RICK STEIN’S ROAD TO MEXICO,
BBC2, 9pm
I USED to think travel writers had the best job in the world, being paid to wander about, but surely they have been usurped by celebrity chefs who get to wander about and stuff their faces while they’re at it. Go on, name a better career ...
In this series, Rick Stein makes his way down America’s west coast to Mexico and tonight reaches Los Angeles.
The uninitiated might think LA can’t offer much by way of fine dining. Surely, as the ultimate American city, it’s all about fast food? Stein puts that belief down to jealousy on the part of stuffy British people.
So forget burgers and fries. He stops at Pismo Beach, famous for its clams. There were once “so many clams they had to use ploughs to harvest them,” he says and he tucks into a gigantic plate of clam chowder. There’s also time to sample some New World wines.
MOTHERLAND,
BBC2, 10pm
IT’S the dreaded parents’ night (“Doesn’t the smell of school make you want to kill yourself?”) and Julia desperately needs the teacher to just hurry up and dish out the bad reports so she can rush away and get back to her work. Soon she’s embroiled in a snappy exchange with the teacher and the judgmental mums slowly crowd in to eavesdrop. “Can you back off a bit? It’s not the Antiques Roadshow!” she yells.
Even when she’s free from school, the horrible insecurities of the playground still dog her. She spots a glamorous woman from her office at the school gates and flies across to say hello, but the superwoman doesn’t even seem to know her. Surely the most glamorous mummy at the school isn’t snubbing her? Do the cool girls just not care about her?
But Julia is determined to make them notice her by coming up with great ideas for the school fundraiser. “She still didn’t say yer name,” Liz keeps reminding her.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here