after a day’s delay, breakfast the morning after a magnificent and obscene feast of sushi, sashimi, unadon, agedashi dofu and tempura last night, turned out to be a milky latte (yes, yes, but it really *was* extra milky) and a bowl of sultana-studded couscous, with fruit compote (part of which appeared to be a whole stewed peach), yoghurt and pistachios.

i felt my tastebuds coming alive again.

and then…

sitting in the cafeteria of the city blood bank late in the afternoon, it was a visceral thrill fishing a boiled hotdog out of the brown water in the bain marie, tucking it into a cottony roll and smothering it with ketchup and mustard out of colour coordinated squeezy bottles. the smiling lady behind the counter will make you a strawberry-chocolate milkshake, and you can sit until closing time reading about the worst frocks of 2003.

giving blood and shoping make up a fine post-deadline afternoon, especially when you are shoping with vouchers, and everything is reduced anyway, like two tubs of yoghurt cheese for the price of one, and a blouse the colour of creamed butter. yum.