmed MIF.
I'm not going to pre-empt him by explaining what this means, but I will be keeping a close eye out for his next entry as I'm hoping he and Amy enjoyed our day out as much as I did. And I'm crossing my fingers that he's delighted with his newly discovered MIF status.
You can read Stephen's blog here.Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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02 April 2009 15:53
I'm now back at the kitchen table having taken some Canadian and American journalists around the Cotswolds. It's truly enchanting to see one's country through somebody else's eyes. Both visits began at Eckington Manor Cookery School and this week's kicked off with an evening of Italian Cookery. Chef Dean Coles cooked up course after course on the AGA, which included seafood risotto and delicious chicken wrapped in sage and pancetta.
My guests, Amy Elbert and Stephen Exel from Traditional Home magazine were suitably impressed by the AGA's cooking prowess and have spent today cooking on AGAs themselves.
While Barack Obama gave the Queen a gift of an iPod, I like to think we've given our American visitors something a little more enduring, in showing them just why it is that Britain loves the AGA.
Back at home things have been a little trying, my poor black Labrador, Ziggy has managed to ingest some poison and has turned bright yellow.
Having spent a night at the vets he's been sent home on a strict diet of roast chicken and steamed fish with brown rice, while his liver recovers.Never one to do things by halves, I've decided to batch cook enough chicken to get us through the week and I currently have two chickens cooking in the roasting oven and another two finishing off in the simmering oven of my own AGA. Our two cats and sausage dog are looking a little put out at Ziggy's special treatment and are now forming an orderly queue by the AGA in the hope of being given a small treat.
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26 March 2009 10:22
I've woken up really hungry this morning, which I think is a Pavlovian response to my plans for the next couple of days.
Tonight I'm off to The Cotswolds, to Eckington Manor Cookery School, which is probably the smartest in the country. I've been desperate to go for ages, but sadly won't be doing a course.
I am, though, having dinner with some visiting journalists from Canada and, having heard what's on the menu, I'm already thinking about it - at 8am.
I'm staying at the cookery school's gorgeous B&B, which has the sumptious bedrooms and the dreamiest of Fired Earth bathrooms, so fear I shall come home entirely spoiled.
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18 March 2009 15:18
I read an article on AGA running costs in Saturday's Times and can't help but think that it was a few chapters behind in the AGA saga.
The piece was firmly in the 'if it's on all the time, it must be bad' camp. There was no mention of the fact that, after years of research, AGA has addressed energy management issues with the launch of a number of programmable models, links to micro-generation and the use of cheap overnight electricity. The company is also launching a programme of burner upgrades for owners of older AGAs to bring their cookers in line with contemporary models. Another new chapter is to combine solar collectors with wood-burning AGA stoves and wood-burning or gas Rayburn cookers to meet latest new build regulations for energy management in the home - something that will surely enthuse any carbon expert.
To compare the AGA with a standard cooker is not a convincing plot line. The AGA is multi-functional - cooker, kitchen radiator, tumble dryer, kettle, toaster and so on - and an AGA home need now cost no more to run than a comparable home without.
And then there's the heritage behind the AGA and the fact that here is a manufacturing success story Britain should be proud of. The latest development in a 300-year-old story - AGA's foundry in Coalbrookdale celebrates its tricentenary this year - the contemporary AGA still keeps the warm kitchen at the heart of the home, while providing amazing food and being perfectly relevant for the 21st century.
So, I think, these recent twists and turns in the AGA saga plot line ensure that the AGA provides the setting for truly modern dramas and that the AGA will remain a great British institution.
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12 March 2009 16:19
Design icons that define how we live
As I sat down to write today, I realised how important beautiful design is to me. My MacBook Air, I'm sure, makes writing infinitely more pleasurable than might a soulless grey box of a PC would. And drinking tea from my chunky Emma Bridgewater mug is so much nicer than it would be from brown Pyrex. Good design is so much more important and elemental than just having something nice to look at.
While the technology within the AGA's beautiful cast-iron frame has moved forward with every decade, the simple, unadulterated lines that make the AGA so instantly recognisable have remained largely unchanged since it arrived on these shores in the late 1920s. And with good reason - the AGA was designed to work perfectly, without fuss, and that understated elegance has served it well, its simple good looks making it an acknowledged design classic.
But as I sit here typing away at the kitchen table - the warmth from the AGA at my back - I'm struck by how important to us are the design icons that define how we live. At the dawn of the new millennium a BBC survey voted the AGA as one of the top three icons of the 20th century, with the Coca-Cola contour bottle and the VW Bug car also up there.
And the AGA is in good company - a similar survey by the BBC's Culture Show revealed how we have also fallen in love with the sweeping lines of Concorde, the Jaguar E-type and the Aston Martin DB5. We feel, according to the poll, a real affinity with the distinctive red telephone box, the Routemaster bus, the timeless Penguin paperback book covers and the RAF's stalwart fighter plane, the Spitfire.
And, like the AGA itself, we like our design classics to be more than just good looks - which is why the London Underground map, the anglepoise lamp and the Sinclair calculator also featured highly.
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09 March 2009 15:30
I realised the other day that it's been a little while since I've been to an AGA demonstration and so I'm planning to go to one as soon as possible as they're quite brilliant.
Each dem I've been to (they're held regularly at AGA shops throughout the UK) has been hugely informative and entertaining.
Each demonstrator has their own style - from the witty and light-hearted to the more earnest and targeted at more serious cooks - and I always learn something new. The food served at the end of the dem is always delicious and it's also a great way to meet others who share the AGA passion.
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06 March 2009 11:14
Warming to the idea of a sound investment
I cannot pretend to be an expert on all things financial, but have been fascinated by the subject of the Bank of England's announcement that it is going to be embarking on a policy of 'quantitative easing', which I have to admit I've found tricky to get my head around.
I've also been fascinated by the ever falling interest rate - brilliant for borrowers, it seems, but hugely miserable for savers. Apparently £100,000 in an account will only achieve £290 in interest and that's before tax!
Many of the this morning's newspapers have articles illustrated by pictures of money stuffed into mattresses. I, though, have a better idea. I think a great way to invest right now is in buying an Aga. An Aga can add serious value to a house, so it's a sound investment, and - with the world so gloomy at the moment - who wouldn't benefit from a little Aga magic.
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03 March 2009 14:45
I'm writing from London, which is a world away from the rolling hills and timeless beauty of Coalbrookdale, where I was yesterday.
While London is historic in so many ways, I tend to think of the city only in the now. At Coalbrookdale, it's impossible not to imagine all the people that have walked there before.
I had a fascinating insight into the history of AGA's foundry in the Shropshire valley and the surrounding area. Gerald O'Brien, managing director of AGA, showed me an array of stunning images of generations of foundrymen. He also showed me deeds relating to various land deals in Coalbrookdale dating back centuries.
There was something deeply moving about imagining men 300 years ago producing cooking pots using pretty much the same methods as used today to produce AGA's own range of cast-iron cookware.
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02 March 2009 14:58
This morning I set out to drive to AGA's hugely historic Coalbrookdale foundry in Telford - a means of transport that would, of course, not have been possible were it not for the Industrial Revolution that sparked into life at this United Nations-designated site of worldwide significance.It was 300 years ago at the foundry that Abraham Darby, one of the great engineering figures, first smelted iron ore using coke. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Visiting the site to meet up with BBC presenter Helen Mark and AGA managing director Gerald O'Brien for a recording of Radio 4's Open Country brings into sharp relief just how much of the modern world we take for granted today would not have been possible without Darby's age-defining innovation back in 1709.
Three centuries and such awe-inspiring progress - from the humble iron cooking pots first cast at the foundry to the car I parked at the impressive industrial complex just a stone's throw from the landmark Ironbridge that became the engineer's best-known legacy.
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25 February 2009 14:39
As everyone who reads this knows, I've spent the past few months looking for lost AGAs and have found it hugely rewarding and fun.
Today, though, I'm looking for something significiantly smaller, although of huge sentimental value to its owner.
Poor Kirstie Allsop, of Channel 4's Location, Location, Location, has lost her engagement ring. Determined to get it back - it was a present from her boyfriend to mark the birth of their first child - she's set up a website with details of how she lost it in Hackney while filming her next series.
With all the miserable news about, I think it would be really lovely if something cheerful could happen and she could be reunited with it as quickly as possible. The website address is http://www.kirstieslostring.co.uk/ If everyone passes it on, then I'm sure the ring will soon turn up.
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24 February 2009 13:39
I spent the weekend perched by the Aga reading Jung and have discovered something very interesting indeed. For years and years I've been experiencing Aga synchronicity.
Synchronicity - a term coined by Jung - describes two or more events which are causally unrelated, but occur together in a meaningful manner.
Everywhere I go, I see or hear about Agas. Not because people expressly tell me, but because they're just there.
Take this weekend as an example... On Saturday night I went to the theatre to see Alan Ayckbourn's brilliant play Bedroom Farce. Halfway through the first act two of the characters began discussing the fact that their bedroom was chilly because the Aga had gone out. On the way home, I picked up a copy of Conde Nast's brilliant new magazine, Love, and was thrilled to see an Aga plastered across its pages in a feature about Natalia Vodianova.
Then, I turned on the television and watched Silent Witness, only to see Amanda Burton's character boiling a kettle - yes, on her Aga.
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20 February 2009 15:57
It's often said that an AGA kitchen is the heart of the home and right now this couldn't be truer for me. Although I have a perfectly good office, with ergonomically sound desks and chairs, in truth I spend most of my time working at the kitchen table. Today it's particularly lovely as my eldest daughter is home from university and is sitting next to me, with a matching laptop working away too. The boys, who are home for half-term are playing with their cats on the floor by the AGA, much to the annoyance of the dog, who'd lost the cosiest place in the kitchen.
I think, what I'm trying to say, is that if ours weren't an AGA kitchen, I think it would be unlikely that we'd all congregate here and would instead all be in different parts of the house, which I think would be rather sad.
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18 February 2009 16:02
Life is sweet at the Sugartree Inn in Vermont
I had a really lovely email yesterday from Maxine and Graham who run the Sugartree Inn, a fabulous B&B in Warren, Vermont, in the USA. They think they have the world's hardest-working Aga and I have to say I'm inclined to agree. Over the last 12 months, their Aga - which they've named Mrs Bridges after the cook in the TV classic Upstairs Downstairs - has cooked 2,000 three-course breakfasts, including 500lb of organic porridge. It has apparently also baked more than 8,000 cookies and 2,000 muffins and scones.
It's well worth taking a look at the couple's website www.sugartree.com to see the Aga in action and to check out what looks like the most adorable B&B.
If you think your Aga works harder than Mrs Bridges, let me know.
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18 February 2009 09:41
That was the week that was (so far)
It's been such a busy and exciting few days that I'm finding it hard to believe it's only Tuesday. Saturday saw the official opening of Fired Earth's brilliant new showroom in Cambridge. The former showroom relocated and has formed a one-stop shop with Divertimenti. The move was designed to create a space where everything one needs for the kitchen is brought together under one roof - from the humblest of corkscrews to a selection of stunning kitchen furniture.
The ribbon was cut by Fired Earth customer Simon Virr, who became something of a local hero after he was thrown off a bus for carrying a couple of brand-new, sealed cans of paint. The local newspaper found this so insane that they ran a story on it and it ran and ran, with lots of newspapers and even a television production company picking up on the story.
Next I did an interview on BBC Radio Wales about our quest to track down all the Aga owners in the world. The poor presenter was suffering from a dreadful cold and really should have been at home drinking soup by an Aga, but instead - in true BBC style - she battled on and was fascinated by the stories we've been receiving recently about Agas all over Britain and further afield.
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13 February 2009 15:20
Over the years I've been asked a number of times if there's a typical Aga owner my answer has always been no. Then I realised yesterday that actually for all these years my answer has been inaccurate. While there's no typical Aga house, there is something about those who own Agas that sets them apart.
Quite simply, Aga owners are the nicest people. They're kind, considerate and extremely polite. This was confirmed to me over the past few days, when having bemoaned the fact I wouldn't be receiving quite the volume of letters I'd been getting from people who'd entered he Telegraph competition, I've received dozens of thank you letters from Aga owners who we'd written to, to say thank you for entering.
Most of the letters include further interesting anecdotes so, I shall be writing back answering any questions and, being an Aga owner, of course saying thank you!Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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11 February 2009 14:13
I spent the morning taking about colour with the delightful Kevin McCloud. I know - it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.
One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was when we spent at least five minutes staring at a blank white wall while Kevin pointed out to me that, essentially, there is no such colour as white. Looking at the wall, I became aware that he was entirely right and that the shades I could see ranged from pale blue to an almost sunny yellow.
We also talked about Kevin's latest book - Choosing Colours, Quadrille, £12.99 - which is due out in May and features colours from the paint range he developed in collaboration with Fired Earth.
Kevin's knowledge of colour is extraordinary and always leaves one inspired to be a little more adventurous with the shades one puts on one's walls - and also oneself. Tomorrow I've decided to ditch the black cashmere polo-neck I've lived in this winter in favour of an altogether more dramatic hue. And, as I shall be spending tomorrow writing in front of the Aga, I'm leaning towards something rather racy and red.
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10 February 2009 08:38
Books arrival is a blue (well, silver) riband event
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I realise I tend to bang on a bit about the exciting things I receive in the post, but I'm afraid I'm about to do it again. This morning's excitement was caused by my receiving the first copy of my latest book, Breakfast in Bed, which is published this week. It arrived somewhat later than we'd all have liked due to snow-closed post offices and general delivery chaos. Anyway, arrive it did and it was all rather thrilling.
I'm particularly delighted with how pretty it looks and the fact that, for the first time ever, I have a book with a ribbon. It may not seem like the most momentous thing on earth, but since the first time I sat down at my Mac to begin a book, I've been desperate for a publisher to allow me to choose a ribbon. There's just something too glamorous and thrilling about the whole thing.
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06 February 2009 16:02
With more snow on the way, I'm getting a lot of calls from people telling me how thrilled they are to have a cosy Aga kitchen, complete with something delicious bubbling away in the simmering oven.
I, too, am thrilled to be back in my own kitchen after spending yesterday battling my way back to Norfolk in the snow. The reason for being away from home was a good one, though - I'd been visiting Aga and had signed hundreds of letters which are to be sent out to everyone who entered the Daily Telegraph competition to find the oldest Aga still in use.
Watch this space because next week we'll be announcing the winners right here.
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05 February 2009 14:25
We're about to be able to announce the winner of the oldest Aga competition that ran in The Daily Telegraph. I, for one, am terribly sad that it's over. I shall miss coming down to a huge pile of post each day and reading delightful stories about Agas all over the country.
Having said that, there's now a brilliant new competition running for people who would love to own an Aga. All you have to do is visit www.loveanaga.com and tell us why you'd love an Aga and you might win one.
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05 February 2009 14:21
There are many blissful things about working at home, but having days off from work when it snows is not one of them. While London romped in the snow, I sat at the kitchen table by the warmth of the Aga bashing out copy and taking calls from people who wanted to marvel at how pretty and silent London was. Norfolk was chilly, but not as hard hit and - being hardy, country folk - we just went about our business as usual.
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05 February 2009 14:15
For those of you who don't know, I went head to head on Radio 4 the other day,against columnist George Monbiot to fight the Aga's corner.
If I had thought it was going to be tough, it was before I realised there are infinitely scarier things one might have to face. In this case it was forgetting to tell my mother that I was to appear on You & Yours. She was told by my helpful aunt, who happened to be tuned in at the time, so after a round or two with George, it was my mother's turn in the ring and I have to say, she was an awful lot scarier than one might imagine.
I think there are some weeks when it's just your turn to get told off and this was definitely mine. Not long after I'd managed to placate my mother with the BBC's Listen Again feature, I had a phone call from a lady complaining that my having told everyone about the Aga method for making risotto - start it off on the simmering plate, bring to the boil on the boiling plate and pop into the simmering oven until it's perfectly cooked - has led to her daughter-in-law now being able to rustle up the perfect risotto with very little effort. Apparently this is most vexing as means her son has one less reason to return home to see his mum! All of this has left me feeling very naughty indeed.
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26 January 2009 15:56
Tomorrow will be one of those days when I'm dragged from my kitchen table and have to go out into the miserable, wet world. Having said that, I'm really rather excited as I'm going to the BBC to record an interview for You & Yours. And, even more excitingly, I get to talk to George Monbiot who is also being interviewed for the same programme.
After all the furore that's been going on for the past couple of weeks, it'll be brilliant to actually meet him!Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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20 January 2009 15:46
A week after the furore caused by George Monbiot and things are not really quieting down. This morning I had 19 letters from people coming out in defence of their beloved cookers. Sadly tomorrow morning I won't be at home when the post arrives, as I shall be in London watching one of my dearest friends officially become a British citizen. She's from America but three things assure me she's even more British than those of us whose families have been here forever. The first is her finely tuned sense of irony, the second is the fact that she can talk about the weather for ages and seem genuinely interested and the third is her utter love of the Aga. Whenever she's here she plants herself firmly in front of it and much nudging is needed to move her out of the way. Conclusive proof, I'd say.
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16 January 2009 16:11
When George Monbiot sat down to pen his column for Tuesday's edition of the Guardian, This is indeed a class war, and the campaign against the Aga starts here, I guarantee the last thing on his mind was how his words would throw the life of this Girl by the Aga into utter turmoil.
I knew something was up at 6am when my phone began ringing. 'It's an outrage', said the rather outraged sounding lady on the phone. You have to do something. Thinking perhaps she had the wrong number, I stumbled down the stairs and put the kettle on the Aga, as I made soothing noises down the phone.
She offered to read the offending piece to me, as I sipped my Earl Grey and switched my Mac on. Immediately the emails began flooding in. 36 on the subject popped into my inbox and it was not yet 6.30am.
Bleary eyed I read the Guardian piece for myself and knew that it wouldn't stop there. I scanned my diary and wondered what I should cancel as it was sure to be a busy day. By 9am the phone was ringing off the hook as newspapers around the country wanted to know how Aga would respond and enraged Aga owners asking pretty much the same question.
One woman rang to tell me that having read the Guardian religiously since her university days, she had just rung the newsagents to cancel her delivery. As I put down the phone it rang again and the man on the line said he thought George was a traitor to his country. On and on in went late into the evening.
Mid-afternoon I visited the Guardian's website to see what comments were appearing on the subject and found there were hundreds. I cannot think of another product that would inspire such a fierce loyalty from its fans.
Wednesday morning's newspapers landed on my doormat with a heavy thud and once again I sat at the kitchen table, kettle boiling away on the Aga as I read the Telegraph piece titled We must keep our Agas burning, which had me laughing and nodding in equal measure. One bit that resonated hugely was the line that began, 'Aga is more than a cooker it is a symbol of our heritage'. In a world of disposable products, made in far off lands a lot of people find the British-made Aga a national treasure, so it was rather nice to see that in print.
I also think the writer, Judith Woods', suggestion that questions should be asked in the house, was an inspired one. Particularly when she went on to say, 'Questions like: "Wouldn't it be cosier in here if we had a nice racing-green Aga in the corner?" And it would. Of course it would.'
I didn't get to read the Standard until late afternoon as living in the depths of north Norfolk it's a little tricky to get hold of. When I did though, I thought it painted a picture of a life not dissimilar to mine, particularly the bit about Aga owners using their cookers to heat one room in a freezing house and the line that said, 'it is for everything from defrosting the dog, to making the toast'.
On Thursday morning I went to visit the lovely people at Aga and we all gathered around the radio to listen to Amy Willcock going head to head with George Monbiot on the Jeremy Vine show. Amy was characteristically brilliant and summed up beautifully the feelings of Aga owners everywhere.
Today, the matter was brought neatly to a close with a response in the Guardian from Aga's Chief Exec William McGrath. The piece, that ran in the Response column exposed George Monbiot's views as outdated and quietly and confidently defended the Aga's impeccable green credentials. It ended with William saying, 'surely we don't need a class war but a spirit of solidarity.' And I, and the many people that have come out in support of the Aga couldn't agree more.Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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16 January 2009 16:05
Thank you for your contributions
I'm very rarely shocked, surprised or overwhelmed, but am now all three simultaneously. I'm shocked at the sheer number of entries we had to the oldest Aga competition, surprised by the amazing stories Aga owners have to tell and overwhelmed by the task of trying to find the most interesting story as they're all brilliant.
Those who've entered will remember the competition is split into two parts. Firstly, there's the oldest Aga - which , once we've sorted through all the entries, will be easy to judge - and, secondly, the most interesting Aga story, which will be infinitely harder as they're all either fascinating, hilarious or touching.
We'll be posting a selection of the Aga stories online, so you can see what a tough task it is we're facing.
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16 January 2009 16:00
Have had a frantic whirlwind few days which have taken me from the kitchen table and to London on the train. I'm actually amazed at how freezing it was out there and I seriously missed my Aga. Being rather dippy, I managed to go away totally forgetting that I had guests arriving for a couple of days on Thursday evening. They got here at 6.30 when I was on the train somewhere in deepest Cambridgeshire and I arrived home a couple of hours late. Thankfully my guests were the brilliant Aga demonstrator Mark David and his divine wife Annie.
Once again I found myself hugely thankful for the Aga, 40 minutes after I got home, we were all tucking into risotto and chicken with bacon and stilton, which, although it was thrown together in seconds was utterly delicious. Of course, I let Mark help out with the cooking, well it would have been rude not to, and he has a way of chopping onions that is enough to make me faint with envy.
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06 January 2009 15:33
The closing date for The Daily Telegraph competition was the 31st December and we've been inundated with entries. We are in the process of going through the vast pile of post and will be answering every single one. I had hoped to answer them all as they came in, but it quickly became apparent that this wouldn't be possible. The stream of letters was fast and furious and the final day of the competition alone saw 250 entries landing on my doormat.
I've had a truly wonderful time reading through the entries and learning so much as much about the social history of Britain as about the various Agas that have witnessed its unfolding.
I'm currently sitting at the kitchen table going through the final few hundred entries and am getting quite misty-eyed over the fact that soon I'll be finished and won't have my daily history lesson to look forward to.
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06 January 2009 15:15
Technical gremlins seem to have hijacked my blog over Christmas, so sadly I was unable to post. I'd like to thank everyone who's emailed to find out if I did manage to feed my Aga some oil and have the delicious Christmas lunch I was planning. Thankfully the answer is yes and never has a turkey been more bronzed or, frankly, more welcome. The children were slightly worried that they'd have to eat salad for lunch and were thrilled to find that actually their Christmas lunch was the same as ever.
I once spent Christmas without an Aga, as I didn't have one in the first house I lived in when we moved to Norfolk, and it was the most soulless festive period I've ever experienced.
Being slightly allergic to New Year's Eve mine was spent very quietly pottering in the kitchen and making dinner for my lovely friends Phil and Jo and their delightful brood of small, giggly boys. One of my favourite days of the year to cook is New Year's Day - I can't imagine one passing without a hoard of people in the kitchen eating a huge brunch.
I love being the first up on the first day of a brand new year, pottering in the kitchen and waiting for the first child of the day to make it down to the warmth of the Aga.
This year I worked for much of the Christmas break writing and recipe testing for my book. This was a doubly good thing as I loved doing it - after all the kitchen is my natural home - but it meant I could also adopt a slightly martyred air, being pretty much the only one of my friends working over Christmas.
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23 December 2008 10:46
There are many Christmas traditions - the Nativity play, advent calendars and stir-up Sunday all spring to mind. But in my house we have another that we play out with monotonous regularity. In the run-up to each Christmas, we manage to run out of oil. I have no idea why we never learn from this, but each year without fail we come down to the kitchen and find the Aga cold.
Soon I'm going to replace our old but still fabulous oil Aga with a new 13-amp programmable model, which means that we'll never have this trouble again. Until then, though, I can reap the benefits of running out of oil. I know, it's quite odd, but there is indeed an upside.
Firstly I am reminded of how truly amazing my Aga engineer is. When I explained my plight this morning - which includes the fact that no oil company can deliver until January and my poor children may have to eat salad for Christmas lunch - he put his mind to the problem and came up with an ingenious solution.
Also, every friend I have told of the problem, offered us places at their lunch table and as the Aga won't be back in action until tomorrow night, I also have the benefit of having to go out for dinner tonight. A rare treat nowadays.
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19 December 2008 13:51
However much one loves cooking, it can sometimes be difficult to think up new ideas for every day of the week. This is why I'm sending Louise Walker's brilliant new book, Aga Year out as Christmas presents to all my Aga-owning friends.
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I've already decided to use Louise's Japanese Style Salmon, recipe on New Year's Day and was delighted to learn that she recommends Pea Soup as the dish of the day for my birthday in July. Actually, it's become a bit of a game in the office to see what our birthday dish is. The lovely Elizabeth, whose birthday is in November, shall definitely be tucking into Macaroni Cheese, cooked in the Aga on her special day, even if I have to deliver it to London myself.
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18 December 2008 14:54
One of the nicest things about my job is the sheer variety of things I end up doing. No two days are the same. For example, today I've opened a huge postbag, had a long discussion with Aga's Chief Executive about the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of Aga's foundry at Coalbrookdale. I then did an interview with BBC Radio Essex where we talked about all manner of things, including why an Aga Christmas lunch is definitely the best. I then cooked lunch for a writer, which I always love doing, as I get to eat something far grander than I would usually on a mid-week afternoon and I get to show off the huge talents of the Aga. As soon as I've finished writing this, I'm off too be interviewed about my next book as well as about my interesting and varied life as Aga's Brand Ambassador. Sitting here, rather stuffed with delicious lunch, I'm feeling very lucky to have such a variety of things to keep me busy each day.
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17 December 2008 12:24
Let's face it, for most of us the end of 2008 hasn't been hugely sunny. So any nice news is hugely lovely to hear. When my phone rang this morning I was thrilled to find it was the lovely James McIntosh and even more thrilled to find that for once he wasn't complaining about the trials of traveling with turkeys (apparently they're quite heavy and not great company). For the past month or so, he's been whizzing up and down the country - mainly it would seem on a train and always with at least one turkey in tow - doing Aga demonstrations and teaching people how to make the perfect Christmas lunch.
This time, though, there wasn't even mention of a turkey, trimmings or even a bread sauce. No, James had called to tell me that his cookery book, Mix, has won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award.
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So hooray for James and lovely to hear some good news at last. I for one sincerely hope he'll be taking a turkey or two out to celebrate.
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16 December 2008 15:21
I had a really lovely conversation the other day with a lady called Linda and then received this great picture in my email.
Linda said, "This is my late 'Nana', Mary Huck, baking a Double Decker Currant Pasty and as far as I am aware the photo appeared in an advert for Aga. My Mother also has an Aga and I do too."
It's a familiar story, I don't know anyone who grew up with an Aga that doesn't still cook on one now. Once you've had one it's incredibly difficult to cope without it.
I'm currently doing some detective work, to see if I can track down the ad Linda mentions and will keep you posted.
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12 December 2008 13:23
I'm really looking forward to this weekend as it will be spent recipe testing for my next book, which is called Breakfast in Bed.
Frankly it's all rather thrilling as it involves my three favourite things - sleeping, eating and cooking on my Aga. The children are very excited as I've got them on stand-by as tasters, so there will be a lot of pancake making going on.
Planning for the weekend made me realise that owning an Aga really does ensure one eats better. I had a wilderness year when I first moved to Norfolk and we lived in a freezing cottage that didn't have an Aga. Throughout that time we grabbed toast on weekdays and went out for breakfast on the weekend.
I vividly remember the first morning we got up in this house and were reunited with an Aga. Although everything was in packing cases and we were in real disarray, we still managed to eat a fantastic full English breakfast.
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09 December 2008 15:29
I'm fascinated by old etiquette books and find it intriguing to learn of all the things one should and shouldn't do. However I do think there's a glaring omission - no one has ever written about the etiquette of Aga leaning.
Picture the scene: you're hanging out in the kitchen with a group of friends, drinking wine and waiting for something delicious to come out of the roasting oven.
Now, the host or hostess will always find that when they want to get to the oven, there will invariably be someone leaning against it. So, I suggest two minutes before the food requires attention the hostess exclaims that supper needs to come out of the Aga and everyone clears a space.
This will stop the unseemly shoving and almost Twister-like contortions that are played out in kitchens all over England.
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08 December 2008 15:45
There have always been many ways to love your Aga, you can make sure it's regularly serviced, ensure you use it to it's full potential and give it a small dog or a couple of cats for company. But now you can also love your Aga in cyberspace. When my daughter updated her Facebook status to Lucie is toasty warm by the Aga in Norfolk. it provoked a rather envious response. In fact, it prompted new members to join the Facebook Aga Appreciation Society. It makes me happy to think that when Lucie is away at university, away from the Aga and the comforts of home, she can go online and appreciate the benefits of a virtual Aga. Sadly not the good food though.
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03 December 2008 16:55
I was sitting at the kitchen table this morning, opening my ever- growing Aga postbag when I got to thinking. I've had around 500 letters from people who have an Aga that's been the heart of a home for 50 years or more. Now, I don't usually get excited about maths, but, it made me think, so I keyed a couple of numbers into my calculator and realised that this means these Agas have collectively been cooking for around 25,000 years.
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02 December 2008 16:55
As soon as December 1st passes, my mind turns to Christmas and, of course, the tree. This year I'm thrilled to learn that our local farm shop Back to the Garden -which featured in Aga's Local Life campaign - will be stocking locally grown Nofolk Christmas trees. I've decided to collect mine on Saturday and then get the children to help me make biscuits to hang from it on ribbons. One of the joys of the Aga is there's enough space to make tons of biscuits, so I have plenty left over to give away as gifts. There's something really lovely, I think, about receiving something someone has gone to the trouble of making themselves. It feels more Christmassy somehow.
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28 November 2008 08:21
Sliding doors to a cooks dream shop
When one imagines the life of a movie star it's usually in the context of glamorous parties aboard yachts on shimmering azure seas. It's not very often that you contemplate them shopping online.
Today, however, on receiving an update from Gwyneth Paltrow's new lifestyle website, Goop, I learned that even screen goddesses enjoy a spot of online shopping. Gwyneth, it seems, is particularly fond of buying cookware online and lists Aga-owned Divertimenti among her favourite places for off-the-beaten-track home and kitchen goodies.
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26 November 2008 16:16
And yet another starring role for the Aga
Today my postbag revealed an item that allows me to play a role I've never taken on before - that of Hollywood movie producer. Well almost.
Pete Postlethwaite - the Oscar-nominated actor best known for his roles in The Usual Suspects, In the Name of the Father and The Constant Gardener - is shooting his new film, Waving at Trains, here in my home county of Norfolk and the production team behind the movie is looking for two very specific locations for the shoot, which is scheduled for the week beginning December 15.
The first location is a large attic space, but the second is far more my sort of thing - essential to the movie's storyline is finding what producer Emily Blickem describes as "a country style kitchen with an Aga and the Aga is vital".
In Waving at Trains, Postlethwaite plays Douglas, a man haunted by tragic childhood events who retreats into the world of his model railway. So if you live in North Norfolk, have an Aga kitchen and fancy it being part of a fantastic new film, contact 07943 308302 or e-mail info@madandbad.co.uk
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25 November 2008 13:12
My post-opening skills become more finely tuned each day. Now I can open and read about 40 letters in 90 minutes. give or take a few. Having said that, letters that have pictures of sweet little animals enclosed take a few minutes longer as I feel the need to share them with anyone who happens to be in the house at the time.
This morning's haul was a good one and I found myself laughing out loud a number of times - never more heartily, though, than when I read the charming letter from Nicholas Zelle.
It began 'Ours certainly won't be the oldest Aga. however my mother (101 years old) might well be one of the oldest Aga owners.
The letter went on to explain that the Aga was installed during the summer of 1952 and has been happily cooking ever since. Mr Zelle remembers it providing warmth to a gosling for its first few days of life and also recalls a number of burnt offerings, forgotten in the ovens. The record holder is currently an Apple Charlotte, which cooked for 14 days before anyone remembered it.
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24 November 2008 19:05
It's so cold outside that I have become something of a hermit. In the wilds of North Norfolk we were completely snowed in for a few hours on Sunday, something I was rather thrilled about. It meant my daughter couldn't go back to university, so we got to keep her for an extra day and we didn't move from the kitchen table. The warmth of the Aga was just too seductive to leave.
Over Sunday lunch talked turned to the search for the oldest Aga and I regaled the table with tales of tortoises skipping hibernation, a kitten that managed to turn the Aga off and, of course, new-born lambs being revived in the warming oven.
Everyone was fascinated and I dug out lots of interesting pictures I'd been sent. It became clear, though, that images of lambs were sadly lacking. Thinking back, I've realised that while I've heard the same lambing stories over and over again, I've never actually seen a picture of a lamb getting all cosy in the kitchen.
So, I appeal to you. If you have any such pictures, please send them in to me, so I can post them here.
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21 November 2008 12:36
Middlesborough FCs star player
I had a lovely letter from a very nice Mr Frost this morning, who - overcome with Aga nostalgia - decided to share his story.
Picture the scene: it's 1976 and his parents are working as House Mother and Father for Middlesborough Football Club. They live in a Victorian house that has been converted into a 22-bedroom hotel. It's full of character and retains original features, such as the internal bell system.
The scullery - where Mac the Chef was often found prepping vegetables - was everyone's favourite room. While less grand than the rest of the house, (frankly, I'm told, it was a little dowdy) it was home to the Aga and that's what made it so popular.
Club managers, including Jack Charlton, Malcolm Allison, Bobby Murdoch and John Neil, declared it the place they preferred to eat their pre-match lunches and discuss tactics with the backroom boys. Apparently the Aga's gentle warmth provided the perfect backdrop for delivering the final team talk before battle commenced.
The most appreciative person ever to lean on the Aga was a young goalkeeper who had travelled from Australia to make his name in English football. Now remember this was the 70s, when we had real weather, and the poor boy arrived during a period of heavy snow.
Mr Frost vividly remembers coming home from work and finding the boy, miserable and shivering in front of the Aga. He was surrounded by his belongings and was wearing a hat, coat and scarf. Sitting on a rocking chair, as close to the Aga as possible, he remained there for three days until his demand to be repatriated to warmer climes were met.Sadly, as Mr Frost recalls, he didn't even see an English football pitch, let alone play on one.
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20 November 2008 12:16
News just in... Christmas is coming
I found out something rather shocking this morning. There are only 34 days left until Christmas. Now, if like me, you've been in denial about it even happening this year, then you too will be somewhat surprised it's so close.
In recent conversations with Aga demonstrator extraorinaire, James McIntosh, the subject of mince pies and turkeys has been rasied, but frankly I thought it was just an eccentricity on his part to be thinking about it so early.
Not so, I'm afraid, but all is not lost. Aga has come up with a nifty solution for those of us who have been a little tardy in our festive planning. Yesterday they launched a brilliant new website called Aga Christmas, which offers everything from a neat little Christmas countdown through to festive recipes, hints and tips and, rather brilliantly, gift ideas and essential Christmas cookware.
I, for one, shall be taking full advantage of it and then behaving in a rather smug manner when Christmas seems to fall effortlessly into place.
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19 November 2008 19:08
When I wrote about someone taking their Aga to France with them, I presumed it was a one-off and found the idea delightfully quirky.
I was wrong - as proven by the many letters I got this morning on the subject of Agas that emigrate.
William Dees wrote to tell me that in 1992 his Aga made its way from the UK to the South of France and has lived there happily ever since. This time the Aga was shipped whole, rather than in bits, and William had to get the local rugby team to help move it into place - as you'll see from the pictures, they managed this with relative ease.
Each summer a friend visits William and his wife for a holiday. The gentleman in question happens to be an Aga engineer, so while he's there he also gives the Aga its annual service. Sounds like the perfect house guest!
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17 November 2008 16:54
My Aga is feeling rather overworked as I've been recipe testing all weekend. The children, though, are thrilled by the development and our au pair, who is French, has declared English food as good as that from across the Channel, which is hugely flattering.
Actually, there's a bit of a French theme today as I opened a very funny letter from a lady called Anna, who moved from Devon to France a few years ago. Her husband had always wanted to live there, so she agreed to the move on the proviso that she could take her beloved Aga with her. Men were duly dispatched to take the Aga to pieces and they travelled across on the ferry to re-assemble it in its new home.
Anna was thrilled that the Aga was so at home in another country and set about showing it off to her new neighbours, explaining how the world's best cooker actually comes from England. A week or so after the move, Anna was wandering around Paris when she noticed the Aga shop. She kicked herself, she tells me, when she realised that she could have bought a brand new Aga in France and sold her house here for more money. Just goes to show - there are Aga shops where you'd least expect them.
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14 November 2008 13:54
I'm off to do a radio interview this morning, which is rather nice. I'm going to be talking about Aga, of course, and encouraging people to tell us about their Aga memories. I really enjoy going to radio studios - I find the technology completely fascinating, the vast desks full of buttons and sliders seem intricate and exciting and the idea that you can reach so many people is thrilling.
Whenever I talk about the Aga on a radio programme I'm usually inundated with emails from listeners, telling me the bits I've missed out. They'll write saying that I forgot to say that bread from an Aga tastes divine or that a Sunday roast isn't the same if it's cooked in a conventional cooker. Or they tell me that I forgot the bit about reviving lambs or how puppies are deprived unless their owner has an Aga for them to sunggle in front of.
So, I'm sitting here trying to remember everyone's favourite thing about the Aga. My personal feeling is that the sheer simplicity of an Aga is difficult to beat. There are no knobs and dials to worry about and, unless you truly forget you've put something into one of the ovens, the food always does come out tasting utterly delicious.
One of the other guests on the show today is someone who teaches a pole dancing exercise class. While I'm confident I can convert her to Aga cooking, I can't see that she'll ever be able to change my mind about yoga being the best form of exercise.
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13 November 2008 13:53
I've had another morning at the kitchen table, opening letters from Aga owners from all over the country. The vast majority of those I receive are handwritten in proper ink, which I find really charming and delightful. I feel as if I've stepped back in time and love the fact there are still so many people who do things properly.
In this day and age of instant communication, it seems to me that the letters we leave behind will form a valuable social history for those who come after us.
So far today - as well as the usual Aga pictures - I've received some lovely poems, which I hope to publish here once I can obtain the writers' permissions. I've also had lots of pictures of dogs, cats and children in front of the Aga, but although I've heard lots of stories, I've yet to see a picture of a lamb being revived in the warming oven. So if there are any photographs out there, I'd love to see them.
I've also heard from a number of ladies who reliably inform me that if they were forced to choose, they'd keep the Aga rather than their husbands.
Interestingly, most of these came from the West Country, so I think the men there perhaps need to pull their socks up a bit.
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11 November 2008 16:17
Kitchen decor is a dogs dinner!
Over the years I've forgotten many things I've popped into the Aga and we've seen all manner of carbonised foods, such as pizza and baked potatoes. My children have often suggested we enter our burnt offerings for the Turner Prize. I have never, however, had a memory lapse that's produced any serious consequences.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for the parents-in-law of Lyndi from Wiltshire. She wrote me a delightful note with a tale that will strike fear into the heart of any forgetful Aga owner.
The story begins one summer a few years ago. Lyndi's parents-in-law visited the cash and carry and returned with a mountain of tinned dog food, only to be confronted with the dilemma of where to store it all. The Aga had been switched off for the summer, so they decided the four ovens of the Aga would provide a perfect storage solution until the winter.
Sadly, they forgot all about the dog food and - as the weather got cooler and the nights drew in - they decided to relight the Aga. I'm sure, dear reader, you can see where this is going.
Lyndi's parents-in-law retired to bed, happy that all was well in the kitchen and no doubt looking forward to an Aga-cooked breakfast the next morning. This, though, was not to be.
In the middle of the night, they were awoken by a huge explosion. The Aga doors were blown off their hinges and found embedded in the walls and the entire kitchen was covered from floor to ceiling in roasted dog food and shattered tins. I'm reliably informed that the smell was truly disgusting.
The kitchen required complete refurbishment. Not so the Aga, though - the doors were put back in place and still it goes on not much worse for wear.
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10 November 2008 14:39
I have just received the funniest letter from David and Elizabeth in Devon. They're the proud owners of an old Aga named Agnes. As well as drying clothes, warming cats, heating water, reviving chickens and keeping the kitchen warm, Agnes also ensures that the couple's two tortoises do not need to hibernate in the winter.
The tortoises, which the couple inherited from an elderly lady, were originally called Little and Large, but Elizabeth thought this far too dull - so they were duly re-christened Lettuce and Marge.
As you can see from the pictures, the cute reptiles are particularly keen to get as close to the Aga as possible.
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07 November 2008 15:19
The campaign to track down Agas is hotting up. And staff in the Aga shops in Kidderminster, Cirencester and Cardiff have come up with a unique way of hunting out elusive cookers in their areas. Inspired by those wild west wanted posters we're all familiar with, they're placing ads like the one pictured and offering a reward for any Aga successfully tracked down.
And it's working - Aga owners are flocking to sign up at www.agawanted.com. Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can register their Aga at the new site, as well as at www.thisismyaga.co.uk .Alternatively, you can email me with your stories and pictures.
I think it's unlikely we'll be seeing any other wild west behaviour in the saloons of Kidderminster or Cardiff and I don't believe there'll be any tumbleweed making its way down the High Street in Cirencester, but I do think lots of rewards will be handed out.
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06 November 2008 14:09
Social history and abiding memories
I'm a little late writing today's entry as I came down to a huge postbag full of letters from owners of old Agas. After making a cup of tea, with water boiled on my own rather elderly Aga, I set about opening the first 50 items of correspondence.
By the time my husband wandered into the kitchen he found me laughing uproariously. When he came back 20 minutes later he found me with tears streaming down my face.
The letters are a world away from dry accounts of Aga purchases - they're so much more than that. In a time when the only mail one seems to receive are bills or junk, I feel hugely privileged to be sent letters documenting decades of social and personal history.
I put aside for later the one about a man who routinely lost his false teeth while pouring coke into his Aga as I know my boys will find it hysterical funny.
I was hugely moved by a letter from a couple who, because they'd been in the army and RAF during the war and had a small child, accrued enough points to be allowed to build their own house. Their one extravagance was an Aga, which cost £110. Their memories of stepping over the threshold into their new house more than 56 years ago is still fresh today.
I've read tales of an Aga that 'sulks' when guests arrive, an Aga on the port side of a boat whose weight is balanced by a 100-gallon water tank on the other. I've read of Agas in grand historic houses and tiny terraced cottages, of pheasant chicks, lambs, kittens and puppies being brought back to life in warming ovens around the country, and a 100-year-old housekeeper who - like the ancient Aga she re-lights with huge skill - is still going strong.
Many people have written to tell me about the enduring and warm relationships they have with their Aga engineers - indeed one lady told me of an engineer who came out on Christmas morning.
I've opened less than half of this morning's batch of letters and after lunch I intend to hit the rest. Please, please keep them coming.
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05 November 2008 11:39
I had an interesting but rather disturbing phone call from a terribly nice lady the other day. A huge Aga fan, she told me that she read this blog every day and had also recommended it to her aunt Lottie, who is 85 on Tuesday.
One of those terribly resourceful silver surfers we often hear about, Aunt Lottie went on to Google and typed in Girl by the Aga. Sadly, what happened next is not for the faint-hearted, so if you're of a nervous disposition look away now.
Aunt Lottie clicked on the first site that appeared in the search listing and was horrified to see a large number of naked girls cavorting in the most energetic fashion. Poor Lottie was horrified and immediately phoned her niece, who in turn repeated the search process getting the same very naughty results.
So, Aunt Lottie's niece then rang me to alert me to the problem. After much discussion in the office, we decided it was probably too tricky to change the name of the blog, but instead ask that you make absolutely sure you click on the search listing that has my name in it. Don't click on the one that's headed Aga Uncovered because you certainly won't find tales from the simmering plate there.
As Aunt Lottie's niece reported, there was no one there that looked like me, most of the ladies involved were in various stages of undress and there wasn't much cooking going on!
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04 November 2008 10:36
Hot from the postbag is this charming letter from Philip Dudden.
My father Richard - ever the master of delegation - has asked me to write to you having seen an article in The Daily Telegraph asking for information about 50-plus year-old Agas still in use.
Father's late aunt, Eadie, installed an Aga in 1939; apparently it cost £68. That Aga is still in its original, anthracite-consuming condition; still in full-time use, but now looked after by Eadie's 'baby' brother, Ken, who's now 93 or 94 years old.
The farmhouse is, I gather, something of a timepiece and I wouldn't be surprised if the Aga's installation was about the only 'improvement' made in the 20th century. The interior, incidentally, was used earlier this year for an episode of the TV programme Casualty.
Marketing and promotions are nothing new to Aga! Aunt Eadie earned herself a free set of cookware by introducing a new customer - her sister, my grandmother, Winnie. Grandmother's Aga was installed in 1940 at Manor Farm. Grandfather was disgusted that the price had then risen to £70!
This Aga replaced a Stanley range and when my grandmother arrived at Manor Farm, as a new bride in 1921, she found beaten earth on the floor of the kitchen covered in locally grown rush. The rushes were thrown out once a year each spring. And if you'd known my grandmother, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that the rushes didn't last long - the floor was promptly flagged.
The grandparents retired in about 1949, moving three cottages (then knocked into one) that my grandfather had inherited through his great great-grandfather. Needless to say, they installed a new Aga.
But grandmother's Manor Farm Aga hadn't seen the last of us. It was uprooted in 1951 and installed at the new marital home and farm of my parents, Richard and Elizabeth. It later moved within the farmhouse and was converted to diesel-oil.
The promotional pans didn't end with Eadie. My grandmother earned herself a set when another sister, Louise, bought an Aga - presumably in 1940/41.
So Agas were the centre of my life (the only warm spot in the house) from its outset in 1952. And they weren't just used for normal things - [we would also] stuff the lower oven floor with hay and plonk the odd sickly lamb there to revive (door left open, of course!)
My mother read novels late into the night, leant over the right-hand cover. Mother's read novels were easily identifiable - they'd become 'loose leaf' with the melting of their glued spines.
Agas followed me about, too. We bought a very smart, dark royal blue one for £2,500 in 1978 (grandfather would have been apoplectic). Then, having moved from Somerset to Cornwall, we 'inherited' a swanky red number at Tresaddern Farm, St Columb. Not able to leave well alone, we moved it to an adjacent, former store room to form a new kitchen.
You might think that I should now, in my fourth floor flat, be well removed from Agas and weak-necked lambs in bottom ovens, but you can't keep a good Aga down: I'm now toying with installing a Little Wenlock Aga stove.
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03 November 2008 11:57
I'm having a lovely morning going through my emails, many of which concern ancient Agas still providing sterling service after more than 50 years. The stories that come with these cookers are both extraordinary and amusing.
Last year Tom Shea, from Northampton, began converting an old building to be turned into a day nursery. His idea was to teach very young children about good food and involve them in growing, harvesting and preparing their own organic food. He was in for a huge surprise, though, as he set about renovating the building. He thought the previous owner had died, but it turned out she was alive and well and living a few miles away from his holiday cottage in Norfolk.
He, of course, went to see her and - over numerous cups of tea - learned the many secrets of the building.
It was a worthwhile trip - Tom learned of a secret room, a 17th century well, an antique fireplace and - you've guessed it - an ancient Aga. As you can see from the pictures, Tom and his team wasted no time in uncovering it and are now looking forward to finding out more about its history.
Don't forget to let us know if you have an Aga story. You can do so by emailing me here.
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03 November 2008 10:29
Hot on the trail of the oldest working Aga
Good news - The Daily Telegraph has stepped in to help with our Aga search. Adam Edwards - one of my favourite journalists - has written a beautiful, lyrical piece on searching for the oldest working Aga.
Tracing its history from the 1920s through the Second World War to the present day, Adam's huge affection for the Aga comes shining through.
There are exciting prizes to be won, too, for the oldest Aga found by the end of the year - including a brand new programmable Aga. An interesting, unusual or downright odd Aga story could also win you £1,000-worth of Aga cookware.
So, if you think there may be an ancient Aga hiding out somewhere in your house - believe me it does happen every so often - then get looking for it now.
I'll be posting updates here regularly, so check back and see what unusual anecdotes have been unearthed.
And don't worry if you didn't get The Daily Telegraph on Saturday (November 1) - you can find out more about how to enter the competition and read the story online by clicking here
So put the kettle on, make a nice cup of tea and settle in to take a trip through 80 years of fascinating Aga history.
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31 October 2008 17:54
Star of stage, screen and kitchen
I often get letters about Agas appearing in all sorts of strange places and some are almost unbelievable. For example, many years ago Agas used to be standard on trains of the Iraq national railway and there's even an Aga at the South Pole, perfect for keeping those explorers lovely and warm.
The Aga also features highly in TV and radio programmes and in many and varied films. Hannibal Lecter had an Aga in Hannibal the sequel to The Silence of the Lambs. There was an Aga in Practical Magic , the popular film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jude Law, featured an Aga, which was, for me at least, the highlight of this rather predictable movie.
There was an Aga in the ITV drama Cold Feet (it belonged to Jenny and Pete and I seem to remember he got to keep it when they split up). Emerdale, of course, has had lots of Agas and Rayburns throughout the years and rarely an episode of Midsommer Murders goes by without an Aga appearing - often splattered with the blood of the latest victim to die in bizarre circumstances in the village which must have England's lowest life expectancy rates.
The Aga features too in The Archers. It was installed in the kitchen of Doris and Dan Archer's home at Brookfield, was inherited by Phil and his wife Jill and was then taken on by David and Ruth. The producers decided to install a real Aga in the studio as they found they couldn't re-create authentic sound effects any other way.
There was also an Aga in the stage version of The Moustetrap. Actually, it's easy to see why the Aga has become a star of stage and screen - it's good looking, hard working and stylish and so has all the qualities you'd expect from a screen god or goddess.
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29 October 2008 11:02
It's not often something as humble as the wooden spoon finds itself in the spotlight, but that's exactly what happened today. A panel of 33 of the most important people in the food world - including Jamie Oliver, Prue Leith and Raymond Blanc - have voted this unsung hero as the most useful kitchen gadget of all time.
Those clever people at Divertimenti, which is an Aga company, already know this -it's why they have more than 20 wooden spoons on their shelves.
Mainly made from beech or olive wood, there's one for every job - they even have one that measures a huge 50cm, perfect for those cooking for an enormous crowd. Actually, they also stock a silicone one, which while not technically a wooden spoon, does a brilliant job.
It's rather thrilling that the wooden spoon is finally getting the recognition it deserves. I suppose in sporting terms you could say it has won promotion to the premier league. Not bad for something that has historically been awarded to the also-rans that come last in a tournament.
Also on the list of kitchen must-haves are a plane grater, KitchenAid Mixer, stick blender and the Magimix, all of which are stocked by Divertimenti.
So, if you were stuck for Christmas gift ideas you now have the answer. If you're feeling frugal you can nevertheless buy something owned by all the top chefs and it'll only cost you a couple of pounds.
If, however, you're looking for something a little grander or more glamorous, then both Divertimenti and Aga have Christmas catalogues out right now.
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27 October 2008 15:29
Janet Street-Porter's interview with Paul O'Grady in this month's Marie Claire makes interesting reading. As well as learning that O'Grady has the largest Aga Street-Porter has ever seen, we also learn that it replaced a Rayburn which he gave to Julian Clary.
As Agas and Rayburns have always been made from recycled materials, it's nice to see that Paul O'Grady has embraced the recycling principle. It's rather nice to hear about people swapping, trading, bartering and giving things away - it's good for the planet leave all involved feeling a warm glow of happiness.
The whole thing set me thinking about other things well-known people might gratefully receive. Sarah Palin - she of the $150,000 wardrobe - might benefit from a copy of India Knight's new literary offering; The Thrift Book, which promises to teach the reader how to live well and spend less.
Perhaps Doctor Who David Tennant could lend the Tardis to Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand, who could then travel back in time and decide to leave a nice, polite, call-me-back kind of message for Andrew Sachs.
Julia Roberts, a well-known knitter, might like to rustle up a few sweaters for the cast of Hollyoaks as apparently their habit of wandering around in midriff-skimming t-shirts in sub-zero temperatures has caused us all to follow suit and thus turn our thermostats up a few degrees. Julia would be doing a huge service to the actors and possibly saving the planet in the process.
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24 October 2008 16:43
Jam, Jerusalem and err, melons.
In line with the rest of the world, things at Aga have been pretty tough in the past few weeks. While, in true British style, everyone keeps a stiff upper lip and a nose to the grindstone, news of financial downturn and general global woes have left us all feeling a little less sunny than usual.
So we were mightily cheered up by a video clip that made its way on to our computer screens. Created by iBall - the people who make financial matters understandable to the masses - the clip features one Camilla Goodwinston-Hurley of the Chipping cum Bicester chapter the Cheltenham WI.
While she slowly strips off for yet another WI calendar, she extols the virtues of her beloved Aga, describing it as dependable, constantly working and part of the family. As I type this in front of my own Aga, I feel a certain kinship with the delightful Mrs G-H.
Now times are tough, we Aga owners need to stick together and spread the word about the world's best cooker. One day, I hope to meet the lovely Camilla; we could swap recipes, share stories of wet dogs and Rugby boots and I'm rather hoping that in exchange for my butternut squash recipe she might let me into the secret of how she keeps her melons so perky.
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24 October 2008 16:40
Since the middle of this week I've had a huge number of calls from people wanting to talk about Russia. While I hugely appreciate Russian literature, the architecture of Red Square and the odd glass of vodka, I felt entirely unqualified to answer the callers' questions as they all related to Russian oil. Not, I have to say, a subject I know a huge amount about.
Odd, I thought, until I read the feature to which they referred. It ran in The Times on Wednesday. Its author, Richard Morrison, threw Aga owners across the country into a panic about oil from the East. The thrust of the article, if you haven't seen it, is that there's a rumour that Russian oil is too dirty or sulphurous for an Aga to swallow.
Could this be possible, I wondered. So, in true Nancy Drew style, I set out to find out. I tracked down Robert Wine, BP's delightful spokesman who told me the whole thing was utter nonsense. Apparently, it doesn't matter where oil originates from because by the time it's been refined, it has to come up to a certain grade and therefore any oil you buy for motoring or domestic use will be of the correct sales spec and perfectly appropriate for the job.
So, will your Aga run happily on Russian oil, the man from BP he say Da.
Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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13 October 2008 15:18
There was great excitement at Aga on Friday when the Princess Royal paid a visit to the factory and showroom at Telford in Shropshire. The Princess, who owns a pillar box red Aga, was presented with a commemorative plate and some cookware to match her Aga.
It was a very exciting day for eight-year-old Abigail Hudson, who presented the Princess with a posy. Abigail - whose father, Darryl, works for Aga - had a brilliant day and said: "I was very nervous and excited. She was really lovely. It was like talking to someone I've known for a long time."
The Princess also took a tour of the factory and was introduced to around 150 staff, expressing a particular interest in sustainable and renewable energy - specifically carbon-neutral wood-burning stoves, Aga's more efficient range cookers and its new solar panel technology.
The Aga has long been the cooker of choice for the establishment and it was a real treat for everyone to meet a royal Aga-owner in person.
Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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02 October 2008 16:48
Do you ever feel like you've simply had enough? It sometimes feels impossible to get anything done because technology has got in the way. Booking cinema tickets has become a frustrating experience - requiring voice recognition software - banking requires you to remember a number of tricky passwords and PIN numbers and everything has become so much more complicated.
Yesterday, I had the misfortune of trying to pay my phone bill using an automated service. I failed and had to repeatedly press zero to get a human to take my money. I had an hour on the phone to a computer repair company and ended up no better off than I was in the first place.
Sometimes I crave simplicity. I miss the days when everything we did required some kind of human interaction. It's a lonely and soulless way to live, connecting only with machines.
This is why I was really excited to be involved with Aga's Local Life campaign. I got to talk to lots of farmers, fishmongers, butchers, bakers and even the odd chocolate artist. The Local Life events, which are taking place around the country have been hugely well attended, which makes me believe that there are a lot of people out there who feel the way I do.
After a day at work, which seems to get more technologically challenging each day. I'm thrilled to cook supper on a cooker that has no knobs, dials or buttons to confuse me. I love the fact that my Aga is hot in all the right places and requires no effort on my part. Nothing goes wrong, it doesn't challenge me in any way; it just cooks nicely, whatever I put in. Bliss.
Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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01 October 2008 09:27
I actually get rather irritated by people saying that the Aga isn't green. This simply isn't true. Comparing an Aga to a conventional slot-in cooker is rather like comparing a family car to a vehicle that works for its living.
The Aga isn't simply a cooker; it does so much more. So far today - it's four in the afternoon now - my Aga has dried my son's rugby kit, made breakfast for four, lunch for six and supper is currently bubbling away in the simmering oven. It's done all this while providing endless cups of tea, and if not sympathy, then certainly a restorative warmth. Try getting a soulless conventional cooker to do all this.
Plus, after one of the worst summers on record, while our non-Aga owning friends caved in and put the heating on, we held firm and simply retreated to the kitchen when things got a little chilly.
'An Aga is not a cooker it's a way of life' is a phrase I've heard more times than I can count. And it's true. I would give up anything before I gave up my Aga. I also firmly believe that without it I'd spend lots of money on electricity. We do have a tumble drier, but use it rarely and I don't use the myriad small electrical appliances my non-Aga owning friends do.
My coffee is made in a stove-top pot. I don't trust and would never own a microwave. My sandwiches are toasted on the Aga, often while there's dough proving at the back. So all in all, without the Aga, life in my house would be a lot poorer indeed.
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29 September 2008 10:08
On Saturday, I went to the Aga Local Life event at the Aga Shop in Holt and it made me realise how lucky I am to live in an area with so many great food producers. I've always known the Aga Shop was the hub of the community - my daughters and I even learned to knit there a few years ago - but it was never so apparent as it was this weekend.
I ran into a number of people I haven't seen for ages, which was lovely, including my friend Sarah and her daughter Megan (pictured). Sarah's mum was also there. They were all watching chicken from the local farm shop, Back to the Garden, being cooked by Aga Demonstrator Chrissie Hill. As my boys chatted to Megan, I realised that their generation is growing up with a real interest in well-produced food, which can only be a good thing.
Chrissie also cooked food from the North Norfolk Fish Company, P&S Butchers, Groveland Butchers and Bembo's greengrocers and everyone got to taste lots of local produce. Around 150 people attended the event - I've never seen the Aga Shop so packed - and staff from the shop seemed rightly proud to have done their bit for local life.
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26 September 2008 12:24
There are few places in the world I'd rather be than sitting happily by my Aga drinking a large mug of tea or, after six, a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Invariably my sausage dog, Smudge, will perch on one knee and one of the Bengal kittens will sit on the other.
Sadly, tea drinking doesn't pay the bills, and while much of my work is actually done in the kitchen, I have to occasionally leave and go out into the cold.
Much of my time is spent writing, which is lovely and agonising in equal parts. When it goes well, it's like ballet, and words simply dance on to the page. When it goes badly it's desperate and there are few things as bleak as staring at a blank document on the screen, willing the words to come.
I've now got a new job, too, which frankly is my dream role. I've been appointed as Aga's Brand Ambassador, which sounds rather grand, but actually involves talking a lot - for which I'm eminently qualified - abut Agas, one of my favourite things.
One of the things I'm going to be doing is tracking down interesting Aga stories, so if you use an Aga in an interesting way, have funny tales or an ancient Aga you'd like to know more about then please get in touch. You can email me content@aga-web.co.uk and I'll get back to you.
I'm hoping that once I've collected anecdotes, ephemera and pictures I'll be writing up the stories and posting them here. So, all contributions would be very gratefully received.
Posted by Laura James | View Comments (0) | Email to a friend
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