Collins Street Trauma

It was Sunday night and Dr Anne had just left the Scots Kirk on Collins Street. As she walked down for supper at Sub Way she met an extra short man at a phone box. He was in an emotional state saying that he had had his wallet stolen with all his cards. He said that he had been on the phone cancelling his cards and needed some dollars for the tram fare home for his wife and himself. Looking in her purse, Dr Anne only had 20$ so being public spirited she handed it over giving the guy enough for the tram fares and a cup of coffee.

She immediately knew she had been conned when the little man disappeared down the gents' toilet steps. Not someone who gets easily upset, Dr Anne was livid that she had been so gullible.

Later at the bottom of Collins Street, Dr Anne met the little man with a wimpish guy. Totally alien to her character, she marched up to the extra short little man and his partner in crime and started gesticulating at them before accusing them of being con men. She marched after them while they 'trotted down' the street looking over their shoulders before jumping on the first tram to arrive. Wow...

Tram People

Travelling on a tram is never lonely.

Dr Anne met three young folk from Nepal. One of them gave her a seat. They were all studying in Sydney and had come to the girl’s sister in Melbourne for Christmas. A mention of the wonderful Gurkas enabled conversation. Such gentle polite people give one hope for the future.

Dr Anne fell on top of a lady as the tram shook when it started off. They started chatting mums and grannies. Her grandmother will be 96 in April and the family is going to Italy to celebrate it. She was off to meet three friends for a spa day: champagne, lunch and treatments.

There was a guy watching Dr Anne one night. She moved her seat and he kept watching. She moved again so that he did not know when she would get off the tram.

One evening there were teenage lovers opposite. The boy asked girl what she was going to do for him. She said that she was going to marry him. She said that she would give him babies. She would make him special just like she had done that morning.

Another evening there were two girls sharing an ipod. The girls were young beautiful teenagers. A big cheery guy came on and asked them what they were listening to. They said rap. He asked what artist and they told him. He asked them what school they went to and when they didn’t say he said it did not matter and that they were Yuppies. He didn't expect them on this tram. They didn’t know what Yuppies were. Dr Anne and the guy laughed as he jumped off the tram. The girls were a bit concerned but Dr Anne told them that he was just messing around and that they were ok.

Tea @ The National Gallery of Victoria

Dr Anne and Lois went to a contemporary exhibition of art at the Ian Potter Centre at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Ah Xian (b.1960)was the recipient of the 2009 Clemenger Contemporary Art Award. It was a personal exploration of cultural and spiritual identity.

There were 36 concrete cast busts - a palate of the modern city. Imprinted on each one was the delicate foliage of different plant species.
It was an elegant response to environmental degredation, the encroachment of urban development on the landscape and the inherent fragility of life.

Afterwards there was a visit to the tea shop for some awsome looking cakes which tasted as good as they looked.

Cited for Jury Duty

Dr Anne was cited for Jury Duty yesterday for the third time. Schedules for Wednesday and the rest of the week were changed to accommodate the citation.

Dr Anne arrived on time with around 70 others. There was silence in the Court room as a random sample of adults sat down together in a fairly confined space.

They sat, they waited, they shuffled out of the Court Room as Defendent 1 decided if he should change his plea. He did. They sat, they waited, they shuffled out of the Court Room as Defendent 2 decided if he should change his plea. He did.

The group were dismissed to be called another day............................

Rhubarb Compote

Rhubarb Compote

Trays of rhubarb from the freezer
Sugar to taste
Fresh ginger or chopped crystalised ginger

Put in a shallow baking tray in a preheated oven (180c) for 40 -45 minutes. This prevents rhubarb from becoming stringy.

Liquidize.

Add Greek yoghurt, creme fraiche or single cream according to taste.

Breakfast at The George

The George Hotel

Arguably the highlight of the whole trip to NZ and Oz for Dr Anne was The George Hotel, Christchurch. When she entered the door the welcome was warm, friendly and engaging, the upgrade to Room 416 luxurious and delightful and the food amazing.

Dr Anne, being a fusspot with food always went for a la carte. Although not a lover of porridge she chose it one day. Milk porridge arrived with compotes of summer fruits and banana with maple syrup. Awesome.................

Summer Fruit Compote

The George Experience has Dr Anne trialing compotes with fruit from the garden which she had put in the freezer.

Summer Fruit Compote

Raspberries
Blackcurrants
Redcurrants

Sugar to taste

Optional - summer fruit vinegar from the store cupboard bought at some time from Fortnum and Mason

Dr Anne puts in a saucepan equal amounts of raspberries and blackcurrants and half the amount of redcurrants with sugar to sweeten. On some occasions she adds a couple of tablespoons of summer fruit vinegar. She takes the fruit to the boil, cools it then sometimes liquidized and sometimes leaves it grainy.

Delia Smith's book suggests putting the fruit with the sugar in an open, shallow baking dish in a pre heated oven 180c for 30 - 40 minutes.

The Hopetoun Tearooms, Melbourne

Hopetoun Tearooms, Melbourne

Dr Anne enjoyed visits to the Hopetoun Tearooms off Collins Street. She went in by chance to have a tea cake with honey and a long black one cool afternoon. The ambiance was great, service prompt and efficient and the food tasty. It reminded Dr Anne of Fortnum and Mason, London

The tearoom also served sandwiches, light lunches and afternoon teas.

Dr Anne and the Kleinigs

Dr Anne has a long association with the Kleinigs. When Dr Anne and Lois Kleinig were 11 years old they became penpals. Their communications have been continuous for nearly 50 years. They met in the Blue Mountains in 1990 for the first time. They met up in New York in 1994 and in 2003 travelled to Italy visiting Verona, Venice and Florence. The friendship continues to flourish. For the first time Dr Anne met the Kleinig siblings, their children and their grandchildren. Amazing...

The next trip is Silesia and Prussa. When?

The Great Ocean Road

Dr Anne went with her penpal Lois and her husband Geoff from Melbourne to Adelaide. They travelled by car along the Great Ocean Road stopping off to sight see, drink coffee and snack. The main stop was the 12 Apostles. Were there more tourists or flies?

Lois and Anne counted and counted. Try as they might they could not count to 12. They saw 9 and 2 bits but 12 no.

Christmas

When Dr Anne thinks of Christmas she thinks of snow, ice and a cold blast.

In NZ and Oz there are Christmas trees and decorations. No Christmas lights were seen but banners were in place.

Many displays of Christmas flowers were seen in the Botanical Gardens.

Sculptures

Dr Anne loves sculptures. She loves all kinds but especially the street sculptures.

The Pohutukawa

This is NZ's Christmas Tree.
It is called Pohutukawa. This one was seen near the zoo in Auckland.

Grasmere Lodge

Dr Anne's treat was a night on the cattle station Grasmere Lodge. She was travelling on the

Transalpine train from Greymouth to Christchurch. The train made a special stop at Cass to let Dr Anne dismount. A 4x4 was waiting with Tim at the wheel. Dr Anne was given a magnificent cottage tucked up the mountain. The view from the front window was magnificent - mountains, a braided river, the broom and teatree in full flower.

Alice

Dr Anne decided to go to Alice Springs to find Bryan Brown of 'A Town like Alice' fame. Lois, her friend warned her to cover herself in factor 30+, wear a hat, buy some new sun specs, wear a long sleeved top and not go out in the midday sun.

When she arrived it was warm, dry and sandy. However the rain soon came for the first time in over a year. It rained for three days. Everyone in Alice went around with a smile. The Todd River changed from a dry bed to a river in spate.

Ulura

Dr Anne took off her black jacket the morning that she went to watch the sun rise on Ayers Rock. There was a wake up call at 0300 with a departure of 0400 from the Resort. Hundreds of people went by bus into the National Park to a recently opened viewpoint. Some folk arrived with point and click cameras while the serious photographers quickly took their position with camera and tripod. For the first time in days there was an amazing sky.

Dr Anne

Dr Anne set out for the southern hemisphere with two pairs of trousers, half a dozen t shirts, a change of shoes and an old black Daks jacket.

This black jacket was supposedly for the journey from Portsoy in the North of Scotland to London Heathrow and return. However, almost every picture taken had Dr Anne wearing the famous black jacket. She wore it in Auckland, Palmy North, Wellington, Christchurch, the Alps, Greymouth and even Melbourne, Alice Springs and Ayers Rock.
The only place she did not wear it was in Adelaide, beautiful sunny warm Adelaide.