Tuesday 23 December 2008
Sunday 30 November 2008
faceless malls
We had to go out to Bondi Junction today to go to Spotlight (the fabric shop) to buy materials to cover cushions and chairs. There is a HUGE Westfield Mall at Bondi Junction, which is kind of depressing in that type of way that only malls can be. I guess it's not so bad though...it's quite clean and airy anyway.
In any case, we did discover something very good about the Bondi Junction Westfield. In the foodcourt, they have a De Costi fish stand where you can get good fish and chips for under $10. And De Costi customers have exclusive access to the food court balcony, which has this lovely view back over the city:
Mark is pleased on the balcony. All full of fish and chips.
In any case, we did discover something very good about the Bondi Junction Westfield. In the foodcourt, they have a De Costi fish stand where you can get good fish and chips for under $10. And De Costi customers have exclusive access to the food court balcony, which has this lovely view back over the city:
Mark is pleased on the balcony. All full of fish and chips.
Tuesday 25 November 2008
Macaroni Cheese
*Bounces gleefully*
This was the best macaroni cheese EVER.
The only slip-up was the fact that I rather erroneously forgot to divide the amounts in the recipe and have ended up with macaroni cheese to feed 6. And the only person here is me. Oops. Oh well....I know what I'll be having for lunch tomorrow! And dinner....! (Although I draw the line at breakfast.)
Recipe
Melt 40g butter in saucepan.
Add 40g plain flour and stir obsessively.
Add approx. 400ml milk, slowly, keep stirring like life depends on it.
Bring to boil, keep stirring, no slacking. Then add a bit extra milk and leave to simmer, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile....
Boil macaroni.
Just before pasta is done, add a load of grated cheese and french mustard to the sauce. Stir in.
Drain pasta and put into dish, and cover in sauce. Mix it up a bit. Put tomatoes on top.
Bake super-hot for 20-30 minutes.
Douse in Worcester Sauce.
CONSUME!
Monday 24 November 2008
Furniture
Having grown tired of endless pootling around furniture stores, antique stores, junk stores looking for furniture we actually liked, we resorted to eBay last week. Which turned out surprisingly successful!
Mark got this chair. It was half way through a restoration but the guy gave up. We're gonna get the cushion covered soon. It's very comfy.
Drawers! Having gone from two huge fitted wardrobes in our Nottingham flat to...well...nothing over here, there was a clothes storage crisis. This has solved the problem AND looks amazing. I like how both things have the little tapered legs. Like elegant little gazelles. Gazelles? I clearly know nothing about furniture....
It was interesting to hear the stories of the guys who were selling the furniture when they brought it round. The guy with the chair had been planning to start up a furniture business, restoring this kind of style of stuff, but he said it just never got off the ground so he was now selling on a lot of the stock he had collected. The other guy simply collected furniture of this type, and said that obviously every now and again he ended up with way too much, and had to sell some on.
Mark is in Canberra. He left at some ungodly hour this morning (5.45am I think) and will be back on Thursday. It is odd to be all alone in the house for the first time. I'm going to make a thai yellow curry with the rest of my prawns and get early to bed I think. I was going to make macaroni cheese (Mark doesn't like it, I have to wait til he's away) but I forgot to buy Worcestershire Sauce on the way home and to have macaroni cheese without Worcester Sauce is having a car without an engine. It just won't go.
Mark got this chair. It was half way through a restoration but the guy gave up. We're gonna get the cushion covered soon. It's very comfy.
Drawers! Having gone from two huge fitted wardrobes in our Nottingham flat to...well...nothing over here, there was a clothes storage crisis. This has solved the problem AND looks amazing. I like how both things have the little tapered legs. Like elegant little gazelles. Gazelles? I clearly know nothing about furniture....
It was interesting to hear the stories of the guys who were selling the furniture when they brought it round. The guy with the chair had been planning to start up a furniture business, restoring this kind of style of stuff, but he said it just never got off the ground so he was now selling on a lot of the stock he had collected. The other guy simply collected furniture of this type, and said that obviously every now and again he ended up with way too much, and had to sell some on.
Mark is in Canberra. He left at some ungodly hour this morning (5.45am I think) and will be back on Thursday. It is odd to be all alone in the house for the first time. I'm going to make a thai yellow curry with the rest of my prawns and get early to bed I think. I was going to make macaroni cheese (Mark doesn't like it, I have to wait til he's away) but I forgot to buy Worcestershire Sauce on the way home and to have macaroni cheese without Worcester Sauce is having a car without an engine. It just won't go.
Sunday 23 November 2008
Day in the Life of Pie
It is rather unfortunate that I am not even coming close to achieving my one post a day aim for November. There just aren't enough hours in most days to do it! Here is an outline of an average weekday in my life at the moment:
Morning
6.50am: Alarm goes off. snooze for 15 minutes. If I'm lucky Mark brings me a cup of tea.
7-7.10am: Out of bed! Drink juice. Have shower, wash hair.
7.30-8.10am: Dry hair, get dressed, pack lunch and other bits for work.
8.10am: Leave for train station.
8.19am: Board train for the city. Then I chill out and listen to Bartok or Saint-Saens or Sigur Ros and read my book.
8.50: Train arrives at Town Hall station. Walk to office on George Street. I work for a Health Insurance company. Sometimes buy muffin or banana bread on route.
9am: At work! I look at claims. Lots of claims...
Afternoon
1pm approx: Have lunch. Do any errands in the city that need doing.
After lunch: Process claims and other fun work stuff.
5pm: I endeavour to leave work around 5, but often it's 5.30pm.
6-6.30pm: Arrive home.
6.30pm: Often I go for a run or a walk in the park, or I sit and have a cup of tea or tidy up some stuff.
7.15pm-ish: Start doing dinner.
8-9pm (depending on what I've cooked!): Eat dinner with Mark.
9pm-ish: Wash-up, clean kitchen.
9.30pm: Get ready for bed. Wash face, clean teeth, and I always wash my feet before bed. If there's time, watch an episode of House or another series on DVD. Or read.
10-10.30pm: Off to slumberland!
So there is unfortunately very little time for blogging :( Or any of the other things I want to do :(
Morning
6.50am: Alarm goes off. snooze for 15 minutes. If I'm lucky Mark brings me a cup of tea.
7-7.10am: Out of bed! Drink juice. Have shower, wash hair.
7.30-8.10am: Dry hair, get dressed, pack lunch and other bits for work.
8.10am: Leave for train station.
8.19am: Board train for the city. Then I chill out and listen to Bartok or Saint-Saens or Sigur Ros and read my book.
8.50: Train arrives at Town Hall station. Walk to office on George Street. I work for a Health Insurance company. Sometimes buy muffin or banana bread on route.
9am: At work! I look at claims. Lots of claims...
Afternoon
1pm approx: Have lunch. Do any errands in the city that need doing.
After lunch: Process claims and other fun work stuff.
5pm: I endeavour to leave work around 5, but often it's 5.30pm.
6-6.30pm: Arrive home.
6.30pm: Often I go for a run or a walk in the park, or I sit and have a cup of tea or tidy up some stuff.
7.15pm-ish: Start doing dinner.
8-9pm (depending on what I've cooked!): Eat dinner with Mark.
9pm-ish: Wash-up, clean kitchen.
9.30pm: Get ready for bed. Wash face, clean teeth, and I always wash my feet before bed. If there's time, watch an episode of House or another series on DVD. Or read.
10-10.30pm: Off to slumberland!
So there is unfortunately very little time for blogging :( Or any of the other things I want to do :(
Monday 17 November 2008
Behold!
I got a certificate!
I can't remember if I ever mentioned that I got a Commendation in my GDL. Quite amazing, considering the amount of other stuff I was trying to do at the same time. But anyway, here's the proof!
I can't remember if I ever mentioned that I got a Commendation in my GDL. Quite amazing, considering the amount of other stuff I was trying to do at the same time. But anyway, here's the proof!
Sunday 16 November 2008
pleasing items
Here are a couple of bits we've acquired from vintage fairs over the past few weeks:
Two wooden boxes, $10 each. The larger one is chinese, the smaller one is of unknown origin but is lovely and carved.
We've been trying to buy a good decanter for years! These are Edwardian, we got them for $50.
Queen Anne bone china. Tea cup and saucer, and there's also a matching plate for cake. We have four sets, which cost $50 altogether.
Mark got his new chess set recently also, via eBay! We love chess.
Two wooden boxes, $10 each. The larger one is chinese, the smaller one is of unknown origin but is lovely and carved.
We've been trying to buy a good decanter for years! These are Edwardian, we got them for $50.
Queen Anne bone china. Tea cup and saucer, and there's also a matching plate for cake. We have four sets, which cost $50 altogether.
Mark got his new chess set recently also, via eBay! We love chess.
Monday 10 November 2008
Manly
I've never considered myself much of a 'beach person'. Growing up in the UK means that the beach lifestyle doesn't really come naturally, and to me, a European city break is a much more enticing prospect than the prospect of a holiday spent sat in one place on a beach with nought but a book and sunburn for company.
Mark and I took a trip out to Bondi Beach shortly after our arrival on these foreign shores and to be quite honest found it a bit of a disappointment. It was much smaller than they would have you believe, and the sea front is to be frank rather tacky. Admittedly on a winter's day it perhaps didn't appear at its best, but it put me off the beach idea for a while.
A few weeks of galleries, cafes, museums, bookshops, gardening and bars later, I found myself pondering the coastline again. So on a pleasant spring Sunday, we ferried ourselves off to Manly (quite literally - we took the ferry from Meadowbank to the City then changed to the Manly ferry to complete the journey. I do enjoy spending days traveling entirely by boat!).
Manly is one of Sydney's northern suburbs, and popular by virtue of its beaches. You arrive on the harbour side, then walk through the central pedestrianised area of shops and cafes to the ocean side, where Manly beach is. It has a lovely feel, the street lined with palm trees and strung with lanterns, and lots of outdoor dining space adjoining the cafes and restaurants. There are also a large number of fish and chip shops. We picked the one with the longest queue (yes you might have to wait a while, but the queue is usually there for a reason!), which paid off when we were handed our boxes full of the tastiest, freshest battered fish and fat chips.
I was a bit hungry and scoffed my fish before I could get the camera out!
Then we hit the beach.
My bikini got its first proper outing (trips to the Macquarie Uni swimming pool don't count!) and we had a lovely relaxing couple of hours. Everyone on the beach was very young and tanned and slender, which was a bit off-putting at first but I soon stopped worrying and enjoyed some ginger beer and Jane Austen.
I think I might be a 'beach person' now!
Mark and I took a trip out to Bondi Beach shortly after our arrival on these foreign shores and to be quite honest found it a bit of a disappointment. It was much smaller than they would have you believe, and the sea front is to be frank rather tacky. Admittedly on a winter's day it perhaps didn't appear at its best, but it put me off the beach idea for a while.
A few weeks of galleries, cafes, museums, bookshops, gardening and bars later, I found myself pondering the coastline again. So on a pleasant spring Sunday, we ferried ourselves off to Manly (quite literally - we took the ferry from Meadowbank to the City then changed to the Manly ferry to complete the journey. I do enjoy spending days traveling entirely by boat!).
Manly is one of Sydney's northern suburbs, and popular by virtue of its beaches. You arrive on the harbour side, then walk through the central pedestrianised area of shops and cafes to the ocean side, where Manly beach is. It has a lovely feel, the street lined with palm trees and strung with lanterns, and lots of outdoor dining space adjoining the cafes and restaurants. There are also a large number of fish and chip shops. We picked the one with the longest queue (yes you might have to wait a while, but the queue is usually there for a reason!), which paid off when we were handed our boxes full of the tastiest, freshest battered fish and fat chips.
I was a bit hungry and scoffed my fish before I could get the camera out!
Then we hit the beach.
My bikini got its first proper outing (trips to the Macquarie Uni swimming pool don't count!) and we had a lovely relaxing couple of hours. Everyone on the beach was very young and tanned and slender, which was a bit off-putting at first but I soon stopped worrying and enjoyed some ginger beer and Jane Austen.
I think I might be a 'beach person' now!
Sunday 9 November 2008
lazy blogger
Sunset, Paramatta River at Meadowbank, Sunday 26th October 2008
It seems the sun has set on this blog recently. No entries for an entire month. This is mostly due to having:
a) No internet
b) A new very busy full-time job
Apparently November is meant to be "NaBloPoMo" - National Blog Posting Month - and the aim is an entry every day. I'm going to give this a go - it may not be every day but I'll do it as often as I can - so welcome back, readers!
Tuesday 30 September 2008
Marmite v. Vegemite
Talk to any Marmite-loving Brit about moving to Australia and sooner or later the big Marmite Problem will come up. On Australian supermarket shelves, in amongst the Cadbury's chocolate, Heinz Baked Beans and a plethora of other recognisable brands, Marmite is conspicuously absent. And in it's place? Vegemite.
Those little red and yellow jars have been taunting me whenever I go grocery shopping. "Try me!", they seem to cry out at me, making me feel weak from Marmite withdrawal. But thus far I resisted, the advice of friends ringing in my ears: "If you like Marmite you'll never like Vegemite"...."it tastes like Marmite gone wrong"....."just get someone to send you some Marmite in the post"....
But today, I caved in. The curiousity had become too much. "If I just try it once, I never have to try it again", I thought to myself, and before I knew what was happening I was grabbing the jar, hurrying through the check-out, and dashing back up the hill home, where my loaf of bread awaited.
Dear readers, I invite you to join me now, on a journey of Vegemite discovery.
Let us start with the jar. The jar itself looks harmless enough, and it even has a yellow lid like Marmite. I bought the smallest size - easier to dispose of in case of taste-bud disaster - 150g of 'concentrated yeast extract', which cost just over $2. Proudly made in Australia since 1923. Let's see just how proud they are entitled to be.
The lid is stiff, but off it comes. The moment of truth awaits - will it look and smell like Marmite? It certainly looks like it; opaque and brown. The smell is similar too, although sweeter and perhaps less potent. Now my bread is at the ready, a nice layer of margarine on top. Only half a slice, in case it is horrific. Knife goes in....
It's like jelly! It is not runny like Marmite and in fact resembles more of a marmalade in its consistency. It does not reform it's flat surface when you remove the knife, which is disconcerting. But still, I've got this far, so on to the bread it goes. It spreads nicely; being less sticky that Marmite it doesn't pull the bread apart or refuse to leave the knife. Now we have the finished article....
I chew carefully. It is most definitely a sweeter substance than Marmite, and a lot less salty tasting. This would all be acceptable were it not for the strong aftertaste of beer. Yes, I am aware that yeast goes in beer as well as in stuff to put on bread and that this is therefore only natural, but Marmite seem to have worked out that that is a taste worth removing. Or at least covering up with excess salt. The makers of Vegemite seem to have missed the memo that nobody likes spreading thick brown beer spread on their toast.
Still, I make it through the whole thing and out the other side feeling enlightened. Whilst different from Marmite and perhaps an acquired taste, I think with a bit of perseverance I could get used to this Vegemite malarkey.
But don't worry, Marmite, it's just a little fling: you're still my number one yeast extract!
Those little red and yellow jars have been taunting me whenever I go grocery shopping. "Try me!", they seem to cry out at me, making me feel weak from Marmite withdrawal. But thus far I resisted, the advice of friends ringing in my ears: "If you like Marmite you'll never like Vegemite"...."it tastes like Marmite gone wrong"....."just get someone to send you some Marmite in the post"....
But today, I caved in. The curiousity had become too much. "If I just try it once, I never have to try it again", I thought to myself, and before I knew what was happening I was grabbing the jar, hurrying through the check-out, and dashing back up the hill home, where my loaf of bread awaited.
Dear readers, I invite you to join me now, on a journey of Vegemite discovery.
Let us start with the jar. The jar itself looks harmless enough, and it even has a yellow lid like Marmite. I bought the smallest size - easier to dispose of in case of taste-bud disaster - 150g of 'concentrated yeast extract', which cost just over $2. Proudly made in Australia since 1923. Let's see just how proud they are entitled to be.
The lid is stiff, but off it comes. The moment of truth awaits - will it look and smell like Marmite? It certainly looks like it; opaque and brown. The smell is similar too, although sweeter and perhaps less potent. Now my bread is at the ready, a nice layer of margarine on top. Only half a slice, in case it is horrific. Knife goes in....
It's like jelly! It is not runny like Marmite and in fact resembles more of a marmalade in its consistency. It does not reform it's flat surface when you remove the knife, which is disconcerting. But still, I've got this far, so on to the bread it goes. It spreads nicely; being less sticky that Marmite it doesn't pull the bread apart or refuse to leave the knife. Now we have the finished article....
I chew carefully. It is most definitely a sweeter substance than Marmite, and a lot less salty tasting. This would all be acceptable were it not for the strong aftertaste of beer. Yes, I am aware that yeast goes in beer as well as in stuff to put on bread and that this is therefore only natural, but Marmite seem to have worked out that that is a taste worth removing. Or at least covering up with excess salt. The makers of Vegemite seem to have missed the memo that nobody likes spreading thick brown beer spread on their toast.
Still, I make it through the whole thing and out the other side feeling enlightened. Whilst different from Marmite and perhaps an acquired taste, I think with a bit of perseverance I could get used to this Vegemite malarkey.
But don't worry, Marmite, it's just a little fling: you're still my number one yeast extract!
Monday 15 September 2008
Cherry Ripe
This is Platypus. He came to live with us recently from Sydney Aquarium. He likes to sleep under my pillow at night.
We got a fridge and a washing machine delivered this week. Which was a relief. Considering how many thousands of years human beings must have coped without fridges, we found being without one for a week rather hard going. And the washing machine is a nice touch too. And it's nice to be able to hang washing in a garden instead of in the corner of an apartment as we have been used to doing for so many years.
The past weekend was so much fun. On Friday Mark and I went for drinks with the Sydney postgrads in Surry Hills. The weather on Saturday was so warm - I think it hit 25 degrees. We caught the ferry in and pottered around in the city, then saw Lovers Electric at the Apple Store. I liked them. Mark bought their CD today but it's not so good recorded - I don't like the production on it. Live they were much more raw and energetic. Then we got pizza at Hugo's Bar Pizza in King's Cross. The pizza there is so good but it's so swanky! Full of cocktail-sipping rich kids... tanned skin and designer handbags....and everytime we've been it's been kind of on a whim and I've always been looking a bit rough. Haha. I don't mind though.
Sunday involved sushi, Otto Dix at the Art Gallery of NSW, and the Fair Trade Cafe in Glebe. A good combination I found.
Last Thursday I watched a French film at the cinema called Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis. It was very good, very funny. Apparently it is now the most successful film ever at the French box office. I don't really know why, since this accolade is surely normally reserved for some kind of big budget Hollywood blockbuster trash? But, hey, I'm glad it is. It is deserving. It is about French stereotype of the inhabitants of very Northern France; Nord- Pas de Calais, who are known as Ch'tis after the dialect they speak. Despite the jokes about the dialect not always translating effectively into the English subtitles, and the dialect itself not being something that most English speakers would be familiar with, it was a good story, well written, and in parts hilarious!
I forgot to mention that I also finally saw In Bruges a couple if weeks ago. This was also pretty brilliant. Basically the premise is these two hit men, hiding out in Bruges under instruction from their boss after doing a hit. The dialogue was brilliantly written, and it had this way of being one moment laugh out loud hilarious, immediately followed by quite shocking moments as more was revealed about the characters' histories. Highly recommended.
I am also in love with this chocolate bar:
Like a Bounty, BUT WITH CHERRY! CHOCOLATE CHERRY COCONUT!!!! Why don't Cadbury distribute these in the UK? I would like to shake the hand of the person that invented this!!! GENIUS! I am actually quite addicted. I spend most of everyday thinking about when I might be able to get my next Cherry Ripe. There is also Cherry Ripe ice cream. I almost died of joy.
Saturday 6 September 2008
Home sweet home.
Well, we finally made it to our new house! After a month of going near crazy in dead dump North Ryde, we moved on Wednesday into the house in Meadowbank. So far, it is every bit as good as I remembered! Beautiful period features (especially the fireplaces) and so much space! Plus there is actually public transport here! The train station is 5 minutes walk down the road, and my journey to work is now a relaxing 40-50 minutes, which is a big improvement on the almost TWO HOURS it was taking from North Ryde.
After a night sleeping on the floor on Wednesday (fortunately wrapped in our new big soft duvet), our bed arrived and it is the comfiest thing. Which is a relief considering how much we eventually decided to spend on a mattress (hope it lasts a good few years). Also the dining table and chairs got delivered from the awesome junk shop on Broadway, along with Mark's new office chair.
I will definitely get some pictures up on here in the next few days. There are two things stopping me at the moment:
1. We are now in our third day of torrential rain, and I cannot get out to photograph the outside without being washed away (I don't think much of Australian spring yet!); and
2. I have been ill, ill, ill. I have been coming down with something all week, then on Thursday night I pretty much just broke. Friday I called in sick to work and was bedridden all day, sleeping mostly. I'm getting better now, and hopefully my recovery will coincide with the rain clearing up!
When I am better I am hoping to start going to some dance classes at Sydney Dance Company. I really want to do Ballet again, but the classes have a dress code and for ballet it is obviously leotards. I'm going to feel quite shy starting at the classes on my own anyway, and I think having to turn up in nought but a leotard just might push me over the edge of comfortableness! So I think I'm going to start with Jazz or Contemporary dance since for those you can just wear gym clothes (leggings, jogging bottoms, t-shirts) and see how that goes first. Also ballet requires proper ballet shoes which I can't really afford on top of the cost of the classes for the next few weeks because of all the money spent on the house and money lost being off work sick, whereas the other classes can be done in bare feet.
I'll leave you with a picture of the beach at Meadowbank - taken obviously in better weather!
After a night sleeping on the floor on Wednesday (fortunately wrapped in our new big soft duvet), our bed arrived and it is the comfiest thing. Which is a relief considering how much we eventually decided to spend on a mattress (hope it lasts a good few years). Also the dining table and chairs got delivered from the awesome junk shop on Broadway, along with Mark's new office chair.
I will definitely get some pictures up on here in the next few days. There are two things stopping me at the moment:
1. We are now in our third day of torrential rain, and I cannot get out to photograph the outside without being washed away (I don't think much of Australian spring yet!); and
2. I have been ill, ill, ill. I have been coming down with something all week, then on Thursday night I pretty much just broke. Friday I called in sick to work and was bedridden all day, sleeping mostly. I'm getting better now, and hopefully my recovery will coincide with the rain clearing up!
When I am better I am hoping to start going to some dance classes at Sydney Dance Company. I really want to do Ballet again, but the classes have a dress code and for ballet it is obviously leotards. I'm going to feel quite shy starting at the classes on my own anyway, and I think having to turn up in nought but a leotard just might push me over the edge of comfortableness! So I think I'm going to start with Jazz or Contemporary dance since for those you can just wear gym clothes (leggings, jogging bottoms, t-shirts) and see how that goes first. Also ballet requires proper ballet shoes which I can't really afford on top of the cost of the classes for the next few weeks because of all the money spent on the house and money lost being off work sick, whereas the other classes can be done in bare feet.
I'll leave you with a picture of the beach at Meadowbank - taken obviously in better weather!
Friday 15 August 2008
crepuscular musings
If you only read one book in your life....I strongly recommend you keep your mouth shut.
Ok ok, stolen Simon Munnery jokes aside, let's say rather, if you only read one book in the near future, I strongly recommend you make it this one:
I loved this novel. For me it felt like a true return to form for Will Self. After being slightly underawed by Dr Mukti & Other Tales of Woe, and then becoming slightly lost in the middle of the rather overambitious Book of Dave (although DO persevere with this for the fantastic ending, where it will suddenly all make sense with a big jolt to the senses), The Butt is well-written, well-developed, and doesn't drop the pace. Yes, it is peppered with Self's usual vast range of pretentious vocabulary and absurd metaphor, but to me that is all part of the charm. I love writers who can mess with the English language like he does, and really make you think about every word you are reading.
However, I must add one qualification to this recommendation: I strongly recommend you do NOT read this book whilst endeavouring to discover Australia for the first time.
Billed by the author himself as an allegory of the invasion of Iraq (or rather, of the US/UK liberals' reaction to the invasion of Iraq), the novel tells the story of American abroad Tom Brodzinski. Whilst holidaying with his dissociated family at a bland, sanitised resort in a vast, apparently troubled continent, he resolves to become a better man by giving up smoking. After enjoying his ceremonial Last Ever Cigarette, he flicks the butt absent-mindedly over the edge of the balcony, where it lands on elderly fellow American Reginald Lincoln, who is hospitalised as a result of the burn. Unfortunately for Tom, as a result of his marriage to the young, nubile Atalaya, Lincoln is a member of a mystical desert tribe, who don't believe in accidents. Since the customs of the tribe are incorporated into the country's national civil law, Tom must make reparations for his 'crime' by delivering goods to their base, deep in the desert. Thus Tom begins the lengthy road trip that forms much of the narrative, along with unbearable companion Brian Prentice, who also must make reparations to the same tribe. Although the law prevents each man from knowing the details of the other's crime, the goods to be delivered reflect its nature. Tom becomes therefore convinced he is sharing the journey with a convicted paedophile.
The land in which the story takes place and through which the pair travel is fictional, and many of Tom's experiences there are grotesque distortions of reality (my favourite section has to be the chapters with the pet-food shooters!). However, it is clear from numerous hints in the text that Self has Australia in mind as a starting point for this absurd terrain.
There is the use of the term "mob" to describe the indigenous tribes - "mob" also being the term used to describe a group of Australian Aborigines. There is the clear tension between the indigenous tribes and the white people - and open racism on the part of many of the white people Tom meets. There is the geography of the land: the big, cosmopolitan city of Vance, an oasis of commodity and air conditioning (although with a cockroach problem), set apart from the miles of desert, nothingness, and small settlements that seem to make up the rest of the island continent. And most amusingly, there is Tom's recurring irritation at the natives' habit of lifting the end of every sentence into a question?
What you get from the novel is some sort of cross between Iraq and Australia; a twisted, exaggerated Australia gone wrong, but a depiction which you cannot help but feel is at least partly based in some kind of fact (albeit a subjective take on the facts). Spending my first days in a new continent, accompanied on the one hand by conventional guide books, but on the other hand by the influence of this novel, led to an odd, rather disconcerting first impression!
Ok ok, stolen Simon Munnery jokes aside, let's say rather, if you only read one book in the near future, I strongly recommend you make it this one:
I loved this novel. For me it felt like a true return to form for Will Self. After being slightly underawed by Dr Mukti & Other Tales of Woe, and then becoming slightly lost in the middle of the rather overambitious Book of Dave (although DO persevere with this for the fantastic ending, where it will suddenly all make sense with a big jolt to the senses), The Butt is well-written, well-developed, and doesn't drop the pace. Yes, it is peppered with Self's usual vast range of pretentious vocabulary and absurd metaphor, but to me that is all part of the charm. I love writers who can mess with the English language like he does, and really make you think about every word you are reading.
However, I must add one qualification to this recommendation: I strongly recommend you do NOT read this book whilst endeavouring to discover Australia for the first time.
Billed by the author himself as an allegory of the invasion of Iraq (or rather, of the US/UK liberals' reaction to the invasion of Iraq), the novel tells the story of American abroad Tom Brodzinski. Whilst holidaying with his dissociated family at a bland, sanitised resort in a vast, apparently troubled continent, he resolves to become a better man by giving up smoking. After enjoying his ceremonial Last Ever Cigarette, he flicks the butt absent-mindedly over the edge of the balcony, where it lands on elderly fellow American Reginald Lincoln, who is hospitalised as a result of the burn. Unfortunately for Tom, as a result of his marriage to the young, nubile Atalaya, Lincoln is a member of a mystical desert tribe, who don't believe in accidents. Since the customs of the tribe are incorporated into the country's national civil law, Tom must make reparations for his 'crime' by delivering goods to their base, deep in the desert. Thus Tom begins the lengthy road trip that forms much of the narrative, along with unbearable companion Brian Prentice, who also must make reparations to the same tribe. Although the law prevents each man from knowing the details of the other's crime, the goods to be delivered reflect its nature. Tom becomes therefore convinced he is sharing the journey with a convicted paedophile.
The land in which the story takes place and through which the pair travel is fictional, and many of Tom's experiences there are grotesque distortions of reality (my favourite section has to be the chapters with the pet-food shooters!). However, it is clear from numerous hints in the text that Self has Australia in mind as a starting point for this absurd terrain.
There is the use of the term "mob" to describe the indigenous tribes - "mob" also being the term used to describe a group of Australian Aborigines. There is the clear tension between the indigenous tribes and the white people - and open racism on the part of many of the white people Tom meets. There is the geography of the land: the big, cosmopolitan city of Vance, an oasis of commodity and air conditioning (although with a cockroach problem), set apart from the miles of desert, nothingness, and small settlements that seem to make up the rest of the island continent. And most amusingly, there is Tom's recurring irritation at the natives' habit of lifting the end of every sentence into a question?
What you get from the novel is some sort of cross between Iraq and Australia; a twisted, exaggerated Australia gone wrong, but a depiction which you cannot help but feel is at least partly based in some kind of fact (albeit a subjective take on the facts). Spending my first days in a new continent, accompanied on the one hand by conventional guide books, but on the other hand by the influence of this novel, led to an odd, rather disconcerting first impression!
Tuesday 5 August 2008
North Sydney
I worked in the North Sydney Central Business District Monday and Tuesday this week, preparing and formatting documents for a construction company. I prefer the North Sydney CBD to the main Sydney CBD - it is quieter and feels cleaner and more relaxing.
I need to get a real job, an interesting job.
Sunday 3 August 2008
Temp bush ranger
Here I am in North Ryde! The accommodation up here is actually pretty nice, and it's good to have our own bathroom/kitchen again and not have to share. The house is nice and spacious, with big open plan area downstairs and bedroom, en suite and main bathroom upstairs - a nice change from two of us in one small double room! The downside we already knew about - it is literally in the middle of nowhere. There is a bus stop outside but there is only one bus an hour into the city for most of the day, and the nearest life is Macquarie University 20 minutes walk away. The Macquarie shopping centre is walkable too though, in about 30 minutes, and there are some pretty good shops there. Otherwise there is just a park on every block and a few houses.
We have been trying to make the best of it however. We explored the complimentary sauna facilities yesterday evening, which was lovely, and today we went to Mac Uni sports centre and played squash and then went swimming. I am horrific at squash, but then I am horrific at all sport except running, and the squash was ok so I shall go again I think. I am also horrific at swimming but it's fun to flap around.
On Friday I started my new illustrious career as a.... temp. Haha. I had a day assignment, and have work again for tomorrow and Tuesday this week. Going ok so far, and I am getting about £10 an hour, but I need to get a proper job asap really so I don't feel like a failure!
My Friday assignment was down in Pyrmont. I didn't realise how easy it was to get there (basically I didn't realise there was a bridge over Darling Harbour you could walk on), so I was there an hour early! Fortunately it was a nice day and it was nice wandering around on the wharf, so I took some pictures to entertain myself. So here is the view from Wharf 7 in Pyrmont at 7.30am on a winter's day, with the sun just rising over the Central Business District.
We have been trying to make the best of it however. We explored the complimentary sauna facilities yesterday evening, which was lovely, and today we went to Mac Uni sports centre and played squash and then went swimming. I am horrific at squash, but then I am horrific at all sport except running, and the squash was ok so I shall go again I think. I am also horrific at swimming but it's fun to flap around.
On Friday I started my new illustrious career as a.... temp. Haha. I had a day assignment, and have work again for tomorrow and Tuesday this week. Going ok so far, and I am getting about £10 an hour, but I need to get a proper job asap really so I don't feel like a failure!
My Friday assignment was down in Pyrmont. I didn't realise how easy it was to get there (basically I didn't realise there was a bridge over Darling Harbour you could walk on), so I was there an hour early! Fortunately it was a nice day and it was nice wandering around on the wharf, so I took some pictures to entertain myself. So here is the view from Wharf 7 in Pyrmont at 7.30am on a winter's day, with the sun just rising over the Central Business District.
Wednesday 30 July 2008
Shuffling around
This evening Mark and I are getting packed up as we leave the Glebe house tomorrow for another temporary home. At least we will soon have a more permanent home! As I mentioned a couple of posts back, we had our application accepted on the house in Meadowbank and put down a deposit on it last Saturday! Until we can move in on September 3rd, we will be in the Medina Executive Apartments. It looks pretty nice and is being paid for by Macquarie University out of Mark's relocation allowance. The downside is that it's in North Ryde (near Macquarie University), a dull suburban sprawl connected to the city only via a 40 minute bus ride. But, there are gym, sauna and swimming pool facilities, so hopefully I will be too busy getting wet to notice the surroundings too much.
Today Mark took the morning off work and we strolled around Glebe and Newtown, until it was time for a seminar he wanted to attend at the University of Sydney. We also had another poke around in Gould's Book Arcade on King Street, the most brilliant warehouse piled full of second hand books, where I acquired Nylon magazine and Nabokov's The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. That makes the second Nabokov novel I have bought in a week (the first being The Defence, found for $3 on a stall at Glebe Market) - the lesser known ones that I found hard to get hold of in the UK just keep appearing!
Here's a few pictures from around Glebe/Newtown:
View of the Central Business District.
On King Street, Newtown.
Mark in a cafe reading Nylon.
Today Mark took the morning off work and we strolled around Glebe and Newtown, until it was time for a seminar he wanted to attend at the University of Sydney. We also had another poke around in Gould's Book Arcade on King Street, the most brilliant warehouse piled full of second hand books, where I acquired Nylon magazine and Nabokov's The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. That makes the second Nabokov novel I have bought in a week (the first being The Defence, found for $3 on a stall at Glebe Market) - the lesser known ones that I found hard to get hold of in the UK just keep appearing!
Here's a few pictures from around Glebe/Newtown:
View of the Central Business District.
On King Street, Newtown.
Mark in a cafe reading Nylon.
Friday 25 July 2008
Glebe house
I realised I never posted a picture of where we are staying at the moment! Here is the house, in Glebe, just off Glebe Point Road. It is a shared house, we have our own room but are sharing kitchen, dining room, garden, and 3 bathrooms with the others. There are a few interesting people here - Singaporeans, Canadians, other Britishers.... The Singaporeans make amazing homemade tea which they let me try. Lovely!
So we have been here just over three weeks now. We leave next Thursday (31st July).
So we have been here just over three weeks now. We leave next Thursday (31st July).
Rain booo.
Feeling a bit ill today, got a cold coming I think. The weather is awful at the moment which doesn't help; it has poured with rain pretty much solidly since yesterday evening. This means I am stuck inside the house, as neither of the three pairs of shoes (well...two pairs of actual shoes and one pair of flip flops) I brought with me in my suitcase are very rain-appropriate. I wore my canvas shoes to just walk a hundred meters down to the Fair Trade Café on Glebe Point Road last night and they almost died, so I am having to give them a day off today.
I also need more clothes! I am so fed up of the same hoodie-jeans-jacket everyday. I think American Apparel is due to open their Sydney store soon though, possibly even today, so I need to get down there and pick up a new hoodie, especially since the $$$ price works out slightly cheaper than the £££ price.
I may end up with this one in brown. I kind of favour the hoodie dress that they do (they same thing just longer like a dress), but it doesn't come in brown and I am kind of attracted to this brown. Ho hum we'll see.
I like this cardigan as well, it's a unisex one but looks a good fit, and I'm always borrowing Mark's cardigans because I like how they fit so it would be good to get my own and I'm sure he would appreciate it!
Mark just skyped me with some good news!!! We got our application accepted on the house in Meadowbank!!! I'm so excited! It is still a month until we can move in, but it's so good to know there is some stability coming. We move out of this house in Glebe next Thursday, and Macquarie University (Mark's work) are hopefully sorting us out something for the intervening weeks.
In other news, I forgot to write that I passed my Graduate Diploma in Law, and not only passed but got a Commendation, hurrah! So there are two things to celebrate right now. Although they will possibly be celebrated by hiding in bed from the weather...
I also need more clothes! I am so fed up of the same hoodie-jeans-jacket everyday. I think American Apparel is due to open their Sydney store soon though, possibly even today, so I need to get down there and pick up a new hoodie, especially since the $$$ price works out slightly cheaper than the £££ price.
I may end up with this one in brown. I kind of favour the hoodie dress that they do (they same thing just longer like a dress), but it doesn't come in brown and I am kind of attracted to this brown. Ho hum we'll see.
I like this cardigan as well, it's a unisex one but looks a good fit, and I'm always borrowing Mark's cardigans because I like how they fit so it would be good to get my own and I'm sure he would appreciate it!
Mark just skyped me with some good news!!! We got our application accepted on the house in Meadowbank!!! I'm so excited! It is still a month until we can move in, but it's so good to know there is some stability coming. We move out of this house in Glebe next Thursday, and Macquarie University (Mark's work) are hopefully sorting us out something for the intervening weeks.
In other news, I forgot to write that I passed my Graduate Diploma in Law, and not only passed but got a Commendation, hurrah! So there are two things to celebrate right now. Although they will possibly be celebrated by hiding in bed from the weather...
Tuesday 22 July 2008
England's green and pleasant land
I miss England today. There are a lot of things about Sydney that make it seem very familiar, but also a lot of things that make it feel very foreign. Especially the way the buildings look, and the wide wide wide roads.
These photos were taken on Mark's parents' farm in Broughton, Cambridgeshire, just before we left on our way to Australia. I miss the peaceful English countryside, that's where I want to be right now.
Monday 21 July 2008
Thai thai thai weekend.
This evening we had a lovely meal at Thai-riffic on King Street in Newtown, with the University of Sydney people. It was pretty good - Mark and I shared a Pad Thai as we were warned the meals were huge, and the warnings were right! It was delicious though - a much nicer Pad Thai than what I am used to, and they put the peanut at the side of the plate which I like. I am not very fond of the peanut part of Pad Thai so it was good to get the option of whether to add it to the dish or not.
On Saturday we had a lovely day at Glebe Market, followed by rosehip tea at Badde Manors on Glebe Point Road. On Sunday we had a really good red curry at the Fair Trade Café just a few doors down from Badde Manors. I like that café, it has a very relaxed bohemian feel.
Apologies for the lack of interesting photos here and at Flickr recently. I will get back on track soon I promise!
On Saturday we had a lovely day at Glebe Market, followed by rosehip tea at Badde Manors on Glebe Point Road. On Sunday we had a really good red curry at the Fair Trade Café just a few doors down from Badde Manors. I like that café, it has a very relaxed bohemian feel.
Apologies for the lack of interesting photos here and at Flickr recently. I will get back on track soon I promise!
Monday 14 July 2008
Possible home
On Sunday we caught the ferry out to Meadowbank to look at Mianna's (Mark's colleague) house. She is moving out and we have the possibility of taking over the lease. It was a grey, overcast, chilly day but you still got a great view of the harbour. It would be an amazing trip to take in the summer.
The house is really nice! It's a bungalow (as are most suburban houses) built in 1914 with a good amount of space and really lovely period features.
That's the living room, it's so cosy and I love the fireplace and windows. Mianna and her partner have a 6 year old daughter and that's her little dinner table in the middle! (The wine glasses are obviously ours!)
Meadowbank is a very quiet suburban area with a couple of local shops and a park, and a supermarket in the next suburb. The house is 3 minutes walk from the station to get into the city in 25 minutes. We are having a big think but we are very keen on it!
Saturday 12 July 2008
Trumpets and bookmarks
Today we investigated suburbs, and walked all the way from Concord West to Summer Hill. At which point I became not active any more and we got the train back in to the city.
I think maybe we will end up living in Strathfield or thereabouts. It is usefully located and is a "prestigious suburb" according to pretty much everything written about Sydney. I actually didn't like it so much but Mark did and to be honest it felt safe and leafy and had pretty good shops and is very well connected to both Macquarie Uni and the city.
Anyway, I thought I would remind you all of the ways you can keep track of me:
- This blog. I will try to update as often as the fancy takes me. Hopefully at least once a week.
- My Flickr. All my photos will go on here as and when I have some. Perhaps everyday, perhaps once a week. If there are new photos uploaded worth mentioning, I will mention them here.
- My Twitter. Usually I update this once every day or so. As you can see, my latest Twitter tweets appear in the navigation sidebar of this blog (look to the right!). If you think you've missed some, click "follow me on Twitter" to go to my Twitter.
Now I am off to enjoy my new heater and hot water bottle and Batman on tv!
I think maybe we will end up living in Strathfield or thereabouts. It is usefully located and is a "prestigious suburb" according to pretty much everything written about Sydney. I actually didn't like it so much but Mark did and to be honest it felt safe and leafy and had pretty good shops and is very well connected to both Macquarie Uni and the city.
Anyway, I thought I would remind you all of the ways you can keep track of me:
- This blog. I will try to update as often as the fancy takes me. Hopefully at least once a week.
- My Flickr. All my photos will go on here as and when I have some. Perhaps everyday, perhaps once a week. If there are new photos uploaded worth mentioning, I will mention them here.
- My Twitter. Usually I update this once every day or so. As you can see, my latest Twitter tweets appear in the navigation sidebar of this blog (look to the right!). If you think you've missed some, click "follow me on Twitter" to go to my Twitter.
Now I am off to enjoy my new heater and hot water bottle and Batman on tv!
Glebe Point Diner
Just got in from a meal at Glebe Point Diner, to celebrate the end of our first full week in Sydney!
It was really amazing, and such good value considering what you would pay for a similar standard in the UK. We started with trout (Mark) and crab (me). I got to use the crab pokey stick for the first time! You know when they give you the crab legs and you get a little skewer to poke in to get at the meat? I was a little lost at first, but soon got the hang of it. It was delicious. Main course was even better - we both had ruby mullet with mussels on a potato bed, with some kale on top.
I'm not usually a pudding person and rarely have desert in restaurants, but we decided to go for it and I must say it was possibly my favourite course of the three. We shared a chocolate mousse and a strawberry trifle and both were delicious.
The waiting staff were wonderfully friendly, and the guy even brought out a leaf of kale on a plate to show the table next to ours when they asked what cale was! Haha, I only know what kale is because that was the guinea pig's favourite food.
With a decent bottle of wine the bill came to just over $160. Not bad at all for the standard of food and service, and definitely somewhere we will be going back to.
It was really amazing, and such good value considering what you would pay for a similar standard in the UK. We started with trout (Mark) and crab (me). I got to use the crab pokey stick for the first time! You know when they give you the crab legs and you get a little skewer to poke in to get at the meat? I was a little lost at first, but soon got the hang of it. It was delicious. Main course was even better - we both had ruby mullet with mussels on a potato bed, with some kale on top.
I'm not usually a pudding person and rarely have desert in restaurants, but we decided to go for it and I must say it was possibly my favourite course of the three. We shared a chocolate mousse and a strawberry trifle and both were delicious.
The waiting staff were wonderfully friendly, and the guy even brought out a leaf of kale on a plate to show the table next to ours when they asked what cale was! Haha, I only know what kale is because that was the guinea pig's favourite food.
With a decent bottle of wine the bill came to just over $160. Not bad at all for the standard of food and service, and definitely somewhere we will be going back to.
Thursday 10 July 2008
Getting lost and finding home.
Today was spent walking from Glebe into the City, to the National Australia Bank on Liverpool Street. Although we have our card and PINs, our cheque books won't arrive until next week, so I needed to get a counter cheque in case we needed to put down a deposit on a flat in the meantime. Which reminds me, they call them "units", not "flats". Which sounds a bit clinical.
On the way back, I turned the wrong way and ended up getting lost at Darling Harbour. Forever. Seriously, once you are in, there is no way out! It's kind of a pleasant place to get lost though, as you can see. I eventually escaped up a dingy looking staircase and found myself back up on Market Street. Then I walked all the way down George Street and Broadway to get back on to Glebe Point Road. This is decidedly NOT the quickest route, so next time I will look at walking via Ultimo. Or get the bus, but since I have a lot of time for walking right now it seems sensible to save the $1.80 bus fare.
Tomorrow night we have a reservation at the Glebe Point Diner, to celebrate the end of our first full week in Sydney! We won't be celebrating too hard however, as we are going to view a lot of flats...units sorry.....on Saturday morning, in Drummoyne and then maybe Summer Hill. I also want to look in Strathfield and Burwood as those would be good areas from the point of view of both of us getting to work easily, and it seems cheap to rent there. There is also a possibility of us taking over one of Mark's colleague's leases in Meadowbank on the North Shore, as she has bought a house and is keen to move in, but her lease is still running until October.
Anyhow, we shall see.
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Finding feet.
Mark has started work at Macquarie Uni so for the past couple of days I have been sorting bits and bobs and also taking trips to the supermarket here in Glebe. It's called Coles and it's in this big shopping centre place called Broadway down the street.
It is slightly alarming how expensive some things are. All the chocolate bars are $1.80, which at the current exchange rate is about 90p. When you are used to 33p Crunchie bars from the Nottingham University union shop, this seems a bit extreme! SO I guess I am off chocolate for a while. There are cheap cookies however, which makes up for it a little. And cheap tofu and also cheap SUSHI which pretty much makes life worth living.
Milk is also pricy, but the worst thing is shampoo! It's like double the price! But I had to buy some anyway, and after a week of washing my hair in rubbish gunk nicked out of hotel bathrooms, it is such a relief to have a clean, pretty-smelling head again.
I just watched the weather, and everyone was going crazy about the fact that it is going to be "only" 14 degrees C for the next couple of days. "It's going to be COLD COLD COLD" apparently.
I love that I am in a country where 14 degrees in winter is considered especially cold.
It is slightly alarming how expensive some things are. All the chocolate bars are $1.80, which at the current exchange rate is about 90p. When you are used to 33p Crunchie bars from the Nottingham University union shop, this seems a bit extreme! SO I guess I am off chocolate for a while. There are cheap cookies however, which makes up for it a little. And cheap tofu and also cheap SUSHI which pretty much makes life worth living.
Milk is also pricy, but the worst thing is shampoo! It's like double the price! But I had to buy some anyway, and after a week of washing my hair in rubbish gunk nicked out of hotel bathrooms, it is such a relief to have a clean, pretty-smelling head again.
I just watched the weather, and everyone was going crazy about the fact that it is going to be "only" 14 degrees C for the next couple of days. "It's going to be COLD COLD COLD" apparently.
I love that I am in a country where 14 degrees in winter is considered especially cold.
Monday 7 July 2008
Arrived!
Well I made it to Sydney, arriving last Wednesday. I also had a fun two days in Singapore on the way. I don't have a lot of blogging time at the moment, but I will try to make up for it when we are more settled! Here is the first picture i took in Sydney, and I will try to post about that and Singapore soon!
Thursday 26 June 2008
Magical box
Mark bought me a Victorian writing slope for my birthday. It is brilliant! I've wanted one for years, but they can be expensive. This one needs a little restoration, so was affordable, but not too much that it is unusable.
It has storage for secret letters under the slopes, and still had its original ink bottle, which a lot of them don't!
It has storage for secret letters under the slopes, and still had its original ink bottle, which a lot of them don't!
Monday 23 June 2008
Being removed
We have now moved out of Nottingham! The removals men came on Monday the 16th June, and we left on the Tuesday to come here to Broughton. It was remarkably stress-free, the only faff being moving the stuff we were not taking to Australia, and trying to (over)load up Mark's dad's van.
These first two photos were taken on Saturday 14th:
By Tuesday, we were empty!
Our belongings are hopefully being loaded onto a ship soon, to arrive in Sydney in around 10 weeks time (fingers crossed!).
Thursday 29 May 2008
Following the Yellow Brick Road...
The visas are ready, but rather worryingly we have not booked any flights or organised any removals, nor do we have anywhere to stay on our arrival.
Unfortunately it also seems that, obviously inspired by my imminent presence in the Antipodes, the Pope has decided to visit Sydney at much the same time we are destined to arrive at. Hotel availability is suddenly looking less than promising.
In amongst all this, I am also currently endeavouring to do my Graduate Diploma in Law final exams.
Oh well, 'what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger' they say. Although in this case I feel it is more likely to be 'what doesn't kill us only leaves us having a mental breakdown'!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
