Red capped robin at Desert Part, NT

Response from Aldi

I emailed Aldi on the 14 November and today received this response:

What proportion of your beef is grass fed or cattle-lot raised?

“We do not have that specific information available.”

Aldi would achieve a marketing advantage if they sold grass fed red meat.  We have seen how consumers became hostile to battery hens and their eggs (Woolworths will no longer sell them) and I sense a similar change in sentiment to sheep, pigs and cattle.

I do not see GE or GM free labeling on your products.

“We have achieved ‘green’ status for our Genetically Modified (GM) policy in Greenpeace’s True Food Guide. ALDI complies with all existing regulatory requirements pertaining to GM as stated in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. ALDI does not stock any products, which are required to be labeled as containing GM ingredient.”

On searching the True Food Guide for “Aldi”, I get:

Green (good)

Aldi Homebrand

And when I search for “Kraft”, I get:

Red (bad)

Kraft Lite Peanut Spread

Kraft Peanut Butter

So we will change to Bramwells, the Aldi product.

Why am I now concerned about GM food?

Since I first considered GM food earlier in my blogging, I have learnt that:

1. Conclusive research on the effects on humans and other animals consuming genetically modified food is not available and I have found credible researchers concerned about the health effects.
2. GM seeds replacing traditional methods of seed-banking will shrink plant varieties available.

Today’s Review

Ruthven, Malaise, “The Big Muslim Problem!”, New York Review of Books, 17 December, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23510

This is an illuminating review. Unlike Christian sects, Muslims (except Shiites) have no clerical hierarchy. Leaders are supported by their congregation (or the State) and rise or fall on their wisdom, knowledge or notoriety. Witness the interesting travels of Imam Taj El-Din Hilaly of Lakemba Mosque; is he dangerous, pious, misogynistic or a scholar. From the media attention and his spokesperson, Kayser Trad, it is hard determine who the Imam really is.

As we tootle about Sydney we discover mosques in unlikely streets and they are well-established, indicating that the religion has long been a part of our society. What encourages from about Ruthven’s review is:

While the figures—and methodologies used to arrive at them—vary considerably; the conclusion to which they point is that Muslims do not greatly differ in religious behavior from other Europeans. For example, a French study in 2001 found that only 10 percent of Muslims were religiously observant. A study by the demographer Michèle Tribalat the same year found that 60 percent of French Muslim men and 70 percent of women were “not observant,” though the great majority respected “cultural attachments” by abstaining from eating pork or drinking alcohol and by fasting during Ramadan.

This finding implies that we are not going to be overwhelmed by fast-breeding Muslim fanatics, but that we have firmly embedded in Australia society an interesting group of disparate Muslims who have been enriching our lives for many decades.

8258 leads 8257, 8107, 8037, 8617, 8025 and 8015 on CB15 Charbon Coal Train through Westmead – David Johnson

This is similar to the train discussed below

Coal

Last Thursday I went to Liverpool by train and I was surprised by the number of freight trains passing us, going into and out of Sydney. As we were coming into Lidcombe, on the return trip, we passed a train of loaded coal wagons and eventually four 80 and 82 class locomotives. If this was the standard 54-wagon train, then the gross weight pulled by these locomotives was 6,500 tonnes with 4,000 tonnes of coal. That is a lot of coal going to Port Kembla, which normally receives seven trains a day.

This reminded me of the upsurge in road traffic hauling coal on the Princes Highway to Port Kembla. Underground mines have been reopened and this coal is now added to the existing Southern Highlands road-hauled. The coal loader processes 13.1 million tonnes yearly; 5 million is transported by road, four hundred and twenty 40-tonne truck loads per day. (Port Kembla Coal Terminal, http://www.pkct.com.au/index.html)

The terminal is exporting 13 million tonnes of high-grade coal, which I understand, contributes to CO² emissions. Total Australian coal exports for 2008-09 were 263 million tonnes (Australian Coal Association, http://www.australiancoal.com.au/) and this will increase with the upgrade of the Newcastle terminal, and Victoria considering the export of brown coal (The Age, 14 October, http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/victoria-considers-brown-coal-exports-20091014-gvwv.html).

What does this mean? Somehow I connected to Climate Camp 09 (http://www.climatecamp.org.au/) and watched a very sophisticated presentation on climate-change activism. Coal and coal-fired electricity is their target. And in assembling the figures above, I came across photos of happy coal-industry people and much information on the value and importance of coal to us Australians. As with climate-change, I really don’t know what this means and this lack of definitive information is unsettling.

Today’s Blog

Another source of information on Global Warming-Climate change.

Concerned About Global Warming? Visit AccuWeather.com’s Global Warming Blog, hosted by Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson. Examine the controversies, break through the hype, and join in on the discussion.

http://global-warming.accuweather.com/

White Thai village – We stayed here overnight

Notes from Xanadu

I have been working on the ‘cook book’ all day, after glancing at the print media. Much tosh about the Liberal Party –- what a shambles. Can this country not give us a real leader? We have the Rudd-bot and we have the Liberals. Hence, working on recipes provides more stimulation.

Am working on Antipasto for a Christmas platter. Here is the first ingredient.

Mushrooms – Marinated

Fills two 500ml jars

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 400g button mushrooms
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• Two 500ml screwtop jars and new lids.

Process

• Whisk oil, vinegar and garlic together. Add mushrooms and parsley, and toss well so that mushrooms are coated.
• Fill jars and top up with oil so that mushrooms are covered.
• Tighten new lids and refrigerate.

A potted Iris in the back garden.

Today’s Media Tosh

Could garlic be the 2009 ‘Tulip Mania’ or ‘South Seas Bubble’? If you accept the information in this article, the answer might be ‘yes’.

“Savvy investors pile into Chinese garlic”. TimesOnLine, 26 November, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/china/article6932439.ece

A surge in the price of the pungent cloves has made garlic the country’s best-performing asset class of the year

Shanghai stocks have done very well, copper has soared and property has been blazing. Not one of those assets, though, can match the roaring returns on a kilogram of Chinese garlic. In the garlic-producing heartland of Jinxiang, wholesale market prices of the pungent clove — caught in a tornado of easy liquidity and artificial market forces — have been whisked into the stratosphere. Average prices, according to a report from the Ministry of Commerce, have hit 6.14 yuan (54p) a kilogram, having surged 286 per cent since March.

In some markets, the price has risen fortyfold this year, according to Jerry Lou, a Morgan Stanley analyst. In Jinxiang, the market activity has become so frenzied that fever for the stinking produce is affecting the financial sector. Local banks and cash machines have found themselves running out of money as speculators withdraw hard currency to fight for their purchases.

The astonishing surge in the price of garlic makes it the best-performing Chinese asset class of the year. Two factors are driving the gains. Garlic, Mr Lou writes, has become a barometer for China’s wider issues of bubble formation. The massive flood of liquidity — created by the huge government stimulus package and unprecedented bank lending — has made a diverse range of assets the target of speculation. Garlic has joined property and stocks as a favourite market for cashed-up punters.

Helping things along has been a technical squeeze on the market. Chinese garlic is a big export commodity — 60 per cent of the garlic used in American restaurants, for example, is Chinese in origin. But last year China reduced its total garlic planting areas by 50 per cent, diminishing the overall supply and giving speculators a reason to assume future shortages.

The H1N1 virus, and the suggestion that garlic may offer some immunity from it, has also had an effect. Some believe that the suggestion may have been promoted by traders in Jinxiang.

Nevertheless, the theory has been adopted beyond China’s borders: the Moldovan Army has added 0.5 ounces of garlic to soldiers’ daily rations to protect them from the ravages of swine flu — and make their food taste better.

But on reading into the text, these doubts arise:

1. A 286 per cent rise in the price of garlic over eight months is not unusual especially when we look at the current top wholesale Chinese price of 54 pence per kilogram.
   We recently paid $16 a kilo for Mexican garlic, which is considered a premium bulb. This price has been relatively stable for several months so that the Chinese speculation has yet to reach Australia in terms of higher prices. The price of Australian potatoes fluctuates more than this.
2. In the next paragraph, ‘…the price has risen forty fold this year, according to Jerry Lou, a Morgan Stanley analyst.” Which is the correct trend; 286 per cent or forty fold?
3. And the speculation is being driven by the “…massive flood of liquidity…”, a 50 per cent reduction in planting and the H1N1 influenza virus. Why a 50 per cent reduction in planting? There must be significant factors driving this change.

A pity the author didn’t exercise any analytical skill and delve further.

“Tulip mania”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania, has a discussion on economic bubbles, the madness of crowds and price volatility. After reading this I doubt that the five Mexican bulbs we are currently using will experience a dramatic long-term rise in value. I followed up with Steve Borsellino, our local F&V person, and his wholesale price for Chinese garlic is $1 per kilo and no one is predicting change.

According to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14623521 the cutback in the Chinese crop is due to tighter food rules and will continue until packers there can show they’re meeting higher safety standards.

Today’s Podcast

One definitely not to miss is this spirited discussion on a novel I haven’t read. Super interpretations of Irish society of the time.

“A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”, In Our Time, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nyxvr

Melvyn Bragg and guests Roy Foster, Jeri Johnson and Katherine Mullin discuss A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce’s    groundbreaking 1916 novel about growing up in Catholic Ireland. Many novelists choose their own young life as the subject for their first book. But very few have subjected themselves to the intense self-scrutiny of the great Irish novelist James Joyce. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, published in 1916, Joyce follows his alter ego, Stephen Dedalus, from babyhood to young adulthood. He takes us from Stephen wetting the bed, through a teenage visit to a prostitute, and on through religious terrors to the prospect of freedom. When it was published, the book met with shock at its graphic honesty.

Joyce shows Stephen wrestling with the pressures of his family, his Church and his nation. Yet this was far from being a straightforward youthful tirade. Joyce’s novel is also daringly experimental, taking us deep into Stephen’s psyche. And since its publication almost a century ago, it has had a huge influence on novelists across the world.

Grevillea by the clothesline.

Notes from Xanadu

The vegie patch is erupting in growth – harvested more parsley, coriander and rocket.

I have been concentrating on the ‘Cook Book’ and:

• Have 40 recipes finalized
• The Introduction is written
• The chapter, ‘Cooking and Useful Gadgets’ completed.
• The ‘Glossary of Ingredients’ is only partially finished. This is going to take a while but I am learning much about vegetables, herbs and spices.

A ‘low-level obsession’ is building up as I can now visualize the possible format in both hard copy and digital versions and like what is evolving. Hence, I have little time to be pondering the world’s issues.

Climate Change – Yet Again

I have stopped following the ‘debate’ as everything I read or listen to adds little to clearing the confusion.

Mr Lincoln

Moving Mr Lincoln has given the plant much more life. After years of one single bloom it now has three. Photo a little grainy. Not sure what went wrong here.

From http://www.rose-roses.com/rosepages/hybridteas/MrLincoln.html

Comments: One of the ALL TIME classic red roses. Grown virtually everywhere. Does have a tendency to ‘blue’, that is, turn purplish in the sun. It has a wonderful fragrance. Grows tall and vertical with blooms on long stems.

Name: Mr. Lincoln; Class: Hybrid Tea Rose (Modern Large Flowered). Hybridizer/Date: Herbert C. Swim and O.L. Weeks, USA 1964. Awards: All America Rose Selection 1965

Notes from Xanadu

Spent time in the vegie patch early this morning:

• Harvesting parsley and rocket
• Staking the five wild tomato bushes

And I cut out some of the Tea Rose as it was catching my head when traversing the path. I have now brought some structure to the cook-book with Introduction, Cooking and Useful Gadgets, Recipes, Glossary and Information, and References.

Airport Curfew

This appeared in “Letters” The SMH, 25 November. One solution to the ridiculously expensive curfew.

Keep planes here

The president of No Aircraft Noise, Alan Rees, writes from Newtown (Letters, November 24). He wants the airport moved right out of the city. Thousands of people make a living from Mascot – it has been there a long time.

The noise Alan hears is the sound of millions of dollars being injected into our economy.

Here’s a suggestion. It’s a lot cheaper for him to move out of the city. He could settle next door to a farm and become the president of No Farm Machinery Noise.

Michael Stanbridge     Bonnet Bay

Yesterday’s Podcast

Correction: the KunstlerCast, http://kunstlercast.com/index.html. Interesting but based on opinion supported by skilful PR. I have yet to hear Kunstler offer any data other than driving about and looking. We all do that.

Hanoi

This is close to where Frances lived for 15 months. The spaghetti of power cables is not unusual; we once saw someone climb a pole and connect without being electrocuted. The blue dwelling on the right is typical of urban housing. Frances lived in a five level house (plus the roof) and four of the floors were self-contained. Urban dwellings in VN are very narrow but multi-level.

Climate Change – Ongoing

The release of several thousand emails from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU), University of East Anglia, has not stimulated any sensible debate. I watched two over-testosteroned adversaries snarl and bluster into the camera on Lateline, 23 November, http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2009/11/23/2751375.htm. They were followed by Tim Flannery, Lateline, 23 November, http://www.abc.net.au/news/ (Featured Video) who up to when I turned him off, said nothing. It is disappointing that the ABC cannot host a balanced and informative programme. Television journalism encourages froth and bile. ABC Radio seems to be the more balanced but generally, we are fed two extremes:

• Civilizations are doomed if they don’t dramatically cut carbon and methane emissions, or
• Civilizations will economically collapse if they stop their current industrial practices.

I can’t recall the exact time I first heard of ‘global warming’ but it was about 15 years ago. We were warned not to burn wood for winter warmth, we needed more trees as carbon sinks, fewer cars, more bicycles, fewer plastic bag, more public transport and to fly less. My observation is that we are doing these things. There are more trees and fauna in Sydney’s Inner-West. I see more people using bicycles, green bags and less water. Our community has become conscious of minimal consumerism. There has been a gradual but major change in the way people live.

But as I write this, at exactly 06:00, planes begin landing at Sydney Airport. I have previously noted the cost of the noise curfew in Sydney (search ‘curfew’ for these 4 October comments). I wonder if there is any connection between the aircraft noise and the climate change ideologues? Abandoning the curfew would immediately repay society in less fuel burnt, less crowding at terminals, and no need for the second airport. As someone who lives right under the flight path, I cannot see the logic of the curfew.

If the climate change proponents promoted no curfew and similar action to minimize harmful gas emission, I would be more sympathetic to their arguments. Unfortunately, we witness unpleasant harangue and are served dodgy data by both sides.

“Hot and bothered”, The Australian, 24 November, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/hot-and-bothered/story-e6frg6z6-1225802504484 discusses the implications of the hacking and release of the emails. The originals can be downloaded from http://www.megaupload.com/?d=003LKN94. A further commentary is on Greenie Watch, http://www.megaupload.com/?d=003LKN94

And returning to what an individual can do, I now read and hear that wood fires are less harmful that electric heating –- I am left puzzled.

Potatoes – Turmeric Spiced

Serves        4

Ingredients

• 5 potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges
• Olive oil
• 2 tsp Turmeric
• 4 Spring onions, finely sliced
  OR
• Half onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or parsley

Process

• Preheat the oven to 220C.
• Put the potatoes in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes (they will be partially cooked).
• Mix the olive oil and turmeric in a large bowl, add the potatoes and toss well so they are thoroughly coated. Season with salt and pepper and arrange the potatoes in a single layer in a large baking tray.
• Roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once or twice, until golden and crisp. Toss with the spring onion (or onion) and coriander just before serving.

Today’s Podcast

I have only listened to part of #88 and while pessimistic, still interesting.

the KunstlerCast, http://kunstlercast.com/index.html

The KunstlerCast is a weekly audio program about the tragic comedy of suburban sprawl. Featuring: James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere, The Long Emergency and other books. Duncan Crary, host/producer, speaks with Kunstler weekly about the failure of suburbia and the inevitable end of this living arrangement with no future.

Vegetables on the left. The ugly trellis supports the very productive snow peas.

Notes from Xanadu

The Southerly finally arrived at 00:30, blew a few doors open and shut and fluffed up the dogs. They were keen for their walk this morning and a pleasure to be out and cool.

No plant fatalities (yet) and we did some hand watering this morning. I finished sieving the compost and ended up with a barrow of excellent looking soil. Have planted seven pots of chives – for the first time ever, we had no chives. All of the vegetables are growing although the two chilli plants and some of the basil are being eaten by something. I found a container of pyrethrum spray in the potting shed so have given them a squirt.

Climate Change – Again

Who would have thought that the eminent climate-changers were so nasty? Whoever hacked into this email server deserves a large thank-you; we can now see how rigourous their data collection has been. As usual, selectively quoted.

“Hackers expose climate brawl”, The Australian, 23 November, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/hackers-expose-climate-brawl/story-e6frg6nf-1225801879912

COMPUTER hackers have broken into Britain’s leading climate science research centre, making public thousands of private emails between top climate change scientists and, in the process, laying bare their bitter disagreements about the cause of climate change.

The emails — more than 2000 of them, plus 3000 documents – began appearing online late on Friday, and are widely available. Some are malicious – in one, the head of Britain’s Climatic Research Unit, Phil Jones, says he is “cheered” by news of the sudden death of a prominent Australian climate sceptic, John L. Daly, who died of a heart attack at his Launceston home in 2004.

Others show scientists referring to sceptical colleagues as “prats”, “charlatans” and “idiots”. The emails also acknowledge the frustration of trying to find evidence to “prove” man-made climate change.

In one email, Kevin Trenberth, a climatologist at the US Centre for Atmospheric Research, who supports the theory of man-made climate change, says: “The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment, and it is a travesty that we can’t.” Dr Trenberth says data published last August “shows there should be even more warming . . . the data are surely wrong.”

The authors of the emails, including many who contribute to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, say their words have been taken out of context.

One, dated July 1999, says the World Wildlife Federation Australia wants a particular section of a report on climate change “beefed up” because it is worried that section looks “conservative” when compared with the CSIRO’s data.

Today’s Media Tosh

Another The Australian tear jerker. The print version is accompanied by the ‘battler’ photo.

“Small town’s driving force under threat”, The Australian, 23 November, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/small-towns-driving-force-under-threat/story-e6frg6nf-1225801867569

SMALL-business owner Stuart Booth will have one eye on Canberra as his Coal Miner’s Take Away opens for the first time today in the town of Yallourn North, in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

Mr Booth, 55, has spent about $170,000 on the new venture — including a lease, fit-out and staff — but admits that with many of the town’s 2300 population employed at the Yallourn power station just 2km away, he is greatly concerned by the climate-change negotiations going on between the government and the Coalition.

“I think people are pretty deeply concerned it could affect the town greatly,” said Mr Booth, a 20-year resident of the area. “You’ve got to believe in your town’s future, and that’s why I’ve invested here, but it is a worry when you don’t know what’s going to happen. And I don’t think anyone does.”

Mr Booth says he’s not happy that the future of the town is in the hands of politicians. “They tell you what they want you to know and that’s it,” he said. “If the power station does close down, I do believe people will move away, and that’s obviously a worry. If you haven’t got a population to support your business, that’s worrying, of course.”

Mr Booth says he’s not convinced about global warming. “You hear about a lot of scientists who aren’t convinced about it,” he said. “You hear others who are. Everyone’s got opinions, but until something’s really clear, I don’t see why we should be rushing to put in a whole new system.

Stuart really should have thought more carefully about his $170,000. It’s akin to buying a house on the beachfront at Collaroy, NSW.

Today’s Podcast

“The Big Knit : Big West festival “, Artworks, 22 November, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/artworks/

If you are driving in Melbourne’s inner west — or you’re on a train to the city — don’t be surprised if you happen to see a bridge spanning the Maribyrnong river entirely covered in fluorescent pink and orange knitted material. The Big Knit is part of the Big West festival, involving volunteers and artists, lead by American sculptor Dave Cole.

Wow! I love his two excavators with aluminium light poles knitting the US flag for the 4 July.

Hanoi

Notes From Xanadu

It is currently 43C outside and 25C on the ground floor hence have spent most of the day indoors. Beginning at 04:00 I gave the entire garden a watering and moved the new and delicate potted plants into one of the sheds for shelter. We left for food shopping at 08:30 and found plenty of undercover parking at Marrickville Metro. After tootling up to Fiji Markets in Newtown, were back and unloaded by 10:30.

I have been compiling and editing recipes for what will now be a cook book. Dug out “Lamb Leg with Indian Flavours”, an old SMH print recipe I had saved. It required a ‘boned’ leg. When I found the original on http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/595607/print/1 there was no mention of boning. And the SMH photo accompanying their recipe definitely shows bone. In a state of indecision, I left the leg boned –- more predictable cooking time.

The marinated leg is now in the fridge waiting to be flung on the Barbie. Will accompany it with roasted cauliflower and chickpea salad (cold), turmeric potatoes (cold) and a green salad. The southerly is predicted for 19:00, which will cool everything down so a roast is not as idiotic as I initially thought this morning.

Fires are threatening several towns in central NSW. A friend has been evacuated to Orange and I see in the the current news, the outskirts of Orange is on fire. The latest forecast is for a temperature of 19C later tonight. Bizarre!

Today’s Podcast

At last, a rational discussion on climate change. Dig in deeper to the longer interviews.

“Climate change and the psyche”, All in the mind, 21 November, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2009/2746165.htm

In his new book, Why We Disagree About Climate Change, top British climate scientist Mike Hulme wants to understand climate change as a psychological and cultural force. Anthropologist Jonathan Marshall has just edited a provocative collection of Jungian perspectives on climate change. They join Natasha Mitchell to discuss mythology, mental ecology and a changing climate.

Today’s Website

“Cook the perfect steak this summer”, The Main Meal, http://www.themainmeal.com.au/index.htm

Super guidance on selecting and cooking meat.

Ha Long -- Vietnam

Notes from Xanadu

The vegie garden is very productive. We had a splendid Snow Pea, Rocket, English Spinach and Vietnamese Mint salad (hot) last night and I discovered a large clump of parsley in one pot. Will harvest today and use as garnish for pasta tonight.

I have been editing my recipes with the long-term intention of printing a cook book of food that has unambiguous and simple instructions. I have commented before on how annoying it is to read, “Cook for 30 minutes at 200 C, or until cooked”. What does this mean? When I read the recipes in the daily press, there are often ingredients listed that not only have I never heard of but need my on-line dictionary for a meaning. Below is the first of the new style.

Chicken – Cajun Skewers

Skewered ready for the barbie.

Ingredients

Feeds three

• 1kg chicken breast or thigh (we fillet a defrosted frozen chicken).
• 1 onion quartered and broken up
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
• 1 teaspoon ground Oregano (I used Lemon Myrtle flakes as we had no Oregano)
• ½ teaspoon ground Cumin
• ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• Olive oil

Process

• Mix chicken and all other ingredients
• Marinate the mixture marinate in the fridge all day
• Thread chicken on to skewers (if wood, soak in water first) and alternate with a slice of onion
• Cook on the barbecue.

Today’s Food Review

“All at sea”, The Weekend Australian Magazine, 21 November, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/all-at-sea/story-e6frg8h6-1225799445550

Another great review from John Lethlean (and as usual selectively edited).

There’s an old rule about restaurants with views: the better the view, the worse the food. Or something similar. Places such as Bondi Icebergs are usually touted as the exception to prove the rule. In truth, Australia has plenty of exceptions. The Spirit of Tasmania, with its Seasons ­restaurant, has excellent views, particularly leaving Melbourne by evening. You cast off from Port Melbourne with a hull-shuddering reversing manoeuvre before heading south to Port Phillip Heads and on towards Devonport. Unfortunately, Seasons is a rule-prover par excellence.

But I won’t be eating at Seasons next time, and there will be a next time, because the boat’s great and the shock of being woken by a booming PA at 5.40am fades, eventually. Seasons is not that expensive, either, but that doesn’t make it good value.

Some dishes remind me of food that’s been bought-in, then served. Oysters are watery and virtually tasteless, flipped from their shells and rinsed, and I’ll eat my genuine Spirit of Tasmania baseball cap if they were opened aboard ship to order. Large squares of lifeless, boiled pasta – ravioli – are supposed to be filled with roasted walnut and porcini, which sounds very attractive. Their fillings are, however, dominated by brownish ricotta; where the mushroom and nuts come into it, heaven knows. And why you’d put these flavours with a chilli-spiked tomato-based arrabiata sauce is anyone’s guess.

A Caesar salad is a jumble of the usual ingredients, including lots of cheese and croutons, crowned by a poached egg draped in Moby Dick-sized anchovy fillets. Now that’s a mouthful of salt to remind you you’re in the Bass Strait.

The aforementioned lamb and potatoes sees dark-crusted, unevenly sized (and therefore unevenly cooked) cutlets teamed with very sweet, small potatoes. Unpleasantly sweet, actually. There’s some rocket, red onion, grilled capsicum and a chargrilled lemon half. Still, it’s a flavour triumph compared with a pallid, bland “chardonnay-braised” veal shank with an unremarkable tomato-ish sauce and wet – I mean really watery – mashed potato. You get the picture. The sticky date pudding, by contrast, is rather good while the wedge of very yellow lemon tart came with – you guessed it – raspberry coulis. Mmmm.

Today’s Podcast

“Australia’s resources in the world”, The Lowy Institute, http://www.lowyinstitute.org/

Marius Kloppers discussed the link between Australia’s role as one of the world’s largest resource economies and Australia’s international relationships, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. While highlighting the importance of resources to Australia’s current and future economic prosperity, he also addressed some challenges to overcome in order to capture the opportunities within the next decade and beyond.

Kloppers makes an intelligent and well-delivered analysis of Australia’s role in supplying raw material to the world. He offers useful insight into why economic growth matters and concludes with why ‘market forces’ should remain the setter of prices. Perhaps in the resources sectors, but we have seen how the manipulation of the housing market brought down the US economy, and other countries dependent on the USA. Well worth listening too –- he is articulate and clearly, very knowledgeable and experienced.