The Tingle Factor Box

Roy Creates Yummy Ginger Slice

This week Roy wanted to make something for his Grandpa, who just loves ginger. He went searching for an interesting recipe to try, and decided to check out an old cookbook he had recently been given. When he stumbled across a recipe for ‘ginger slice’, he thought this might be perfect, so gave it a try. The results were delicious, a cakey slice with ginger and lemon flavouring, so he thought he would share the recipe. So this week, Roy Creates Yummy Ginger Slice.

You Will Need:

• 4 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons of margarine
• 1 tablespoon of golden syrup
• 1 cup of self raising flour
• ½ cup of dessicated coconut
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• Lemon icing

Method:

• Line a lamington tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180 degrees
• Beat together the sugar and egg

• Melt together the margarine and golden syrup. Roy did this in the microwave, but keep an eye on it, as it will melt quickly
• Add a little of the hot margarine mix to the egg and sugar mix, stirring quickly to stop it from cooking. Then pour the rest of the margarine into the egg and sugar, still stirring all the time.

• Add the flour, coconut and ginger and mix thoroughly
• Pour the mix into the lamington tin
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked
• Let the slice cool completely

• Ice with lemon icing
• Cut into squares, store in an airtight container and enjoy

It's Like A Time Capsule - Amber

Imagine you are a woman and it is your birthday. You have received all sorts of lovely gifts from your friends and family, with books, clothes and even jewellery in the mix. Your favourite gift though would have to be the beautiful amber bracelet which your husband gave you. You have always been fascinated by amber and the way which plant resin hardened to a fossil. Sometimes it even trapped little creatures inside – like a time capsule on a different age. Just amazing.

When I showed the children this amber bracelet, they thought it was beautiful, but they wondered what was particularly interesting about it. When I explained to them about amber they were fascinated. To think that this ‘stone’ could be a glimpse into a different time, a different place. As one child said “it’s like a time capsule to a different world!”

Amber is a translucent, fossilized resin which comes from a type of coniferous tree which is now extinct. It is usually a yellow or brown colour and has been used as part of jewellery for thousands of years. Amber is actually found worldwide, but the most famous and largest deposits are in Europe, particularly Russia and the Baltic Coast. Sometimes the amber is mined and removed from rocks, but it is also torn from the sea floor by the currents and waves and then washes up on beaches where it is collected.

Amber has been used by humans for many thousands of years, with amber discovered at several Neolithic sites which are far from the shores of the Baltic Sea, where much of this early amber originated.  By the bronze age, it appears that there were long distance trading routes which transported amber to various different civilisations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and even the Far East. These cultures used amber not just in creating ornamental jewellery, but as part of religious beliefs, creating amulets and sacred objects using the fossilised resin. In Egypt amber was even inserted under the skin of the hands of mummies as they believed that amber prevented the mummy from being destroyed or decaying. Today, amber continues to be popular in jewellery, but it is also used in cosmetics and even some natural ‘medicines’!  

Roaming Roy Is In A Grave Place - Blackheath Convict Stockade Graves

This week Roy decided he wanted to head up the mountains to examine some of Australias amazing convict history. There are so many hidden convict relics to discover in Australia and when Roy discovered that there were some graves from the convict era hidden away in a Blackheath cemetery, he knew he would have to visit.

If you would like to visit the convict stockade graves in Blackheath, you will first need to travel up the Great Western Highway to Blackheath. The graves themselves are located in the Blackheath cemetery. To get there pass through Blackheath and continue along the Great Western Highway to the Blackheath Cemetery on the right heading towards Mount Victoria. The stockade graves are located at the rear of the cemetery in a lovely bush clearing.

Like many of the other stockades in the Blue Mountains, the stockade at Blackheath was established to house the convicts building and maintaining the Bathurst Road across the mountains. The stockade at Blackheath was established in 1840, when the previous stockade, which had been located at the base of Victoria Pass closed and it covered an extensive area immediately west of the 1840s Bathurst Road. The area occupied by the convicts and guards is now located under the Great Western Highway and little of the area remains to be seen, but other areas of the stockade were located further south, and it is thought that the foundations of the Commandants house may have been used in constructing Blackheath public school.

In 1844 Captain Bull of the 99th regiment transferred to Blackheath and assumed control of the stockade. Roy has previously visited Bulls Camp in the Blue Mountains, which was named after Captain Bull (to read about his visit click here). Although it was an extensive and well run stockade, the Blackheath stockade lasted for just under a decade and in 1849 the stockade closed and the convicts were sent to Cockatoo Island. Despite only being a relatively short lived convict site, and there being little remaining of the actual stockade, the graves hidden away in Blackbeath cemetery are relics of the convict stockade and this important part of Blackheaths history. Convicts died in their duties maintaining the road, and of course somewhere was needed to bury not only these convicts, but also other members of the camp who died. The stockade cemetery was originally located near Waragil Avenue, south west of the railway station, but sometime in the 20th century the graves were moved to their present location, preserving this small part of the stockades history.

Roy Creates Cornflake Biscuits (Which Are Very Much Like ANZACS!)

This week, Roy was looking through a few old cookbooks which his friends had passed on to him when he came across a recipe for 'cornflake biscuits' which he thought sounded intriguing. He just happened to have some cornflakes in the cupboard, so thought he might give the recipe a try. The results were delicious, and tasted remarkably like ANZAC Biscuits. This got him to thinking about a few of his gluten free friends - these biscuits could be made gluten free if gluten free cornflakes and flour were used! He decided he had to share the recipe. So this week, Roy Creates Cornflake Biscuits (Which Are Very Much Like ANZACS!)

You Will Need:

• 2 cups of cornflakes, lightly crushed (just squish them in your fists!)
• 125 grams of margarine
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 a cup of dessicated coconut
• 3/4 of a cup of brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons of boiling water
• 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate soda
• 1 tablespoon of golden syrup
• A pinch of salt

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and line biscuit trays with baking paper
• Mix together the flour, salt and crushed cornflakes
• Add the sugar and coconut and mix.

• Melt the golden syrup and margarine together (Roy melted the butter a little, then added the golden syrup for the last little while. He also used the microwave but do it in short bursts as the golden syrup will help the butter melt faster)
• Add the bicarbonate soda and boiling water to the butter and golden syrup and stir (it will foam)

• Add the butter, golden syrup, bicarbonate soda and water mixture to the dry ingredients
• Stir until you have a good biscuit dough

• Drop teaspoons full of the mix onto your trays and use your fingers to lightly press the biscuits together
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and delicious smelling
• Cool on a cooling rack, store in an airtight container and enjoy!

Who Knew? Mongolian Horses

Imagine you are living in Mongolia. Mongolia (in the north of China) is a huge place, and when you need to move around, you are very thankful for the horses which you own. They can go across any type of environment - even where there is no road. They are such wonderful animals, strong and reliable, and also loyal and friendly.

When I showed the children this Mongolian leather picture of horses, they wondered what all the fuss was about. “They’re just horses – we have horses in Australia too”. They were amazed to discover that not only were Mongolian horses different to the horses they knew about and recognised, but that they were actually native to Mongolia and one of the oldest unchanged horse breeds in the world. Most of the children had not even heard of Mongolia, but enjoyed looking it up on a map. “I always wondered where horses came from” one child told me.

The Mongol Horse is a horse native to Mongolia and has featured highly in their culture and history. Mongolian horses are very important to Mongolian life, and Mongolia is sometimes even known as land of the horse. Mongolian people are also often thought of as the best horsemen in the world. The Mongol breed of horse is very old, and many believe it is almost the same as that used by Genghis Kahn to conquer his massive Mongol empire. This would mean that the horses have continued to develop and breed naturally, with little input from humans to change their evolution. The horses are small and stocky, but they are strong and reliable with excellent stamina, able to gallop for 10 kilometres without break. They are also very hardy, living outdoors in temperatures ranging from 30 degrees centigrade all the way down to -40 degrees!

These horses are very important to the Mongolian people, providing not just horses to be ridden, but also hair for use in making ropes, milk (from the mares) to make the national drink which is called airag, meat and even leather. They are particularly important to Mongolian nomads, and people who live outside the city of Ulaanbaatar as they are a major mode of transport and make life easier. Children learn to ride as young as three years old, and they are part of the popular sport of horse racing, being the jockeys for the horses. Wild horses, known as Takhi (which means spirit in Mongolian) are particularly prized, being a strong symbol of Mongolian National Heritage. For domesticated horses to mate with these wild populations was particularly lucky, as the babies (foals) of such a breeding were believed to be strong and fast. For many years, the wild horses, (usually known as Przewalski, with populations existing in several zoos, including Western Plains), were extinct, but a reintroduction project has been successful and today there are wild horses back in Mongolia, though they remain endangered.

Roaming Roy Visits A Station In History - All Saints Church

This week, Roy decided it was time to head to somewhere he hasn’t visited in a long while. Roy visits so many places, but some he loves to return to again and again because they have so much amazing history to discover. Canberra is one of these places. Most of his friends view Canberra simply as the National Capital City, and forget that there are fascinating historical places which have nothing to do with politics! So this week, Roy is visiting one of these places, All Saints Church.

If you would like to visit All Saints Church, it is located in the Australian Capital Territory. You can find it at 11 Cowper Street in the suburb of Ainslie. The easiest way to get there is to turn off Northbourne Avenue into Ipima Street. Follow Ipima Street across Limestone Avenue, where it turns into Cowper Street. The Church will be on your left. The exterior of the Church is worth driving past alone, but make sure you have time to stop and look at the beautiful interior too – the Church is open every day between 9am and 5pm.

All Saints Church is a heritage listed Canberra icon, but it did not start its life in Canberra at all - the building was originally in Sydney, not as a church but as a railway station! The station was built on a branch line of the railway which ran to the huge Rookwood Necropolis. In 1868 a scheme had been established to create official mortuary stations to replace the corrugated iron and timber buildings which had previously been used. The main reason for this was to make the funeral processions more stately and dignified, not to mention easier! The station which was to become All Saints Church was the first to be built. Originally it was known as Haslem’s Creek Cemetery Station, but then became Necropolis station (sometime before 1872), then Mortuary Terminus, followed by Mortuary General Cemetery before finally being changed to Cemetery Station No. 1. The trains would enter the station through the enormous arches, and where the pews now sit, there were platforms onto which the coffins were unloaded. The station itself was ornate with stonework angels and other beautiful carvings which remain part of the church structure today. The station was used until 1948, when it was closed.

In 1957 Ainslie parish purchased the stonework of the old station for 100 pounds. The roof had been burned in a fire, but the stone work was intact and this was dismantled and transported to Canberra where it was rebuilt and a new roof was added. The biggest change to the structure was the location of the bell tower, with the tower of the church being on the right of the entrance, where originally it was to the left. Stained glass windows were also put in, including one which was part of a church in Gloucestershire in England which had been bombed during the Second World War.

Roy Creates a Phenakistoscope

This week, Roy wanted to try his hand at making an old fashioned optical toy. Roy is fascinated by optical toys, particularly the very early ones like the phenakistoscope. The Phenakistoscope is a Victorian toy made of a flat disk with slits around the outside. It was created in 1832 by the Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and when it was spun in front of a mirror, it made the images on it appear to move. Roy thought creating his own shouldn’t be too hard and was thrilled with the results. So this week, Roy Creates a Phenakistoscope.

You Will Need:

• A copy of the template (pictured above). Press on the picture to open it, and then print!
• Heavy paper or cardboard (dark colours work better – Roy used an old cardboard folder)
• Pens and pencils to draw your pictures
• Glue
• Scissors
• A mirror

Method:

• Glue the template sheet onto your cardboard as Roy is doing

• Cut out the template

• Draw a series of pictures in the 'frames' of the template (between the slits). Try to choose a simple image and make sure it stands out clearly (either use thick, dark lines, or colour it with bright colours). Make each image slightly different from the one before. Most people who make a phenakistoscope make the images move in a sequence, so the first and last pictures are similar, so they move flawlessly up and down. Roy decided to copy one of the old pictures he found online though, by making a mouse run across the page and disappear!

• Poke a pencil through the hole (marked in the middle of the template)
• Hold the phenakistoscope near your face, in front of the mirror, with the pictures you drew facing the mirror. Use the pencil to spin the disk and look through the slits you cut to see your picture moving!

It Would Burn You - Hot Water Bottle

Imagine you are living in the early 20^th century. It is cold, and you are getting ready for bed. Although you have had the fire burning in the grate for hours, you know it will be cold, and you have set the water to heat for the family hot water bottles. You will fill each container and slip it into bed at least 10 minutes before bed to take the chill off, and hopefully they will keep everybody warm through the night.

When I showed the children this hot water bottle they were intrigued. They quickly declared it was a ‘water bottle, maybe for a soldier’, but did not dream that it was actually a hot water bottle, for heating beds or keeping warm while travelling. Today, the children see hot water bottles as flexible rubber or made of other plastics, and associate ‘sturdier’ bottles with carrying drinking water. They thought the bottle might have kept the water hot for longer though, with one child saying ‘perhaps it didn’t lose its heat as fast?’ They also thought it might be dangerous though, saying 'it would burn you!'.

Devices for heating beds and even for carrying warmth on a trip are nothing new, with the earliest versions appearing in the 16^th century. These early bed warmers contained hot coals or embers from the fire and had to be carefully looked after. Not only did these bed warmers often scorch the bed if left alone too long, they occasionally set fire to the bed or even the entire building! They certainly could not be left in bed overnight. This is where hot water bottles had their advantages, as they could safely be left in beds and even slept with. The problem was finding a waterproof container to hold the water in, and so many early hot water bottles were made of ceramic, glass, metal or even wood. The hot water bottle I showed the children is probably made of brass and was actually made in Australia.

Many of these hot water bottles had to be wrapped in a soft cloth or bag to prevent the surface of the bottle burning delicate skin (and this bottle even has an inscription suggesting water at 45 degrees be used), but they were able to keep the sleeper warm for hours without the risks of earlier bed warmers. Some of these early style hot water bottles remained popular well into the 20^th century, but the materials they were made of made them expensive. The metal bottle I showed the children would have been expensive, but it would also be robust enough to use during travel. As modern material like rubber and silicone became available, people began to use these for creating cheaper alternatives. A market even began to emerge for exotic hot water bottles, with some produced in America during Prohibition designed to carry illegal liquor and novelty designs also being popular. By the end of the 20^th century use of hot water bottles was in decline though, as people turned to electric blankets to keep them warm. Today, they are becoming increasingly popular again, with people conscious of the cost of energy and their carbon footprint often preferring these low tech heating solutions.

Roaming Roy Encounters A Fishy Problem - Carp

This week, with Chinese New Year under way, Roy decided he wanted to learn a little about some of the fish which originated in China and Japan, koi carp. In China fish are very important, as keeping fish is a sign of wealth and the word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for abundance. Fish are kept as pets and also eaten. Some of the fish which are particularly popular as ‘pets’ are koi carp, and Roy knows that, not far from where he lives, there are some fish farms which breed these fish, so thought he would take a visit.

If you would like to visit Ledora Water Gardens, it is located along the Pacific Highway between Mt Kuringai and Berowra. Look out for the sign and drive up the hill. If the gardens are not open, the gate at the base of the hill will be closed. Ledora has beautiful ponds, full of waterlilies and other beautiful aquatic plants, and of course plenty of fish to watch flit about.

Carp originated in the Amur River in Eastern China to Eastern Europe and it is believed that the general species originally evolved in the Asian region. Some of the species of carp were domesticated by the Chinese up to 3000 years ago, but the koi variety of carp is much younger. About 700 years ago, carp were taken to Japan where the ornamental variety which we call Koi evolved. Although carp and koi spread successfully throughout Asian regions and even Europe, with the Romans even helping with the spread, the introduction of the fish to Australia was not as smooth.

The 1850s saw the first attempts to introduce carp to Australia with Koi introduced to Tasmania unsuccessfully in 1858 and to Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens in Victoria in 1859. The latter attempt was successful. Around the same time and into the 1900s carp were also introduced to Sydney, including in the Prospect Reservoir where a breeding population was successfully established. The Prospect stain began to colonise the Murray Darling Basin by the 1920s, but it was not a particularly widespread population at that stage. Problems started to arise when other strains, most problematically the Boolara strain entered the River system and began to interbreed with the Prospect strain. The new fish were hardy and population boomed. Today they are a noxious pest, threatening our native fish and undermining the river banks. Koi carp have also been released into our waterways, but these releases were more recent, thought to have occurred between 1976 and 2008. These have resulted in some populations of beautifully marked carp including on the New South Wales coast and in Lake Burly Griffin in Canberra.

Roy Creates Great Grandma’s Scrumptious Syrup Cakes

This week, Roy decided it was time to give another of my Great Grandmother’s recipes a go. He has been intrigued by her recipe for ‘Scrumptious Syrup Cakes’ which has a note on the base of the recipe saying ‘these are super’. Such praise sounded very hopeful! The only problem was, there was no instruction for the size of the tin or length of cooking, or indeed temperature of the oven. Experimentation would be required, but when he had successfully created these cakes (on his first try what’s more!) he was pleased with the results. Hot from the oven, or turned into butterfly cakes with a little cream (his Grandpa thinks a little ginger jam would be good too), they are indeed super. So this week, Roy Creates Great Grandma’s Scrumptious Syrup Cakes.

Note: This recipe makes approximately 2 dozen patty cakes. They are best eaten the day they are made.

You Will Need:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• ¾ of a cup of brown sugar
• 1 dessertspoon of golden syrup
• ½ a cup of milk
• 1 and ½ cups of self raising flour

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius
• Prepare a patty cake tin with liners (not a muffin tin – you want reasonably small cakes)

• Cream together the butter and brown sugar
• Add the egg and beat in
• Stir the golden syrup into the milk, mixing thoroughly until the syrup dissolves and then mix it into the egg, sugar and butter

• Add the flour and mix

• Fill the patty cake tins 2/3 full with the batter
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are springy and a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean
• Enjoy!