I took this photo on 16th August 2016, in Otley, cooking a paella (paella valenciana) in the back of my car. I realised, about a week afterwards, that this way of cooking - in the street, in the back of a car - had been learned by me at least 20 years earlier. In the 1990's I had watched and enjoyed many cooking programs by Keith Floyd (in fact, he was magnificent). His influence, twenty years on, was now quite evident.
This paella, in mid-course, was the last paella that I made for my mother. After returning from Valencia in the year 2000 I made many, many paellas, which became a particular delight of my mother. In her last years, she enjoyed my paellas more than any other food. She and I shared this paella; it was to be her last. She died on 11th September. The victory belongs to Christ Jesus. May she rest in peace and rise in glory. I will miss her.
