šaltibarščiai

Today's Blip by Iaint of his lunchtime Lithuanian beetroot and cucumber soup shows a colour that reminded me of one of the flowers that have always fascinated me, the Fuschia.

The Fuschia plant was "discovered" in the Caribbean in 1696 by a Frenchman but for some reason was named after the Bavarian physician and botanist Leonhart Fuchs who lived from 1501 to 1566.

The colour Fuschia was "invented" by a Frenchman in 1859 who worked for a company called "Renard frères et Franc". "Renard" is the French for fox as is the German word "Fuchs". Initially called "Fuchsine" but was quickly changed to "Magenta" to commemorate Napoleon III's victory over the Austrian Empire that year at the Battle of Magenta which took place near the Italian city of that name.

I don't remember having Fuschias in our garden in Trinidad so not quite sure when I first came in to contact with them but I know my mother often planted them in baskets in our first UK home in 1970. I have never had any success in keeping the plants over winter. The Bliped specimen by our front door is one of two I bought on impulse on a chance visit to Aldi in the spring. I think €5.99 each.

This colour mixture made of red and blue also reminds me of one of the things that confused me when I first came to Bavaria in 1989. Here one will see on the menu as an accompaniment to roast meat, "Blaukraut" (Blue Cabbage) which is in reality "Rotkohl" (Red Cabbage). Most people tend to cook their red cabbage with acidic ingredients such as vinegar which intensifies the red colour whereas the Bavarians tend to use alkaline ingredients such as sugar or baking powder. In fact, the colour of the plant growing in the ground is also influenced by the pH value of the earth much in the same way as hydrangeas. I haven't done enough studying of local gardens to see if the Bavarian soil is more alkaline than elsewhere.

Today's Blip was actually an emergency evening shot. Kidney stones, continuing streaming eyes and a very blocked eardrum as a result of my swim last week are causing me to be less than active. I would have gone to the GP today but they are closed for "normal" business on Wednesdays. If one is very needy, the docs are usually there until mid-morning before they set off on their house visits or tackle paperwork. I didn't consider my troubles to be that bad even though all my attempts at pouring warm olive oil down my ear, cupping my hand to try and create a vacuum or undertaking strange head movements while swallowing and breathing out at the same time, all failed.

Probably not a bad thing that I can't hear all the nonsense coming out of the TV Sky News reports from the UK.