Z

Z is for Zanzibar

Zed Already? Are we at Zee? I wanted Zed or Zee to be about Zanzibar, such a lovely-sounding name – it emanates something special by mere enunciation. I travelled to Zanzibar as a kid on board a cruise ship from Mombasa, the Safina-e-Hujjaj, it was a modest floating affair by the measure of cruise ships today.

I still recall its name. It's indelible thanks to the experience of climbing aboard up an interminable open stairway slung along the ship's side. Step by step, higher and higher, eyes fixed on each footfall, an open sea visible below through enormous gaps between risers - it was scaaa-wee! – it coloured my whole trip!

You could smell Zanzibar Island long before it came into view. Cloves, cinnamon and tropical fruit mixed with humid, salty sea air. An invisible aromatic fog bank shrouded the island – a magical emanation, just like the one around its name, quintessentially 'exotic'.

Z is for Ziti al Forno – and Zabaglione

Ziti

Ziti emanate from Sicily and Calabria. Ziti is comfort food and also a euphemism for a thousand-dollar bribe – 'a box of ziti', as in “'Where the hell is the ziti?’ ‘I have no ziti,’”

Ziti al Forno is seriously tasty – Here's a recipe from the NYT

This is what I would order for my last meal! The perfect pasta dish, far better than any lasagna I have ever had... Serve this to people you really love. Alice Kaiser, NYT recipe commenter.

Zabaglione

Zabaglione is yet more comfort food made with egg yolks, sugar, a sweet Moscato d'Asti or Marsala wine, and a bit of elbow grease. What a great ending!

A Wild Ride – From Akni to Zabaglione

Travelling the globe through the interwebs, both online and in my head, has been a blast. Thanks to all of you for indulging and accompanying me in my wandering ramblings – such illustrious company :) The wandering research for this Abecedarium has been uplifting, informative and wild. Inking these little drawings has been a hoot. I've encountered all manner of creatures, plants, people and things - and the bounty of food on this planet.

This is also where the adventure of crafting a publication from all this scratching and itching begins. As I inked my way through the alphabet, I've been imagining this Abecedarium as a book – and like everything else, it feels like it wants to be a hybrid and interstitial thing...

Is it for adults? For children? An adult-child book - for that inner child we all need to spend more time with? A parent-child book for the enchantment of both? A curiosity book to stretch out that childhood wonder? A colouring book for those lost in the flow? Is there a target audience? Is there a publisher?

Could it include QR codes with recipes from faraway lands? Is it a book with little augmented reality animations? (I've been playing with these – they're delightful) Is it a discovery book with bits of all of the above?

Who knows. Whatever it is, it's physical, interactive, and exploratory – less product and more experience.

Wild Gods

Before I began publishing these little drawings and musings, I found an impetus and a push to reach outside myself by reading Nick Cave's The Red Hand Files.

In the spirit of beginnings disguised as endings, it seemed appropriate to close this chapter with something from Nick Cave... here's Wild God by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, to be released on 30 August 2024, through PIAS.

PS: Zyzzyva is the OED's last word...
“a genus of tropical weevils native to South America, typically found near palm trees.”

As always, thanks for reading and indulging!
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