Squid Ink.
Travelling the world with a camera, computer and an imaginationPheasant Plucking
On Monday morning, as I casually strolled ten minutes late into my soon-to-be-ex workplace, I glanced at the bulging green shopping bag on my desk. I slung my handbag over my chair as my colleague came shuffling in pointing at the bag.
‘You said you’d be OK with whole pheasants,’ he said.
I stared blankly.
‘You just need to get a knife and insert it below the breasts’.
I peered into the shopping bag on my desk. Inside was a lump of feathers that could have passed for a pillow. A long, flecked feather poked out of the bag, and I could see two pairs of gnarled claws.
The week before, I had received two Pheasant breasts, which I wrapped in bacon and served with dauphinois potatoes. But today, I had two whole pheasants sitting on my desk. My colleague went shooting on weekends, and this time he had been up to Scotland on the hunt. I had boldly suggested I could easily sort out a couple of whole birds myself, and so there they were, on my desk before my morning latte.
PHEASANT PIE RECIPE
- Make an incision into the pheasant with a large knife, preferably into the side of the body that has breasts on it. Not, as I did, into its back.
- Peel back skin (and feathers).
- Avoid getting feathers all over your hands, face and kitchen floor.
- Run a knife down the centre of the bird, between the breasts. Dig fingers under breasts.
- Once you have taken the meat off, chop into small pieces and brown lightly in a frying pan.
- Remove meat, add a knob of butter, one finely chopped leek, one chopped onion, three chopped celery stalks and handful of chopped bacon. Saute.
- Add a glass of white wine, simmer. Add two tablespoons of cream. Add half cup boiling water and one teaspoon gravox. Simmer and reduce.
- Add meat into the pie mix. Prepare a pie dish with rolled short-crust pastry.
- Spoon mixture into the pie dish, cover with a pastry dish and cook for 20 – 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with mash and a green salad.
And that’s it. Truly English Pheasant Pie, no pheasant plucking required!
Related Articles
- I did it my way (ladybirdinfrance.blogspot.com)
- Pheasant roasted in spices and pomegranate molasses and stuffed with pilaf recipe (telegraph.co.uk)
- Pheasant hunting photos (chicagonow.com)
Six months and counting
So this was supposed to be a travel blog. But what happened as soon as my plane left the ground? All thoughts of writing stayed back in Melbourne, along with my fridge, mattress and a few maxi dresses that were just too bulky to pack.
In the past six months, I’ve been up and down the coast of Vietnam, basked in the sun in Thailand, and arrived after a feverish twelve-hour flight to Somerset, the land of rolling hills, cheese and cider, where it’s pretty standard to be stuck in traffic behind a slow-moving apple tractor.
By now, I am already set up in London, along with roughly 120,000 other Aussies. I quickly found a flat and job, but after two months I have already ditched the job. Thus, I am back to blogging. And cooking pheasants.
So now this blog isn’t so much about travel, but about living on the other side of the world and uncovering all it has to offer.
A Fight to the Death
Well, that may be an exaggeration, but Roman officials are at loggerheads with the government over who should own the Colosseum, which brings in EU$35million a year in ticket sales.
The government has loudly declared that all state monuments belong to the country, and Rome should not be solely profiting from its fortunately placed historical sites. However, the city’s culture assessor, Umberto Croppi, declared, “Rome bears the weight of millions of visitors, without receiving any direct benefit”. Clearly, the tourist dollars spent on flights, accommodation, eating, drinking and shopping are not registering on Croppi’s radar…
The battle over the Colosseum is similar to an earlier tug-of-war over Michelangelo’s statue of David. The confusion has arisen since Italy‘s government began selling monuments to move forward into federalism.
I just hope it will still be fine for me to pay my money in November to go in and gaze at the home of the Gladiator.
Related Articles
- Roman politicians gear up for clash over Colosseum cash (guardian.co.uk)
- Italy seeks Colosseum sponsors, raises tourist taxes (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
New UK Passport Design
The British Home Office has released a new passport design featuring better security features and images of iconic landscapes.
The Home Office has stated that folloing changes have been made:
- moving the chip which stores the passport holder’s details to the inside of the passport cover where it won’t be visible. This gives additional physical protection as well as making it much harder to replace the chip without damage to the passport cover being spotted
- a secondary image of the passport holder printed onto the observations page
- a new transparent covering which includes several holograms to protect the holder’s personal details
One of the benefits of the micro-chipped passports is being able to swipe n smile with the elctronic recognition, instead of queing up for immigration at some airports.
Passports began life as simple one-page documents folded into eight, but in their modern iception, the Home Office has had to work to keep ahead of fradusters attempting to dupe immigration.
Oh, and why do I care so much about the new British Passports? Because I got mine today, which means I’m free to jet off to London, get a job, and a house, and live on the other side of the world!
For more information, visit the Home Office.
Related Articles
- Home Office unveils new UK passport (go.theregister.com)
- New passport will have additional security features (computing.co.uk)
- New UK passport design revealed (bbc.co.uk)
Kulula Airlines: Jokes on a plane
Since 9/11, when airports and planes became a no-humour-zone, boarding a flight has become a sombre affair. But no longer.
Kulula Airlines in South Africa have been making a splash with funnies on their safety cards, menus, planes and with their pilots and flight attendants.
These quips have been spreading faster than Richard Branson’s empire, but once again, please enjoy!
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.”
“Me Tarzan, You on hold”, when phoning Kulula and being put on hold.
“To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull the belt tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate one by now, then you probably shouldn’t be allowed out in public unsupervised.”
“There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane.”
“In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite.”
“Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.”
As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: “Whoa, big fella. WHOA!”
“Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to have.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed in Cape Town . Please take all your possessions. Anything left behind will be shared equally between staff. Please note we do not accept unwanted mothers-in-law or children.”
“As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.”
“Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!”
“Welcome to Johannesburg, if this is not where you were intending to go then you have a bit of a problem.”
“Anyone caught jumping on the bed at any Protea Hotel will be charged R2,50 per jump and will be billed when you check out.” (part of a Kulula ad, advertising Protea Hotel rooms).
On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!”
—o0o—
On another flight with a very “senior” flight attendant crew, the pilot said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.”
—-o0o—
On landing, the stewardess said, “Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to have.”
—-o0o—
“There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane.”
—o0o—
“Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.”
—o0o—
As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: “Whoa, big fella. WHOA!”
—o0o—
After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo , a flight attendant on a flight announced, “Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted.”
—o0o—
From a Kulula employee: ” Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”
—o0o—
“In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one
small child, pick your favorite.”
–o0o—
Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines.”
—-o0o—
“Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.”
—o0o—
“As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.”
—o0o—
And from the pilot during his welcome message: “Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!”
—o0o—
