This week I went to an exhibition in a beautiful old building that was built during the Gold Rush (about 1880). It is beside the Melbourne Museum, and you can walk there from the city centre. If you walk along Nicholson Street from here, you can find some cute old houses. This is a pleasant … Continue reading More Melbourne
Category: IELTS
Lessons for IELTS
A horse drawn carriage ride for anyone?The Yarra River flows close to the main train station. You can sit or walk and watch people stroll along the walkways. Southbank has some good bars and restaurants, where you can watch the world go by. In summer (December-February), it is sometimes very hot, so you might like … Continue reading Melbourne on the Yarra
Our old buildings are not old by world standards. Fremantle, or "Freo" as the locals call it, has some buildings dating from the early days of white settlement. This is still a busy market, and a great place to buy fruit and vegetables. The sweetest, juiciest mangoes I have ever tasted were from here. It … Continue reading A little bit of history
It is hot. Nearly 40 degrees Celsius. So hot heavy food does not sound good. A barbecue on the deck sounds good though. Potato salad, Cypriot grain salad, cold roast vegetables, and cold meats, with some bubbly. And then a swim in the sea, at Mount Eliza beach maybe. Or Sorrento, but with a wetsuit … Continue reading New Year in Australia 2019
Magic Melbourne...Christmas here can be weird and wonderful.Weird- well who would knit a jumper for a tree and put a whole lot of them around a city which can reach 40 degrees Celsius at Christmas? Wonderful- because shops try to outdo each other by making their windows spectacular at Christmas.There are many of these knitted … Continue reading Christmas in Melbourne
The secret to a good sponge is a good recipe. This one is called Joan’s Sponge, and was passed on to me by Marie Cavin. It is super easy to make, and should work for you. The passion fruit icing on the top is an Australian touch, but you could make a plain icing or … Continue reading Sponge with passion fruit icing
My Japanese friend in Melbourne gave me some tips for making gyosa. Basically they are-: 1. Knead the meat for quite a while to make the dumplings tender. 2. Grate the ginger and add the juice not the ginger bits to the mixture. 3. Use Japanese gyosa wraps not Chinese ones- the Japanese ones are … Continue reading Hints on making gyosa dumplings
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash When you live in a new place, it can be difficult to understand how to do things the way people expect you to do them. How do you “do” a kids’ birthday party? Well, the answer is of course you can plan a party many different ways. Here … Continue reading An Australian Birthday Party
What are your favourite clothes? Where do you shop? Do you buy expensive clothes when they are on sale? Or do you buy cheap clothes and replace them every season? Do you buy things and never wear them? Do you buy clothes that have brand names on the outside? Do you buy clothes, books or … Continue reading Would you wear a onesie in public?
Last week a young woman in Melbourne was murdered. She was walking through a park. She was alone, and it was late at night. She was attacked, raped and murdered. She had almost arrived at her flat. She was just 22 years old. A man is in custody, but his lawyer says he is suffering … Continue reading Take a Walk in the Park
