My World Café - a delicious read

19 May: A great evening of readings from My World Café at

Bookmarks Bookshop with a discussion led by Jan Woolf. Here is

Jan with three 'chapters' from my book,, Anne Aylor, Alaistair

Hatchett and Ken Livingstone. Thank you Ursla Hawthorne (2nd 

photo) and Bookmarks Bookshop for hosting the evening.

Great to meet old friends who remain good friends. You can buy

the book at Bookmarks and other London bookshops, or order

from Riversmeet.

"Lovely stuff from the author's swag-bag: traveller's

tales and gorgeous drawings plus liver and bacon.

What more could anyone want?" Elisabeth Luard,

food writer and broadcaster

"In David Wilsons 'My World Café', we cross time and 

space as we joyfully consume our way through a plethora 

of chapters on recipes which mark the stages of David's 

extraordinary life crisscrossing the earth, and all rooted 

in his socialist politics”  Merilyn Moos,: author of

 'Breaking The Silence', 'The Language of Silence', 'Beaten but not

 Defeated' and 'Anti-Nazi Germans'

"Eclectic, delightfully eccentric, historical, political

and mythological. Generously illustrated with Laura

Davis' charmingly quirky drawings. Altogether a

delicious thing." Lesley Glaister, writer and

reviewer

"We totally love your book.  You brought back memories of Mervyn 

Levy and Gustav Delbanco.  My god, those guys...."  Michael Walling,

 artistic director, Border Crossings  

BUY IT HERE:

Riversmeet Productions:  “Our third book is My World Café with

words by David Wilson and illustrations by Laura

 Davis.

A stew of food stories, memories and recipes from around the world,

 ranging from popcorn to borscht, apple strudel to burritos, baklava to

 teriyaki. Each chapter includes a brief history of the food, a personal

 memory and a recipe.’

(Maureen Casey, Laura Davis, Anne Aylor, David Wilson & Richard Bradbury at London launch on 30/11/22)

David Wilson is a writer and political activist whose work draws upon

 an extraordinary range of experiences throughout a long and varied

 career as a teacher, art agent, filmmaker and aid worker. He was

 involved with setting up a war-time mobile bakery that fed the

 starving people of Mostar and went on to be the first director of the

 Pavarotti Music Centre in Bosnia, whose patrons included Luciano

 Pavarotti, David Bowie, Brian Eno and Tom Stoppard.

Laura Davis is an artist, printmaker, illustrator and graduate of

 Glasgow School of Art and Edinburgh College of Art. Her inspiration

 comes from folk and outsider art, and from observations of life and

 nature.”

You can order My World Café on the Riversmeet website. UK price:

 £12 inclusive of postage & packing. Non-UK price: £13.50, inclusive

 of pp  

It's also on sale  at Bookmarks, Bloomsbury St, London, Housmans at 

Kings X, The Owl bookshop in Kentish Town  and at Word on the 

Water on the Regent's Canal at York Way

Camden New Journal review HERE

A big thank you to Camden New Journal for this article. I just want to

say that: 1) I did not write about the historic problems with War Child,

2) I did not convince music stars to record for the HELP

 album, that was was Brian Eno, and 3) The Pavarotti

 Music Centre is better known for rock music than

 classical. NOTE: For Londoners, 'My World

 Café' can be bought at the Owl bookshop in

 Kentish Town and online using the Riversmeet link.

International Times review HERE  

                                                     
My World Café is David’s second book. Left Field: The Memoir of a

 Lifelong Activist was published by Unbound in 2016. 

Praise for Left Field

“David has lived a life and a half. The broken world needed people

 like David; it still does.”—Sir Tom Stoppard 

“This is an excellent and inspiring book. David is an adventurer and a

 freethinker, who did something truly useful with his life.”—Brian Eno

The London launch took place ar Made in Brasil on 30 November, Thank you Riversmeet, Haifa Zangana who returned from Tunisia to be there and Deicola Neves who flew in from Spain. Also all who came to join me there. A great night.

I am delighted to say that several people who feature in the book were at the London launch at Made in Brazil on 30 November: Jim Brann, who helped me with the mushroom chapter, Haifa Zangana with tepsi baytinjan, an Iraqi recipe, Sebastian and Gráinne Balfour with Catalan calçots, Jan Woolf with courgette pie, and  Anne Aylor with popcorn, as well  as  fulfilling her role as my Gordon Lish. Finally Deicola Neves with Brazilian picanha and he played guitar. Check him out on this link. 

From author/artist Jan Woolf  - http://www.janwoolf.com/

It's a fine read - food, politics, activism. David Wilson writes beautifully and the illustrations by Laura Davis dance on the page. Oh, and me and my courgette pie are in it!

What readers are saying about MY WORLD CAFE

"Lovely stuff from the author's swag bag: traveller's tales and gorgeous drawings plus liver and bacon. What more could anyone want?" Elizabeth Luard, broadcaster and food lover

“A worldfest of a book - a tribute to the bonding power of shared food as a force for enlightenment. The book’s Rabelaisian gusto put me in mind of Proust’s madeleine - of the joyous childhood pleasures of picking mushrooms before breakfast with my Irish grandmother and foraging for berries to make the juicy summer puddings you describe from your youth.” Edwin Maynard

"Take odes to the pleasures of shared eating and season with nuggets of nutrition, politics, philosophy, travel, biology, biography, botany, history, geography, cooking … and you have ‘My World Cafe’. Enjoy.' " Jim Brann

“ ‘My World Café’ tells the stories of David Wilson’s favourite meals and recipes and is filled with a warm blend of stories of friendship, history and politics along with dishes enjoyed around the world including liver-and-bacon, borscht, strozzapreti and goulash.” Camden New Journal

“ ‘My World Café ’ is a celebration of something as necessary to our survival as oxygen and love. Each recipe is delivered in the company of a person important to him, the memory of taste heightening the memory of that person and place, with the history of the food folded in like a delicious batter.” Jan Woolf, International Times

“In ‘My World Café we cross time and space as we joyfully consume our way through a plethora of chapters on recipes which mark the stages of David's extraordinary life crisscrossing the earth, and all rooted in his socialist politics.” Merilyn Moos, author of 'Anti-Nazi Germans'

“Eclectic, delightfully eccentric, historical, political and mythological. Generously illustrated with Laura Davis' charmingly quirky drawings. Altogether a delicious thing.” Lesley Glaister, writer and reviewer

“We totally love your book. You brought back memories of Mervyn Levy and Gustav Delbanco. My god, those guys….” Michael Walling. Artistic director, Border Crossings

“An enjoyable journey of meals the author has eaten that stretch deeply in each country's history. A book full of stories and recipes spiced with the warmth of friendship.” Haifa Zangana

“Wow! What a life...such lovely illustrations too.” Inga Baystrom

“What a rich medley of food, politics, travel and interesting people !I am determined to try some of the recipes. A lovely book.” Carol Ritchie

“It makes a great read.” Anthea Norman-Taylor

“You have found a brilliant way of being able to bring so many great stories together.” Diana Boyer

"I have really loved 'My World Café' - so full of life and warmth, and a wealth of cracking anecdotes”. Annemarie Nearly

"He has been eating (and drinking) with me at my home for over 25 years. When with us he completes my family. As he says, along with the lamb, “there is always music, singing and tavla. See you soon David." Orhan (Oha) Maslo

****************

contact author at david@davidwilson.org.uk 

Send your photo to me at: david@davidwilson.org.uk or to Riversmeet at; maureen.casey2@btinternet.com

Gillian Howell, Melbourne