Did someone mention CHOCOLATE?

Would you like to spend the next three years studying chocolate?  If so,  it seems that Cambridge University is advertising your dream job. The impressive sounding Department of Chemical Engineering is searching for a student to work on a  fully-funded project.... finding how to prevent chocolate melting in the sun!

But before you get too excited the role will also require 'good mathematical skills and a high grade degree, 'according to today's Daily Mail.

 It's time to confess that I have a special interest in chocolate. My younger daughter, who  grew up on Roald Dahl's best selling book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was  determined to follow in her hero's footsteps  After gaining a degree in food microbiology  she  got her first job working in - you've guessed it - a chocolate factory.  It was her task to taste the first batch  that came off the production - at 7.30 in the morning....

Which brings me back to that dream job at Cambridge University  -  what does the successful candidate have to do? They will 'investigate the factors which allow chocolate, which has a melting point close to that of the human body, to remain solid and retain qualities sought by consumers when it is stored and sold in warm climates.' 

If the project is a success then hopefully we'll be able to eat chocolate all year round - even in a heatwave.

Meanwhile, I'll leave the last word to Roald Dahl himself:

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“He turned and reached behind him for the chocolate bar, then he turned back again and handed it to Charlie. Charlie grabbed it and quickly tore off the wrapper and took an enormous bite. Then he took another…and another…and oh, the joy of being able to cram large pieces of something sweet and solid into one's mouth! The sheer blissful joy of being able to fill one's mouth with rich solid food!
'You look like you wanted that one, sonny,' the shopkeeper said pleasantly.

Charlie nodded, his mouth bulging with chocolate.”
― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

 

Don't forget to look out for Baggy Pants and Bootees

here Coming soon in paperback.

 

 

A real-life 'Peep behind the Scenes...'

Zoah Hedges-Stocks pictured in the Daily Telegraph



 One of my favourite childhood books
 'A Peep Behind the Scenes,'  is an unforgettable tale of hardship and heartbreak  set in a travelling theatre before the turn of the century.  Published in 1878 it went on to sell 2.5 million copies. So I was thrilled today to read that the wonderfully-named Zoah Hedges-Stocks,  the first traveller to study  at Cambridge University,  graduates this weekend with a first-class honours degree in history.

The twenty-three year old was born into a family of travelling showmen in East Anglia and attended school in Suffolk.  But every summer term she would leave her studies and work on her mother's food van, selling candyfloss to fairgoers. She excelled in her studies and in 2009  was offered a place at the all-female Murray Edwards College, fulfilling a long held dream.

In today's press Zoah says she has never experienced any snobbery about her background, having found everyone really welcoming. 'It has been a lot of hours and a lot of essays,' she adds with modest understatement.

A former editor of the Cambridge Student newspaper, Miss Hedges-Stocks can obviously spot a good story when she sees one.  Which is just as well as I hear she's already begun a career in journalism and been interviewed on Anglia Television.

Meanwhile, browsing their website, I see that famous alumnae from Murray Edwards College include actress Tilda Swinton, TV presenter Claudia Winkleman and writer/comedian Sue Perkins. Interestingly the list also includes Gina Barreca, women's writer, speaker and Professor of Feminist Theory.

Congratulations, Zoah.  Quite an act to follow.

You can find out more about her future plans on

 zoahwrites.com