Showing posts with label 50's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 50's. Show all posts

Jun 11, 2013

when only the best will do


 
Are you one of those people that loves to sing along with radio ads?!
 
Didn't think so.
 
But for those who are, here's a CD full of them.
Golden tunes like Happy Little Vegemite, Aeroplane Jelly, Benson and Hedges, Toyota - Oh What A Feeling, Nigger Boy Soap Pads (seriously), and Hard Yakka.
Surely you'll want this on repeat on a long car trip.
 

Oct 30, 2012

2012 eclectic reader challenge: november - your favourite genre (general fiction)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie SocietyThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was such a surprise! It just looks so unassuming, I never expected to be so charmed by it! It is based on a collection of correspondences between characters with one Elizabeth McKenna in common in the aftermath of World War 2. But it's so much more than that! It's a love story, a story of heroism, a historical tale, a tragedy, and a work of charming humour all in one! And it is the only book written by 70 year old librarian Mary Ann Shaffer! It's a little gem of a book; rare, precious, delicate and beautiful.

View all my reviews


Recapping the Challenge...

Genres

  1. Literary Fiction - Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
  2. Crime/Mystery Fiction - Truth, Peter Temple 
  3. Romantic Fiction - A Good Indian Wife, Anne Cherian
  4. Historical Fiction - Wild Lavender, Belinda Alexandra
  5. Young Adult - Catching Fire, Suzanna Collins
  6. Fantasy - Angel's Blood, Nalini Singh
  7. Science Fiction - Adjustment Team, Philip K Dick
  8. Non Fiction - Pole to Pole, Pat Farmer
  9. Horror - The Turn Of the Screw, Henry James
  10. Thriller /Suspense - Bold Blood, Lindy Kelly
  11. Classic - Anne of Avonlea, L M Montgomery (Currently reading for December)
  12. Your favourite genre - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer

Oct 29, 2011

confession

On a whim I recently picked up a copy of a title in my favorite series when I was a horse-crazy teen for a re-read and a trip down memory lane. I loved the Jinny series by Patricia Leitch. I love the mix of horses and spirituality, and the descriptions of the animals and the untamed Scottish moorlands. Most of all, Ms Leitch managed to capture in the character of Jinny exactly how I passionate I felt about horses and riding. Like it was etched into my very soul.


Read them if you get a chance! Especially if you love horses! They're exceptionally hard to track down nowadays, being out of print and not widely popular. I, however have the set.

And here, dear readers, is where I need to make a confession. (Surely fellow bibliophiles will sympathize?)

I collect vintage pony books.


I love them. I find them at second hand book shops, at garage sales, at markets, at thrift shops, and I just have to buy them. It's compulsive. Maybe it's my way of clinging to my childhood, and holding on to a time where the world was simpler, more fun, and a hell of a lot less scary. I think I've read so many English pony books, I actually feel like the Pullein-Thompson's long-lost 4th sister, and that I actually grew up in a cottage in country-village England.


Ahh what it is to be transported to another time and place with a good book...


Jul 22, 2011

extreme frugality

No one's more respected in the world of home-cookery than the Country Women's Association. These are women who know how to be domestic, productive and frugal. The proof of which lies in their cookbook:


Why would I feature this as a 'wtf book'? Well, there's frugality, and there's...









And of course, there's the ever popular...


I don't even wanna know what's in the



Or the


Or


Eek O.o

But what's really bizarre is, if this was a book published in the depression.. in post-war ration days, it would make more sense. But no:



And therefore, I cant help but wonder how applicable some of these recipes will be to a modern audience...? Although with the cost of electricity and fuel going up and up... SO. Just in case: Here are some helpful hints:






Nov 6, 2010

good housekeeping

I have just discovered my grandmother's copy of "The Australian Women's Weekly Picture Cookery" and I have spent a lovely cup of tea flipping through it and being transported back to my Nan's kitchen, where packet mixes were unheard of and everything was made from scratch in her favourite beige enamel bowls and using garlic was considered 'ethnic' and 'exotic'.


Did your nan ever make you a 'Dolly Varden' cake?


I dont remember my nan ever using so much gelatine or aspic...? Eeeew. It looks as though it was a big thing in the 50's... every second page has a recipe that needs to be refridgerated and turned out of its mould..!




i often wonder what Nan looked like in the 50's...



Maybe one day I'll try living like her for 2 weeks just like Jen...