Saturday 11 October 2008

Marmite madness

It must be the sea air. First it was Bridlington; now it's Ceredigion, but not feeding ducks this time, but Marmite. Ceredigion County Council, I hear, are not allowing parents to give their children Marmite to smear on their toast at school breakfast clubs. There's a list of approved toppings, apparently, things like jam (low sugar) and marmalade (presumably also low sugar), but not lemon curd and not Marmite. There was a time when I'd have thought having marmite for breakfast, rather than marmalade, was plain perverse, even though it must be better for your teeth. But now, with MND, I'm prone to cramping in bed - which is blinking painful, especially as I can't reach my feet to pull my toes up. And I remember my wise mother recommending marmite for cramp, and so I've got used to having it on my breakfast toast. In fact I like it. And it seems to work. I really can't believe that as part of a balanced diet it's less healthy than jam (low sugar) on toast. Is the school ladling on the salt elsewhere? Or perhaps, being by the sea they reckon kids breathe in excess salt in the sea mist... Anyway it's worrying when local government limits parental choice in something as fundamental as food.

I used to think that Telegraph columnist, Boris, was a buffoon, clever, witty but harmless. I guess that reputation must have rankled, secretly. And like a bright schoolboy made praepostor when he reached the dizzying height of Tsar of London he determined to prove everyone wrong. And so he sacked the highly effective Chief Constable of the Met, Sir Ian Blair - I suppose because he wasn't in the Boris/Dave gang, and had ruffled a few journalistic feathers. 'That'll show 'em. They can't mess with me,' chortled the new Tsar. A pity, I think, to sacrifice a good man to prove a point.

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