Valley of the Shadows

Blinky Beach then Snorkelling Tour

Kims and Neds

Started the day with the intention of climbing Mt Eliza. We took our bikes to the end of the bitumen and started to walk along the path to the mountain top, starting at Settlement Beach. We passed a family coming down from the Malaga who must have started very early. It was about 08:30 when we met them at our start of the climb up. On our way up Uschi and I found out how unfit we really were. Instead of going to Mt Eliza we changed our plans and went to Kim's Lookout. We were still in two minds about pushing on to Malagar, but we weren't sure it came out near the Settlement Beach area. Consequently we went back the way we came. It took about 1 hour up, with rests and photo stops and about half an hour down.
After getting down we tried to book a couple of places for New Year's Eve, but mostly they were full up. We made some bookings for days other than New Years then went to the boat sheds to see about boating and snorkelling tours. Booked into the dive tour for first thing tomorrow morning and snorkelling in the afternoon. We can take Christine on the snorkelling tour.
After that we went back to the cabin and I made a picnic lunch to take to Ned's Beaach. This time we wheeled Christine there. We all had lunch and later we managed to coax Christine down to the water to feed the fish. She had a surprisingly good time and was trying to poke some of the fish with her walking stick by the end. After we got her back to the shelter shed Uschi and I went in to do some photography. The shallow water was much more silt laden than yesterday and it was also low tideso it was a bit awkward to get over the coral. There was not so much freeboard to float over it and there was a danger of getting cut. We both followed the channel out, the same channel which we followed yesterday, to where the ocean breakers were coming in.The water was very cold there, the Kingfish (abot 1.5m long) from the feeding place near the beach, cruised up and down the channel between the beach and the ocean. Very big fish, looking quite sinister and aggresive in a group of about 5. Much different to their behavious nearer the beach.
When we came back to the cabin we did so clothes washing and hung them up to dry. I downloaded today's photos. After that I took the bike along Anderson Road on the east side of the island to Joy's Shop to get some more groceries for subsequent teas. I made spaghetti tonight using the microwave to boil the pasta. It worked alright but I had bought the ingrediaents thinking there was a cooktop in the room. There wasn't, only the microwave.

First Trip to Ned's Beach

28/12/09
First snorkelling trip to Ned's Beach, the best beach for fish and coral that we have seen so far.
Saw an octopus, similar in size to the large one we saw in Niue. Also saw a Moray (Lord Howe?), Beche de Mer and many different types of fish. There were spangled emperor, Double Headers, 3 Striped Butterfly Fish, McCulloch's Anemone Fish, Scalyfin, Bluefish and Yellowtail. These were all out from the shore a way and in the channel. In the shallows along the beach front were Sand Mullet and Garfish, along with some of the bigger fish.
The fish get used to being fed by tourists and locals and swarm in the knee deep water. I saw Kingfish that were 1.3 to 1.5m long in a foot or so of water.
Today the water was a bit stirred up in places with sediments and broken off sea grasses.
Last night we also visited Ned's in the dark to try to take some photos by moonlight, with the new lens. But it was far too dark. On the way back to the guest house we saw some Mutton Birds, most between the Kentias in the forest but some even sitting in the middle of the road. They were making a lot of noise in the dark, apparently they are noisy all night.

Off on Holidays (Again)

Apple Struedel

Ingredients:
flour, about a cup or a bit more.
oil, a teaspoon or so.
water (must be tepid), roughly half to 2/3 the quantity of flour.
a pinch of salt.

[A word about the measurements] This recipe was given to me by an old Austrian cook. Like many with her background (eg my pasta teacher from a few years ago) she learnt by gauging quantities by eye. This the first recipe I have used which doesn't have strict measurement quantities but it isn't as hard as might be thought. If you want a bigger struedel, start with more flour! Give it a go, you'll be surprised.

Sift the flour and add the salt and oil. Then, mixing all the time, add water until the dough becomes soft but not so sticky that the dough sticks to your hands. It should feel a little tacky, but no dough should pull away from the main ball when you work it. If too much water has made the dough sticky add a bit more flour.
Once the right consistency of dough has been reached, keep working it for another 5 minutes
or more. Then form it into a ball, cover and let stand for at least half an hour.

Make your filling

Cheesecake filling:
600g Quark
200g Philadelphia cream cheese.
2 eggs (all or just the whites for fluffier filling)
Sugar, cinnamon, vanilla to taste.
Mix all to a paste
Sultanas/cranberries/currants for later.

Apple filling:
Peeled and cored apples. Sliced thinly by knife, grater or mandolin.
Sugar
Sultanas (I added cranberries too)
Fried breadcrumbs

Preparing the pastry:
Lay out a large cotton cloth to work on. This is important as we will see later.
Roll out the dough into a rough rectangle. It will be about 5-8mm thick, now the tricky bit. Carefully lifting the dough drape it over the back of your hands (palms facing down) and feed the pasty across the backs of your hands in a circular motion. It sounds a bit weird but the dough stretches itself under its own weight. When the dough gets as thin as you are game to let it lay it back on the cloth and continue to stretch it by pulling the thicker sections. Be careful during all this to avoid tearing or putting holes in it. The pastry should end up thin enough to see the cloth pattern through.
After all this the pastry edges can be trimmed to be roughly rectangular. The offcuts can be used to patch any small holes in the pastry or discarded or laid back in the struedel filling.


Add the filling:
Cheesecake:
Spread the cheesecake mix over the pastry being careful not to tear it. The filling should end up 5-10mm thick. Sprinkle with sultanas.
Apple:
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the pastry. The crumbs absorb some of the juice from apples
and also cushion them slightly so they dont tear the pastry. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the pastry then layer on the sliced apples. Over the pastry the filling should be about 1-2cm thick (your choice).

Rolling the Struedel:
This is where the cloth under the struedel comes into its real use. Start by taking one edge of the pastry and folding it back over the filling. Then, keeping the cloth parallel with that edge of the struedel, lift the cloth in a steady, continuous motion. As you do this the Struedel will roll up onto itself. When completely rolled up the cloth can also be used to lift the struedel into an oiled baking pan.
Place in an oven preheated to 180 C and cook for 20-25 minutes for a small struedel and 30-
40 minutes for a larger (more filled) one.

Waterhouse Art Prize 2009

Went to the 2009 Waterhouse exhibition tonight.

(Clockwise from top left)
"Totem for the Transient II" by Roh Singh. A spectacular sculpture. Made of acrylic sheets with holes drilled in them to make a 3D image of birds. The small picture does not do it justice (my personal pick).

"Osaka" by Sarah Monteith. A Gyotaku print. Described as Sumi ink on rice paper, using the fish as a the printing medium.

"Little Red" a very intricate scuplture in bronze and wood by Simon Ward. Assembled from a number of pieces of cast bronze and carved redgum. Very difficult to see how it was put together. The body is metal with the wood "wrapped" around it.

"Ice Wall", an oil painting by George Tetlow. Very pleasing in blue tones.

Spätzle

Ingredients:

3 cups flour,

4 eggs,

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg (optional),

1 1/2 tsp. Salt,

Cold water

Directions:

Stir flour, eggs, salt and 1/2 cup of water. Beat until batter is smooth and no longer sticks to the spoon. Add water as needed. The spaetzle dough can be firm enough to be rolled and cut into slivers or soft enough to be forced through a sieve, colander or spaetzle-maker with large holes.

Boil a pot of salted water. Press the dough through the Spaetzle press and into the boiling water.

===========================


Käsespätzle (Cheese spaetzle): Layer spätzle with shredded Emmenthaler cheese in a greased casserole dish. Bake at 180˚C until the cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes. Top with onions browned in butter, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

The Story of the Easther Brothers (Part 2)

The main narative regarding the Easther brothers is here.

====ooo00ooo====
From the Quorn Mercury 24th August, 1916

Died on Active Service
The Late SGT. L. R. EASTHER

On Saturday, August 12, the Rev. T. Trestrail received official notice from the Military authorities stating that Sgt. Leonard R. Easther was killed in action at the battle of Katia Oasis, Egypt, between the 4th and 6th of August, the reverend gentleman having the painful duty of breaking the sad news to his mother. The late Sgt. Leonard Ridgeway Easther was the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Easther, of Quorn. Sgt. Easther, who was 27 years of age, was employed for a number of years by the Hon. R. W. Foster at Quorn. He then moved to Maitland, where his genial character won for him a large circle of friends. Subsequently he entered the Railway Department, and was employed at the Adelaide booking office. On the outbreak of war he was among the first to volunteer for active service. Sgt. Easther was an excellent type of Australian manhood, and, being a fine horseman, he joined the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, and left for the front in October, 1914. He was wounded at Galipolli, and was subsequently sick in Egypt, where his regiment was engaged in the above battle, and where he lost his life. Two brothers, Tpr. Charles Easther and Pte. Bryant Easther are now in Egypt and France respectively, serving with the colours, On Sunday evening, the 20th inst. a memorial service was conducted by the Rev. T. Trestrail, in the Town Hall for the late Sgt. Easther, and a large attendance was present at the service. A most popular speech was delivered by the Rev. T. Trestrail, which moved several of the congregation to tears. An anthem was rendered by the Methodist Choir, and at the conclusion of the meeting the congregation stood, whilst the organist played the "Dead March".

Gugelhopf

Ingredients

1 Package Yeast; Dry Active
1 Cup Milk; Scalded Then Cooled
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter Or Margarine
5 Eggs; Large
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Lemon Rind (rind of 1 lemon)
3/4 Cup Raisins
1/3 Cup Almonds; Ground
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
4 Cups Flour; Unbleached, Unsifted

Preparation Method

Sprinkle yeast into milk to dissolve.



In a large bowl beat sugar and butter
until light and fluffy.


Beat in eggs, one at a time.
[Picture 1]

Stir in vanilla, lemon rind, raisins, and almonds. Mix salt and flour. Add milk and flour mixtures, alternately, ending with the flour mixture. [Picture 2]

Grease a gugelhopf mould. (more commonly known as a bundt, tube or turban pan in Australia). [This was the first time I have used a cast iron cake mould and they are oiled and then dusted with flour.]

Pour batter into pan.
[Picture 3]

Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Bake in preheated 190C (375F) Oven for 40 minutes or until browned and done. [Picture 4]

More Kayaking

Easter Monday we went to Noarlunga and hired two sit on type kayaks for a trial to see how they fared. Not as good as the enclosed kayaks in the Port River

Kayaking on a Sunday

The Santiago in the ship's graveyard.

Up the creek with a paddle.

More paddles.

The Adventure Continues (some more)

So far (in order of visiting) I have been to:
Japan
Germany
Malaysia
France
United Kingdom
Singapore
The Netherlands
Switzerland
Belgium
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Iran
Niue
New Zealand
Canada
Austria
Spain

(I've also seen Poland from the German side of the border, but don't count it as visited!)


Still in the medium future:
South America (more specific when we get closer!)

The Story of Timothy Cornelius Keneally

Timothy was born in Gordon and worked the family farm when he enlisted on 16 March 1916. He had a brother John who enlisted as a driver and survived the war, returning to Australia in May 1919. Timothy had at least one other brother, but his father had died earlier. His mother was ill in Adelaide for many years.

Almost four months later on 12 July he embarked on the “Seeang Bee” at Outer Harbour and a little less than two months after that he disembarked in Plymouth.
The day after disembarkation, 10 September he was taken on strength by the 12th Training Battalion.
During his period in training, Timothy was admitted to Fargo Hospital with bronchitis in September. Four days after Christmas 1916 he found himself in Codford Hospital for almost a fortnight. He was discharged and shortly afterwards was re-admitted, spending another 26 days in hospital during January/February 1917 then another fortnight there in February/March.
After these multiple periods of hospitalisation Timothy finally embarked from Folkestone for France on 22 May 1917. He spent 17 days at Etaples before being taken on strength by 48 Battalion in mid June.
There is no further direct records of Timothy until he is noted as wounded and missing on 12 October, 1917.
No further information regarding Timothy was heard of by early 1918 and in February a court of enquiry found that Timothy had been killed.

-----ooOOoo------
Keneally was in my platoon. He was fair, about 30 years old, came from S. Australia. We went over at Passchendale on October 12th at about 5.30 a.m. I did not see him again but 2 days later I was told by Pte Arthur Williamson, who was in the same L/G team and Keneally, that he had been with Keneally when he got wounded. A sniper bullet entered his left ear and came out at the bottom of his spine. They were in a shell hole and Williamson had to leave him there after doing what he could for him. We failed to take our objective and Keneally was not seen again although S/Bs were there. Bosches came over that ground later.
Pte H.J.Talbot 4606, St. Johns Hospital, Etaples
21.12.17

[Henry Talbot was in hospital with an inflamed knee. A few days later he was transfered to England where he spent the next 9 months in a training camp, before returning to France just before the Armistice. He survived the war.]
[S/B, stretcher bearer]
-----ooOOoo------
Wounded and Missing 12.10.1917
Was in D. Coy, 16th Pltn, Lewis Gun Section, came from S. Australia. I saw him wounded by a sniper. The bullet went in the back of the ear and came out the small of the back. It happened during the hop over at Ypres, on Oct 12th. We had to retire owing to Fritz counter attacking, and he was left there, and would be taken prisoner if he lived, which I thinkis doubtful. We “Went over” together, and were just getting into a shell hole when he got knocked.
T Harvey 3112,
11.2.1918

[Ex school teacher Tom Harvey gave his statement on furlough in England after leaving France. He remained in a training role in England till May 1918 before returning to France. He also survived the war.]
-----ooOOoo------
I know that T.C. Keneally (48. D. XVI) was killed in an advanced position, before we had to retire, on October 12th at Passchendale. He was very badly wounded and was lying just outside the shell hole where I was – I think he was hit in the head as far as I remember. He was quite out of our reach, and it was impossible to get to him. He died before we retired and was not found. S/B Robinson (48 A) attended to him and bandaged him up. He has since been taken prisoner). Ground was lost.
5302 Sergt. Tom London, 3rd Southern General Hospital, Oxford.
23/5/18

[Tom was in hospital in England with a gunshot wound which had fractured his shoulder. He would recover and be discharged from hospital two months later. He never returned to France.
Also recorded as Loudon.]

The Story of William Joh(n) Finlay Larwood.

The enlistment patterns of these 40 men from Quorn follow an interesting pattern. Most of the men enlisted in the first few years of the war. While some other Quorn survivors enlisted later in the war none of the soldiers who eventually died enrolled after late 1916. William, along with John Hawes and Sydney Mills, was one of these later enlistment soldiers.

---ooOoo---
Extract from the 32 Battalion Diary, 30/9/1917
Strength 47 Officers 971 Other Ranks
At 3 am grenadiers and Stokes mortars bombarded Cameron Covert and dispersed enemy. At 5am Cameron Covert again shelled and patrols penetrated to 150 yards but found all clear. A number of enemy dead were seen some distance out. Enemy shelled heavily for 5 minutes at 10am. Sniping was brisk during the day. At 9.30pm the battalion was relieved by the 9th Liecester Regiment and marched back to Dickebush. No casualties occurred during the relief. Lt Johnson wounded. 13 O/R killed, 30 O/R wounded in action.

---ooOoo---
William came from Boolcunda East. Like many of the soldiers from Quorn, he was a farmer. He enlisted in October 1916 and embarked on the Berrima at Adelaide in mid December. During his time in training in Adelaide he was admonished with 2 days loss of pay, as he had absconded from the Mitcham training camp for a short while.
Before arriving in Davenport, England he spent about 16 days in the ships hospital with measles.
On the 18th of February 1917 he marched into Hurdcott for training and left there in early July to go overseas.
He was taken on strength by 32 Battalion on the first day of August and was killed on the last day of September near Polygon Wood.
Tyne Cot cemetery was originally a site of some German bunkers. After being captured, the Australians turned one into a dressing station. The first graves were placed there around the end of 1917. The site changed hands a number of times during the war and afterwards a number of smaller cemeteries and lone graves were “bought in”.
In 1921 William was bought in to Tyne Cot cemetery. His body appears to have been identified by a clothing label still held in the Australian archives.

Erdaepfelkaese

500 Gram Kartoffeln - Potatos
2 Zwiebel - Onions
125 Gram Sauerrahm - Sour Cream
125 Gram süsse Sahne - Normal (sweet) Cream
Salz - Salt
Pfeffer - Pepper
1 Bunch Schnittlauch - Chives

Peel and boil the potatoes in very small pieces. Peel and chop the onions then mix them with the potatoes. Add salt, pepper, sweet and sour cream gradually and garnish with chives.

Eaten either as a bread spread or side dish

Service Dates

Comparative service dates for the Quorn soldiers. Black squares indicate month of death. Red squares indicate month of discharge for those soldiers who didn't die in service.

Toledo.

09:10 Sitting in the "Avant" train, due to leave for Toledo in 10 minutes. The last 2 days have been so busy I have hardly had time to write. As we pull out of the station there is snow. Even more than we saw in Austria, the train display shows an outside air temperature of 1C.When we came out of the hotel this morning the air was cold and the ground wet with a few flakes drifting in the air, but melting when they settled. Now, about an hour later, after coming out of the underground and Atoche, the ground is covered in white and there are serious flurries of snow in the air. We walked the last two days, about 12 hours on Wednesday and 10 on Thursday. Thursday morning I was feeling very drained and we didn't really get going till midday. I think I was dehydrated somewhat.[Now the snowflakes are melting on the train windows leaving little water droplets]

09:40 Lots of HV lines in this part of Spain, we are now approaching Toledo. There is not so much snow.

10:45 We are having a breakfast/lunch in the square near the tourist info office in Toledo. We bought our own bread, cheese and sausage (Salchicha) from Madrid. It is very lightly snowing.

12:20 We are in the Cathedral, I got chatted for headware as I entered. I was wearing my earmuff headband, apparently that counts. Quite an expensive entry fee, no photos are allowed. It seems that some churches in Spain jealously guard their right to allow people to see and record their artworks. Others don't, there is no consistency and no relationship to the quality of the actual site. However, plenty of images are available on the internet.Uschi has just shown me the sculpture behind the altar, Jesus disappearing into the clouds. Only his feet are visible(!) As I write this we are between the Altar enclosure and the Coro (the choristers enclosure). A layout only found in Spanish churches, according to Uschi. The clock over the entrance door is a single handed type. In the chapter house (Sala Capitular) are the portraits of the Toledo archbishops, going back many centuries. Odd to think that these emminent holy men were intimately tied up with the inquisition, expulsion of people around 1500 and latterly the Franco side in the civil war, trying to prevent ordinary people have a say in their own country.

Museum of the Americas

In the "Cafe & Te" near the Puerta del Sol for the second time, we had breakfast here yesterday too. Unfortuneately then I ordered a choritzo and cheese roll. The choritzo turned out to be bacon like, not sausage like as I imagined it would be. Today I had Spanish Tortilla in a small crunchy roll. This was really much more delicious.

After our breakfast we wandered out to Plaza Major, ate chips and watched the people and the pigeons. We visited the tourist info office in the plaza to work out what to do for the rest of the day. Uschi wanted to go to the Museum of the Americas. Much of the day had already slipped past when we got to the correct Metro station, but we left on the wrong side of the road and couldn't get across the highway when we finally got to the museum. So we had to back track all the way to the Metro station again and walk along the same road but on the other side.Time was running out and we only had less than 2 hours before closing. Lots of interesting ceramic-ware and gold. I just got to the mummies and real gold exhibits in the last room when the guards came and kicked me out!After we left the Museum of the Americas we looked at a tower restaurant, but it had been closed for a couple of years.

In the evening we went to another museum, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, the National Archaeological Museum. We saw the Lady of Elche and a few other things but the museum was undergooing renovations and a large part of it was closed. We stayed there till it closed at 20:00 and walked back in the direction of the Puerta del Sol looking for a good place to have tea. We didn't find anything we could all agree on until we got back to "Las Bravas", so we had tea there a second night running.After that we went to "Corte Ingles" where I had a look at the sporting goods (pretty ordinary department store stuff) and Uschi looked at the shoes. About 21:45 we got back to the hotel very tired and slept quickly. Even with the shutters open the noise of the city didn't disturb us.