No matter what the doom-mongers may say, the Costa del Sol will always be the place where most of Europe wants to either spend its holidays, buy a home or retire to.

Being so close to Africa gives Spain’s southern coast its perfect climate yet it’s only 2 – 3 hours away from most northern European airports.

Ok, it might not be exotic like India or the Far East, or spectacular like the Rocky Mountains, but to most of Europe it’s… near! Plus it’s still in Europe, with all the infrastructure and familiarity that goes with it.

So contrary to what the nay-sayers would have you believe the Costa del Sol is still here and hasn’t sunk under a tsunami of greed and corruption.

I like my coffee in the morning, I’m not a caffeine junkie but a decent cup of coffee is on my ‘to do’ list every day. I bought a cheap 39€ (£29) espresso machine and I get my coffee from the supermarket. Nothing fancy, just own brand, pre-ground Arabica costing 2.98€ (£2.20) for 500g (1lb-ish).

Now, allow me to let you in on a little secret: making good coffee is not hard! I just load up the machine, get a shot of espresso, steam-up the milk and voila! Although I say it myself, I make pretty-damn-good coffee!

Why then, when I’m in the UK, can I not find a single so-called ‘coffee shop’ that can give me the same thing?

When are the UK government and its money-grabbing police force finally going to admit that they have totally lost control of their town and city centres due to alcohol-fuelled disorder and violent crime? (I see however that revenues from speed cameras and parking fines are still coming in very nicely. Well done on that score!)

We are reliably informed by our lords and masters that this modern-day problem is due to the relatively recent (and catchily-titled) phenomenon of young people ‘binge-drinking’. And apparently it’s all the fault of the big, bad drinks industry for failing to act voluntarily to curb the problem of alcohol abuse.

Yes folks, if it wasn’t for

Is it me or has Nigella Lawson turned from flavourful food goddess into trying-too-hard tasteless tart?

Her new series ‘Nigella Express’ just seems to be endless shots of her making eyes at the camera and smiling coquettishly at the naughtiness of eating fattening ‘comfort food’.

You don’t need to keep reminding us that you are being ’sexy/naughty’ by forever snacking or raiding the fridge at night Nigella, we can see it quite obviously on your hips.

Here’s an easy, healthy meal you can prepare in no time.

Take some salad leaves and throw them on a plate.  You can use pre-packed of any description or rocket or watercress, whatever you’ve got is fine.

Throw on some Serrano ham (Jamon Iberico is the best), some cut up peaches, some broken up buffalo mozarella cheese (not the pre-grated stuff) and mix it all up a bit.

Make up a sharp-ish dressing (3 parts olive oil, 1 part lemon juice, salt and pepper) and pour it over the salad.  Job done.

Eat with some nice crusty wholemeal and a glass of your favourite wine.  Simple, tasty, healthy and fast.