Spanish Tapas

An extract from my book ‘The Bougainvilleas

Hilary and Carla decide to have a get together and what could be more fun than a visit to a restaurant for Tapas – read the following extract when Carla decides to dig for information and also enjoy herself. Here Carla opens the conversation. Read on

‘If you don’t mind I think a set meal is to formal, shall we go for the tapas? They make a surcharge if you have them at the table but there’re fun, and if done well delicious. Here they’re really good, set meals tend to be tourist orientated, but with tapas you get a real Spanish feel.’ At that moment the waiter returned with the fruit juices, set them down on the table, and then stood waiting in anticipation for the order. ‘Shall I order?’ said Carla.

‘You’d better, I wouldn’t know where to start,’ Hilary replied.

‘Bien,’ Carla spoke to the waiter. ‘Jamón serrano, gambas a la plancha, calamares fritos y patatas bravas, mejillones a la marinera tortilla y salada verde, oh y salpicón de mariscos,’ she looked at Hilary. ‘Would you like some of the local potatoes, they’re cooked in very salty water?’ Hilary nodded. ‘Y papas arrugadas,’ she glanced towards Hilary again. ‘Do you like Cava … sparkling wine?’ then as Hilary nodded. ‘Bien, Cava Seco.’ At this the waiter departed.

‘What did you order it sounded quite a lot to eat?’

Carla smiled at Hilary’s question, as the company was paying she had ordered most of her favourites. ‘The Spanish salt cured ham, prawns, squid rings, potatoes in spicy sauce, mussels. Then Spanish omelette, a salad and finally the local potatoes.’ She didn’t mention salpicón de mariscos; the dish was her favourite but inclined to be expensive. ‘Don’t worry it comes up in quite small dishes which are placed on the table between us. You put what you want onto your own plate, then you pick at it slowly while you sip your wine, it’s great, you’ll love it.’

‘Tortilla I know, but surely that’s mainly potatoes, there sounded like a lot of potatoes!’ Hilary saw anything resembling a controlled diet going out of the window. ‘You did say salad, a plain salad?’ she added hopefully.

‘Look, eat only what you want,’ said Carla, ‘we’ve a couple of hours, and we can pick and chat without worry.’ At that moment the waiter came with the sparkling wine and some more glasses. ‘Just open it, we can pour it ourselves,’ Carla was feeling in a party mood, ‘Would you like some in your orange juice, a Buck’s Fizz?’

The extract is about Spanish Tapas and continues for over two hours. Did Carla find out all she wished to know? For that you need to read the book!

Regards to all Patrick

HOW TO STOP SMOKING!

Everybody has the answer – just log on and pay for their advice! This time the advice is free based on my personal experience. You can follow it and I hope you are successful.

I was smoking approximately 100 cigarettes a day, is that a heavy smoker, I’m told yes. Why did I want to stop, actually it was because we were about to fit the house out with new velvet curtains and I knew they would be tainted by the smell, and colour change, caused by a heavy smoker. Health and cost wasn’t a consideration. So I stopped and here is how.

I looked at some books on self hypnosis, very lengthy and detailed but I analysed what they had to say and worked out a programme.

Every morning I arose from my slumbers/bed at 6am, my normal time had been 7am so I was only losing one hour lying in bed wondering when to get up.

Downstairs within a completely silent house I would lie comfortably on my back on the floor, and carefully tell my body to relax. This meant I would consciously tell each part of my body to relax starting at my toes, working up through my body until every part of my body except my mind had become completely relaxed with a sort of numb feeling. My body didn’t move , not even a twitch.

Next I would visualise standing amongst some clouds with ten steps leading down before me. Slowly I would descend and with each step I would instruct my body to go further into a state of complete relaxation. By the time I reached the bottom I would be almost (probably was) in a trance.

I was now below the clouds and before me stretched a meadow of grass leading down to a lake. Slowly I would walk down to the lake. Remember this is all a visualisation within my mind but I really felt it was taking place.

At the water’s edge there was a small boat, I got in and headed out onto the lake where there were two islands. I had to choose which one to go to. On one were a crowd of people smoking, choking on their cigarettes, spluttering. The air was polluted, horrible atmosphere, you can visualise the scene making it as unlikeable as you fancy. The other island was also occupied, but this time with healthy, good looking, pleasant people. The air was clean and everybody walked, or sat around, talking pleasantly. Not a cigarette in sight. Again your mind can make the scene as pleasant as you can.

Which island to row to; of course you choose the second and mix with the pleasant people who welcome you to join them. Finally, and reluctantly, you leave and reverse the route you took to get there, do this slowly and in detail. As you walk carefully up the meadow and then ascend the steps you let your body come out of the trance like state. Eventually you arrive back where you started, on the floor downstairs in your house. You find you have been there about an hour, possibly slightly more.

Yes – but does it work you ask? I can only speak for myself – all this was thirty four years ago. I set myself a date to stop smoking, it was for the 1^st December 1977, and I constantly reminded myself of the date. One day, six weeks after I started my programme I smoked my usual one hundred cigarettes, often lighting one from another. That night I went to bed and the next morning I arose, this time not to go downstairs – but never to smoke again; never to want a cigarette again, never to fancy a cigarette again, it was the 1st of December! The cure was absolute!

I never criticise smokers, sometimes I ask if they ever fancy giving up, usually the answer is yes. But then who am I to criticise them for smoking, I smoked heavily for quite a few years!

I hope you try my cure, it costs nothing, and the benefits are great.