...and she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China...

[desperance]

Actually the orange came all the way from the tree in our back yard, but that's not the issue here.

The tea indeed is from China, but that is neither pictured nor the issue here.

The strangest thing just happened to me. I sat down with a cup of tea and Patrick O'Brian - and I had a sudden irresistible craving. Which, happily, I was in a position to satisfy: because I had bought the prerequisite as soon as I saw it on a shelf a couple of years back, not because I would eat it so much as because I was English and what could express that better?

Anyway: suddenly what I wanted more than anything was a slice of bread and butter and Marmite. And there you have it; or rather, here I had it. And yes, it's much like riding a bicycle: you never lose the taste. I may not have eaten Marmite since I was a kid, but it's still delicious. And just what I wanted, as it always was.

Also, I am delighted to report that the moment I had sat back down with m'book, Mac was up on the kitchen table a-licking of the knife. You may say that it was the butter that drew him; you may say what you like; I don't care. I say it's because he is a good English cat far from home, and he was after the Marmite.