Elegant Eating
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My son and his wife are still with me.
The evening climate is warm and welcoming.
Our garden supper, in an elegant restaurant, was the excellent end to a gentle day.
I opted for a rich, cheese and tomato, home-made ravioli.
“The children” both settled on “fisherman’s dream”, a medley of sea-food, served on basmati rice, with a coconut-based, curry sauce.
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Their chosen dessert: miniature chocolate samosas, accompanied by fresh mango coulis.
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Celebrating with a seafood supper!
They are jet-lagged.
They are exhausted.
But they are here!
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They have put behind them the frustrations and disappointment of their cancelled Christmas visit.
They are trying to forget the staggering inefficiencies of Air India and the total indifference of their ground staff.
They are coming to terms with being marooned for eight hours in Mumbai, with no one apparently interested in helping them finish the last leg of their thirty-six hour, booked and confirmed, flight schedule.
My youngest son and daughter-in-law have arrived from Washington DC.
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Now is the time to relax and celebrate.
During supper at Oceanus Restaurant, a leisurely five-minute stroll from my home, all the tensions and uncertainties that bedevilled their journey slip away.
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Neither Use Nor Ornament 