Garlic & Pearls

Many thanks, Jonathan, for flagging up @garlicandpearls.bsky.social and the work of myself and my indefatigable co-host @suzanneraine.bsky.social

This week on the @garlicandpearls.bsky.social podcast @suzanneraine.bsky.social and I go to the theatre, in the first part of a diptych about the longest-running plays in Britain and in France. First - yes, it’s THE MOUSETRAP!
#themousetrap✨

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This week on @garlicandpearls.bsky.social it’s Halloween. The French don’t do Halloween (‘Allo Ouine? Qu’est-ce que c’est?’) - so instead @suzanneraine.bsky.social and I contemplate the wondrous Paris Catacombs. Bones! Skulls!A neo-classical theatrical display! Tune in - remember you must die…

It’s that time of year again, so here’s a reminder that before podcasting on @garlicandpearls.bsky.social about Frenchness and Britishness @suzanneraine.bsky.social and I were once vampire slayers.
Which provides another kind of hinterland for the garlic in our name.
Happy Halloween!

Be very afraid: @murielzagha.bsky.social takes us on a trip to the real heart of Paris... @suzanneraine.bsky.social

Inspired to this indirectly by listening to half of a very delicious @garlicandpearls.bsky.social episode about Toast to complete my grey homeward commute. If I can't have a pile of perfect toast dripping with butter (and due to multiple factors, I cannot), delicious chorizo and eggs it is.

Our special guest this week navigates Britain and France with an eccentric, sometimes contrary approach, proving that sometimes thing going wrong are more interesting than things going right @murielzagha.bsky.social @suzanneraine.bsky.social @picadorbooks.bsky.social :

There is so much to be worried about. But we're still very excited for the Peckham Conker Championships in the arches on 4 October. Recent windy weather has led to a plentiful harvest...

This week on @garlicandpearls.bsky.social I am (only figuratively) at the wheel, and I lead my copilot @suzanneraine.bsky.social on a dizzying tour of French roundabouts, which are more eccentric than one might think! Tune in!

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Another Summer Short this week on @garlicandpearls.bsky.social in which I and @suzanneraine.bsky.social ponder the histories and meanings of our respective emblematic headgear. Yes - it’s the béret and bobble hat face-off.

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Who wears it best? @murielzagha.bsky.social

The shorts have arrived!

Don't go camping in Britain! Try this instead!

Storm Floris is arriving this weekend so for those of you now regretting a decision to have a British camping holiday, @murielzagha.bsky.social outlines the benefits of the obviously preferable Club Med option:

I have been on ONE camping holiday in Britain in all my life. 🤔 Can @suzanneraine.bsky.social entice me back? Tune in and find out.

It's holiday time! And nothing better than a spot of camping, which, as @suzanneraine.bsky.social explains to @murielzagha.bsky.social, was of course invented here.

Apple: bit.ly/4f7omTL
Spotify: bit.ly/3J3Udsg

Our intrepid reporter, emboldened by her new Garlic & Pearls knowledge, travelled to the other side of the world to find a people even more intent on pickling things than we are.

If it feels like what we all really need is radical change, here's one which was tried earlier but may just work a second time:

This week on @garlicandpearls.bsky.social the concluding part of the 1217 Battle of Lincoln, complete with Louis of France’s last-ditch return with fleet, a retinue of knights and the flamboyant ‘magician pirate’ Eustace the Monk! St Bartholomew appears too! @suzanneraine.bsky.social

The Battle of Lincoln, part 1: Will Prince Louis of France secure the crown of England? Podcast Episode · Garlic & Pearls · 04/07/2025 · 1h

Next week President Macron will make a state visit to the U.K. In honour of the occasion, Garlic & Pearls offer a two parter on the real turning point in the relationship between these islands and France @murielzagha.bsky.social

Apple: bit.ly/45UHP7x
Spotify: bit.ly/44hfpmY

The perfect companion for the heatwave is our illuminating podcast @garlicandpearls.bsky.social where I tell
@suzanneraine.bsky.social the pulpy story of ORANGINA: ‘Secouez-moi, secouez-moi!’

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A very nice thing. We at @garlicandpearls.bsky.social are honoured and delighted!
@suzanneraine.bsky.social

A drink as iconic as Orangina is more than a drink, I tell @suzanneraine.bsky.social in this week’s ep of @garlicandpearls.bsky.social - it’s a carrier of 🇫🇷 identity. Listen to the story of ORANGINA!
open.spotify.com/episode/3W5K...

This week, @garlicandpearls.bsky.social is, thrillingly, all about PIRATES (and also maritime insurance)!

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@murielzagha.bsky.social @suzanneraine.bsky.social

This week we address the British fascination with pirates. Any guesses who we're describing here?

Apple: bit.ly/4lomW9r
Spotify: bit.ly/3Gf8Wj4

This week on
@garlicandpearls.bsky.social @suzanneraine.bsky.social takes to the high seas with tales of PIRATES and the British obsession with the marine Robin Hoods. Pictured: Blackbeard, John Morgan, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. 🏴‍☠️ podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...

Though I was very sad to miss the Garlic and Pearls live ‘Summer Special’, I thoroughly enjoyed this piratical delight, as ‘Captain Pugwash’ was one of the highlights of my early childhood.

He was such a good pirate.

One of the greatest British cathedral cities and much under appreciated.