We had our first Grapefruit of the season this morning. Bliss.
Surprising really, because it had travelled a good long way to get to us... all
of 200 yards from our neighbour’s garden. Actually our neighbours are great
friends with Terry Jacks... he of the wonderfully melodramatic pop song
‘Seasons in the Sun’. Come on, don’t pretend you’re too young to remember it...
well, some of you will be so You Tube it... it will ‘ear-worm’ you for sure!
Apparently our Terry still lives a very comfortable life off one hit which is
still played every day, all over the world on one ‘Classic hits’ station or
another. So there you are, if you are looking for something to boost your
pension, write a schmaltzy love song about dying love but with a bit of a
jaunty tune to it. (Further expert financial and pension advice can be found
on: rjpcrapfinancialplanning.org)
Actually it took a while to get used to the idea of seasons. In
the ‘First World’ (which is how people here refer to the developed world... we
talk about the ‘Third World’ but I have never heard ‘us’ referring to ourselves
as being from the First World but... oh do get on with it. Ed.) we took it for
granted that you could eat any fruit or vegetable anytime of the year. Of
course it has been transported across the globe and maybe had the odd chemical
or two sprayed on it, but it is a rather nice convenience.
However, one does get used to this seasonal thing and the delirious
joy of rabid anticipation, and of course the flavours seem even more spectacular
when you’ve waited a few months to enjoy them. It’s like a Fruitarian version
of Tantric sex! Somehow the seasonal fruit coming round again, like the Giant
leatherback turtles returning to our beach, marks the passing of time in a
rather pleasing fashion. At the risk of sounding all ‘Mother Earthy’ it roots
you to the earth a little more firmly which I like... it feels more like you
are ‘of’ the earth, rather than just ‘on’ it.
At the risk of this missive turning into ‘Gardener’s World’ we
do have a good number of stunning fruits that don’t appear even in Waitrose... surely
not cry the crowd... yes it’s true, wax apples, guineps (like small grapes but
with tough skin you peel) rock figs... a small banana but with a hint of pear
and apple (although oddly, not a smidgen of fig about it) around 250 different
types of mango... I shall now list them for you alphabetically. Only
joking! Other worldly soursops can be
found - oh - and bread fruit, to name but a few. Apparently a number of
Supermarkets have tried to import breadfruit but alas, like Guinness, holiday
romances and German comedy, it doesn’t travel well. (Mind you German comedy
isn’t great in Germany). It is a bit like a cross between a sweet parsnip, a
potato and well... bread. Cooked in a fire on the beach, just add pepper, salt
and lashings of butter... it is orgasmic! Kitty writes the blogs for Horizon Yacht Charters Grenada and you can read more about this wonderfully abundant summer season here: Turn Over the Pot Season. The flowers aren't doing badly either, despite a very dry Summer - this mad-looking flower is on one of our Coral Trees:
Talking of ‘travelling well’, can I indulge you with a story
about the late, great David Ogilvy (without whom I wouldn’t have a job, so
thank you Sir). This may be a Rory Sutherland tale so thanks go to Rory, too.
It seems that whilst David was a relatively modest man in most ways considering
his achievements he was overbearingly proud of his wine which he grew at his
Chateau in France. He was sitting in the garden one evening entertaining a
client - the vineyards just steps away behind them - and David was serving a
wine from his own vineyard... there’s posh for you isn't it! Anyway, it seems
this particular client was something of a wine buff so David was filling him in
on all the details of the grape, the soil, the weather, etc which had led to
this particular vintage. “And of course”, David said with a flourish, as the
client sipped the wine, “Grown from these very vines, right behind you”. The
client sipped, paused and then said “Yes... it doesn’t travel very well does
it”. Apparently, David was shattered.
So dear things, a goodly number of seasons have come and gone
since the last missive so I hope this finds you all well and in good spirits.
The Brits amongst you will be joyous, basking in reflected glory at having won
the Lions tour, Mr Murray winning at Wimbledon after waiting 77 years... well
obviously Mr Murray himself hasn’t been waiting for 77 years... and we even
seem to be doing rather well at the cricket. For the Australians reading...
suck it up!
Of course, even the British economy is slowly coming out of the
doldrums I read, although I’m told the mood in the country is still rather
dour. Well cheer up you could be Spanish or Portuguese or Irish or well anyone
really so rejoice and turn your thoughts of far flung places and holidays and old
friends and come and visit us. It is rather nice seeing friends over an
extended period rather than trying to jam it all into a supper party... it
removes the desperation to impart all the news and views and tales and gossip
inside 4 hours. It’s lovely to linger over an extended breakfast then let friends
drift off to sunbathe (something we never do anymore strangely) or a little
drive to see something of this island gem, then get back together for a lengthy
supper perhaps. I have to say I think we have it down to a fine art now, to be
with people but still give them the space to enjoy a proper holiday. Of course
it is helpful when they leave little notes on their doors saying “Will you two
sod off, you sad gits and stop pestering us, we know you’re desperate to know
what is going on in the real world but we’re on holiday’. People are nice like
that.
Kitty has also done a stellar job with our villa rentals and one
or both beach houses were full more or less from November to almost the end of
May, delivering all sorts of interesting, charming people who seem to enjoy our
little corner of paradise. A reasonable percentage... I won’t try and quantify
it beyond that... of the ladies actually cry when they leave and the men just
look glum, but they all look a lot more relaxed and tanned than when they
arrived so it must do them good. My lovely friend and erstwhile partner Alex Gulland came
to visit recently and said it was “life changing”... which I think was meant in a
positive light.
Herman Melville said of the sea “That there is magic in it” and
he knew of what he spoke. It somehow seems to sooth people’s souls. Since last
we wrote we have expanded our own house to about double the size and I am
writing from our new (well new-ish) ‘Gallery’ as they call it here for some
strange reason... we would call it a veranda. We basically live out here now
apart from sleeping of course, although you could do that too. I am sitting in
a steamer chair... surely one of the best inventions known to man... looking at
the ridiculously lurid-green sea, watching the oddly prehistoric looking
Pelicans sweeping by the islands which float off in the distance. I need these
soul-soothing sessions as much as the guests because I spend a great deal of
time in Trinidad, still working at Ogilvy which is demanding to say the least,
but every day I seem learn something new about that strange but oddly seductive
nation. Actually, truth be told, I’m sure if I didn’t work and visit the hurly
burly of Trinidad I may not appreciate where we are quite so much. I’d hate to
think I’d get complacent but I’m happy to not put it to the test. Busy is good.
They now have proof that working longer actually extends your
life and quality of life, so although we all moan about the daily grind and
think it is killing us, it seems the reverse is true. We must embrace it... and
let’s face it, none of us are working down a mine, are we!?!
So we wish you all well and hope to see you - at least some of you
- before too many more seasons pass us by!
Posts
