He calls his wife, Turtle, recycles jokes told in shearing sheds 30 years ago and loves to berate himself as “the old fella’’. However, at 68 years of age, retired Yorke Peninsula farmer, Rod Gregory, has reinvented himself as a stand-up comic, who will perform in the finals of Australia’s Got Talent on Channel 7 […]
“The Kids” vote the “old fella” into fame
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Flowers at the Intercontinental Hotel
Ever wondered who is the talented florist creating the beautiful floral arrangements at the InterContinental Hotel, formerly the Hyatt Regency on North Terrace, Adelaide. Her name is Kerryn McLeod, floral design manager and she is busily arranging the hotel’s foyer masterpiece with her assistant Mandy Verity when I arrive for my French lesson this week. […]
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Fromages for Olivier
The Cheese platter for Olivier’s birthday – presented with quince paste: Before we tuck into the top selection of cheeses listed below, John Herbig recalls how the Quast family, who lived in Punthari, between Cambrai and Mannum would make the simplest of cheeses – quark. “They would take a bucket of full-cream milk and put […]
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John Herbig’s harrowing China story
It is one of those harrowing travellers’ tales which bolts one to an armchair instead of flying to explore exotic places. Mt Pleasant man, John Herbig and his wife Sandra, wanted one more overseas trip before he retired from his managerial job at the Barossa Valley Council – and it was to be China. “I […]
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French chanteuse a classic Femme Fatale
French chanteuse Caroline Nin is set to deliver a fabulous dose of Parisian Cabaret chic in her award-winning show “Scarlet Stories’’ at the Vanguard, in Sydney July 30/31. It will follow her performance as the classic Femme Fatale in June at the Elizabeth Murdoch Hall and her Sydney Opera House appearance in the Late Night […]
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A watery romance
Adapted from the best-selling novel by Sara Gruen,Water for Elephants, the movie is a Hollywood-style feel-good romantic love story set against the gritty background of 1930s circus life during the Depression in America. Hollywood heart-throb actor, Robert Pattinson, is Jacob, the naive young veterinary student run-away, who joins the circus run by Oscar winner, a […]
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birthdays are beautiful
Birthdays are beautiful ways to celebrate life and love. This year was my first Facebook birthday, which added an exciting new dimension to the many “joyeux anniversaire’’ cards, telephone calls, flowers, kisses, hugs and les cadeaux (the gifts) I received. There in my email box was a long string of more than 30 […]
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The Cancer odds of 1 in 2 hits our home
Life has dumped a heap of dirt on us again with Olivier spending another 10 days in hospital with unmanageable pain. The hormone treatment has failed to hold his advanced prostate cancer, which has now moved into his bone marrow and blood. It is a terrifying time as his oncologist delivers this grave news on […]
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Julie’s cancer Journey
By Julie House July 2011 When I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in January this year, I was 53 years old and terrified. Insulted too. I had been practising yoga for years and considered myself fit and healthy. Why did I have cancer? My diet hadn’t always been optimal, stress levels had been difficult for […]
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Philipa’s Dream Wedding in Tonga
Philipa Charlesworth had been married too many times beforehand to ever be a Bridezilla when she married her fifth husband Bruce Pattullo on an idyllic beach in Tonga. “Because I have had many weddings I had an enlightening moment on the day of my wedding when I thought “This is wonderful…I have never married when […]
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Moving Home
Packing boxes are scattered around our island home once more as we begin to pull up roots after living on Hindmarsh Island for a year. It has been such an exciting sojourn living the sea-change leisure lifestyle on the River Murray, so close to the laconic historic River Port of Goolwa. But like migratory birds […]
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Mosque and Cathedral create Spanish Masterpiece
By Cathy Portas We are in Spain, walking through the Hall of Columns in the ancient Mezquita mosque in Cordoba, yet I cannot stop weeping quietly. No words are needed to explain my emotional reaction to being here within the magnificent unique Moorish architecture, dappled as it is in soft light. Etheral church music […]
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Red Dog – a box office star
He has those same copper-hued coat and magnetic eyes of myriad Aussie sheepdogs, however, there isn’t another quite as unique as KoKo, the wonder woofer star of Red Dog. Here he is with the film’s sound recordist, James Currie and his daughter Nikola on location at Globe Derby Park. KoKo, never camera shy, was […]
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Conversations With A Sound Man:
Major film sound designer James Currie swirls his favourite wine – a Privee Margaux he bought in the pretty French village in 1998 and ponders on the power of happenstance. His journey into sound design and his place in Australian film industry history, was pure chance following a few failures. The multi-award-winning film man recorded […]
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Stanley Cottage – history and homely ambiance
Our brief to Rodney and Regina Twiss of North Adelaide Heritage Group was that we wanted a weekend escape in an intimate memorable environment to celebrate a special anniversary. And here we are ensconced in Stanley Cottage, a unique, historic row cottage in leafy Stanley Street, North Adelaide. It’s one of 20 apartments, cottages and […]
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A Peep Behind Spanish Doors
Cathy Portas continues her writing about journeying in Spain. The timing of our visit to Cordoba, in Spain was pure luck as we arrived in the middle of the ‘Patio Festival’. It was an unexpected treat which gave us an exciting peep into people’s homely lives because residents in the Jewish Quarter opened up […]
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Sweet memories are made of this…
We have escaped to delightful Stanley Cottage for the weekend in Stanley Street North Adelaide to celebrate the pivotal moment when Olivier first invited me to Belair for dinner eight years ago. In my memoir From France with Love I described that night, the first Saturday in December, 2003. Olivier was a new widower, having […]
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joyful xmas
What a wonderful, peaceful, joyful Christmas we have shared with our two families in our new home. Love flowed around our celebrations like sparkling rose and we have survived the mayhem of three generations together with good cheer and red wine. However, the “peace” of Christmas is yet to befall me because I have cooked […]
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Rillettes De Porc
Method Olivier’s claim to fame in the kitchen is home-made pork rillettes, which is easy to make, keeps well and can be made in big quantities for a crowd. For 1 kg of boneless pork belly (with plenty of fat) you will need ½ kg of back pork fat. Most butchers will remove the rind […]
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Meryl is magnificent as Margaret
There are a few good reasons to brace oneself for the reality of old age by viewing The Iron Lady, about the life of Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest women leaders of the 20th century. Firstly, the film is a toast to feminism as the headline from The Spectator in London says “Truth is, […]
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