Bad luck in Bolivia, a rant

This has nada to do with food, well very little, but I feel like having a rant and this is my forum, ok? If you are a happy go lucky kind of person, glass half full, who never whinges or whines then I suggest you stop reading now. I could look on the positive side of life – I am travelling one of the most beautiful continents on earth, I have no job to tie me down, the beer is cheap, the food is cheaper and the sun is shining. But as it is I feel like having a good moan, indeed it is one of my favourite past times. If you share this trait, read on! And, if the feeling takes you, have a rant of your own the comment section. It´s your forum, ok?

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Not a turkey in sight

Hello, I have just woken up from a food coma.

I got to Oz safe and sound, so safely and soundly, in fact, that I am still waiting for something disastrous to happen. So far the only misfortune I have suffered is that I got sick on the day I left – swollen glands, headache, blocked nose and no voice – which is not much fun on a 22 hour flight. Now six days later I am still croaky and snotty because the ‘Christmas spirit’ (read excessive drinking) and flu don’t make for a very good match, but were both were unavoidable.

I can speak again now, but cognitive activity is still limited, so I am going to let the images do the talking. Show and no tell.

Christmas eve canapes

Olive, goat's cheese and roast cherry tomato tartlets 

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Merry Christmas, just

I'm dreaming of a bright Christmas 
Just like the one I want to reach
Where the barbeque sizzles
and children giggle 
As the sun shines gaily on the beach.

I'm dreaming of a bright Christmas 
With every snowflake that I smite 
May your planes be sprayed and de-iced
And may all the snowmen take flight!

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The 12 pains of Christmas

Christmas shopping elicits all sorts of feelings and emotions; here are just a few that I have felt this past week:

Anticipation

Gaiety (fleeting)

Disappointment

Angst

Irritation

Frustration

Anger

Despair

Fatigue

Cold hands

Wet toes

Sore feet

In that order.

These are my excuses for being a little silent of late. 

More soon, I promise. 

Prison lunch

Updated on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 11:19AM by Vix

Today I had lunch in a prison.

It was just as vile as you might imagine.

A choice of meat pie, pasty or samosa with rice or potatoes (at least I think that is what they were, I can’t be sure). There was not a fresh vegetable or piece of fruit in sight. There was a "vegetable casserole" but I am not counting that since the only discernable components were peas and corn; ergo, it looked more like something that one’s body might expel than something one should be consuming. (Perhaps not so) sadly, I do not have a picture I can show you as we were not allowed to take cameras into the prison.

You would be forgiven for wondering what on earth I was doing eating lunch in a prison. The Howard League for Penal Reform is a charity which campaigns for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison. They advocate that in most cases prison is ineffective in rehabilitating offenders and inevitably leads to reoffending, suggesting community sentences as an alternative for people on short-term sentences or for those that have committed non-violent offences. They also provide a legal advice service for children and young people in custody.

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