Heston's Christmas Feast

One to watch... Bloomin' Heston Blumenthal cooks up a festive feast inspired by days of yore on Channel 4, tonight at 9.00pm...

Christmas (w)rap

Maybe it's because I've spent too long at home with two small people for the last three years, but I like this...

Grow your own drugs for the Hairy Biker's Twelve Days of Christmas

Two festive frivolities to watch on BBC 2 tonight. First there's Grow You Own Drugs for Christmas at 8.00pm with ethnobotanist James Wong concocting a Victorian hangover cure (amongst other things)...


And then at 9.00pm it's The Hairy Bikers' Twelve Days of Christmas, in which Dave Myers and Si King create an array of seasonal dishes that reinterpret the classic Christmas song...

Jamie's Family Christmas

Channel 4 continues its festive season of seasonal shows based around their most popular presenters with Jamie's Family Christmas. There's a double dose tonight at 8.00pm and 8.30pm.


Over the course of the series he'll be treating us to recipes for his own Christmas turkey, Festive strudel, Roast vegetable mega-mix, Christmas spirit cocktail and Turkey con chili.

Victorian Farm Christmas

In case you hadn't seen this one it's the first part of a Victorian Farm Christmas on BBC 2 this evening at 9.00pm, or you'll be able to catch it again later on BBC iPlayer I'm sure.

Kirsty's Christmas Homemade Home

Crafty Kirstie Allsopp returns for a three-part special in which she creates the perfect homemade Christmas. I met Kirstie once, and ended up watching a firework display from her bedroom... but it's not as bad as it sounds. Honest!


Anyway, tune in to Channel 4 tomorrow (Tuesday 8 December) at 8.00pm. Apparently the series is a goldmine of creative ideas that viewers can replicate at home. Enjoy!

A Victorian Farm at Christmas

If you missed this the first time round, you have another chance tonight. BBC 2 are repeating the Victorian Farm series and tonight it's all about the approach of winter, with all that that entails.


Watch it tonight at 7.00pm, on BBC 2, or from tomorrow through BBC iPlayer. To find out more about the episode, click here.

Follow the Frankincense Trail on BBC 2

This coming Thursday 27 August, BBC 2 are showing part 1 of Kate Humble's The Frankincense Trail. Here's what the Beeb has to say about the programme:

Intrepid presenter Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route of Arabia across the amazing modern world of the Middle East in this documentary series. Her journey along the 2,000-mile trail that first connected the Arab world with the West takes Kate on a quest that's steeped in history, searing with desert heat, and full of characters and adventure.

For 3,000 years before the birth of Christ frankincense was more valuable than gold. Its sweet smelling aromatic smoke was treasured by Pharaohs and Caesars, and their insatiable demand for frankincense created a trade route from the southern coast of Oman to the Holy Lands. Vast camel caravans carried thousands of tonnes of frankincense over tribal lands - known today as Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Palestine. Following the trail across these seven nations, Kate finds modernity coexisting with ancient traditions as she discovers what it means to be a Western woman in Arabia.

Kate begins her epic journey following high in the hills of southern Oman. With her own supply of the precious resin she walks with the Al Mahri tribe - the descendants of the ancient traders - and their 300 camels along the original trail through the scorching Empty Quarter desert. Crossing into Yemen, Kate arrives at the world's first skyscraper city, where her frankincense is used at the ritual blessing of a newborn baby. From the modern frankincense trade capital of Aden to an incredible camel jumping contest, Kate journeys north and enters the mysterious Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

So why not tune in and watch this week? I know I will.

And of course you can find a potted history of frankincense in What is Myrrh Anyway?, which you can pick up here.

15 December - What was the First Noël?

'The First Nowell' is a traditional English Christmas carol, most likely dating from the 16th or 17th century, but possibly dating from as early as the 13th century. But what was the first nowell?

Well, the answer is in What is Myrrh Anyway? (as well as the Bible, as it happens), available from all better bookshops now.

Readers of a certain age may remember the 1984 television adaptation of John Masefield's fantasy novel The Box of Delights, which starred former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton. Well, the seasonal theme music was Victor Hely-Hutchinson's orchestral arrangement of 'The First Noël' from his Carol Symphony.

And here, for your delectation , is the haunting opening to the show and the end of the first episode which features the music more fully.

13 December - Eat, drink and be merry

Tired of the same old Christmas fare year after year, looking for a twist on a familiar favourite, or are you simply wanting to do what you've always done, only better? The the television is the place for you over the next couple of weeks.

You could enjoy a River Cottage Christmas with Hugh Fearnley-Eats-it-all, master of the ten bird roast, pay a visit to Willie Harcourt-Cooze's wonky chocolate factory to experience Willie's Perfect Chocolate Christmas, or join champion of healthy home cooking on a budget Mr Oliver for Jamie Cooks Christmas, all on Channel 4.

And over on the BBC this week you have the domestic goddess of TV cookery (who, like a good whiskey, seems to get better with age) inviting us into Nigella's Christmas Kitchen.

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding,

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding,

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer!

A month today...

... it's Christmas Day! A day to spend eating too much, drinking too much and watching the not-so-special Christmas specials on the telly.

A regular fixture of the BBC Christmas Day schedule for the last few years now has been the revitalised Doctor Who, and 2008 is no exception. On Christmas Day, after the turkey and Christmas pud has settled, we can all look forward to the intriguingly titled 'The Next Doctor'. And here's a preview:



But while we're all watching Doctor Who on the telly, what's the Doctor himself going to be up to?

I dream of tangerines

As a child, one of the things I could guarantee finding in my stocking on Christmas morning was a tangerine. If you want to know why tangerines are such a staple of the Christmas stocking then you need to read What is Myrrh Anyway?

But, while you're waiting for the book to be published why not while away a few minutes with Tangerine Panic?

And talking of tangerine dreams, didn't they have something to do with a certain 80s motorbike-based-Knight-Rider-wannabe TV show?