

Christmas was, Christmas is ...
"We've reached the most wonderful time of year" Coles Magazine "Christmas magic exists in the little things doesn't it?" Woolworths...
Dec 18, 2023


Pictures, words, irritations and detours
“A picture is a poem without words.” Horace Today's post was going to be a riff on this painting, which turned up on my desk calendar...
Nov 27, 2023


Should I wear a bib?
"Life's too short to worry about what other people think" This week one pair of trousers has been washed twice because I spilt some food...
Nov 24, 2023


The food curriculum - Literature
"Literature is the thought of thinking souls. Thomas Carlyle I chose the picture above as my pictorial hook for two reasons. The first...
Nov 23, 2023


The passing of friends - and time
"Our friends - how distant, how mute, how seldom visited and little known. And I, too, am dim to my friends and unknown; a phantom,...
Nov 8, 2023


An unexpected delight
"God bless the French lunch hour." Elizabeth David A lucky dip. Elizabeth David's book of essays and writings from here and there, An...
Nov 5, 2023


Views, lunch, wine, friends ...
reflections on a day out in Nillumbik Nillumbik is the name of our Shire - the local council area. In the bottom corner is where we are...
Oct 15, 2023


Apples from Winton
"Passing time adds false memories and modifies real ones." Stephen King Eons ago I studied geography as one of my three A-level subjects....
Oct 13, 2023


I forgot to take any photos
“Today everything exists to end in a photograph.” Susan Sontag At about the point that all the food had been eaten at yesterday's family...
Oct 9, 2023


A photograph
"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." Dorothea Lange My Art desk calendar, today turned up this...
Sep 25, 2023


Life, the universe and everything on your plate
"Food is never just something to eat." Margaret Visser This plate is some 5000 years old. It's from ancient, ancient Egypt and depicts...
Sep 24, 2023


Cabbage rolls from long ago
Once upon a time I sat in this very spot and gazed upon the Mostar bridge. Well I am 90% certain it was in this spot - although, when I...
Sep 20, 2023


To keep or not to keep
"what's interesting to you isn't necessarily interesting to a reader." Mitch Albom I don't know whether it's COVID or whether it's just...
Sep 17, 2023


Morning sickness
“Early to bed and early to rise, enhances your standing in everyone’s eyes.” The Guardian When I say 'morning sickness' I do not mean...
Sep 5, 2023


Bitter sweet - chocolate mousse memories
"No matter how many new desserts come along, the classic chocolate mousse is rarely met with anything but delight." Nigel Slater This is...
Aug 30, 2023


Weight - why do I care?
“To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.” Simone de Beauvoir This is me - in my late twenties I think, in...
Aug 25, 2023


When a guru disappoints
'if you follow a recipe carefully and end up with a disappointing result, then it’s bound to be offputting.” Charlotte Pike It's a guru...
Aug 18, 2023


Small beer
Small beer - "something that does not seem important when compared to something else" Cambridge English Dictionary Apologies for being so...
Aug 13, 2023


Best - who says?
"Best - "of the most excellent type or quality"; "giving most pleasure, happiest"; "most suitable or appropriate" Oxford Advanced...
Jul 25, 2023


Lucky number 7
“Seven is the only number among those we can count on our hands (1-10) that cannot be divided or multiplied within the group ... the only...
Jul 17, 2023

