G*Nice: Fishing for answers

Rapper 50 Cent had only "21 Questions", so what I'm suggestin' is that I must be the full dollar if I holla back at all the questions in my letter sack!

But one at a time. Hash Vee from Abu Dhabi (the rhymes keep coming, like a funky drummer drummin') asks: "Do you enjoy Arabic cuisine and, in particular, the mighty shawarma?" The simple answer is yes! I like Arabic food very much and for many reasons. There's obviously the taste, but more importantly, I like it because it provides a sociable menu.

What I mean is that English food is quite standoffish in its personality. It's all about territory. This is my plate, my potatoes and my roast beef.I remember as a kid being forced to sit in silence at the table, bolt upright and not to use my elbows as leverage to assist my shovelling style of eating that I had perfected for eating quickly so I could watch more TV or get back to playing football. Arabic food, like many others, seems to have been designed to celebrate eating as a social occasion with friends and family. I like the idea of multiple choices and many plates, forever taking recommendations on what's good and tasty.

Back to your question… yes I like the shawarma and the breads and the dips. But my favourite has to be either kibbeh nayyeh, which is the raw meat thing, or a new discovery called bastilla - spicy chicken inside a sweet puff pastry! I might not be able to spell them without a little help, but I could eat them until the cows come home!

Now I will take the opportunity to become the question asker not the answerer… Sitting at lunch with my boys the other day, someone was saying how the whale shark had been released from The Atlantis. What popped into my mind was a question of pure stupidity. The whale shark to my understanding probably weighed at least half a tonne if not more. So when the shark was removed from the tank, did the water level go down? And to take this thought further, if all the sharks and rays and fish of considerable size were removed, how low would the water level in the tank drop? Part of my limited brain power understands that these creatures are not solid mass like stone so its not quite so simplistic, but equally I know that if I put that whale shark in my bath, the water would definitely overflow.

Taking this thinking to its n'th degree, if we removed all the fish from the sea by some sort of magic net, would the sea level drop? This might seem stupid to you, but this is what keeps me awake at nights!

As-Wise-As-Apple-Pies-ingly Yours
G*Nice