Flying with the celebrity chef Rick Stein: A newspaper encounter

I was returning from a two-week trip, somewhere remote, with little or no internet connection

In today’s world of constant connectivity, that almost seems impossible

After two weeks offline, I was ravenous for news, any news, even if it was a little old

On the flight back, we were on British Airways, which had flown from the UK the day before, bringing along English newspapers

Normally, a day-old paper would be useless to me

Today, though, it was exactly what I wanted … I wanted news, even day old news

Settling into my seat, I started reading the newspaper I was given but noticed that Rick Stein, the celebrity chef, had a couple of others lying around

Once he had finished them, I couldn’t resist. “Rick Stein?” I asked

He brightened at being recognized, puffed himself up with a touch of star-quality

But instead of asking for an autograph or a chat, I asked him for his newspapers

I imagine this was not quite what he expected, but for me, news mattered more than fame

Conclusion: Sometimes, it’s the simplest things, like a newspaper, that matter most, even when shared with someone famous