The baths are positively old school. With old school change rooms and steps…
Old school diving blocks…
And an old school pontoon, too.
It’s more lively in the middle of summer…
But it was almost completely deserted last weekend – I say almost because I saw one hardy lady come out of the baths and into the change room!
Ever since I bought Bjork’s 90’s classic album, Post during my uni years, I’ve had a fascination for Icelandic music and Iceland in general. One of my dream holidays as a photographer would be to go to Iceland, but while that remains a pipe dream (for now) I have gotten closer to that mystical island through the music of Bjork and Sigur Ros.
Today I discovered the music of Sigur Ros’s lead singer, Jonsi. My first listen of Jonsi’s first solo album, Go left me so joyful that it lifted me out of the slump I’d been in for much of the morning. It’s a heady combination of Jonsi’s falsetto, lush orchestration, and a sense of optimism that I really rarely hear in modern music nowadays. While I describe most of Sigur Ros’s music as optimistic melancholy, the music of its lead singer is positive and joyful.
Just have a look at this:
I might have only listened to this album once, but for me this will end up being my ‘album of the year’. Which makes me glad to have bought tickets to Jonsi’s show at the Enmore Theatre in early August. Judging by what’s on the album and the reviews of the album and his gigs online, it’s going to be stupendous.
While some people were fishing off watercraft, others were fishing off land. This father and son pair are fishing off a jetty in Oatley Bay, next to the bathing area. In summer, the baths are certainly more popular, but now that the temperature’s dropped the jetty would be a spot to snap up on a weekend.
The track eventually descends 50m or so down to the Georges River. It is cooler and wetter here, so there are a few ferns growing along with the grass trees.
The wildflowers that grow here are different to the ones on top of the ridge. Flannel flowers are absent here. Instead we see the first spray of wattle…
A type of pea flower…
And another one of my favourites, heath bell flowers, which are making their first appearance.
The track around Oatley Park peninsula is a simple, sandy affair. It starts by following the ridge line above the water through dry eucalypt forest. In the shady spots you can see plenty of grass trees growing (of substantial size).
And in the sunny spots a few flannel flowers are starting to bloom. I really like these flowers and want them in my garden – if only I can find a nursery that sells them.
Well, there was a little activity. A few dog walkers on the track, and on the water, two fishermen in a dinghy enjoying the mid-morning tranquility.
Sometimes you don’t know how much you miss something until you experience it again. When I lived in Mortdale I visited Oatley Park several times a month – sometimes several times a week. But now that I’m a whole 7.8km away (according to Google Maps) my visits have become more scarce.
Yesterday’s visit was the first in almost a year (or perhaps more). It was on a glorious morning. I walked my usual circuit around the Oatley Park peninsula. Half way, I sat down on ‘my’ rock overlooking Lime Kiln Bay, an inlet that flows into Georges River further on. It was so still, although not quiet due to some cockatoos nearby. The sun was so warm that even at 9.30am I was able to sunbathe with only a t-shirt.
I don’t know why I haven’t posted about chicken satay, or sate ayam in Indonesian, before. It’s definitely one of my favourite dishes. Who doesn’t love succulent chicken smothered in beautiful peanut sauce? Chicken satay is a mainstay in much of South East Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
Mind you, each region seems have their own version of it. In Malaysia the chicken is marinated in tumeric, and the sauce has coconut milk with the ground peanuts. The chicken in this version from Satay Inn, is deep-fried, and the sauce is undoubtedly a Malaysian style one.
While this is very tasty, I still prefer the Indonesian version, which is a lot simpler. The chicken is marinated in kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and then char-grilled over coals to give it a smokey flavour. The sauce is also simple – ground peanuts, garlic, kecap manis and chilli. But even though it sounds easy to make, making it is actually an art, and to this day I still judge an Indonesian restaurant by how good its sate is.
Ashes to Ashes Series 3 is currently screening in the UK. I’ve been good and not download it (plan to buy the DVD when it gets released in a couple of weeks time), so I’ve had to tide myself over with this skit on, of all things, golf.
The temperature has really dropped this week, and I’m thinking about getting an electric blanket for my bed. It’s time to make some more soup, particularly one of my favourites, pumpkin. This version I made last year had a little apple (from the batch I picked in Bilpin) to balance out the sweetness of the pumpkin. I think I might do the same this year.
Static and Silence 