Happy birthday to the girl who “sat all them exams”.

My sister Susan, the first person in my huge extended family to go to university. How delighted was my mum? Not particularly. “You’re 18, my girl, time you went out to work”. How she got her O and A levels, I will never know. Our house was not conducive to studying, especially when my raucous uncles turned up. Particularly the one who played the piano accordion. Or when my hot-tempered younger sister was trying to hit me in the face with a shoe. There was no central heating but Susan persisted with a pile of books, a woolly hat and two pairs of socks. She’s now one of the country’s most respected food writers but only because she started by drowning out all that noise with music. This track was particularly effective. And the name of the band could hardly be more appropriate.