Zest with Kathleen and a G&T

“Oh Ted did I mention that this Sunday is theme day and it’s ZEST” said the Doll as she left the house.  I thought Zest was lemon peel scratchings made with that special kitchen gadget, so I called in Wikipedia. “Zest” is apparently one of the 24 strengths possessed by humanity (we have 24 .. who knew). It is defined as living life with a sense of excitement, anticipation, and energy.

This immediately put me in mind of Kathleen Turner, and her role as Maude in a play called Bakersfield Mist. I first saw Kathleen in a movie called the War of the Roses, and I think I've been scared of her ever since. When the Doll said let’s go to the play of course I couldn't admit that, so off I went … worried.  And there she was all long legs, big hair and full of life, with an underlying whiff of menace, just as I had expected.  Maude lives in a trailer park and has bought an “ugly ugly” painting at a junk shop, that she is now convinced is a Jackson Pollock, and she will soon be rich.  Enter the esteemed art critic from New York who has come to authenticate the painting. Naturally, he dismisses it as a fake within the first 2 minutes.  The play is about Maude’s attempts to convince him that it is real. He finds himself more than a little out of his depth at times in the face of her determination to have him pronounce it genuine.  The public love the play, but the critics hate it.  The Doll reckons that's because it cuts just a little too close to the bone around the pretentiousness of the “art scene”.

Once safely home after my close encounter with Kathleen, I poured myself a wonderful G&T made with Monkey 47 gin and Fever Tree tonic.  There are 47 botanicals in this gin – over a third of them foraged in the Black Forest in Germany.  “So .. Ted what does this have to do with Zest?” I hear you ask.  Well I reckon there are actually 46 botanicals AND a small helping of lemon zest in that gin – so there!  It is possibly the best gin I have tried (and you know I only tell you about the really good stuff that I like), and it’s just perfect for those long hot summer days that will surely arrive … one day soon ...