I bought an egg mayonnaise sandwich the other day – quite a posh one. But I didn’t enjoy it and I only ate half. It made me think as to what I was wanting and why I have a passion for egg sarnies. Mostly, I find them cold and soggy, disappointingly bland and all round unsatisfactory.
I remember the egg butties I used to get in hospital at the end of the day. They were nothing special but they marked an end of treatment and scans for the day so I could relax and sleep. They were a comfort, like the apple crumble I also had. I buy these sandwiches now, perhaps as an attempt to regain that comfort – but it doesn’t quite work because my circumstances have changed.
I am re-organising my garden and plan to plant an orchard of a few small trees, and a shrub hedge with berries and flowers for wildlife. The partner of a good friend who has some gardening knowledge and experience came round and we talked apples. I hoped, unfairly, that she would recommend a variety that would take me back to eating apples in my childhood – sweet and crisp. I have never found an apple that was as good as the ones I ate in my family’s garden whilst reading my latest story. Perhaps, apples remind me of that childhood happiness and therefore cannot be found on a supermarket shelf.
Is taste related to memory? Have my tastes changed so much that I fail to notice the simpler foods?
Walking whilst ill 