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THE KEY TO BREAKING A SYDNEY BANK

THE KEY TO BREAKING A SYDNEY BANK

There was a prelude to the 1912 robbery of the Bank of NSW in Newtown. Six months earlier the Hoskins Street site of the stationery company Penfold’s new building was broken into. The safe was already in place, and had been tampered with; Would the burglars dare

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CIRQUE DU WOOD DUCK – BLACKHEATH POND

CIRQUE DU WOOD DUCK -  BLACKHEATH POND

I live  just around the corner from the Blackheath duck pond, in the beautiful Blue Mountains. It recently  underwent  a complete makeover and re-design. The long-necked turtles were  re-homed at The Rhododendron Gardens. Two metres of silt were removed and will be used elsewhere.   The last

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DESMOND & THE BANKSIA MAN

DESMOND & THE BANKSIA MAN

Desmond, aka Editor Des, has been sitting at the woodheap bird watching with his mate Bob Banksia; full name Mr Robert Banksia Serrata. They have been hoping to see the arrival of the blue wrens. No luck so far and I think the tension must have led

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THE SHELTER SHEDS

THE SHELTER SHEDS

I remember the shelter sheds at the Ulverstone State School with great affection. The history of them turned out to be far more interesting than I imagined. The first mention in the TROVE newspaper archive was in 1904. It was a letter from a member of the

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TINDER TIME – A CLOSE CALL!

TINDER TIME - A CLOSE CALL!

Gathering tinder for the fire is very satisfying. I have loved doing this I was child, gathering sticks in the Tasmanian bush. Behind the dear old dogs in the following photo is the woodheap on our farm. It was taken circa 1960. We had an open fire

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THIS BED MY CENTRE

THIS BED MY CENTRE

Many years ago I read a book called This Bed My Centre, by Melbourne born Ellen Newton (1896 -1972) In the 1960s Ellen ended up in a series of Sydney nursing homes due to chronic angina. There she remained for six unhappy years, longing to be in

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LETTERS OF LOVE & LEVITY

LETTERS OF LOVE & LEVITY

Letters have virtually disappeared these days, along with postcards, greeting cards, telegrams and, to some extent, telephone calls. Social media rules, and I confess I have adopted the new forms of communication wholeheartedly. However, it also gave me great delight recently to look back at a time

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TRUFFLE OBSESSION

TRUFFLE  OBSESSION

Truffle oil. This is what began my love affair with a strange, outrageously expensive little ‘fruit’ of the forest. Some say the fragrance of the infused oil is simply chemical, but I don’t care. It was the first time my partner Rob and I appreciated why the

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SCHOOL EXCURSIONS

SCHOOL EXCURSIONS

School excursions; these days Tasmanian schoolchildren might visit Parliament House in Hobart, or perhaps even venture further afield to the cultural institutions of Canberra. Here in Sydney there are always school groups at the Art Gallery of NSW and the Australian Museum. It’s all part of enriching

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THE FLOWER ROOM

THE FLOWER ROOM

I spend some time every day picking flowers for the house. Of course I use the word flowers in the loosest sense, it could be bunches of autumn leaves or native grasses. I have always longed to have a flower preparation room, as opposed to using the

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