mango.fReak

Oooh, what beauties :-)

2010-05-17T05:10:00.000+01:00

I bought these mangoes on Saturday down Whitechapel Market. I was on a tight budget, but I had reason to celebrate, so I thought 'to hell with it' and treated myself.

These yellow reasons to smile came in a box of 24. Altogether, it came to £6 - but I am my mother's daughter, I haggled it down to £5.50; works out at about 23p per mango!

I gave six away: one to a friend I hadn't seen in a while, two to his mum and three to a really close friend of mine (a fellow mango freak!)

...and the rest were mine, mine, MIIIIIIIIIINE :-)

As of the writing of this post, there are only three mangoes left!

mango.fReak.

Still a Mango Freak...

2010-03-19T03:40:00.000+00:00

I haven't updated this blog in a good while, but my love of mangoes hasn't diminished much. After all, me and mangoes go waaaaay back, way before this blog came along (even before the advent of the internet). I'll always love mangoes. Always.

So I'm back. For now. Just gonna go with the flow. See how it goes.

(p.s.: came across a lovely mango poem the other day. Found it sense-ual.)

mango.fReak.

Under the Right Conditions, Can a Mango Tree Grow in England?

2009-06-06T21:52:00.001+01:00

Hear me out, ok?

I've been thinking: if it's possible to mimic tropical temperatures in a greenhouse, then is it at all possible for a mango tree to be grown in a greenhouse in England? Under the right conditions, with the right soil and tender loving care, couldn't a mango tree be made to feel at home right here ...in England?

If it grew and bore its first fruit, I wonder what it'd be called? I don't think it should be named after a person (unless it's after me, of course, ahem.)

'The Mango Tree That Grew' - maybe it could be called a combination of those words - or an acronym: T.M.T.T.G (The Mango Tree That Grew), but with a couple of vowels in between...TAMTATAG...the Tamtatag Mango! Or maybe drop the G and just call it Tamtata Mango. Could I have a kilo of Tamtatas, please? Hmmm. I like the sound of that.

So, to the mango tree that will more than likely never exist, but will always exist in my head, I name thee: Tamtata ...for your invisible fruit tastes just as exquisite.

(img credit: miamism)

I missed the boat...

2008-05-14T13:21:00.000+01:00

By the time I got to the stall, the mangoes were mostly gone. GRRR. The ones that were left didn't look too good and, frankly, I wasn't that desperate. There were some Julie mangoes but I really didn't fancy those (plus Julie mangoes tend to be quite expensive too). I wanted the mangoes I'd had on Thursday (sniffle, sniffle).

I really didn't have the energy to then go to Green Street market to look for some 'cos my feet were killing me. I wasn't wearing heels or anything, just slippers, but I think they were truly meant for lounging around in the home as there was hardly any grip on them.

When the guy at the stall told me the mangoes I wanted were all sold out, I asked him a couple of times, 'are you sure?', hoping he was hiding a couple behind the stall. I looked at him like a hungry puppy. Nope - there were well and truly none left.

It was my fault really - I should have left the flat earlier. I didn't realise how bad I wanted some 'til he told me there were none left (sniffle, sniffle).

Anyway, I ended up buying some from the Tesco's @ Canary Wharf - they were doing a 2-for-1 offer on them. They were your regular polite supermarket mangoes - nothing special (though the 2nd one tasted better).

(p.s: BodyShop 'Mango' Body Butter. Yum!)

mango.fReak

(img credit: Mel B.)

Any Excuse for Mangoes :-)

2008-05-10T13:44:00.001+01:00

I felt quite sick yesterday, so I'm giving my body a bit of a break today by going on a mini-detox. I've only had apples and mint tea so far, but I feel some mangoes are in order (any excuse, really!)

I really like the ones I had on Thursday (I had a dream about them last night too! I was carrying loads of them in a suitcase on a New York subway. Do not ask my psyche why it had such a dream. It will not answer you!)

Hopefully, there'll be some left by the time I hit the stall. If not, I'll go down to Green Street market and see what they've got.

(img credit: machu)

They’re ba-aaaaaaack!!!

2008-05-08T18:32:00.000+01:00

Oh dear God, they're back! I just had me some mangoes – 5 lil ones. And it's almost like they've never been away!

(My camera's busted so I can't take mango pics which is a bit grrrr but I'm saving up to buy a new one).

I must get my head around the different varieties. I LOVE them all, but I don't really know their names. I know Julie, Atkin, Ghana, Alphonso and Honey mangoes but I couldn't tell you what the rest I've eaten are called – such as the ones I had today – they were gorgeous! I made a tiny incision with my teeth, then sucked the juice out, peeled away the skin, ate what was left – it was divine – 5 times over! Now I'm picking the strands out of my teeth in sheer pleasure.

They're £1.29 a lb at the mo', but they'll probably get cheaper the further into the summer we get – then, you can buy some for as cheap as £0.69 a lb.

I'm REALLY looking forward to going down to Green Street market over the coming months. Green Street is art in motion, especially during the summer. From the top of the street all the way down to the market, the Asian shop keepers display boxes upon boxes of honey mangoes. I can't buy them all but I love to look!

The British weather is gorgeous at the mo' – we've had a couple of days of really good sun and clear skies. It's breezy today which really complements the heat.

The guy I bought the mangoes from said it's gonna be 32 degrees over the weekend! I also told him I'll be seeing a lot more of him seeing he now has mangoes. I was so happy to be reunited with them that I even told him to keep the change!

I am... mango.FeREAK ...forever.

img by: xtheowl

The Enthusiasm of Mangoes...

2007-12-09T23:11:00.000+00:00

I'm finding it a tad tricky keeping up with this blog, to write about mangoes on a regular basis - main reason being that I feel more inspired to write when I've eaten a mango, when I see boxes upon boxes of them in the market.

It's winter in London - so only a few varieties are being imported compared to the summer when you can convince yourself you're in a tropical country due to the sheer amount & variety of mangoes available.

I think I'm a sensory person where mangoes are concerned. Imagining them is a lot different than actually smelling them, digging your teeth into its flesh, getting your hands sticky, picking the strands out of your teeth, maybe exhaling a gloriously-smelling mango burp afterwards, hehe!

Anyway, have a nice week...

mango.FReak

(img credit: lemuelinchrist)

Can't wait for the summer...

2007-12-04T02:40:00.000+00:00

I miss the taste of fresh mangoes. I really do. What we commonly have in England at the moment, with it being winter, are those huge ones you get in most supermarkets – I think they're called Atkins.

I miss walking through Green Street market over the summer, brushing my eyes over the variety of mangoes piled up succulently - Honey mangoes, Ghana mangoes, Julie mangoes – walking round the market to find the best value for money, getting home, sitting down with a big bowl of them and eating 'til my stomach looks like it's with child.

I might have to start travelling, during winter, to places where mangoes are in season – if I could afford to, I would.

I don't feel like having the standard mangoes you get in Sainsbury's and Morrison's though sometimes they can be nice. There's a continental market that sets up outside Stratford station for a couple of days every 3 months or so – there's a guy that sells dried organic mango slices there – the organic ones taste better than the non-organic ones, especially if you have a sour tooth. The non-organic ones just taste sickly-sweet to me.

Yeah. I think I might treat myself. Go pick up a bag of those. See if it'll soothe my craving - and cheer me up a bit.

I really can't wait for the summer. I'm a Summer baby - born in June. I was made for mangoes :-)

mango.FReak.

(img credit: aussiegall)

A Mango a day Keeps Diabetes Away...

2007-11-18T17:04:00.000+00:00

Well it might in the future according to this science article.

Yep, as well as protecting against high cholesterol.

Apparently, there are compounds unique to tropical fruit like mangoes and papaya that basically 'act on the same pathways that diabetes and cholesterol drugs target'.

Wow! Now that's slapped a wide biggadocious smile on my face.

mango.FReak

(img credit: Flashpacking Life)

Mango Haiku (4)...

2007-11-02T02:18:00.000+00:00

mango-made earrings
mirror reflects the true her:
a brown-skinned goddess

© mango.FReak

She's Worried - That Means She Must Love Me!

2007-10-18T19:18:00.000+01:00

I have a friend who, after several years, is now starting to really understand my obsession with mangoes.

And she sounded worried.

Really worried.

Oh dear. Things might never be the same between us! :-)

[ps: my nephew's just asked me 'Aunty, what's a 'Mego Freak?' - bless 'em, he meant 'Mango Freak'.]

Eat Mangoes Naked...

2007-09-24T00:16:00.000+01:00

hmm, that's something i haven't tried - well... not in front of Denzel Washington anyway! So I'm sending it out into the universe. Universe, I'd like to eat mangoes naked in front of Mr Washington. And Universe, I'd like to think he'd like that too.

mmm... man-goes, den-zel, same amount of syllables. no coincedence.

Actually, I have eaten a mango naked - well, almost. I was up at Glastonbury festival in June. My friend Helen (the one that always gets me mango stuff when she stays round mine) surprised me with a nice big mango. I was over the f**king moon.

I saved it for breakfast - me, myself and I, zipped up in my tent, gladly closed off from the hustle & bustle of Glastonbury, eating my mango, in my panties & bra, with my belly hanging out. It was DIVINE, darling, divine. I was totally in my element. :-)

mango.FReak

aaaand another Mango Haiku (3)...

2007-09-18T23:24:00.000+01:00

3.

chest rises and falls
mmm, her early-morning breath
smells of sweet mangoes

© mango.FReak

(p.s: in case you're wondering, haiku is an ancient form of Japanese poetry consisting of 17 syllables - 1st line must be 5 syllables, 2nd line 7 syllables, 3rd line 5 syllables. I like haiku. I like the challenge.)

Erm, Do You Know I Have a Mango Shrine?

2007-09-15T23:13:00.000+01:00

Oh yeah. The freak in me goes deeper than you think. ;-)

There is no cure. And why would I want one? Pray tell me.

Anyway, check out my very own mango shrine. (Update - 19/3/10: I did have a mango shrine. Honest, I did. Was an online mostly-pictorial homage to my favourite sunshine fruit. I'll probably recreate it at some point).

I bid you adeiu...

mango.FREAK'oid (aka ebele)

Mango Activist...

2007-09-13T16:50:00.000+01:00

I had these badges made for me - I wear them everywhere now - have 3 strapped on like i'm some kinda soldier and in a way, yeah, i am - i'm a mango soldier, a mango activist - the lara croft of the mango world!, travelling tirelessly round the globe to save mangoes from extinction!

Come to think of it, i think i'll be like Blade instead - maybe not as miserable though - creeping out of the shadows in my stealth leather jacket to kick apples out of people's hands!

mango.FReak

Mango Haiku (2)...

2007-09-09T23:56:00.000+01:00

2.

mango thief is caught
"I'm sorry" just won't cut it
Judge says: off with tongue

mango.FReak

True Story...

2007-09-07T01:49:00.000+01:00

I was in New York last year - on holiday for a couple of weeks - with my sister - Upper Westside - 82nd street or so.

There were a lot of homeless people, beggars - no different than London really. One of them was a girl. I call her a girl because she was. She looked very young - couldn't have been older than 14. So young.

Sleeping next to a shop.

Dirty. Very dirty. Like she'd been down a chimney sweep. The dirt didn't hide her childhood. And the fact that she was a beautiful child. And the worrying fact that she may never grow up to be a balanced young woman with a whole world of opportunities at her feet.

I didn't know what to do for her.

So I placed a couple of dollars in her curled hand

...and a mango.

And walked away...

knowing that neither one of them would be enough.

I'm sorry I couldn't save you

Put warm food in your belly
Wash your face
Bathe you
Clothe you
Hug you

Tell you "you're safe now".

mango.FReak

Mango Haiku (1)

2007-09-03T15:07:00.000+01:00

My Nephew Thinks Dried Mangoes Stink....

2007-09-02T03:06:00.001+01:00

What is wrong with the boy?

I think I might take him to the doctor's for a check-up.

There must be a cure.

(Hey, Kaptain Krayola, wipe that smug look off your face. Grrr...)

mango.FReak

The Best Way to Eat a Mango...

2007-08-30T11:54:00.000+01:00

With your bare hands.

Using a fork is too polite.

Get your fingers dirty. It's allowed. It's fun. It's freeing. Makes you feel playful. And alive. And messy. And, yes, messy is good. Try it.

Make sure you lick your fingers afterwards. Don't wipe 'em with a cloth. Lick them.

Remember licking off the dough from mum's bowl, fighting over it with your siblings to get your little grubby hands on it? Remember that first comforting moreish lick?

Remember playing water fights, pillow fights, snow fights, playing in the sand, in the rain - not caring if you got soaked through, or got feathers in your hair, or sand in your mouth, or if mud became your middle name? When it really didn't matter if mum threw a complete fit when she saw the state of you?

That's the kind of abandon you need when eating a mango.

mango.FReak

If I Had a Magic Wand...

2007-08-28T11:28:00.000+01:00

...this is what I'd like to do...

1) travel to at least one continent (or two) tasting the different varieties of mangoes!

2) use my love of mangoes to help people (for e.g., to economically empower women in the (re)developing world by helping them gain a share of mango plantations)

3) organise a community mango festival every year (with the proceeds going to the above)

4) write as many poems under as many mango trees as I can!

5) Organise a mango-poetry & tasting night (or a Mango & Chocolate tasting night! Or a Mango, Chocolate & Male Stripper night! Mmmm....)

6) Make & sell mango t-shirts, badges, keyrings with mango slogans like Mango Freak, Mangoes that go ‘Oh’, Mango Breath.

7) Find out how old the oldest mango tree is (and whether it can be grafted to grow new ones)

mango FReak fo' lyfe.

You Know When You've Been Mangoed :-)

2007-08-25T15:42:00.000+01:00

There's this friend of mine - Helen. She always buys me mango stuff when she comes round - even during winter. I wanna marry the woman for the sheer generosity of her gestures, but, alas, she's spoken for :-( (sniffle, sniffle)

Anyway, moving on...

Everytime she comes round, she always brings me something mango - the last time, it was Lush 'you've been mangoed' bath melt - before that, it was Del Monte's mango smoothie ice lolly - and before that, half a box of mangoes! I need to invite this woman to mine, like, everyday!

(BACKGROUND THOUGHT: Is there something Helen did to me in a past lifetime? - that she's (subconsciously) making up for? - did she slay me in a past life & bury my limp body under a mango tree? - I FORGIVE YOU, HELEN, I FORGIVE YOU - WHAT'S THAT?, YOU STILL FEEL BAD?, SO BAD YOU WANNA BUY ME MORE MANGOES? ERM.... OK THEN. :-) )

mango FReak for life

A swarm of mango trees...

2007-08-23T14:57:00.000+01:00

I see mango trees all around me,
the only fruit on the island.

Their colours seduce me.

This is the rainbow I wanted.
The one I asked my Mother for.
I thought She'd forgotten
but She was listening all along,
knitting it into Her quilt.

Teeth sink into orange flesh
and a million orgasms explode
in my mouth.

Sticky fingers.
Full belly.
Appeased tongue.

My hands run over
the rough-smooth texture
of the oldest mango tree
as she bears
her last fruit.

© mango FReak.

Grrr...my nephew doesn't like mangoes...

2007-08-22T04:55:00.000+01:00

...he had a nibble...

....and that was it.

Said it was sweet & bitter. Bitter? What do you mean BITTER. Just because it doesn't taste like chicken mcnuggets doesn't mean it's bitter. Grrrr...

Ok, Ok, I ain't gonna lie - I was relieved I didn't have to share, but c'mon, how can my own flesh and blood not like mangoes?

My nephew's 7 by the way. Adorable eyes. Big big head. I call him isi opiolo which means mango head. Maybe he's rebelling against me for calling him that. I'm proud of him really - for his rebellious nature - just that he picked the wrong fruit to make a point with.

So I shall try again. Get a different variety. No family member of mine shall have blaise tastebuds when it comes to mangoes - oh no.

To be continued...

© mango FReak

Love is...

2007-08-20T13:21:00.001+01:00

So, I was at a poetry event last night - really good - and one of the poets asked the audience to sum up 'Love' in one word...

...and I said 'Mangoes'.

What? What's wrong with that?

Then someone else said 'Unconditional' and the poet oooh'ed and aaah'ed over that word for like a day. I'm like 'What about me?', 'What about meeeeeeeeee?'

Anywayz, deep down inside, I'm thinking she must have really liked my response 'cos she gave me one of her books - a gift - signed and everything! She wrote inside:

Love & Beauty = You.

YOU HEAR THAT, PEOPLE? Luuuuurve + Beaulee Equals ME! Ooooh Weeee!

Please show her some mango-lurve by passing through her site. Her name's Michelle Marie Clarke-Campbell. And her book's called Black Honey.

a mango in all of y'all's palms...

mango FReak.