THE CHERRIES

On the day they left they gave me a whole batch of foodstuffs the truck couldn't take away

It was bursting to the rafters

After three years of residence they were taking themselves away to Germany. Dresden to be precise

He was from Algeria. She from Germany

But the one that used to be the other one. She came from the West

We spent the afternoon loading the truck and there were many helpers. Some German, others Algerian and me

There were a few tears. The scene was charged . It was a life change of great import to both of them; after all they had met while in residence here; in a country which was neither his nor hers, and they were now going to another country which in effect was again neither his nor hers

We struggled as it looked as if there was too much stuff and that we would never accommodate it all into the truck. Some helpers left; others arrived

The atmosphere grew increasingly loving despite the tears and recriminations; I guess there is always more planning one could have gone into

She felt he hadn't been pulling his weight, he felt she was taking too much, even down to the rubbish

Anyway she got mad at him, he blew up, they made up, and we all carried on loading

When they left; about seven thirty at night; their ferry crossing was at eleven and they had to make Dover; a brilliant half moon was hanging in the sky like a basket of flowers outside a suburban home, all silvery and shy as if spying on the occasion

It hovered over tall pines in the nearby park and stood over us, the small leaving party, as if it too wanted to say goodbye

In the end they were off; yelling in delight through the window as they left. There were six of us left on the pavement. We parted. The gathering had had the feel of a minor festivity

I got a lift home from one of the other helpers, a good friend of mine. He left me on the pavement with two huge crates. He was in a hurry. It was late . I struggled indoors; and finally, my arms and legs aching from the work we had all done, I hauled the crates into the room next to the kitchen

One of them was brimming with jars of cherries, preserved by the German's mother years ago. For some reason she had never touched them. There were about twenty of them, some of them tall, others the size of jam jars

One was white. It contained white cherries

Two of the jars contained dark cherry preserve, more jam than anything

There was also a tin of sauerkraut. The date on it said something a year and a half ago; not knowing about German custom I wasn't sure whether it meant it had been tinned then or whether it was the sell by date

I tried to get clarification from a friend who had lived in Germany for years but he couldn't tell me either

Still out on that one.

I found a good space at the base of one of the kitchen cupboards. It meant I had to clear some of the jars one of the previous tenants had left behind and that felt really good

I only threw one of the jars of cherries away; I deemed it to be too dusty.

In the days to come I would also throw some of the others jars away. Some of the cherries tasted too musty, weak in the flesh too. Others were tasty; sweet and very German in feel. I somehow felt I was in Germany; in some dark backroom; rye bread hanging around in proximity

Felt good

That is all there was in the first crate. Cherries and sauerkraut

The second one was a different kettle of fish altogether. There was a lot of stuff in the second crate none of it twice the same

In no particular order: Flour ( rye and normal ) ( both of them organic ) countless packets of soup, tomato and others ( most of them past sell by date ) they hit the bin immediately also countless packets of yeast ( Hefe ) and many other baking powders leaveners and items I could not understand ( my German is basic to a point )

I threw most of the packets away, there were also dill powders various condiment style dry powders ( I binned the lot )

I do not really believe in chemical foods so a lot of this stuff was anathema to me

Also mint essence for cakes ( past its sell by date ) ( hit the bin three weeks later when I realized )

A whole packet of black eyed beans simmering on the stove as I am typing

A packet of American popcorn golden orange to be used at a later date; not a great fan of pop corn myself but my kids might like it

Packets of potatoes in white sauce ( milk to be added ) again my anti-chemical stance could not cope with the concept

A container of French sea salt

More packets of yeast ( the friend who had lived in Germany made off with them the day he came )

Packets of Chinese style soups ( curry-flavour )( add water ) most of them past their sell by date

A pound of icing sugar ( no sell by date on the packet I guess sugar does not go off in a hurry )

There must have been a few more knick knacks but for the life of me I just cannot remember it was over three weeks ago but felt it was all well worth mentioning

I still haven't heard from my friends in Germany. I really hope Dresden is and will be good to them

I hardly knew them.

P.S. They also gave me a large bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil; problem with that is it has always given me headaches; maybe I have a deep problem with the concept of extra-virginity

P.S. 2 Those two crates of food taught me a lot; I am not too sure about all the ramifications but on a simple level it showed me to use beans from the dry state again; and the organic flour feels so right; but there are extra messages and I don't know those consciously yet. Maybe some day

UPDATE on CHERRIES-

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Two weeks on from this last communication more has happened in relation to the food

Virtually none of it is left

I finally used the oil the other day. Felt intuitively that it might be OK to use if I cooked it

So I deep fried chips in it

Fantastic aroma in the house

Great chips

My kids adored them

I used all the Wheat flour and virtually all of the rye

I have not touched the cherries or the preserves. There are still a few jars in the cupboard and one of jam in the fridge ( opened but I have not felt like any in a couple of weeks; good stuff though, as deep cherry-flavoured as you could get )

I tried to use the icing sugar the other day

but it tasted so bland I threw it away, the packet was already opened which I hadn't realized previously, and might have been for years

Considering some of the dates on some of the other stuff

They still haven't written to me although they promised that they would

I feel better as I either use or jettison the remnants of the foods

We'll see