I was waiting at a tram stop when a woman in I'd say in her seventies engaged me in conversation. I immediately thought about what happens to prostitutes when they become old.
"I just bought my fags in this shop", pointing a bit south. "I can get cheaper but the bloke in this shop smokes. I can smell it. I like to buy my cigarettes from someone who smokes". Yup, someone who sells killer products you would like to think also consumes killer products. I get where the woman was coming from.
She made me think. Do people in certain shops partake of the products they sell? Do liquor outlets staff drink? Are there meat butchers who are vegetarians? Do vegetarians serve meat dishes in cafes?
We once lunched with our Friend in Japan at a vegetarian restaurant here in Melbourne, at the St Kilda Sea Baths. I asked staff if the restaurant only employed vegetarians and he said no. He added they were unreliable and not great workers. My words, they need meat to become better workers. But our Friend in Japan is a vego, and so is another friend, a former blogger That's so Pants and they are good workers at whatever they turn to.
Phyliss and his friend are busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen as I type at 10pm. The aromas are enticing but Phyliss had already made me a spicy butter chicken and nan earlier.
I can't remember which blogger said it, but yes, Phyllis is good blog fodder.
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As a vegetarian i cook and serve meat based meals. I just don't partake. Interesting the thought that vegetarians are not good workers. I wonder why - and whether he is right. I hope you enjoyed your spicy butter chicken - and you have reminded me that is a dish I haven't made for himself in ages.
ReplyDeleteHere we go. Pull up the straps of my brassier. Phyliss forgot to separate food for me to add less spice, so it was a bit hotter than I cared for but still very nice.
DeleteRay's sister doesn't eat 'foreign muck' buy she cooks it for her husband.
DeleteIt is hard to imagine a vegetarian butcher.
ReplyDeleteMy only problem with any kind of ism is if I feel lectured at. Most of us know now don't we that a diet rich in veg, fruit, pulses etc ( and general cutting down on meat consumption) is a positive. I just don't want it rammed down my throat - figuratively speaking or otherwise 😀
Spicy Butter Chicken, how nice.
Alison in Wales x
Yes Alison. Cutting up what is now called plant based products at a butcher is a bit odd to ponder.
DeletePhyllis is a good cook too apparently:)
ReplyDeletePixie, he is 21 and an excellent cook of Indian food, but he is studying food science.
DeleteWhat a strange thing to say to a stranger. Also strange that a smoker can smell whether someone else is a smoker too.
ReplyDeleteTasker, maybe the shop smelt of cigarette smoke.
DeletePhyllis provides good fodder for the blog, but he also provides good fodder for you.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Debby.
DeleteInteresting statement that only meat makes the workers better for employers
ReplyDeleteQuite ridiculous, isn't it Roentare.
DeleteSweeping statements by one person are illogical ..show me the statistics
ReplyDeleteAnon, why do you seem accusatory towards me? Why should I show any statistics? I was repeating what other people said. I never said I agreed with or disagreed with any.
DeleteThe butter chicken naan sounds wonderful. Sometimes I wish I had a Phyllis to cook for me but I wouldn't be as patient as you are with a boarder. I'm too used to my own ways.
ReplyDeleteDeb, don't envy me. His butter chicken is his only dish I like. He likes very spicy food.
Delete"I get where the woman was coming from.." Where? The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre?
ReplyDeleteOMG. Research!
DeleteYP, if not yet, maybe in the future.
DeleteMC, the old Yorkie bugger has form.
DeleteI see where the comment was coming from. In my prehistoric life, hippies were vegetarians and many were stoned a lot of the time. Thus work ethic shortfall. But times have moved on. I think. If you're seeing Pants say hi to her for me. She led a very interesting life and I'm sure it still is.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
WWW, that is all quite so about the past. That's how it was and we didn't judge at the time.
DeleteI only recently learnt you and Pants had personally communicated. That's nice. She is a good person.
I don't what the labor market is like in Australia right now, but I imagine that would have a lot to do with whether meat eaters work in vegetarian restaurants, teetotalers work in liquor stores, etc.
ReplyDeleteKirk, really there is not reason anyone can't do what their job is, without judgment. There was a recent court case here where a a supporter of Gaza refused shop service to a Jewish person. Common sense prevailed in the court and the worker was found to be wrong.
DeleteI am allergic to cigarettes, whether being smoked or butted out. My problem, of course, as long as people don't smoke outside their own bedrooms.
ReplyDeleteHels, didn't you, as I did, grow up among smokers? But you are now allergic?
DeleteI was a smoker for 25 years, off and on, mostly on. The thing that I noticed is that when I stopped smoking, being around those who smoked made my eyes water and my nose run. I gave it up for good 23 years ago now. It's easier to be around people that smoke, but I can tell you for a fact I know who smokes and who doesn't.
DeleteDebby, it would have been rather hard to not smoke when you were serving in the forces, I would imagine.
DeleteSome smokers reek and others I am surprised to find are smokers as I never can smell it on them.
ReplyDeleteButter Chicken and naan. You are on a winner there.
Merlot, do you think it comes down to personal hygiene or the strength of what they smoke?
DeleteI've never thought about whether or not those who sell also partake. I do know that cigarette smoke aggravates my asthma a lot more than it used to and it's one reason I can't stay at the twins house too long, even though they don't smoke inside the house, the smell carries in on clothing and in hair and to get to their backyard, we walk though the carport where the smoking is done. Some cigarette brands stink worse than others.
ReplyDeleteRiver, you seem super sensitive to smoke and smell. Yes, some cigarettes do smell super strong and some barely smell.
DeletePS, I notice a big difference in my energy and stamina levels when I eat meat compared to when I don't.
ReplyDeleteI notice many differences if I haven't eaten meat. Many.
DeleteIt's a long time since I've heard those two words, bloke and fags.
ReplyDeleteOh I eat meat, wouldn't feel as if I had eaten much at all if I didn't partake. Each to his own of course.
Did Phyliss and his friend give you some of that food they were cooking as you typed?
Margaret, I am making no comment on blokes and fags. I am a bit like that. I suppose it is what we are used to but I seem to get hungry more quickly if I don't have meat.
DeleteI think the suggestion that vegetarians are less effective workers is rubbish. It condemns great swathes of Hindus, for example.
ReplyDeleteJB, Hindus can eat meat, just not beef, but yes, many are vegetarian. In this year of 2024, I expect you are quite correct but I think the generalisation arises from as WWW described in the comment above.
DeleteHa! I think that guy was pulling your leg when he said vegetarians were unreliable workers. I hope Phyllis is as entertaining for you as he is for us. :)
ReplyDeleteSteve, no he wasn't. He was dead serious. It may have been 15 years ago. Yes, Phyllis is full of surprises.
DeleteAs a vegetarian who also cooks meat, I do not try to influence those around me, I never thought would I be stronger eating meat and its immaterial now at my age! You have a gem in Phyllis if he is a good cook.
ReplyDeleteThelma, I like my meat at times, but often enough I don't have meat. I will say though, having meat in meals makes me feel fuller and more satisfied. Unfortunately Phyllis only cooks curries. One curry a week is adequate for me.
DeleteA co-worker once told me, if you own a bar, don't drink, or you will drink up all of the profits. She had, that was why she was working later in life.
ReplyDeleteA nice anecdote TP. I worked in a pub for about a year and there I learnt how to drink, but it was already in my genes.
DeleteA fascinating reflection on the connection between people and the products they sell! It’s true, there’s a certain irony in the idea of someone selling what they wouldn’t personally consume.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a reminder that people’s personal choices don’t always align with their professional roles.
Leave aside business establishments. My mother-in-law who is a vegetarian cooks very delicious chicken dishes! There are a few others like her whom I know here!
Pradeep, I expect your mother in law is far from being the only one who cooks meat but doesn't eat it. A former Hindu friend would not tolerate any beef in his home, so his partner used to only have beef when he was away.
DeleteCuando voy a un restaurante, no conozco las tendencias de la persona que lo cocina. Siempre suelo repetir, los restaurantes que sus alimentos han sido cocinados, según mis gustos.
ReplyDeleteYes, once I like a place or a certain dish, I tend to always have the same. But then the menu might change.
DeleteMy dad worked for a company selling peanuts and treats when I was a kid and I hardly ever had a huge desire for any of them probably because they were always around. I hardly eat any meat and don't notice a difference.
ReplyDeletePhyllis makes his presence known it the condo which is a good thing for you, Andrew.
Pat, I think generally everyone in the Western World has decreased their meat consumption in our generation.
DeleteMy parents (and all their generation) were heavy smokers. I never tried it and cannot abide being near a smoker. I can smell it on them in the elevator as they whip outside for a smoke. No smoking allowed in the building or on the balconies.
ReplyDeleteI like meat but we only eat small portions (around 4 oz). I would love someone making curries for me!
Jackie, I would eat a little more but never more than 200g, about 6oz? I get annoyed when I am out and I feel like steak but the size will be a ridiculous 400g.
DeleteWay off topic, but I was reading comments and saw a comment from a Thelma. I just walked in the door from seeing a movie called Thelma. Andrew, it’s on at Palace cinemas in Melbourne, well worth seeing, very light hearted and a good laugh. Marie, Cheltenham
ReplyDeleteAnon, I've not heard of it. I will take a look, thanks.
DeleteYou would be surprised how many women here in my retirement home smoke !! It's unbelievable, they sit in their wheelchairs and smoke. When somebody makes a remark they get angry because they have smoked their whole life and now they are in their 90 !
ReplyDeleteGattina, I would guess most younger people no longer smoke. Very few old people here now smoke. I am curious now, the ever reliable internet tells me 23% of the population of Belgium smoke, and Australia about 15%. But I heard a much lower figure for here, under 10%.
Delete