And Now for Something Completely Different!

A Little bit of Travel- Remembering Sagunto, Valencia District

It seems a world away that just a couple of months ago I was enjoying the delights of Spain. Sadly, it seems the world has changed forever since then….

I saw many interesting and beautiful places when I was in Spain. I did not single out Sagunto because it was the most beautiful place or indeed the most enjoyable place as I received a largely frosty reception. But there is no doubt that Sagunto which is not far from Valencia was by far the most fascinating place I have been to.

Sagunto has gone through many different phases in it’s evolution. Intially, it was ruled by the Greeks then by the Romans followed by the Muslims. From then until 1492 it was dominated by the Jews until their expulsion on that date.

As a result it has an impressive Muslim fortress on the hill above the town, a sprawling Jewish Old Quarter and cemetery dug into the hill as well as a Roman road and forum. There are also many lovely medieval churches in the style of the one pictured and even a Temple of Diana.

And yet there is another Sagunto between the Old town and the down at heel seaside resort on the coast a few miles away. It is without doubt the most depressingly windswept and barren place in Spain consisting of a semi-industrial sprawl of shopping malls, second hand car parts yards and petrol stations. As I saw it out of the bus window on my way to the beach my mouth dropped open in disbelief.

When you combine this with the dishevelled state of the streets immediately around the Old Town with it’s dogshit, litter and graffiti you have to wonder why the people of Sagunto care so little about their little town when it has so much potential.

In other parts of Europe they would see the wonderful historic sites of this town as a gold mine for a tourist bonanza but here I got into all the monuments for free and only saw one restaurant that I would have risked going into.

Thanks to Rick Stein’s food programmes on Spain and my long lasting friendship with a resident of Malaga I have been guilty of romanticizing Spain and flattering myself that I understood something of it. But infact having visited Sagunto and some of the other less touristy places along the South coast of Spain I realized that I did not understand the Spanish mentality at all despite being continually intrigued by it.

A Little bit of Cricket- The most memorable sixes I have hit!

In cricket the maximum score per ball is 6 runs. It has a certain aura about it rather like a home run in baseball.

Here I include the four favourite sixes that I have hit-

1. I was playing for Hunstanton in a Norfolk Sunday league against Thetford and was dispatching some cafeteria bowling to all parts. The bowler bowled a succession of long hops,full tosses and half volleys before finally bowling me a shoulder high full toss wide outside the off stump. To uppercut it ,because the bowler was miltary medium, was a free shot and I really got under it so it cleared the short third man boundary. Unfortunately, it hit a car roof causing a massive dent for which Thetford cricket club were not insured (as cars are parked at the owners own risk). The owner, Jerry was our only supporter and after that regrettable incident he never came again!
2. Moving swiftly on- the biggest six I ever hit was against a village team in Wiltshire when we were touring there. The bowler lobbed up the perfect full toss, right in my arc, probably with a glace cherry on top and I swung as hard as I could timing it perfectly. Not only did it clear the boundary and my team-mates but it was eventually found in the garden of the house opposite the cricket ground. With due modesty I would say that even Chris Gayle, the West Indian big hitting batsmen, would have been proud of that!
3. Again returning to league cricket in Norfolk we were playing a team that was top of the league whilst we were fighting relegation. In the usual way that season we lost the toss and they posted 220 odd. They had us four wickets down for under 50 at which stage they became extremely arrogant and overconfident. As a result our Indian overseas player( who they abused throughout) and I put on a massive stand. We could not win the game but 90% of their total would count as a winning draw and we would share the points- a victory in itself. It emerged that we needed 6 off the last ball. I was facing and the captain bowled a half volley which I dispatched over the fat vice captain’s head ,at deep mid-on, for six. It was the highlight of my career to see such a wrong righted (and remember I have played and won with my school in the Harrow vs Eton match at Lords).
4. Finally there was the more recent occasion in a game where we were chasing but eventually  lost  a game against Matfield in Kent where I hit 3 sixes in an over including one that made the president of the opposition, none other the former England cricketer Derek Underwood, fall off his deck-chair. It was with immense pleasure that I accepted his compliment in the pub afterwards that ‘I could play a bit…’
5. As I said hitting sixes is special and can make people who you normally wouldn’t get on with treat you with awe and respect and that is a very special feeling.

A Little bit of Food- A acknowledgement of the deliciousness of the humble onion and potato

The onion and potato are perhaps the cheapest vegetables to buy in the supermarket because much of their production can be mechanized. This of course lowers the cost (and often quality) to the extent that many people fail to appreciate what a culinary delight they can be if of good quality and well cooked.

Simon Hopkinson made the brave step of including a recipe for boiled onions in one of his cookbooks and since he is a widely respected chef I think that is testament enough to how good they are.

From my own experience the sweet, white onions of the Cevennes are such a gourmet addition to the base of any stew because they can perfume it with their sweet flavour.

Similarly, having gorged on the French street food snack ,Pissaladiere (which consists of a pizza base,slowly fried onions and olives) in Vallarius, just off the Cote d’Azur I can state categorically that there is nothing I’d rather eat when I’m lucky enough to be in the South of France.

In San Remo, just over the border in Italy, they have a number of variations of Pissaladiere served up in a San Remo take away hole in the wall which is something of an institution although ,alas, I have forgotten it’s name. My favourite ‘pizza’ was called a Sardinere, which if I remember rightly had olives,onions,anchovies and tomato sauce on foccacia drizzled with olive oil.

In regard to potatoes- crispy roast potatoes can enhance even the dullest meat on a Sunday roast. Also, Dauphinoise potatoes and salad is the cheapest and most delicious vegetarian meal I can think of to say nothing of salmon, boiled jersey royals and watercress followed by strawberries and cream on a sunny May day.

Finally, where would steak be without chips or beef stew without creamy mash? And I haven’t even talked about the nutritional benefits of either of these much abused vegetables! I rest my case….