This is a partly political blogpost...

Thinking it best to try to avoid politics on this blog, I hadn't intended to do a General Election-themed post. Well, I say that - I had considered trying a tin of "UKIPpers", but that seemed too spurious a link even by my standards, not to mention a woefully bad pun). I changed my mind however when I saw this article on the Guardian website on polling day, which suggests what each of the main party leaders might 'taste' like. If that sounds a little strange, it is - the article concerns a rare neurological condition known as lexical-gustatory synaesthesia, which causes people to be able to taste or smell words or sounds. One such synaesthete is James Wannerton from Blackpool, who for this article teamed up with artist Sam Cornwell to produce a series of photographs depicting the foods (and other substances) he claims to taste when he hears the names of the politicians.

To James, the very name 'David Cameron' creates the sensation, for some reason, of eating hard toffee, macaroons, cloth and blue ink; Ed Miliband tastes like vinegary chips, a school eraser and pine nuts; Nick Clegg like pickled onions, elastic bands, a meatless leg of lamb and a dribble of yoghurt; and Nigel Farage is an even more curious-sounding combination of rich fruit cake, the inside of a frankfurter sausage, fried onions, a few peas, a wet tweed jacket sleeve and a dollop of semolina.

The Royal (Name) Game

I awoke this morning to the news that HRH Duchess of Cambridge - Kate Middleton to the common man - had been admitted to hospital in the early stages of labour for royal sprog number two, and it was later announced that she had given birth to a girl, the first Princess of Cambridge to be born for 180 years, apparently. Hardcore royal fans had already been waiting outside the hospital for weeks, presumably as they have little better to do except wear red-white-and-blue and wave flags, but speculation as to the gender and name of the new baby had been rife for even longer. For those wishing to play the royal name game, the bookies are possibly still taking bets, though no doubt the odds for the favourite girls' names Alice, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Victoria will have been slashed now we know the baby's gender. Those punters who'd banked on a James, Arthur or Alexander will be sorely disappointed. Personally I was hoping for something a little more unusual for George's new sibling, such as "The Dragon" or "Townhouse" (think about it), but never mind.

Anyway, all this is of course just a very convoluted way of introducing another tin I tried recently - Baxter's Royal Game soup from their "Favourites" range. The game in question here is venison and pheasant, illustrated in part with a deer on the label, which reminded me of that scene in The Queen when Helen Mirren spots a stag when her Land Rover breaks down while out on the Balmoral estate. But Baxters have better reason for calling the soup "Royal" than just that, as they are in fact royal warrant holders ("By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen - Purveyors of Scottish Specialities"). I've never known whether holding a royal warranty means the companies do actually provide a supply of their products for the family, or whether it's just a ceremonial title. If they don't, Her Maj may be interested to know that Baxter's Soups are currently on offer at Sainsburys at 4 for £3 (I don't know how many tins of soup she gets through in a year, but at that price it might be worth stocking up).