Yoghurt Experiment

Whilst in the UK MB sampled the most delightful goat's milk yoghurt and was inspired by Elizabeth David (from her book, "Is there a Nutmeg in the House?") to try making this herself, especially as there doesn't appear to be anywhere in NQ that makes or sells this gorgeous product. All she needed was a thermometer and a wide mouth vacuum flask, the latter of which she had, so after purchasing a $13.00 thermometer at Robins Kitchen and a litre of fresh goat's milk she was all set.

MB boiled the milk down to three quarters it's original volume to create a creamier yoghurt, then let it cool to the requisite temperature and mixed in a tablespoon of biodynamic Mungalli Creek plain yoghurt as a starter. Then it was into the vacuum flask to sit for 4 hours.

When the "brewing" time was up MB was anticipating a tangy, creamy yoghurt but was terribly disappointed to find the yoghurt completely failed, it didn't take at all. Looks like it's back to the drawing board, might be an idea to try making it with cow's milk instead....

By the way the Mungalli Creek yoghurts are sensational. All of their products are made with biodynamic milk and their flavour and texture is far superior to any other yoghurts available. Best of all Mungalli Creek is in NQ so us Northerners enjoy very fresh product.

The Humble Crepe

Last week at the Wynnum Coles' supermarket MB spotted a box of frozen crepes made by Creative Gourmet. For years MB has been harping on about not being able to buy ready made crepes, this is a product that freezes so well.

Cooking crepes isn't so difficult but being able to buy a box of them, providing they are made with eggs and milk, would be incredibly convenient. Cooking crepes in the kitchen when it's 34C is no fun whatsoever.

MB isn't endorsing these crepes just yet but is very gratified to see somebody has finally taken the initiative to put them on the market. She firstly needs to ensure she can buy them in Cairns.

Zen Fungi

MDR & MB did a daytrip to Montville on the Sunshine Coast today to visit the Spiritwinds gang in their new digs located in a delightful bush acreage on the outskirts of Montville. Tony & Deb cooked up a storm for lunch with fresh Mooloolaba prawns and oysters for starters then barramundi for main, all topped off with some fruit mince tarts and liqueur chocolates bought from Aldi by MDR & MB, who also contributed a very nice organic baguette from the Northey St Markets in Brisbane which they visited prior to heading up to Montville. Mustn't forget the very nice stout too that Tony brewed up, went very nicely with the lunch.

The Spiritwinds gang are sharing their block with lots of wildlife, such as yellow faced whip snakes which like mating in the pool, blue tongue lizards, funnelweb spiders and a large goanna which enjoys eating all the scraps. Tony is also contending with a bat which keeps flying into the house to deposit little parcels of excrement everywhere, he is still working on a method to catch the little critter.

Tony has discovered in his meanderings around the estate, a Boletellus Obscurayadayada, which apparently has not been sighted in the Montville area previously. He has succesfully replanted the rhubarb coloured mushroom into a Bonsai pot. Unfortunately it's not known whether this fungi is edible, and no takers to date have been willing to test the toxicity or otherwise of this interesting mushroom.

The main street of Montville was jam packed with tourists and MDR & MB did a bit of a promenade to grab a Sunday paper. The street is lined with lots of shops selling souvenirs, trinkets and geegaws. One shop, called "Shabby Chic" had a refreshingly honest sign "Fine Purveyors of Shabby Chic Clutter". Clutter of course being an amazingly accurate description...

Afterwards the duo returned to Brisbane in very good time, 75 mins, and dropped into the Yeronga quarters of VT & Hana to take their favourite pooch, Oounoi, out for a walk through the local sportsgrounds to the Brisbane river and back.

The weather has been glorious, mid to high twenties with a lovely cool southerly breeze and relatively low humidity. Going back to hot and humid Cairns tomorrow is not a happy prospect.

Birthday Capers

For MDR's birthday on Friday night, VT & Hana offered to take MDR & MB to their favourite Indian Restaurant, India Kitchen in Westend. Hana was on call and sure enough just as the team left home for the restaurant Hana's mobile trilled and unfortunately she had to be dropped off at the PA Hospital for a medical emergency.

The India Kitchen is a gem of a restaurant with quick service and very reasonably priced and great curries, the breads were divine too. It's a very unpretentious place with two fabulous Indian ladies running the show. After the trio stuffed themselves with curry it was off to a little ice creamery around the corner, where MB sampled some unique Turkish Delight gelati which really did taste just like it's namesake. VT then took the team to his favourite coffee shop and Westend institution, Three Monkeys, for a late night caffeine shot.

After their bacchanalian revels the trio staggered back to the car and headed home. Fortuitously Hana called just before they got the Yeronga so they were able to pick her up en route.

Saturday night MDR & MB were able to return the favour and take both Hana & VT to MDR's favourite Thai joint in wacky Wynnum with the catchy name of "Thai Cuisine" (or "Thai Quisine" according to the menus). This is another cheap and cheerful spot with great Thai food. The dreadful exterior of this place has to be seen to be believed and MB hopes to get a pic in daylight before returning to Cairns.

Interesting Observations

Anybody noticed those very tempting small red fruit in the supermarkets and greengrocers that look just like strawberries? They are even sold in little punnets at very inflated prices and labelled as "Strawberries", however when one bites into one of these delectable looking little fruits, one discovers a hard, crunchy and somewhat flavourless texture. Methinks these "strawberries" must have been GM'ed with apple genes and therefore really should only be marketed as "Strapples". Whatever happened to those delicate, fragrant fruit that a strawberry really is?

On a completely different tack and without segue, MB recently attended a book launch in Cairns, hosted by Cairns Library and tickets to the event were free. MB was running slightly late and on arrival thought that all of the seats at the event were taken, however on closer inspection noticed the front row of seats were all unoccupied so she perched herself there and was practically within touching distance of the author, Monica McInerney. Not that MB had any compulsion to touch the author mind you.

MB has noticed time and again that at an event or speech where the guests have not had to pay for a ticket to attend that the front row or rows are generally unoccupied. Conversely if these same folks had to pay for their attendance, then they would most likely be jostling for front row seats and probably paying a premium to do so!

Rick Stein, where are you?

Since returning from the UK MB has discovered that Rick Stein is presently in Australia. As MB didn't get a chance to go to Padstowe to genuflect at Rick's Shrine there may be a chance she could attend his cooking demonstration at Palm Cove, if only she could find out where it's being held!

A colleague of MB's told her he'd heard quite a bit of advertising for this event whilst she was in the UK, but he couldn't remember which restaurant was hosting this singular event. MB has been calling restaurants at Palm Cove and getting various responses such as "Who's he, never heard of him?" or "If you find out can you let us know where it is?".

MB has scoured the internet for information but so far unable to unearth any forward event information pertaining to Rick Stein. She even set up a Google news alert and is getting tantalising snippets, the last news item a couple of days ago was from a local paper in Ulladulla where Rick cooked a meal for a some sort of club. It appears he was in Adelaide prior to that for a food festival there. So MB can take heart that he does appear to be heading north.

Just caught Rick's new doco about cooking for the Japanese Ambassador in London, thoroughly enjoyed it. Rick really knows how to convey his reverence for fresh seasonal ingredients and simple, but sensational dishes. His enthusiasm and bonhomie is such a delight.

Upcoming Reading

The long awaited instalment in Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series, "Antony and Cleopatra" has just landed at Cairns' library. MB is fifth in line for this book and is eagerly anticipating a very engrossing and entertaining read. Colleen McCullough's research skills and ability to weave a great story are second to none. Her books are such a treat to read.

MB also noticed a new fiction offering from Paul Theroux, "The Elephanta Suite", set in India. Sounds promising, so MB has also reserved a copy of this.

Speaking of books, Michael Palin will be in Australia soon to launch his new book about Eastern Europe. When MB was in London she tried to attend Palin's book launch there, but missed the last ticket by 10 minutes! Of course he ain't coming to Cairns, just visiting the capital cities dammit.

However our little outpost of Cairns is on the itinerary for Monica McInerney, author of "Those Faraday Girls". MB gets the feeling this book is in the same genre as those of Maeve Binchy, not really MB's cup of tea, but being the loyal member she is, MB will show her support and attend the event as it is being hosted by Cairns' Library.

Hong Kong Foodie Encounter

During the short Hong Kong stopover the subject of Tony Bourdain came up whilst the trio were at dinner, as Bourdain's series "No Reservations" is a great favourite of both MB & MDR. PB mentioned the Hong Kong episode which unfortunately MB & MDR has missed. One of PB's restaurateur mates, Frank (not "Harry" as previously reported), happened to be Tony Bourdain's guide in this particular episode.

Later in the evening, after leaving the Bhatti Bar, the trio came across the pictured Hawker stand just down the street from the bar. PB mentioned this was Raddie's favourite nosh spot in HK, so the trio stopped and sampled some traditional Chinese desserts, Black Sesame gruel and Coconut Sago porridge. A few minutes later Frank happened to walk by and PB beckoned him over so MB could quiz Frank on Tony Bourdain. Frank was very diplomatic, revealing that Tony was a very nice guy and quite the perfectionist.

Three Continents in Three Days

MB & MDR arrived back home yesterday after a two day (1 night) stopover in Hong Kong. The flight from London to HK was approximately 12 hours and the pair arrived relatively rested after being able to sleep most of the overnight flight (even though the pair were travelling cattle class). Not long after checking into the Holiday Inn Express at Causeway Bay it was dinnertime, so it was off to PB's fave Chinese and true to his promise the food was excellent. Also visited Soho and checked out the Bhatti Bar, where they make a great Pina Colada.

The following day the trio visited the Panda bears at Ocean Park. There are now 4 Pandas resident here in upgraded and air-conditioned enclosures. Two of the Pandas were up and about and MB as always was completely beguiled. Ocean Park was spruiking Halloween bigtime with halloween merchandise everywhere as well as the usual props such as monsters, pumpkins etc. Unfortunately they'd also managed to find some "scary" synthesised halloween music which was blaring from multiple speakers, the maximum distance between each speaker could not have been more than 3m, ensuring blanket coverage throughout the park. Peace broke out in the cable car though, thank God no speakers in them. They're probably working on rectifying this omission though.

After building up an appetite at Ocean Park PB again proved himself to be the ultimate host and took the pair to his favourite Sushi joint, Sushi Sumi, for another super meal. MDR was ready for a nap by then so MB went off for some retail therapy. Loads of excellent shopping all around the Holiday Inn.

After an evening dim sum meal at the IFC Mall above the Hong Kong MTR station, the pair took the airport express back to HK airport for their overnight, direct, flight back to Cairns. This is a pretty short flight, around 7 hours, but neither MB nor MDR slept much so both arrived home absolutely wasted. It is however great to be home after 6 weeks away.

The Scoop

You saw it here first, the brand new Monsoon Clipper moored on the south side of the Thames. This is one of the 4 commuter catamarans built in Australia using MDR's design and shipped over to London on decks of 2 cargo ships. Two more catamarans will be delivered later this year.

Osterley Park

The approach to Osterley House from main entrance.

Feast of the Senses

Today's visit to Osterley Park (1 hour by tube from Tower Bridge) was all that it promised and more, sweeping vistas, idyllic scenery, stately buildings and good weather. The house is a true showpiece, retaining most of it's original furniture, interior decoration, soft furnishings, ancient coin collections, swords and silverware. For those who appreciate symmetry and minimalist interiors Osterley House is for you.

Whilst touring the house, a cross-eyed, slightly hyperactive National Trust volunteer latched onto MB and insisted on accompanying her through the grand hall, he loftily pointed out the mirror image arrangement of the furniture and offered his opinion that it was all very obsessive. MB responded by telling him how much she was relishing the symmetrical arrangements and even offered up her old chestnut of "symmetry is everything" which she used to great effect with her staff when running her own business.

The property also produces fresh produce which is sold at their very own farm shop. The produce is also used in the on-site cafe and MB enjoyed a very nice courgette, goat cheese and mint crumble for lunch.

If you're ever in London you won't be disappointed by a visit to this property, it really has something for everyone.

Last Day in London

After 5 wonderful weeks in the UK, MDR & MB commence the return journey to hot and steamy FNQ tomorrow (via Hong Kong).

MDR is presenting a paper today at a Fast Ferry conference, then attending a conference dinner sans MB, so MB will squeeze in one last British fix at Osterley Park. According to the National Trust website MB can expect a magnificent neo-classical house with fine Adam interiors, landscaped park and 357 acres of 18th-century gardens.

The gardens should be particularly splendid with the autumn colours just starting to appear. MB promises to take lots of photos.

The Tube

These Brits are very self-deprecating, even putting up signs criticising the underground railways. MB thinks the Tube is just spiffing, what-ho.

Arty Farty London

Spotted this queue near Trafalgar Square today, folks waiting to go on a "journey" through some shipping containers. Not sure what it was all about,
didn't venture any closer.

Shackleton

MB dropped into All Hallows Church this morning at Tower Hill, the oldest church in London. It has an interesting crypt musuem where parts of the original Roman temple that stood on the site have been excavated. There is also a small chapel in the crypt but probably the most surprising exhibit was the crows nest from the Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic expedition on the "Quest".

Mum's the Word

Big day for MB today, went to the matinee at St Martin's theatre to see The Mousetrap, as you can see from the photo it's a very long running play, 52 years to be precise.

MB was lucky to make the play as she'd taken a trip in the morning on a Routemaster Bus to Paddington. These are the old double decker London buses with the open doorway in the back, much more fun. Anyway the plan was to walk back via Oxford Street but the pull of all those department stores was too much and caused a last minute panic. MB took the Tube to Leicester Square but of course couldn't find the theatre when she emerged disoriented from the underground, started asking for directions, first person she asked turned out to be a fellow Aussie, next one was a shop assistant (Polish?), MB had to find the 7 Dials, luckily the shop assistant knew where that was as she had never heard of the theatre. MB finally made with a minute to spare, bothered and breathless as the ticket stated no late entry.

The play was very charming and the performances were stellar, very polished indeed. At the end of the play the audience was implored to keep the secret of whodunnit to ensure the longevity of the show.

Rugby World Cup, France 2007

MDR is pretty chuffed as he can watch the games live without having to get up in the wee morning hours.

MB has finally booked into a live show "The Mousetrap". This live stageshow has been running continuously for 54 years!

MORE GREEN

I wonder if the locals ever get sick of all the green? Catching my breath after hiking up this grade V hill - Sir Edmund would be proud! That's the town of Dunster in the background where we stopped for a home made Exmoor Pasty and hot coffee. En route to Conygar Tower and then back to Minehead with MB. Hiked about 5 miles this day. Apart from the amazing scenery, it was great to get some private time with MB for a chat.

POST HOLIDAY DEPRESSION SYNDROME

Only back in Hong Kong for two days now and still dreaming of rural England. Was going though my photos and found this one above - by far my favorite. It's in the Exmoor forest just a few miles inland from the port town of Lynmouth.

Must have been full of Brown trout but didn't get the chance to "wet a line".

The whole Minehead, West Somerset, Exmoor area was just beautiful. Weather also was perfect and I really enjoyed the trip. I would definitely go back again.

FishWorks

Bath 20 & 21 September 07: Arrived in Bath around 2pm on 20 September and promptly visited FishWorks for lunch and enjoyed beautful fresh seafood cooked simply and properly, unfortunately their fryer was broken down so unable to sample the whitebait. Rick Stein recommends this restaurant, and the trio were not disappointed.

In fact the next day, while Grace was cramming in some more shopping, PB & MB called FishWorks to inquire as to whether the fryer was repaired. Fortunately it was so they went back for a scrumptious taramasalata and whitebait & aioli lunch. PB also sampled some Fin De Claire Oysters from France, pronounced them surperb.

Funnily enough this restaurant was not listed in any of the eating out guides at the Hotel and it was even quite difficult obtaining their telephone number, turns out their number is only listed in the fishmongers' index in the telephone directory.

Bath Water

Would you believe MB & PB each paid 50p to drink a glass of lukewarm water from the hot spring? Tasted like rotten eggs. Still waiting for the health benefits to kick in.......

City of Hot Springs

Thurs 20 Sept: The team were up bright and early for a large English breakfast at the Villa Magdala in Bath. Only a short window for brekky - 8:00am to 9:30am, MB & PB amazingly were the first starters for breakfast, however Grace needed some more sleep to fortify herself for her last shopping foray.

After breaking their fast PB & MB strolled accross the Pulteney bridge (a bridge with shops along each side, very European) to the city centre to make the 9:00am opening of the Roman Baths, again the pair were first off the starting block.

The Baths are a must see for anyone even remotely interested in history. This is a huge complex with fascinating excavations. The hot springs are still feeding the main roman bath via the roman built pipes and drains, they sure built for the long term.

Bath is a very beautiful compact city filled with Georgian sandstone buildings, lovely avenues and traditional gardens. Traffic though was chaotic and very challenging, even with the satnav. Alas the trio had to leave at 1:30pm to make it to Gatwick in time for the Hong Kong flight.

Cleve Abbey & Sour Apples

The Flab Three also visited Cleve Abbey whilst in Minehead. A 13th century monastic site, complete with Cloister buildings, one of the few sites remaining in the UK where one can see these features.

Next to the Abbey were what looked to be some abandoned apple trees laden with fruit so the team collected some likely looking apples to make an apple crumble that evening.

MB cooked them up that night but were they sour or what! Not the culinary, fresh harvested wild food delight the team were hoping for.

Minehead to Dunster Circuit

Whilst in Minehead PB & MB managed to do one of the South-West coasts walks from Minehead to the neighbouring village of Dunster, an easy five mile circuit via Conygar Tower on a small hill overlooking the village. Dunster retains it's very medieval charm with a 17th century circular yarn market in the village square. The local deli also makes a super Exmoor Pasty, highly recommended. Very lucky with the weather in Minehead, warm and sunny with only one cold, windy day while staying there.

Butlin's - Industrial Strength Holidays

This sums up for MB the major recreation at Butlin's. Perhaps a bit unfair, there are lots of kiddie activities too, mini theme park, heated pool and water slides etc.

PB remembers Butlins being featured in the 70's movie "Tommy". Judging by the size of the resort MB guesses it's a major institution in holiday making in the UK. There are hundreds of rooms, arranged in very utilitarian low rise blocks that resemble a gulag (Thanks SB). The restaurants are huge and look just like school cafeterias.

The entertainment "tent" is where it all happens, bars, clubs, pool halls, gaming machines etc. The team visited the on-site Irish pub one evening for a trivia night, however only karaoke was on offer, much to SB's delight. SB got up on stage and did a stirring rendition of Shania Twain's "Gonna Getcha" (?). The other attraction in the bar was a Maygay Poker machine, 10p wagers with the possibility of a £5 jackpot. MDR is of the opinion that all prospective male guests at Butlin's should not visit unless they have had a very close crew cut.

The timeshare apartments are a new development in one corner of the complex. The team were one of only 2 or 3 parties staying in the timeshare block, this ensured the concierge staff were extremely friendly and helpful. PB & SB borrowed a playstation and trivia quiz game with 4 handsets and the Trivia Challenge was on. MB has been the unchallenged queen for 2 years and managed to hold on to her lead by winning the first game, but was upset by SB winning the next game. SB won again the following night so the mantle has now been passed to him.

The depleted team (minus MDR & SB) decided after 5 days at Minehead to return to London via Bath, overnighting there. Grace had been there a couple times before with organised tours and declared Bath only had really boring old stuff. However she very graciously agreed that PB & MB should check it out.

Exmoor Sojourn

PB & Grace arrived in London on 10 Sep, very rested after their business class flight on startup Oasis Airlines. After a few days with MB & MDR in Bermondsey, the team, with the late addition of SB from Cologne, drove in a convoy of two rental cars to Minehead in West Somerset.

PB arranged a week in a timeshare apartment at Butlins Resort, a brand spanking new apartment on the waterfront with wrap around views of the waterfront and the pretty town of Minehead which boasts a lovely sandy beach, it could easily be a beach on the Gold Coast if it weren't so cold. The apartment was so new in fact that MB walked not once but twice into the glass sliding door to the balcony, luckily the only damage was a very embarrassed MB.

Minehead is on the fringe of Exmoor National Park and is surrounded by gorgeous small villages so lots of exploring was done. One highlight was a visit to Lynmouth (photo above is of coast near Lynmouth). This village hugs a steep cliff and some enterprising engineers in the late 1800's built a gravity fed water powered funicular railway which carries passengers 500m up a very steep traverse. No electricity or engines are used, the ultimate in eco friendly transport.

The team also loved the village of Porlock, chanced upon an antiques fair there in the local town hall. SB bought some antique postcards of his hometown in Duren. MB found a great un-PC antique postcard from Fiji showing cannibals getting some human bodies ready for the pot. Lots of loot at the fair but alas those draconian baggage restrictions mean it's impossible to buy anything.

to be continued....

Ancient Treasure

Now that the crowds are subsiding MB took the opportunity to visit the British Museum again to soak up some more history in the ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian rooms. The collections are so extensive and amazing, words and photos can not even begin to do the Museum justice.

One highlight today was seeing the Mildenhall Treasure, along with some other amazing ancient hoards discovered in Britain. One hoard found in 1992 has over 15,000 ancient coins. The Mildenhall hoard, a collection of large silver bowls and platters nearly 2000 years old, was found by a farmer in a field. He cleaned them up and put them on display on his mantlepiece, until they were spotted by an expert and eventually ended up in the British Museum. It's quite a story and even Roald Dahl has written a book about it.

MB was surprised to see some capitals (the decorative bits from the tops of columns) that were originally in the Pantheon in Rome. The Pantheon is the most complete building from antiquity still standing today. One has to feel sympathy for the claims from other countries to return antiquities, those capitals would look much better back in the Pantheon. On the other hand one has to wonder if these would have survived in the public domain to the present day if they weren't collected when they were.

Burberry Fizzer

Professional shopper Grace and MB ventured out to Hackney today in the heart of industrial East London to spend up big on Burberry classics at their factory shop. The prices weren't that competitive and neither Grace nor MB bought a thing. A resident of the tropics means MB can only buy summer clothing and not much of that on offer at all. If only Cairns had a winter, the Burberry winter gear is absolutely adorable.

FOUR FLAGGING FOODIES

The fab four (or should that be the flab four?) went out last night for dinner at a local Rotherhite restaurant called Simplicity (1 Tunnel Road, Rotherhite, SE16 4JJ, 020 7232 5174 www.simplicityrestaurants.com).

MB had spotted this relatively new place while visiting the Brunel Museum recently and we'd also heard good things from the barman next door at The Angel.

Squeezed into our good clothes and headed over to try in out. Nice cozy restaurant and a full house - bit of a surprise for a Tuesday night and probably a surprise for the one waiter. Good modern Brit food with the roast rump of Welsh lamb the standout.

By ten o'clock the team were ready to hit the sack - sadly reminding us that we are not teenagers anymore. Meal for four with a few glasses of wine came to about GBP100 - very good value I thought - and definitely would go back.

SOLAR COLLECTOR

At the Tower of London yesterday, the Yeoman guard regales the team with lots of gory stories and a few lame jokes as MDR uses his neck and the side of his face to collect some rays. MDR and PB later collapse in a heap with early stage sun stroke. Ladies cleverly use sunblock and sunglasses - items I'd never even thought of packing for a trip to the UK!

Road or Footpath?

This is one of the streets approaching our holiday rental in Bermondsey, luckily we've rented a tiny Chevy (rebadged Daewoo Matiz)! The yellow lines signify no parking.

Tower of London

The team visited the Tower today and took the tour with a Beefeater guard who very kindly welcomed us Aussies "back home". Learnt about the violent and gory history of the British monarchy, the usual tales of internecine violence that characterise these dynasties.

The highlight of this tour of course is the Crown Jewels collection, a treasure that must rival in value the entire Aussie GDP. Holiday season is over so thankfully the crowds are thinning, the Tower is a huge magnet and more or less compulsory for all visitors.

The Tower is a deceptively large complex, on the Thames, ringed by multiple walls and a large moat, very close the Tower Bridge and surrounded on 3 sides by modern London.

Amazingly fortunate so far with the weather, balmy with clear blue skies. Where's that Sherlock Holmes' pea soup fog that London is famous for?

Bartle Frere

MB & MDR stumbled on this statue of Bartle Frere today in a park near Whitehall. For the non-queenslander readers, Mt Bartle Frere is Queensland's highest mountain. Up until today had no idea that Bartle Frere was a person, hadn't given it too thought much really.

BRITISH HOSPITALITY

The team decided to head back to The Angel to double check the famed British hospitality. As you can see from the photo it passed with flying colors. GM, extreme left in the photo, gave the team some good advice: "Once you've seen one castle you've seen them all!" Now you know - see one castle and then spend the rest of your time in English pubs - we will be!

RANDOM PHOTOS

Is that dirt under your fingernails MDR?


No one was happier than Grace to find these pre-cooked chicken wings in Marks and Spencers;

Where can I find an overpriced coffee around here?

Bermondsey? Is that somewhere in France? Nope - thats our local tube station - just far enough away from the hordes of tourists and just close enough to be able to walk most places.

Not sure about the curtains in our apartment though!

These new fangled digital cameras are amazing, especially with fill in flash;

This is how the Thames looks after a few pints of cider;

EARLY START IN THE OLD DART

Trouble sleeping this morning so I make an early start with a hike along the Thames path towards Canary Wharf. Perfect weather and not missing the humidity we left behind in Hong Kong. MB does it again and secures a spectacular apartment right on the Thames with a fantastic view of the Tower Bridge.

On arrival yesterday, after a hot shower an a quick nap, we walked up to Hays galleria and scoffed some fresh oysters and a bottle of NZ Rose - an almost perfect start to the holiday. A couple of pleasant pints later at the Angel pub next door (where Captain Cook used to drink before sailing out and conquering Oz) and a roast lamb dinner back at the Riverside pad round out a great day.

Dover High Street

MB likes the simple system in the UK where the main shopping area is almost always on "The High Street", as far as she can gather every town (including the suburbs in London) has a High Street. Often when one is asking directions one will be told "it's on the High Street." More or less the centre of the universe.

Thursday 6 September MDR, GM & MB visited Dover which is a 90min drive down one of the motorways. Went in our trusty Chevy (really a rebadged Daewoo Matiz), hard for MDR to go over the speed limit, GM says the car's engine has only 3 cylinders.

MDR & GM were called the evening prior and asked to visit a prospect at the shipping terminal, so MB was plonked down in the High Street to fend for herself. Ambled around town and found the Roman Painted House, an excellent excavation with the interior plaster walls still displaying their frescoes. Only uncovered in the 1990's and one of the best surviving examples outside of Pompeii.

MB was keen to stretch her legs so hiked up a short but pretty steep trail to a disused fort called the Drop Redoubt on the Western side of town. Detoured via the local cemetery interred with many of the souls that perished in shipwrecks off the Dover coast. MB spied one other visitor in the cemetery, what looked to be an amateur photographer taking photos of tombstones, however when she walked past and greeted him, he excitedly pointed out (whispering) to MB a lizard sunning itself on a tomb. MB duly admired the tiny creature and forged on.

After grazing on wild blackberries en route MB emerged at the huge Drop Redoubt fortress and was rewarded with fantastic views, the whole town of Dover is stretched along a valley to the sea and across the eastern side is Dover Castle, a huge fortress which dominates the town. Walked around and down to a picnic area and at this point MDR called, MB was able to give MDR a street name which he typed into Darlene (satnav) and a few minutes later the Chevy chugged up the hill to meet her. Lovely weather so a perfect spot for a picnic lunch, luckily had made some roast beef and horseradish rolls in the morning, so that and a bottle of water did the team for lunch.

A trip to Dover would not be complete without a tour of Dover Castle, a huge complex on the Eastern side of Dover, overlooking the harbour. A major strategic stronghold through the ages. One could spend a whole day here and only scratch the surface. Lots of winding staircases and great views. The main castle (12th century) has massive walls up to 7m thick and the mortar in the walls is filled with what must be hundreds of thousands of flint chips which are as sharp as cut glass, a very ingenious way to prevent marauders climbing your walls.

A great day out and completely unplanned.

Capetown 2009

A very big thanks to SB for getting the ball rolling http://capetownmmix.blogspot.com/

The Pinnacle of Fan-ness

MB kept close to base today, Tube strike yesterday caused huge disruptions with tube lines still suffering big delays and the roads are bedlam. Waited until after 10am and hopped on the bus near the apartment (new digs are splendid by the way) to do some sightseeing in Greenwich which is only about 5klm away. Bus ride was nice and quick, about 15 mins.

Visited the Fan Museum, a very small and charming display in a two storey townhouse. If you ever have any questions on fans MB will be able to assist, she saw fans made of wood, tortoiseshell, paper, mother-of-pearl, slate, bamboo, fabric, ivory, whalebone and others too numerous to mention.

The volunteer chappie at the desk looked as if he had the most advanced case of elevated blood pressure I've ever seen, his face and nose were blood red, either that or his skin is transparent. Of course he was a very polite and welcoming Brit, the locals mostly are wonderfully polite and friendly.

The photo shows the gorgeous Orangery at the rear of the museum, sadly not serving meals today. The Orangery is a riot of colour, all walls and ceiling decorated with a mural by Jane Barraclough.

Also got to do a full exploration of the Greenwich Royal gardens including the woods and deer park. 24c today London so the deer weren't very active, all lolling around in the sun. There are squirrels everywhere feasting on acorns, very cute.

Returning back to the apartment at 3:45pm was a bit traumatic, the 15min bus trip took an hour. Looks as if there is a trip to Dover tomorrow, MDR has to do an ad hoc sales trip. The white cliffs beckon.

A Very Nice Drop

It would take a couple of lifetimes to sample everything that's on offer drinkwise in the UK. MB isn't much of a drinker but has been known not to refuse a glass of cider. She has just discovered Pear Cider and is hooked, the fragrance and taste of pear in this cider (made in Sweden) is completely beguiling.

New word for the day "BOGOF" buy one get one free. Just heard this on a report bemoaning the drinking culture in Scotland on BBC radio.

Cabin Fever

MDR & MB have been in London for two weeks now, staying in a very small hotel room and starting to get severe case of cabin fever... Didn't even have a fridge in the room until a couple of days ago. Anyway enough complaining, they are not hanging around the in the room all day, too busy out and about. The Hilton does a great breakfast buffet too! Salvation is at hand today though as the pair have found a serviced apartment nearby and are checking out of the Hilton Docklands. Looking forward to cooking some typical British produce in the apartment, no chips!

Yesterday MB visited Somerset House to see the Gilbert Collection. She read about it in one of the London newspapers, there is some controversy as this museum is having trouble attracting visitors. Sure enough it was very quiet, MB only spied one other visitor while she was there. It houses some fantastic collections, the Gilbert Collection in particular was privately owned but bequested to Somerset House from a British expatriate collector who lived in the USA. MB even had a tour guide for part of the time, the chap who sold her an entry ticket, he was very friendly and loved telling her all about the pieces, it was good as MB got to see things she wouldn't have otherwise noticed. This collection has got be worth more than the entire GDP of Australia, it was astonishing, a huge amount of silver & gold gilt and solid gold ware, including two solid silver sets, with gold gilding, of full size gates from a monastery in Kiev. There was also a huge collection of very rare snuff boxes, micro mosiac artworks and incredibly ornate furniture inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones. Not allowed to take photos there so website link if you are interested: http://www.gilbert-collection.org.uk/.

MB also spotted the home of Twinings Tea in the city yesterday, it's a tiny little shop on the Strand, see photo attached. The shop is hardly more than the width of the double entry doors! However when you enter the shop does go back quite a way. Very charming indeed.

Giant Budgie Spotted at Kew Gardens

Good weather today in London so MB visited Kew Gardens. After carefully studying the bus and tube routes, she decided to take the bus from outside the hotel direct to Victoria station then hop on the train to Kew Gardens. This plan came unstuck however at Victoria underground station, on arriving MB found it was closed for the weekend. Lots of stranded commuters milling around but buses had been put on to replace the train services. MB then had to fight through the crowds to get to a bus for Earls Court tube station, the bus inched along through traffic jams, however it was a good chance for sightseeing, went through the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, saw Harrods and Sloane Square, a complete contrast to East London where MB is holed up, like going from the 3rd world to first world, just by crossing the Thames.

The train from Earls Court was a cinch and in no time MB was in tranquil Kew, with the gardens’ entrance about 200m from the station. These 132ha gardens are the grounds of Kew Palace, which MB understands is no longer occupied and are nearly a haven, being under the Heathrow flight path means a continuous stream of jets overhead. The grounds are dotted with splendid trees and themed areas such as a Japanese garden, pinetum, coppice, a badger sett, woodlands – where I spotted the Giant Ground Budgie, hothouses, etc. etc. There is a fee to visit the gardens which means they don’t become so crowded which is a big plus.
When MB was leaving she got bailed up by an African family dressed to the nines, asking if she’d seen a wedding pavilion. MB replied in the negative but also mentioned the gardens are so huge she could easily have missed it! Beautiful day for a wedding. Return journey by train, no planning just got on the first train at Kew Gardens station and changed at the first station that crossed the Jubilee Line, much quicker getting back.

Landmark day today for MDR, the ferries arrived and were offloaded without incident.

Roman London

MB caught the tube today to Liverpool St to visit the London Museum and the Guildhall Museum. The crumbling wall in the photo is a remnant of the old Roman Wall built in around 200AD. MB would not have found this fascinating site without the help of an excellent Roman London walk downloaded from the BBC website.

The Guildhall Musuem has an amazing art collection and in the basement they have excavated the foundations of a Roman ampitheatre, complete with wooden drains, amazing that the timber has survived nearly 2000 years.

Even more amazing is the fact that the many Roman ruins were only uncovered after the blitz in WWII. The London Musuem also has a fantastic collection Roman artifacts, including some beautiful examples of Roman mosaics, glassware and a complete limestone crypt with a lead coffin. The quality and workmanship has to be seen to be believed.

Last stop was a walk through Spitalfields Markets, lots of interesting antiques stalls, even saw one selling Roman iron signet rings found with a metal detector. Have to wonder though if these are genuine as the seller claims...

Tower of London from Tower Bridge

Yet to see the Crown Jewels, but a visit to the Tower is definitely on the list. Just waiting for the crowds to die down a bit, time is a luxury we're fortunate to have. August is the height of the tourist season and summer school holidays in London, so if you don't get there early don't bother going, unless you enjoy queues. The queue outside the nearby London Dungeon was over 100m long, imagine how it'd be if you were in one of those queues with your kids, nightmarish.

Yesterday was spent looking for a self-contained apartment, once we'd walked across the Tower Bridge, after MDR was told his boss' flat in Westminster wouldn't be available. Self-catering holiday flats are as rare as hen's teeth in London, found a few on the web and decided to inspect two properties, one did not seem to have any on-site manager (still waiting for them to return our call too). The other in Southwark was fine, 150 quid per night, but didn't commit to anything and after some more concerted web surfing found a website that let out privately owned apartments in various locations for short terms. Luckily we found one apartment in a street close to Rotherhithe. It's a larger apartment on the Thames, cheaper too and we've been able to book it from next week, hallelujah brudder!

One of our stops in the quest for the SC flat was a visit to the official London Tourist Information Centre in Regent Street, after fighting the wall to wall crowds we finally made it to this centre, which has an accommodation booking service. When we asked for an SC flat, the Lazy Harridan at the counter asserted that London doesn't have this sort of accommodation, as most folks are only here for short stays and hotel rooms are much better. After some prodding she made a phone call and managed to get a quote for a property in Kensington, which surprised her no end. As this was out of the way for us we asked for other options, but that was it, no other SC holiday flats exist. Complete waste of time going there.

On another note London is gearing up for the 10 year anniversary of the death of Princess Di on 31 August. The media are having a field day, newspapers printing 10 page supplements and getting their knickers in a knot over Camilla's decision not attend the memorial service, she's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't.

Serenity meets Industry

Visited Morden Hall Park today, a lovely National Trust property in South London. After the obligatory couple of kilometres being lost we eventually found the entrance, once inside we were in another world of beautiful grounds, babbling brooks and fragrant beds of roses.

Finally saw some other folks eating blackberries today (there are wild blackberries everywhere which seem to be totally ignored by the locals), when we got closer we discovered they were fellow tourists, Japanese to boot.

After walking through the grounds and the small farm of this rural idyll, we exited into an ugly industrial area, quite a rude shock after the serenity of the park.

To get to this property we took the tube from Elephant & Castle Tube Station, which we reached by bus. The area surrounding this station is really reminiscent of a ghetto, lots of grotty buildings with garage doors protecting grimy little shopfronts and lots of guys loping around in hoodys. Don't think we'll be rushing back there anytime soon.

The Beginning of Time

MB has done it again, upsetting her fellow tourists by straddling the GMT Meridian to get this photo, you can just see her volleys at the top of the pic. MB thought the group of Asian tourists standing on the Line were there for a photo, turns out they were queuing up to get a photo in front of the sculpture at the end of the Meridian Line, then MB shambles over and queue jumps to take this shot. MB was duly ticked off by a feisty Irish visitor, however, after jostling the crowds all day MB confesses she was actually pretty pleased with herself, finally getting the upper hand - shocking attitude really...

MB & MDR chose the Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend to visit the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, along with about half a million others. The observatory overlooks very expansive grounds and some very majestic naval buildings on the Thames waterfront. The grounds were packed with frolicking folk enjoying the late summer sun.

After a powernap on the lawn the duo returned to their hotel via the pedestrian tunnel which goes under the Thames across to the area west of Canary Wharf, from there they walked the Thames path to the wharf and caught a ferry back to their hotel opposite Canary Wharf.

Dinner last night was in Chinatown, this meant a tube trip into Leicester Square. Finding Chinatown from the tube station was a real challenge, ended up in Soho, eventually stumbed onto the entrance to Chinatown before MDR & MB came to blows, both frazzled and hungry by this time. An Asahi beer and an iced green tea in a funkly little Japanese restaurant restored both to good spirits.

Windsor Castle

MDR & MB took the train from Waterloo to Windsor today to visit Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle, the longest continuously occupied castle in the world. Needless to say this very imposing castle, which dominates the small village of Windsor, is spectacular, surrounded by beautiful green parklands and containing priceless art and plunder. Yes you read correctly, plunder, from vanquished states, mostly in India. The standout for MB was a massive solid gold Tiger's head.

After touring the castle it was decided to visit the giftshop for some postcards. Airline luggage restrictions preclude the Aussie tourists from buying anything substantial. Inside the giftshop MB took a photo of MDR then was pounced on by a surly sales assistant who demanded immediate deletion of the photo due to copyright restrictions and the fact that it was a charitable organisation, she then flounced off before MB could delete the photo (above).

The very charming small village of Windsor which is so quintessentially English was teeming with tourists, reminded MB of Kuranda. Did a walk through the High Street then down to the Thames River, which is much smaller and calmer by the time it reaches Windsor and very picturesque with the white swans following the tourists for food. Windsor is a great day trip from London, approx. 50 minutes by train, highly recommended.

Bank Holiday Weekend coming up so the roads will be chaos, might be best to hang out in London this weekend.

Living off the Land in Rotherhithe

Free day for MDR as ferry delivery now delayed to 30 August.

Decided to explore the neighbourhood and check out the nearby Brunel Museum. Brunel was the engineer who oversaw the construction of the world's first tunnel under a river bed, the Rotherhithe tunnel under the Thames, in the early 1800's. The museum was very small but lively with a boisterous group of school children on holidays doing some sort of extra-curricular activities. The curator was very friendly in a sort of British boffin way.

From the museum we spotted a very charming pub, the Mayflower. On checking found they had a great lunch menu so we ordered a drink and sat down in our snug. Just wanted a light lunch so ordered sandwiches. MB's roast beef on grain bread turned out to be made with slices over 2cm thick and served with mounds of salad, coleslaw and chips, absolutely massive. The rare roast beef with horseradish was superb.

From the Mayflower we ambled up to the local shops, passed Michael Caine's childhood home too. At the local shopping centre a group of three young girls approached us and asked if we could spare them some change for a drink, a very Dickensian moment.

Then the weather started closing in so it was time get back to the hotel. However with the circuitious streets it was hard to know which ones to take to get back, we saw a little hill so up we went. From there we decided to cut through a remnant of woodland as it seemed to be in the general direction. Luckily we found some volunteers doing some good works, asked them for help but they had to get their guru to give us directions. One bonus of going through the woodland was the blackberries, loads of wild ripe berries growing everywhere, a real treat, could be an option when we run of cash in this very expensive city. Some photos on Flickr

The Eagle has Landed

Landed in London late Monday after a chockfull Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong. Our minicab driver (reminded me of Arthur from Minder) gave us a cooks tour of London on the way to the hotel in the docklands. After some bangers and mash in house and a few lagers for MDR the dynamic duo collapsed in a heap. Time clocks are a bit out of whack, both up before 5am each morning so far. Both had a laugh when reading a welcome email from SB at 5am this morning, when SB expressed the hope that jetlag wasn't too much of a problem.

MB's first day exploring London via Thames Clippers to the Embankment, when disembarking encountered Cleopatra's Needle guarded by two sphinxes (as per photo). MB succumbed to some retail therapy, who could resist the shops in London? Then some culture at the British Museum, going to have to go back a few times to take it all in.

Bargain of the day was some absolutely fabulous fresh strawberries and raspberries for sale at the Embankment Tube station, £2.70 for both. So far the only thing that's cheaper than in OZ.... MDR has a free day today so will be doing the tourist thing today.

The Cult of the Amateur

MB has just read the very thought provoking New Media article from last Sunday's SMH Spectrum supplement. Rather discouraging to a simple blogger, however MB does feel empathy with Andrew Keen. Isn't this just another symptom of the universal "dumbing down" of every facet of our day to day lives?
We are all, generally, enjoying amazing prosperity with the cult of the celebrity seemingly the pinnacle we all aspire to. The raft of so called reality TV programs is one pointer to this. In reality these programs couldn't be further from the truth, composed and edited to suit some mediocre producer, media company as well as the advertisers who are spruiking stuff we don't need.
Our culture seems to have developed to a point where one is not required to take responsibility for one's actions. This has seeped into our education system and many of our young people are graduating basically as "airheads", those folk who believe that if it's on television, the internet, or published in print, it must be true.
On a day to day basis one is confronted with colleagues, public servants, retail staff etc. who have very little understanding of what they're doing and even worse, so oblivious they don't know their shortcomings and their effect on the rest of us.
Amazingly though the airheads stumble along, no matter how inefficient or inept they are, due is no small part, MB feels, to our relative prosperity. Can't wait for the wheel to turn.......

Freaky Fungi

For some unknown reason MB is always fascinated with the fungi that grows on dead trees. She spotted a fallen log this morning at Mt Whitfield that had at least 3 different varieties of fungi growing on it, one colourful variety was nearly as bright as dayglo orange. If only we could grow that other dead wood loving fungus, shiitake, in our climate, alas too hot in FNQ for this delicacy.

Tour de Taste

Luckily someone in the MB household is interested in sport. MDR has been following the Tour de France on our excellent multicultural TV station, SBS. This same network sent Gabriel Gate, one of MB's food heroes, over to France where Gabriel presented regionally themed food segments for each stage of the TDF. Naturally MB missed all of this on the telly but SBS have very thoughtfully published all of the segments on the net. Well worth a look, very comprehensive with vodcasts and recipes.

Highlights of MB's week so far: MB found some Japanese men's deodorant whilst spring cleaning youngest son's abandoned bedroom. This amazing product claims 'sterilization' as one if it's key benefits. Wonder if this is affecting the birth rate in Japan?

Another highlight - only 2 more days to go at work, then two month's holiday. Other good news is that the latest blood test was done at the wrong time of day, MB is getting another test to hopefully eliminate the adrenal issue that MB's GP referred her to a specialist for.

Sunday morning MDR & MB did the Red Arrow walk at Mt Whitfield, then dropped in for another backyard blitz session at FBD's, training her on the whipper snipper, then all hands on deck for some earthworks to convert a disused garden bed back to lawn. So much easier doing these jobs in the relative cool of winter in the Tropics.

Sunday lunch was steak sandwiches with fresh rocket from the garden and caramelised onions. The steak was the tail end of a 6.7kg Teys Bros grain fed rump MB picked up during the week. MDR then succumbed to a snooze session on the sofa.

Otherwise MB is rather preoccupied with planning for a one month stay in London with MDR, who is travelling there to supervise offloading and commissioning of the rivercats on the Thames. It would be very fair to say that MB is tremendously enthusiastic about her first trip to the UK, really her head is spinning with the excitement of it all.