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Showing posts with label introduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label introduction. Show all posts

Stories from my life

"A human being is nothing but a story with skin around it."  Fred Allen


I've been having so much fun remembering and writing the stories from my life and some of the stories of the people I love.  Lots more stories to come. When my memory gets going, there seems to be an endless supply!


Stories by theme


Stories by life stage


People involved



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Favourite meals

Food is a gift and should be treated reverentially - romanced and ritualized and seasoned with memory.  Chris Bohjalian




2025

Cape Town
  • Cherries
  • Greek restaurant: Octopus
  • Peanut butter smoothie at Woodside
  • Red Curry for Afrikaburn
  • Cattle Baron Madagascar 300g fillet x 2
  • Chicken and Prawn Curry with lychees (With Rory at Millers Thumb)
  • Chocolate brownies
  • Mum's Gammon and mustard sauce
  • Wedgwood nougat
  • Chorizo and pineapple pizza at St James
  • Roasted vegetables at Hussar Grill
  • Brandon's roast chicken with 6 vegetables
  • Mums fridge cheesecake
  • Jo's amazing salads including Thai salad
  • Flame grilled chicken
  • Chicken Sosaties from Checkers
  • Salad and veg bowl in Kalk Bay with Sam
  • Jo's marmite scones
  • Braai buffet at Russell's board game friend's home
  • Bacha Coffee almond and chocolate croissants at Singapore airport
  • Naked Bowl at Dee Why
  • Kirsten's Kick Ass Icecream

Sydney
  • Octopus at Greek restaurant
  • Turkish Grill in Newtown
  • Roast pork in Blackheath after camping
  • Lemon and rasberry magnum with white chocolate
  • Pistachio donut at Chatswood
  • Mushroom and avo on sourdough in Hornsby
  • Croissant
  • Pasta and stag chilly with cheese in Warrenbungles
  • Lamb shank pie for $12.50 !!
  • Fish Bowl Spicy salmon
  • Michal's goulash cooked on the camp fire.
  • Sausages and garlic butter when camping.
  • Lebanese lamb shish
  • Frozen yoghurt and nuts 

2024
  • Raspberry tart @ Harrods, Doha
  • Tender beef on Sylvia Earle
  • Double thick peanut butter shake (Simons Town)
  • Cattle Baron Fillet Madagascar (Cape Town)
  • Frozen orange and mango at top of Devils's Peak (thanks Brandon!)
  • Kirsten's Kick Ass Icecream: Cherry
  • Kalk Bay ice cream: Cinnamon, ginger, cherry
  • Salad at Third Rail during fast
  • Kolfi with dried fruit (Grace of India)
  • Roast chicken meal (Dom in Carcoar)
  • Black cherries
  • Balmoral grilled sea food (octopus, calamari, prawns)
  • Frozen yoghurt with nuts and white chocolate
  • Plougman's lunch in the Blue Mountains (Thank you Michelle and Petros)
  • The Little Snail in Pyrmont: Kanagaroo steak
  • Fish Bowl salmon
  • Thai Beef Salad at the pub after tennis near St Peters station


2023
  • Chocolate pannacotta & flake
  • Banana and mango smoothy
  • Mushroom on toast in Orange with Tina and Dom
  • Take sushi with Tina, Dom, Shushann (x2)
  • Passion Fruit cheesecake (Bamboo Buddha)
  • Messina Icecream (Macedamia Nut Crunch, Lychee & Coconut)
  • Steak final night Buenos Airies
  • Roast chicken in Airfryer with Martin's seasoning
  • Almond nougat (Cape Town)
  • Duck, Pork Belly, Steak tapas at Silk (Cape Town)
  • Peanut butter smoothie (Nepal & Woodside)
  • Lassies in Kathmandu
  • Mango and yoghurt
  • Bowral hot donuts
  • Prawn dumplings at home


2022
  • Portuguese Charcoal chicken with Srini after hike
  • Messina icecream
  • Jo's coffee and rum & raisin icecream
  • Thick chocolate milkshake in Cape Town
  • Eat Greek prawn wrap after Coastal Track walk
  • Cape Town meat & fish: Cattlebaron steak, Ocean Basket, Ribs at market
  • Xmas feasts: Ruth: Duck, pork belly, chicken, amazing potato bake Xmas day at Shalow: Lemon curd trifle, turkey


2021
  • Lamb after Dune
  • Botanica breakfast bowl
  • Four Cheese Toastie at The Flying Bear
  • Love.Fish with Elna to celebrate new year


2019
  • Prawn soup  (The Botanica)
  • Ko Pla (Thai) with Brendan and Eva
  • Ginger drink   (The Botanica)
  • Oven roasted vegetables with smoked almonds (my speciality)
  • Hummus and Mushrooms  (Grumpy Baker)
  • Monkfish with Chris, Xenia, Christina, Shushan
  • Meal at Devil’s Pools
  • Jo’s rum and raisin ice-cream  


2016
  • Ape Crepe & Malaysian Toast
  • Botanica Quiche
  • Pizza in Wilderness: Fig, blue cheese, ham


2015
  • The Edge of the Bay. Seafood chowder, scollop liguine, choc mousse.
  • Lamb salad with Liza (Jagos on Miller)
  • Bondi Pizza (Parramatta lamb pizza and prawn and chorizo)
  • Liz meal. Cheese, salami, tomato and onion pastry, goulash, sticky date pud
  • Roast chicken, pumpkin, potato (made by Matt and Shamista)
  • MaryAnn meal (pap starter, feshwado, granadilla mousse.)
  • Cattle Baron (sirloin with bacon, avo, camembert), chocolate mousse
  • Woodside with mum (steak n chips, calamari)
  • Stormsriver ribs & Malva Pudding
  • Big braai at Geoergian House
  • Vetkoek
  • Hogsback pizza
  • Mutton pie and muffins (waiting for bus). Pancakes at Sani. 
  • Amphithetre:  Butternut soup, pork belly, apple crumble and custard. 
  • Best braai ever with Chrisel's family?  Ribs, steak, potato bake, carrot cake.  
  • Lamb potjie (Amphitheatre, Utopia)
  • Camps Bay Retreat:  Mushroom risotto, Kudu loin, chocolate mousse (with cereal?)
  • I cooked lamb in slow cooker with red wine for family.
  • Steak and chips at Brendan and Eva
  • Veal at Casa Ristorante
  • Indian food (Shamista)
  • Thai restaurant with Srini (Duck curry)
  • Chicken soup (I make for Chris, Jilly, Craig).
  • Chicken soup. Jagos lamb salad with Liza
  • Kirribili meals with Srini (lamb shanks, ribs)
  • Botanica with Yogi - Almighty, lamb skewers, ginger drink.
  • Botanica lamb skeers, All Mighty
  • Eggs and toast



2013

Meals
  • Salad at Brendan's
  • Mexican at Eva and Brendan (lamb)
  • Turkey Roast with Sue
  • Thai duck at Waverton
  • Dani's Belgian pancakes
  • Turkey dinners with Sue
  • My slow cooker meals (ossu buco , apricot chicken etc.)


Restaurants
  • Fancy restaurant for scollops
  • Mexican restaurant after Two Creeks
  • Nepalese restaurant
  • Spanish Tapas
  • Thai (Neutral Bay)
  • Radio Cairo
  • French restaurant (anniversary)
  • Nandos
  • Bavarian Beer caffee (Pork belly with Andreas)


2012

  • Mocha
  • Pad See Ew 
  • Dani's tiramisu
  • Belgian waffles


Restaurant
  • Thai Waverton
  • Blue Mountains (Italian, Chinese)
  • Mexican (after hike)



2006
  • Bull's testicles
  • Guineapig
  • Offal hotpot (Brazil)
  • Doug and Claudia's pepper-corn steak
  • Buffet by weight (Rio)
  • Torres del Paine fry up
  • Seafood with Doug & Claudia
  • Buenos Airies steak
  • Lamb chops (El Calafate)
  • Isla Grande self service icecream


2004 - 2005 

Food
  • Iced coffee and vanilla frappocino at Liverpool Street
  • Meal at web council
  • lamb rack in Gothenberg - best lamb ever
  • Volvo Thursday roasts
  • Steve Fuhrter's strawberry juice
  • Brooklands court sunday picnics in the lounge
  • Glue Vine (and Swedish Glug)
  • Meals at La Taska (Gothenberg)
  • Volvo caffeteria
  • Cambridge crepes
  • pork ribs @ John Barleycorn
  • North Carolina onion rings
  • Wilga and Normon's garden picnics


Restaurant
  • Codfather
  • John Barleycorn ribs
  • Smaka
  • Eating at Nandos (Cambridge)


2000 - 2003

London
  • Putney gourmet burgers
  • North Acton lamb and mint burgers
  • Biltong from The South African shop, London
  • Tescos Crème Caramel (London)
  • Roast beef & yorkshire pudding (touch rugby)


Travels
  • Thick shake & Blue Moon Pancake (Dahab)
  • Food after 2 weeks of dahl baht in Nepal
  • Yak steak (Nepal)
  • Camel steaks (Damascus)
  • Pistachio Icecream (Damascus)


Restaurant
  • The Grove rib-eye steak 
  • Scollops in Knightsbridge, London
  • Dessert wine at The Oxo Towers, London
  • Pocara steak (Nepal)


1990 - 2000

Food
  • Kendal Mint Cake (Granchester, Lake District)
  • Pint of prawns (Plett)
  • Rosemarie's chocolate gateau and risotto
  • Melissa's French Nougat
  • Ally's apple pie with ginger
  • Ally's lemon merengue pie
  • Mexican wrap and berry smoothy from Kuali
  • Woolies picnics
  • Crepes and thick-shakes at Dulces
  • Allies Jamie Oliver's sweet and sour chicken
  • South African Don Pedro
  • Ally's lamb & pavlova
  • The food in Istanbul
  • Hagendaaz Icecream (Kensington)
  • Sea food hot pot (Ko Bulan, Thailand)
  • Cream tea in Devon
  • Yoghurt and honey (Olympos, Turkey)
  • Squirrel
  • meals at George's Place (Butterfly Valley, Turkey)


Restaurants
  • Le Petite Fermet lunches
  • Lamb in pastry at The Wild Fig
  • Barrister's Madagascan Fillet
  • Nandos chicken, chips with perinase and olives
  • Desserts at The Village restaurant
  • Boschedahl buffet
  • Kushiri (Cairo)


1980 - 1988 

Food
  • Spring rolls from Dean Street Chineese
  • Frozen Yogurt Blizzard
  • Roast beef & veggies & kiersch (Gran)
  • South African braais with sizzling boerewors
  • Cassanova veal and cassata
  • Spur Hero Burger
  • Ribs at The Spur


Restaurant
  • Cassanova veal and cassata
  • Spur Hero Burger
  • Ribs at The Spur


1970 - 1980

Food
  • Granny Station's roast chicken & junket
  • mum's chocolate mousse, banana pudding & crème caramel
  • Leche sorbet at San Marcos (Sea Point)
  • Mum's chicken soup
  • Mum's Xmas cake
  • Jam donuts and custard slice at Silwood bakery
  • Mum's Xmas dinners, particularly xmas pudding and brandy butter
  • Granadilla lollies, St James
  • Caramel crisp icecreams as a kid
  • Mum's Sunday Roasts
  • Coffee and Top Deck wtching TV on Saturday nights
  • Mum's rice pudding
  • Welsh Rarebit
  • Appletizer on the beach with grandpa as a kid
  • Granny's chicken lunch


Restaurants
  • Mount Nelson lunches with the family as a kid
  • Birkenhead dinners with granny and grandpa as a kid
  • Spur Hot Rock & Pecan Nut Sunday
  • Pancake place


Related food posts


Restaurants and cafes


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Music

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Red Auerbach

 


Music, to me, is one of the great gifts of being alive. Nothing makes me feel like music and often it facilitates a sacred release. My preferred way of listening to music is to play it through my headphones and focus mindfully on the music alone, as a form of meditation. At times, I also like to listen to instrumental music while I work. 


Songs


Favourite music


Music from movies and TV


Concerts & Musicals


Technology


Music listening ongoing




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Adventure

Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we will be able to treat life as art. Maya Angelou


I love to go on adventures and do adventurous things.  Here are some of the adventurous experiences I've had and adventurous activities I enjoy.


Adventurous experiences



Adventurous activities




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Reading

In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.  Mortimer J. Adler



Books read



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My spiritual journey

"I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within." Lillian Smith




My life purpose and vision



Spiritual diary overview





Wellness graphs by year



Highlights by year



Challenges



Writing and reading


Inspiration and wonder


Miscellaneous

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Technology

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.  Arthur C. Clarke 


I love technology and feel extremely blessed to have lived through the digital revolution and to have experienced all the incredible technological devices that have been invented during my life time including the personal computer, Internet, smart phone and AI.  


Posts related to technology

All posts labelled as "Technology"

All posts labelled as "Computers"

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All posts labelled as "Camera"

All posts labelled as "Gadgets"

All posts labelled as "Photography + Technology"

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All posts labelled as "Software"

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Building web sites

Stories relating to technology





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Fun & silly moments

Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it.  Eileen Caddy 



The posts below are some moments of fun and silliness that have made me laugh or smile.



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Nostalgia

There is a lovely warmness about feelings of nostalgia as though in one’s head one is putting on a pair of comfy old slippers and curling up in front of a fire. William E Geist



Childhood memories



Favourite childhood toys



Childhood books and comics







Music



Mum & Jo



Willow Road



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Wonder

Those who are Awake live in a state of constant amazement.  Jack Kornfield


To stand rapt in wonder and awe is to me one the most priceless aspects of being human.  Below are some of the times I have experienced wonder.


Wildlife experiences



Natural wonders

  • The mighty power of the Augrabie Falls (South Africa), Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and Iguazu Falls (Argentina)
  • The enormous blue gums in Shanon National Park (Australia)
  • Watching huge chunks of ice fall of the Morraine Glacier
  • Exploring hallucinogenic salt deserts, spurting geysers and eerie lagoons around the Uyuni Salt pans (Bolivia)
  • Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
  • The awe inspiring stars on The Orange River (Namibia)
  • Richard Attenboroughs´s documentaries, especially "Blue Planet" and "Life of Birds."
  • Photographing the amazing 12 Apostles in different light.
  • Overnighting at Hanging Rock to watch its reflection of the dawn light.
  • Circumventing the islands of Svalbard in The Arctic.
  • Sun rising over the pillars of Torres del Paine (Chile).
  • Hiking into the stunning Fitzroy Mountains in Argentina.
  • Diving in the Canyon and the bottomless Blue Hole in the Red Sea (Sinai, Egypt)


Manmade wonders

  • Seeing Tutankamin's treasures in the Museum of Cairo (Egypt)
  • Seeing the Taj Mahal
  • My first sight of Abu Simbel and The Pyramids (Egypt)
  • The ceiling of The Sistine Chapel (Rome)
  • The amazing Meteora monasteries, perched on the top of huge boulders (Greece)
  • Sunrise over the sacred and mysterious city of Machu Picchu (Peru)
  • Seeing the world's tiniest bible and a statue of Peter with his foot rubbed away at the Vatican (Rome, Italy)
  • The Tomb of Queen Nefertiti  with wall art that looked like it had been painted yesterday.  (Luxor, Egypt)
  • The sunrise over Angkor Wat
  • Temples consumed by the jungle in Cambodia.




The universe



Related links



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Summary of my South Africa visits from overseas




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Family research

"To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root." Chinese Proverb




I've had lots of fun doing family research on both dad and mum's side of the family. It's a work in progress but lots of interesting stuff coming to light.


My DNA analysis


Dad's side of the family


Family tree


Biographical info


Mum's side of the family 


Family tree


Biographical info


Mike



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Passion projects

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world.  Patanjali    


I love nothing more than to immerse myself in a project related to something that I love or something that is important to me.  Below are some of these projects. 


Wisdom Trove



Home renovations



Compass



Life Trove



Work projects




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Poetry

Poetry is a language in which man explores his own amazement.  Christopher Fry



Sometimes, when feeling inspired, I write a poem. Below are some of the poems I have written.



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