Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Blenheim Palace

19 August 2011

Blenheim Palace has always intrigued me, and so one August weekend C and I decided to make a trip up to Oxford and spend the day exploring the estate.

Met Opera - The Merry Widow

For me, The Merry Widow is an operetta anchored in fashion history. The title role was once played by Lily Elsie (not Rachel Weisz) and her costumes were designed by Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon.

Lily Elsie in The Merry Widow

This made Lucile a major name in fashion, something which was amplified by the way the general public embraced the infamous 'Merry Widow' hat. This was a hat significantly larger than the head on which it sat and caused some delight to the cartoonists of Punch magazine who got considerable mileage out of lampooning women's fashion.

As a result, when I discovered that this operetta was playing at Luna Palace, I decided I had to check it out. This was the 2015 Met Opera version starring Renee Fleming in the title role.

Onion Marmalade

Onion Marmalade was something I discovered a couple of years ago, however it wasn't until I was house-sitting and discovered an open jar in the fridge that I re-remembered the delightful substance.

Having polished off the remnants of the open jar I decided I needed to make my own batch or two.

West Australian Wildflowers - Wireless Hill

Dad was the one who discovered that the native orchids were in bloom at Wireless Hill, and it being Father's Day, he decided that that was the perfect place to spend the morning. 

Chasing the Albany Municipal Library.

For one small insignificant reference in my novel, I wanted to know where the Albany Library was located between the years 1900 and 1908. My secondary character needed a pre-occupation for a morning which would result in her running late for a meeting with friends. Given the character's occupation and interests, being immersed in some research at the local library seemed to be ideal.

Provided of course the library was in the centre of town. I assume it would be, but never liking to make assumptions I thought I'd discover the exact location. Just as I'd discovered all the details regarding the way to travel down to Albany from Guildford. The characters may be fictional, but the historical setting has to be historically accurate to the best of my ability.

Biscotti

The need for supper at the recent play reading of our writing group meant that Biscotti was made, and for once, I actually managed to take enough photos through the process to be able to write up the recipe here.

Biscotti has always been a go-to recipe in our family, particularly at Christmas time when an orange and chocolate batch is made and taste-tested more than a few times before the festive season begins. 

Of course, there is one slight problem with Biscotti, particularly if the people you're entertaining happen to be at the older end of the age scale. Biscotti means 'baked twice', resulting in very dry, very hard, teeth-chipping biscuits.

For this particular rendition, I decided on Cranberry and Almond, with a scented tissane thrown in for added flavour and a slight twist. Because why not.

Beach Shack Renovation Five

There have been a few more improvements to the beach shack, but with it taking time, and it being winter, things seem to be progressing slowly.

Boeuf Bourguignon

As my sister recently mentioned, one of my favourite winter dishes is Boeuf Bourguignon, a rich French beef stew flavoured primarily with red wine, tomato paste and bacon.

It isn't a dish that holds memories of travels to France but instead was just an appealing looking recipe in the first of the French cookbooks I was given. Since then, it gets made every winter, possibly several times over and seems to be thoroughly enjoyed by everyone (it was the recipe my sister decided to make for her Bastille day party this year).

Replication

Photo from Claire

Mum has always loved the fact that when my sister and I first learnt to sew we were never interested in using existing patterns, preferring instead to replicate existing clothes (without pulling that piece to pieces in order to achieve this).

Logically it makes sense really, we had clothes we knew we loved and that fitted us (an increasing problem). So why put in all the time and effort on a pattern you don't actually know you'll like.

I do use patterns now, some of the time, and I think I can say the same for my sister, but there are still times when replicating existing items in one's wardrobe is just the more sensible option.

Years ago now, I acquired from my mother's wardrobe a beautiful mid-calf-length wool skirt. It is rust coloured and of eight gores which flare below the knee. For remaining warm whilst running errands, it is perfect. So perfect in fact that I decided I needed another one, in a dark grey/black.

C.Y.O'Connor Beach

Off South Beach

Being located on the water, Fremantle is a port after all, one of the things I like to do while house sitting in the area is to head down to C.Y.O'Connor Beach to explore the wrecks and memorial, and watch the setting sun.

My first venture down,several years ago now, had been purely accidental; arriving at South Beach an hour before sunset, I didn't feel like hanging around and so rode south, past the cattle slip lanes before climbing over the sand dues and onto the beach. There, about 50 metres off the coast, partially submerged in the waves, is a statue of a man on a horse. It is the memorial to C.Y.O'Connor who committed suicide off this beach in 1902.

O'Connor is one of this state's great engineers. He is responsible for the transformation of Fremantle Harbour into the commercial success it is today and for the pipeline that transported water from the Perth hills to Kalgoorlie to support the growing gold rush.