Yes, I have been slack in updating things.
We had a visit from a niece and spent some time showing her local sights. But that will be for another post. Back to Canberra.
Sunday in Canberra is a market day and we meandered through stalls, some selling handmade wares, but quite a few offering rather tacky clothing, perhaps made locally, but from cheap, hideously-coloured fabrics from somewhere in the north western Pacific. One day, people will wake up to the fact that we have put far too many eggs China’s basket!
These were, somewhat, offset by hand spun and knitted garments. Higher prices, but at least locally produced.
Something else, also locally produced, caught my attention. Black garlic! How can I not have come across this before? My life has been missing a significant taste treat all these years! Some enterprising chaps have set up a company near a hamlet called Bredbo, about an hour south of Canberra. https://capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au/directory/listing/bredbo-black-garlic-ingelara
We sampled it at the market. We bought some . We ate most of it at lunchtime! And Sue said she was sure she had seen black garlic in Coles supermarket.Yes! Not the Bredbo garlic, but an import from NZ! (The other supermarket giant does not carry it, but my local branch of Coles does, so for Australian readers, you can buy on-line from Ingelara or the NZ brand).Do yourselves a favour and try some. You can thank me later.
Another highlight of my visit was the National Library. It has a stunning entry, featuring some amazing stained glass. I could write much more about this, but this link will do it far better, and with professional photographs, far beyond my clumsy phone cam attempts (which featured quite a few photo bombs!)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-19/stained-glass-window-art-national-library/10126590
I could have spent the rest of the day there, but the weather was not sure it wanted to cooperate, so we cruised the bookshop (!) for a while then went outside to look at the sculptures. Next time I’m there I think I’ll spend more time and with a bigger camera!
The thing about Canberra that strikes me is that its modernity of lay-out allows for BIG features, some permanent, some temporary displays. And you don’t have to brave chaotic traffic to get close to things.
The steps of the Science Museum feature cut-outs of famous scientists.Here are some…
and Charles Darwin
Some more from Sue’s lovely garden…
And, finally, the bus that carried me up over the crispy-dry Monaro and down to Eden .(see current header)
Moreidlethoughts Weblog 
“One day, people will wake up to the fact that we have put far too many eggs China’s basket!”
Most of the Chinese-made stuff is shoddy and often dangerous. I try my best to avoid it, but it is almost impossible now. 😦
Thanks for the tip about black garlic. I have heard of it, but not tried.
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Much of the food we eat is now coming in from Chinese packaging places. Fish, for example, may say on the front of the packet that it was caught in NZ waters. The label does NOT say it was then shipped all the way north to China for processing, then sent back for Australian shoppers to think it’s all from “next door.”
I don’t want to make this blog a political rant, but politics contaminates everything!
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Here;s a link https://www.blackgarlicna.com/
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I am so glad you feel as I do about the National Library. It almost always has stunning exhibitions too. And I have never visited that bookshop without being tempted. And succumbing.
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That was just a taste! Consider my appetite whetted…
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I feel that I need black garlic in my life. What does it taste like? Is it like ordinary garlic with a twist?
I can’t believe all the shoddy rubbish I have from China – the problem is that I buy clothes online and it rarely says where these garments are produced – I thought this was illegal?
Meanwhile, the blooms are gorgeous!
Sx
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Oh, Scarls! You DO need some black garlic. It doesn’t taste at all like garlicky-garlic.It’s…not exactly sweet, hut sort of like liqorice.Actually, that’s not helpful! I find that the flavour seems to change depending on what it’s paired with. Oh, gods! Now I sound like pretentious TV foodie. It’s fine with strong cheese. Also fine with nuts.And sweet(ish) fruit, like apple. I quite often snip pieces into a salad and I wouldn’t be averse to trying it on vanilla ice cream!
It also helps to take the edge off the Chinese crap we end up with when our government allows companies to go off-shore to avoid unions!
Flowers? OH yes! Always find solace in flowers. 🙂
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“Solace in flowers” – that sounds like a Reader’s Digest short story if ever I heard it. By the way, both Camellia and Rosa banksiae are Chinese… Jx
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Indeed. Not everything from China is rubbish, but it must be said most is. It must also be said that China (and other Asian countries) are doing our dirty work.
You might like some of E.H.”Chinese” Wilson’s books. An Englishman who did much of his work for the Arboretum in Boston, Mass. Fascinating chap.
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“Chinese” Wilson is indeed a legend – without him, we may never have enjoyed Clematis montana, Lilium regale, the beautiful Liquidambar tree, kiwi fruits, nor the fabulously weird “Handkerchief tree”, let alone the new varieties of rhododendron, peony, magnolia, camellia, rose, acer, viburnum, mimosa, bamboo, cotoneaster, berberis and wisteria (and much, much more) that he shipped back to Britain… Jx
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Yes, and he suffered for his passion …collecting lilies he was run over by a mule train, fell into a ravine, broke his legs and was abandoned by his bearers who ran off in fright. I can’t wait for Hollywood to see the gold in this!
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Forever after, her referred to it as his “lily limp”… Jx
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Love the comments on “Chinese” Wilson, a plant hero of mine. Sue’s garden is lovely, great you could visit her. Wish my garden looked as good. I’m enjoying your Canberra photos, it’s not bad, is it? Look forward to more pics.
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Oops-almost missed you.They put you in the approval queue!
Yes, I had a lovely visit and late spring in Canberra was wonderful.
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What stunning stained glass windows! So colorful! I also love wandering through large libraries and see the art on exhibit. The scientists sculptures are awesome! I guessed everyone but Faraday, whom I mistook for Tesla!
Black garlic has such a robust and fantastic flavor! I bought some out of curiosity, and I was blown away by the taste. I also tried some yellow and purple cauliflower–yellow was sweet but purple was bitter and tangy. Love em!
It’s amazing how many products are made in China (or Taiwan!). And yes, our companies and politicians pay China to do our dirty work.
The market sounds lovely (and lively!), the good and the bad. I enjoy visiting local markets when I travel places. The flowers in Sue’s garden are beautiful! So much color and lush and vibrant! What a magnificent creation!
I love the bus! It looks so cool! Thanks for the tour!
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I’ve persuaded several people to at least try that black garlic.
You would love the lay=out of Cannberra; so roomy.
I don’t think Tesla features in those science sculptures. I assumed that was Faraday (magnet/cage, see?) but I’ll have to ask Uncle Google…
And yes, Sue has a lovely garden
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You’re right about the magnet and cage. It has to be Faraday. I thought it was an old timey radio, and I figured, well, the courts did rule that Tesla was the first to patent the radio and Marconi just basically tried to patent the same idea years later.
But it is a magnet in a cage, so definitely Faraday. Have a great week!
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🙂
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Oh, cherry blossom… Now I can’t wait to get through winter to spring.
The scientist cut-outs are cool! Although, I’d’ve liked it if the Marie Curie one was shooting beams of radiation out of her eyes to boil whatever’s in that flask she’s holding! And is that Galileo with the telescope behind Newton and Faraday?
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That cherry was fabulous.In fact, the whole trip was ! Wait til you see my Eden friends’ orchid!
And I think that probably IS Galileo. There were quite a few people there, snapping selfies so I wasn’t able to get down to placard level! You’d also like the Einstein sculpture(just around the corner) that is a dove from one angle and Einstein from another angle.Sue has a got shot of it here https://myjustsostory.blogspot.com/2018/11/sunday-selections-406.html
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Those cutouts are lovely! A reminder that without science we’d still be… well… maybe we wouldn’t be at all! Oh, and you’re not a slug for not posting for a few weeks – i’ve wandered off for months at a time!
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haha! Yeah, I’ll probably have MIA pasted on my door one of these days!
Those cut-outs are so sassy! Yet another acknowledgement of our early beginnings and how we find out what makes things work.
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I had black garlic in Spain a few years ago, and Dave’s brother, who lives there, brought us a jar of black garlic sauce (not unlike mayonnaise) the last time he visited. Delicious! I haven’t seen it here, but I probably don’t go to the right shops.
Canberra looks great, as do the blooms!
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I should think the “posh” emporia, like David Jones, Harrods, Selfridges would sell it.But it’s worth looking around.Uncle Google might help.
And yes, my gardening genes got a wonderful boost down South.:-)
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I’m certainly with you on putting way too many eggs in China’s basket!
I see that black garlic has become a trend across the globe. It’s appearing more and more over here also. I bet that Rosa Alba is going to be quite stunning when all the buds unfurl!
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Oh Diane! You would have loved some of those gardens. And the Library’s book shop. 🙂
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Talking about tat from China if you’ve got an idle 10 mins check out wish.com and gasp.
They sell black garlic in Waitrose, I haven’t tried it.
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Good grief, Mitzi! It’s like an op.shop! But I think I already enough junk…
Perhaps you could get Carmen to taste test the garlic?
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