I was Stuart Maconie’s right hand woman. My main role was to sit at his feet in the BBC studio in Salford next to Rosie the border terrier. The cat sometimes joined us on the floor, but more often she took position on Stuart’s lap.

Today Stuart was entertaining his loyal radio audience by talking about a cookery competition that he had entered. To help prepare the dishes Stuart had chosen a set of recipes from the Field magazine.

This, he admitted, was an unusual choice. However, he admired the models in the adverts for Hunter wellingtons and Barbour jackets, and – as far as he was concerned – this was good enough justification to follow the recipes that he had selected.

See Stuart Maconie elsewhere on Dreamaticus in Mark Radcliffe missing, Stuart Maconie scared (Rousse); Bonding with Radcliffe and Maconie over the Farmer’s Boys and the BBC (Rousse).