tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90732027569509924592024-03-08T14:20:04.710+00:00Expat in the Land of MarmiteA lipstick expat from Seattle searches for meaning among queueing Britsjcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-76689244944559902022017-03-08T09:30:00.000+00:002017-03-08T09:30:48.614+00:00The Phoenix Rises Her Distracted Head Once MoreAfter two separate attempts to start posting regularly to this blog, I am going to attempt it yet again. I realise that posting only once a year is a bit pathetic; but yet again I'm going to use the excuse that life has become so much busier. Besides, for the past year I've been working on a major writing project as well as keeping up my coffee and beer columns, so I really haven't had much jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-58776761435325243812016-04-09T13:04:00.001+01:002016-04-09T13:04:28.757+01:00Rise of the Grumpy PhoenixThe last time I posted this blog I was starting to feel the effects of Too Much Negative Stress. As a result I sensed that, rather than describing interesting and thought-provoking ideas and outlining entertaining experiences, I was simply complaining about things. As there is a lot in this world to complain about, I felt that I really had nothing positive to contribute to an expat blog about jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-60223637134079219092015-04-07T12:24:00.000+01:002015-04-07T12:24:46.274+01:00Advertising myselfI realise it's been a year since I posted. This is partly because these days I tend to spend my lunches reading books, and also because I've been madly working on other writing projects. So I may as well advertise my ebooks.
Early this year I published my second ebook, It's Your Round: A Survival Guide for the American Anglophile. This is basically a lighthearted but informative guide for jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-80971803557501981372014-04-18T13:44:00.000+01:002014-04-18T13:44:26.500+01:00On Being Bilingual, LiterallyIt's a long time since I posted anything. I apologise, but it's because life has been extremely busy and I'm getting ready for another trip to America. I'm sitting in the spring-break-dead University library cafe eating my lunch, a sandwich with leerdammer, Dijon mustard, sundried tomatoes, and red pepper, and a mixture of clementine slices, grapes, and the first of this season's strawberries.
jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-19488088501099027382013-12-26T12:21:00.000+00:002014-04-19T11:15:12.882+01:00Best Wishes for a Self-Referential Redundant New YearLunch today is a cheese quesadilla with hot sauce, simply because it's a holiday week and I'm not at work. So for the sake of keeping the sandwich ideas coming I'll start with a description of a lunch I had last week. I've always said I don't like rocket (arugula for American readers) because I can't stand it in salads. But in the past few years I've discovered that rocket actually works in some jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-8327917029714833072013-10-04T09:58:00.000+01:002013-10-04T09:58:22.723+01:00Humbled by Stair DivingLunch today is a mixture of leftover nubs: a sandwich with slices of Wensleydale, Port Salud, and Davidstowe Cheddar with the last bit of fresh tarragon and the last bit of chopped Romano pepper. Not a bad creation considering my haphazard and sometimes mindless attempts to be conscientious about not wasting food.
I'm returning to work after being off for 2 days after having done an impressive jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-30758905564406570982013-08-12T10:00:00.000+01:002013-08-12T10:00:47.036+01:00The Joy of Men in SkirtsI hate to say TGIF, because I believe one should live each day and not count their life in weekends. But it's been a 3-day work week which for some reason seems to plod on longer than a 5-day week. I'm sitting in the Winter Garden apologising to the pigeons for not having any more of my Edam, red pepper, and spinach sandwich left. I'm also being appalled by the number of parents who beam proudly jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-80750766376100092562013-06-26T10:36:00.000+01:002013-06-26T10:36:15.001+01:00That Yoyo Called "Weather"I’m sitting in the Winter Garden with my favourite comfort-food sandwich: Wensleydale with dried dill. I’ve also got a few leaves of curly green and red lettuce fresh from a friend’s allotment – and a summer assortment of nectarine, apricot, and mango slices.
I went to California for a short visit last month. While I was there the weather was pleasantly springlike – in a Southern Californian wayjcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-12038771004277573382013-03-24T12:03:00.000+00:002013-03-24T12:08:05.694+00:00A Snowy Plug for my EcookbookToday I’m not eating lunch in the Winter Garden because it’s a Sunday as opposed to a work day. I’m at home, the ground is covered with a foot of snow outside (obviously snow is the new “spring” this year), and I’ll probably have a quesadilla for my lunch, made on a wholegrain flour tortilla with extra mature cheddar and some Mexican hot sauce from a bottle. My weekend lunches aren’t created as jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-22139616851715509752012-12-23T12:17:00.000+00:002012-12-23T12:17:45.007+00:00More Mobile Bus Rage, The Risk of Eventual Death, and Extinct Chocolate Chips <!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 0 1 720 4110 CoffeeBeer 34 9 4821 14.0 <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-30416252229675222962012-12-07T10:18:00.003+00:002012-12-07T10:18:32.255+00:00Synthesized news reports and a whole lotta sandwiches <!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 0 1 668 3810 CoffeeBeer 31 8 4470 14.0 <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-67382590462449676412012-09-13T09:07:00.001+01:002012-09-23T13:47:13.943+01:00Jessica Ennis and the R ProblemLunch today is the result of a fridge packed with reduced items that need to be used. I’ve got crab paté with avocado slices, spring onion, and red pepper, seasoned with black and cayenne peppers. It’s surprisingly nice, sophistication with zing. A squeeze of lime would make it perfect.
During the London Olympics, Sheffield-born heptathlon winner Jessica Ennis shot up to fame with her jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-29206818323384830312012-07-08T12:24:00.000+01:002012-07-08T12:25:11.002+01:00Questions I Hate As An Expat"I am not now, nor have I ever been, acquainted with Bob Diamond, even though I am American." This was my reply when a British friend (who is smart enough to know better) pointed out to me that Diamond, former chief executive of Barclays Bank, is American.
As I sit in the University library cafe eating my houmus and cream cheese sandwich -- spiced up by a chopped pickled hot chilli and jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-1265138239622312272012-07-01T13:53:00.000+01:002012-07-01T14:17:02.237+01:00Barbecue-flavour camelids and more on excessive sweetnessFrom Liquid Life by Zigmunt Bowman: "The most sober and seasoned of counsellors advise the seekers after guidance to accommodate themselves to the inevitable: ambivalence is here to stay, they say; the joys and horrors of ingesting what the world peddles to us and seduces us into digesting are inseparable."
I know it's not long ago since I talked about the overabundance of sugar in British jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-54629231356633928722012-05-20T10:33:00.000+01:002012-05-20T10:35:40.065+01:00This year's observations about AmericaTUESDAY: I'm back at work after a visit to the United States. My lunch is one of my tuna sandwiches made with yogurt instead of mayonnaise and spiced with capers, cumin, and fresh thyme. It's good brain food for contemplating some of the interesting facts I discovered about America -- or at least California -- during my 3-week stay in the Los Angeles area:
1. SWEETENERS. I was surprise to jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-45401267497103070512012-04-09T09:58:00.002+01:002012-04-09T10:16:46.263+01:00Travelling Through a Wormhole and Preparing to Visit AmericaFRIDAY WEEKS AGO: Lunch on this icy cold day -- with the streets clear but solid snow left where tyres don't touch -- is tinned pink salmon with yogurt, capers and caper vinegar, chopped red pepper and spring onion, tarragon, a little Chinese 5-spice, and a few drops of Tabasco sauce. It's interesting, and I quite like the impulsive pinch of 5-spice I put in after previously deciding on the jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-75868517256221082492012-01-21T12:49:00.005+00:002012-02-05T12:20:33.697+00:00A New Year of Lunches and More Talk About British FoodWEDNESDAY LAST YEAR: I love the surrealism of daily life. I'm sitting in the Winter Garden on this cold wet day, nibbling a sesame seed bagel with smoked salmon, Quark, and sliced red onion accompanied by a couple of chunks of pomegranate while listening to the grey-haired and Santa-hat-sporting octet known as Sheffield Accordions play French cafe music and Christmas carols while I read about jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-18607247343950796662011-11-23T10:54:00.004+00:002011-11-23T11:04:10.092+00:00Why Do People Travel with Blinders On?TUESDAY: Today's sandwich is another cheese treat. I was out duck hunting this weekend -- searching for stencilled ducks on the fronts of cask ale pubs, that is. And in the countertop fridge at the Fat Cat in Kelham Island, along with the usual pork pies made with Kelham Island Bitter, there was a lone package of cheese made with Kelham Island Pale Rider from the Staffordshire Cheese Company. jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-43493533655352958742011-11-09T10:09:00.003+00:002011-11-09T10:17:31.640+00:00Scalene Triangles, Pet Vacs, Semis, and the Hollywood BowlFRIDAY: This week has featured some nice sandwiches, most notably the leftover basa (aka Vietnamese river cobbler) fillet and Philadelphia cream cheese with sun-dried tomatoes. Because I just picked up some nice French cheese from this season's global market for next week's pique-niques, I decided today to have some more of the excellent Wensleydale before it goes bad. My bread is a big crusty jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-35937369215277877872011-10-15T12:40:00.010+01:002011-10-21T10:02:43.080+01:00Living in the Po-Mo CloudFRIDAY: Lunch after a round of table tennis is a very thin sandwich with Gorgonzola and sun-roasted tomatoes. All of my sandwiches are very thin at the moment because of stomach problems. It's the stress of Po-Mo life, I think: the failing economy, the lack of challenging work, and gradually learning that living globally without constant headaches is apparently only for the rich. Somehow I have jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-58564307154991390102011-09-28T10:52:00.002+01:002011-09-28T10:55:00.720+01:00My Trader Joe's Joy, and the Disappointment of So-Called Tortilla ChipsFRIDAY: It's been over a week since I've written anything at lunch because I've been engrossed in a book. And strangely enough for me, it's a novel. I don't normally read novels, as I've never got over my post-university craving to constantly learn from my reading, not that it's made me any wiser. But to keep myself grounded I allow some fiction every now and then, as long as it's good quality jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-37736734568016395942011-09-12T11:28:00.002+01:002011-09-12T11:35:05.883+01:00Olfactory Highs and Lows and the Travesty of Sweet PizzaMONDAY: I can't believe how gorgeously delicious my lunch is today. I've got a houmus and cream cheese sandwich with chopped spring onion and chopped red pepper -- nothing unusual for me, except that the houmus is made with black-eyed beans instead of chickpeas and flavoured with basil. It's unbelievably good. And the cream cheese is proper Philadelphia. I suppose houmus is like pesto, in that jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-30445207423235918592011-08-13T11:33:00.004+01:002011-08-13T12:07:15.809+01:00Inland Seasides, Seagulls, and the Japanese InvasionTUESDAY: Once again it's Friday of my current 2-day work schedule, and I'm eating a sandwich with extra mature cheddar and gorgeously creamy avocado, seasoned with the obligatory cumin and New Mexico chilli powder. After a short period of warm humid weather we're suddenly having a preview of autumn, and I'm back to wearing long sleeves and socks.
This is why I'm particularly amused by the jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-45361142478746300932011-08-03T12:42:00.003+01:002011-08-03T12:46:21.327+01:00Reading, Writing, and Visas for ClonesWEDNESDAY: What a week. I've spent the morning talking to pub owners and writing an article while making a lasagne, and here I am in the Winter Garden before work trying to prep for yet another job interview. Once again it's my current job, only just a little bit better. I realise it's pointless making notes about what I obviously do in my job every day, especially while eating such a tasty jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9073202756950992459.post-36772273074752514732011-07-07T11:28:00.002+01:002011-07-07T11:34:48.355+01:00Junk Food Horror and National ObesityFRIDAY: It's not that I have anything against the University cleaners -- in fact I quite like them and always say hello. But because they have decided to start taking their group break at the same time I have my lunch break, I have moved from the normally quiet Staff Room across the library and into the din of the café. Because I'm trying to absorb an especially demanding section of my book on jcmglobalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643394042998339395noreply@blogger.com0