A couple of weeks ago I received an SMS from a mate in the UK asking me if I wanted him to bring anything over.

Of course, Monster Munch, pickled onion flavour, was my instant answer.

I went to see him this Tuesday, he had brought me sixteen packets.... Yayyyyy

I've only go two left now....... Sob

Bad luck indeed, if it had been an Aussie friend he could have brought you some Vegemite.

You should choose your friends more carefully.

Bad luck indeed, if it had been an Aussie friend he could have brought you some Vegemite.

You should choose your friends more carefully.

I understand that the Australians are making the English Cricket team eat Vegemite for their brekkie, instead of the real thing (Marmite). Thus the decline in capability of the Brits/South Africans to perform any task given to them with any degree of competence.

It makes their hands sticky.

Not good for a bowler.

Did I mention pickled onion flavour Monster Munch?

Last pack....... sad times.

I'm a snack food addict, I find these are the best locally available.

Tops and Bid C have currently run out, I need to find a reason for a run to Chiang Mai.

Interesting.

Never seen those here..... imported?

Yes, usually found in Tops and Big C for around 40B.

I prefer the plain.

Speaking of snack foods just went out the back and the ladies have a bucket full of tiny green bananas and are slicing them really thin with a veggy peeler to make banana chips.

Never had them freshly cooked before, could be interesting.

Bananas are supposed to be good for you, deep frying them may remove any health benefits though.

Personally, it's the one fruit I can't stand the taste of, never have.

Bananas are supposed to be good for you, deep frying them may remove any health benefits though.

Personally, it's the one fruit I can't stand the taste of, never have.

That's why I love bananas - my father couldn't stand them - wouldn't have them in the house because of the smell.

And this was when he came home from WWII and the only fruit we had seen was home-grown apples, pears and cherries. So I always buy bananas when I go fruit shopping.

And in the eighties, when I was working in Libya, most of the Polish, Czech and Slovak girls working there took home sacks of oranges every leave they had. Nothing in the old Soviet empire, same as us during WWII.

They were fine, they made some real crisps as well.

They brought back memories of a cafe near where I lived in Vientiane that cooked their own potato crisps fresh every day.

Made for many a pleasant afternoon with a few bottles of Beer Lao and a bag or two of delicious home cooked crisps.

I did a trip on a Fyffes banana boat. One trip was enough

I did a trip on a Fyffes banana boat. One trip was enough

Lots of spiders and snakes creeping out of the bunches?

I built houses for Mohammed Al Sharbatly and his sons in Jeddah. Had to meet his Italian manager in one of his warehouses on the Ring Road. Never seen so many bananas in one place before. This guy started from zero and grew his business into an empire, same as the father of Osama Bin Laden. MAS had banana plantations in Ecuador and other Central/South American countries covering land the size of England.

As I said - I love bananas

The Philippines would suit you well, I've never seen so many varieties.

I did a trip on a Fyffes banana boat. One trip was enough

Lots of spiders and snakes creeping out of the bunches?

No - regular main engine scavenge fires and an Old Man who should have been locked up.

The Philippines would suit you well, I've never seen so many varieties.

I'll be in Cebu for Sinulog.

Better three weeks or so in the sun than in snow-laden Britain (not yet, but January? Quite likely)