Trying new foods and drinks

 I don’t know about you, but I love going into a restaurant, or visiting another country and looking at a menu filled with dishes that I am totally unfamiliar with. The options are to either stick with something safe and known or to take a plunge into the unknown. I love taking that plunge. It can be particularly exciting when you aren’t sure that you really know what the ingredients are, and some caution is warranted in some instances!

When the plate arrives and you see what is before you, you can smell the aroma and this gives you a clue, but it is the tasting that makes this event so special. You are going to taste something totally new to you, perhaps something you’ll never get the opportunity to taste again. This has to be a great event, even if you don’t like it.

A new way of cooking a chicken, or beef marinated in exotic splices, or a combination of vegetables that dazzles your tastebuds – it could be anything, but it’s usually good.

And the same goes for having a drink, particularly new places or countries you haven’t been to before. Try the local drop of wine, beer, spirits, or soft drink. Get into the texture of where you are and allow your senses to absorb the new experience. Basically…try something new.

Daydreams

Yes, daydreams. There is something very relaxing and almost energising about a good daydream. I can remember waiting for my lift to work near Weston Road High School back in 1992, and seeing jets tearing through the sky above me leaving vapour-trails. I dreamt of getting on one and flying off to remote parts of the globe - and I did just that at the beginning of 1993.

When you’re sitting at your desk wondering why you’re doing the job you do, take a bit of time to dream, you might even have a brainwave that will help you, or perhaps come up with the idea that changes your life – you never know.

Daydreams allow you to escape from the world for a brief moment in time and think about something more pleasurable than what you are doing. They also give you a sort of hope – hope that you can be doing something different. And let’s face it, without a dreams we would have no ambition and be drifting through life rather than having any purpose. Even if dreams don’t come true, we have fun while we’re in them. So dream, and one day it might even come true.