Oliver

DURING the school holidays I am a fan of making life as easy as possible.

So teaching my children to cook seems a major win, especially when it doubles as a fun day out.

I took my sons Henry and Nicholas, to a brilliant kids’ pasta making class at the Jamie Oliver Cookery School.

There are two London locations offering lessons for all ages and abilities, including joint parent-kid sessions – perfect for the summer break or weekends.

Our class was inside John Lewis’ flagship department store on Oxford Street, in a big, bright teaching kitchen.

Our instructor was Holly, who studied at culinary school, has written cookbooks and worked as a private chef.

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Holly explained what was on the menu and took us through the first part of the process – making our pasta dough.

It’s a great one for kids as the mixing and kneading allows them to get stuck in.

Standing in the flash kitchen with our ingredients laid out before us made us feel like we were on a cookery show.

The task does involve some skill, but no real prior expertise or fiddly equipment or techniques.

Holly and her assistant chef Robin circled the room and helped when needed, but gave the young cooks plenty of space to learn and explore for themselves.

Then, as our glistening, golden balls of dough ‘rested’ on our work benches, Holly brought everyone back together to explain how to whip up a quick tomato, basil and garlic sauce.

It was a new one on me, too, as I didn’t know you could make a delicious pasta dressing with just raw tomatoes and a grater – no cooking or chopping needed.

Then, while our sauce marinated, it was on to the rolling.

The kids loved it, and got the hang of the technique instantly, using the machine to gradually fashion a thinner and thinner dough.

Holly then showed the class how to use cutting tools to fashion tagliatelle, angel hair and farfalle (or ‘bow-tie pasta’, as we call them in our house).

The kids worked with care and precision to get their shapes spot-on and were delighted to see their tagliatelle appear like magic from the machine.

It was almost like grown-up Play-Doh!

The final step was to boil the pasta before stirring it into the pre-prepared sauce.

Clutching their steaming bowls of lovingly made pasta, the class wandered to the trestle tables in the cookery school’s dining room to enjoy lunch with lashings of grated parmesan.

Verdict from all the children: Delicious.

And for parents, what better way to spend a school holiday morning?

The only drawback for me has been that I am now being nagged to buy a pasta machine!

If you’re not a big fan of pasta, there are also classes in meatball-making,

Mexican street food, sushi, ravioli, Thai green curry and bread.

At this rate, I won’t have to worry about cooking in the holidays ever again.

That seems like money well spent to me.

It’s no joke: John Oliver of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” is checking into “General Hospital,” the ABC soap opera.

The host of the weekly series that takes sharply comedic aim at government and institutions announced during his June 28 episode that he will appear on the daytime soap “General Hospital” on July 2, 3 and 6. No details about his role were revealed except that it will be a “substantial guest role.”

And that’s not the only soap he’ll be in this summer. He will also have a role on “Days of Our Lives,” streaming on Peacock, on Aug. 11, 12 and 14.

The appearances are the culmination of Oliver’s pleas to soap opera producers during the March 8 installment of his show that they consider him for a part. An unapologetic devotee of the outrageous antics and high melodrama which characterize the genre, Oliver said, “Write me a role and I will be on your set so fast it will make your head swim.”

In a statement, Oliver celebrated the realization of his dream: “‘General Hospital’ was everything I hoped it would be. It’s a true honor to be a small stain on the history of this illustrious show.”

The series’ executive producer Frank Valentini said in a separate statement that Oliver made an offer they could not refuse.

“When John Oliver publicly threw down the gauntlet and said he wanted to appear on a soap, we didn’t hesitate for a second,” he said. “He was everything you’d hope he’d be: prepared, professional, funny, and genuinely kind to everyone on set. He plays an integral character in the story, and I can’t wait for fans to see who he crosses paths within Port Charles.”

“General Hospital,” which airs weekdays on ABC and streams on Hulu, is in its 64th year and stands as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production.

On the March 8 episode, Oliver said he was jealous of celebrities such as Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg and Smokey Robinson who would pop up on various soaps. He was particularly envious of sports pundit Stephen A. Smith who has had a recurring role on “General Hospital,” playing a shady figure known only as “Brick.”

Oliver made it clear that he was not interested in a brief walk-on playing himself. He wanted to play a character, and have a “juicy role” that involved murder or “slapping.” He also required that there be a close-up of his face.

Oliver Tree, a genre-defying singer-songwriter and Santa Cruz native, was one of six people killed when two helicopters collided Sunday morning in Brazil, according to the Associated Press. He was 32.

Tree, a quirky artist known for his highly theatrical music videos and crisp bowl cut, had been traveling through South America as a part of his world tour. CNN Brazil reported Argentinian YouTuber Gaspar Prim, also known as Gaspi, was among those killed in the crash.

The mid-air collision occurred in Rio de Janeiro, with one of the helicopters landing in the parking lot of a car dealership, the AP reports. Local authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Tree, born Oliver Tree Nickell, broke out in the electronic music world first performing as, simply, Tree. He released an e.p., “Demons,” in 2013, which included a cover of Radiohead’s “Karma Police.” He later attended CalArts north of Los Angeles, and signed to Atlantic Records for his major-label debut e.p. “Alien Boy” in 2018.

To find his distinct look, he told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that “I was making a statement with it. Everybody’s trying to look so beautiful and sexy nowadays. It was my way of rebelling against that. So, I tried to make myself look as silly and ridiculous as possible.”

Tree was an instant hit on the festival circuit for his outlandish stage productions and outsider charisma, performing at Lollapalooza, Coachella and Outside Lands. He collaborated with Skrillex, David Guetta and Zeds Dead, and was fiercely protective of his meticulously weird visual identity and video concepts, telling Rolling Stone that “That’s kind of my signature. The people who do f- with me know me because of my videos..Music is my day job but my real dream is to be making feature films.

He released his major label debut LP, “Ugly Is Beautiful,” in 2020. His hit song “Life Goes On” and collaboration “Miss You” with German DJ Robin Schulz earned him international recognition and climbed onto the Billboard Hot 100. He released four full length albums as Oliver Tree, most recently April’s independent LP “Love You Madly Hate You Badly.”

Tree had performed in Buenos Aires on June 4.

From July to October, he had shows scheduled throughout Europe, Australia and China. This year, he performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year as a special guest of electronic producer Subtronics. In one of his last social media posts, he made a point to spotlight an upcoming show on Aug. 9 in his hometown at the Quarry Amphitheater at UC Santa Cruz.

“I can’t believe Oliver is gone,” Schulz posted on Instagram. “You were such a lovely soul and a one of a kind character. Working with you on ‘Miss You’ was an honor. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and everyone who loved him.”