Critic Cal

Having read countless books of chivalry of days of yore and having filled his head with errant knights and ladies fair and noble deeds and devious enchanters ... in late middle age it dawns on  Don Quixote  that this is in actual fact his destiny. It is for him, and him alone, to bring knight-errantry and all the glorious feats and romances entailed therein bang-up-to-date for 17th century Spain. So he sallies forth -- accompanied by skeptical but willingly-deluded faithful squire Pancho and scrawny, disobliging noble steed Rocinante, to the great dismay of his housekeeper and his niece and in spite of the best efforts of his friends the barber and the local priest. His desire for adventure overwhelms him to the point where he is bound to find it even (or especially) where it isn't. And so, he battles fearlessly with monstrous giants (windmills), liberates oppressed captives (convicted criminals), triumphs in bloody combat with devious night intruders (hanging wineskins), take...

No, not the Dining Cryptographers Problem (that sounds rather too much like the sort of thing I should be writing about, now that I'm officially 'writing up'). Rather, I refer to a recent outing with the wonderful research group that is nurturing me through my PhD, the experience of which struck me profoundly enough to depart slightly from my 'usual' themes and turn temporary restaurant critic. And so I give you: the 'all-you-can-eat' buffet. All the flavours of the world on one plate...and when you reach shiny ceramic - in that pause before you go up for more - a mirror to your soul. What a worthy service - forcing us to hold our appetites up against our actions, throwing into sharp relief a fundamental characteristic of the human condition: the stark contrast between what we want to do and what we do. Of course, we all have our different battles, and perhaps it is just me after all…but every time I set out with the intention to ignore the invited...