Given the length of the previous post, I shall keep this one brief. Crispin of Viterbo was a Capuchin monk living in the 18th century. It is said he made a shrine to the Mother of God everywhere he went.
The calls for him to be named as a saint began as soon as he had died and the formal cause to investigate his holiness opened on 16 September 1761 under Pope Clement XIII while he was named as Venerable in 1796 under Pope Pius VII. Pope Pius VII beatified him in 1806 while Pope John Paul II canonized him as a saint on 20 June 1982 – the first canonization in the latter’s pontificate.
The ice cream parlour named after him perhaps does not represent the sanctity of his devotion to the Capuchin Franciscan order, but they make a damn good gelato. Amaretto and the vanilla; blueberry; pistachio – each flavour I tried blew me away. But the flavours change daily. There is a choice of about 15 at any one time. I can’t tell you which to try because at present I do not know which ones are available!
In any case, their awards speak for themselves. What I must advise you to do, however, and this goes or every roman gelateria: ask for extra cream (panna).
When my friend Colin suggested we meet in Harborne, I was skeptical about the quality of food we were to ingest. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The restaurant is small, with only five or six tables. It is tucked away in a busy corner of Harborne High Street.
Once you breach the threshold, smells and sounds meet you with their full force. The staff are attentive and the wine is served in big yet light glasses. This was the first oddity I noticed. the second was the concealed toilet. The door is so covered in posters that it seems to form part of the wall. Look out for the protruding handle, which denotes the existence of the prized loo.
Moving on from terrible toilet humour, the food at Wok Chi was certainly of very high quality. Colin went for the prawn crackers. They are pictured below.
This was quite a unique take on the traditional dish. I was taken aback by how tasty they were. I wouldn’t opt for fish without having my head examined, but these were no ordinary crackers.
My starter was the BBQ tofu. I would advise against ordering this. It fills you up to such a wild extent that one cannot fully appreciate the following main course.
Now, if your stomach is bigger than a Rubik’s cube, you may be able to handle this flavoursome delight. Mine, alas, is not. The flavours blended magnificently, with the tofu equally as chewy as it is crispy. This came as a surprise.
For the main, Colin opted for the vermicelli on the Specials menu. This time, I objected to the inclusion of prawns and did not try any bit of it. But Colin’s plate was empty within 20 mins. That is indeed telling.
My main was quite spectacular. The lemongrass chicken stir fry with coconut rice. Also from the Specials menu. It is pictured below.
The bursts of oscillating flavours drove me close to insanity. Coconut rice is seldom badly received. This was no exception. If this dish is still on the menu when you visit, I strongly recommend you try it. I can say with certainty that this was among my top three stir fries of all time, thus far.
I’ll set the scene for you. A cold evening in early November, my friends Tesharna and James were slaving away in a basement, trying to comprehend Real Estate VAT laws. Out of a chasm of desperation, Tesharna suggests we go to the cinema. After a brief peruse of the local venues, we settled on the Cineworld in Five Ways to watch The Grinch.
To tell you the truth, this movie moved me. I was in a fragile state when watching it, for reasons those close to me will know. The particular emphasis on familial proximity and generosity espoused in this film warmed my heart. Now, I know this story. Every person of my generation has their own memory of The Grinch. Probably Jim Carrey’s iconic portrayal of the Green Ghoul. But in the 2018 version, with Benedict Cumberbatch at the helm, one sees this wonderful tale in a new light.
The sheer lavish magnificence of Whoville in this animated version was impressive. Mr Grinch had to go to some extraordinary lengths to try to ruin Christmas, and he had his own reasons for doing so. But, at the centre of this film, one message is clear.
Christmas is not about gifts or decorations. The familiar feeling of pressure one gets at this time of year, where companies desperately try to equate Christmas’ success with the size of the gift box under the tree, is done away with. the true value of Christmas lies in unity. I’m going to repeat that. Christmas’ value lies in unity. Bringing people together for a short while and revelling in each other’s company is the true meaning of Christmas. No amount of ridiculous posed photography surrounded by mounds of presents in good lighting can take away from that.
Funnily enough, this tale of misapplied anger self-imposed exile affirmed the central message of the upcoming holiday season is togetherness. This film does wonders to remind us to look around and appreciate the things we already have. We should be thankful for each new day, loving all our friends and our families.
The Grinch reminded me how fortunate I am to be here. And it will remind you, too. I hope you’ll go and see it. Smiles are guaranteed.
Morris (Morrie) Schwartz was a professor of sociology at Brandeis University. He is the main subject of Tuesdays with Morrie, a bestselling book by Mitch Albom, a sports writer and former student of his.
The events held within this book were set in motion by a Nightline interview, in which Mitch saw Morrie for the first time since his time at university. The interview is embedded below, as supplementary material.
Following this interview, Mitch visited Morrie every Tuesday for the final three months of his teacher’s life. Each week, a new topic was discussed. At the end of the book, one gets a full picture of Morrie’s stance on life and death. This is a stance which has moved me greatly.
For this momentous podcast, I am joined by Rishi and Chris, dear friends of mine from my time at Warwick.
I hope you enjoy listening to the podcast (below) as much as I enjoyed making it.
PS: Small caveat: at 15.50 I say the latin for prejudice is ‘prejudicio’ when it is in fact ‘prejudicium’.
Nice Life BioBistrot is a classic case of ‘does what it says on the tin’. During my sojourn in this wonderful restaurant, everything was nice. This might be on account of being in my parents’ company. An all too rare phenomenon now I live alone. Those of you blessed with excessive youth are not aware of your luck.
Our first course, which I managed to photograph before it was torn to shreds, consisted of a taglio misto. Those two words are among my favourite in the Italian language. This one was no exception. I spent a great deal of its presence on the table talking. When I looked down, there was nothing left. So I can but vicariously tell you of its magnificence.
Next, the main course was a true treat.
I had my wonderful amatriciana. As I have mentioned before and shall mention to no end again, this is my favourite dish in the world. Naturally for my first meal in Rome after 5 months away, this had to be my choice.
Mother went for the gnocchi gricia.
This is the second of four staple Roman dishes. Each of which are suffused with flavour and deeply satisfying. This dish was no exception. NiceLife uses only fresh ingredients and enhanced this particular dish with crema al pistacchio, which is not something I had seen hitherto. Father tried the Filetto di cinta senese con funghi. This was by far the standout dish of the entire meal. It grieves me that I was unable to show you a photograph. You’ll just have to imagine it. A sort of Tuscan pork fillet and mushroom amalgamation, presented in medallion which just exploded with flavour. I was deeply impressed.
un secondo piatto d’effetto che vi conquisterà per il gusto ed il profumo intenso di sottobosco.
Dessert consisted of a Pastafillo pere e cioccolato and a limoncelo sorbet. Both are pictured above and both were stunning. My sorbet was especially rich and creamy, yet surprisingly refreshing. The Pastafillo was consumed so quickly, I did not have the chance to taste it. If you’d like to know the secret behind the flavour of this dessert, you have two options. Either go to Cipro, Rome, and taste it yourselves, or ask my mother. Personally, I’m unsure which is more terrifying a prospect.
Where to begin? S.M della Vittoria has to be in my top 4 churches in Rome, perhaps even my top 7 of all time. Those of you who have ears will have heard my podcast on heaven’s inherent contradictions. The cover photo for that most enjoyable podcast post was a Bernini sculpture from within this church. This remains the principle reason for this church’s high ranking in my list. I’ve pictured it for you below.
I’m not sure if you can see in detail the magnificent ode to Bernini’s genius. The sculpture is a representation of the ecstasy of Santa Teresa D’Avila in Spain. We were taught about her in philosophy class in sixth form. My first sight of it, some two years ago, came as quite a shock!
There it is in more detail. This work was created between 1647-52. To see it now, survived nearly 400 years in perfect condition is really quite impressive. It can be found in the Cornaro chapel. But you can’t miss it, there is always a queue.
The church was begun in 1605 as a chapel dedicated to Saint Paul for the Discalced Carmelites. After the Catholic victory at the battle of White Mountain in 1620, which reversed the Reformation in Bohemia, the church was rededicated to the Virgin Mary. Turkish standards captured at the 1683 siege of Vienna hang in the church, adding to the theme of the Virgin helping to lead Catholic armies to victory.
My advice to you would be to check the open times. It closes around 12.30 for three hours. I’ve never understood the European need to take 1/4 of their day off, but then again I seldom eat.
The interior of the church is adorned with triumphant themes. Every you look there’s a gilded stuccos and corinthian pilaster there, and even a fresco of The Virgin Mary Triumphing over Heresy and Fall of the Rebel Angels executed by Giovanni Domenico Cerrini in 1675.
In all, it would be silly not to witness this glorious ode to Bernini’s genius. Additionally, it’s right in the centre of Rome. No excuses! Via Veneto , nearby, is also very much worth seeing.
