Tsutomo Yamaguchi, who died last week aged 93.

As the snow starts to melt in London, one final weather-related post. Just because something about this story is grimly interesting.

There has been some coverage in the news recently of the death of Tsutomo Yamaguchi, who was either incredibly lucky or incredibly unlucky, depending on how you look at it. He experienced and survived both of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in WW2.

The article in the Times says:

'In the summer of 1945 he was 29 and working as a draughtsman designing oil
tankers for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. His three-month secondment to a
shipyard in Hiroshima was due to end on the morning of August 6, when the
American B29 bomber Enola Gay dropped a 13-kilotonne uranium atomic bomb,
nicknamed Little Boy. It exploded above Hiroshima at 8.15am.

“I didn’t know what had happened,” Mr Yamaguchi said. “I think I fainted. When
I opened my eyes everything was dark and I couldn’t see much. It was like
the start of a film at the cinema, before the picture has begun when the
blank frames are just flashing up. I thought I might have died but
eventually the darkness cleared and I realised I was alive.”

He and two colleagues staggered through the ruins where the dead and dying lay
all around. At one collapsed bridge the three had to wade through a river,
parting before them a floating carpet of corpses. They reached the station
and boarded the train for Nagasaki. Reporting to work at the shipyard on
August 9, his story of a single bomb destroying an entire city was met with
incredulity.

“The director was angry. He said ‘you’ve obviously been badly injured, and I
think you’ve gone a little mad’. At that moment, outside the window, I saw
another flash and the whole office, everything in it, was blown over.” The
next thing he remembered was waking to hear crying and cheering at the
broadcast by Emperor Hirohito announcing Japan’s surrender.'

One thing that immediately strikes me about this report is Mr Yamaguchi's impressive work ethic. Some people might have considered witnessing the appalling carnage, the apocalyptic destruction and the psychic horror of possibly the single most devastating act of war ever committed, not to mention being severely injured, reason enough to pull a day's sickie. Not Mr Yamaguchi. Despite having an atomic bomb dropped on him, he wades through a river
of corpses to report for work – only to be bollocked by his somewhat unsympathetic boss. That's dedication.

The other interesting thing about this story, as remarked upon by one of the commentators on the Times website is that 'The trains were still running – in spite of an atomic bomb – (un)lucky
for Mr Yamaguchi there were no 'adverse weather conditions'.

Half an inch of the 'wrong kind' of snow brings London to a standstill in 2010. But despite an atomic bomb, the trains out of 1945 Hiroshima were still running. Interesting.

NB: No disrespect intended whatsoever to the memory of the redoubtable Mr Yamagutchi, or others who suffered similarly in this or other wars.

Alongside our new Lurpak TV ad, we’ve also created a few posters and the first two are breaking now. Like the TV ad, they celebrate the imperfections in home-cooked food and the joy derived from getting your hands dirty. Or floury.
Whether it be an oozing meat pie, unevenly puffed up and burnt at its
edges, or individual cupcakes unique in their crooked formations;
home-cooked food can’t be beaten. To help bring this to life, we worked in partnership with several
passionate food bloggers we follow and respect, Helen Graves from
www.helengraves.co.uk and Jeanne Horak at www.cooksister.com, who
devised the food recipes and cooked them on set so that we could photgraph them for the posters.  Imperfectly delicious.

WHITE CHOCOLATE & RASPBERRY CUPCAKES recipe by Jeanne Horak
(As shown above).

Melt the butter in a double boiler.  When half melted, add the white
chocolate and stir until both chocolate and butter are melted.  Check
for lumps and remove from the heat.  Add the sugar, then the eggs and
vanilla essence – mix well.  Sift in the baking soda (to prevent lumps),
then add the flour and beat until mixture is smooth.  Stir in the water,
a little at a time, mixing well between additions until all water has
been absorbed into the batter – it will be quite runny.  Line a 12-cup
muffin tin with paper muffin cups.  Pour about 2 Tablespoons of batter
into each cup.  Place 2 fresh raspberries into each cup, then divide the
rest of the batter equally among the cups.  Bake at 180 for 20 minutes
or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

ROAST CHICKEN AND BACON PIE WITH FENNEL recipe by Helen Graves.(As shown above.)

(Fills an 18-20cm pie dish) 

 1 free-range chicken  

 25g Lurpak, softened   

 small handful of chopped parsley  

 1 lemon, sliced  

 2 bulbs fennel, tops, bottoms and core removed and finely sliced  

 1/2 large onion, sliced  

 4 rasher smoked bacon, diced  

 1 large leek, sliced  

 3 cloves garlic, crushed  

 Splash of white wine (optional)  

 A dollop of wholegrain mustard (optional)  

 Olive oil  

 350 – 400ml bechamel or white sauce (bought or home made)   

    

 For the pastry 

100g Lurpak, at room temperature
220g plain flour (not strong white bread flour) 
A large pinch of salt 
1 egg, beaten 

Method
– Preheat the oven to 190C and set a shelf in the middle.
– Take a roasting tray large enough to accommodate your chicken and
lay the lemon slices on the bottom and sit the chicken on top. Mix
roughly two thirds of the softened butter with all the parsley. Using
your fingers, make a pocket between the breast and skin of the chicken
by sliding your fingers gently underneath. Stuff the herbed butter into
these pockets and then spread the remaining butter over the outside of
the chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper. The chicken will
take anything from 30-90 minutes depending on size but keep checking on
it. The bird is ready when you can skewer it at the thickest part of
the leg and the juices that come out are clear.
– While the chicken is roasting, prepare the pastry by sieving the
flour and salt into a large bowl. Then cut the softened butter into
cubes and add it to the bowl. Using a knife, start cutting the butter
into the flour until it is fairly well mixed. You can now go in with
your hands and start rubbing the butter into the flour – do this as
lightly as possible. If you try to squidge the butter between your
fingers too much the pastry will become tough. When it resembles fine
crumbs, get some cold water (the colder the better) and add a
tablespoon at a time, cutting it in with the knife each time, until it
starts to come together. When it starts to form large lumps, go in with
your hands and bring it together into a ball. It should leave the bowl
clean. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
– Now prepare the vegetables. Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan and
add the bacon to it. Once the bacon is cooked add the leeks, fennel and
onion (plus the wine if using) and cook on a very low heat with the lid
on for around 15 minutes then add the garlic for a further five.
– When the chicken is ready, allow to rest and remove the meat.
– To assemble the pie divide the pastry into two portions – one
portion should be two thirds of the total amount and this will be the
base and sides of the pie. The remaining pastry will form the lid. Roll
out the base pastry into a circle shape on a lightly floured surface.
The shape will need to be larger than your dish as it needs to form the
sides of the pie also. Carefully lower this into the dish. Roll out the
lid and set aside. 
– Mix the chicken, fennel mixture, mustard (if using) and bechamel
together. Take care when adding the bechamel. Add a little at a time to
get an idea of how much you will need. Season the mixture with salt and
pepper then fill the pie and top with the lid, taking care to make sure
the edges are sealed. Cut a cross in the top with a knife and brush
with the beaten egg.
– Bake for 20-30 minutes at 200C until golden brown.