One of the current free exhibitions at the NGV is called ” Exquisite Threads – English Embroidery 1600s to 1900s.” These days we aren’t used to seeing embroidery that is done by friends and family and most of us don’t do it ourselves. As I walked in I tried to remember any of my…
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I have eaten so much wonderful, rich, delicious and memorable food over the holiday season I think there is a need to slow down and pull back as we move into January. It is a time to eat something that is delicious, satisfying and at the same time healthy. My friends and I settled…
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Bread, so they say is the “staff of life’’. Right or wrong it certainly plays a big part in my live. I love bread. I could live on it. So imagine my delight when I fell across The Baker’s Larder at 108 St Kilda Road in St Kilda. Fell is a pretty good description. …
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What’s happening on Lygon Street? When I first came to Melbourne it was Italian. It felt Italian and the food was Italian – the delis were Italian. It felt exactly like it’s nick name “Little Italy”. I wrote about it here Now, some years later, it is taking on a more international feel, reflecting…
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The Grosvenor Hotel was lit up on a cold rainy night and on a whim we went in for an early meal. Grosvenor Hotel We arrived shortly after 6pm and for a good three quarters of an hour we had the Bistro to ourselves and the waiter’s full attention. We needed this attention. The…
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Melbourne is changing! “Well of course,” I hear you say. I know this happens all the time but it came as a shock to me when I found a place I knew well was to change. Yesterday I drove past a corner I used to live near. As I waited at the red…
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Something wonderful has happened to the roses in the Alister Clarke Rose Garden in the St Kilda Botanical Gardens. Well, it is wonderful to me. Some lovely person has identified these roses and now they have name plaques. There is something about looking at a rose and knowing its name. It adds an extra…
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My first visit to Shakarhari, the vegetarian restaurant at 201/203 Faraday Street in Carlton, was a few years ago. I was with a vegetarian friend who was visiting from overseas and I wanted to give her a experience of fine dining –something more than the average vegetarian fare which often seems to include beans…
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A pair of magpie-larks or mud-larks, as they are sometimes called, have honoured the Rainman statue in the St Kilda Botanical Gardens by making a nest on his arm. They look very much at home and secure as they fly to the statue and settle on their nest to keep their eggs warm. I…
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The St Kilda Botanical Gardens are in winter mode. It is a lovely time to visit and see the gardens preparing for spring and summer. Occasionally you see a sign of things to come with clumps of bulbs sending up their first spring shoots. The ambiance in the Alistair Clarke Rose Garden is different…
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