It's a Matter of Taste.

You may recall that yesterday when I post I talked about rare rib of beef, Sarah visiting and a glass of Rioja. Against my better judgement late last night I tentatively posted a photo of said roast beef on a site called "Rate my Plate". A friend in Kent invited me to join a few months ago. What ensued was a barrage of comments, over 700 last I looked, most of which were negative, some horrible and a few praising it. What is it with people? I had hoped sites would celebrate people's achievements in the kitchen not abuse them. Sadly it is the same on the classical music and cricket sites I follow, the Rams sites and all manner of other places. Is so much of the world that unpleasant that they have to attack others?

For a long time I was a bit of barbarian when it came to consumption. I only switched from lager to ale at the age of 41. Until my mid 40s I only ever ate the mildest cheapest nastiest cheese. I didn't drink wine until my 30s. Nuts have been out most of my life. Horseradish, mustard, cranberry sauce, apple sauce. All no nos until recently. And rare beef? Forget it.

But I hope I'm now more refined. Sarah's comment on the rib of beef was sublime. I nailed it and had a superb evening celebrating things English. In the interests of European unity and burying ancient rivalries in the past we had French cheese. And Spanish wine.

I suppose each and everyone of us have different tastes. I refused to cook for my mum because she always told me I got it wrong and picked each piece apart as if I was trying to poison her. My taste as a child was different. And I hope I can respect diversity. I just hope that with my more refined tastes of middle age I can enjoy fine food and fine drink in peace. Others can do as they like.

With opera night under way I'm torn on what next, do I marinate tomorrow's ribs or do I turn to reading? Whatever I choose I'm in a good mood having survived the dentist without having to go for root canal. And as an added bonus Alyssa has turned up. So I must be off.

I Heard a Voice.