The lambs travel business class

I am pleased to report that Cate once again has a notebook computer and an iPad thanks to some heroic efforts from Rozalin.

No the original ones did not turn up – they are gone forever – but Rozalin is good at foraging and getting replacements quickly for the very many things that Cate loses or breaks.

I could tell you about when she dropped her iPhone into the toilet but that would be indelicate. (It still works).  

When Cate does not have online communications with her far flung empire she is like a caged Lion. And being in the same place as her is like being in the lion’s cage.

Incidentally - Apple has released a new versions of its Mac software. It is called OS X Mountain Lion and does 200 new things.

I have looked at the list of new features and don’t understand most of them – I probably use about 10% of the features of my iMac and Mac Air – but will probably get the software because if you get out of date you find inevitably that things stop working properly.

And anyway Apple needs the money because sales of the iPhone had plummeted as people wait for the new one in October.

On Tuesday I made my very first Lamb Biryani. We don’t eat a lot of lamb because it is simply so expensive. The lamb I bought on Tuesday was €46 per kilo. Holy Toledo!

I think that there may be a lamb quota is Austria and the whole country is only allowed about a dozen each year. I have never seen sheep in Austria - perhaps they are imported from Australia - and travel business class on Austrian Airlines. 

I used a Bill Granger recipe and it was adequate but not exciting. There was something – as yet undefined – that was missing in order to give it some oomph. I will need to do more research. 

Perhaps I am just a curmudgeon

I read The Times each day on my iPad.

It is now almost impossible to  wade through the Olympic stuff to get to anything else that happened in the world. They are – of course – entirely focused on the medals they will win – and they should win a whole bag – the host country always does.

The Times says it will be providing live Olympic coverage for 24 hours each day. 24 hours? The midnight to dawn coverage should be fascinating.

For every gold medal Royal Mail will be painting a red box gold in the home town of each gold medal winner. I mean – really! What do they do for the losers – paint the mail boxes black.

I am sure that in Australia it is not much better.

All Australia’s gold medalists are to get a cash bonus. I suppose that all the other competitors – who probably worked and tried just as hard but did not win – can go and stick their heads up a dead bear’s bum.

SKY has 24 Olympic channels. 24! We are not going to miss a scintilla of the events.  

The opening ceremony is costing £27 million and will probably last for four hours.

I remember Melbourne in 1956 – I think there were flags and balloons. The budget was probably less than $100.

I wonder if we are getting a teensy weensy bit carried away with it all.

Perhaps I am just a curmudgeon.

One must have ready access to life's essentials

Sunset from our cabin 

I get wistfully homesick every time I visit Australia. There is no other place like it on the planet.

As I mentioned – we stayed on an Alpaca farm in the Hunter Valley – which is one of Australia’s major wine producing areas.

It was a wonderful place to stay – and apart from the astonishing racket made by the ducks and birds – was very peaceful indeed. (I am sure that Alpacas make a variety of noises – but they were silent during our visit). 

Each dusk and dawn a big mob of Wallabies came to feed and water themselves  on the property next door – an amazing sight to see for anyone other than an Australian – for whom it is very unsurprising indeed.

Every time we do this we think that we would like to live in the country – and that could well be where we end up. Although it is likely to be in a country town rather than in isolation on a farm.

After all – one must have ready access to a coffee shop and a Patisserie.

And we certainly wouldn’t be trying to grow things – including Alpacas. I have demonstrated quite clearly over many years that I should not be put in charge of God’s creatures or plants.