One of my favourite magazines is The Spectator. It's a current affairs magazine on the right of the political spectrum. Despite that, I just love the writing. The Spectator is a British eccentric. It combines incisive political commentary with beautiful discursive writing of the sort that you don't often see these days. Witty, caustic, irreverent, the Spectator is a delight. Where else do you get such self-evident truths as those in this recent letter to The Spectator:

English delicacy

Sir: In his splendid, appetite-inducing piece on food (And another thing, 9 February), Paul Johnson forgets one great English delicacy — the truly magnificent chip butty. As a young, penniless reporter I virtually lived on these tasty wonders.

For the very best results use extremely soft, white bread. Then butter liberally (unsalted French butter is the best). Line up six chewy chips and then douse with either HP Brown Sauce or, better still, Daddies Sauce. The secret is to let the butter and sauce soak into the bread.

This should be accompanied by very strong, workmen’s-style tea (none of that sissy Earl Grey). Ah — food and drink for the gods.

Paul Callan
London SW10
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I'm still on a low-carb diet, but come April 1st, this is a strong candidate for the lunch!