
One of the unexpected discoveries that I made at DLD wasn’t an introduction or a technological advancement, but came whilst I was in the audience for a panel of developers talking about new apps. Amongst the men (& a 16yr old boy-entrepreneur) talking about their disruptive new ideas, was an Indian girl who had brought her business to the table, Khoya, a beautiful story-telling app for the iPad that allows children to not only explore the story but participate in it in their surroundings. In a way, it felt like the most disruptive idea of all: something that has the capability to change the way children read and engage with literature.
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The whole London Farmers Market thing has pretty much passed me by. Before I moved to America I remember there being one by Camden Passage in Islington at weekends, but I had no idea that there was now such a proliferation in London. (I’ve always meant to try the Swiss Cottage one on Weds, but it’s in the middle of the working day.) And I do like a good Farmers Market. The American ones, from whence the idea came, that I have shopped from have always been splendid. Mostly very good value, packed with fresh produce and cheery shoppers
Santa Monica’s is wonderful, the one outside San Francisco’s Ferry Market superlative, & even the little one in Red Bank, New Jersey that I went to with the boys was excellent — NJ produce is some of the best in America. The Union Square Greenmarket in New York is also good but not cheap — unsurprising given its location.
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I adore Jersusalem artichokes but I may as well be up front. They aren’t known as fartichokes for nothing. Do not serve these to anyone on a first date, unless you really want to make an impression. That being said my family know no shame, so they’ve always been popular chez Wilkins.
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