Hello, this is Everything Else, the FT Culture Podcast.

I'm Grizz. I'm a commissioning editor on the arts desk here.

And I'm Al, the FT's Food and Drink Editor.

This week is our Christmas food and drink special.

Al will be speaking to the great chef, Cyrus Toddiwalla.

But before that, we'll be asking food writers Polly Russell and Tim Hayward about the ghosts

of Christmas past.

And we'll venture out into Borough Market, the epicentre of London's food scene, to ask

stallholders if Christmas was better when they were six years old.

Morning Al. Good morning, Grizz. What day is it today? Today is my baby son, Rufus's first birthday.

Happy birthday to Rufus. Indeed, I think it was pretty excited during the night,

decided to stay up on account of his great excitement of this day.

It is a big day, actually.

It's not just, it is obviously just his first birthday,

but there were a lot of times, particularly earlier in the year,

that we thought he might not get this far.

So it is a thing, and he's getting christened tomorrow.

Oh, wow.

I'm going to be wearing, well, he'll be wearing a silly dress and I'm going to be wearing. You're not going to be wearing a silly dress.

Or are you?

No, well, no, it's not a dress, but it is Rufus's greatfather's suit, which I've had fitted for me, and he

was a general and a very distinguished fellow, so it's going to be a, it's going to be a momentous

...