Not all mangoes are created equal

I'm not that big a fan of the mango to tell the truth; I'm more of a papaya person, so the vexed question of which is the best variety of mango has largely passed me by - until last week that is. I was in Chennai (aka Madras for those of you missed the reclaiming of the traditional name) and in Mumbai (Bombay as was) last week, and found myself drawn into a heated debate about mangoes. Who would have thought?

It turns out that the Alphonso mango (named after Alfonso De Albuquerque, a 15th century Portuguese nobleman) - see picture on the right - is deemed by most mango lovers in India to be the daddy. It is orange skinned and fleshed, and tastes - to my palate - like sweet toffee flavoured soap. My vote goes to the honey mango, shaped like a large teardrop, with pale yellow skin and flesh, which tastes like toffee pure and simple, without the soap.

Those of you who are regular readers will know that I found my first trip to India (Delhi and Agra last year) pretty challenging. This trip was quite different, and I can see myself being seduced by India over time, although I would like that seduction to take place in luxury hotels please!

Time for a short history lesson: Mumbai is the commercial capital of India and the second biggest city in the world. Its original name "Bombay" emerged from the Portuguese term "Bom Bahai" meaning "good bay "or "harbour". My hotel room overlooked the harbour and the Gateway to India - a ceremonial arch built in 1927 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary. The Gateway holds historical significance as the last of the British troops leaving the newly independent independent India by sea, marched through its portals.

It's been a while since my last film review, but last weekend we saw "The Notebook " at the Tanglin Club. It was released in 2005, but it never crossed my path till now, and it was both delightful and heart-rending - a great combination for a movie. My friend Steve (who introduced me to blogging - check out his blog at blogfromthebarn.blogspot.com) has taken to writing movie reviews in the form of haikus - 17 sylable 3 line poems - so here goes with ours for The Notebook. This is Chris's:

Young love thwarted, thrives
Mem'ry fades but not passion
Oh, my aching heart

and mine:

Young lovers grown old
She cannot remember but
His love is enough

Just in case the haiku was not enough detail, here's the story:

The film is a love story which centres around a man in his seventies (James Garner) who reads aloud to a woman (whom we later discover is suffering from Alzheimers). From a faded notebook, his words bring to life the story about a young couple separated by her parents (she is posh, he is not) and then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths in life. It sounds sad, and it is, but really worth seeing. This weekend it's a bit of Sex in the City and Indiana Jones, so watch out for more movie reviews.......