Bloody frustrating...

It's so frustrating listening to Red Cross on the radio complaining about their shortage of donors, when hey stop thousands of us from donating because we lived in the United Kingdom for six months during the period 1980-1996.


Where do the British get their bloody donations from?

A decent cuppa

Being of a somewhat sensitive nature, I die a little inside each time I see someone destroying tea: the workmate adding milk to their cup before adding the not-quite-boiliing-for-OHS-reasons water and the ubiquitous yellow enveloped teabag that is defeated before it starts; the inner-city cafes that import Italian barristas to work vast espresso machines like demented church organs, they offer coffee beans excreted by mongooses, but serve their tea in a bag undunked next to a pot of unsuitably cooling water; and the fast-food “restaurants”, well don't get me started.

Therefore it gives me the utmost pleasure to advise on the correct preparation of tea:

Ingredients:

A good loose black tea*

(*you don't need to go overboard, but the cheap stuff is generally of dubious providence and it's taste will betray it, on the otherhand, some things at the top end from fancy stores seem designed to extract many dollars for middle class vanity. I find Dilmah a suitable compromise, though doubtless there are many others.

It must be black tea. Green tea, not to my taste, is still tea I grant you, but it is not the subject of this treatise. I shudder to hear of herbal concotions and fruit infusions described as tea, these serve only to pollute decent water, even if their dubious medical benefits were proven I'd rather suffer the malady they might cure)

You will need a kettle, a tea pot, cup(s), a strainer, potable water.

Preparation:

Add sufficient water to fill as many cups or mugs as required plus a little more to the kettle and apply a source of heat.

As the water approaches boiling take a little to the pot to rinse it out and provide some pre-warming. Empty the pot.

Add tea. The classic one teaspoon per person and one for the pot is about spot on. With a decent tea, the spoons can be low rounded rather than heaped and if you don't wish for hairs on your chest you may forgo the one for the pot.

Pour boiling water into the pot over the leaves. Yes, boiling. Pour it whilst bubbling, in the one movement whilst you turn off the heat. No delay, no dilly-dally, get it on right away. If the water is not boiling, you are not making tea, merely an unfortunate infusion.

Leave to stand, weaker—shorter, stronger—longer. About five minutes will surfice for most.

Serve into the cups.

Though purists will argue otherwise, I believe it acceptable to add sugar and even a little milk, to taste. Some might even add lemon.

Enjoy.

Dear Greens Senators,

As a Greens supporter, I implore you to pass the legislation in the Senate today.

It is flawed legislation, but the impasse is worse. Sometimes politics demands compromise, sometimes it's distasteful.

If you continue to side with Abbott and his crocodile tear shedding colleagues, can you really say you are better than them?

You are certainly enabling them in driving more nails in the coffin of the government's electoral chances. After the next election and the subsequent double dissolution giving Abbott both houses; where will refugee policy be then?

Of course, once we are out of power, the moral high ground will once again be easy to secure!

Yours,

Ernst U.

Blues saying "We are the black & red"

Boarking's back with a footy post!

In celebration of Carlton fans wanting an Essendon win this weekend even more than the 'Dons fans do, Boarking Songwriting Services has been re-writing footy theme songs so that all fans can sing from the same song sheet.

(For those not aware of the finals permutations: a Bombers win in Perth would be nice, but not necessary for stitching up a spot in the top eight for us, however, a loss by West Coast is pretty much crucial for Blues to cling on to a top four spot. It hurts all Blues fans [included in their number is my better half, Esmeralda*] that they'll be barracking hard for the Dons but barrack they will!)

So here we go:

See the bombers fly up, up
To help win Carlton the flag
Our boys who play this grand old game,
Striving for the Blues glory and fame!
See the Bombers fly up, up,
To help the Blues to the four,
Carlton try their best,
But they won't get near,
Unless the Bombers fly up!


*Clearly not "better" in her choice of footy team

Legalize It!

Go & sign this petition:

_the_war_on_drugs

For best results, be listening to Peter Tosh whilst you do.

Let sanity prevail.

When Charlie & H. were the bee's knees

A bloke sent me one of those emails that do the rounds, perchance to raise a giggle. This one got me thinking:

The fact that society functioned perfectly well with heaps of people quaffing addictive (but legal) drugs every day, would seem to suggest that it’s not the drugs, but the “War on drugs” that is the problem in our time. It’s not so much that the “cure” is worse than the “disease”, but that the “cure” is the “disease”!

Alas, it's one of those areas where good sense can never be allowed to intrude on policy, but until it does we'll all continue to pay the price -- corruption, health costs, crime, organised crime, terrorist funding, 3rd world narco-economies, etc., etc. -- and all so we don't (shock horror) "send the wrong message".


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'Why Our Great-Grandparents Have Such Fond Memories Of Their Youth...' A bottle of Bayer's 'Heroin'. (I'm surprised that they remember anything!!) Between 1890 and 1910 heroin was sold as a non-addictive substitute for morphine. It was also used to treat children suffering with a strong cough. * * * * * * * Coca Wine, anyone? Metcalf's Coca Wine was one of a huge variety of wines with cocaine on the market. Everybody used to say that it would make you happy and it would also work as a Medicinal Treatment. * * * * * * * Mariani Wine Mariani wine (1875) was the most famous Coca wine of it's time. Pope Leo XIII used to carry one bottle with him all the time. He awarded Angelo Mariani (the producer) with a Vatican gold medal. * * * * * * * Maltine Produced by the Maltine Manufacturing Company of New York . It was suggested that you should take a full glass with or after every meal. Children should only take half a glass. * * * * * * * A paper weight A paper weight promoting C.F. Boehringer & Soehne ( Mannheim , Germany ). They were proud of being the biggest producers in the world of products containing Quinine and Cocaine. * * * * * * * Opium for Asthma At 40% alcohol plus 3 grams of opium per tablet, it didn't cure you, but you didn't care... * * * * * * * Cocaine Tablets (1900) All stage actors, singers, teachers and preachers had to have them for a maximum performance. Great to 'smooth' the voice. * * * * * * * Cocaine drops for toothache Very popular for children in 1885. Not only did they relieve the pain, they made the children very happy! * * * * * * * Opium for new-borns I'm sure this would make them sleep well (not only the Opium, but also 46% alcohol)! It's no wonder they were called: 'The Good Old Days'!! From cradle to grave.... Everyone Was Stoned!!!

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The blog is back...

After a brief, arguably successful (we got on tele) political career, the blog is back on line.