A news item this morning reminded me of my first honeymoon which was spent in a small village about fifty miles outside of Rome. It was an idyllic place, perched on the top of a hill.
There was a scattering of houses, surrounding a square where everyone would congregate in the evening. Close by the square was an olive grove and sheep grazed beneath the trees.
As I strolled around the olive grove in my lovestruck state of bliss I noticed something curious. I love olives and was picking the occasional one off the tree. They were not quite ripe so I thought to pick some which had fallen to the ground. It was then that I came perilously close to being put off them when I noticed the amazing similarity between the fallen olives on the ground and the goat droppings next to them.
Oh and the news item which reminded me of this was the story of an expensive but apparently delicious Sumatran coffee called 'Kopi Luwak'. The coffee beans which are used to produce this coffee are apparently prised carefully from the droppings of the civet, an indigenous wild cat of the region.
I am happy to report that this has not put me off my beloved coffee but I shall be avoiding any which hails from Sumatra in future.
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