three reasons why i’ll never be a travel writer: 3.) you need to have an attention span; i had mine surgically removed some years back. 2.) you need to make careful observances about regional landmarks and scenic things, and take lots of notes. i am unable to do those things when i travel. i eat […]
Author: Laurie MacFayden
the french have such a way with food
from the menu at the tuileries cafe: “softness of vegetables” (cream of vegetable soup) “soft-boiled eggs cremated in sherry vinegar.” “good looking net of pig in honey and annanas, perfumed rice.” “sliced thinly by poultry by, mustard former (ancient), perfumed rice.”
inside the drawer from hell
unable as i am to throw anything away, i came across in the junk drawer the other day: bits of string expired pizza coupons chinese takeaway menus three hundred and sixteen twist ties seven golf tees recipes for chicken wings (i’ve been vegetarian for twelve years) screws of various lengths fridge magnets yellowed dilbert comics […]
backpacker delights
Actual recipes taken from the Sequoia Lodge “travellers cook book”: SPAM MUSUBI Ingredients: 1 can Spam, soy sauce, brown sugar, white rice Mix soy sauce and 2 spoons of brown sugar in a bowl. Cut Spam lengthwise into 5 or 6 slabs and dip them in the sauce. Pop ’em into a frying pan for […]
songs from the road
(To the tune of As Tears Go By): It is the morning after Auckland I ride the Overlander train Ten hours of silver fern Three flat whites and bad lasagne I sit and watch the sheep go by (To the tune of the Green Acres theme): These hostels ain’t no place for me Communal living’s a […]
haiku after monet at te papa
claude your eight red blobs placed in meadow with poplars take my breath away the poet who falls from atop a long white cloud grins and says thank you
hostel hostility
OK, it’s official, i am not a people person. which i had kinda suspected for most of the last half-century but … staying at backpacker hostels has confirmed it. sharing kitchen and bathroom space with other frugal-minded travellers with varying standards of cleanliness and etiquette and privacy considerations does not bring out the best in moi. like, […]
lonny hears lenny
seamless. sublime. sexy. everything you’d expect from a leonard cohen concert. (everything i expected, anyway.) heard the master at auckland’s vector arena last night and was, well, blown away. i’ll try not to gush on here too much, but it’s not often poets-cum-songwriters fill arenas and get standing ovations just for stepping onto the stage … […]
if the bruising
if the whiskey flowed back in the bottle if the bruising branded the abuser if the bite if the cold if the rip cord if the night if the sleepwalking if the fist if the charm if the knife if the wishing if the dance if the seduction if the snake hair if the pleasure […]