Talk:Nigella Lawson/Archive 1

Photo

Resolved

Not even a wee l'il single lone photo of N.L. ?  :(

--I uploaded a scan of a publicity photo - however I have tried to specify the source correctly and failed. Image is in the first few lines of the page still if you edit it. Could someone please edit it to specify the source correctly (Scanned publicity photo) else orphanbot removes it.

"The Honourable"

Sorry for being an American, but why is this title here? Does she actually go by this title? It seems to(sic) stuffy for Nigella. Perhaps sh's (double sic) not as modern as she pretends.

It is a style rather than a title, she is entitled to it because her father is a life peer. I wouldn't think for a moment that she actually uses it. Boddah 16:41, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Link to fansite

We were trying to add a link to a Nigella fansite and it keep being removed. It is perfectly within the rules of Wikipedia to add fansite links and I am not sure why it keeps being arbitrarily removed without explanation. Fan sites are allowed if they are informative, not selling anything, etc.

So, while we are a fansite, we fall right within the parameters of Wikipedia's rules as being a site full of information regarding the subject at hand.

According to Wikipedia:External links, "On articles about topics with many fansites, including a link to one major fansite is appropriate, marking the link as such." Nigella Lawson doesn't have many fansites. Also, your site is just a PHP BBS, so there's little information that can help readers there. It seems to me that putting your link here is drifting into spamming. If other established users decide your link should be able to stay, I will leave things alone. — BrianSmithson 23:16, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for allowing our link to stay, but if you have not joined or seen the information available, it's hard for you to decide there isn't much content or information available.

That just strengthens my point. If there is information there, it needs to be available to the casual visitor for it to serve our readership. — BrianSmithson 18:09, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Title

I do not believe that Nigella Lawson has the title of 'Honourable'. She turned down her OBE a number of years ago.

As a title, 'honourable' is bestowed on the children of peers and was assumed when her father became Baron Lawson after leaving the Commons. I agree however that it's a bit pompous to use it in the context of this article.

The "Honourable" seems to have been removed, but I don't understand why it was pompous; it is simply a fact. Axel 01:17, 2 December 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by AxelHarvey (talk • contribs)

Additions

In your listing of books you are missing one of Nigella's books, her first actually, Musee Imaginaire of Pasta, ISBN 8842205443, published January 1, 1999, by Umberto Allemandi.

I might also be interesting to add to your article the fact that Nigella graduated from Oxford with a degree in Modern and Medieval Languages. She also has more siblings than just her brother Dominic and her sister Thomasina.

Reference

Can any reference be provided to prove that her (or indeed anyone's) favourite group is Hotsnack?

Nigella's Ancestry

According to the article she has no Sephardic ancestry. At the same time, it says she does have Jewish ancestry from the Netherlands. Forgive me, but Netherlander Jews are Sephardic. Perhaps it's the old saw of equating "Sephardic" with "Spanish/Spain," again? More likely, it's the mistake of equating "Ashkhenhazic" with "Europe." Any more info? JBDay 05:15, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

No, not all the Jewish population of the Netherlands is Sephardic, there is also an Ashkenazi element that emigrated from Germany and Eastern Europe. (Please see the article History of the Jews in the Netherlands for more information). When she explored her ancestry as part of the BBC TV series, Who Do You Think You Are? Lawson stated that she believed she looked Sephardic and Latin in complexion, and naturally assumed that the Dutch side of her family would be Sephardic. She therefore expressed some disappointment that her ancestors turned out to be Ashkenazi instead. Indisciplined 20:53, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Sexual morality

"(In her newspaper articles she consistently showed a liberal attitude to sexual morality, even seeming to come close to admitting to bisexuality.)". Sexuality and sexual morality are different things entirely.. Secretlondon 09:06, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Entirely? Nothing ever seems entirely disconnected from everything else. Reading the article, it looks as though she went as far as she felt she could in telling everyone to grow up about these matters. The sooner everyone accepts each other the better. I appreciate her writing so candidly.62.64.218.49 15:13, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

I concur, there's nothing about bisexuality that implies a specifically liberal attitude towards sexual morality; one can be “sexually moral“ and simultaneously straight, bi, gay, or whatever. The two are connected only by way of being aspects of one's sexual being. Nevalicori 20:02, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

I removed the phrase "even seeming to come close to admitting to bisexuality." While the referenced opinion piece does discuss bisexuality, it does not even come close to a statement of her personal sexuality. The sentence as it stood was emblematic of weasal words: Lawson is certainly writing about sexual morality in general; what has happened or is happening in her personal life is not addressed in the piece. Sam 15:09, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

She comes *nowhere near* saying she is bisexual, even writing "what would I feel if I were gay?". Again, morality is irrelevant here - in that article she is discussing the philosophical implications of a particular advertising campaigns. Morality is a non sequitur 80.175.181.113 18:19, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

Link to column was removed; added it back without the weasal word phrase. It would be nice if people didn't keep adding it back it. I'm talking about you, JenAW. Sam 17:49, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

Criticism

In Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall's book 'Hugh Fearlessly Eats-it-all' he criticises NL for her book 'forever summer' not respecting the seasonality of foods. Worth a mention? Sarahjeantaylor 21:04, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

Removed the comments on sexuality and speculation about her own from unverified and unverifiable sources (her partners and the subject herself would seem to be the only accurate ones, "reading between the lines" is not a standard for biography); it would seem to have utterly no bearing on her public profile as a television chef. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.11.221.221 (talk) 01:29, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

"Admits" to loving football

Is there any reason why people keep changing, "said she loves watching football" back to "admits to loving watching football?" Is loving to watch football somehow a crime or a evil deed? Sam 17:52, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

"During..."?

It is odd that she was "moved nine times during the ages of nine and eighteen." Was that nine times in both years, or five times in one and four times in the other? Or if (as is probable) it was between the ages of nine and eighteen, why not say it that way? Axel 01:08, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

Geoffrey Robertson

Isn't it worth noting in the "Personal Life" bit that Nigella Lawson was once the girlfriend of famous QC and television show host Geoffrey Robertson, who dumped her in 1988 in favour of Australian author Kathy Lette? http://www.abc.net.au/austory/transcripts/s685468.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.11.3.162 (talk) 22:52, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Nigella devours pork chop!

I read here that Nigella has an impeccable Jewish pedigree, so I was surprised when I saw her on a recent cooking show chowing down on a pork chop like a starving Rottweiler, while moaning orgasmically and draping her hair in the sauce. Does being related to any number of earls and barons mean she is relieved of Jewish dietary obligations?

Also, I read here that no less than three of Nigella’s close relatives have died of different “cancers” at different times. What IS that white powder in the little jar at the back of her larder? More work required here. Myles325a (talk) 00:25, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

She describes herself as non-observant, so I'm guessing not being a practising Jew relieves her of Jewish dietary obligations. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.146.18.21 (talk) 18:12, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, maybe if she practised being Jewish a little more diligently, she wouldn’t be carrying on like Michael Moore breaking a hunger strike. I eat pork all the time, and I was thoroughly disgusted. Myles325a (talk) 00:22, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Good article review notes

Looking good, will fall over the line very easily but couple of minor quibbles:

• In sentence construction, reducing commas is good. There needs to be one in the following example:

In 1998 Lawson wrote her first cookery book.. - needs to be In 1998, Lawson wrote her first cookery book... - however, this leaves us with quite a few commas.

There are other examples of this.

but she reckons that she has developed a Jewish character - nice to qualify elaborate on what this means.cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 04:11, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

:: high-profile --> "prominent" proabably a better adjective here.

:: proceeded to create a restaurant column - create? proceeded redundant, why not just 'wrote' or 'went on to write'?

:After her time at The Sunday Times - I'd probably change 'time' to 'stint' as it sounds a bit funny next to 'Times'

: went on to front her own television cookery series - 'host' less informal verb (?)

Lawson started a new show on BBC Two in the United Kingdom entitled Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, which began on 6 December 2006. - needs reworking

: Lawson affirmed the recipes were not that healthy - 'conceded' or 'admitted' better verb here (?)

Anyway, more to come. These are all pretty minor and I'll be happy to pass once done. cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 04:07, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the GA review. I've done most of the changes you've suggested except the elaboration on her Jewish character. I agree it would be great to find out more, but this is all I could come up with:

• There are two Christmas traditions I've inherited from my mother. One is the feeling that Christmas isn't complete if you haven't got a ham as well as a turkey. It means that the leftovers are much better. And in a curious way, despite the fact that we're talking about Christmas and ham, it's a very Jewish thing to want to provide a huge spread. I always cook for eight, but make enough to feed 30.

• It’s true that I wouldn’t have written the first book had my sister and mother been alive. It was my way of continuing our conversation. It’s also this Jewish thing of naming and remembering people, and I think there is a sense of keeping that side of life going.

What do you think? Many thanks. Eagle Owl (talk) 11:36, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

I see what you mean,...erm it's also a very greek/italian/American...I think every other culture apart from english to lay on a big spread. The second example she gives I don't get at all...more I think about it the first one is quite funny really as she mentions ham..definitely not kosher ;) OK, never mind, yer over the line anyway...we'll think about it for FAC or something later on... cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 12:36, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

I was also quite confused by the second one. Thanks again for the review. Eagle Owl (talk) 15:44, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

"Not that healthy recipes?

The Nigella Express section reads that the author admits her recipes "were not that healthy." After having read the reference link and her actual book, this claim needs re-working. The recipes generally employ more prepared and processed ingredients than usual, but they are not anywhere near a majority and there is still plenty of whole food used as well. Also, the source material for the claim says that her actual words were that the recipes "aren't particularly healthy," in comparison to Jamie Oliver's "School Dinners" series for which the impact of diet on health was its primary focus.

"Not that healthy" and "aren't particularly healthy" connote two different things. It's a subtle difference, but significant. One suggests that something may actually be unhealthy, while the other indicates that healthiness was not a specific aim. Also, given the context of the source material, this seems misleading.

Thoughts?

75.157.128.84 (talk) 19:30, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Maybe the comparing of Oliver's show to Lawson's was just an observation by the editor? I've now put the unhealthy part in Lawson's own words to avoid anything misleading. Any more thoughts? Eagle Owl (talk) 10:28, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

Your reply got me thinking. After a bit of web-hunting, I think you may be right about the Oliver comparison being the writer's & not Lawson's. I did find this [1] article. As near as I can figure, it's the original source of the statement[2]. Perhaps it's better fit here as a reference? About 12 paragraphs down, it offers a more complete version of what looks like the same quote. You can read the whole thought rather than 3 isolated words, so context becomes less of a question-mark. Cap'n Crust (talk) 22:59, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

That's done now. Thanks for the citation. Eagle Owl (talk) 13:21, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

What is healthy about her cooking? Nothing whatsoever. Even the camera is often out of focus, which is bad for your eyes 87.168.3.21 (talk)holy man87.168.3.21 (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 17:04, 27 December 2008 (UTC).

Education

Nigella Lawson is listed at List of former pupils of Westminster School but the article states that she went to the Godolphin and Latymer school, can someone clarify this? Tmwerty (talk) 15:01, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Home Address

Under residence, in the infobox, it lists the street that she lives on (?????????). it shouldn't say more than the district. --Tim1423 (talk) 10:09, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

Well thankfully you are here to remind us of the street she lives on (?????????), just in case anyone follows your advice and removes it from the main article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shortspend (talk • contribs) 10:45, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm taking a WP:BOLD step and deleting the street name from the above too. It defeats the object of prohibiting it in the article if it gets mentioned here. Roger (talk) 16:21, 31 August 2010 (UTC)