Australia

[Akhenaten]

We need to be armed with bat'leths, of course.

We were talking about this at the local and one guy was insisting that bats were rodents - flying mice. He didn't believe me when I told him they were more closely related to primates.

Bat'leths? Hija! Qa Tlho'.

How could I have left THEM out?


Anyway, maybe your friend was thinking of pigeons. They are obviously flying rodents, as classified by the great taxonomist, Woody Allen.



Qapla' batlh je,

Da'ave

 

[Akhenaten]

More fine Australian cuisine.

 

[Akhenaten]

Just in, from the New Zealand Herald:

4:00AM Thursday Apr 23, 2009

Two bad-tempered Australians caused anxious moments for the crew of a Royal New Zealand Air Force Hercules.

Saltwater crocodiles Scar, from the Northern Territory, and Goldie, from Cairns in Queensland, were airborne on their way to a new life at Manukau's Butterfly Creek Zoo when they broke their head restraints, zoo general manager John Dowsett said.

"It was a bit fraught ... Two of them broke their head-ropes and began thrashing around. The plane was shaking. The pilot was turning and raising his eyebrows.

Well if the pilot raised his eyebrows, it was definitely serious.

 

[Sideroxylon]

Anzac biscuits, Tim Tams, lamingtons and meat pies are all pretty stereotypical but I can’t say I greatly miss any of these. A Paul’s iced coffee might make the list – The uncited claim on Wikipedia that it’s the second most popular beverage in Darwin, after beer could well be true.

What I really miss is the variety of cuisines available back home. When you want to eat out there is so much choice – a benefit of our multicultural society. The range of ingredients in the supermarket reflects people’s interest in reproducing and combining international flavours in their own kitchens. Then there is that fine local produce to work with. Aussie food is great but I don’t think we have had enough time to develop any strong defining characteristics and maybe that’s a good thing.

 

[Jeff Corey]

Aren't you forgetting somethink?http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/allmenareliars/vegemite.jpg

 

[Old Bob]

Out west from Dalby on some of the untouched land it is pitted with "melon holes" amongst the scrub. They are depressions from 10 ft to 50 and about 2-4 foot deep,in wet times they fill up, breeding mozzies. They often are so close it's hard to drive between and the pigs love them. Dozers are used and land graders to level the paddocks,roos by the thousands. Our gov gives roo shooters only so many tags to cull - worked out from Canberra and once they have quota filled too bad. Then the owner has to illegally cull and leave them to rot. The drought has killed millions but they soon breed up. We were in so many mozzies it was hard to see the x hairs in the evening clearly yet the animals and birds put up with it. In some spots you would die overnight without protection. Now I know I'm putting a lot on Dave to detail and explain, lucky the nights are getting longer. I have no idea how all the hollows form in flat country that would bog a duck when it rains. Thanks to Mr Toyota we could get out. Also thousands of whistler ducks live in that area. Some odd holes at Bunderberg in hard conglormite called "The Mystery Craters" are worth a mention too.

 

[Akhenaten]

Anzac biscuits, Tim Tams, lamingtons and meat pies are all pretty stereotypical but I can’t say I greatly miss any of these. A Paul’s iced coffee might make the list – The uncited claim on Wikipedia that it’s the second most popular beverage in Darwin, after beer could well be true.

I'll back up the 'pedia on this one from memory and personal experience. Paul's iced coffee is the only refreshing thing in the Territory that tastes even remotely like its southern counterpart.

The water is dreadful, and it's too hot for coffee or tea. GI cordial is good, but the ants get in it. The milk is awful too, because there aren't many dairy cows up there, so it's largely reconstituted from powder. Iced coffee does the best job of masking the taste.

I will also vouch for beer being used as a substitute for milk on one's cornflakes in the morning. Room temperature and flattish works best and it really does taste better than the moo juice. Also saves wasting the dregs from the previous evening.

What I really miss is the variety of cuisines available back home. When you want to eat out there is so much choice – a benefit of our multicultural society. The range of ingredients in the supermarket reflects people’s interest in reproducing and combining international flavours in their own kitchens. Then there is that fine local produce to work with. Aussie food is great but I don’t think we have had enough time to develop any strong defining characteristics and maybe that’s a good thing.

I'm sure we're spoiled that way. Melbourne, to name one place, has an incredible range of options available. I'd love to eat my way up Sydney Road one lifetime. Darwin seems to be in another country altogether, foodwise, and the Asian food there is the best I've had, although I haven't made it to the Flower Drum yet.

While it's true that we don't have a national cuisine, if we were to vote for a national dish then I'd go for Chilli Mud Crab. It features at a lot of Asian restaurants in the Valley in Brisvegas, and it's to die for.


Cheers.

I'll think of you on Saturday.


Dave

 

[Akhenaten]

Aren't you forgetting somethink? http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/allmenareliars/vegemite.jpg

Well, yes, but girls aren't usually considered to be "cuisine".

Oh wait . . . spread it all over . . . now I see. Yeah, I'd eat that.

Geez I'm a drongo sometimes, fair dinkum.


No wukkers Dude,

Dave

 

[Akhenaten]

@ Old Bob

I'm a couple of stories behind you, but nobody else will get a word in edgewise if I don't shut up a bit. We'll get back to Cooktown and mysterious holes on the Western Downs after a bit of a smoko.




Cheers Mate,

Dave

 

[Old Bob]

Ok Dave, I must have too much time on my hands, will also shut up for awhile. Thinking of going for a drive south before it gets too cold at Porepunkah. (NE. Vic)

 

[Akhenaten]

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.


Lest we forget​

 

[Sideroxylon]

Aren't you forgetting somethink?http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/allmenareliars/vegemite.jpg

It’s probably blasphemy in this thread, but I have never liked the stuff (to be clear, I'm talking about vegimite).

I'm sure we're spoiled that way. Melbourne, to name one place, has an incredible range of options available. I'd love to eat my way up Sydney Road one lifetime. Darwin seems to be in another country altogether, foodwise, and the Asian food there is the best I've had, although I haven't made it to the Flower Drum yet.

While it's true that we don't have a national cuisine, if we were to vote for a national dish then I'd go for Chilli Mud Crab. It features at a lot of Asian restaurants in the Valley in Brisvegas, and it's to die for.
Cheers.
I'll think of you on Saturday.

Dave

Thanks mate, I’ll get to watch some of the various dawn services on the news and try to follow my beloved Magpies in the Anzac Day match.
I might have to fire up Google Earth for a virtual trip up Sydney road and through the Valley. West End in Brisvegas also had a few good places to eat out and seemed to be developing. The Flower Drum certainly rings a bell but I don’t think I’ve tried there either. Chilli Mud Crab sounds the go or some lovely fresh Tiger prawns.

John

 

[Akhenaten]

That is a cool website - I was interested under the regional entries, for the North Coast of NSW - "Not sighted off Nobbies" was not mentioned. It is one of the most enigmatic of sayings. Seemingly connected to Nobbies headland in Newcastle. But who they were looking for or who was doing the looking has never been explained.

I asked Mum, who spent many of her younger years in Newcastle during the 1930s and 40s, and scored some information. This is what she says:

Nobbies Headland (and accompanying beach) was where the rougher elements of the Castle used to go to sort out their differences "man-to-man". Because this was seen as a reasonable social pressure valve, the police were willing to turn a blind eye to the rough-housing, as long as it wasn't seen off Nobbies.

It's an anecdote, but I like it, and I hardly ever believe Mum's stories.


Cheers,

Dave

 

[Akhenaten]

It’s probably blasphemy in this thread, but I have never liked the stuff (to be clear, I'm talking about vegimite).

I hated it when I was a kid, and so did my Dad. I only developed a taste for it bcause my wife absolutely loved it, and all the other spreads in the house ended up with enough Vegemite in them that they all tased like it too. At some point I became sick of the taste of Vegemite honey and took the path of least resistance. Now I enjoy it every day.

She used to like ½ Vegemite and ½ strawberry jam on her toast, which tastes exactly as bad as it sounds, for my money.

Thanks mate, I’ll get to watch some of the various dawn services on the news and try to follow my beloved Magpies in the Anzac Day match.
I might have to fire up Google Earth for a virtual trip up Sydney road and through the Valley. West End in Brisvegas also had a few good places to eat out and seemed to be developing. The Flower Drum certainly rings a bell but I don’t think I’ve tried there either. Chilli Mud Crab sounds the go or some lovely fresh Tiger prawns.

John

I had a pretty quiet day. I'm in a tiny little town and I think everyone attends the dawn service in larger places like Kilmore and Seymour, so I was on my pat this year, and I thought it worked out quite well. I stayed for a couple of hours, talkin' to the Diggers, and didn't have to listen to any god-bothery stuff. As long as someone in town showed up to remember, I'm content, and I have a few years left in me yet, so all's well.

Yeah, the West End is grouse, and probably safer to walk around in than the Valley. Tiger prawns yeah! Yummo.

The Flower Drum is a really expensive Chinese restaurant in Melbourne. It seems a waste to go on my own, so I'm hoping to make a friend one day.


Cheers,

Dave

 

[Akhenaten]

Ok Dave, I must have too much time on my hands, will also shut up for awhile. Thinking of going for a drive south before it gets too cold at Porepunkah. (NE. Vic)

We could both talk the legs off an iron pot from time to time. Gives the others something to look at and point, so we're doing OK.


Porepunkah would have been beautiful last week, (how many times do you hear that? ) but the first of the Winter's cold fronts have arrived, and it's freezing. Falls Creek had 20cm of snow last night. Brrr.


Don't you dare come to Victoria without us arranging a little drinky.

 

[gumboot]

I pick up and recycle words all the time, and this is a classic example. I picked up "bugger" (no sexual overtones, gentle foreign readers) from the TV ads for Toyota, featuring the talking Blue Heeler, and started using it as a replacement for "bummer" which I'd earlier picked up from American TV.

It's not a Blue Heeler, it's a New Zealand Huntaway (it's a New Zealand commercial).

 

[lionking]

Well I just have to bow to a New Zealander's superior knowledge of buggery.

 

[gumboot]

I must confess that I have been speaking out of turn on behalf of the Kiwis. I hope a son or daughter of Aotearoa will enlighten us all.

I just barely came into this world early enough to have the opportunity to speak to a few WWI veterans. I think the thoughts you've all reflected are much in keeping with what the Kiwi soldiers were feeling and thinking.

Acclaimed New Zealand writer Maurice Shadbolt (not to be confused with his odd politician brother Tim Shadbolt) interviewed a great number of Kiwi veterans and assembled their stories in his work Voices from Gallipoli, a recommended read.

He used these stories as the basis for his moving play Once On Chunuk Bair, recounting the Wellington Battalion's desperate battle to seize and hold one of two vital positions during the Allied break out.

Tragically after repulsing wave after wave of Turkish counter attacks, British ships shelled the New Zealand positions, believing that there was no way there could still be any allies left alive on the peak. The Wellington Battalion commander - Lt Col William Malone (who defied Godley's insane order to assault in broad daylight and instead took the peak virtually unopposed at night) was killed in the shelling. His legacy remains, however; the ceremonial dress hat of the NZ Army (known as the "lemon squeezer") was created by Malone, inspired by the shape of Mt Taranaki.

Of the 760 men of the Wellington Battalion who captured Chunuk Bair, only 49 would ever come back down.

 

[gumboot]

Well I just have to bow to a New Zealander's superior knowledge of buggery.

Touché

 

[Akhenaten]

It's not a Blue Heeler, it's a New Zealand Huntaway (it's a New Zealand commercial).

Damn! Why don't I check things better?

Thanks for the heads-up mate. I have no idea why I thought it was a Blue Heeler. Great ads, though, so well done Kiwis.

New Zealand Huntaway

©Wikipedia

Well I just have to bow to a New Zealander's superior knowledge of buggery.

Cheers fellers,

Dave