An Eye and a Lens

Utah panorama

deer study

My special Utah correspondent has again come up trumps with even more special offerings from her local neighbourhood. She has used her Nikon D40 to capture these great images whilst out and about.

If you feel a photo of yours truly warrants a place on Ketchup with Aubs please submit offering a few details about your submission.

Aubs remains up to his armpits in redrafting his dissertation.

Celebrating a New Passport

After much bemoaning the inefficiencies of life in UK, it is pleasing to note that some things do happen much faster than others.

My new passport application was organised through the Post Office. Forms were filled out and checked for accuracy for a princely sum of GPP8. Within 4 days the new passport has arrived.

This is my first passport from Britain in 18 years, and an application from UK means i am entitled to the “Jumbo” size 48 page passport, not available to those citizens who reside outside the UK.

On top of my GBP8, the new passport has cost me GBP90.50 – expensive yes, but i am nonetheless delighted at its swift arrival and the freedom it offers me.

Himalaya Film and Cultural Festival

I´m very grateful to Ellie who points me in the direction of the Himalaya Film and Cultural Festival running from 28 January to 12 February 2010. It celebrates the rich and varied cultures of the world’s mightiest mountain range with film, music, art and photography.

The Himalaya stretch for thousands of miles, encompassing forests, deserts, snowy peaks and vibrant cities, and a huge diversity of peoples and cultures live on their slopes and in their valleys.

Our film programme reflects this diversity with films from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. Some are classics, others are being shown for the first time in the UK. We also explore the Himalaya through the still image with exhibitions of art and photography from a range of international artists, and taste the music of the region, with live performances from musicians traditional and modern.

The UK is home to one of the biggest Himalayan diaspora communities outside of South Asia, but apart from a few well-known symbols and stories, this important area has a low profile in this country, and remains a mystery to many. Therefore, our central aims in organising the Festival are:
• to reach and captivate a wide audience, introducing them to Himalayan film, music, art and photography.
• to raise awareness and visibility of Himalayan countries and cultures in London and the UK
to celebrate the cultural ties between Himalayan diaspora communities, encouraging solidarity and fostering a sense of the Himalaya as a region
• to create a platform for Himalayan and related artists to showcase their work in London.

Himalaya Festival is not run for profit, and any surplus after costs will be donated to our charity partner, the Rescue Foundation. We hope the Festival will allow as many people as possible to experience the beauty and rich heritage of the Himalaya.

Not much time left to get there, but i can´t resist it.

A Visit to the British Museum

Ellie is Jen´s elder step-sister and she invites me for cake and drinks at the British Museum for her birthday.

Situated close to Russell Square tube-station, this imposing building offers an eclectic assortment of artefacts pilfered from around the World, most notably the Elgin Marbles stolen from the Greeks.


It has been a very long time since my last visit and it looks even more impressive than i remembered. It boasts artefacts covering close to 2 million years. It is somewhat of a labyrinth to negotiate around and unless you give it a complete day of exploration, you are better to just focus on your specific interests.

There is currently an interesting exhibition of West African sculptures on display.

a cool African artefact

The museum is open daily between 10am – 5.30pm with late evenings on Thursdays and Fridays.

Like all the major museums and galleries, entry is free, although begging bowls litter almost every gallery room.

Check out their website by clicking here.

Applications on Facebook

After marmalade-making with Ma, it´s time for some quality Pa bonding moments - and i can´t think of better way to do this than on the golf-course. Pa´s somewhat exclusive golf club is just up the road, and despite the still somewhat inclement weather, we brave it for a few holes.

Pa asks me to give him an "idiot´s guide" to compare blogging, tweeting and Facebook. He struggles with anything electronic at the best of times , let alone IT. I make my explanation as basic as one can possibly make it. Pa likes to write letters, but unfortunately his handwriting looks like a rheumatic one-eyed doctor´s.

I love Facebook. It´s a great way to keep in contact with people i love scattered on six continents. I was always crap at remembering peoples birthdays, but FB saves the day and forces me at least to write to distant friends at least once a year.

Pa´s siblings, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces around the world are pretty much all on Facebook. I sing it´s praises, but Pa just isn´t going to bite.

Facebook can be highly addictive; hell! Mafia Wars - i must have been playing too much to have risen to level 288.

I am rarely inspired to check out most of the stuff on there, but Yin persuades me to take a Birth Date test which she claims is highly accurate.

Aubrey was born on a Wednesday 25th January 1967.
Adventurous. Great sense of humor. Altruistic. Loves to enjoy life. Caring and loving. Faithful friend. Confident personality. Quite sensitive. Warm and considerate towards people.

It´s certainly not 100% accurate, but the flavours are a fairly accurate representation. Now , how did they do that?

A Whale of a Time

A huge whale and large fish fan, check out these incredible close encounters.

Whale Shark - despite several attempts following their migratory paths i have failed to see one of these 16 metre monsters. I am guaranteed to finally see one of these beasties in Mozambique

a close encounter with a sperm whale

this beautiful beluga was shot in Arctic waters

First World Prices In A Third World Country

Whilst in England, i have been commuting around on public transport, predominantly the London Underground and London buses. Whilst never very good, this year seems particularly atrocious. And this has had nothing to do with the inclement weather.

London Underground train lines close sporadically blocking several routes, especially over the weekend and a journey to the heart of the West End which should take 35 minutes on a clear run can take close to 2 hours. Some destinations become totally unreachable at times despite supposed services on several train lines. Trying to make the 12 mile journey on the 249 bus from Hackney to Tottenham took 4 cancelled buses, a broken down bus, an hour wait, resulting in the necessity to catch the outrageously expensive London cabs. I wouldn´t mind so much if the public transport charges were reasonable, but prices are nothing short of extortionate. I´m paying First World prices for Third World facilities.

It is easier and much cheaper to negotiate journeys around Delhi. Take the Metro in Hong Kong (all constructed in England) and the experience is incomparable. Clean, fast and efficient you will never wait for more than 4 minutes between trains, night or day.

Nygate, ever the patriot explains the situation to me on two counts.
1) London has the oldest Underground system in the World, so it is outdated. Well i´m sorry my friend but you have had 150+ years to develop it
2) The election for the position of Lord Mayor is up for grabs next year, and the current Mayor is desperate to get it sorted within the year in the hope he can get re-elected. Too little, too late Mr Johnson

With the Olympic Games due in 2012, London is in danger of being shown up to world humiliation and ridicule.

Making Marmalade with Ma

A somewhat desperate plea from Ma in Nice was to buy her some Seville oranges for manufacturing marmalade on my return to UK last week.

The Seville orange season is particularly short and offers just a two week season toward the end of January. I picked her up a kilo and a half from Waitrose supermarket, with the intention of picking her up some more the following day. No such luck and they have all sold out.

Nonetheless, we have enough to secure a decent batch and today we begin the marmalade making process following a recipe by kitchen guru Katie Stewart, a somewhat old-fashioned British cook who used to publish her recipes in The Times.

Through years of experimentation, Ma has selected to use a recipe from Katie Stewart to minimize the burden.

Whilst acknowledging that many use black treacle to add flavour, she suggests using 1 tablespoon of lightly crushed coriander seeds, tied loosely in a muslin bag.

For 8 – 10 lbs we place all the oranges in a large covered casserole dish and boil in 4 pints of water gently for 2 hours. Make sure you wash the skins and remove green nodules from each orange.

After 2 hours use a perforated spoon to lift out the soft oranges and reserve the water they cooked in.

soaking the oranges in 4 pints of water

shriveled oranges on completion of a 2 hour boil

Let the fruit cool for a moment, then cut in half and scoop out the inner pith and pulp into a clean saucepan.

cut out the innards


sieving the pulp

Add the remaining half pint of water, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes to extract extra pectin.

Meanwhile chop up the softened orange peel – this can be done in a blender for an even fine cut product.

Return the cut-up peel to the saucepan of cooking liquid. Add the strained water from the pith and pips, the sugar, lemon juice (and treacle if used).

Stir over a low heat to dissolve the sugar (Ma pre-heats this in the oven for greater speed). Then bring to a brisk boil and cook rapidly for 15 minutes.

bringing to the boil

In true alcoholic style Ma adds a huge shot of Grand Marnier for additional flavouring.

Draw off the heat and test for a set. Skim and let the marmalade cool for 20 minutes. Then, simply stir once and pour into pots.

pouring into jars

Ma´s Tip of the Day: Put oranges and lemons in the microwave for a minute to double your juice capacity.

Ingredients:
3lbs of bitter oranges
4 and a half pints of water
6lbs granulated sugar
2 lemons
1 tablespoon of black treacle or 1 tablespoon of lightly crushed coriander seeds

An Open Letter to Angelina Jolie

Dear Angelina,

As fate seems to dictate, we both find ourselves single at last.

My credentials as a life partner are immense. Kind, loving and thoughtful, i boast pastry fingers and a student of all things Tantric. Quiche, soups and curries are house specialities and will ensure all your culinary needs are met.

As a minimalist, i promise not to take up too much space in your myriad properties scattered across the World.

My mum tells me i look every bit as good-looking as Brad Pitt, and she is always honest and trust-worthy.

Like yourself, i have a deep interest in both Africa and Asia, as well a shared love of both children and the United Nations, after all i am a genuine global citizen.

My needs are minimal, and if you do grow bored of me (unlikely though this is), i am prepared to sign and settle a prenuptial agreement for just 10% of your wealth.

Opportunities for us both have been quite limited, and i feel now is the right time to seize it. Surely it is about time we got it on?

Yours expectantly,

Aubs xx