jj727

Sorry about this Big Al, However I was unable to add this to your thread. Not sure why,


Why do I get the impression you're a bit of a stirrer. lol

Poor Neil from ? ummm where was he from ?
I must apologise Neil.
I?m usually no like that.
Alan made me do it.

Anyway Alan , Yes the theatre is still there in the same form.
However now they do have it painted white.
That way it blends in with the snow and you do not really notice it?s there.
Although during summer it still stands out like dogs b...s

I heard a rumour they are building stairs up, over and around the thing.
That way all the people from the US will be able to climb on it.
You know !!! like the bridge and the rock.

That should put Oberon on the map.
I wonder if they will get over
$200 per person.

Re the pic, I am sorry Alan , I live closer to you than that theatre however next time I am out at Oberon on a fishing trip I shall most definitely shoot it for you.
The picture of the theatre I mean.

Now young John-au , re the meat tray at the royal hotel..

Over the years I have been guilty of running the Friday Night Chook Raffel at certain venues around Australia
And I enjoyed every minute of it as well.

But like lots of old habits this one is dying as well as time goes by.

Maybe because the patrons now try to knock off the cash when the ticket seller turns his back.

Maybe it's because the women today do not appreciate the ole man arriving home at ten half stung, with a frozen chook under his arm. And lets face it there are not many women out there these days with the intellect required to cook the bloody thing any way.

Or maybe its cos all the damm chooks caught the flu.

Oh well !!!! life goes on.

Alan

Thanks, jj727, for the information, and for the good humour. Actually, I'm not a stirrer, more an angry old man..... but if you have read the post from the poor blighter who had to wlak up seventeen flights of steps to get to his overpriced room at the Four Seasons because NONE of their lifts (elevators) were working, then you'll know why I am always cranky. It's enough to make me pack up and move to Oberon, where, I'd hazard a guess, no one has ever seen a lift (and where there are only three, not four, seasons: too hot, too wet, and too windy.

Neil_Oz

jj727, when giving directions to the national capital to Sydney friends, I always tell them to go through Robertson and Moss Vale and take a left at the road with more than two lanes. It's a roundabout way but makes their journey more interesting.

Anyway, no apology needed. In this town we're used to being slagged off and we can take it. We have to.

I like the sound of the chook* raffles at the Robertson pub. Canberra has very few real pubs and it's one of the few drawbacks. Maybe we could relocate the Robertson pub (complete with jj727 to add local colour), like we moved the big old merry-go-round (trans: carousel) from St Kilda to Canberra, and the old Sydney mortuary rail station, which is now All Saints Anglican church at Ainslie. It's a good way to get some instant history.

* Note for for overseas readers (if any are bothering to read this):
"chook" is Australian vernacular for "chicken". In frozen form, a traditional prize in pub raffles held to raise money for local causes. "Meat trays" are also popular prizes. These consist of a collection of cheap and very suspect sausages, meatballs and other highly perishable items that the local butcher wasn't able to sell that day, often for good reason. Usually supplemented by "barbecue steak" and/or "barbecue chops", so called because they can only be served up, charred and smothered in ketchup, to particularly undiscriminating or drunken, or both, barbecue guests.

AndrewDavid

Will there be any chooks left for us to win when we arrive in April, or will they all succumb to avian flu?

AndrewDavid

Neil_Oz

Even the healthiest of chickens would have trouble flying the Timor Sea. That's what we're hoping, anyway. Aircraft stowaways might be a different matter, but if you haven't been told, AndrewDavid, the Australian Quarantine Service is a pretty tough outfit. Last time I looked they were using beagles and labradors as sniffer dogs. Both breeds will eat anything that looks even vaguely edible and a lot that doesn't, and then line up for seconds. A chicken would have no chance, dead or alive.

AndrewDavid

Neil, Does this mean I may not get in?
Andrew David

Neil_Oz

You're pretty safe - after all, they left me alone. (As a former labrador owner I can say that while they're not the intellectuals of the dog world, they're usually smart enough not to bite the hand that feeds them, or might feed them ..... I imagine the same goes for beagles.)

johhj_au

Meatballs ,Neil? Meatballs...my mum makes great rissoles but wouldn't know a meatball if she fell over one.

As for ketchup...

the cliche is spot on,you canberrans are out of touch...

Neil_Oz

Jeez, mate - yes, yes, I know, my mum made rissoles with tomato sauce in the country town I grew up in. But being used to dealing with furriners, I try to save time by translating local usages into terms that Brits and North Americans might understand. That's why I had to jump in and help you out by explaining what a "chook" is. Anyway, what's wrong with a good old Anglo-Saxon term like "meatball" compared to a poncy Frenchified word like "rissole"? Fair suck of the sauce bottle, mate.

Mucky

Thanks Neil_Oz,
I was wondering what the hell a chook was.
You have educated me, thank you.
Alan, I dont believe you are an Angry old man, just one of lifes good guys.
Keep up the good work

Great thread, made me chuckle, which in the Welsh winter is always welcome.

Muck

;-)

Neil_Oz

I used to wonder what a Welsh rabbit looked like. Who was it said "two nations separated by a common language"? On second thoughts, the "common language" bit doesn't really apply to Wales, does it? Unfortunately my sole Welsh ancestor, a bosun's mate-turned-sea captain from Pembrokeshire, failed to pass on any Welsh language genes.

AndrewDavid

So it's safe to eat the chooks, rissoles and meatballs,: I won't be quaranteened as I'm neither beagle nor labrador. But what about the welsh rabbits? Safe to eat or quaranteened?
AndrewDavid

Neil_Oz

Pay attention, that boy in the back row! AndrewDavid, I think you're just yanking jj727's chain - a meatball IS a rissole! Or used to be, anyway.

Disclaimer: I never said it was safe to eat the contents of a "meat tray", so that's at your own risk. But do take a very close look at the sausages. If possible, dissect and analyse one first.

Some butchers in Australian country towns advertise "country killed meat", as though there's any other kind, and as though the meat from city-killed cows would taste any different. That sort of ad makes as much sense as one of those "Baby on Board" stickers on car windows. I hope there's none of that nonsense in Robertson.

What you will find in any country town within two hours' drive of any major city is at least one knick-knack shop owned by a genteel middle-class lady who, influenced by TV soaps, has fled the big city to inhabit what they fondly imagined to be an idyllic rural lifestyle. These shops stock assorted frilly things, hand-knitted items, clothing at heart-stopping prices, and vaguely rustic-looking and overpriced jars of jams, sauces and preserves. They may also sell battered furniture and chipped household utensils seemingly scavenged from the local garbage tip, like a burnt-out 1957 Mixmaster.

I've never seen anyone actually buy any of these items, which makes me suspect that the shops have some other purpose, perhaps not unconnected with attempts to befuddle the Australian Taxation Office.

The point to this little cultural excursion (wake up, that boy in the back!) is the grim secret of our country towns, which I will now reveal to you: all those quaint, friendly, slow-talking locals are actually city people who took early retirement to tend organic vegetables and free-range chickens (which they're careful to call "chooks&quot or run knick-knack shops and cafes selling Caesar salads and skim-milk cappuccino. The original inhabitants all went to the city to find work years ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if jj727 himself is a retired systems analyst who, after raffling the meat tray at the pub, goes home, changes out of his check shirt and elastic-sided boots, pours a good red and thumbs through his battered copy of "Compost Teas for Beginners".

Actually I still don't know what a Welsh rabbit looks like - better ask Mucky. But don't worry about being detained - we need tourist dollars, and you can't spend money from inside a quarantine station.

johhj_au

C'mon Neil...

brit is a term yanks use to describe poms.

and its "fair suck of the sav"...and that does not mean those cabernets you sip to keep warm on those long winter nights down there in the aussie brasilia.

Mucky

I have this recipe from old mother muckies recipe book, you may be interested, or most likely you may not...lol

Welsh Rarebit (Rabbit) Recipe
Welsh Rarebit, Rabbit or "Caws Pobi" gets its name quite literally from the words rare (meaning very lightly cooked) and bit (a small piece or portion). It is an ideal savoury snack. Try it for Sunday morning brunch with some freshly brewed coffee.

2 to 4 slices of bread
1? cups of grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons of milk or beer
30 grams / 1 oz of butter
1 teaspoon of mustard
Pepper
Toast the slices of bread and grate 1? cups of cheese. Arrange the cooked toast on a baking tray ready for grilling and spread with butter. Slowly melt the cheese and milk in a small saucepan. Then add the mustard and pepper. Stir continuously. When thick and smooth, pour over each piece of toast and grill until golden brown.

So as you can see, there is no rabbit in this meal.

Alas another play on words.


enjoy the food and sing the welsh national anthem whilst you eat it all up.

Cheers

Muck

AndrewDavid

Muck,

Thanks for the recipe. Now I all need the words to the Welsh anthem, please, for a truly festive occaision.

AndrewDavid

PS what is the origin of Muck and how do the welsh pronounce it? Is it pronounced the same by our australian correspondants?

Neil_Oz

johhj_au - why do I get the impression that Canberra knockers can dish it out but not take it? Never having visited Brasilia I can't say whether it's as fine a city as Canberra (Australia's best-kept secret) but I'll keep an open mind.

Cabernet? Well, it beats pinot noir (much more of a Sydney drink) but down here we know that real men drink shiraz.

Now, in the interests of accuracy, I use "Brit" to describe an inhabitant of Britain, not just England. "Pom" refers specifically to English people. I can't help it if Americans often confuse "British" with "English", as in the use of "British accent" to describe an (upper class) English accent.

For overseas readers, there are several theories as to the origin of the word "Pommie" or "Pom", but nobody really knows where it came from. The best advice I can offer English visitors is not to take offence if you hear it used. We like Poms. You help our current account deficit by buying "Neighbours" and other crappy soaps.

Mucky

A/D
How do the welsh pronounce Muck??
Probably the same as everyone else does...lol ;-)

Ok heres one to get the tonsils moving

Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn anwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol rhyfelwyr, gwlad garwyr tra mad,
Tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.
Chorus:
Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad,
Tra mor yn fur
I'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r heniaith barhau.

2. Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd,
Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn, i'm golwg sydd hardd;
Trwy deimlad gwladgarol, mor swynol yw si
Ei nentydd, afonydd, i mi.
Chorus:

3. Os treisiodd y gelyn fy ngwlad dan ei droed,
Mae hen iaith y Cymry mor fyw ag erioed,
Ni luddiwyd yr awen gan erchyll law brad,
Na thelyn berseiniol fy ngwlad.
Chorus:


And in English...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O land of my fathers O land of my love
Dear mother of minstrels who kindle and move
And hero on hero who at honors proud call
For freedom their lifeblood let fall
Wales Wales oh but my heart is with you
As long as the sea,
Your bulwark shall be
To Cymru my heart shall be true.

O land of the mountains, the bard's paradise,
Whose precipice, valleys lone as the skies,
Green murmuring forest, far echoing flood
Fire the fancy and quicken the blood
Wales Wales oh but my heart is with you
As long as the see,
Your bulwark shall be
To Cymru my tongue shall be true.

For tho' the fierce foeman has ravaged your realm,
The old speech of Cymru he cannot o'erwhelm,
Our passionate poets to silence command
Or banish the harp from your strand.
Wales Wales oh but my heart is with you
As long as the see,
Your bulwark shall be
To Cymru my tongue shall be true.


Good Luck
Muck...oooh it rhymes

Neil_Oz

Mucky, that recipe is enough to make any perfidious Saxon weep in envy. In return I'll pass on a prized old bush recipe for galah (a ubiquitous pink-and-grey Australian parrot):
1. Take one galah, place in an iron pot, cover with water and add two river stones. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Bring to the boil and cook, covered, for 24 hours.
3. Throw out galah and eat stones.

Incidentally, unlike galahs, kangaroos are edible - a local Cantonese restaurant does an excellent stir-fried 'roo fillet. The meat is very lean and so best eaten rare/medium-rare. Visitors may also find emu and crocodile meat on offer, but I'm not convinced that it's worth the money.

Mucky

Hi Neil,
Unfortunately I don't have all the ingrediants required for your recipe......have you ever tried getting pepper here in Wales? ....hell its tough.


;-)



Muck