The Last Bottle of Vimto!!!!!!!
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Although we have tried to embrace the local cultures,
food and drink on our journey to date, with Breadfruit, Papaya, Christophene,
Plantains and Mangoes featuring in recent evening meals onboard as well as a
whole range of rum based cocktails. Whenever the opportunity has arisen we have also tried to
stock up on some of our favourites from the UK, HP Sauce, Heinz Baked Beans and
even Patak's Curry Pastes have been available here in the Caribbean but if
pushed we could have lived without them. Those people that know us well will realise that the one
thing we cannot live without is VIMTO.
For the uninitiated it is a secret mix of grapes, berries
and other ingredients never disclosed by its makers Nicholls, a company from Up
North! Vimto can be drunk cold, diluted with water or tonic or
lemonade and also drunk hot, again diluted with water. Our kids drunk more
Vimto than milk when growing up, I've carried it up mountains and taken bottles
away on holidays (to drink not to give the bottle a suntan!) When we were planning this trip we came up with lots of
schemes to keep the supplies flowing (we even thought about having Oyster build
in additional tankage specifically for Vimto) and as well as getting Tesco to
deliver 10 x 2 litre bottles at a time to the boat in St Katherine's dock in
London (apparently they will not sell more than 10 bottles at a time!!!!! we
still left with 50 litres on board). We were also fortunate to replenish diminishing stocks at
Morrison's in Gibraltar, where we stowed another 50 litres. Since then anyone visiting us has had to bring a bottle
each from the UK, helping us to eke out our last few bottles. But recently stocks have been running down fast. In our less charitable moments we have also regretted
encouraging Vimto virgins by giving away part bottles of the precious liquid. We have contacted Nicholls to ask if it can be sourced
locally, it can’t but they did offer to supply us directly by flying some
in (but we have to buy 2 PALLETS at a time and customs here in the islands
would be a nightmare). We thought about stashing a few cases in with spares
sent from the UK but all to no avail. So it has come to this........the last bottle of Vimto.
How will we survive? Fruit juices just don't cut it, other fruit cordials are
horrible and I’m in danger of becoming an alcoholic drinking too much
beer and cheap rum (I don’t even like rum). We have never had to go without for more than a few days
at a time. Does anyone know what the effects are of Vimto cold
turkey???????????????????? Do we continue with our voyage sailing from here in
Grenada and on to Venezuela, the ABC’s, Colombia and Panama before
heading west and into the Pacific????????????? Or do we turn round and flee the imminent hurricane
season and sail back to civilisation and readily available Vimto supplies? __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version
of virus signature database 4116 (20090529) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
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