Holiday at Home

We are meant to be on holiday at a rainforest resort in Queensland, but we are in lockdown and not going anywhere. Design Diva is meant to be staying in our house and caring for our cats, but she is not. When she has done this before, she has sent regular pictures of the kittens so that I know they are okay. As this is all gone topsy-turvy, I have been sending her pictures of them instead.  

As we cannot travel in reality, we are using our imaginations and addressing the concept creatively. Our first virtual destination was Italy.

 

Film: The Godfather

Aperitif: Something with limoncello

Starter: Antipasti with Prosecco

Main: Sausage pancetta linguini carbonara with Sangiovese

Dessert: Was meant to be biscotti but we were full so we had a selection of Italian reds instead

Playlist: Puccini; Rossini; Giorgio Moroder; Self Preservation Society (from The Italian Job); Verdi; Dean Martin (That's Amore); 10,000 Maniacs (Verdi Cries); Maneskin (Italian Eurovision winners); Ani diFranco (sounds Italian)

Added bonus: Italia 90 highlights

For our next holiday at home, we went to India. This next cocktail is not really anything to do with India, but I wanted to use the blue stuff. 

Film: The Darjeeling Ltd

Aperitif: Sassi Lassi Coacktail

Starter: Handmade raita with samosas and pakoras

Main: Chicken madras with garlic naan and Young Henry's IPA

These are the daily cat photos.

And our evening's destination was Russia, brought to you by:

Film: Battleship Potemkin and The Way Back

Aperitif: Borscht Cocktail and a Black Russian

Starter: Borscht

Main: Mini Chicken Kievs (okay, so that's slightly cheating), fried ceps, corn on the cob and boiled potatoes with caper butter, served with Russian Imperial Stout

Dessert: White Russian

Playlist: Tchaikovsky; Prokofiev; The Wedding Present (The Complete Ukrainian John Peel Sessions); Dustyesky; Billy Bragg (The Internationale)

Next stop, Mexico:

Film: Coco

Aperitif: Michelada

Starter: Tortillas with salsa and guacamole

Main: Chili con carne

Playlist: Los Chavos and Terrorvision (Tequila)

The morning cat photos.

The only place we travelled to on this day was up Mt Painter (fourth photo with a Prisma filter)

Daily cat photos with and without tongue, and bonus appearance by Him Outdoors.

On the last day of our holiday, we went to the UK. It is the place I want/ need to go more than anywhere. We had a holiday booked there for July 2020 which was cancelled and I have been desperate to return. I am so grateful to Australia and New Zealand for granting me citizenship - I am so happy to live here and be welcomed by these wonderful countries. More than half of my family and friends live on the other side of the world and my heart aches to see them again. Meanwhile:

Soundtrack: Bauhaus; The Jam; Theatre of Hate; The Buzzcocks; The Cult; Killing Joke; Ned's Atomic Dustbin; Mekons; James; The Primitives; The Damned; Siouxsie and the Banshees; Echo and the Bunnymen; The Specials; The Fall; The Cocteau Twins

Film: Wrath of Man

Aperitif: Gin and tonic

Starter: Ploughman's platter with bubbles (yes, okay, it's French, but the UK has the second highest consumption)

Main: Roast lamb with Yorkshire puddings (I know this is unconventional and that Yorkshire puddings technically only go with roast beef, but I like lamb best), vegetables and home-brewed brown ale

Bonus drink: Fuller's ESB

Pudding: Rice (Insert Peter Kay gag here)

Bonus: Football - Liverpool v Chelsea and Burnley v Leeds (the most beautiful football and the most passionate fans you will see)

Added bonus: The After Eight Mint game

Watt’le We Do Today?

No week is complete without a photo of a cat.

I am trying to teach myself to appreciate the simple pleasures of life - like bed-sheets hung on the line and dried in the sun (and then filtered through the Prisma app on my phone), parrots in the trees, and the satisfaction of pruning the grapevine.

As I may have mentioned before, I am also very lucky to live in such a wonderful part of the world, where my local (one hour) lockdown walks can lead me past little street libraries and golden wattle.

Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is the national floral emblem of Australia. It was formally adopted as such on the 1st of September, 1988 at a ceremony at the Australian National Botanic Gardens where the Prime Minister's wife, Mrs Hazel Hawke, planted a Golden Wattle. Four years later, in 1992, the 1st of September was officially declared 'Golden Wattle Day'.

The golden blooms against the green background are vivid and bright, heralding the arrival of Spring (also the first day of September in the Southern hemisphere) and the suggestion of a promising future. I think these connections could be used to celebrate the country and it seems to me that moving the National Day to this date could save a lot of controversy about the perception of 'Invasion Day' to make celebrations more inclusive. (And we could all do with more public holidays in the latter half of the year.)

I was therefore inspired to compose a dreadful limerick while out on my walk, which I share with you here. You're welcome.

Although it makes some of you wheezy,

Golden wattle really does please me.

And listen, mate,

To change the date

To September the 1st is easy.