Something of value

Do you remember the book of that name about Mau Mau Kenya which was written by Robert Ruark in the 1950s I think? I have never forgotten it because I read it not long before going out to Nairobi to nurse.....not an encouraging story to read just before departure! Anyway that's not what I wanted to talk about although I have borrowed Mr Ruark's title.

Years ago the BBC did a programme about what gives an object value....particularly a desirable consumer food. What is it that makes French truffles or Caviar expensive and sought after? It is their rarity. The BBC decided to see what would happen if kippers were to become very scarce...would the public be prepared to pay exorbitant prices for them. As I remember it in their dramatised version of just such a situation the mobs clamoured for kippers and were almost into swapping them for homes, wives and children. Well that was a stretch of course but I should let you know that I am descending into that kind of behavior, only just short of swopping George, to get my hands on a banana.

Bananas on this ship are as gold! They appear only rarely in the dining room and I inevitably arrive too late to grab one. Students with their keen young eyesight spot them first and carry them off in bunches for family and friends....sometimes 10-12 at a time! By the time we slower, aged, doddery folk arrive on the scene there isn't one to be seen. Instead there will be a bowl of those tasteless apple/pear combination fruits which I eat just to avoid rickets and for no other reason.... A second best to bananas is the tangerine/orange. There although sans potassium one feels an easy to access load of Vitamin C.

I don't think there is a danger of arriving home with bow legs but if anyone feels like welcoming me with a gift....let it be a banana....please!