Peter Foster, international fraudster, is once again eluding the police as he evades the court. Is he in the Yasawa islands, in Vanuatu, under the bed at Denarau, allowed to disappear while the soldiers (who had taken him over from the police) looked the other way?
Some of the story: first really noticed when he caused a ruckus about the proposed Champagne Resort in the Yasawas with a misleading fake website, then a court case over incorrect immigration papers, then a chase, and a capture at Pacific Harbour involving leaping into a river, the Suva gaol wasn't good enough so he was allowed to stay at JJ's on the Park at his own cost, then he slipped off to see his Mom at Denarau, missed some more court sittings, colluded with the military in making a subversive home-made video with Fijian tricksters, then disappeared once again. Hmmm. Well, it's a distraction from a coup I suppose!
Perhaps he's hiding is someone's pawpaw patch? Called papaya, mummy apple, weleti or maoli in Fiji.
Where oh where oh where is Peter
Where oh where oh where is Peter
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch
Come on girls let’s go find him
Come on girls let’s go find him
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch
Now a diversion because pawpaws are wonderful fruit. I gave my children pawpaw from about two months of age. An elderly missionary at Dudley ate 20 or more pawpaw seeds for breakfast every day. In Fiji they grow very well in Labasa and Mali Island and are great for breakfast with lemon.
It does have medicinal qualities they say - a diuretic (the roots and leaves), to treat bilious conditions (the fruit). Parts of the plant are also used to combat dyspepsia and other digestive disorders (papaya contains a proteolytic enzyme which soothes the stomach and aides in digestion) and the juice is used for warts, cancers, tumors, corns and skin defects.
The milky sap of a unripe papaya contains a complex proteolytic enzyme called Papain. Although it is a protein, this enzyme is not damaged by heat. The enzyme is similar to pepsin and hence it helps to digest protein in the body. It is therefore used to relieve indigestion.
Papain is also used to treat commercial beer, to degumm natural silk, as a meat tenderizer and in the production of chewing gums. Cosmetically it is used in Shampoos and in a number of face-lifting operations.
Papian has an anticoagulant effect. It is also claimed that the enzyme eliminates necrotic tissues in chronic wounds, burns and ulcers In humans capaine slows down the heart and thus reduces blood pressure.
However, externally the papaya latex is an irritant to the skin and internally it causes severe gastritis. Some people are allergic to various parts of the fruit and even the enzyme papain has its negative properties. Most notable is its ability to induce asthma and rhinitis and its sister enzyme carpaine can cause paralysis, numbing of the nerve centers and cardiac depression. Wow, that sounds ominous!
So, where, oh where oh where is Peter Foster? Munching on pawpaws and eating the seeds to stay regular?
I love pawpaw! Too bad they are so expensive in Japan (from $1.5 per pawpaw). So far, I liked the Hawaiian pawpaw the most.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed. They are expensive here in Geelong so we only buy them when we need a tropical fruit salad. The Lauan people of Eastern Fiji of course use them a lot (a joke!) and Leba, a Melbourne friend, makes a delicious sweet called lote from pawpaw and coconut cream.
ReplyDeleteOf course green pawpaw can be made into a curry. That's what they eat in Vatuadova village two days after a feast when there's almost no food resources left!
W.
Ha ha. Peter Foster's been found in Vanuatu and has been arrested. I wonder if he had his less than best swimming trunks on this time! I guess he will lead the authorities a song and dance there also. Perhaps they ought to take him to Penticost Island and tell him to take a bungee jump!
ReplyDeletew.
I miss my papaya (pawpaw) trees on Maui. I had two of them and that was enough to keep us in fruit. As they grew taller, I used a picker from the 2nd floor lanai (patio) to get them. I also had a lemon tree that produced well. Lemon juice and papaya - ah, the simple things are often the best.
ReplyDelete