TRAVELLING HAT RECIPE

THAI ROAST DUCK CURRY

½ Chinese-style roast duck, chopped and with loose bones removed

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely sliced

1 teaspoon of turmeric, ½ teaspoon curry powder

2 cubes crushed garlic

1 tablespoon crushed fresh ginger root

1 stick bruised lemon grass

2 sliced and seeded small red chillies

50 m chicken stock

100 m coconut milk

5 tablespoons of grated coconut block

Juice of half a fresh lime

Dash of nom-pla (Thai fish sauce)

Fresh coriander leaves

Preparation

Heat oil in a pan and fry onion, garlic and raw chilli until soft. Stir in all the spices and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the lemon grass and pour in the hot chicken stock. Add the coconut milk and the cream of coconut, the lime-juice and finally the pieces of chopped duck. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat. Remove when hot and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with steamed Thai rice.

Serves 3-4 persons

Images: www.copix.co.uk

MY DEAR OLD TOYOTA

I owned a Toyota Celica coupe for 15 years during which time, it never caused a problem, but unfair UK government charges on a GT - even though it passed the emissions test – saw me decide to call it a day.

I contacted a salvage company which offered £70 to remove and crush it for scrap, but deciding on a last attempt at selling it, I placed an advert in Classic Car magazine. Then I went off to Marrakesh and forgot about it.

On my return to London, there was an anxious message on my answer phone. An Indian man was desperate to buy it to participate in a `Top Gear` motor challenge. The criteria: that it shouldn`t cost more than £500, and that it had a valid MOT and tax disc.

That evening, he came round and bought it on sight. We performed a Hindu ceremony when I held a `sacred coconut` under a wheel and he drove over it, crushing it, to bring good luck.

With only 77,000 miles on the clock, apart from a trip to France, for many years the old Celica had only been driven to the supermarket (¼ mile) for a weekly shop.

Now, to prove old cars still have life, it had to survive being driven from John O`Groats (in the north of Scotland) to Lands End (the most southern tip of England), a distance of 874 miles, with other old competitors, including a Porsche.

It was not a race, but an endurance test, and although my dear old car coughed and spluttered, it was declared the eventual winner, raising £8000 for charity in the process.

But this was not the end. So close to being crushed, it was auctioned after the trip, and bought by a woman who declared she loved the model, and would restore it as a classic car.

It`s a nice story amid Toyota`s current woes. My desk overlooks the street where it used to be parked. At times I believe I can see it.

c.Christine Osborne

Images: Crushing the coconut to bring good luck.

Image source: www.copix.co.uk