A Couple Sandwiches Short of a Picnic

Sandwiches are beautiful, sandwiches are fine.

I like sandwiches I eat them all the time

I eat them for my supper and I eat them for my lunch
and if I had a hundered sandwiches I'd eat them all at once!

I find this chorus from Fred Penner's classic song 'Sandwiches' running through my mind quite often here in London, because sandwiches are EVERYWHERE. I should have known they were a big part of life after meeting a girl who told me that "sandwiches were her favourite food". Who says that?! Londoners, apparently.

Sandwiches are the fast food of choice, and most places have meal deals where you get a sandwich, drink, and crisps or fruit for anywhere from £2.50 (at Tesco) and up. You can find sandwiches or these meal deals in every grocery store, at stand alone shops, drug stores, and even (so I've been told) the hardware store - with the quality being higher in the nicer chains. It's really not a bad thing, in fact I think North America could afford some sandwich infiltration as it seems easier, quicker, and healthier for the most part than McDonalds and other fast food chains.

At work we sell is sandwiches (of course) which we make every morning. As the shop is new we are trying to figure out what works and what doesn't, and last week we decided to scrap our BLT and come up with a new chicken sandwich option. After thinking of what we had on hand and looking online for inspiration I jumped into sandwich history and invented one to add to our menu - Chicken, caramelised onion, rocket, and paprika-lime mayo. It's delicious! And it's been selling very well.

With the sandwich mania being so huge in London, I can't imagine what it's like actually in Sandwich - the town here in the UK (visitsandwich.co.uk). I really want to go so I can find out. Also, it looks really beautiful.


With the chorus of 'Sandwiches' still running through my mind I decided to give the song a listen to in its entirety to see what the rest of it was like. That's when I realized - I think there may be something freaky going on with me and this tune; there are eerie parallels to my life. First thing right off the top of it, Fred says sandwiches are his favorite food (what!), and then check out this verse of the song:

Once I went to England, I visited the Queen.
I swear she was the grandest lady that I've ever seen.
I told her she was beautiful and could not ask for more,
She handed me a sandwich and she threw me out the door.

Well, I guess we know what's going to happen to Justin and I at the Queens Garden Party in May.

Cheers from London.
Come visit us and eat a sandwich!

Love,
Genny

(PS, if you want to listen to the song the link is here: Sandwiches)