The Tingle Factor Box

It's Like Magic! Revelation Box

Imagine, it's your birthday. You had to get through the whole day, and dinner before you were allowed to open a single present, but it was worth it. You got lots of practical things like books and clothes, but your Mum and Dad knew that you were really interested in magic and illusion and managed to find a special sort of a box, a revelation box. You've not seen one before, but you look forward to amazing your friends as you make their coins appear and disappear!

Roaming Roy Revisits Ratting - The Plague In Sydney

This week, Roy decided that with so many of his friends being unwell, and some joking about having the plague, it was a perfect time to revisit a post from way back in 2010. The plague is a serious disease, and luckily, we haven't had any cases in Australia for a very long time. Yet when the plague did come calling in Sydney, it not only made many people very sick, but it forced some major changes in how we protected the port and in housing conditions. Hygiene became an issue and the streets of Sydney were cleaned up remarkably well - and reasonably quickly too!

Although today most of us see areas like The Rocks and Walsh Bay as beautiful, somewhat trendy areas of Sydney with quaint alley-ways (like Ferry Lane above!) cafes, restaurants and shops, in 1900 they were almost a different world! Even the landlords who owned properties in the area usually didn't live there themselves, and they weren't particularly good at ensuring that their properties were kept in good shape. The area was well known as a slum, probably because those who could afford it had moved further out, into newer areas of the city, thinking the old centre was unsanitary and unhealthy. The wharf's at Walsh Bay were not much better - nothing like they are today, full of apartments, restaurants, theatres and galleries. They were working wharfs, and none too clean either! The sea walls and wharves were decaying, rats could easily move from ship to shore and once there, find perfect places to make their homes.

In 1900 some of these sea faring rats bought with them what Sydney-siders had feared would one day arrive - the Black Death or Bubonic Plague. People had been watching the progress of the plague from China through the shipping routes with great fear, knowing it was likely to one day reach Australian shores. On January 26, 1900, the first case of the plague was reported. Arthur Payne, a van driver in Millers Point was the first to contract the disease. He lived in number 10, Ferry Lane, not far from the Walsh Bay wharves. The area where he lived is now part of a small park and you can even see the archaeological remains of his house in the area. In fact, Roy and I are sitting where his house was in the picture above! The park is called 'The Paddock' or Pottinger Park and is between Pottinger and Windmill Streets in Millers Point. 

Although it was believed that the slum areas around the Rocks would be the worst hit by the Plague, only 3 people from the area died out of a total 103 deaths. 303 people in total were diagnosed with the disease. This did not prevent the entire Rocks and wharf district being quarantined though. Residents were forced to clean, disinfect, lime-wash and sometimes even destroy buildings to try to prevent the spread of the disease. Others took up rat catching, a task which was not only necessary, but which had become quite well paid! Those who had the plague, or came into contact with someone who had, were sent to the Quarantine Station at North Head and any people who died were sent there to be buried.

Although the eqidemic was frightening and serious, it was over on July 17. This did not mean that the cleaning efforts were over though! The government used the plague as an excuse to resume (take over) the area, and set about cleaning it up. Soon the government owned essentially everything from Circular Quay right to Darling Harbour. The Sydney Harbour Trust was set up in 1902 to administer the cleaning up of the area. Within the first year they retrieved tons of garbage from the Harbour and foreshore, including over 2500 rats, 1000 cats, 250 bags of meat, 300 bags of fish, 1450 fowl, and assorted sheep, pigs, cows and goats. They also built a new seawall at Walsh Bay, made of precast concrete. It was thought that this new wall would be rat proof. You can still see this wall at low tide and Roy and I are sitting on top of it in the photo above. 

Roy Creates Sumptuously Spectacular Apricot Rough Slice

 

Recently, Roy has been teaching a very close friend how to cook, and this friend wanted to make a slice for a meeting he was going to. Roy wanted to find something suitably easy to make so that his friend could make it all on his own! He also wanted it to be spectacular though, so the recipe had to be a little bit special. This apricot rough slice seemed just perfect, and the results were even better than he had imagined. So this week, Roy Creates Sumptuously Spectacular Apricot Rough Slice.

You Will Need:

• ¾ of a cup of self raising flour
• ¾ of a cup of desiccated coconut
• ¾ of a cup of brown sugar
• 90 grams of butter
• 125 grams of dark chocolate
• 30 grams of copha
• 125 grams of dried apricots
• Another 2 cups of desiccated coconut
• ¾ of a cup of condensed milk

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line an 18x28 centimetre lamington tray with baking paper
• Melt the butter
• Mix together the flour, brown sugar and ¾ of a cup of coconut
• Add the melted butter and mix everything together

• Press the mix into the lined lamington tray
• Bake for 12 minutes or until a light brown colour
• While the slice is baking, chop the apricots into small pieces (Roy likes to use scissors for this) and place them in a pan of water. Bring them to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes. This will make them soft and succulent. Drain the apricots and set them aside

• When the base of the slice has cooled a little, mix together the 2 cups of coconut, condensed milk and apricots
• Spread the apricot mix over the base.
• Use a piece of baking paper to press the filling down firmly so it holds together. Then throw the baking paper away
• Melt together the chocolate and copha and, when melted, spread over the apricot and coconut filling
• Refrigerate the slice until set and then cut into pieces
• Store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy!

Sandpapering Shoes

Prevent children from slipping and falling the first time they wear new shoes by sandpapering the soles.

(Fort Lincoln Cemetary 1001 Handy Hints To Housewives circa 1920))

I Wonder How Often They Broke? Carved Emu Egg

 

Imagine, you have spent days working on a beautiful carving. You have carefully moved and crafted the piece, ensuring that you don't press too hard at any time - after all, you don't want to press too hard and risk snapping a piece off. You work carefully on the intricate details of people, plants and animals. All this, just to carve a piece of wood - imagine the skill needed to successfully carve an Emu Egg!

 

When I took this intricately carved Emu Egg, a gift to my Great Aunt from an Aboriginal stockman in Bourke, to show the children their immediate reaction was 'I wonder how many it took before they managed to not break one'. Some had never seen an Emu Egg before, carved or otherwise and were amazed by the size (one thought that being an egg laying Emu must be quite painful!). One Emu egg can have as much egg in it as 8-12 chicken eggs. They were also amazed by the idea that they could possibly be strong enough to carve without breaking. Certainly, the artist must be extremely careful in their work, in case hours of effort is lost through breakage.

Kalti Paarti, or Emu Egg carving is a highly skilled art which became popular in the mid 19th century and is kept alive today as part of the living Aboriginal culture. It is an intricate process, which first involves collecting or buying the eggs. Emu's are now protected under Australian law, so artists must have a license. Next, the eggshell must be pierced and the 'egg-inards' as one child called them, have to be removed. This can be done through egg blowing, though I have been told that traditionally, it can also be done by piercing the egg and leaving ants and other insects to clean it. If you can verify this, I would love to know!

Next, the egg is carved. Emu eggs are a very dark greeny blue, almost black and, as the egg is carved, lighter colours, right through to white can be revealed. By using these differing colours, all occuring within the shell, the image can be made '3-D'. There are two main 'schools' of carving. Paakantji artists, from Western New South Wales tend to produce scenes which move around the egg, like the one I showed the children. Wiradjuri artists tend to create more of a cameo effect, carving a scene or item within a specific area of the egg. 

Imagine, you have spent days working on a beautiful carving. You have carefully moved and crafted the piece, ensuring that you don't press too hard at any time - after all, you don't want to press too hard and risk snapping a piece off. You work carefully on the intricate details of people, plants and animals. All this, just to carve a piece of wood - imagine the skill needed to successfully carve an Emu Egg!

 

When I took this intricately carved Emu Egg, a gift to my Great Aunt from an Aboriginal stockman in Bourke, to show the children their immediate reaction was 'I wonder how many it took before they managed to not break one'. Some had never seen an Emu Egg before, carved or otherwise and were amazed by the size (one thought that being an egg laying Emu must be quite painful!). One Emu egg can have as much egg in it as 8-12 chicken eggs. They were also amazed by the idea that they could possibly be strong enough to carve without breaking. Certainly, the artist must be extremely careful in their work, in case hours of effort is lost through breakage.

Kalti Paarti, or Emu Egg carving is a highly skilled art which became popular in the mid 19th century and is kept alive today as part of the living Aboriginal culture. It is an intricate process, which first involves collecting or buying the eggs. Emu's are now protected under Australian law, so artists must have a license. Next, the eggshell must be pierced and the 'egg-inards' as one child called them, have to be removed. This can be done through egg blowing, though I have been told that traditionally, it can also be done by piercing the egg and leaving ants and other insects to clean it. If you can verify this, I would love to know!

Next, the egg is carved. Emu eggs are a very dark greeny blue, almost black and, as the egg is carved, lighter colours, right through to white can be revealed. By using these differing colours, all occuring within the shell, the image can be made '3-D'. There are two main 'schools' of carving. Paakantji artists, from Western New South Wales tend to produce scenes which move around the egg, like the one I showed the children. Wiradjuri artists tend to create more of a cameo effect, carving a scene or item within a specific area of the egg. 

Rover Gets All Hot And Bothered At The Museum Of Fire

This week, with the holidays slowly but surely drawing to a close, Rover decided it was a perfect time to share a fascinating place to visit not far from Sydney itself. The question was, where to go? Then, I reminded Rover of a place we had visited not long ago with his cousins. Rover loved visiting the Museum of Fire, learning about the fascinating history of the building itself and of course playing on the awesome playground outside! He thought it would be a perfect place to share with all his online friends. 

 

If you would like to visit the Museum Of Fire, it is located in the old Penrith Power Station. The street address is 1 Museum Drive, in Penrith (which is accessed from the corner of Castlereagh Road). Look out for the 1942 Dennis Fire Station mounted up on a pole - it marks the entrance to the museum grounds! Entry to the museum is $12 per adult and $6 per child, with family tickets (and additional children on these family tickets) available. 

 

The Museum Of Fire is located inside a fascinating, if somewhat unexciting looking building which was once a power plant. Yet the history of electricity usage in Penrith actually dates back far further than the building itself! In fact, in early October, 1890, Penrith became the first area on the Sydney region and just the third in the entirety of NSW to actually make use of electricity! Electric lighting was used in approximately 60 houses in Penrith, and of course also along streets and in local businesses and public buildings, including the railway station. The mayoress of Sydney flicked the switch to turn the electricity on on October 3, 1890, and such was the excitement that thousands came to watch. The day itself was even a public holiday!

The early uptake of electricity in Penrith initially nearly ruined Penrith, with an economic depression soon following and the expense of the new electric light adding to the burden. Then, as more people began to move to the Penrith area, increasing power was needed. By the mid 1940s it was clear that Penrith itself needed its own power station. The power plant was built in the early 1950s to service the growing suburbs in the west of Sydney and continued to supply the power needs of the people of Penrith for nearly 20 years. The power station closed in 1970, and the Museum of Fire opened in the premises within a decade. Today, the Museum of Fire has been operating at the site for more than 30 years. 

Roy Creates Quick Kulich Loaves

This Easter, Roy decided he wanted to try his hand at making something he has heard about, but hadn’t had the chance to try. Kulich is a traditional Easter bread which is made in countries including Russia, Romania, Serbia and the Ukraine. It is traditionally taken to Church for the Easter service and blessed, then eaten before breakfast. Leftover Kulich is eaten with Pashka for dessert (or breakfast!) Usually, it is made in round tins, like fruit or coffee tins, but Roy didn’t have any of these to hand. Nor did he have the time to make a proper Kulich which goes through multiple rises. Then, he found a recipe in an old cookbook for ‘Quick Kulich’ and was impressed by the results. So this week, Roy Creates Quick Kulich Loaves.

You Will Need:

• 3 and ½ cups of plain flour, plus one cup of plain flour – so 4 and ½ cups in total.
• ¼ of a cup of sugar
• 4 and ½ teaspoons of quick acting yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• ½ a cup of milk
• ¼ of a cup of water
• ¼ of a cup of butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ a cup of chopped nuts (Roy used walnuts)
• 1 cup of mixed fruit
• 1/3 of a cup of icing sugar
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of milk

Method:

• Prepare two bread tins by greasing them with butter

• In a large bowl, combine the 3 and ½ cups of flour, sugar, yeast, nutmeg and salt and mix thoroughly
• In a small saucepan heat the milk, water and butter together until they are hot but not boiling (about 50 or 60 degrees celcius)
• In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and vanilla together with a fork

• Add the milk, water and butter mix to the dry ingredients and mix
• Add the egg mix and mix thoroughly

• Add the fruit and nuts and mix together
• Add more flour until you have a soft dough. You may not need the whole extra cup of flour
• Knead the bread on a lightly floured surface for about 4 minutes, adding more flour if the dough becomes too sticky.

• Divide the dough into two and knead them into rough loaf shapes

• Drop the dough into the bread tins, cover with plastic wrap and a clean cloth (Roy used a tea towel) and set aside in a warm place to rise. This will take around 30 minutes and the dough will double in size
• Bake for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of your loaves. You will know the Kulich is cooked if you tap it and it sounds hollow

• Take the bread out of the tins (they should come out easily) and cool on a cooling rack
• When the bread is cold, mix together the icing sugar and enough of the milk to make a glaze. Drizzle over the bread and allow to set
• Slice the Kulich and enjoy either with butter or, if you have some, with Pashka!
• Enjoy

To Prevent Infection Spreading

To prevent spread of infection - few people know than an onion, cut up into 4 parts and put in a sick room, where there is any infectious disease, takes in all the infection. 

(Women's Missionary Association of the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales, Cookery Book of Good and Tried Receipts, circa 1910)

Roy Recreates Fool Proof Chocolate Cakes

This week, Roy is revisiting an old post for what he calls 'Fool Proof Chocolate Cakes'. Roy loves to bake, and often when he is asked to bring something for morning or afternoon tea, he turns to this recipe. The cakes it produces are light, chocolatey and delicious and recently he has been asked several times for the recipe. So often in fact that he decided to repost it to the blog - 6 years after originally posting it! So this week, Roy Recreates Fool Proof Chocolate Cakes.

You Will Need:

• 1/2 a cup of butter or margarine
• 1 and a 1/4 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa (the better quality the cocoa you use, the richer the cakes will be)
• 2 cups of self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda
• 1 cup of boiling water
• A mixing bowl
• 2 20 centimetre cake tins or 2 loaf tins lined with baking paper (or the equivalent)
• A wooden spoon

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius
• Cream the butter and sugar together. It doesn't need to be perfect, just well mixed. All you need for this recipe is a wooden spoon - no electric beaters needed, unless you want to use them.

• Add the eggs, flour, cocoa and vanilla and mix them together.

• Add the bicarbonate soda to the boiling water and mix them together (the bicarbonate soda should fizz) then pour them into the cake batter and mix them in thoroughly.

• Divide the mix, as evenly as you can between the 2 cake tins and give them a tap on the bench to settle the mix
• Bake the cakes for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean

• Let the cakes cool completely
• At this point, if you like, you can freeze one of the cakes. Wrap it securely in cling wrap and freeze. It defrosts perfectly.
• If you want to, ice the cakes with chocolate icing and sprinkle them with coconut. You can find the recipe for the icing in Roy's Cupcake Recipe (to visit, click here) Simply use coconut instead of hundreds and thousands. Of course, you could also use hundreds and thousands - whatever you like.

Roy Recreates Fool Proof Chocolate Cakes

This week, Roy is revisiting an old post for what he calls 'Fool Proof Chocolate Cakes'. Roy loves to bake, and often when he is asked to bring something for morning or afternoon tea, he turns to this recipe. The cakes it produces are light, chocolatey and delicious and recently he has been asked several times for the recipe. So often in fact that he decided to repost it to the blog - 6 years after originally posting it! So this week, Roy Recreates Fool Proof Chocolate Cakes.

You Will Need:

• 1/2 a cup of butter or margarine
• 1 and a 1/4 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa (the better quality the cocoa you use, the richer the cakes will be)
• 2 cups of self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda
• 1 cup of boiling water
• A mixing bowl
• 2 20 centimetre cake tins or 2 loaf tins lined with baking paper (or the equivalent)
• A wooden spoon

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius
• Cream the butter and sugar together. It doesn't need to be perfect, just well mixed. All you need for this recipe is a wooden spoon - no electric beaters needed, unless you want to use them.

• Add the eggs, flour, cocoa and vanilla and mix them together.

• Add the bicarbonate soda to the boiling water and mix them together (the bicarbonate soda should fizz) then pour them into the cake batter and mix them in thoroughly.

• Divide the mix, as evenly as you can between the 2 cake tins and give them a tap on the bench to settle the mix
• Bake the cakes for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean

• Let the cakes cool completely
• At this point, if you like, you can freeze one of the cakes. Wrap it securely in cling wrap and freeze. It defrosts perfectly.
• If you want to, ice the cakes with chocolate icing and sprinkle them with coconut. You can find the recipe for the icing in Roy's Cupcake Recipe (to visit, click here) Simply use coconut instead of hundreds and thousands. Of course, you could also use hundreds and thousands - whatever you like.