Air New Zealand has announced that it has bought 14.9% of the shares of airline Virgin Blue.

Some of us are still smarting over losses incurred when Air New Zealand last tried a foray into the Australian aviation market, and wrecked Ansett.

I vowed then that I would not travel with Air New Zealand. And now, I will no longer travel with Virgin Blue.

At the time of the Ansett collapse, Virgin Blue was the tin-pot 3rd carrier newcomer flying out of third-rate terminals. When Ansett collapsed, Virgin Blue stood up to replace it as Australia’s second carrier after Qantas. And now Air NZ wants to buy a substantial portion of Virgin Blue. Such irony!

Of the gazillions of reports of Air NZ’s purchase, few seem to share my memories or concerns. One exception is Ian McIlwraith, of the Sydney Morning Herald, who writes about What a difference a decade makes.

I like carpaccio.

My understanding of what it is conforms to Wikipedia’s definition:

Carpaccio … is a dish of raw meat or fish (such as beef, veal, venison, salmon or tuna) generally thinly sliced or pounded thin and served as an appetizer.

According to Arrigo Cipriani, the present-day owner of Harry’s Bar, Carpaccio was invented at Harry’s Bar in Venice, where it was first served to the countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo in 1950 when she informed the bar’s owner that her doctor had recommended she eat only raw meat.

What, then, does the Hyatt in Collins Street, Melbourne, mean by the following (found in their events menus)?

• Carpaccio of roast beetroot, goat cheese, fine herbs, citrus dressing
• Seared tuna carpaccio, dill, capers, aioli and baby herbs