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.

Pork & Lentils Brittany Style

One of our most popular family meals which was passed down to MDR from his Grandmere:

375 Grams Brown Lentils (the French Puy Lentils are the nicest)
500 Grams chopped pork trimmed of all fat (better to use cheaper cuts)
750 ml Tomato puree
1 Large Onion, finely chopped
4 Carrots, peeled and chopped
2-4 Litres Chicken stock
Bouquet Garni - preferably fresh Lemon Thyme/Parsley/Celery leaves
Pepper to taste

Wash the lentils, no need to soak. Melt off some of the pork fat, brown the chopped pork, add chopped onions and carrots, fry until golden.

Add the Stock, Tomato Puree, Bouquet Garni and Lentils and bring to a simmer. Add some pepper to taste.

Simmer and leave covered for around 60-90 minutes adding stock or water as needed to keep it similar to a casserole consistency. Do not add salt until just prior to serving. Ready to serve when the lentils are soft. Bon Appetit.

At last a movie about a Font!

MB heard recently, via an ABC Radio podcast, of a new movie length documentary about the Helvetica font. From the amount of people who use that most ugly of fonts, which is also the default Microsoft font, Times New Roman, MB is fairly certain this new movie is not going to be a blockbuster. It does appear worth a look though even if you're vaguely interested in design and the evolution of typefaces.

Millaa Millaa

Trawling through some recent photos MB rediscovered her shot of "one of the most photographed statues on the entire Tablelands", according to the http://www.athertontablelands.com.au/pages.asp?code=78 website.

Not quite sure what it represents but I guess it gets folks a wondering?

Wacky Wynnum

Mr & Mrs MB spent Easter in the big smoke at Brisvegas, in the lovely bayside environs of Wynnum, home to countless Fish & Chip shops, Op Shops, Real Estate Agencies and Finance Brokers. According to the locals Wynnum also hosts a complex housing de-institutionalised psychiatric patients, perhaps that's why it's still a sleepy, undeveloped backwater? Seriously though the Wynnum area is very charming and relatively quiet, a very nice little getaway, and the weather has been superb, cold nights and fresh sea breezes during the day, perfect walking weather.

The One that got away

The great white hunter, MDR, became the hunted today, set upon by two tiger sharks whilst spearfishing near Arlington Reef off Cairns. More precisely his Fishski was set upon, the Fishski is MDR's floating catch receptacle which must be quite irresistible to the sharks, a mesh bag hanging off a float with gore from dead fish oozing out into the water, just like burley really.
Fortunately the sharks didn't actually attack MDR and he was able to escape unscathed, albeit with a smaller catch and a lower ranking in the spearfishing competition.
MB declared that MDR is grounded from now on, of course MDR is studiously ignoring this plea from his beloved.

Siege Central

MB had a close shave at lunchtime today in the Cairns CBD. At midday she went to a shop in the city mall which is 2 blocks from the office, on the way back she stopped in at Beethoven's in Grafton St for an air dried beef sandwich on rye (best in town).
The street at this stage was blocked off with Police stationed at each intersection, then some ambulances turned up, then more police arrived and started barricading part of the street. A staffmember at Beethoven's told MB there was siege happening over the road.
Just before 1pm MB returned to work, just at the end of the block, but had to walk a long way around as the street was blocked. Not long after this police were fanning out even further and wouldn't allow us to even leave our offices. Two of our staff members at lunch couldn't return so ended up going home.
The guys in the office heard a gunshot while I was out but I missed that. Turned out to be a disgruntled constitutent bailing up a defenceless female staffmember at the Member for Cook's office, the MP happened to be away. The poor woman, must have been unimaginably terrifying for her. The siege lasted approximately 3 hours with the DC giving himself up quietly to the Police.

Success

Phew! The birthday cake turned out pretty good. Ran out of red dye so the red coloured frosting was more like pink, but it was Sunday so no chance to run around finding more dye. MDR was a tremendous help, MB would have been lost without him. He cut the cake to plan and was a gem at doing the licorice outlines. One of the guests at the party was admiring the cake and asked what MB & MDR planned for next year's party, MDR responded with "I'll be in Tassie". Eljay had a ball, but couldn't quite get the hang of the Pass the Parcel game!

Party Flurry

MB managed to escape from the kitchen to report on this weekend's momentous event, the first birthday of the Little Prince Eljay. FBD has organised a beach party on Sunday afternoon at Clifton Beach and requested a Tonka Truck cake from Granny MB. Cool Cat MDR weighed in and drew up an actual size plan, the first version of which would have meant the cake was going to be nearly a metre wide. After some vigorous discussion MDR retreated to draw up second version no wider than his briefcase, Tonka Truck Mark II. All agreed the new version was very nice and perfectly proportioned. Now the challenge is on to cut and decorate the three slabs of cake cooked so far so it does actually look like a truck. Little Eljay of course is completely oblivious to the fact that he is going to be the centre of attention and showered with gifts tomorrow. Party games such as Pass the Parcel are being arranged, FBD is of the opinion that the games should be rigged so each one of the littlies wins a prize. Ruthless MB wants to leave all that to fate and chance. It's been raining all week, hope the weather Gods are kind tomorrow.

The Brains Trust

World's dumbest Phishers:
------------------------------------------------------------

From: Westpack Online

Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 10:37 AM

Subject: Westpack Online Statement Notification

Dear Value Customer,

Westpack Internet Banking, is here by announcing the New Security Upgrade. We've upgraded our new SSL servers to serve our customers for a better and secure banking service,against any fraudulent activities. Due to this recent upgrade, you are requested to update your account information by following the reference below.

Click the link below.*
http://www.http:/ www.westpack.co.nz/secure/update/ssl.cfm
Regards Westpack Bank, N.A. and its affiliates.

Local Councillor Initiative

Just received this in the snail mail post this morning, very proactive of our local Councillor.

PIM Software

MB just has to vent about Outlook, seemingly the world's most used but distressingly unfriendly personal information management software. MB struggles daily with this inflexible, time wasting software at work. Using it for email is fine, but utilising it's other features is ageing MB prematurely, it's a complete WOFTAM. Give me Time and Chaos any day, it's quick, nimble, feature rich, and anyone can learn it in a couple of minutes.

HOT Coffee Please

Two months since the last post... Unforgiveable. MB's only excuse is being too stretched since agreeing to work full time until June and working at a screen all day is not conducive to interacting with the PC after hours.

MB and first born daughter dropped into Target today during their lunch hour to check out what all the fuss was about with the new Stella McCartney fashions in store. Nice gear if you are an anorexic size 8 and 6 feet tall. MB did manage to find a silk scarf as well as a t-shirt that might fit, if it doesn't she can auction it off on Ebay.

After the rummaging amongst the racks a flat white was in order. FBD kindly went to order them so her elderly Mummy could rest. FBD remembered to ask for hot coffee, to which the Crunchie* behind the counter responded with the bleeding obvious "Our coffee is always hot". FBD then asked again if the Crunchie could make sure the coffee was extra-hot, as that's how Mum likes it. The Crunchie replies, "Oh OK, a lot of OLD people ask for that." After all that sparring with the Crunchie the coffee was only just hot.
*Crunchie - Blond on the inside, brown outside.

Colleagues Only

MB's other half, MDR, is commuting to Brisvegas every two weeks or so to supervise a rather large project. He is spending more and more time there so his employer has rented a 2 bedroom apartment in a holiday rental complex for use by MDR and any other staff travelling to Brisbane.
MDR moved in recently and the next day another colleague, Gary, travelled down. Being newly arrived they had to pop out for some supplies and when both colleagues returned to the apartment laden with shopping bags, their neighbour who happened by introduced herself and MDR's first line to the neighbour was "We're Not a Couple!"
MB can just imagine the neighbour cynically thinking "Sure, sure, why be so defensive about it." Whenever MDR & MB see same sex couples in holiday precincts this is honestly the first thing they both think.
PS Just love Blues' comment about regurgitating the MB family, had all of the MBs chuckling merrily away. MB wishes she could be half as witty as him.

Yikes

The MB family were jolted out of their soporific holiday mood today with this gruesome discovery in the backyard. That's right, it's a snake skin draped along the top of the fence, left there courtesy of one quite large python. Brother of MB thinks the skin has been put there to stage this shot. You can rest assured this snake skin has been untouched by human hands and besides it has hordes of green ants swarming all over it, these ants pack a nasty bite.
Just last week our local newspaper featured a story of 3 pythons ravaging a chicken coup, feasting on around 25 chickens over a short period of time. They were caught in the chicken coop after swallowing a few too many chickens, this increased their girth, making them too wide to escape through the hole they made to get in.
The MB family will be making sure the house is in complete lockdown every night with absolutely no chinks for the pythons to slip through.

The Gift that keeps on Giving

MB received her first edition of The New Yorker on 2nd Jan, the Winter Fiction issue. What an absolute delight with it's unique cover art and a veritable feast of reading. MB is very grateful to youngest son for the one year's subscription. She still can't believe she only discovered this wonderful magazine in 2006! Just goes to show there is so much out there still awaiting discovery.