Rod Stewart

What a great interview, Andrew Denton with Rod Stewart the other night on ABC....
Always loved his music; but it was his honesty, humility & down-to-earth nature that really shone through...

ANDREW DENTON: What was it like for you eh, you’d been playing for a long time? You’d been in various bands including The Faces and then suddenly all around the world this was a number one hit. What was that…?
ROD STEWART: Ah tremendous. I think it probably you know, the most pleasure I got out of it was I saw in me mum and dad’s eyes at the time, you know that they were so proud of me because they never once told me when I was struggling musician go and get a job or you’re never going to make it. They believed in me, so I think that was probably the biggest pleasure I, you know, the look in their eyes. I remember it to this day.
ANDREW: By the end of the decade punk came along, and the punk people declared you as a, as a boring old fart.
ROD STEWART: They were quite right.
***

ROD STEWART: The punk thing was like ’75, ’76, ’77, and then I did do a big bandwagon jump in and I did disco. Forgot about that one, you bastard. I was hoping you wouldn’t bring that up.
ANDREW DENTON: Well, I was going to refer to it as ‘The Spandex Years’ actually.
ROD STEWART: Yeah, ‘The old Spandex Years’. What a pair of legs I had in those days. ANDREW DENTON: You’ve said you were a hero for some of the stuff you wore. What are some of the outfits you remember?
ROD STEWART: Oh I think the most bizarre one was with the, with The Faces, where I used to put, you know, those feather boas. I used to wear three round me waist — red, yellow, any colours — but I always wore three. I mean it looked like a ballerinas tutu but I got away with it. I think I got away with it, and then I had the spandex cutaway which just showed two nipples. My kids look at these pictures now and think - dad, how could you do it? But you look back on what you wore and it all seemed OK at the time. It’s only in retrospect you look and you go - oh my God, what was I doing, you know?

ANDREW DENTON: ‘With Do You Think I’m Sexy?’, you donated the royalties for that to UNICEF. Why was that?
ROD STEWART: Um, I don’t know why. I think it had something to do, cos I nicked the song.
ANDREW DENTON: Would you call yours a great voice?ROD STEWART: I would call it distinct. I wouldn’t say it’s a great voice compared to Pavarotti, the late Pavarotti. I mean that’s technically a brilliant voice, but I think mine’s very distinct and it’s very eh, very emotional and I think it can at times, tug on the heart strings.

One of my all-time favourites; -

Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one else above you
Fill my heart with gladness
take away all my sadness
ease my troubles that's what you do

For the morning sun in all it's glory
greets the day with hope and comfort too
You fill my life with laughter
and somehow you make it better
ease my troubles that's what you do
There's a love that's divine
and it's yours and it's mine like the sun
And at the end of the day
we should give thanks and pray
to the one, to the one

Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one else above you
Fill my heart with gladness
take away all my sadness
ease my troubles that's what you do

There's a love that's divine
and it's yours and it's mine like the sun
And at the end of the day
we should give thanks and pray
to the one, to the one

And have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one else above you
You fill my heart with gladness
take away my sadness
ease my troubles that's what you do
Take away all my sadness
fill my life with gladness
ease my troubles that's what you do
Take away all my sadness
fill my life with gladness
ease my troubles that's what you do

Ahh, Rodders...gotta luv ya!! Thanks for the music.

Seed-Raising

There's a bit of a knack to seed-raising; I've read and tried lots of different things and wasted heaps of seed, but finally have come up with a good method that's fairly consistent. I'm glad I persisted as growing your own from seed gives you far more variety than the seedlings available from nurseries and hardware stores, and they're usually alot healthier and disease & pest-resistant too.

The method I now use, is to make up my own seed raising mix from 50:50 river sand and coir (coconut fibre) mix. Place this into clean seed tray. Stand seed tray in a bowl or sink of water until whole mix is moist. This will only take a second or two if you've just made the coir brick up and its already moist. Press the top of the mix down slightly. Sprinkle seed on top. Sieve or sprinkle a light layer of compost/seed raising mix on top of this depending on size of seed. Refer to packet - usually depth for planting is 3 times width of seed. ie. larger seed needs planting deeper than very fine seed. I then label all the seed trays and place them in a single tray that has a piece of newspaper and old carpet lining in it, which I dampen. As most seeds germinate best in the dark (lettuce is an exception) - I cover the tray with a few layers of newspaper, placed carefully over the tray so the plant markers stay in place, then cover newspaper with a layer of plastic that was left over from a roll when we renovated the back verandah and made pull-down blinds. You can buy it by the metre from spotlight, otherwise another really good idea (if you don't have a greenhouse or prefer to keep the seeds near the door so you don't forget about them) is to get one of those plastic suit/clothes protectors from the $2 shop, with a zipper down the middle. Leave the seeds alone for a few days, then check to see if any have germinated. Some take a couple of days - some can take up to a couple of weeks or more. If you keep the humidity in though with the plastic cover and keep them in the shade, they won't require any more watering until they germinate. This is how I managed to kill most of my seeds off previously - by over-watering; using bought seed-raising mix, and not covering them so the soil dried out in between watering. I discovered this all accidentally after sowing some seeds then going on holiday and forgetting about them for a week. I came back to find that they had all germinated - due to following all the conditions above (again, more by accident).

I then 'prick out' the seeds when they get their 2nd set of leaves, using various implements I've found just for this job; and transplant them into my home-made potting mix. This is mostly compost with a handful of river sand, coir and some blood & bone. Worm castings are good if you have them too. Linda Woodrow suggests getting a shallow polystyrene box, placing about 12 - 2L plastic milk containers in with the top & bottoms cut out, filling with the potting mix, pushing a hole in and carefully transplanting the seedling in to this, pushing the soil back around the stem. These then get hardened off, before planting into the garden with the plastic container still around them to protect the plant. This is what I'm working towards, although you have to be fairly consistent with sowing seed, transplanting and planting out - and sometimes its easier just to throw a few seeds into the garden and see what happens....

I just find the whole process of growing a plant that can yield possibly several kilo's of vegetables from a tiny little seed so fascinating - no wonder the story of 'jack and the beanstalk' has fascinated children for so long.

Baking Dishes

I seem to be getting a bit of a collection of baking dishes with recipes printed on them - partly because I can't be bothered to go hunting for recipes, and partly because the dish suits the particular recipe so well. Like the 'Best Ever Banana Bread' 'Best Ever Lemon Slice' 'Apple Pie' and a great, deep ceramic dish for Quiche. (Recipes to follow....watch this space)!
I also got a pancake pan the other day from Woolworth's, as we do make quite alot and just used a normal frying pan but the first few always stick to the bottom. Didn't realise until I got home that the recipe for pancakes was printed on the bottom! Whether heat will make it disappear in time remains to be seen - better copy it down just in case...

Plant-a-genda

I now have a very nifty box to store all my seed packets in. When you're done planting a few seeds you can move it to the next month to remind you to do succession planting, so you don't end up with a huge glut of one type of veggie. Winter veg can be stored in the correct months after checking the info on the seed packet, and there's a 'what to sow when' chart and companion planting guide. If I had the time and could gather the materials, I would probably have made something similar as it is a bit pricey for what you get - but for the organisation factor alone, for me its worth every cent. See www.plantagenda.com.au

Chilli Chicken Stirfry

Ooh, this is so yummy and healthy - and only takes about 10-15 mins to throw together. Chop some onion and garlic and fry gently in a bit of olive oil. Add some thin strips chicken breast or thigh fillets, and cook until tender & golden. Add a good amount of finely diced vegetables. I use a bag of frozen stir-fry veg from Aldi, if I'm trying to put a meal together at the end of a very long day. I always see what's in the fridge and maybe add some diced capsicum, celery, zucchini, broccoli and some baby bok choy/spinach from the garden too. Then just stir in a a good dollop of hot chilli - fresh if you have it, or get those jars or they come in tubes now, 1/4 cup teriaki sauce and a good dash of honey. If you have a fresh jar of sprouts make sure you throw those in. You can also add 1 tbspn of fresh coriander if you like it - personally I can't stand the stuff and I can whiff it a mile away. Serve with rice.

Currently reading...

These 3 books are great - I've read them all through, but these are the sort of books you keep handy and keep on referring to. They're all Australian - 'Easy Organic Gardening' by Lyn Bagnall is packed with info on organic gardening and includes a really good guide to each fruit/veg and moon planting guide - basically everything you need to know. As mentioned previously, 'The Permaculture Home Garden' by Linda Woodrow is my absolute inspiration and full of brilliant advise, and finally 'Living the Good Life' by Linda Cockburn is a great read by someone I admire greatly who has walked the walk, before talking the talk. A very down-to-earth and witty account of one family trying to live for 6 months without spending a cent. Christmas is coming - put 'em on your list, you won't regret it!!

Container Veggie Gardening

There's no excuse for not growing some of your own food with these veggie gardens that can sit right outside your kitchen door. With the right care, its amazing how much you can continue picking from them. These were only planted out two weeks ago, and have already grown considerably. I used some of the chives and parsley on my omelette today. And of course, once you feel confident with this - its exactly the same principles with a bigger veggie patch.

So, you'll need a recycled polystyrene container from a greengrocer or fishmonger. They will be happy to give these away as due to food regulations, (and just shows what horrendous waste we have here) they can only be used once. A good, deep oblong one is perfect. Punch some holes in the bottom for drainage and lay some newspaper in the bottom. Fill with a 50:50 mix of organic potting mix and coir - which is recycled coconut husks that you buy in a brick from any hardware place for about $2.50. Place it in a bucket of water and leave for an hour, by which time it will have absorbed all the water, and filled the bucket completely. Mix this with potting mix and a handful of blood and bone. Fill container.

Now for the fun part, make holes in the soil mix and carefully plant the seedlings. This box has 3 lettuce down the middle, 2 cherry tomatoes along with a stake at each end, chives or shallots, parsley - 2 varieties, silverbeet, rocket, beetroot (use leaves in salads), bok choy and at each end we pushed in a couple of bean seeds that will grow out and trail over the box. You then need to add a good handful of complete organic fertiliser granules, again - only a couple of dollars from the hardware store and water everything in really well. Add a good layer of mulch such as pea straw, lucerne or anything that is fairly easy to spread around the plants (straw is too long/sharp and could damage the seedlings). I've stood the box on 2 bricks so it doesn't damage the deck and drains better; but it is pretty heavy once its filled with the soil. You can sprinkle some organic snail pellets around the plants if you need to, but I haven't had any problems with pests at all being so close to the house and raised from the ground. When you're learning to grow veggies, there's enough to think about without worrying about every single pest that comes along! Even with veggies in the garden, this is still a great option for last minute extra's to add to meals and alot of fun, especially when you get little children involved in learning all about gardening.
Thanks to BM 'Cittaslow', BM Permaculture Network & BM City Council for promoting home kitchen gardens... contact any of these for future courses or info available from Food Co-op, Katoomba.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Sixty Minutes tonight carried a great story on the Australian Light Horse and their famous battle at Beersheba. On October 31, 1917 they went on the attack against the Turks. Eight hundred daring horseman charging into immortality.It was a massive gamble, but it paid off and changed the course of the war in the Middle East. 90 years on and the children and grandchildren of the Light Horsemen have returned to the Holy Land to pay their respects and remember the bravery of their fathers, and grandfathers.
In 1854, 673 soldiers charged into the North Valley above Balaclava in the Crimea inspiring the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'. I love this poem - not because it glorifies war - but because it shows the tenacity of the human spirit against all the odds. Most of us understand that war is futile; but despite the impossible situation these men found themselves in, they determinedly followed their orders, and rode together alongside their mates into battle. Out of the Australians, amazingly only 33 were killed. Of the British at the Crimea, 113 were killed, many more were injured or missing, presumed captured.

'Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre-stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Best Ever Scones

Its worth picking up a copy of this month's 'delicious' magazine, as its got a free book of 'cafe' food recipes with it. You won't, however, find this recipe in there. As much as I'd love to try 'white fig & marsala cheesecake' amongst other gourmet stuff - I'm just a simple girl at heart. And an English one at that - so we make scones. For this recipe, you need:-
2 cups Self-raising flour, 1/2 tspn salt, 1 tspn baking powder/ 55 g butter (cut into small squares), 150ml milk, fresh whipped cream & jam to serve.
You:-
Preheat oven to 230 deg celcius. Lightly flour a baking sheet. I use my little food processor that I got off e-bay, so it makes it really quick to make. You simply add flour, salt & baking powder. Pulse to mix. Add butter & mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Pour in milk to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead lightly. Flatten with your hand until 2cm thick and cut into rounds. Place on tray and bake 8-10 mins until well risen & golden. Split while warm and serve with jam & cream. If you brush the tops with milk & sprinkle with cinnamon before baking, you get that lovely golden colour.

Bougainvillea

The year after planting the bougainvillea and its climbed to the top of the fence and is a riot of colour. One is hot pink, the other lilac, and both look sensational. That's whats so great about Spring - just when you're starting to think that you've managed to kill everything living thing you planted last year (OK - I did lose a few things....) suddenly they burst into new growth and colour.