After the beach -- a change of pace

I wore jeans, for god's sake. The invitation was to a barbecue, after all. WHO KNEW?

The staff of JDG was invited to a barbecue at the home of the first political secretary of the UK embassy, who Don, our boss, knows. So we set out at 4:30, traveling to the very tony Ben Aknoun neighborhood. The homes here are huge buildings behind walls surrounded by gardens and the barbecue was in a place that once house the Malaysian embassy. It was stunning.

I expected hamburgers. The menu was barbecued shrimp and fish with a mustard-herb sauce, spicy sausages, salads, two kinds of bread and cake.

I expected to meet some diplomats. The guest list actually included journalists, oil men, students, professors, telecom management consultants, security guards and at least one gold miner.

Except for being under-dressed I felt like a colonist.

Which brings me to Pimms -- pictured above.

"This stuff has been fueling embassies around the world for decades." That was how an Englishmen explained the tank of honey brown liquid with oranges, strawberries, mint leaves and cucumbers floating in it.

The beverage -- a weird variation on Sangria -- is as British, the makers boast, as a cup of tea and is ubiquitous in hot weather in the tropics. It's made of gin, quinine and herbs. Quinine being an anti-malarial drug also helped make it popular among Brits doing Africa duty

It's also delicious. My drink guide warned me to sip not drink because it can creep up on you. The drink was invented in an oyster bar in the 1840s and pushed as an aid to digestion.

I need to buy some, obviously to serve at the next Armao Family reunion.


Pimms Recipes

Traditional Pimms No.1 (This is what we had)
Take one slice of orange, lemon, apple, cucumber per person and one sprig of mint and add to two parts lemonade to one part Pimms.

Turbo Pimms No.1
As above but five parts lemonade, two parts Pimms, one part gin.