The Sea Bass

Jim popped by with a sea bass on Friday and Col prepared and cooked it for us.  I did the "sides" - new potatoes and peas - and set out the trays with the desserts  (yoghurt and berries), but I could not face tackling a whole fish and its reproachful eyes.

Yet, hypocrite that I am, I had suppered the night before off some crispbread and Waitrose tuna pate - which is delicious, and Nute assures me is also Zoe friendly.  And it did not look at me with reproachful eyes. Someone else had faced those eyes on my behalf.

But how much better to eat fish caught at sea, and really fresh, than eat farmed. The poor bass was very nice I have to say.

The photograph above is, of course, from the Captain's Photo Gallery, and is of a Big -eye Bream (I couldn't find a bass), taken in the Maldives, many years ago. We certainly did not eat it. I hope nobody and nothing did, and that it lived out its life in peace.  But who knows, given that we, the whole earthly creation, are still living in the tragedy of the loss of Eden, and nature will continue "red in tooth and claw" until the loving Kingdom of God transforms the whole earth into the paradise of peace it was always meant to be.

This has reminded me that there was a time when I could gut and cook fish - and, urgh, pigeons and rabbits, when I was living with Pete and Diana, when they were young marrieds, and when Captain Butterfly was coming a'courting.  Pete, having left our cave of a morning looking very manly indeed, would bring them home slung over his shoulder and we would prepare them.  We were all very short of money and ate what we could back then.

And also, despite an intensive religious education within Christendom, I had no idea about God's laws on blood, the eating of.  None of us had. The prohibition against eating blood was given to Noah, and hence to all the human race, as every one of us on the earth is descended from one of the three sons of Noah. It has never been repealed, but was enjoined on the Israelites under the Mosaic Law, and was also enjoined on the newly-founded Christian congregation.

We are having some sunny September days, and I am still able to do my studying on the balcony in the mornings.  And we sat out on Monday night with a glass of wine and watched the full moon shining a path across the English Channel. Who would not want to live forever on this lovely planet when it is the paradise it was always meant to be, and we are perfect and living, not damaged and dying as we are now?   I hope that the Captain and I will. I hope we all will.

I sang "By the light of the silvery moon" to it. Well, I say "sang"...

It seems that three of our friends from Planet Expat will be in the UK later this month and we are hoping for a get together and catch up.