Dear sisters and brothers,

80s pop music: Bananarama

Recently I started to attend some classes at the gym. There is a class called Step, and basically you have a low stool in front of you – a step, and you do all sorts of steps together with music. Only this particular class is totally pact, and if you are two minutes late you cannot get in anymore.

There is a reason for this. Normally the instructors where very tight outfits and you can tell who is the instructor very easily. The man who is the instructor for the Step class is in his mid forties, I think. He is bald and he wears just baggy trousers and a t-shirt, so you cannot distinguish so easily that he is the instructor.

But once he turns his music on he suddenly becomes a charismatic person. His favourite music is 80s pop and 90s euro beat. He is like a DJ as he introduces each song and even knows the year when each song was released. He shouts: “Are you ready for Pet Shop Boys, Wooah!?” and ”Here comes Bananarama!”
The first time I saw him it made me laugh many times. But I learnt that when you see somebody doing something with passion, whatever it is, you get very attracted.

Since tomatoes and summer vegetables are in season I wanted to introduce one of my favourite summer pasta dishes from River Cafe (a famous restaurant in London).
It’s so easy and takes about 15 minutes all together:
You need:
Egg tagliatelle 320g
Fine green beans 300g
Plum tomatoes 6
Parmesan cheese 50g
Garlic clove 1
Double cream 150ml
Fresh Basil leaves 3 tablespoons

look for ripe tomatoes, but it is not essential that they are of the 'plum' variety

1. Top and tail the green beans, cook in boiling salted water until tender, then drain.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the juice and seeds and chop them coarsely, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Grate the parmesan cheese.
4. Peel the garlic, and add it to the cream in a small sauce pan and then bring to the boil. Season, remove the garlic, and add the tomato, green beans and basil to the cream, and stir.
5. Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the tomato and bean sauce. Serve with the grated parmesan.