Final post

Thursday 6th May 2010

I am sitting writing this on terra firma in the Springhill Suites in Fort Lauderdale, USA. It has been a surprisingly interesting cultural experience after a voyage round the world with the theme of 'sustainability'.

We went out to lunch in a typical American diner yesterday. I asked for a salad. It was absolutely enormous....I would think that anyone who could actually clean the plate would have an eating disorder. It was too much to the point of being gross.

Last night we went with Chris, Audrey and Liz to a sports Ale House. Again I ordered a salad and was once again rewarded with a helping the size of which would have defeated anyone but a giant sized basket ball or baseball player and they might well have left something on the plate. This applied to all the other dishes ordered. I asked why they served so much.
'Our owner wants everyone to be impressed and overwhelmed' I as told. Liz suggested they must throw out bags and bags of unwanted food each day 'No' she was told' Our clients ask for doggy bags'!

Well I for one find that hard to believe. Chris chose ice cream and brownies for dessert; it was HUGE! It was shared by the five of us and we still left at least two normal helpings on the plate! After visiting third world countries where the populations make do happily with so much less than ourselves this trend is disturbing to say the least. Thank goodness Canadians do not appreciate such waste and greed for the most part and I think there is a greater awareness of the wider world.

Our flight to Toronto leaves at noon so we shall be leaving here in the airport shuttle at about ten. Fiona will meet us and we shall drive straight into Toronto to the west rush hour....ah well we shall be home at last. I have so enjoyed sharing my thoughts and news with you all... faithful readers, especially you Sal. Thank you to Sally and Dia for keeping me always in the picture...we look forward to seeing you very soon....Happy Birthday Dia on the 9th. We shall celebrate.

Signing off finally....au revoir!