Lydia may not have been the world's greatest cook, but she was almost certainly the slowest. She was a fantasizer and a drunk. Moreover, she was addicted to opera. Now imagine what mealtimes at 99 Copenhagen Crescent, NW3, must have been like: tantalizing aromas accompanied by interminable waits, Callas at full decibels, the ever-present bottle of Bordeaux, the not infrequent failures which must, out of sheer physical necessity, be consumed. Her family suffered patiently.

MARY FLANAGAN, U.S.A., in Cream Sauce, primeiro conto de "BAD GIRLS" (1984)


Lydia poderia não ser a melhor cozinheira do mundo, mas era quase de certeza a mais lenta. Era fantasiosa e bêbeda. Além disso, era viciada em ópera. Agora imaginem como seriam as refeições no 99 de Copenhagen Crescent, NW3: aromas inebriantes acompanhados de esperas intermináveis, Callas em  plenos decibéis, a sempre presente garrafa de Bordeaux, os não raros insucessos que tinham, por mera necessidade física, de ser consumidos. A famíla sofria, paciente.

To SHAKESPEARE and Obama: now is the winter of our concern made joyous summer by this son of Hope.