Random Observations 17

One never knows from whence inspiration will come. Today, it came from Wells, England.

My very dearest friend, Alys, a wonderful cook and master baker, found a recipe for the American dish called Green Bean Casserole. I thought it was my responsibility as a true, patriotic American, to tell her – ugh! We don’t eat that stuff anymore. If you’ve had it once, you’ve had enough of it. If we are of ‘a certain age’, I’m certain we could all write books, the titles of which would be “Green Bean Casseroles I Have Known”. It is one of those ‘traditions’ about which passing I do not lament.

And then there’s this. I had a wonderful gentleman friend, Les – an Englishman and submariner – who used to make me laugh whenever he spoke about English food. It seems to this American that the English have a lot of ‘food rules’. I was rather forcefully informed that one never eats toast that is dark; one must always put the clotted cream on the toast first and then the ‘conserve’ or the lemon curd. Only someone ‘naff’ would reverse the order. With rules in mind, I share with you the video Alys shared with me this morning:

I don’t consider myself an ‘animal person’. I would never hurt one but aside from the (a little more than casual) desire for a French bulldog, I don’t have much interest. Now I’ve discovered Bondi (pronounced bond – eye) Vet out of Australia. There are several vets that the program features but more so Dr. Chris Brown – who is the poster child of “My word, what a hunk!” But he’s a nice guy, family man, quick to laugh and he loves animals. They have another Bondi Vet production called The Vet on the Hill – out of London in the UK. As I watch these videos, I’m struck by the great big hearts of those folks who treat animals big and small. I don’t know that I could do it. I thought the human body could produce some pretty disgusting things but we’ve got nothing on the animal kingdom. Please be advised, these programs show more than we’re apt to see on US vet programs – they show their animal operations and while I’m not squeamish, they can be a little – what is that phrase our cousins across the Pond use … ‘eyewatering’.

I’m still not talking about the you-know-what and now I’m not talking about the non-election, either. What will be, will be and all we can do is hope and pray. A lot of praying.