Imagine, it is the 1930s and you are a mother. Times are really hard, your family seem to be living on the chokos from the vine over the outdoor dunny and you don't have a lot of money. You have to mend and make do with everything you can. Old shirts, worn out sheets, skirts with holes in them, even the sacks you buy flour in can all be cut down and sewn into all sorts of things, a dolly for your daughters birthday, a new shirt for your son, a quilt for the bed. You have been working on putting little patches leftover from other projects together into squares. You think it will make a nice quilt, mainly in shades of blue.
Continue reading "They're So Fine - Depression Quilt Patches" »
This week, with Australia Day just behind us, Roy wanted to visit somewhere important in Australia's early history. There were plenty of choices of places to visit, but Roy wanted one which not only was important, but which his online friends might visit without realising its history. We discussed a number of places, but Roy was all for the beach, despite the recent soggy weather, and so I suggested Camp Cove. He thought this was a great idea. Even the weather was perfect!
If you would like to visit Camp Cove it is located on inner South Head near Watsons Bay. You can stop to see The Gap on the way, and perhaps even try the famous Doyles fish and chips. There is also a kiosk at Camp Cove beach where you can buy drinks and ice creams. On a nice day, parking can be difficult to find, so be prepared to walk a little to get to the beach. There is a monument in the park above Camp Cove to mark this first, important visit to the Cove, and Roy and I are sitting on it in the photo above.
Camp Cove may be a popular beach today, but it is also a very important place in the history of Australia. Originally it was used by the Cadigal (Gadigal) people as a place to launch their canoes and camp. There was a fresh water pool behind the beach, which Roy thinks was probably in this little park we found, and there was easy access to the harbour waters which made it a perfect place to live. In fact, some people think that the Cadigal name for Camp Cove was Cadi, and that this is where the name Cadigal comes from, though this is controversial. It was to be a place where some of the earliest interactions between Aboriginal and European Australians occurred though.
On January 21, 1788, after declaring Botany Bay unfit for settlement, Captain Phillip sailed around South Head into what was to be called Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour). The first place he landed was in Camp Cove. At the time is was nearly dark, and the cove with its freshwater pool provided a good place to make camp. This was the first landing of the First Fleet in Australia, and the camp set up in the area is why the cove is now known as Camp Cove. Although the settlement didn't stay in Camp Cove, it was often revisited by people who came on the First Fleet. In fact, only 2 days after the settlement at Sydney Cove was declared, Bradley and Hunter returned to Camp Cove where they met with the local Aborigines. This meeting was described as 'cordial' by Bradley and Hunter, but later meetings were not to go so smoothly. In March, David Collins met with another group of Aborigines who were much more unwilling to approach. When he finally encouraged one of the men to approach he discovered that he had been beaten and hurt by escaped convicts or sailors. Later still, in July, Bradley revisted Camp Cove again and found Aborigines in bad health, starving, fearful and hostile towards the Europeans. If you would like to read more about Camp Cove, click here.
This week, Roy decided that he wanted to make something patriotic for Australia Day. One of Roy's friends was telling him about her Mother and the dinner parties she used to hold. She remembered her Mother serving a fruit soup as one of the courses, and wondered if Roy had a recipe for one. Fruit soups are a little out of fashion as an entree at the moment, but in Summer they are really very refreshing. This one is a variation on an old SPC recipe and uses peach and raspberry flavours, and if you like you can add a dollop of vanilla icecream to turn it into a light dessert. The Peach and Raspberry combination are like the famous Peach Melba flavours, a dessert which commemorates the famous Australian Opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba. So this week, Roy Creates Peach Melba Soup.
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Imagine, you are a convict, recently arrived in Australia. The colony is not very old yet, and you know there will be a lot of work to come, making the buildings which will be needed. You were amazed to be singled out from the convicts to help plan the new buildings which will be needed to make the colony great, but you were one of only a few who knew how to use a pen well. They have even give you access to drafting equipment and the best drafting pen you think you have ever used!
Continue reading "It Looks Like A Torture Thing - Drafting Pen" »
This week, Roy decided he wanted to head towards the Blue Mountains for his weekly outing. The weather has been very changeable recently, and he is finding the hot weather, after the cold days hard to deal with, so escaping the heat in the cool mountain air sounded perfect to him! He loves the Blue Mountains, and knows lots of his online friends also enjoy the area. There are many popular tourist destinations to see, but there are also fascinating places to visit which are less well known, like the lily pond which is beside the Great Western Highway.
Continue reading "Roaming Roy Gets Wet Feet - Blue Mountains Lily Pond" »
Recently, Roy has been really craving a good fruit sauce for icecream. He loves fruit sauces and one of his favourite desserts is Peach Melba, but he didn't have the time to make a real Melba Sauce, or indeed have any peaches on hand. His Grandma reminded him of a Mock Melba Sauce she has in her cookbook, and suggested that we could try making that as we had all the ingredients on hand. She suggested the recipe would work with any flavoured jam, but we decided to go with the classic Melba flavour first - raspberry. Roy thought the sauce was fantastic on icecream so this week Roy Creates Mock Melba Sauce.
Imagine, it is the 1960s and you are a child. It is your Birthday today, and you have almost finished unwrapping all your presents. This last one, from your Uncle, is very small, but his smile suggests it will be awesome. You had asked for a robot, but you know you probably won't get it - they are very expensive after all. When you unwrap your last present though, you are thrilled to see a tiny robot. It is the smallest you've ever seen, and so clever the way its arms wind it up.
This week, Roy decided it was time for another picnic. He had made sausage rolls on Friday and had a few leftover. Cold sausage rolls are something which Roy thinks make perfect picnic food, so now we just needed to think of somewhere to go to eat them! Roy has been really interested in Scheyville National Park for some time. We drive past regularly on our way to various places, and once we even drove in to have a peek. There were lots of historic buildings around, and Roy just knew it must have a fascinating history. So this week, he decided to find out more and have a picnic at Scheyville.
Continue reading "Roaming Roy Marches Through History - Scheyville National Park" »
This week, Roy had a craving which simply had to be met. Roy adores his Grandma's Sausage Rolls, and felt that they were going to be a perfect dinner. Her sausage rolls were an invention many years ago, when one of her children wouldn't eat vegetables. She became very crafty at hiding them, and managed to pack a whopping 5 different vegetables into her sausage rolls - all of them masquerading as 'herbs'. They were a complete success and children love them! When Roy asked if she would make them for him, she told him she would teach him and allow him to put it up online. So this week, Roy Creates Grandma's Hide And Seek Sausage Rolls.
Continue reading "Roy Creates Grandma's Hide And Seek Sausage Rolls" »
Imagine, you are living in Germany. Near where you live, you know there was once a Roman settlement and one of your favourite things to do is wander out into the fields to see if you can find any evidence they left behind. Occasionally you discover a coin or a piece of pottery, but your favourite things to discover are the pieces of Samian Ware. With their vivid colour and beautiful decoration, you always feel you have discovered something treasured when you turn one up in the earth.
