A Christmas coriander cure

I am not feeling great today. I have a @%&*&$ (insert expletive of your choice here) cold and am feeling a little sorry for myself. It could of course be worse and I do realise I'm being a tiny bit melodramatic. It's just a cold after all. But I had hoped that the sore throat and stuffy head developed a few days back were on their way out when I took a turn for the better yesterday. Instead, I woke this morning with the nose of that most popular of reindeers, the chesty rattle of a 20-a-day smoker, and the morning-after head of a work Christmas party goer (The closest I've come to attending such an event was a lunchtime earlier this week spent in good company stuffing my face with curry and cake and sipping on some water). So, it seems that being in the tropics does not protect you from the dreaded Christmas germs!

The thing is, tomorrow is a big day; my friends arrive from home for a long planned festive break. I've been looking forward to this for 11 months now and, you know how it is, who doesn't want to be at their best for the holidays? To say I'm disappointed is putting it mildly. Well, actually, it's spot on. I am disappointed.

However, I'm aware that I will not be alone in my snuffly nose, gravelly chest and bad head. I'm sure many of you reading will be suffering too; perhaps you're bingeing on mince pies whilst shivering miserably under a blanket by the fire, or stoically carrying on with your duties; bravely stuffing the turkey, scrubbing the potatoes and crossing those sprouts between explosive sneezes. And so in the name of solidarity and positivity, I have decided to get a grip, stop the moaning and take some assertive action. As well dosing up on some drugs, and taking care to follow that wise old adage by stuffing my germ-filled face, I have boiled myself up a traditional cold cure.

The Sri Lankans love their herbal medicine and, whilst working my way through my 3rd breakfast course this morning, it struck me that the cookbook I'd been given by VSO on my arrival had some traditional remedies at the back. On digging out the book, this is what I found:

Coriander cure!! (for flu, cold, cough, body aches)

Ingredients 
1 cup coriander seeds
3 cups water
1 inch piece of cinnamon
3-4 slices of green ginger (1 inch in length approx)

Optional 
1 clove of garlic
3-5 cloves
2-3 cardamoms
1 teaspoon of pepper corns

Method
1. Add all ingredients with water to a pan
2. Boil together until water has reduced to about one cup
3. Take off fire
4. Strain and add sugar to taste

So, here I am supping on my coriander concoction (with all the optional extras, why do things by halves?). I can assure you it smells as poky as it sounds, and tastes, at best, like someone had a little too much sherry and mixed up the mulled wine recipe with the sage and onion stuffing preparations. At worst I imagine it tastes like something you might use to tackle a particularly stubborn case of lime scale build up in your kettle. However, whilst I'm sure I will stink to high heaven for many days to come, I have great hopes this might actually work. Try it if you dare! But a word of advice, you might want to hold your nose whilst swallowing.

So, to my much loved "idiots" (you know who you are), germs or no germs, I am coming to get you. I'll be eagerly awaiting your arrival at the airport. If you can't see me, just follow your noses.

To the rest of you "idiots", and to my other wonderful friends and family, wishing you a healthy and happy Christmas and an amazing new year.