Vanilla

We got back to a four for tennis this morning because Peter had just returned from his four week break in Madagascar. Whilst three of us had sweat shirts and joggers on because of the early morning cold, Peter turned up dressed for the beach. It was his first day back and hadn't yet acclimatised. That didn't stop us taking the mickey out of him. As a nice surprise he gave us all several fresh vanilla pods. Vanilla has historically been of particular importance for Madagascar, and when Coca-cola switched to New Coke in 1985 — which involved less vanilla — Madagascar's economy took a marked downturn (returning to previous levels after the return of Coke Classic). Not many people know that.