Category Archives: Local Culture

A Feast of Birds

Posted on March 31, 2020 by

Galahs, of the blushing, watermelon-pink breasts, squawk and gnaw at the bark of grey-skinned gums The neighbour’s palomino pigeons swoop and loop like fighter pilots in formation, banking through a hair’s breadth between branches Down below, the diminutive and dainty … Continue reading →

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Shoo fly, don’t bother me!

Posted on March 15, 2020 by

‘Flies are of course always irksome, but the Australian variety distinguishes itself with its very particular persistence. If an Australian fly wants to be up your nose or in your ear, there is no discouraging him. Flick at him as … Continue reading →

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‘You’re the avocado to my toast!’

Posted on March 7, 2020 by

“Truthfully this is one ‘recipe’ … I make and eat most often! … It’s the holy trinity of Vegenaise, avocado and salt that makes this like a favorite pair of jeans — so reliable and easy and always just what … Continue reading →

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Recapturing Charmian

Posted on February 4, 2020 by

In 1964, the Australian born writers Charmian Clift and George Johnson returned to Sydney with their three children after fifteen years abroad. Over the next five years, Clift would write more than 250 essays for The Sydney Morning Herald and … Continue reading →

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RIP Carlos Celdran

Posted on October 12, 2019 by

It was with real sadness that I read the news of the death of Carlos Celdran in Madrid this week. As the story broke, there was recognition and regret on the Facebook page of every friend I had in Manila, … Continue reading →

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Burnt Toast

Posted on August 26, 2019 by

‘My mother burns toast as surely as the sun rises each morning… I am nine now and I have never seen butter without black bits in it.’ ~ Nigel Slater The Other Palace is a terrific little theatre only a … Continue reading →

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Glorious Gardens

Posted on June 16, 2019 by

Spring is rolling into summer, and although the weather may not be participating, the fields and hedgerows are lush and green – even more so, perhaps, thanks to days of heavy rain. It wasn’t exactly what we were expecting though, … Continue reading →

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A Few of My Favourite Things

Posted on May 27, 2019 by

It sometimes happens that the town child is more alive to the fresh beauty of the country than a child who is country born. ~ Beatrix Potter I first came across Hannah Dale’s designs in a National Trust shop and … Continue reading →

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The Glories of Garlic

Posted on May 20, 2019 by

“Garlic used as it should be used is the soul, the divine essence, of cookery. The cook who can employ it successfully will be found to possess the delicacy of perception, the accuracy of judgment, and the dexterity of hand … Continue reading →

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Contemplating Island Life

Posted on April 17, 2019 by

“Nights and days came and passed, and summer and winter and the rain. And it was good to be a little Island. A part of the world, and a world of its own, all surrounded by the bright blue sea.” ~ Margaret Wise Brown, The Little … Continue reading →

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