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Review: Maggot (The Old 505 Theatre)

Venue: Old 505 Theatre (Newtown NSW), Sep 27 – 29, 2018
Cast/Creators: Freya Finch, Angela Fouhy, Elle Wootton

Theatre review
Known collectively as Scungebags Theatre, the trio of Freya Finch, Angela Fouhy and Elle Wootton prove themselves an irresistible hoot in their subversive show Maggot. An introduction informs us that the pop group The Baby Girls have decided to abandon their commercial interests, for the infinitely more prestigious pursuit of high art. This of course, is all a ruse for a series of antics, inspired by clowning principles, to deliver some seriously funny scenes of iconoclastic chaos.

Our institutions, authorities and other sacred cows, are satirised by the three women determined to reject every misplaced sense of reverence that is demanded of them. Mocking the powerful and the traditional, the show falls quite conveniently into a category of feminist performance, but feminism itself is not safe from being lampooned; even the #MeToo movement is exposed to the group’s acerbity, in an unforgettable sequence involving modern interpretive dance and sexual harassment.

Finch, Fouhy and Wootton are distinct personalities, with each performer bearing an individual style, but their cohesiveness as a team is remarkable, for a presentation that impresses with the invulnerable chemistry that they exhibit. Even more rewarding of course, are the many laughs, hysterical and euphoric, that Maggot delivers. Sometimes discerning, sometimes completely nonsensical, their comedy is idiosyncratic, fearless and therefore, thoroughly enjoyable.

It is at our own peril, that we take our feminist selves seriously, when so much of what we should be doing, is to laugh at, and to ridicule, those who wish to dominate. Nothing deflates an erection quicker than derision. Finding ways to pour scorn on those who thrive on exclusionary structures, is a strategy that we must learn to embrace, even just for our own amusement and sanity. |

Review: Scarecrow (Blood Moon Theatre)

Venue: Blood Moon Theatre (Potts Point NSW), Sep 25 – 29, 2018
Playwright: Don Nigro
Directors: Deborah Jones, Naomi Livingstone
Cast: Gemma Scoble, Romney Stanton, Blake Wells
Image by Lauren Orrell

Theatre review
Cally and her mother Rose, live an isolated life in the cornfields, somewhere in North America. Having turned 18, Cally is experiencing a libidinal push that is making her wander from the house, into the nefarious grasp of a mysterious stranger. A scarecrow stands on the farmland, protecting its harvest and the two lonely women. In Don Nigro’s play Scarecrow, we are unsure if its mystical powers are doing good or harm, as we watch the women’s miserable lives unfold. Semblances of a family curse in the story give it a surprising complexity, as we observe the cyclical effects of trauma overwhelm the household’s two generations.

Romney Stanton is spectacular in the role of the deranged and very dramatic matriarch, using the character’s obsessive vigilance to deliver some deliciously operatic moments, full of flamboyant intensity. Stanton is mesmerising, wonderfully convincing as the mad rambling Rose. The vivacious young Cally is played by Gemma Scoble, whose portrayal of naive rebellion is memorably passionate, especially effective when called upon to demonstrate the unimaginable anguish of a teenager having to tolerate an invisible existence. Blake Wells is suitably seductive as the testosteroned stranger who instigates discord between the women, subtle but solid in his support of the leading ladies.

Directed by Deborah Jones and Naomi Livingstone, the production is elegantly assembled, for a no frills staging of a fascinating play. As we watch the women disintegrate, we question their circumstances and their capacity for agency within those circumstances. In Nigro’s narrative, fearful women channel their strength into cruelty. A cautionary tale perhaps, reminding us of the contradictory truth, that our strength, far from causing harm to other women, actually keeps us from self-destruction. Strong women know to lift each other up, because we know the forces determined to keep us down, are perennial, pervasive and persistent.

Review: Pinocchio (The Sydney Fringe)

Venue: The Sydney Fringe Warehouse (Alexandria NSW), Sep 25 – 29, 2017
Director: Julia Robertson
Cast: Max Harris, Mathew Lee, Oliver Shermacher, Annie Stafford, Grace Stamnas, Laura Wilson
Images by Brett Boardman

Theatre review
Set in 1940 Italy, at the height of Mussolini’s rule as Prime Minister and leader of the National Fascist Party, this version of Pinocchio sees our poor woodcarver Geppetto in his work room alone with his marionettes, trying to keep to himself, as he shuts out the ugliness of the world outside. Wordless but vivaciously animated, the show utilises techniques from the disciplines of mime, dance, music and singing, to tell a story of the individual versus the state, of the personal and the political. Our current sensitivity regarding the rise of nationalist ideologies, gives this incarnation of Pinocchio a quiet but unyielding resonance.

Its serious themes notwithstanding, this modern reiteration, directed by Julia Robertson and choreographed by Georgia Britt, is a wonderfully enchanting take on the old tale. Geppetto’s fantasy land, innocent and pure, provides the platform for a performance that appeals to our childlike sensibilities. Set and lighting designer Nick Fry manufactures a nostalgic beauty for the unusual, and enormous, venue, containing the action and our attention, with a clever understanding of space and atmosphere.

The crucial element of tenderness is brought to the stage by Mathew Lee, who shines in the role of Geppetto. His depiction of naivety allows us to see with unequivocal clarity, evil forces that try to engulf. The scene-stealing Annie Stafford displays an irrepressible presence even when playing an insentient doll, especially captivating when given an opportunity to show off her divine soprano. Harmonies in this Pinocchio are ethereal, often exquisite, performed with marvellous acoustic effect by a cast of six, inside the surprising elegance of a repurposed concrete warehouse.

We thought everything had been finalised and decided, when the fascists lost the war. Not a century has passed, and we again hear those despicable murmurs beginning to resurface, trying for a second attempt at its tyranny. There are no elongating noses in Geppetto’s studio, because this time, the lies are on the outside. The artist’s efforts to hide and disengage are futile. He is required to fight back, if his dignity is to remain intact. |

Review: Aphrodite And The Invisible Consumer Gods (The Sydney Fringe)

Venue: Kings Cross Hotel (Kings Cross NSW), Sep 25 – 29, 2018
Playwright: Sam Donvito
Director: Christopher Bond
Cast: Sam Donvito, Ellen Graham

Theatre review
The goddess of all things beautiful and fecund, Aphrodite arrives in Sydney, and even she is no match for the misogyny that rules this town. Guided by unbridled desire, Aphrodite finds herself vulnerable and exposed to the pervasive commodification of everything that relates to femininity and sex. From chocolate and selfies, to beauty pageants and cosmetic surgery, Aphrodite’s attempts at experiencing life as an earthling in Sydney, all involve attempts to degrade and humiliate her, and in Sam Donvito’s Aphrodite And The Invisible Consumer Gods, we watch the very thing we consider to be normal everyday life, determined to put the goddess through a relentless process of self-loathing.

It is an exuberant presentation, featuring two spirited performers, Donvito and Ellen Graham on a bare stage, with only their bodies occupying our gaze. Their communication style is admirably bold, for the urgent and unequivocal message that they wish to convey. As Aphrodite, Donvito is seductive and mischievous, and as Paige Burn beauty pageant cum reality show host, Graham is beguilingly malicious. Aphrodite And The Invisible Consumer Gods may not be a subtle work, but what it has to say, is substantial and pertinently consequential.

Men have always sought to control our bodies and our very existence. Industrialisation has channelled that ancient chauvinism into the creation of endless superfluous wants that have overwhelmed and contaminated our lives, by selling to us, an interminable sense of inadequacy. We respond by living in a constant state of commercial consumption, acquiescing to the every demand of capitalism as shaped by its sexist foundations. We spend money to feel better about ourselves, but that money circulates and returns as a further haunting that tells us, we are as yet incomplete. When the goddess concedes her power, a vacuum is formed that nefarious parties will seek to fill. Most of us however, can reclaim that magic at any time, and make ourselves whole again.

Review: Inner West Side (Seymour Centre)

Venue: Seymour Centre (Chippendale NSW), Sep 18 – 22, 2018
Book: Jake Bayssari
Music: Tom Cardy
Lyrics: Jake Bayssari, Tom Cardy, Lucille MacKellar
Director: Jake Bayssari
Cast: Amy Bennett, Georgia Britt, April-Rose Desalegn, Elouise Eftos, Lincoln Elliott, Britt Ferry, Alexandra Gonzalez, Freddy Johnston, Roy Joseph, Grant Loxton, Rhianna McCourt, Laura McDonald, Lily O’Harte, Gautier Pavlovic-Hobba, Ruby Teys
Image by Christopher Dinh

Theatre review
Andrea is leaving the parochial suburbia of affluent northern Sydney, to find a more grounded, but glamorous, existence in the city’s inner west. She sets out to denounce the shallow values of her birthplace, determined to create for herself something new and meaningful, only to duplicate old ills at a new locale. Inner West Side is a new musical, centred around the community of Newtown, where the dissonance of things earnest and ironic can coincide, and where million dollar apartments are dressed up to look shabby and resolutely anti-establishment. Featuring observational humour at its most scintillating, the show is as vibrant as it is incisive, enormously entertaining from the very start.

Directed by Jake Bayssari, whose rigour and talent shines through in every scene, the production offers an ingenious representation of our young, with all their contradictory concerns forming the basis of a most amusing work. Tom Cardy’s music is refreshingly varied in style, performed with admirable enthusiasm by a five piece band, although sound engineering does leave a lot to be desired. Antony Robinson’s set design is a simple solution that sets the tone with accuracy and efficiency, and costumes by Adrienne Dell deliver playful interpretations of archetypes that help us identify so distinctly the milieu being examined.

A wonderfully cohesive cast of energetic performers take to the stage, for an unforgettable venture into the formidable task of creating an original musical. Leading lady Laura McDonald is a spirited presence, splendidly funny and tremendously likeable as Andrea, the Collaroy rich bitch in exile. Elouise Eftos leaves a remarkable impression as sultry Monica, vampy queen of the hive, powerful in her depiction of a privileged woman believing herself to be a born ruler. Chameleon entertainer Ruby Teys is delightful in a myriad guises, displaying extraordinary skill, in each of her hilarious and scene-stealing incarnations.

Those of us who get to choose where we live, must count ourselves exceptionally lucky. The world is often an ugly place, but when one comes across a tiny pocket that seems perfect in every way, it is the greatest of fortunes to be able to call it home. Whether an address is ideal, however, depends so much on how we are, on the inside. Newtown and its surrounds, are not for everyone, but for those who love it, the inner west is a beacon of beauty, peace and joy. Its characteristics are distinct, but the nourishment it provides, it must be noted, is by no means unique. The best town in Australia, is in fact, everywhere. |

Review: Chemistry (The Sydney Fringe)

Venue: Erskineville Town Hall (Erskineville NSW), Sep 18 – 22, 2018
Playwright: Jacob Marx Rice
Director: Rebecca Blake
Cast: Amelia Campbell, Erin Louise Taylor
Image by Sam Marques

Theatre review
Two women meet at a psychiatrist’s waiting room; Jamie is seeking treatment for mania, and Stephanie is undergoing a lifetime battle with depression. They fall in love quickly, in Jacob Marx Rice’s Chemistry, each seeming to be the perfect complement for the other. It is an intimate examination of mental illness, with both characters revealing their deepest and darkest, so that we reach new understandings of these increasingly prevalent conditions. The play also offers a fascinating look into the meaning of death and suicide, from the perspective of those who exist precariously close to their own mortality.

It is an intense piece of writing, made captivating by a clever combination of dangerous ideas and amusing dialogue. Director Rebecca Blake’s sensitivity ensures that we endear to the characters quickly, and that we find ourselves embroiled in their ill-fated story from the very start. Changing Jamie from male, in prior productions, to female here, is a stroke of genius that allows us to interpret with more accuracy, issues surrounding mental health. We are unburdened of troublesome gendered implications that could corrupt the essence of what Chemistry wishes to say.

Actors Amelia Campbell and Erin Louise Taylor are very accomplished in their roles; we are convinced of all that they present, and find ourselves impressed by their tenacious dedication to the work (especially when having to fight against portions of sound design that seem determined to counteract and overwhelm what the actors attempt to create).

Things get better for Jamie in time, and she tries hard to support Stephanie, who continues to suffer the crippling effects of her illness. We may be able to get by with a little help from friends and romance, but no one can ever escape being their our own person. Stephanie’s destiny was never an optimistic one, yet our humanity is determined to respond with nothing less than persistent hope.

Review: Uz: The Town (The Sydney Fringe)

Venue: New Theatre (Newtown NSW), Sep 17 – 22, 2018
Playwright: Gabriel Calderón (translated by Verónica Barac)
Director: Verónica Barac
Cast: Christie Aucamp-Schutte, Lily Balatincz, Joshua Morel, Cooper Mortlock, Daniel Pollock, Mau Salinas, Lucy Starita, Renae Valastro, Tiffany Wong
Images by Elizabeth Chua

Theatre review
It appears God has done it again. Grace, a Stepford wife type, is charged with the task of killing her own child. Just like Abraham’s celestial conversations all those centuries ago, Grace is a woman of faith who listens to everything that God orders, especially when his voice booms down from the heavens directly into her kitchen. Gabriel Calderón’s Uz: The Town is a subversive work, tackling issues around foolish pietism and the social hypocrisies that derive from religious beliefs. Its premise may seem a tad too familiar, but its humour is scintillating, and defiantly outrageous as it proceeds to demolish all that is held dear.

The production is appropriately hammy in style, with exaggerated performances helping to make the caustic dialogue slightly more palatable. Director Verónica Barac manufactures a wild and enjoyably chaotic energy for the piece, but some of the play’s more dangerous statements might require a clearer sense of irony to prevent misinterpretation. As Grace, actor Lily Balatincz is at her best when the character turns irredeemably maniacal. Her portrayal of religious fervour may not always be sufficiently nuanced, but the actor is certainly well-rehearsed and spirited with what she brings to the stage. Mau Salinas is memorable as Grace’s husband Jack, an absurd and grotesque figure that provides a touch of extravagance to the experience.

We can all have our own nonsensical preoccupations, in fact those are what give colour to the magnificence of life, but when we intrude upon each other’s freedoms, as we so often do, is when life turns dark. People know what it is like to be on the receiving end of transgressions, but we continue to inflict harm on others in spite of our better judgement. We recognise that Grace should know better, but we also understand the weakness that allows us to succumb, to the convenience of surrendering agency. Standing up for one’s own principles is hard, and sadly, many are incapable of it.

Review: The White Spirit Cult (The Sydney Fringe)

Venue: Yellow Umbrella (Potts Point NSW), Sep 13 – 22, 2018
Creator: Joanna Joy
Cast: Anca Frankenhaeuser, Emalyn Knight, Keila Terencio
Images by Emily Contador-Kelsall

Theatre review
Three women in the basement of a house are obsessing over their bodies. They try to resist centuries of objectification, humiliation and commodification, thinking up ways to overcome that sense of inadequacy so fundamentally conditioned into the way we conceive of ourselves. The White Spirit Cult emerges from ideas around shame and purity, an artistic endeavour that frames the feminine experience of virtue, in its many physicalised forms, as being inherently illusory and absurd. Like many modern women who have wised up to forces of oppression, the work attempts to deconstruct those myths that have always tainted our self worth.

The women want to be able to see the cult for what it is, but change is hard, and we witness them resisting their own emancipation, often luxuriating within their own masochistic worship of the false god. It is an ethereal and surreal presentation of ideas, but inexorably realistic. We relate to every word that is being said, regardless of the subject’s age or cultural background. Our adversity unites us, but the suffering sisterhood must be careful not to serve the elevation and advancement of the cult’s objectives. It may ultimately be about rebellion and self-determination, but the show is only able to offer inspiration, as we come to the realisation of our evident incapacity to establish something new.

We may be able to talk about a place outside of the cult, but it is clear that many of us are still on the inside of it. Performers Anca Frankenhaeuser, Emalyn Knight and Keila Terencio are a beautiful embodiment of our dissatisfaction. They are spirited and determined, but also lost in their angst. What they represent is true; we can be joyful, or proud , or indeed, wise, but that disquiet is a sensation hard to abandon.

Review: Next Lesson (New Theatre)

Venue: New Theatre (Newtown NSW), Sep 13 – 22, 2018
Playwright: Chris Woodley
Director: Alex Bryant-Smith
Cast: Michael Brindley, Sonya Kerr, Jens Radda, Kat Tait

Theatre review
In 1988, when Margaret Thatcher was UK Prime Minister, Section 28 was introduced, stating that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. Quite unbelievably, this piece of homophobic legislation was active until 2003, and for that period of 15 years, schools were in effect, encouraged to discriminate against LGBTQI students and staff, even though homosexual acts had been officially decriminalised since 1967.

Scenes in Chris Woodley’s Next Lesson take place in an English secondary school, featuring chronological vignettes beginning at the installation of Section 28, through to the passage of the Civil Partnership Act in Dec 2005, when same-sex unions were finally recognised. It tracks the evolution of LGBTQI experiences, children and adult, through tumultuous years, with predictably depressing accounts of institutionalised oppression. It is not a particularly imaginative work, but the authentic representation of emancipated queer lives, is certainly valuable.

The production is simple but impassioned, an earnest rendition that speaks from the heart. Performers Michael Brindley and Sonya Kerr bring a sense of gravity to their roles, encouraging us to respond with empathy. Jens Radda and Kat Tait are memorable with their humour, both spirited and playful when called upon to make us laugh.

It would be a mistake to think that the fight is over. The gay rights movement has delivered great advancements, but the work is not done for LGBTQI people in countless developing countries, and in ethnic minority communities within our own Western nations. Laws have changed, but attitudes are often still lagging behind. The recently appointed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in his second week of taking office, demonstrated a disdain for gender variance, by tweeting that “we do not need ‘gender whisperers’ in our schools” in reference to professional assistance being made available to students who are encountering personal challenges, in relation to their gender identities. As long as forces that work against justice are persistent, there can be no room for complacency. Fighters who win will only grow stronger, and hard won freedoms must be guarded at all cost.

Review: The Elements Of An Offence (New Theatre)

Venue: New Theatre (Newtown NSW), Sep 10 – 16, 2018
Playwright: James Gefell
Director: Alice Livingstone
Cast: Amelia Robertson-Cuninghame, Sarah Aubrey

Theatre review
Rachel is Christine’s boss and girlfriend. They work at the police department, trying to do the right thing for the public and for themselves, negotiating endless bureaucracy along with the precarious nature of being both colleagues and lovers. It is also a story of competing principles, in a space where we expect virtue and decency to reign supreme. James Gefell’s The Elements Of An Offence also talks about corruption, as well as the au courant matter of power imbalances that pervade all our lives. We watch the women divided by their opposing positions concerning a case that they undertake, gradually being torn apart by an office culture that emanates from their patriarchal authorities.

The desk-bound characters are allowed little that could facilitate a more effective exploration of physical space, but both women are richly imagined for what is ultimately a fascinating work, with an engaging plot and very dynamic dialogue. Alice Livingstone’s direction is nuanced and enjoyable, although a greater sense of gravity to certain sections would provide emphasis to the play’s more pertinent ideas. Actors Amelia Robertson-Cuninghame and Sarah Aubrey find excellent chemistry as a team, convincing as bedfellows and captivating as duelling policewomen. They present a well-rehearsed show, fuelled by the formidable pairing, of conspicuous talent with remarkable conviction.

When systems are discovered to be unjust, those at the bottom will formulate strategies of disobedience. When one realises that playing by the rules will only reinforce one’s own oppression, defiance becomes a useful device, if not for the effective subversion of structures, then at least for the sake of maintaining one’s integrity. Rachel and Christine learn that doing their jobs well, ironically contributes to their own detriment. The choices they make, can no longer be pure, but they can help to make things better.


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Good road standard, Mainly asphalt
Car-free bike path
The south-east trail is marked with red signs along the road (please supplement with your own map)

Sydostleden is one of Sweden's best cycling tourist trails. The landscape is varied, and offers both coastal experiences and forest-rich areas where one clearly knows the soul of nature. The resorts you pass all have their own special character, and offer unforgettable experiences along the way.

The south-east route extends from southern Småland, through Blekinge and down to southeast Skåne. You can cycle the 27 miles between Växjö and Simrishamn road safe and comfortable. For the most part, the trail goes on its own cycle path without car traffic, but on some routes you get to cycle in inter-traffic.

Main Route: Approximately 270 km (Växjö-Tingsryd-Karlshamn-Mörrum-Sölvesborg-Kristianstad-Åhus-Brösarp-Simrishamn)

County Kronoberg
Bicycles may be included, subject to presentation of a valid bicycle ticket. Must not be carried in Växjö city traffic or in regional traffic night traffic.

Bicycles may be taken on trains to the extent possible. For the bike you buy a bicycle ticket, the price is the same as for single ticket young. The bus is not allowed to bring a bicycle. However, it is permissible to take a bicycle cart on board if used as a stroller.

Bicycles may be included, subject to space, but a maximum of nine bicycles per train. Bicycle ticket you buy in ticket vending machine or app just before departure. If you buy your personal ticket in the app you can make an addition for your bike, the price is 20 SEK and valid for 2 hours throughout Skåne.

Do not miss...

  • bookmarkSölvesborg Bridge
  • bookmarkHallamölla Waterfall
  • bookmarkWater Tower Eco Temple
  • bookmarkSmåland's museum
  • bookmarkÅsnen, Sweden's next national park
  • bookmarkChronolax fishing with Kungsforsen
  • bookmarkThe cultural district in Karlshamn
  • bookmarkThe coastal landscape at Edenryd
  • bookmarkNaturum Water Kingdom
  • bookmarkFriseboda at Hanö Bay's Ålakust
  • bookmarkKristianstad Art Hall
  • bookmarkChristinehof's Ecopark
  • bookmarkVitemölla / Brösarps slopes and all apple orchards
  • bookmarkKivik's market
  • bookmarkApple House
  • bookmarkKiviksgraven
  • bookmarkStonehead National Park with Naturum
  • bookmarkÖsterlens Museum
  • bookmarkemigrant Monument
  • bookmarkABU museum
  • bookmarkEbbamåla Bruk
  • bookmarkInglingehögen
  • bookmarkbråkunst after Bräkneån
  • bookmarkCar Cemetery Kyrkömosse

Bicycle Maps

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Handelsbanken Executive Dinner

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The Chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, Ehsan Turabaz, and the Swedish Chamber’s General Manager, Kerstin Gerlagh, were delighted to attend Handelsbanken’s Executive Dinner with the Board of Handelsbanken on Tuesday September 25th, at the Koninklijke Industrieele Groote Club in Amsterdam and to meet with Pär Boman, Chairman of the Board of Handelsbanken.

On behalf of the Board of the Swedish Chamber, they wish to thank Handelsbanken for a very inspiring evening.

From left to right: Kerstin Gerlagh, Pär Boman and Ehsan Turabaz.


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Texas A&M Women Travel to Alabama for First SEC Meet

by SwimSwam 0

October 19th, 2018 College, SEC

Courtesy: Texas A&M Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.– The No. 5 Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team has its first SEC meet of the season at Alabama Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Alabama Aquatic Center.

The meet is streamed online on SEC Network +, which provides events to SEC Network subscribers through WatchESPN and the ESPN app on smartphones, computers, tablets and other connected devices (Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One).

The Aggies are coming off a season-opening 209-142 win at No. 17 Ohio State last weekend. Team captain Sydney Pickrem was named SEC Co-Swimmer of the Week for her efforts in Columbus, Ohio, after winning all four of her individual races–the 400-yard IM (4:12.07), 100-yard backstroke (54:15), 200-yard IM (1:58.64) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.95).

In addition, Claire Rasmus picked up two individual wins, the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.84) and the 100-yard freestyle (50.76) where she finished in a dead heat with teammate Katie Portz. Anna Belousova won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.89), Taylor Pike came out on top in the 200-yard butterfly (1:57.99), and Jing Quah touched the wall first in the 100-yard butterfly (54.97). Haley Allen won the 1-meter diving with a score of 298.60.

Alabama is 1-1 on the season, beating Delta State 206-88, and losing to No. 17 Ohio State 181-119.

Live scoring and results are available through Alabama’s website here.

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If you’re looking for shortwave radio reviews, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re looking for reviews of shortwave portables, tabletops, SDRs, or professional receivers, our site offers a rich treasury of curated information to help you find the right radio for your needs, to compare models–or just to learn about the unique world of radio, both past and present.

Below, we outline how we organize shortwave radio information on our site. If you’re in a hurry, go to for simple reviews of popular radios, check our radio review archive on the SWLing Post, or browse our library of all shortwave radios currently on the market in our Shortwave Radio Index. is actually three sites:

  • – Our original site, offers a simple, straightforward primer on how to effectively purchase and use a shortwave radio. Best of all, it has a popular Radio Reviews page that lists the best portable and tabletop shortwave radios on the market. The reviews, which focus on the effectiveness and usability of each model, are written in simple language for the benefit of those just starting in the hobby, who may not yet know the technical jargon, as well as for non-native English speakers and young users. Clear instructions and definitions are provided.
  • The SWLing Post – We post up-to-date news, reviews, interviews and everything shortwave. New posts are made regularly, often daily. Here, you can easily find our own in-depth shortwave radio reviews. These reviews are comprehensive and typically focus on one model at a time, offering comparisons to other similar radios.
  • The Shortwave Radio Index – (here) At the SWRI we have curated an index of all shortwave radios currently on the market. That’s right, all of them. We add new models each week as they come on the market. The site is searchable by manufacturer, model, or type of radio. Each entry contains features and specifications of the radio with links to reviews on other sites, to retailers and resources for each model. This exhaustive index took some time to construct; as such, we continue to put a great deal of time into maintaining it. As with all our sites, this is a free resource for you to use and share.

What’s more, you can contact us directly for specific instruction or advice. In your email, keep descriptions brief, and questions and comments clear; this makes it easier for us to help. Please note that we receive a lot of email, so do allow a few days for a response.

Thank you for visiting, and please send feedback if you have suggestions on how to improve any of our sites. We like compliments, too.

Welcome to the world of shortwave! Happy listening!

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Consider This: The Nature of (Pure) Balboa

April 12, 2013

2019 —

This 2013 post was part of a series at the time called “Meditatin,'” but which I’ve recently renamed “Consider this.” As of now, I still see this debate at the heart of Pure Balboa contests. For an ultimately better, clearer starting point of understanding Pure Bal, I recommend you try out this article

 Photo courtesy of Beth Grover.

Recently Nick Williams posted on Facebook, “Balboa people, we need to talk. What do you think Pure Balboa is?” He was partly frustrated by what people do in “Pure Balboa” contests, which I agree is often not what most of us Bal-Swing instructors think of as Pure Balboa. Anyway, I responded to the post with roughly the following, which I thought was a good quick response to people in general who wonder about what Pure Balboa is, and why it’s a different dance than Bal-Swing.

When I was coming up in Bal-Swing competitions, some would have (and still do have) “Pure Balboa” rounds. At the time, around 2003, I remember the main source of advice: “Pure Balboa means chest to chest. Don’t open up.” There may have been some more complicated advice given to me, but “just stay chest to chest” was what stuck with me (and you can tell in my early “Pure Balboa” contests). I now happily understand much more about the important difference between the two dances that the old timers called Balboa & Bal-Swing.

A dance should exist for a reason. By which I mean, it should have a nature to it that makes it its own dance and not something else. Balboa’s nature was shaped by its surroundings: It was a dance done on a packed floor, hence chest to chest. On a packed floor, no one can see your footwork; hence, it’s not a dance for showing off footwork. On a packed floor, no one spectates the dance; hence it is not a spectator’s dance; it is meant to be shared between the partnership and no one else. Pure Balboa was a date dance, done in coat and tie and skirts and heels; hence one of its goals is efficiency and not sweating all over your partner. These very literal boundaries gave the dance its identity and help shaped other aspects of its style: those boundaries also made it natural to shuffle the feet a lot, and play with rhythms and weight changes and small direction changes, to make things exciting. So you see, Pure Balboa has a very specific nature.

UPDATE: Upon further thought and discussion with Balboa instructors and historians at the Balboa Experiment, I have some slight updates to the description above. Though Pure Balboa was not a dance for being flashy or showing off, many couples still cared what they looked like. And many had very stern opinions about what looked like Balboa and what didn’t. So, it’s not correct to say it is only a dance about partnership connection. However, it was still not a spectator’s dance in the sense that it was supposed to wow or entertain. Many of them just appreciated looking good and felt it should have a certain aesthetic. (5/16/13)

Check out the dancing in this list of original (Pure) Balboa dancers to see this in action. [*]

Now, at some point in the 1930s, dancers of the open and expressive dance called “Swing” started throwing the Balboa steps they knew or saw into their growing collection of steps. (Note: Swing’s nature is open expression of both partner and individual, and is much more a spectator’s dance.) This was the beginning of Swing becoming what we know today as Bal-Swing. But, don’t be fooled by the joined name. It was the dance Swing that converted Balboa into steps fitting its expressive and somewhat wild nature much more so than the other way around. Here’s why this is important: Almost every single one of us in the modern scene is actually a Swing dancer who also knows a little about Pure Balboa, not a Pure Balboa dancer. I can’t think of anyone — surely no more than a handful of people — who have dedicated their dancing career to doing Pure Balboa and almost only Pure Balboa, according to the nature of the dance described earlier.

Modern contests often have Pure Balboa sections to honor the sibling (if you can call it that) dance of Bal-Swing and perhaps a desire to help “keep it alive.” But perhaps it’s too esoteric to have “Pure Balboa” contests or prelims, especially when most of the competitors are expected to understand what makes Pure Balboa its own dance different from Bal-Swing, but are apparently rarely explicitly told what that is by competition organizers or in their classes. (I’ve heard stories that many of the original dancers were even confused when they were told that we have Pure Balboa contests — they think we missed the point. Based on the nature of Pure Balboa described above, there can be a point in having contestants do it, but only to test their knowledge and/or give the audience a demonstration of it. Unfortunately, if students do not have the appropriate knowledge of it, then that means you will have a misleading demonstration of it.)

The result of all of this is that most competitors in a modern “Pure Balboa” heat simply do what I think of as “closed position Bal-Swing.” They attract attention, they do super fancy individual stuff, and they even have drops and lifts; they just happen to keep their partner chest to chest. (Some judges I know don’t even count the section, others treat it like it’s simply a Bal-Swing contest, and yet others give extra points for Pure Balboa, but otherwise don’t count it in their ultimate scoring.)

Some people have questioned that this dancing is merely us evolving the dance, and describe it as “Pure Balboa then vs. Pure Balboa now” — but I think that’s a false way of looking at it. Sure, we can certainly change and evolve a dance form and still keep its nature, like we have with Bal-Swing and Lindy Hop. But once you change the nature of a dance, I think you are officially no longer doing it; you are doing something else. (Hence the modern dancer doing flashy footwork and attention-grabbing individual dancing chest-to-chest is actually doing “closed position Bal-Swing” much more so than “Pure Balboa.”)

But it’s not all those dancers’ fault, and perhaps it’s hardly their fault at all. If we as teachers and organizers expect others to know what we mean when we say “Pure Balboa,” then it’s our responsibility to make it obvious. I know Kate and I and several of our peer instructors talk openly about making sure we are doing this. And I know many of the top Bal-Swing competitions have discussed (and will continue to discuss) this matter with their teachers and staff. So, I think we are working towards preserving the nature of the dance known as Pure Balboa while we grow it and evolve it.

I would like to end with something that really made me reassess things when I was coming up as a competitor. It’s Nick Williams and Denise Paulino Phelan doing a “Pure Balboa” round in (I believe) one of the Balboa Rendezvous contests. If you watch it as a Bal-Swing dancer or a Lindy Hopper, you’re going to miss a lot of what’s going on. But if you watch it like a Pure Balboa dancer, looking for subtlety in rhythm and weight shifts, and in musicality and a partnership moving together, I think you’ll see how this is modern dancing that still very much captures the nature of Pure Balboa.

Nick & Denise doing Pure Balboa

[*] — It may appear that many of the people in these clips are just doing basics. However, I think to many Pure Balboa dancers, they didn’t really think of dancing basics as “dancing a basic.” This is obvious when you try to get original Balboa dancer Dean Raftery to do his “basic” the same way twice in a row. I think for them, every basic was full of subtle changes. Sure, they may appear to be doing step-step-hold-step, but if you look close enough… because of accent, shuffling, counterbody, triples, small traveling — Yes, they are doing “basics,” but they’re dancing those basics.

I think a lot of original dancers danced their basics in a continual “butterfly effect.” By “butterfly effect” I mean that theory of how a butterfly flapping its wings in India leads to a series of events that causes a hurricane in the Pacific, or the course of a skeptical monologue by a sketchy scientist in Jurassic Park. But, simply put, one tiny weight change difference at the beginning of a basic will have a ripple effect that will change the course of the basic in terms of weight changes, accents, shuffles, etc. — which is one theory on why original dancers like Dean Raftery and countless others have a hard time duplicating their “basics” the same way twice in a row.

15 Comments leave one →
  1. April 12, 2013 6:04 pm

    I think you’ve outlined this topic admirably here. Not that it matters, but if I had to pick just one style of dancing to do for the rest of my life, I would gladly abandon all others and do only Pure Balboa. There is no such thing as “JUST a basic” in pure bal.

    • January 8, 2020 2:23 am

      Hear hear that man. I am dedicated to pure and hardly swing at all. It is a much unexplored dance and I am on a mission to make it so.

  2. April 12, 2013 8:50 pm

    Great post, as usual. I so love dancing with Dean Raftery. And as you say, dancing a whole song -or many, with him, is never about just doing the basics

  3. April 13, 2013 3:49 pm

    “Balboa, er….finds a way…” :)

  4. Steve Mohns permalink
    April 14, 2013 4:03 pm

    Thanks, Bobby. So, from what you said, I infer that doing in-and-outs would fit within your definition of Pure Balboa; do you agree?

    • April 17, 2013 7:05 pm

      I’m not Bobby – but I suspect not? I thought the in-and-outs were very much a ‘swing’ thing, beach-clip style?

    • Mr Karim Ahmed permalink
      January 8, 2020 2:24 am

      In and outs are swing. It’s a way of getting energy for further swing moves

  5. David Fisher permalink
    April 17, 2013 1:04 am

    Many years ago some ballroom championships would include a “Basics and Standards” round where the top level competitors had to dance syllabus figures only. No open steps. That round counted 50% towards the couple’s score. Over time it was phased-out. But I always thought it was great idea as it forced you to demonstrate you could dance the basic steps. And some couples could dance amazing basics. They were a joy to watch.

  6. April 21, 2013 5:04 am

    I learned Balboa circa 2002-2006, mainly from Sylvia Sykes and her assortment of partners, and at events like All Bal Weekend. I understand that over the past few years, the “basic” has evolved somewhat, but I haven’t been to any events for about three years so I can’t comment on that.

    Back in 2006/2007, when I taught Pure Bal to beginners, I always explained that it’s a dancer’s dance, not a spectator’s dance like Lindy or Charleston. And that’s what I love about it. It’s pure dancing, weight-changing, body-leading, yummy kinesthetic pleasure.

    I explain to beginners how it should feel, not how it should look. You should feel (in my opinion) like you’re the puck in an air hockey game (here, I am totally dating myself for you young whippersnappers). The best Pure Bal, to me, is dreamy, floaty, and glidey.

    To David Fisher’s point…back in the day, it was called “figure skating” because skaters had to skate “compulsory figures,” which counted for 1/3 of their overall score. (I’m dating myself again.) Compulsory figures were the ABCs of figure skating, and taught skaters the very basics of the sport. Here’s a short piece from 1990, a couple of years after the compulsory figures were eliminated. I suspect some of the comments may resonate with people in discussion of Pure Bal and competition:

    Pure Bal is not a flashy, crowd-pleasing dance. I think you have to be something of a connoisseur to appreciate the nuances of it…you have to know what you’re seeing to understand how awesomely someone is performing it (like Nick and Denise in the clip that you shared, Bobby.) So I think it’s difficult sometimes to get beginners interested in it. In the swing world, there isn’t another dance like it. It’s the low-impact “finesse” dance.

    But I do think that awesome Pure Bal leaders are awesome Bal Swing dancers, because they do understand the subtlety and nuance of the body lead. And I think really good Pure Bal followers are excellent Bal Swing dancers, because they “listen” more closely to their leader. They pay more attention, and it takes a lot less effort to lead them, in my experience.

    My two cents. I can’t wait for ABW. :)

    • Mr Karim Ahmed permalink
      January 8, 2020 2:25 am

      I’d say that in the social floor, there is no such thing as a basic. You follow the music is all

  7. April 27, 2013 9:06 am

    Great article Bobby, as usual. I’d love to see in contests a round where judges are looking for evidence of authenticity in the competitor’s dance. So just as the original dancers didn’t always do what we know as Pure Balboa they had distinct styles. So if a competitor moves around like Harry Berlin or does Dean’s back pivots or the follower kicks up and crosses behind like Ann Mills – you get the picture. If competitors know in advance judges are looking for that – they’ll have to research it, work it out, learn it. That way, elements of the origin of the dance is preserved and the names of the original dancers will always be a part of the scene.

  8. Karim Ahmed permalink
    April 20, 2019 7:09 pm

    My love of Pure Balboa is developing as I become more confident, relaxed and nuanced in my interpretation of the music I am moving to. One of the things I love most about Pure is that you can quite happily do it solo. In fact, I have discovered that this is the way to learn it: first by yourself, and then bringing that relaxed confidence to a dance “conversation” with your dance partners. I’m starting a YouTube vlog of just my footwork to some of my favourite tunes. Do view and subscribe to it, if you please:

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Panasonic Eluga L 4G Benchmarked

A mobile device benchmarked with a screen size of 9.2 inches marks the first time a tablet of that size from Panasonic have been heard of.

Which means that the size is probably not real and that this device most likely is a smartphone instead, sine Panasonic already have various lines of Eluga phones.

Panasonic usually sticks to manufacturing rugged tablets like the Toughbook, the tablet version of the Panasonic Toughbook laptops but occasionally they make other non-rugged tablets too, although far between these days.

The specs of the Panasonic device listed on GFXbench are supposedly Android 4.4.4, a 9.2-inch screen with HD 1280 x 720 resolution, a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB of RAM, and dual cameras.

But since it’s called Panasonic Eluga L 4G and is listed with a SIM-card slot on board, we are probably safe to view this as a smartphone. And even if it had been a tablet, it would not have been a very exciting one anyway judging by those specs.

Panasonic Eluga L

Panasonic Eluga L

– Jim Miller

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Nancy Maria Wears Beautiful Traditional Dress At Annapurna Base Camp

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In Malaysia we have a huge variety of traditional outfits that we wear during our festivities. These beautiful outfits are the result of our amazing blend of different races living together. As such, most of us feel quite proud to wear our own traditional outfits. Nancy Maria from Sarawak loves hers so much that she braved the freezing cold at the Himalayan base camp!

Nancy Maria
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But first, who is Nancy Maria? Well, she is a 42-year old school teacher in Miri and a mother to two sons. Her hobbies include gardening and working out which is why she’s super fit! According to her Facebook, she loves going to the gym and participating in runs.

Recently, Nancy and her husband took on the challenge of hiking to the Annapurna base camp. The couple flew to Kathmandu, Nepal, from Kuala Lumpur and took an 8 hour ride to Pokhara.

After that the real hike began and together they conquered the 4,130 metre hike to the base camp. Upon reaching the site where many climbers would hang up their flag, Nancy decided to do something different and more meaningful.

Nancy Maria at Annapurna Base Camp
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Braving against the freezing cold temperature, Nancy Maria posed for a photo in her beautiful traditional dress. The outfit that she is wearing is from the people of Kayan from Uma Kuman in Belaga, Sarawak.

It is a beautiful dress that stands out well against the snowy background of Mount Everest. Moreover, it is such a meaningful gesture to the tribes in Sarawak.

Nancy Maria at Sarawak Day Run 2019
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However, this is not the first time that Nancy has taken on physical challenges while proudly showing her heritage. Just this year she participated in two different runs while wearing her traditional clothes. One of which was together with her husband!


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5 Essential Legal Documents

Are you legally covered in the event of an emergency or death. Below is information on 5 documents every adult should possess.  If you have any questions or would like to schedule a free consultation, leave your information in the Quick Contact form to the right or call our office at 813-787-9900 today!


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The course that lays ahead!

We talk a lot about simulating many aspects of nature here at Tannin Aquatics. We love to share  the cool pics of natural habitats taken by our friends like Ivan Mikolji, Mike Tuccinardi, Chris Englezou, David Sobry, and Sumer Toward, among others- and we all become more inspired. It's really amazing to research the natural habitats of our fishes, and to really do a "deep dive" into understanding exactly what makes these habitats so unique- and so compelling to replicate in our aquariums!

As a company, Tannin was conceived and has been guided to create an experience for a variety of different hobby interests. And of course, we embrace all sorts of hobby interests. However, the reality is that our goal was never to be "all things to all people", and you've probably already surmised by now that we tend to focus on a few tight segments of the hobby- mainly, the support of hobbyists who are interested in and inspired by the natural habitats from which our fishes come. Largely encompassing- but not limited exclusively to- blackwater and brackish habitats.  This focus has enabled our community to sort of "find us", and collectively, we've evolved. While I hate stereotypes and such, as a marketing person, it's always important to think about who our customers are and what they need.

I was looking at some old notes from when I first formed the company; kind of reflecting on our target market and how we've done to serve it. And I think we've pretty much stayed on our course! And we can do even better.

And we will!

Tannin will continue to refine our offerings, share more ideas, and support clubs and hobbyists to the greatest extent possible. We've dropped some products along the way that didn't fit the direction- and more will be dropped- and new ones added- as we continue the journey. More and more content and inspiration will be coming your way from "Estuary", and in the next several weeks, we'll be adding some new segments to our catalog, and make it easier and more interesting to find materials for more specific aquatic purposes. You're going to see some extremely exciting and exclusive collaborations with some of the best-known people in the aquarium hobby, as we bring together unique talents, skills, and  excitement!

We'll start with an exciting collaboration with renowned explorer/artist/photogrpaher/author, Ivan Mikolji in just a few days! It's a marriage of art, hobby, and science. And we're honored and excited to work with Ivan on what we hope will be the first of many successful collaborations with him!

And we'll continue the collaborations with the launch of a new line of biotope specific botanicals  ("Biotope by Tannin Aquatics") anchored by botanical variety packs selected and curated by noted aquarist/explorer/photographer/biotope expert, Chris Englezou, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Freshwater Life Project! This is a truly unique and exciting project that will evolve into what we feel will be one of the most special parts of Tannin Aquatics!

We will see the launch of Tannin Live!- our foray into offering high-quality, carefully sourced, uniquely curated tropical fishes intended to compliment the types of aquariums and conditions that the majority of our customers work with!

Our fishes will be carefully handled and acclimated by one of the talented people in the industry (we'll reveal who it is really soon!). We'll feature short supply chains, conscientious, responsible sourcing, and diligent care. We won't be a colossal, discount-price vendor of every type of fish under the sun. We're not trying to take over the aquarium livestock world. Rather, we'll focus on offering the livestock which we feel will be of interest to you- our devoted "Tint Fans", who will appreciate and enjoy them the most. And we'll provide you with a level of information and transparency about the sourcing, handling, and care of these fishes that's consistent with what you have come to expect from Tannin Aquatics.

Like everything we do, we'll back up our offerings with a robust guarantee, excellent service, and thoughtful support. We will never be the least expensive vendor out there...rather, we intend to excel at what we do, and bring high quality and great value to our customers. Our pricing will be fair, our shipping fast and reliable, and the amount of content and useful information about our fishes will be significant! We will take the time to hone our offerings, give value, and refine our policies and procedures. This will be a U.S.-only launch initially, although we hope to eventually offer these fishes worldwide...First things first. We'll need to perfect our craft at home before we consider taking it abroad!

Oh, and the "Igapo Challenge" in support of Project Piaba- which I've been teasing and taunting you with for so long? Well, I promise- PROMISE we will launch it soon. (Yeah, you've been hearing that all year, huh?) With some major customer-focused initiatives in the works for some time, and all coming to a head soon as you can see, we need to get them up and running well before we can give the contest the attention it deserves. However, it IS an integral part of our 2018 plans, and we intend to begin the contest period in January. We have lined up some world-class judges and some great prizes. It will be very exciting! We'll begin updating regularly on this in late November/Early December.

Yeah, it's been a rather busy year for us!

As you can surmise, all of these seemingly diverse projects are actually very closely aligned, and tie in perfectly with our overall mission and goals to strengthen our commitment to the natural aquarium/biotope community. As we launch these new projects, each one will enhance the "whole" that is Tannin Aquatics!

Now that I've pretty much given you a vague tease of part of where we're heading in 2018, we're looking forward to growing with you, refining our customer experience, and maintaining focus on what's most important- YOU, and the animals we keep, and the precious natural habitats from which they come.

We will never lose sight of the fact that it's all a hobby. A wonderful, engrossing, enjoyable one. And that the people which make up this crazy, diverse community are the foundation of it all.

Here's to you- "Tint Nation"- and the support, love, and inspiration you provide every day!

Stay devoted. Stay excited. Stay curious. Stay obsessed!

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics

Scott Fellman
Scott Fellman

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text:
Why You Should Never Live With A Cop From A Crime Novel

Why You Should Never Live With A Cop From Crime Novel

So far, we’ve had fun living with an unreliable narrator, and a chick-lit heroine. But you knew I wasn’t going to stop there, didn’t you?

Anyone who’s ever lived in shared accommodation will know that flatmates can be difficult. But what would it be like to live with the sort of crime novel cops whose innate mix of inner demons and public doggedness usually ensures them an eight-book deal?

It is 7.30 am. You are about to depart for work from the bland, nondescript starter home of a cop in a crime novel. You wipe down the countertop of the dated beige kitchen, clearing the last crumbs of toast away, when you notice a crime scene photograph of a horribly mutilated woman beside the exhausted coffee machine. Trembling, you pick it up. You’re sure you’ve seen her somewhere before.

Crime Novel Cop: [sneaking up behind you] You don’t want me to tell you what was done to her.

You: You’re quite right. I’d much rather you told me why you left a photograph of a mutilated corpse in the kitchen. I just ate breakfast, for Chrissake!

Crime Novel Cop: Maybe it’s because I just don’t notice any more. Because of the numbness.

You: Have you been up all night?

Crime Novel Cop: Have I? I don’t know anymore. The insomnia is getting worse. Every time I close my eyes I see—I see—

You: I’m not entirely sure you could call it insomnia. I mean, you do sleep an awful lot during the day. There has to be another name for when people can’t sleep at night, but are perfectly fine sleeping during the day.

Crime Novel Cop: I go to bed and lie there, but I just see her face.

You: Who is it this time? Your mother, who was savagely beaten by her pimp? Your sister, who disappeared when she was only six years old? Or is it your first wife, who died at the hand of the country’s most depraved serial killer while your back was turned, because you were feeling momentarily light-hearted, and went out for an ice-cream?

Crime Novel Cop: No. It’s the face of the emotionally detached woman who is harbouring a secret tragedy, and whom I find fascinating, not to mention sexually magnetic.

You: Isn’t that what’s written on your own Tinder profile?

Crime Novel Cop: Well, all the serial killers I’ve obsessed over have been in some way mirrors of myself. It’s quite deep, when you think about it.

Why You Should Never Live With A Cop From Crime Novel

You: That reminds me. Your daughter rang last night again. She’s very disappointed in you. She said to tell you it’s your last chance. Either you go and visit her and her extremely rich and well-adjusted yet boring husband, in that posh area of the city which makes your skin crawl, or she’s cutting you out of her life.

Crime Novel Cop: I’ll call her today. I swear.

You: Look, I have to get to work. Is there any chance you could do the recycling today? There are 87 empty whiskey bottles, 21 bagfuls of used tranquilizer packaging, and 893 festering takeaway containers which have to go. I went out the back door last night, and a company of rats was doing the can-can across the decking. In tutus. Made of pharmaceutical blister packs.

Crime Novel Cop: I’m sorry. It’s the job. It eats you from the inside out. I destroy everything I touch. I’ll bet you’re sorry you ever answered my ad.

You: Well, it was the cheapest room for a mile. It was either here, or double the rent for a shoebox five miles outside town.

Crime Novel Cop: The rent used to be higher. But the fonder I got of my lodgers, the more they got murdered.

You: You don’t say.

Crime Novel Cop: I’ll give you another hundred off this month if you do the recycling for me.

You: No way. I did it the last 16 times. The last time almost gave me a hernia, because I had to bring the 200 boxes of illegally copied case files you had hidden in the basement, along with an inexplicable assortment of children’s toys, and sheet music for that epic Russian opera you never finished writing, despite your astounding musical genius.

Crime Novel Cop: I’ll give you free rent for the rest of the year, and a one thousand cash bonus, if you do the recycling and cook me a roast chicken just like my Mama used to make.

You: Okay, deal. But I want my own gun.

Crime Novel Cop: No need to worry about that. I bring a semi-automatic assault rifle into your bedroom with me every night when I watch you sleep.

Why You Should Never Live With A Cop From A Crime Novel

You: One more thing. That woman. In the photo.

Crime Novel Cop: Deader than Deady McDeadington. A terrible crime against an as unidentified victim. What about her?

You: It just feels like it’s important to the plot that I recognise her. She looks very familiar.

Crime Novel Cop: [shaking you violently] What? Damn you! It’s imperative that you remember who she is, and quickly! We haven’t a moment to lose! Think hard!

Crime Novel Cop’s vigorous shaking causes tension-enhancing brain damage, and you slip into a coma. The last thing you see is a memory from your childhood, involving the unidentified mutilated woman. Will you wake up in time to help solve the crime before the killer strikes again?

Will you????

And there we have it. I must say, out of the three we’ve had so far, I’m moving in with Chick-Lit Heroine. The other two seem quite literally lethal.

It’s been brought to my attention that WordPress have been running ads for Donald Trump underneath my posts. WordPress run the ads here, not me. They want me to pay them to stop this practice, but I can’t. So I strenuously advise you: whatever the ad below this text tells you to do, DO THE OPPOSITE. (Unless, of course, it tells you to have a lovely day.)

  75 comments for “Why You Should Never Live With A Cop From A Crime Novel

  1. September 29, 2016 at 7:56 am

    Haha, brilliant! Shame about the ads. I have an ad blocker so never see any. Highly recommended.

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 9:24 am

      I agree, Joanne. I keep saying I’m going to get one. I only have myself to blame!

      Liked by 1 person

      • September 29, 2016 at 10:52 am

        Only stops you seeing the ads though. Unless people reading your blog also have ads blocked there’s nothing you can do sadly.

        Liked by 1 person

        • September 29, 2016 at 11:06 am

          Even more sadly, I’d have to pay WordPress to stop running offensive ads on my blog. That’s so sad it makes me want to live with a cop from a crime novel.

          Liked by 2 people

  2. September 29, 2016 at 8:02 am

    What’s really sinister is there are no ads here despite your health warning. Have you just come into some money unexpectedly from an unlikely connection you made while genre-blogging? Have you been avoiding paying for your gerbils life support, using the money awarded after the unfortunate loss of his tale in an egregious editing binge? Or could it be that really this blog has succoumbed to the recently identified Trumposis and has found itself inordinantly enriched by failing to submit a tax return since Ponitius was a Pilot? I think we need the truth detective.

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 9:47 am

      Damn you, Geoff. I told you about that gerbil in confidence. It appears that my ad problems are concentrated on readers in the US, but just for that, I’m sending you a Trump virus. It’ll jumble up all the words on your computer into repetitive nonsense, bankrupt you and then tell you someone else did it.

      Liked by 1 person

      • September 29, 2016 at 6:30 pm

        Damn you Sparling. I’ve now built a wall and billed the neighbours, called out the post woman on being too ugly to deliver the mail and told my daughter that unless she provides me with details of the 31000 emails she sent to her boyfriend last night I’ll not reveal my tax status. The only person to agree with me is my wife who has confirmed she no longer has the stamina to do any more housework.

        • September 29, 2016 at 10:41 pm

          This is simply awesome. Unfortunately, it is also far too productive and focused to befit a man of your ego. Lay down your hair immediately and hold up your tiny little hands in surrender, and we’ll call you the winner.

          Liked by 1 person

  3. September 29, 2016 at 8:15 am

    There are no adds here, that I can see but for some fun with Donald and Hillary put braggadocious randy rainbow and/or hillary shimmy into Google. As for living with the crime novel cop — pass

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 9:48 am

      I saw that yesterday, Kathy – love Randy Rainbow! He’s the king of the straight face. So no crime novel cop for you? Awwww. That’s going to send him straight back to the bottle, you know.

  4. September 29, 2016 at 8:40 am

    I just thought I should mention two things.

    You missed out the really important health-and-safety point that it’s not just lodgers who have to be careful. You should also never get into a relationship with, and especially never marry, such a cop. You’ll either end up drunk, drug addicted, or dead – usually dead, at a psychologically important moment, like just after your honeymoon or just before the birth of your first child. Or HE will get killed. Plus, this also applies to relationships where the wife is the cop, so guys should not assume they are safe.

    Just move out, cut all contact, and preferably change your name (or even fake your own death, if you have to). You know it makes sense.

    Also, I can’t see an add on my desktop using Chrome, but I can on my phone using Safari. Today’s says “Whatever you make, make it yours. Get your .blog.” Very encouraging. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    • September 29, 2016 at 9:52 am

      Aha! But you see, T.K., I did in fact mention the marriage issue in my teaser extract. It was a test of your investigative abilities, I’m afraid. I had to leave it there, because anyone married to the cop wouldn’t have made it past the third line of dialogue. In other news, I’m glad you’re getting less offensive ads than other victims – sorry – I meant readers.

  5. September 29, 2016 at 9:05 am

    Very funny. I would never have wanted to share with a cop hero anyway, but you’ve persuaded me. Only one thing worse: sharing with Donald Trump. Maybe the ad’s not there because he’s packed it ready for moving in day?

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 9:54 am

      Now you certainly have me thinking, Jessica! Why You Should Never Live With Donald Trump. Oh, the possibilities. And the word play! Hmmm….. leave it with me……

      Liked by 1 person

      • September 29, 2016 at 10:06 am

        …things that go Trump in the night, for a start …sorry. Happy to co author this one if you need a project!

        Liked by 1 person

  6. September 29, 2016 at 9:09 am

    Tara… Yours is the only blog I don’t save for this magical time period called “later” which often means “never.” I always read yours straight away, no matter what actual task I am supposed to be attending to online. Love it

    Liked by 3 people

    • September 29, 2016 at 9:55 am

      Wow, Orla. Comments like that jolt me right out of the numbness! Thank you. On the other hand, sorry for distracting you. If it makes it any better, I find being a distraction very distracting. Plays havoc with other literary ambitions.

  7. September 29, 2016 at 10:06 am

    Oh that was a tonic. I’ve just read Broken Harbour and the detective in that could be speaking every word here. I’m wondering how a happy cop with no demons would work – we’d all be very confused!

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 10:37 am

      Wouldn’t we just? They did try it once in the Scandi TV drama The Bridge, but they paired the happy cop with a sociopathic partner, and not to spoil anything, but he didn’t finish up quite like he started. Any pretensions to happiness are doomed, I tell you. DOOMED.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. September 29, 2016 at 10:49 am

    Well, I thought this post was hilarious, Tara. Inspired by it, I’ve decided to give up my boring job and become a hard-bitten and cynical cop from now on. Unfortunately, unsolved murders are a bit thin on the ground in my apartment building, so I haven’t had a chance to do any actual detection yet. On the other hand, I did spend a couple of hours practicing my indifferent expression in the mirror (I really hope everybody loves it!) and then at breakfast, I just left the milk in the refrigerator and poured neat bourbon over my cornflakes instead.

    Liked by 2 people

    • September 29, 2016 at 11:11 am

      That is an EXCELLENT start, Bun. Bourbon for breakfast is impressive by any means, but poured over cereal, you’re talking equal measures of violence AND blockbuster success. I am suitably impressed (whilst looking dead inside).

      Liked by 1 person

  9. September 29, 2016 at 10:53 am

    Damn those wp ads! Although that one sounds quite fun. Maybe your cop should go sort that one out…

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 11:12 am

      Something tells me I’d have more fun writing the crime than the investigation on that one, Ali. Plus, you’d be talking about millions of suspects. Even James Patterson couldn’t gloss over it.

  10. September 29, 2016 at 12:30 pm

    Would Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes change your mind?

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 1:10 pm

      Unfortunately, even the Cumberbatch would be pigeonholed into the cosy mystery genre rather than crime, no matter how many people he insulted. I do enjoy watching him though!

      • September 29, 2016 at 1:16 pm

        I don’t know, Tara. I may be old-fashioned, but he keeps a bowl of human eyeballs in his fridge. So, not very cosy.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. September 29, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    Deady McDeadington – Well, that’s my new nom de plume sorted 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  12. September 29, 2016 at 1:52 pm

    Ha ha ha. Oh my. I laughed at the heading and couldn’t stop all chuckling all the way through. The cliches for each genre are way too recognizable. A good lesson for writers along with the laughs.

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 29, 2016 at 2:02 pm

      Only a bit, Diana. I think the reason a lot of clichés exist is because we’re fond of them, expect them, and maybe even need them a little bit. All stories have been written before, after all. The key is how we dress them up with fresh salad!

      Liked by 2 people

      • September 29, 2016 at 2:29 pm

        Good points. I just hope I don’t cringe too much when someday you get to fantasy. 😀

        Liked by 1 person

        • September 29, 2016 at 2:56 pm

          I wish it were otherwise but I think you’re safe! Whilst I do read fantasy occasionally I don’t read half enough for me to satirise it I’m afraid. I’m not altogether merciless in that I make sure I’m a proper devotee of something before I rip it to pieces 😉

          Liked by 1 person

  13. September 29, 2016 at 3:38 pm

    This was adorable! I definitely wouldn’t want to live with a Cop from a crime novel, also because those who are in the direct proximity to Cop from Crime Novel usually gets pulled into the case and I’m so not up for that. 🙂

    • September 29, 2016 at 5:15 pm

      Better pulled into the case, Birdie, than HORRIFICALLY MURDERED STONE DEAD in a bitter revenge plot point, sorry, I mean revenge act… 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  14. September 29, 2016 at 9:14 pm

    Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. September 29, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    Not my typical genre, but sounds legit to me. I think you might be able to get an 8 book deal out of this. No worries about the Trump ads. I’ve become adept at ignoring them. Except when they get accidentally left by the cofree pot on the kitchen counter. Then it’s chilling.

    • September 29, 2016 at 10:43 pm

      Nothing more chilling than a hairpiece by the coffee pot, Sarah, I agree. I do however prefer when they’re not still attached to a scalp. Come November, I might have changed my mind.

      Liked by 2 people

  16. September 30, 2016 at 9:24 am

    Oh, that was soooo good! You’re in rave form, my dear. Only, you forgot to mention the red squirrel toupe that the poor woman in the photo was clutching.

    Liked by 1 person

    • September 30, 2016 at 2:34 pm

      Um. Nicholas. Um. How did you know about that? Only the police, and, um, the killer could have known about what else was in that photo, because those details were deliberately withheld from the public. Um. You feel like explaining that? Eh, Nick?

      Liked by 1 person

  17. September 30, 2016 at 3:47 pm

    I so want to say something witty after reading that, but I don’t think you’ve left me any material to play with. Great post, Tara

    Liked by 1 person

  18. September 30, 2016 at 10:54 pm

    What???😱😱😱😱 You mean to imply that NOBODY wants to vote for Trump? Oh, dear… although I have to admit that it would be a fate even more horrible than having to vote in Greece. (Btw, couldn’t see any ads…)

    Liked by 1 person

  19. October 3, 2016 at 2:03 pm

    I’d live with the cop from the crime novel if it was set in the eighties and the cop was played by Al Pacino.

    Liked by 1 person

    • October 3, 2016 at 10:37 pm

      Scarlet, I’d live with ANYONE if it was in the eighties and Al Pacino was involved… I’ll fight you for him!

  20. October 3, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    I love it. But, don’t give the entire genre a diss. This from the master, Ross MacDonald “The desk clerk was new to me. Desk clerks are always moving up or down. This one was old and on his way down; his sallow face drooped in the pull of gravity.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • October 3, 2016 at 10:35 pm

      I wouldn’t dream of dissing the entire genre, Conor. You have to love something to laugh at it. That’s my philosophy anyway…

  21. October 4, 2016 at 2:50 am

    I have an alternative ending for you––if I may be so bold: is it a perhaps more than a coincidence that Donald Trump features now that you’ve shacked up with this cop? Can we put him to work on the biggest case of his lousy career? Drumph is the biggest criminal and con artist ever thunked up by any villainous mind. Can’t believe you missed this…
    I’ll do the damned recycling…

    Liked by 1 person

    • October 4, 2016 at 11:55 pm

      I’m so tempted, Jackie. I’d do anything to get you to do the recycling… but am I signing up for the long haul if he’s investigating Drumpf? I may never sleep again, for a variety of reasons.

  22. October 26, 2016 at 11:32 am

    Sorry, rather late to this. I’ve just been reading a crime novel set in the Regency period, Portraits of Pretence, with a Constable who is well-adjusted. It’s a shock I can tell you but I have to say he is also incredibly charming and not in a sickly way but in a tender way. No alcohol, no wife-beating, no drugs … no playing of records late at night while falling asleep in a chair. Where will it all end? I particularly liked your can-canning rats. Having recently had a case of can-canning mice – very loud and rude and startling and bold … anyway it was anxiety inducing but thank God they weren’t rats.

    Liked by 1 person

    • October 27, 2016 at 8:57 am

      Can-canning mice?! You must get them a publicist immediately, Vicky. They’re much more camera friendly. I’m sure any level of anxiety could be reduced by a lucrative showbiz deal.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. June 16, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    Reblogged this on Word Salad Spinner and commented:
    I found this great crime novel parody by Tara Sparling! She has a history of writing award-winning blog humor, and I think you’ll enjoy this one in particular.

    Liked by 1 person

    • June 16, 2017 at 3:11 pm

      Thanks for the re-blog, Nick! Crime Cop feels validated by your interest enough to skip getting drunk tonight.

      • June 16, 2017 at 9:26 pm

        Holy shit. I didn’t know my reblog was so impactful. Please don’t tell me you’re an alcoholic.

        Liked by 1 person

  24. authorlucerna
    October 25, 2017 at 4:42 pm

    Haha, this was awesome! 😀 I’m personally fond of the hardened and haunted character type, but they are delicious fodder for satire.

    Liked by 1 person

    • October 25, 2017 at 6:07 pm

      Oh, so am I, Lucerna. I could never make proper fun of anything I don’t love!

      Liked by 1 person

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Friday, January 15, 2010

Death Toll and Religious Freedom in Vietnam

The below was sent to me by my Marine buddy, Del, from info collected from a friend of his. Some good resources. How little the leftist activists care about the misery visited on the Vietnamese people since the Democrat-controlled Congress cut off military aid to South Vietnam--in violation of our pledged word, and withdrew all help, assuring a Communist victory.

I apologize if the formatting isn't clear.~Bob

Reeducation camp death toll only one measure of mortality. Desbarats, Jacqueline, and Karl D. Jackson. "Vietnam 1975-1982: The Cruel Peace," Washington Quarterly, 8, No. 4, Fall 1985, 169-82 is the study most often cited, concluding around 65,000 were executed from '75 through '81. Not assumed that this figure includes those dying of malnutrition, disease, mine-clearing, etc. Many did, as they did in New Economic Zones, though accurate figure hard to obtain for this. It was a lot.

Scroll down this website for R.J. Rummel's estimates:

Beyond this is death toll of boat people lost at sea, a mid-range estimate being around 250,000.

In addition, Hanoi's insane communist economic policies manufactured malnutrition, leading to higher infant and maternal mortality rates. In 1985 one of ten infants died from malnutrtion. It hasn't gotten a lot better. Data below taken from 2009 CIA Fact Book. Infant mortality rates included for Laos and Cambodia, for which Hanoi bears responsibility:

Data below from CIA 2009 Fact Book. Averages for three communist SE Asia countries -Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia- compared with same categories for non-communist four SE Asia neighbors: Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines. All data, from various sources(World Bank, U.N., etc.) from 2002-2008 period. Data are a straight average, unweighted for population. Laos and Cambodia must be included as Hanoi has long had almost domineering influence in both countries, dragging both in Hanoi's war and subjecting both to variants of Hanoi's economic Marxist shamanism.

Communist Three Non-Communist Four

Per Capita Income* $2,167.00 $7,075.00

Infant Mortality** 53.27 21.78

Life Expectancy 63.1 Years 71.8 Years

% of Population
Below Poverty Line 26.8 15.7

* Purchasing Power Parity Method
** Per 1,000 Live Births

Nothing new here. In 2005 Hanoi economist Le Dang Doanh cited corruption and single-party control as a reason for Viet Nam's lowly economic status. He cited comparative data showing Viet Nam has regressed in relation to, for example, Thailand and So. Korea:

Viet Nam's Per Capita Income as Percentage of

1950 1999

Thailand 80.5 20.0

So. Korea 85.5 1 1.0

This, after 24 years of 'peace.' Hanoi is now,, sort of, 'catching up.' It's most recent per capita income of $2,600.00 is 32.9% of Thailand's $7,900.00, meaning at present rates and levels Viet Nam's per capita income will equal Thailand's in another 55-60 years, or 90-100 years after 'the war ended' in 1975.

Bears mention that Hanoi ranks 166th out of 175 countries, surveyed in 2009, measuring press freedom ...or lack thereof:

Average ranking and overall index score (higher the number, the less press freedom/greater oppression) of the communist three and non-communist four:

Communist 3 Non-Communist 4

Place 151 1 21

Index Score 69.6 38.76

As this is written retired NVA officer Tran Anh Kim is beginning his 5 1/2 year prison sentence for involvement in pro-democracy activities. He joins Le Thi Cong Nhan, Nguyen Van Dai, Fr. Nguyen Van Ly, scores of Montagnards, and many others jailed for 'subversion' and Orwellian 'anti-state plots.' Others, including attorney Le Cong Dinh, scheduled for trial on similar charges later this month.

In the meantime, Sec. State Hillary Clinton recently lauded U.S. ten-fold increase in trade with Viet Nam in past decade, neglecting to mention huge U.S. current account trade deficit with Viet Nam, meaning Hanoi benefits in terms of jobs more than does U.S. She had little to say about human rights in Viet Nam. Perhaps because there's little human rights to talk about.

If one measures all these indices of death the overall situation is far worse than that depicted by reeducation camp mortality alone. Perhaps some of Paul Bogdanor's information would be helpful to you(scroll down for his Viet Nam bibliography):

Peripheral perhaps to your intent is oppression of religion in contemporary Viet Nam. Hanoi currently ranked 21st worst country in terms of oppressing Christians (scroll down to p. 3):

More information available from U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom:

Overall it is doubtful that anyone has yet to accurately measure misery and death following, and because of, Hanoi's conquest. It extends to Laos and Cambodia, as well as the Thai NE border where a brush fire war, in part Hanoi sponsored, simmered for almost two decades, killing somewhere in neighborhood of 15,000. It far exceeds popular perceptions, and far exceeds what is taught in high schools and colleges.

Hanoi's religious oppression extends to all faiths, all beliefs. The Unified Buddhist Church, now in French exile, has a good website documenting Hanoi's pressure on Buddhists:

Hoa Hao Buddhists, separate from Unified Buddhist Church, also under the gun:

There has also been a great deal of recent turmoil with Viet Nam's Catholics:

And, as you probably are well aware, Montagnard Evangelical Christians subjected to police-state brutality:

A Russian named Sergei Blagov wrote at one time about the long term plans to wipe out religion in the country. This brief article below doesn't contain statements describing Hanoi's specific plans to eradicate religion, but does describe trials and tribulations of the Cao Dai, also oppressed by Hanoi:
Here are some additional sources, info. First group are Catholic websites, last two are from Forum 18, a Norwegian human/religious rights group:

Laos, 2004 Commentary:

From Canada- September 30, 2009 report is available on the EFC website at:

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Taste Buds magazine logo

Lewtrenchard Manor, Lewdown

Sue Stoneman escapes to the moors to sample the Soil to Plate experience at this magnificent Jacobean manor house

I can’t think of a better way to spend a day. The early start for Lewtrenchard’s Soil to Plate experience added to the excitement of what I can best describe as a mixture of a gardener’s delight and a foraging foodie treat.

Dating back to the 1600s, Lewtrenchard Manor has charm and character in abundance for anyone who ventures over the moors to visit. This culinary event is a super opportunity to learn about the history of this family-run Jacobean manor house, and also explore the beautiful grounds and dine in the magnificent restaurant.

After enjoying a leisurely coffee in the lounge with fellow green-fingered guests, we went outside to meet Head Gardener, Martin Ashley. A very interesting talk and walk around the beautiful gardens and orchard followed, with a glimpse in the greenhouse which was full of ripening tomatoes of all different colours, and then into the amazing walled vegetable garden. The soil was bursting with produce, including artichokes, potatoes and neat rows of leeks. Green leaves hid the array of colourful carrots still growing underneath. The polytunnel was crammed with onions laid out to dry, pots of fragrant basil plants and the biggest pumpkins I’ve ever seen! There are plenty of opportunities to walk around and ask questions about your own gardening projects too.

Head Chef Tom Browning and Martin work closely together when planning which fruit and vegetables to grow. Produce is picked and collected every morning, and then taken into the kitchen where Tom creates the menu from the laden wheelbarrow.

Once you’ve lost yourself in this world of Beatrix Potter as I did, you head back to the Manor for a cookery demonstration. Tom talked through the menu, which we would feast on later, and expertly showed us how to prepare fresh scallops, cut up a duck and make vegetable crisps. He also gave hints and tips for the keen cooks among us to try out at home.

Tom is happy to answer any culinary questions while he is working his magic on the excellent ingredients. “Start with a good product and you end with a good product,” says Tom, and he sure knows how to make every dish dance with colour, texture and flavour.

Just as our tummies started to rumble, lunch was served in the restaurant. Every dish was pretty as a picture and bursting with flavours. And we enjoyed every bite as we reminisced about the delightful day spent here.

Sample Menu

  • Raw diver scallop, tomato, lovage
  • Braised ox cheek, leek, mustard seed, kale
  • Glazed duck breast, beetroot, molasses, fennel pollen
  • Iced rhubarb parfait, apple, raspberry, crumble

Soil to Plate: £32.50 per person

Coffee and petits fours: £5.00 per person

Sue loves the complete experience from learning new cooking techniques to being inspired to grow more vegetables in her garden
Lewtrenchard Manor
Devon EX20 4PN

01566 464079

No map available


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The Old Pottery Restaurant

Jeff Cooper enjoys some good home cooking at this friendly restaurant in Bovey Tracey

Tucked away behind the gift shop and museums at the House of Marbles is the Old Pottery Restaurant. I say tucked away, but plenty of people find it as it was pleasantly busy on the afternoon my wife, daughter and I had lunch there.

The building is full of character, with wooden beams and the striking view outside of three old furnaces, once part of the pottery workings. Old black and white photos on the walls add a sense of history, reminding visitors again of the pottery's past. In complete contrast, and somewhat of a surprise when you walk in, is the collection of (almost) life-sized stuffed animals above the kitchen area – a zebra, moving gorilla and ostrich are among the creatures all looking down approvingly at the restaurant.

The warm welcome and efficient service adds to the happy atmosphere generated by contented customers. The menu is large and local produce is sourced; I had a bottle of Teignworthy's Reel Ale (and was asked whether I wanted one from the fridge or shelf), while my wife drank a bottle of Luscombe Lemonade.

You can eat brunch, a sandwich, salads, a cream tea, main meals or lighter meals here, not to mention the large and tempting selection of cakes on display.

There are also wheat-free and gluten-free options. I chose the beef and mushroom pie – comforting on a cold winter's day. The pastry was light, crisp and not too thick, allowing for plenty of filling. The large chunks of tender beef in a red wine gravy did not mask the flavour of the mushrooms, which were cooked perfectly (not too soft). My wife had the spicy vegetable and bean casserole with garlic ciabatta. Again, this was bursting with ingredients – a hearty mixture of celery, swede, courgette, peppers, carrots and sweetcorn and a variety of beans. The spice was mild, adding a subtle heat, and the melted cheese topping enhanced the flavour, while the toasted bread added to the casserole's texture.

Dessert-wise, my choice of lemon meringue pie was a good one. The pastry, similar to that of the pie, was thin and crisp with plenty of intensely flavoured lemon filling and light meringue. My wife's apple and blackberry crumble was packed with fruit and the very generous helping of custard kept her happy.

After coffee we wandered back through the gift shop and wished we could have spent longer here to explore the marble museum and pottery. Well, it's just the excuse I need to return and sample some of those cakes...

On The Menu

  • Roasted squash, goats' cheese and caramelised red onion tartlet with balsamic glaze and leafy salad
  • Homemade salmon and dill fishcake with Mediterranean tartare sauce and leafy salad
  • Toasted ciabatta topped with garlic mushrooms and melting stilton served with a leafy salad
  • Fresh beer battered fish and chips, served with peas
  • Old Pottery Red Curry – chicken cooked with tomato and spices, served with basmati rice and homemade naan
  • Giant Yorkshire pudding filled with local sausages and gravy
  • Golden syrup sponge with custard
  • Trifles
  • A selection of local Yarde Farm ice cream and sorbet

  • Light meals from £4.95
  • Mains from £7.50
  • Panini and sandwiches from £5.45
  • Afternoon tea from £3.75

The Old Pottery Restaurant
House of Marbles
Bovey Tracey
Devon TQ13 9DS

01626 835285


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Food Guide Pyramid

This nutrition lesson is prompted from our reading of “How to Teach Nutrition to Kids” by Connie Liakos Evers, MS, RD. This easy-to-read book is packed with information and activities that, although targeted to educate 6-10 year olds, can be appropriate for all ages. You’ll find the expected coverage of the food pyramid and understanding FDA Nutrition Facts for food packaging, but there are plentiful cooking activities and exercises for the standard classroom subjects – science, social studies, even performing arts – as well.

Teacher Preparation:
Locate a copy of the food pyramid here.

Procedure Ideas:

1. Introduce the Food Guide Pyramid, explaining the number of servings suggested for each group.
2. Ask students to record what they eat and drink for a specified amount of time, preferably a week or more.
3. After each day, have students place foods they’ve consumed into the proper food group.
4. Have students check their food records for balance. Are their diets out of balance?
5. Have students write about what they would do to change their diets to come up with a better balance.

Taken from an worksheet in How to Teach Nutrition to Kids, have students categorize foods advertised in an hour of Saturday morning kids’ TV shows, listing not only food groups, but also various junk foods, beverages, and fast food.