The Tingle Factor Box

Roaming Roy Visits Amsterdam - In Smithfield!

This week, Roy decided with the Christmas season approaching apace, it was time to share a place where his friends might find a perfect gift or two for the giving season (or for themselves!) Roy is not a shopaholic by any means, but he loves exploring interesting shops and of course when food is involved he is always smitten. When he heard about the Little Dutch Shop in Smithfield, complete with restaurant, he knew he had to visit.

If you would like to visit The Dutch Shop, it is located in Smithfield, not far from Prospect in Sydney. The street address is 85 Market Street and the shop is open between Tuesday and Friday 9-4:30 and on Saturday and Sunday from 9-4. The area itself is mostly made up of factories and empty fields, but you will find that there is no mistaking the Dutch Shop amongst them! You can find all sorts of Dutch products at the shop, from furniture to food, chocolate to clogs. There is also a fabulous little cafe which Roy enjoyed lunch at – he particularly recommends the apple tart!

Even before entering the Dutch Shop, a visit is like stepping into the streets of Amsterdam. Dutch flags stand outside the store to welcome you as do other symbols of Dutch culture (including an enormous pair of Wooden clogs). The facade of the building itself recreates an Amsterdam streetscape with tall, narrow gables, typical green paint, window boxes and even the pulleys which feature on Dutch houses (and are traditionally used to lift furniture into the tall, narrow homes). The building is, suitably, called Holland House and is today an important focal point for many in the Australian Dutch community.

So how did Smithfield come to have a little piece of Amsterdam? After World War II, the Dutch government began to fear overpopulation and over half a million residents left the Netherlands. A number of them found their way to Australia and amongst them were John and Anita van Altena who arrived in 1965. In the early 1970s they purchased property in Smithfield and set about establishing Holland House. The business has developed over the years and now the shop is known Australia wide and even has a thriving mail order business. Inside the building, as well as the traditional cafe, there is the Dutch Shop itself, known as ‘t Winkelje in Dutch which translates as tiny shop. The shop isn’t too tiny though and is bursting at the seams with fabulous Dutch products, including dozens of different types of Dutch licorice, sprinkles, souvenirs, real Delft Blue ceramics, clogs, books, foods like herring and eel and even furniture. Roy challenges you to leave without finding something to take home with you!

Roy Creates Scrumptious Pear And Blue Cheese Tartlets

This week Roy decided he would share a recipe which is perfect for Christmas parties where there is a ‘bring a plate’ arrangement. Roy is often invited to such parties and one of his friends shared a recipe which is delicious, savoury, easy and best of all, it is vegetarian and so suitable as a vegetarian option. What’s more, it is a little bit fancy, with the combination of pear and blue cheese encased in a scrumptious, flaky cheese crust. Roy thought it would be perfect, so this week Roy Creates Scrumptious Pear And Blue Cheese Tartlets.

You Will Need:

For the pastry:

• 210 grams of plain flour
• 1 tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese
• 60 grams of softened butter
• 1 egg
• Salt to taste

For the filling:

• 3 eggs
• 300 millilitres of pouring cream
• 180 grams of blue cheese (use whatever you like best – Roy used a soft blue with a milder flavour, but if you like strong blue, use that instead!)
• 1 firm pear
• Salt and pepper to taste

Note: this pastry makes enough for 10 tarts, but the filling provides enough for more. Roy has been known to use shortcrust pastry and more pear (or even apple) to make more tarts with the leftover filling. Roy had enough to make a small quiche which, even after storing in the freezer, was just perfect.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius and grease 10 muffin trays
• Put all of the dough ingredients into a food processor and process them together. They will not form a ball of dough (but the ingredients will be really well mixed), you will need to tip it into a bowl and press the dough together with your hands at the end. Alternately, mix the dough very well with your hands.

• Divide the dough into 10 balls and press into the muffin trays, making sure that you press the pastry firmly up the sides of the tray to make pastry cases.
• Bake the pastry shells for 5 to 7 minutes or until they are light brown

• Beat together the eggs and cream. Mix in the cheese (Roy did this by hand with a whisk as his cheese was very soft. If your cheese is firmer you may need electric beaters). Season with salt and pepper to taste and put the mix aside.

• Peel the pear and cut into small cubes (discarding the seeds and core)

• Put a little pear into each pastry case and pour a little of the cheese mix over the top. Do not overflow the cases – you will have cheese mix leftover.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the filling is set and nicely browned.
• Serve warm or cold – it is delicious either way!

That's Just Silly - Dance Card

Imagine you are a lady living in the early 1900s. Tonight there is a dance in town and you are very excited to go. You love to dress up and have an opportunity to wear your finery, but most of all, you absolutely love to dance. You can’t wait until you have the dance card around your wrist, ready to be filled with men wanting to share a dance. Some have even already asked you to reserve a dance for them, and you can’t wait to begin!

When I showed the children this dance card, they were quite perplexed. Dancing is something the children enjoy doing and they do not hesitate to dance in groups or on their own. They couldn’t imagine having to actually ‘pencil in’ dances and dance partners and thought it sounded a little silly. As one child said ‘dancing is supposed to be fun, but all that stuffiness is just stupid’.

Today dancing and dances are often quite an informal thing and people choose who to dance with, and when spontaneously, almost ‘on the go’. Often dancers change partners during a dance, or don’t even start dancing until the music has begun. In the 1800s though social dances were very formal affairs with set dances and moves and people were expected to be in place before the music began. There was no choosing a partner as you went, you needed to know who your partner would be. In addition, interactions between men and women were strictly controlled and there was an etiquette which had to be followed.

At a social dance, from the 1830s onwards (though they have a longer history in Vienna) the dance card was part of this etiquette. Each lady would have a dance card, sometimes with a small pencil attached. Gentlemen also carried small pencils for those occasions when one was not attached to the card. When a gentleman approached and asked for the pleasure of a dance, this would be recorded on the dance card, allowing the lady to remember who she had promised to dance with and which dances were promised. It also avoided the awkward situation of promising the same dance to two people. Yet dance cards were not used at all dances. They were common at public balls and similar occasions, but high society often did not see their need for private balls. By the mid 20^th century these cards were falling out of use and as less formal dances were held they all but disappeared completely.

Roaming Roy Encounters A Prickly Bit Of History - Prickly Pear

This week, Roy wanted to take the opportunity to introduce his online friends to a character which has become a part of Australias landscape. This character is quite a prickly one, and is not always a welcome guest in the places it decides to settle – in fact it is a foreign fugitive colonising our land. Of course, Roy is talking about prickly pear. Many of his friends have seen this plant and wondered about its history, some even asking if it might be native. Roy decided this week was the perfect opportunity to explain.

Roy has encountered prickly pear in a number of different places, from the inland to the coast. These particular examples were spotted at Bass point in Shell Cove, near Shell Harbour on the South Coast of NSW. To get there, first find Addison Street in Shell Cove and then turn into Wentworth Street. From there, take Darley Street (heading towards the coast) and then turn into Boollwarroo Parade. Boollwarroo Parade eventually turns into Bass Point Tourist Road which leads to Bass Point itself.

Prickly pear arrived in Australia as early as 1788. Along with the other supplies on the First Fleet came a supply of prickly pear. It wasn’t the plant which was important though – these plants were infested with cochineal insects. Cochineal insects were used (and still are) to create a natural red dye and at the time Spain had the monopoly on supply of this precious colour, but soon a dye industry was established at Botany Bay. These prickly pears were the smooth tree pear and today this type of prickly pear infests many coastal areas, though it is actually unknown what happened to the original specimens. It wasn’t this pear which caused the problems though but the common pest pear. It isn’t entirely certain how or when the common pest prickly pear was introduced to Australia, though there are records of it being used as stock fodder in Parramatta in the early 1800s. Many believe the start of the infestation was a pot plant which taken to Scone in 1839. The property manager thought it would be a good standby for feeding stock in times of drought and so planted it in a number of paddocks.

Other early settlers took plants into a number of areas in NSW and Queensland and the plant flourished, producing fruit and seeds which birds ate and distributed over large areas. Soon a widespread infestation was underway. By 1912 more than 10 million acres of land was heavily infested and by 1920 this figure had risen to 60 million acres, despite efforts to remove the plant and stop its spread. So great was the problem that there were even parliamentary acts passed in an effort to control it and stop its spread. In 1924 the Prickly Pear Destruction Commission was created to deal with the problem. Field staff were appointed to enforce law and people could take up leases of prickly pear infested land (which had often once been owned and abandoned by those who couldn’t deal with the infestation). If they could get rid of the pear, the land was theirs to own. Finally a solution was found in the form of Cactoblastis caterpillars which were first tested to ensure they wouldn’t start their own problems, and then released. They fed on the plants and destroyed them, and this biological control method, which started in 1926 is still considered the worlds most amazing example of biological weed control.

If you see a prickly pear, do not touch it as they often have very fine hairs which get stuck in your hands and are difficult and painful to remove!

Roy Creates Yummy Cornflake Chocolate Bars

This week, Roy had some friends visiting and he always likes to be able to offer a home cooked treat or two to accompany a cup of tea. When he checked the biscuit jar and cake tins though he discovered that there was very little left of his recent baking spree – he would need to make something new. He didn’t have a lot of time, but wanted to ensure whatever he made would be delicious, so turned to his old cookbooks for inspiration. He noticed a recipe for Chocolate Bars which had cornflakes in them and remembered he had about a cup of cornflakes left which needed to be eaten. The recipe was perfect and the results were scrumptious. So this week, Roy Creates Yummy Cornflake Chocolate Bars.

You Will need:

• 125 grams of softened butter or margarine
• ½ a cup of sugar
• 1 cup of self raising flour
• ½ a cup of desiccated coconut
• 1 cup of cornflakes
• 60 grams of cocoa
• 1 cup of icing sugar
• The juice of a lemon
• Optional – shredded coconut to decorate

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and line a shallow slice tin with baking paper
• Cream the butter and sugar together

• Add the flour, coconut and cornflakes to the butter and sugar and mix thoroughly

• Press the mix into the slice tin, making sure it is firmly packed
• Bake the slice for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden
• In the last few minutes of cooking time, mix together the cocoa, icing sugar and enough lemon juice to create icing. You may need a little hot water to help mix the icing (Roy did)

• Spread the icing thickly over the hot slice (being careful not to burn yourself!)
• If you like, sprinkle the slice with shredded coconut
• Let the slice cool completely before removing from the tin and cutting into squares. You will need to use a sharp knife.
• Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

They Shouldn't Aim At Children - Cigarette Cards

Note: the author in no way supports smoking. This post is written purely for historic value.

Imagine you are a boy living in the early 1900s. Your father has left to buy his cigarettes and you can’t wait for him to return – he always gives you the cigarette card and you are developing an impressive collection. You haven’t yet managed to collect any full sets, but you love the sense of anticipation, wondering what the new card will be – will it be one you already have or one you need for your collection?

When I showed the children these cigarette cards they were quite intrigued. Today, smoking has become taboo and the idea that once cigarette packets came complete with a collectors card was ‘mind boggling’ as one child put it. They were amazed to discover that, in the past, cigarettes were not only openly available, but could advertise and thought it was a good thing that had stopped. After all, as one child said ‘cigarette cards must have made kids think smoking was ok!’

Cigarette cards started to be produced in the 1880s for a very practical reason – the paper packets cigarettes were sold in needed something to stiffen them, preventing the packets from crumpling or crushing and damaging the product. At first, these cards were simply blank but soon enough somebody (legend has it the person was an American journalist) had the idea that the card could be printed on as an advertisement of sorts. American cigarettes had printed cards in them by 1885 but it took a few years longer before British manufacturers followed the trend. By the turn of the century the idea of cigarette cards had taken off and thousands of sets were launched by over 300 tobacco companies from 1901 onwards. During times of war, when there was a shortage of paper, producing cigarette cards became difficult and between 1917 and 1922 few to none were produced while the Second World War saw the production of cards all but cease permanently.

So what did cards depict and who were they aimed at? Cigarette cards came in packets of cigarettes, but more often than not it was children who collected them. In fact, many children actually stood outside tobacconists asking smokers to give them the coveted cards. They featured a variety of themes, including sport, movies, historic events, animals, transport, and military. Many sets generated during times of war depicted military heroes, while other sets focussed on aeroplanes or other transport used in wartime. Sport was a very popular topic and thousands of different cards were produced – in fact it is thought that there are over 11000 different cards just depicting cricket! The reverse of the card often provided information explaining the image or providing a little information about the item or person it depicted on the other side. Today cigarette cards are collectors items, but they are also valued by historians as they reflect the interests of society, and also provide surprisingly accurate information!

Roaming Roy Has A Burning Interest In History - Willoughby Incinerator

This week, Roy wanted to share a place which he discovered on one of his forays around and about in Sydney. Roy loves discovering interesting places around the city and further afield and is always thrilled when heritage sites have found a new lease on life. The Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator was a place he had been meaning to visit for some time, having heard it had become a cafe and art gallery. Roy loved the beautiful old building and was pleased to see it bursting with life when he visited.

If you would like to visit the old Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator, it is located in Willoughby on Sydney’s North Shore (not far from North Sydney). The Incinerator is at 2 Small St Willoughby and the restaurant is open, serving food between 7am and 4pm every day. Below the cafe is the Incinerator Art Space which hosts changing art exhibitions and is available for hire. The area is perfect to visit with children with not only food available, but Roy discovered a beautiful children’s playground just a short walk from the building, along a paved path. Alternately, there is plenty of room to run around or just kick a ball!

Walter Burley Griffin is one of Australia’s most famous and renowned architects. He was born in 1876 in America and attended Nathan Ricker’s School of Architecture at the University of Illinois, graduating from the highly regarded school in 1899. At first, he worked as a casual employee of a number of Chicago firms but he also worked on private commissions. In 1911 he married Marion Lucy Mahony, the second woman to graduate with an architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They had been married for just two months when an international competition was announced – a competition seeking a design for Australia’s new Federal Capital. In 1912 Griffin’s designs, illustrated by his wife, were announced as the winning entry of the competition.

In 1913 Walter Burley Griffin first arrived in Australia, with Marion following and soon enough they had established practices in Melbourne and Sydney. Their Chicago office closed in 1917 but the Griffins were receiving plenty of work in Australia with a number of private and public commissions. Amongst these commissions were 12 incinerators. The incinerators were designed by Griffin and his junior partner, Eric Milton Nichols for the Reverberatory Incinerator and Engineering Company and were built between 1930 and 1938. Each and every one of the 12 had a distinctive design. The Willoughby Incinerator was completed in 1934 and is today seen as an important part of Australia’s industrial heritage. The incinerator stopped being used in 1967 and was neglected until the 1980s when it was first transformed into a restaurant and then an office. Sadly it was vandalised, struck by lightning and damaged by fire as well as having unsympathetic additions made but 2006 work began to restore the heritage building to its former glory, as we see it today!

Roy Creates Divine Gluten Free Almond Cookies

This week, Roy decided he would like to share a recipe aimed at his gluten free friends. Roy has noticed that more people are now living the gluten free diet, and knows it can be difficult to find recipes which are quick and easy to make which reflect their needs and which still taste delicious. When one of his friends shared her recipe for delicious almond cookies, he thought they were absolutely wonderful and would be perfect for his online friends and best of all, they are completely gluten free (if not appropriate for those with nut allergies!). These biscuits are also lactose free. So this week, Roy Creates Divine Gluten Free Almond Cookies.

You Will Need:

• 1 cup of almond meal
• 1 cup of icing sugar
• 1 eggwhite
• Flavouring to taste. Roy used vanilla essence, but he thinks they would be lovely with a little lemon rind or oil, or you could keep the almond flavour going and use almond essence.
• ½ a cup of flaked almonds
• Extra icing sugar for rolling

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (you might need it a little cooler if your oven is fan forced)
• Line biscuit trays with baking paper
• Put the almond meal, icing sugar, essence and egg white in a food processor and process until they come together as a sticky paste.
• Drop balls of the mix (Roy used about a teaspoon of mix per biscuit) into the flaked almonds and roll to coat. You may need to press the almonds into the mix a little
• Roll the balls in icing sugar and put them onto the prepared trays, leaving a little space between them (they do spread)
• Bake for 15 minutes until they are pale gold.
• Cool the biscuits on the tray (they are quite fragile, so leave them to cool before removing them)
• Keep in an airtight container and enjoy!

Makes about 18

That's A Bit Of Our Flag - Union Jack Booklet

Imagine you are a child living in the 1920s. The War is over, but the consequences have been terrible. You are proud that your father served King and Country, but he is not the same as before he went to fight. Still, he is proud to have served and proud of the flag which he served under. Your teacher has been teaching your class about the flag recently and gave you a lovely little booklet which shows how the flag is put together. You can’t wait to show it to your Father. 

 

 

When I showed the children this little cardboard booklet explaining the evolution of the Union Jack they were intrigued. As one child quickly noted, the booklet showed 'the red bit in the corner of the Australian flag’ and they were intrigued to discover more about the design. They were amazed to discover how intricate and thoughtful the design was, and fascinated to learn the meaning behind the different components of the Union Jack. 

 

 

The Union Jack, which is also sometimes known as the Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. Although it is familiar to us all, many do not realise that the Union Jack is actually made up of a number of different elements. Originally, the flag of England was white with a red cross and this was known as the banner of St. George. In 1603 though James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones, uniting the three powers under one leader. It is these three powers, and their three banners, which make up the present Union Jack. The flag of England was a red cross on a white background, known as St George’s Cross while the Scottish flag was a white saltire on a blue background known as St Andrew’s Cross. These two flags were the first to be combined in 1606 and the red saltire of Ireland (known as the banner of St Patrick) was added in 1801. 

 

 

The United Kingdom flag is not the only place where the Union Jack is to be found though, as it holds a place in a number of flags of British Dominions, including Australia and New Zealand. The presence of the Union Jack on the flag of Australia indicates the historic association between Britain and Australia and it is this association which has caused Australia to become involved in the World Wars. Australia is part of the British Commonwealth - the Queen of England is also the Queen of Australia. What this meant in 1914 (when it was King George V on the throne - he is pictured on the booklet’s cover) was that when Britain declared war on Germany, Australia automatically followed. In fact, it meant that all British Dominions were at war. The same happened at the beginning of World War Two, though the Dominions declared war separately (though on the same day as Britain itself). 

Roaming Roy Finds A Little Piece Of Changi in Goulburn

Sometimes, when Roy is out and about visiting museums and historic sites, he finds unexpected treasures. Sometimes these treasures are aspects of collections which he didn’t know about while at other times they are pieces of history in unexpected places. Earlier this year when Roy made a trip to Goulburn he made several such discoveries at the War Memorial Museum, and he wanted to share these discoveries in time for Remembrance Day.

If you would like to see these amazing discoveries, they are located in Goulburn at the beautiful War Memorial at the summit of Rocky Hill. To get there you will need to follow Memorial Street to the very summit of the hill – there are plenty of signs to point you in the right direction. When you arrive, not only is there the beautiful memorial to see, but a fabulous little museum with an extraordinary collection. The lookout is open 7 days a week between 7am and 5pm, while the tower and museum are open between 10am and 4pm on weekends, public holidays and in the school holidays.

The Goulburn War Memorial was a community project, built with funding collected from public subscription. The memorial opened in 1925, within a decade of the end of World War One and became a fitting, and lasting tribute not just to those who served their country and died in World War One, but to those who fought in other campaigns. The War Memorial tower itself is just one aspect of the Rocky Hill site though, and not far away is the care takers cottage which houses an astonishing and moving collection of artefacts.

The museum holds an extensive collection of items, ranging from personal items which belonged to soldiers who served to weapons. They cover a range of periods, with many dating from the First World War, but others relating to other conflicts. There is one item though which Roy was not only astonished to discover, but which he found particularly poignant. In the doorway of one room to the cottage is a large metal door, which you might be forgiven for thinking is just part of the building. It is an extraordinary part of the museum’s collection though, being an original door from the infamous Changi Prison in Singapore where so many Australians were held as prisoners of war during World War Two. The door was salvaged from the Australian section of Changi in 2004 when the prison was demolished. In the room behind the door you can find out more about the story of Changi, and see other artefacts which represent this period in Australia's history.