If you squint at it, you can sort of see the bird.

OK, it might not be the most hotly-contested category, but it’s a tasty one.  I met up with intrepid gastronaut J to check out the Plough and Stars Sunday Night Chicken and Fish Fry and we were not disappointed.  And believe me, we’ve tried our share of fried chicken.

Arriving at the Plough towards the end of a set by Frank Drake and the Aristocrats (did I mention that the Plough might also offer the best country music of any Irish bar in Cambridge?), we settled in to a booth amid an atmosphere of pubby conviviality.   The chicken and fish menu was straightforward, with a handful of combos and sides.  We each had a three-piece dinner with cheddar grits, collard greens and cornbread. I washed mine down with a Magners.

The chicken was juicy and the crust crispy and well-seasoned.  Our worst fear – blandness – was totally unfounded.  The cornbread was sweet, the collards smoky, and the cheese grits, well, cheesy. Everything in its place.  Perhaps not the healthiest dinner of the week, but most food groups were present and all were satisfying.

As we left, the Frank Morey Band was just getting started.  The Plough crowd showed no sign of any care in the world, blissfully disinterested in the looming shadow of Monday morning. If Brigadoon were every Sunday night and came with southern cooking and country swing, I think it would be something like this.

This is why, in the old days, you had to grind ink for a year before they let you touch a brush.

Starting a sumi-e class.  It’s not so much the ink or the subject matter, it’s the way of seeing.

Well, we’ve made another trip around the sun, just one of the possible significances of this year’s new year card image.  In a break from historical practice, rather than using a photograph of some kind, I hand-painted one of these circles on each card.  Yes, I still insist on sending paper cards even though every year it gets more expensive to mail them and harder to gather the snail addresses of online friends. Whether you get a paper one or are just looking at this on your screen, I hope you enjoy it.

Happy new year everybody!