Kishwar Desai | Meghan’s cooking show makes waves; Hasina's niece is in a fix over free flat

If anyone was dreaming of a white New Year, then they have got it. It’s been a cold start for Londoners — with parts of it literally frozen. So, for those returning from sunny climes after their holidays, it will be a shock to be welcomed by “freezing rain”. Of course, we are all used to London where the weather changes five times a day — starting with spring in the morning, summer in the afternoon, and then rapidly changing to autumnal dark clouds in the afternoon, rain by the evening, and a distinctly wintery feel by the night. That’s why we walk around in all-weather coats and cart an umbrella. But how do you deal with “freezing rain”? Droplets of water which are a combination of summer rain covered in a winter capsule? There may be a slight relief in learning that things are worse up north, but it is a gloomy start to January and as flights get delayed and roads are slippery and wet with sleet.

Never fear — however — because Meghan Markle is here to cheer you up with scrumptious treats that she has whipped up in her neighbour’s sprawling farm in the US. Made as part of the 100 million-dollar deal she and her husband, Prince Harry, signed with Netflix — Meghan’s cooking show brings her back into our lives once again. She is incorrigible, and I have to say, admirable, because she keeps re-inventing herself. Now suddenly she is the demure traditional wife (from being the rebellious young woman who fought the British establishment and the royalty — not to forget the media) who loves to cook and turn out delicious recipes to entertain friends. I am not a great fan of cooking or cooking shows — and must confess that I have not even seen Nigella Lawson’s shows — but this is something even I might watch for the sheer entertainment value. Though the show has not yet begun, in the UK it is already being panned — which means everyone will see it.

Watching a glamorous woman who can cook reminds us of another American, Martha Stewart, who made the art of cooking for parties not only look cinematic but also admirably easy. The dreamy visuals in Meghan’s show with celebrities who love to eat her food is very reminiscent of Martha’s relentless rise — and we all know what happened to her! However, Meghan has already been through the dark side of celebrity-hood and probably has better advisers and managers, and so she will survive with her perfect life with a perfect home, perfect husband and perfect children and now perfect cooking.

This makes me wonder why — given that the UK’s favourite food is Chicken Tikka Masala — we don’t have a glamorous Indian woman celebrity chef dishing it out, perfectly? Time for Netflix to think of a new series! Perhaps Twinkle Khanna fits the bill? Hmm— any other suggestions?

The complexity of Asian families will always escape the Western mind. Our relationships run deep, especially if you have a powerful political connection in Asia! Uncles and Aunties are in abundance — and sharing and caring is part of the phenomena.

Thus, what can you do if your auntie was (till recently) the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and at the time her friend gifted you a flat to live in (rent free) in London. This can happen — because all Asian leaders have friends and relatives in London. However, the anti-corruption minister, Tulip Siddique, recently appointed by Keir Starmer, is finding it difficult to explain how Asian families behave to the British media. They all want to know how she got a free flat to live in, from a friend of her auntie. Of course, her auntie is no longer in power — and lives in exile in India — so she does not carry the same clout as before. But no doubt if Ms Siddique explains how the system of aunties and uncles operates, she will be cleared from accepting a rather large freebie.

Meanwhile — among my favourite authors is Charles Dickens — and it is worth remembering that he wrote his phenomenal books a little less than 200 years ago! And yet we still devour them as though they were contemporary literature. A museum dedicated to him in Bloomsbury on Doughty Street completes one hundred years — and is celebrating his memory with the addition of some new items. He lived here with his wife and son between 1837 and 1839 — during which he wrote Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. A portrait of him (set up for this special exhibition) shows him as a rather ethereal but good-looking young man — and one can only admire his productivity. For authors like me there is a lot to learn from him as many of his books were originally published in a serialised manner, and it is doubtful if he missed a deadline!