Shrimp 'n Grits

Today I went to meet a lady called Valerie Pearce. An attorney, she is Acting Director of the Children and Family Law centre. She was waiting for me at the entrance to her Office suite and she showed me into a conference room where around 10 people were waiting for me. Intelligent and with a fierce grasp of their subject, they asked questions of me for about an hour and a half. It felt a little like a job interview, except they were genuinely interested in what I had to say about the UK system. The children of Mecklenburg County are in good hands with these professionals to look out for them. Valerie, Kevin and Renee formed the core of the group and I sensed the passion that they brought to their work. They responded so well to my questioning that, had I been hiring, I would not have let them out of the room until they had signed a contract. That simple.

Around 1300 most of the group had to get back to work but Valerie and Kevin took me to lunch at Mervs. A busy noisy wonderfully atmospheric Soul Food restaurant. The food was amazing. Shrimp and grits, yellow grits mind, not the inferior white sort, was as good a meal as anything I have had in world class restaurants. Collared greens and mac and cheese had vibrant and loud colours and flavour, fried catfish with Yams was creamy and subtle. Okra and tomato, slimy yet satisfying. Fried Green Tomatoes as a starter. And all this within 30 minutes. I wanted to pay, but Kevin insisted. I am in his debt for the time he took to share with me and for his generosity of spirit as well as for buying me such a wonderful dinner. The name "Soul Food" is deserved, for mine felt nourished at the end of the meal.

Back at the office I momentarily forgot his name as we were saying goodbye. He had to remind me. I could see that he felt disappointed by this idiot who spent all morning in his company and couldn't even get his name right. I would go a long way to put that right, if I could.