My mobility scooter has been a game-changer for me. Firstly, I love the reactions I get from people when I ride it around. Some are surprised to see me cruising around at what they perceive to be a high speed, while others simply can't stop staring. The best … [Read more...] about My Speed Wheels
The Laundry Blues
Before we had modern laundry detergents with optical brighteners, there was a mysterious little blue bag which was stirred around in the final rinse water on washday. This was laundry bluing or blue. A factory-produced block was the "modern" (mid-19th century onwards), … [Read more...] about The Laundry Blues
Burns Night Supper
For more than two hundred years, people have been getting together in January in memory of Robert Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire and Scotland's favourite son. These get-togethers are in the form of a dinner, or supper, around the time of Burn's birthday on 25 January. … [Read more...] about Burns Night Supper
Ambarella
Ambarella is a sub-tropical tree native to the Indo-Malaysian region, but it grows well in Queensland and most likely would grow, perhaps not so lustily, in my Melbourne backyard. It would go well as an ornamental, a smallish ornamental, in Collingwood but I'm … [Read more...] about Ambarella
Fasolakia
The rain held off for the Greek Festival in Melbourne today. That was a plus. No wild young men dancing though which is, after all, the main reason I like the Festival in the first place, a nice little Cretan war dance never goes astray. However, I caught a cooking … [Read more...] about Fasolakia
Preserved Lemons
You preserve lemons by packing them with salt and lemon juice, then leaving them in a cool dark place for at least a month. Over time, the tartness of the lemon all but disappears but the intense lemon flavor found in the peel remains, making this a deeply flavoured … [Read more...] about Preserved Lemons