Titanic

I have always loved the nightly ritual of reading to my young son. It has been an ongoing pleasure for both of us, and not one either of us is ready to give up yet, even though he is 10 1/2 now. We don't get to read every night, as he will want to watch tv shows some evenings, and my work roster interferes quite frequently. But I try to read to him a few nights a week at least.

Recently the selections for bed-time reading have taken a somewhat unexpected turn. For months I had been plodding through Series 1 of Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest with him. We have finished book 6 of 8, which coincidentally is how far he got when he read them by himself. It takes quite an effort to get through 8 books that are essentially the same. Although a few years ago I did read ALL 21 of Enid Blyton's Famous Five books out loud. And I still haven't received my nomination for mother of the year!

Lair of the White Worm redone for kidlit?

We left behind the seemingly endless battles with fearsome monsters in the seemingly endless Deltora Quest, and turned towards...... Princesses and Girl's Diaries? It all started with this book, which my son has read, and I have not. The librarian at his new school shows the children all the new books that the library has acquired. For some reason this book captured his imagination, he borrowed it immediately, and read it on his own over the next 7-10 days. Rather unusual behaviour for him, he doesn't often read on his own, but is starting to recently.

He then went on to search out other books in this series, and the companion My Story series. Thus we have just read Titanic. An Edwardian Girl's Diary 1912.

I have been somewhat bemused by my son's fascination with this series of books. I've read and enjoyed some of the Australian series, My Australian Story before, but had not read any of these. I remember quite an engrossing account of the Spanish Flu of 1918-9 affecting a family in Melbourne read in this way. Perhaps it's the diary format that intrigues him? Needless, I was very interested to read this book with him.

Titanic is the story of Margaret Anne Brady, a fictional oprhaned girl of Irish extraction who has been put in a London orphanage for girls by her brother, her only surviving family member, when he could no longer look after her. Somehow Margaret Anne is selected to be the travelling companion for Mrs Carstairs, a rich American who is returning to America on board the very real Titanic on her maiden voyage.

The American version, published as part of a  Dear America series

The book has a rather formal feel to the writing, which is I guess representative of the time, but seems a bit stilted to read at times. I think it must be very difficult to get the tone and voice of a child narrator, especially one born a 100 years or so before our time. Thirteen year old Margaret Anne borrows Henry James, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily Dickinson from the Titanic library, and comments on the prostitutes in church when Sister Catherine takes her to Easter Mass before leaving London!

Mrs Carstairs and I took tea in the Cafe Parisien, instead of the lounge. The atmosphere is much less formal than the dining saloon, and we had a harmonious time. There is a light, airy feel to the room, complemented by numerous plants and wicker chairs. 

The vocabulary is interesting, and certainly there are many words my son asks the meaning of. Words that seem rather common-place to an adult reader- rivet, vicariously, petticoat, but which make you realise how a modern 10 year old has had no need for them until now.

These books seem more clearly aimed at girls, but somehow they have a very strong pull for my Dr Who obsessed 10 year old son. Actually I think Dr Who has something to do with some of his selections at least. Of the books that he's most keen to read- Titanic, Pompeii, Cleopatra, most have been featured in the new series of Dr Who. And he's certainly curious about anything Dr Who related. Of course as long as he keep reading I'm quite happy to read to him.

Indeed, I was very interested in the historical features of the book. There is some quite detailed historical information and photos at the end of the book. Of course I knew the Titanic sank in 1912 on her maiden voyage. I did not know that it was her Captain's last planned voyage before retirement, but of course he went down with his ship. I did not know that so many people died because there were only lifeboats for about 1,100 people, but that there were approximately 2,200 people on board (and this was more than they were required to have by law at the time! It seems astonishing with hindsight). Even so, many of the lifeboats were lowered only partially filled. And even knowing that the Titanic set sail with five grand pianos, a marmalade machine (?), and 12 cases of ostrich feathers is not enough to make me seek out the movie version of Titanic, which I proudly have not seen.

I just had to google marmalade machines!

Lemon Posset

What a difference a week makes! Just a little over a week ago the whole world was transfixed by the sight of Kate Middleton walking down the aisle in London.

This week she was walking down the aisle of the local supermarket, and even riding the trolley in the carpark.

Perhaps she was picking up a few lemons to make some Lemon Posset? She could certainly do worse.

I made and then ate my first ever lemon posset as part of the English Royal Celebrations around here. And it was fabulous. Lemon desserts are by far my favourite. I will generally order a lemon (or fruity) dessert in a restaurant and rarely a chocolate one. I love the lemon tarts of France.

Still, I didn't quite know what to expect. Wasn't quite sure exactly what form it would take. Posset is an interesting word, and has a number of usages. Thankfully the modern interpretation of glorious pots of creamy lemoniness is worlds away from curdled beer, or gurking babies.

Who can resist the smell of freshly zested lemons?

There are many recipes out there on the internet. Most were variations on the same theme. Lemon, sugar, cream. The major difference seemed to be the timing of adding the lemon juice. It's so fantastic to be able to see reviews of recipes too, and comments from those who have gone before. So I decided to follow this BBC recipe, where the lemon is added after the cream is cooked. It seemed to make more sense.

The British are famous for their cream, and the double cream used in the BBC recipe is said to be 48% fat. Whilst we have lovely dairy products in Australia too, when we have 48% cream it is quite solid, spooning sort of cream. And I wasn't sure how that would work. So I went with a comparatively low-fat 35% pouring cream. And it worked really well. Everyone absolutely loved these. Well the adults did. The 10 year old taster wasn't as thrilled, and pulled quite a face.

Pots of deliciousness

Using the lemon zest did add a slight textural element at times, but the flavour was so intense, and so lemony that I think it was worth it. I'll be making this again, and again.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly meme at Beth Fish Reads.

Wondrous Words Wednesday(ish) 4/5/11

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Bermuda Onion, where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our weekly reading.  

Recently I read Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War. Sadly I didn't love it, and it wasn't loaded with new words, but it was an interesting book to read, and there's always at least a few new words to learn in life. 

1. Simonizing. Apparently the present participle of Simonize (Verb)

Polish with wax.

This was clearly a brandname in the Kleenex, Hoover, Mylar idiom. 

Merriam-Webster tells me it's from Simoniz, a trademark first used in 1934. It seems to be still going strong. 

This appears to come from the longest sentence in the book!

But first of all, the old faithfuls, the people who had become regular customers: Mrs Swanson who sometimes smelled of drink but was always eager to buy anything although she kept talking too long, rambling on about people John Sulkey didn't even  know; and good old reliable Uncle Louie who was always Simonizing his car although Simonizing cars seemed part of the Dark Ages these days; and then the Capolettis at the end of the street who always invited him in for something to eat, cold pizza that John wasn't exactly crazy about and the smell of garlic that almost knocked you down but you had to make sacrifices, big and small, for the sake of Service To The School.....

2. Catchbasin. Noun.

A cistern or vault at the point where a street gutter discharges into a sewer, to catch bulky matters which would not pass readily through the sewer.

Finally, tired of smuggling it into the bathroom for swift perusals, and weary of his deceit, and haunted by the fear that his mother would find the magazine, Jerry had sneaked it out of the house and dropped it into a catchbasin. 

http://www.dcwater.com/wastewater_collection/catch_basin.cfm

I think I'd probably just call that a drain normally, my plumbing knowledge not being all that vast, but now I know it's a catchbasin. 

The English Royal Wedding

The whole English Royal wedding media circus was quite interesting. I'm not the most avid royal watcher it must be said. I enjoy the folly at times. But am generally amazed at what an anachronism a monarchy is in the 21st century. Still it was a modern-day spectacle. Big royal weddings don't come around all that often. The last one being Princess Diana's back in 1981. 1981. Try to think back. Neville Wran was Premier of New South Wales. Ronald Regan became president of America. Francois Mitterand became President of France. Metallica formed in LA and Bucks Fizz won Eurovision with Making Your Mind Up.

Thankfully it was a long, long time ago. No wait, that was another song entirely.

And so it was that I got a few friends round and made us some lovely English party food, whilst we settled in to watch the wedding on the big screen. To get the first glimpse of Kate's dress, and become amazed at the ever increasing sillyness of the hats. And they certainly got very silly. And apparently Philip Treacy's couture hats can cost up to 5,000 pounds!

I thought long and hard about our menu for the evening. In the end I decided to have

Cucumber Sandwiches

Smoked Salmony Nibbly Things

Coronation Chicken

Lemon Posset

all washed down with some Pimms Royales.

I'd never had Pimms before, and wasn't expecting to like it as people had said it was a bit like gin- sadly I can't abide gin. But if you put a slug in the bottom of a glass of bubbly it's quite drinkeable. I wouldn't give up a Kir Royale all that often in favour, but it worked splendidly on the night.

I was vaguely anxious about making cucumber sandwiches. Not sure why. Surely you just whack some cucumber on some bread and cut the crusts off? I had a nagging suspicion that there was more involved, but had never actually had a cucumber sandwich in real life.  Thank God for those helpful folks at The Australian Women's Weekly! As I was idly flipping through the latest issue, I noticed with some amusement that they had a feature suggesting what to eat for a Royal Wedding Supper- and they included a recipe for cucumber sandwiches! YAY. Salvation.

They used a herbed butter which seemed a clever idea, although I was talking to a friend who had eaten cucumber sandwiches at high tea at fancy London hotels and said that they used a delicious brown bread, and a cream cheese spread. Hmm. After much searching I discovered that there is no decent brown bread available in my patch of small town Australia. So back to white. But cream cheese, that we can do. And I could make it low GI!

Please note the presence of paper doilies, only available in packs of 250 now, I have lots left over for the next royal nuptials

Cucumber Sandwiches

160gm cream cheese
1/2 cup finely snipped chives
4 tblsp finely chopped mint
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cucumbers
1 loaf thin sliced low GI bread

Combine the cream cheese, chives, mint and mustard in a small bowl.

Thinly slice the cucumbers.

Spread one slice of bread with the cream cheese mixture. Top with cucumber. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Top with another bread slice. Trim the crusts from the sandwiches and cut into triangles.

There appear to be a zillion recipes for Coronation Chicken on the internet. I used this one. It was lovely but didn't photograph all that well in my hands. The lemon posset was so good that it needs a post for it's very own, so you'll just have to wait til another day......

A Walk by the Lake

I grew up on the shores of Lake Macquarie and still return there semi-regularly to visit my parents. It is Australia's largest saltwater lake, 4 times bigger than Sydney Harbour. 24 km long with 174 km of foreshore. There is a lovely walkway at the northern end of the lake, that I have enjoyed previously on many occasions. On a recent visit I found out about a new(ish) extension near Eleebana. So after a family lunch nearby we went for an afternoon amble. And it was spectacular.

It was a picture perfect day

The trees were noisy with Little Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea)

Paperbark trunk, so tactile, who can resist touching them?

Paperbark flowers

The Eleebana end of the track

Lots of people were out enjoying the day

The track is built out over the water

and made arty with poetry

although I enjoyed the sight of this little fellow more,  a Little Pied Cormorant I think,
not exactly sure, but could be a Pied Cormorant

Wondrous Words Wednesday 27/4/11

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Bermuda Onion, where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our weekly reading.  

Recently I read Laurie Viera Rigler's Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. While I didn't love the book, it did introduce some new words for me. 

1. Libertine. Noun

"I fear that my brother is not a man to be trusted. In short, it has come to my attention that he is..."

"Yes?"

She won't meet my eyes. "a libertine."

1. One who acts without moral restraint; a dissolute person.

2. One who defies established religious precepts; a freethinker.

2. Pattens. Noun.

And I'm pretty much determined that only desperation will make me wear pattens, hideous contraptions meant to elevate shoes from the wet ground. 

So the text really explains it, but still a great word, and a google image search is intriguing. And not just because most of the images it brings up relate to that kid in Britain who had a baby when he was 13- it appears his surname was Patten.

http://echostains.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/the-patter-of-tiny-feet-in-pattens-take-a-walk-on-the-wild-side/

3. Mylar. Noun

"Someone should really clean that up," he whispered to me as we stood in a crowd trying to make sense of an installation that consisted of what looked like a couple of horse turds and a broomstick on a sheet of Mylar.


Mylar appears to be some sort of flooring from the context. Which is close. Mylar is often used to generically refer to polyester film or plastic sheet.

4 Skeevy. Adjective.

What's worse is that I practically brush shoulders with the skeevy waiter from the night before.

gross, creepy; ICKY, etc. Term was common in Brooklyn, NY, USA in the 1950s and 1960s.

(Online Slang Dictionary)

5. Caro Sposa. Term

There is comfort in the familiarity of it all, in the knowledge that all will turn out well, that Elizabeth and Darcy will end up together in Pemberley, that Anne Eliot will pierce Captain Wentworth's soul, and that Mr. Elton will be stuck with his caro sposa for the rest of his life. 

I can only google up the term caro sposo, which appears to be referenced in Emma reasonably frequently. Caro Sposo is said to mean dear husband. Presumably caro sposa is the female equivalent of dear wife. 

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Sometimes you walk into the library and there is a book prominently displayed that you would never have sought out, you actually had never heard of, but suddenly you want to read it, you MUST read it. Even though it really isn't the sort of book that you normally read. You can't explain this fascination, but there it is.

I would certainly not describe myself as a Jane Austen Addict. I have come to enjoy her work. I've read 5 of the 6 major novels, and some of her other writings. I've even reread Pride and Prejudice three times over the past 10 years or so, and enjoy it more each time. I watch all the new movies and mini-series as they come out, and enjoy them. I've read a number of Pride and Prejudice sequels and even the spoof Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But I still am nowhere near Addict level.

Still I had to borrow this book immediately, and read it quite soon, although I did actually renew it twice before even starting. Then comes the difficulty- should I renew it again? Can I return it after three months unread when I just had to borrow it? It won't take all that long to churn through, especially as this is a Large Print version. Even though I don't need a Large Print version, whenever I read one accidentally I wonder why I don't borrow non-Large Print editions more often, you get such a bigger sense of achievement as a slow reader as you whizz right through them.

This 2007 book probably suffers that whilst I have never heard of it until found displayed on the Large Print end table at my library I have watched Lost in Austen on the tele, and they really are pretty similar. Here, a modern day, sassy Californian called Courtney suddenly wakes to find herself inhabiting Jane Mansfield in 1813 England. Very much the Lost in Austen plot, and I didn't really like that either.

There would seem to be plenty of room for interest and even humor in a modern girl flung backwards nearly 200 years. Courtney is understandably obsessed in the lack of modern conveniences- no indoor plumbing, no feminine hygiene products, no makeup and no vodka. The plot is based on any Austen book- Courtney/Jane is single and so in want of a husband, especially in the eyes of her mother, although the more modern Courtney rebels against this somewhat- "And I resent it being a truth universally acknowledged, no matter what era I find myself in, that a single woman of thirty must be in want of a husband." Overall I found the blurring of feelings about men between the 19th and 21st centuries confusing, although predictable, and it was often hard to keep track of who Courtney/Jane was thinking about. The ending was rushed (as a lot of Austen's are actually) and especially confusing.

I see that there is now a sequel Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, recently released in Australia, which is apparently where Jane hurtles forth to Courtney's modern world. Clearly there is a huge audience with an unquenchable hunger for these books, of which I am but a modest part.

I found the most alarming summary sentence buried on page 97: I'm stuck inside a romance novel with pretensions to Jane Austen. Indeed.