From spice to something just nice!

It has been some time I know… well I have failed to perform as a good blogger and keep up to date with my postings… no excuses other than too many distractions and not enough discipline!

Well I have been searching for a topic that I think could be a good way to make a comeback to blogging and well I think I might have come up with a topic that is quite topical but also just that little bit quirky that could get some comments going…

Its summer time and well like many parents a visit to a tourist attraction is pretty much required to keep the youngsters amused… it ideally from and adult’s point of view needs to be both educational and also exciting.

Well I was all excited when I came across an article in my local French paper L’Independant whilst on holiday. The headline read “The Curry Sausage Museum in Berlin”. This admittedly was not on my doorstep but my god how could I have overlooked such an innovative and fascinating subject. The article went on to inform me that 800 million currywurst a year are consumed in Germany – this is 1,500 per minute. The currywurst was the brainchild of Herta Huewer in Berlin on the 4th September 1949…well on checking out their web site at http://www.currywurstmuseum.de/en/ there is a wealth of information and I discovered for just eleven euros entrance fee I could discover the world of the Currywurst… My next visit to Berlin is assured of my visit.

It was however an article a few years ago in a UK paper on Bekonscot Model Village that found me recently making a visit to this 80-year-old tourist attraction here in the UK. http://www.bekonscot.co.uk/ Located in a residential area of Beaconsfield just minutes from the M40 I found myself stepping back in time with what is the UK’s biggest and oldest model village.

It was fascinating to see something so old fashioned and traditional be attractive to so many generations. One family on entering (from Canada) were made up of four generations from the age of seven to seventy plus…amazing when you think of it.

The simplicity of the exhibits with the model train track and miniature houses for many would be not high tech or interactive enough but it seemed to fascinate all ages and raised a smile when you saw the name of the coal merchants delivery lorry “W.E. Humpitt & U. Burnett” or the Vegetable shop owned by “Chris. P. Lettis”

What also amazed me was the low-key commercialisation of the place. There was catering with a café of sorts but visitors were encouraged to bring their own picnics and a storage area provided to visitors whilst they wandered around. Prices in the café were not inflated and even the souvenir shop had plenty of good value pocket money tack for little ones.

It surprised me to see on departure the number of visitors to this attraction has now exceeded 14.5 million over the last eighty years… that curry museum in Berlin has got to go some to top that…

A cultural difference...

Following a recent trip to Spain’s most southern region “Pappa Cod” was blown away by a visit to the daily market of the small town of La Linea on the border with Gibraltar.

Here was locally grown oranges being sold at one euro for three kilos, an amazing and outstanding bargain.

More impressive was the display of fresh fish in the market that had a permanent queue of patronage eager to purchase.

It is difficult to imagine a similar small town say like Hastings (although it has a healthy number of fish sellers on the seafront) selling the array found in this market. Also having such a passionate bunch of customers demanding the freshness and provenance of the fish.
It never ceases to amaze me how culturally different we are in general terms. Still I live in hope!

Different Cultures...

I was talking to the other half of an old friend and Chinese chef who has been opening a new high class Chinese eatery within the Middle East… she was relating to me the opening of this establishment had not been without its problems especially when it had come to how the punters ordered their food.

Here in the UK such ethnic establishments tend have their customers order a range of dishes that they then share amongst the party. Well no such practice at this new place they all want their own plate of grub and in no way are they going to share it…it reminded me of a similar experience in a Chinese eatery in Co Wicklow south of Dublin… here a family gathering all tucked in to their own choice of individually chosen dishes and our order of a selection of dishes were met by some really cursory looks that we must have flown in from another planet…
Seems like the front of house crowd need to do a bit of education on the punters. Still it does illustrate rather well some cultural differences when it comes to table manners…