Here is the little beauty I finished for the weekend. Sturdy enough to carry home three bottles of merlot! Apparently merlot is only now starting to recover from the dip in sales caused by Sideways, which must be a strange weight to bear for the writer. (I won’t spoil it: if you haven’t seen the film you must – it’s very funny indeed, and the merlot line is terrific. Unless you’re a wine maker obviously.)

The three bottles (actually they were four) were for a dinner party I had last night. I made Nigella’s Tunisian Friday night feast for 8 (from Feast) but without the meatballs, and instead did Tamasin’s lamb shanks with Harissa (from Tamasin’s Kitchen Bible) Goodness it was delicious, but I have been a bit slow today, in the body and the brain. It is perhaps a small price to pay for having friends all in one place, laughing their heads off, so I shall suffer gamely.

Hoping you’ve all had delightful weekends!