easierdonethansaid | Shot 02

[In the late morning, Sebastian Moran opens up his Journal. Today, he just writes in it. Easier than switching between writing and talking right now.]

I don't mean to be a bother, but I did have a question for all you fine folks.

See, I've been craving a little taste of home, and today seems as good a day as any. I know what I need, but I admit I don't know quite what your shops around here carry.

I've got a list, though, and I'd be much obliged if anyone could tell me what you know the shops don't carry.

Coriander
Turmeric
Cumin
Fenugreek
Red pepper
Cinnamon (powdered and stick)
Mustard seed
Ginger
Garlic
Black pepper
Peppercorns
Cardamom

Tomatoes
Onion
Rice flour
Olive oil
Chickpeas
Salt

Plain yoghurt
Olive oil
Distilled vinegar
Chile peppers
Mint leaves
Chicken
Basmati rice
Bay leaves

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Col. S. Moran

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

easierdonethansaid

[Bad Life Decisions, that's what.

Of course, for Moran, this is an appealing situation. All the more ways to get in good with a member of Scotland Yard. Never hurts to have friends in good places.]

Any particular time you'd care to eat?

From:

cop_an_attitude

Up to you. My schedule is alarmingly free, considering I used to be lucky to ever get time off.

[Hey, he gets friends in good places and she gets...food. It's a good trade-off! Kind of!]

From:

easierdonethansaid

Seven, then? Supplies gotten together by six or so?

From:

cop_an_attitude

That sounds good. Um, where...?

From:

easierdonethansaid

My apologies. Community House 4, the seventh floor's shared kitchen will do well.

From:

cop_an_attitude

Ha, you're up on the seventh floor too? It figures. I'll be there, then.

[And later, after grocery shopping and hauling several bags up seven flights of stairs, Sally is indeed there.]

From:

easierdonethansaid

[Moran smiles at her, bags of his own already set out, as well. Even if they've repeated ingredients, that only means more to cook with later.]

Saw that this place has 'curry powder.' Prob'ly quicker, but-- have to say, I don' plan to trust it. Prefer makin' it m'self, if you don' mind the extra wait.

From:

cop_an_attitude

I don't mind; it's probably better your way. What can I help with?

[She just sets all the groceries on the table, trusting that he'll tell her if he wants them elsewhere.]

From:

easierdonethansaid

Simple company would be welcome.

[...Such a charming smile when he wants to put one on.]

I had a housekeeper in India who did my cookin' as well for a fair sum each week. She seemed baffled that some days I had nothin' better to do than watch her cook.

We don' really have anythin' like it where I'm from-- "curry powder." You just make it to your tastes. Or your guests' tastes.

[Congenial conversation. ...He might also be used to talking when one side of the conversation is doing nothing but sitting and pretending to listen but gets agitated when there's complete silence.]

From:

cop_an_attitude

Okay. Just let me know if there's anything I can do.

[Forgive her if she hovers a little; it's at a discreet distance. She just wants to make herself available.]

So...what was India was like in your time?

From:

easierdonethansaid

Hot an' wild. Jungle any way y' went. And most of the lot wanted to build up the cities and survey the people and make it all fit into their nice little British squares with British law and customs.

Didn' like the colour, I don't think. Seein' it all so bright gave 'em a headache, I figure. [...He's allowed to joke about Brits being uptight and drab. Because he is one. And so is Sally.]

From:

cop_an_attitude

[Yes she is, and she huffs a laugh of agreement.] I can't imagine how they felt about all the sun.

You don't strike me as much a fan of Imperialism. [Which is good. Living on a tiny island isn't as glamorous as being part of an empire, but other cultures have a right to be there too, thanks.]

From:

easierdonethansaid

[He makes a quiet sound, thinking about that one.]

Not against expandin' the Empire, I don' want it to sound like that. [After all, he'd been a loyal soldier with a perfect career. He loved the Empire.] But it's no so impressive when it's just seein' how far you can spread one thing. One people.

The laws, the order? O' course. But that doesn' mean everythin' has to change. [A few moments' thought on how to put it as he mixes dry ingredients for the curry powder.] I think of it like with those fancy jewel necklaces. All diamonds is lovely, o' course, but y' put rubies and sapphires with the diamonds, and they all show off each other a little better.

Don' know if that makes any sense. My father never took much to that kind of thinkin', so 'haps it's me off in the head. [But he's jovial enough about it.]

From:

cop_an_attitude

No, I think it's an excellent point, and not a bad analogy. In the future - well, I can't say everyone's attitude has changed, but the idea of wiping out other cultures and supplanting them with strictly British ideas is a lot less popular.

In fact, we take things from other cultures and mix them in with our own. [She laughs.] Like the food, for instance.

From:

easierdonethansaid

Always amazed me, how people could look at somewhere like India and just see somethin' that needed to be wot they called British. My father spent years as a Minister to Persia. Never had a good word to say about the place. Went with him a few times as a young man, before I left for the Army. Couldn' understand wot he didn' see 'bout it.

Lovely place.

[1891, earlier when he was a boy. Speaking in that easy Cockney. Yet talking about a Minister to Persia father? Odd, at least, probably. But it's not something he's meant to hide. Just something that doesn't come up often.]

Same with my superiors and India. Most couldn' wait to get back to England. I wished I never had to leave. Plan to go back, too.

From:

cop_an_attitude

Sounds like you found yourself a home. I've never been, myself, but I've seen footage and everything and it does look lovely. Maybe I'll take a trip sometime, when I get back. I always wanted to do more traveling.

[Having said that, she registers something he said and gets stuck on it.]

Hang on, did you say Minister to Persia?

From:

easierdonethansaid

Yes, ma'am.

[He didn't mean to use that word, Sally. It's just what comes out.]

From:

cop_an_attitude

[Totally not focusing on the "ma'am" right now, so you're off the hook.]

Wow. Sorry, I just wasn't expecting...

[There's no way to finish that sentence without sounding classist, is there?]

From:

easierdonethansaid

[It takes him a moment and then--]

Ah!

[He chuckles. For several moments. Then, composed, takes another few seconds to actually think about how he speaks. What comes then is a calm, natural-sounding Surrey accent.]

I picked it up in Army. The men responded better when I sounded more like one of their own, and it had the added effect, on the rare occasions I did return home, of irritating my father. After a few years, it became more natural than how I'd been raised.

My father, Augustus Moran, was the Minister to Persia. Our family estate is Arlington Grange, in the north of Chersty.

[He's certainly not ashamed of his family's wealth. Lord knows it's helped him more than once.]

From:

cop_an_attitude

[For a moment, she's flabbergasted at his sudden change. Then, she laughs.]

That's uncanny! I never would have guessed. An estate and everything. Never met a proper gentleman who can cook.

From:

easierdonethansaid

Army meals all taste the same. [The Cockney is back, more natural to him now than the other.] So I wanted somethin' that I could actually stomach, had to learn to make it for m'self.

Didn' really start learnin' until the war. Had a cook before that, after all.

From:

cop_an_attitude

Oh, of course. I wish I had a cook. Not that, erm, that wasn't obvious. [She laughs a little, poking at some ingredients.] Really; you can put me to work on anything here, if you want. I'm not a master cook myself, but I'm perfectly competent at chopping things.

From:

easierdonethansaid

Got quite a task for you, actually. [He chuckles and offers the bowl of powder.] Have a small taste. Tell me if it's to your likin'. Too hot, not hot enough... so on.

From:

cop_an_attitude

I get to be the ingredients taster? What an honor. [She smirks and scrapes a bit off the edge of the bowl with one finger, which she then sticks in her mouth for a taste.] Hmm...I can stand mine with a little more cumin, actually, but I'm sure whatever you want is fine.

From:

easierdonethansaid

[He has to smile.]

Actually like yours with a little spice. Wonderful.

[A chuckle.]

My employer? Would hardly touch anything Indian unless I favoured cinnamon and garlic over cumin and pepper.

So I'm thrilled to actually give it some flavour.