Last Day of Gluttony

In Catholic times, "the Fat Tuesday" was the last day before the forty days of fasting until Easter started.

The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial. As the name suggests, one would eat ravenously - preferably seven meals a day - to stand firmly prepared for the 40-day fast. The traditions around the calorie-rich feast day remained even after the rules of fasting disappeared with the Protestant Reformation.

Since it was the last chance before the fast to eat milk, eggs, and white wheat flour, perhaps a dessert in the form of a fixed bun was on the menu.

That is why we Swedes to this day, in one of the most secular countries in the World, stuff ourselves with the delicacies in the picture. There are variations of semlor (sehm-lohr is plural, sehm-la is singular) throughout Scandinavia and in Sweden they go by several different names: 'semlor' in the north, 'fastlagsbullar' in the south, and 'hetvägg' if they are eaten with warm milk and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Here's a recipe for fastlagsbullar in English that I found on the thelocal.se (url). 

If the Mountain Won't Come to Muhammad...

"If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain" is a phrase coined by Francis Bacon, probably based on a Turkish proverb.

Well, the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm and prince of Cascade Falls etc., etc., has for some time been pressured by his old friend Francis to come visit him in Rome. 

The laird has made up one ridiculous excuse after another for not going, the truth is possibly that he is a bit overwhelmed that his old pal, the seminar student Jorge has suddenly become a sovereign like himself since being elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, the Bishop of Rome and Sovereign of the Vatican City. (The man may actually, however hard it may be to believe, hold more titles than the laird.)

Anyway, Jorge wasn't having any more evasions so he saw to it that he could travel to the lairds first life home in style. Ostensibly he will be in Lund from the 31st of October to the1st of November to commemorate the 500th year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with other church leaders. However, the two of them know the true reason. They are to hang out, drink some beer and/or wine, eat pasta and talk about bygone days. 

It seems, that the laird - once he got over his exasperation and surprise - is looking forward to the reunion.