Food Latest: iSnack 2.0 and the price of salad.

iSnack 2.0

Kraft, the makers of Vegemite, have produced a new spread. It’s a mixture of cheese spread and vegemite and has been designed for those who can’t be bothered to open two jars at lunchtime. They launched a competition to name the new product, with the winner being the preposterously crap “iSnack 2.0”.

Unsurprisingly, the winning name has been universally mocked, to the extent that it was removed from the supermarket shelves within 3 days. It is now called “Name me” (again).

The price of salad

Food in New Zealand is much more seasonal than in England. For instance, in the summer tomatoes are almost free, but in the winter they are quite expensive (at $8.99 per kilo they cost more than cheese). With spring being here again, salad is once more affordable for the masses and this weekend I bought my first lettuce for six months. Cheese is still $8.99 a kilo.

Another Move? No thanks!

We've been a bit transient recently, having moved twice in the last year and a bit. Lily is starting to get itchy feet and thinks its time we moved on to a new house. And she has ideas about where we should go. She has started nagging us to move to Australia. She wants to live next to a wildlife park. She mentions this desire at least once a day.

It's one we all share as well, except we are fed up of moving all the time and the thought of emigrating again, with two children, two dogs and a wife fills me with horror.

Alexander The Great

I have been watching the Oliver Stone film Alexander, about Alexander the Great. All the actors are Irish, which is wierd. Except Angelina Jolie who has a Bulgarian accent.

Where Have All the Ducklings Gone

We have been to Hagley Park today. It is a great place, the Christchirch equivalent of Regents Park. It has a playground with a huge paddling pool and an enormous area of beautifully planted Botanical Gardens through which the Avon wends its way prettily. There is a also a small lake which is home to a large quantity of ducks. But whilst there were a lot of adult ducks, there were no ducklings. Why is this? Perhaps they have all been eaten.

Toby at 2 and a half weeks

Here's a picture of Toby lying in his basket. He is doing well but spending a lot of time feeding.

Today the Ducks are Making Me Sad.

On Wednesday I counted sixteen ducklings on the pond. Today I counted only ten. That's heavy losses in two days, although I think that only a couple usually survive to grow into adulthood.

Who could imagine the tragic loss a mother duck must feel as she watches the size of her brood decline day by day. What a life of infinite sadness. Nature is indeed cruel.

Today the ducks are making me feel sad.

Duck News

There are now sixteen ducklings waddling happily on the lawn at the office with their mother. No sign of a father though.