How something became crap

A close friend of mine resigned from his job last week. He had been working in ‘the City’ for almost 40 years, had been made redundant four times and had 6 jobs, or thereabouts. Most of the redundancies were because the bank he was working for went bankrupt or just failed. Not through anything he did, though. He told me when he came round for dinner (I cooked Hake curry – recipe below) that he was finally able to make the company he was working for redundant. He was so happy. The last 12 months or so had been difficult, difficult, lemon difficult. He told me that the last few weeks had seen his happiness spiral down to the point he was miserable. Once he identified that it was the unprofessionalism of his managers and the general outdated approach that was the issue, followed by the blank stares and “it would be too challenging” for him to work fewer hours, he knew it was the right time to move on. I got mad on his behalf. What sort of institution doesn’t accommodate a seasoned and highly experienced person who is heading towards retirement to work fewer hours each week. From what he has told me in the past, the place was almost Dickensian in its approach to many things. By the end of the evening, and with a couple of bottles of champagne duly drank, we were laughing about some of the weird and wonderful people we had both worked with, retold our shared memories of classic faux pas (Maxwell Communications: Can’t Recommend A Purchase) and planned his semi-retirement party in a bar in June. He was back to his old self and I was happy to see the light back in his eyes. Watch out for an invite arriving soon.

It also got me thinking about my jobs and what the world was like in 1987 when I joined BZW just after big bang and before the October crash. I studied economics for some reason but never really loved the academic side of uni except for one subject I took in my last year called “Labour Economics”. Was taught by a professor who had the most soporific voice and the lectures were at 4pm on a Friday, aka nap time. But he inspired me to write my final thesis on ‘Women in the labour force’. Reading it over this weekend, I realise how far we have come but also how little progress we have made too. So maybe I am called “dear” in that so derogatory way less, but in a world dominated still by men, many of whom are white and middle-aged, i still get the feeling that most of them are paying lip service to equality in the workplace. In all meanings.

Things have improved. Thank goodness. Women and men can take time off to look after their children. In the early 1990s, you could lose your job as a woman if you got pregnant in the first two years of working somewhere. And the maximum maternity leave was 3 months, with no paternity leave ever mentioned.

This blog is turning into a rant. So am going to turn it around by talking about food and kittens. Yes kittens. We met them yesterday at two weeks old on facetime. Took quite a bit of arm-twisting for husbant but once he saw them, I think he melted a little. They are currently living in Lanarkshire so I have been thinking of introducing something Scottish into their names. Maybe McBean? They will be ‘oven ready’ at the end of July. Just after we have had our new carpets laid, our new sofa arrives, and the new curtains hung. What could go wrong? Can’t wait.

And food. This fish curry is delicious. Any white fish that’s firm would be fine. The ingredients list looks long but it’s only 3 steps for the cooking! Sorry we ate it before I took any photos.

• Some olive oil
• 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
• 12 curry leaves
• 1 onion, finely sliced or grated
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red chilli, chopped
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Pinch chilli flakes
• 400g vine tomatoes, chopped
• 250ml pack coconut cream or dessicated coconut with a splash of water, or coconut milk if you have it
• 450g white fish
• A lime
• Some fresh coriander

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan with a lid and fry the mustard seeds and curry leaves until they start to pop and smell fragrant. Stir in the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for 5-6 minutes over a medium heat. Stir in the ground spices and chilli flakes (if using) and cook for another minute. 
2. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes (add a splash of water if it looks dry) and continue to cook until the tomatoes break down. Stir in the coconut cream and bring back to a fast simmer, then season and squeeze over the lime (add the rinds to the sauce too for extra flavour). Simmer for 5 minutes more until thickened and rich.
3. Pop the fish in the sauce and rest the lid loosely on top. Cook over a gentle heat for a few minutes until the fish is cooked through and opaque. Scatter over coriander leaves and eat it with some rice.