This little piggy went to market

I had the best chips I have eaten since the last time I was in Superbites in Crossmaglen today. Does that sentence make sense? I am not sure.

Really. The best chips. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I ordered a large portion too, since it may well be some time before I am back that way again.
I even threatened to take Mrs M all that way to sample the chips as I extolled their virtues when I arrived home. Whether she holds me to this is another matter.

I needed those chips today as this morning I saw the ugly side of food production.
I saw some animal husbandry that was, as a colleague pointed out to me since I am ignorant of the facts, cleaner than average.
It was intensive pig farming.
An animal that is reputedly more intelligent than "man's best friend" the dog.
I saw stillborn piglets lying in a heap, I saw a dead sow with many more dead piglets and I saw into the eyes of pigs that were alive and what I saw made me shiver.
Maybe I was anthropomorphising, hard to tell. I can still see their eyes now.

I have been at other intensive animal rearing facilites and each time it just reinforces my feeling that it, as a practice, is inherently wrong.

Old style small holdings, the way things used to be before the industrialisation of agriculture, need to be brought back.

Fancy takeaway food

I tried the new takeaway in Ballymena last night.
It is called Food Affair and bills itself as a gourmet takeaway.

I ordered thai green curry, the vegetarian option. Very nice indeed though the ferocious indigestion it gave me means I will not be ordering it next time.
Damn, it tasted really good too. The portion with steamed rice was enough to do two meals so I had the rest for my lunch today.

There are 5 or 6 options I can go for never mind the side orders.
Mrs M had tiger prawns done with veg and noodles and said it was delicious.
I hear it has a 25 minute wait at the weekends and no phone orders taken.
With this quality of food it'll do really well.
Now all I need is somewhere that does good Indian food and I will be in heaven.

Happy Birthday to me !

One year older and none the wiser.