Monday, July 20, 2009

Sweet Music ... and sour salt.

Most of today was spent finalising some land deals (and driving down the prices of legal papers in view of the economic situation), but there was time to take a fresh orange juice in the shade in Medias as we waited for some papers to be completed.
I have two friends coming here tomorrow, and Mosna is in turmoil for their arrival. Children are being schooled, the band is being tuned up, the barbecue area is being specially cleared ( with signs saying no one is allowed there tomorrow) and Erne has come back from his holiday at the Black Sea to make sure we are all undisturbed.
The Mayor, for his part, is in charge of the alcohol, and when we arrived to clear some papers this afternoon he had an array of bottles ready for approval.
The other night he had wanted to open his champagne just for me ( we had had a few by then) and with great difficulty I had wrestled the bottle from his grasp ( not to drink but to stop it being opened).
Today, there was no champagne visible. I asked if we were going to have any. He did the strange screwed-up-face-head-waggle that means he isn't sure.
"Er well, Mr King, you see I KNOW I like to drink with you, but I don't know I am wanting to drink seriously with your friends."
Actually, that makes perfect sense to me and I told him so. He was mightily relieved, but I am prepared to bet when it comes to it the champagne corks will pop.
We had to be back in Sighisoara by 6pm to meet our accountant, who has done such a wonderful job that we actually made a profit in the last six months to the end of June. I explained to her this was completely unacceptable, and she explained to me that this was only telling me the real position - of course for the authorities there would be a loss.
Whilst we were talking, I could hear some lovely violin music in the back ground, and I asked if the radio was on somewhere.
Not at all she said, it was her son Alex who would be going to the Cluj Music Academy ( the premier one of Romania) next autumn.
I walked through to where he was playing and asked him to play some other tunes. He was excellent, and definitely soothed the savage beast as the philosopher has it. Accountants do that to me.
Alin and I then went to diner, which was actually lunch at about 8pm.
We ate in the Rustic which I've mentioned before, and Alin sprinkled his food liberally with salt. I told him I was off it.
" Well Mr. King, there was being a very famous other king in Romania, many years ago, and he was having three daughters"
Ah yes, I said, King Lear. Shakespeare.
"No no no!. He was asking the eldest one how much she loved him ( King Lear, I said again.)Mr. King! Pay attentions!.
Anyway she was saying her love was sweet like honey. And the second one, he was asking the same question and she was saying her love was so sweet like sugar."
By this time I was ready for Cordelia to say her love was only as it should be, but I was in for a surprise.
" Anyway, when he was asking the third one, she did say her love was like salt. And the King, he was angry, and said she was not any more his daughter, and she should be working in the kitchen.
Now Mr. King, you know what she did? Well, I am telling you. The next day they were preparing the food and the thirds daughter, she put honey and sugar and all sweet things in the meat and vegetables, and she took it to the king and he say YUCK! That is disgusting, and she say here eating this, which of course was food that was properly cook-ed with salt. And the king, he say, ah, that is good, and the daughter she say, you see? That is how I am loving you."
I'm not quite sure of the moral of the story.....

1 comment:

Whispering Walls said...

Meat is better for one than puddings?