3 25 MAY 2023 G O O D N E W S I N B R I E F This week’s uplifting stories fromAnna-Marie Julyan Time capsule tree A 28-metre tall Patagonian cypress in Chile could be named the world’s oldest tree, after scientists investigating its age said they believe it could be more than 5,000 years old. This would make The Great Grandfather (above) older than Methuselah – a 4,850-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine in California. The rings inside these ancient trees record Earth’s history, from earthquakes to climate changes. Medical marvels The Hunterian Museum, whose collections trace the art and science of surgery from the 17th century to the present day, reopened in London this month after six years and a £4.6 million redevelopment. Based at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in central London, entry is free to see its 2,000 anatomical specimens, paintings and archival material – one of the world’s most important medical collections. Dinosaur fish The sturgeon’s ancestors predate dinosaurs, but these armoured sh were extinct in the UK by the 80s. Now conservationists have launched a 10-year plan to bring them back. “Growing up to ve metres in length, with long barbels and diamond-shaped plates along their backs, sturgeons look like they’ve swum straight out of a palaeontologist’s textbook,” says Hannah McCormick of the Zoological Society of London. Super suppers Chefs including Melissa Hemsley and Atul Kochhar have shared their favourite sustainable suppers free online, with recipes including parsnip dal with pink pickled onions and Bengali cauli ower and potatoes panch phoron gobi. They’re supporting the World Hunger Day campaign to host a sustainable supper on Sunday (28 May) to raise funds for projects around the world. worldhungerday.org Greek grandmothers share cooking secrets If you thought the food of Greece was all about moussaka, tzatziki and Greek salad, then think again. Inspired by her own grandmother – or yiayia – AnastasiaMiari toured the country in 2022, visiting yiayiades’ homes to capture the regional recipes in danger of being lost for her new book, Yiayia. “This is the last generation of women that aren’t recording everything like we do now,” says Anastasia, who shares their oftenmoving anecdotes alongside the recipes. “They crossed continents, lived through wars and had a lot of crazy experiences. It was a real eyeopener for me, building up the history of Greece through their stories.” The dishes, organised into chapters on sharing, comforting, feasting and treating, include lentil soup fromCorfu, wild greens and feta pie fromPontus, baked butter beans fromThessaloniki, and roast leg of lamb with oranges and potatoes fromCrete. “Loads of the recipes are really easy – these women were raising families,” explains Anastasia, whose own yiayia – also called Anastasia – looked after her as a child while her parents worked. “There’s a big emphasis on sitting down with the family, eating ameal together and stopping everything to enjoy what these women put on the table. We are being raised in a ‘want it now’, ‘shove a sandwich down at the desk’ world – it feels quite pertinent to look back at how these women cook and consume food, and how they viewwhat it is to sustain yourself.” As founder of theMatriarch Eats brand, Anastasia has been interviewing the world’s grandmothers for six years. She also cowrote Grand Dishes, a book of stories and recipes from grandmothers of the globe, in 2021. Anna-Marie Julyan WORDS OF WISDOM Anastasia with her yiayia (below); roast leg of lamb with oranges and potatoes from Crete (bottom) UK HOMES GO SOLAR Installing solar panels is a growing trend, as homeowners look to reduce their energy bills and do their bit for the environment. According to government gures, there are more than 13,000 new domestic installations every month, with 19,465 this March alone – the highest number since 2015. Overall, there’s been a 5.3% increase in solar capacity since March 2022, which suggests a sunny outlook for the UK’s net zero future. Comedian, presenter and dumpling lover Nish Kumar (above) is this week’s guest onWaitrose podcast Dish. He tells Angela Hartnett and Nick Grimshawabout sampling brain curry inMumbai, collecting an ‘astonishing’ range of hot sauces, and having his Wiki page edited to include a fictitious TV chat show called Nude With Nish. Angela gives amasterclass in gnocchi making. waitrose.com/dish Naked truth fromNish Photographs: Getty Images, Chris Blacklay, Marco Arguello
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