... but I couldn't eat a whole one

Yesterday - 23rd May - was our third anniversary of arriving on this island. To us it's now a more significant anniversary than our wedding - which, in fact, was always less significant than the anniversary of our meeting which, as it happens, will be 20 years this November...

But I digress as usual. To celebrate our third "Flores anniversary" we decided to go out for dinner to the new Casa do Rei restaurant. This was notwithstanding two important factors - 1. We're feeling a bit "recessioned" financially-wise due to collapse of £/€ and interest rates; and 2. You have to drive to the CdR as it's about 15km from our house and, due to point 1, I'm reluctant to hire a taxi. So no after dinner ports and Irish Coffees for me. However it was well worth it as the Casa do Rei is very different from all other restaurants on this island. It's run by a couple who are the ex-pats who've been longest on this island: 30 years - he is Belgian, she is Swiss and the food and general presentation is sensational.

Now, here I feel I'm being a bit disloyal to the Costa Ocidental snack bar here in Faja which doesn't do spring onions and humous (sp?) in wee square bowls as an aperitif. But it does do steaks and huge piles of chips and salad (with mayo). And I'm a steak and chip kind of guy (with mayo), let me tell you. And the really nice thing about the CO is I just have to put my head round the door and Ligia knows that means an espetada de porco with batatas fritas for me and an espetada de frango (chicken) with batatas cozidas (boiled potatoes) for Carol and a cold bottle of Casal Garcia vinho verde at 8.30 sharp. Then an Irish coffee for me after - i.e. a cup of milky coffee with one of their customarily generous helpings of Scotch tipped into it. Different styles of eatery, horses for courses (if you'll pardon the pun), variety the life of spice and all that ...

Anyway, back in the Casa do Rei on Saturday, André (who has a comedy French 'Allo 'Allo accent) emerges out the kitchen and we talk away about food and meat and good things to eat and availability thereof on this island - not always to be taken for granted - seasonal - things that can be imported - etc... until, almost in the middle of a sentence he says "Do you like Border Collies?" And we're like that! - look at each other for a moment before I find myself saying "Well, they're OK - but not to eat, surely?"

Turns out he'd clocked we're Scottish and wasn't imagining for a minute dishing up Medallions of Lassie drizzled in a jus of whatsname but rather he was interested in training dogs to run sheep (and goats) - I should explain that cows are much the most prominent farm animal on this island, with sheep (and goats) being in such a minority, you tend to forget their existence.

Yes, well, you sort of had to have been there ...