Regression

As you might expect, my diet has changed significantly. The only foodstuffs that appeal are of the variety served to me by Mum circa 1968 to 1978; specifically:

Scrambled egg on toast
Cheese on toast
Beans on toast (Heinz vegetarian, although we don't have to specify "vegetarian" in the UK - they're just "beans." Per the advertising: "Beanz Meanz Heinz")
Cauliflower cheese
Spaghetti

I'm only frustrated that I can't get shepherd's pie (giant hint to my British friends.)

Imagine my delight when my dear friend Niki sent me a care package from NYC that included British foods from my youth:

Marmite (natch)
Heinz tomato soup
McVities digestive biscuits
Jammie Dodgers
The aforementioned Beanz courtesy of Heinz
Hoola Hoops (salt & vinegar - a special treat after swimming lessons...)
Miscellaneous chocolate including Aero, Curly Wurly, Crunchie and Maltezers.

And, of course, Heinz Salad Cream. Actually the only reason we ate salad cream back in the day was that Hellmans hadn't yet introduced mayonnaise to the British market. As soon as it was freely available, we wondered what we had been thinking all those years. Salad cream is vile. And possibly as toxic as chemotherapy. Sorry, Niki, you wouldn't have known this. But I shall keep it for nostalgic reasons and the occasional good laugh.

One other really weird 70s flashback happened this morning: I woke up to the tune of The Proud One by The Osmonds running through my head, followed shortly by Abba's Hole In My Soul (which is an obscure Abba song, let me tell you.)

Am I subconsciously seeking the comfort of my coddled youth during this troubled time?