07.28.06
Posted in General at 22:28 pm by Guy
There has been a lot of discussion in the blogosphere recently about hard hitting world issues such as the state of security in South Africa, and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Blogging has further narrowed geographical distances, provided an outlet for opinion, and enabled real-time debate from all corners of the globe. I have read a lot on blogs recently, but haven’t offered much of an opinion, not because I don’t have one, on say, war in the middle east, but because I have had more important things on my mind. This brings me to the topic of this post - sandwich fillers.
At least five days a week for the past 23 years (approx.) I have had sandwiches aka sarmies, sarnies or zarms, and have therefore formed a major part of my life. It sounds quite boring doesn’t it? The thought of eating the same thing for lunch 6000 times before I’ve reached the age of 30, and with potentially 30 more working years of consistent sarnie munching to go, that number could more than double. But its not. Its great, because the options are endless. So, kick off your shoes, sit back, take out your zarms, check them out and consider this: (I know you’re wondering so I’ll put you out of your misery and tell you that I had roast lamb with tomato and mint sauce on brown today)
Lets start with the supporting structure - options include (but not excluding anything I haven’t thought of or left out for expedience - hows that for a caveat) - bread (thin, medium or thick sliced, brown, white, wholemeal, granary, seeded, ‘best of both’), rolls (round or long, brown or white), pita, baguette, wrap, loaf, bagel, ciabatta, panini, bap, hhhmmmmmmm tough start…….
Then there’s the spread - butter, marg or mayonnaise?
And the dressing - brown sauce, tomato sauce, sweet chilli sauce, mayonnaise, mustard. hmmmmmm, all depends on the filling…….
But, most importantly, there’s the filling. I remember my brother Bruce having peanut butter and bovril on the thickest slices you’ve ever seen, I remember eating chunky cottage cheese and illovo golden syrup on white rolls, I remember having my mom’s shepherds pie (bits of carrot included) with brown sauce on brown, I remember tasting Branston pickle for the first time in the UK, Sar is jumping up and down on the couch saying she remembers polony and mayonnaise, I recall the luxury zarms when my mom splashed out and bought smoked beef - thin slivers that melted in your mouth. There’s a French shop in Southfields that makes the best value for money zarms, emmentaal and salami, salad and spice on white baguette- all for £1.80. Serieus.
Personally, I could live on cheese so its safe to say that most of my favourite zarms include cheese. The age old favourite is ham, cheese and tomato. Add sliced gherkin, perhaps a thin layer of mayonnaise and sprinkled with pepper and voila! YUMMY! Ham is a bit boring though so what about salami, silverside, chicken, turkey, gammon. Not to forget fish. Tuna is a definite ‘once-a-weeker’ with a bit of mayo, perhaps sweetcorn but a secret ingredient? Finely chopped gherkin. Yeesh. Recently I tried Mediterranean salad from Waitrose which had feta and olive with salad - superb.
My favourite? It depends very much on time of day for consumption, season, weather, circumstance, mood. However, the combination zarm has too be a winner. In fact I’m going to sit on the fence and go with two favourites. One for breakfast/morning/brunch and the other for lunch/afternoon tea/dinner even. Strange, because I haven’t mentioned bacon as a filler but it is a component of one entry. The morning zarm of choice - the breakfast in pita. Bimbo’s carried this tradition of ‘egg, bacon, sausage with sauce of choice’ like few others. Bimbo’s is an all night garage/petrol station express shop in South Africa which sells the most unbelievable midnight feasts made up of a bap/pita filled with two eggs, tomato, bacon and melted cheese. All in Durban go forth and purchase. Those not, unrucky.
And for lunch? The ‘Club’. Man, I could kill a club zarm right now. In fact anytime. Double decker zarm with chicken (or traditionally turkey), bacon, tomato, mayo and salad on a toasted base. Sometimes cheese. Side of fries.
What’s your favourite? Sandwich, that is……………..
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Posted in General at 16:09 pm by Guy
Diplomacy is often exercised to safeguard ones position, but then again, there are occasions when you just have to say exactly what you feel regardless of the consequences…………
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07.24.06
Posted in General at 22:38 pm by Guy
What a bumper weekend past - so much so that I cant possibly fit it all into one post……
Saturday actually began last week Saturday as Sar and I assisted Kam and John with setting up for Kam’s bday party. Well, I say assisted, but I pretty much rocked up last Sat after hitting some golden oldies all over Dundonald Park about 3 funnels down only to contine drinking and play crap crocquet…. On Tuesday night we headed out to Ealing (its not in London trust me, its freakin miles away) to celebrate Kam’s bday (happy 29th birthday Kam) at The Kiwi Kitchen at Baroque. Baroque is basically a pub/bar which has been transformed by a kiwi to serve some local NZ delicacies, including:
Paua fritters to kumara chips, from Green lip mussels to Hokey Pokey ice cream
and
Feijoa & Manuka honey Vodka, South Gin, Kiwi liquer and of course the ‘World famous in New Zealand’ L&P mixer.
The food was good, but the venue is not great and the chef may consider uprooting somewhere more deserving of the idea, quality of produce and cooking.
On Friday night Sar and I returned to Raynes Park to add further muscle power, only to pretty much sit around, chillin, and having a few beers in the sun. Saturday heralded the big English Garden Party, and of course the rain. IT hadn’t rained in weeks, with the temps souring into the mid-thrities. Naturally, none of the outdoor party stuff could go up until the clouds departed, which thankfully happened just as people were arriving. Everyone produced a spanking effort for the dress code as can be seen in these photo’s. It turned out oa be a cracking day and festivities crept on long after I departed…. as I had a big Sunday to prepare for……………. lunch with Gatting and Tarrant………
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07.17.06
Posted in General at 22:42 pm by Guy
I reported a few weeks ago that we are leaving our place in Putney after 3 1/2 years. The aim was too find a place which met the following criteria: 1 bed place. ground floor. nice garden. big rooms. high ceilings. off street parking. storage facilities for the bikes. close to amenities. close to overland and underground station. quiet location.
Well, I can confirm that we have found a place and the lease has now been signed. We didn’t spend that long looking to be completely honest, but the Internet certainly speeds up the process nowadays enabling house hunters to view places online narrowing the field right down before having to meet sleezy agents. So, how many of our criterion did we achieve out of 10? I am pleased to say 8 1/2. We are moving to a 1 bed, ground floor conversion flat of an old victorian house, with high ceilings, big (ish) rooms, our own massive (by London standards) garden, shed to store bikes, off street parking, 170m from Raynes Park station and amenities. So the only criterion not met fully is the quiet location as it is located on a fairly busy road but we are in the flat at the back of the house facing out onto the garden not road. Furthermore, we have achieved 2 additional bonuses. The location is ideal for both Sar and I workwise AND we are now just round the corner from Kam and John, so I can step up my use of John’s Weber……
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07.11.06
Posted in Travels at 13:52 pm by Guy
I have been itching to let the world know about this, but for the fear of the jinx I have held out. Until now. it is now all official and I can reveal that we (Sar and I) are going to the World Cup cricket in the West Indies in April 2007. Yea, that’s right, 2 weeks of blissful sunshine in the Caribbean watching the worlds best cricketers go at it in the 50 over format, and on the off days we will be forced to dive in the ocean, drink rum and play beach cricket. If I could manufacture a trip from scratch and individualised to my tastes, it may well come out exactly like this: Read the rest of this entry »
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07.09.06
Posted in General at 21:24 pm by Guy
After 2 1/2 years of putting up with my sh1t (well, and Sarah’s but that pales in comparison), Amy finally made the big trip back to NZ for the last time today. Amy joined Sar and I at Clockhouse Place in March 2004 when Chris and Phil settled back in SA, and I can honestly say that we couldn’t have asked for a better flat mate. One always takes a risk moving in with strangers, and we definitely had some freaks rock up at the door who were interested in the place. In contrast, living with Amy has been an absolute pleasure, so much so that Sar and I have decided to leave our abode of 3 1/2 years and find a 1 bed place of our own. Amy, Sar and I wish you a safe trip home to NZ, and all the very best wherever life takes you. We were hoping to spend Christmas 2006 in NZ but South Africa ultiamtley won that honour this year. Our trip to Aus and NZ have defiinetly not been cancelled though, only shelved temporarily and we look forward to meeting up with Amy in NZ soon.
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07.06.06
Posted in Entertainment at 23:33 pm by Guy
Amy managed to get tickets for a group of us to see the new Evita musical at the Adelphi theatre. Directed by Michael Grandage, who also directed the brilliant Guys and Dolls, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Weber, it promised a lot. It was good. On first reflection I don’t think I personally enjoyed it as much as The Producers or Guys and Dolls, however the general consensus that it was one of the better plays seen. I didn’t know the story of Eva Peron, and I haven’t seen the film which was both a benefit and a hindrance. For those that enjoy musicals, the singing and dancing is out of the top draw. Eva was played by Argentinean Elana Roger who was excellent.
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07.04.06
Posted in Games at 21:46 pm by Guy
Welcome back all rugby fans, Chateau Toby is once again proud to host a league in the Test Rugby fantasy rugby competition! I can’t remember the total number of entries last year fighting for the coveted Chateau Toby trophy, but it was a fair number and a great competition it was. Read the rest of this entry »
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