Life

Going Down… Under! Julian Clary returns to OZ!

Julian Clary has certainly kept himself busy since he was last in Australia six years ago. e’s had three books published, performed in London’s West End and tried his hand at ballroom dancing but is finally returning to his roots… stand-up comedy.

Clary’s latest one man show, Lord Of The Mince, has been playing to sell-out crowds in the UK and has Australian fans eagerly awaiting his seventh tour down under. (more…)

Poached Eggs: The Dangers Of Donating

Women looking to donate their eggs should be aware of all the facts and the laws governing the issue because once the eggs are fertilised they are no longer considered the donor’s property.

In an unusual case held before the Family Court of Australia in August last year, a Sydney woman and her husband used their sperm and egg to make a child that the woman’s mother, Lauren, then carried as a surrogate. (more…)

Bitchin’ Kitchen: Auntie’s Fluffy Scones

My mum and my Aunty both loved to bake and I guess I inherited the ‘baking gene’. Every house wife from the 1950’s onwards at some point tried their hand at this simple but classic treat. Simply, nothing is more like home than freshly baked scones ,served hot with jam and cream.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups of self raising flour (plus extra for rolling)
1 pinch of salt….. (Our neighbour, Mrs Sutton, used to say that anything that rises in the oven should have a pinch of salt to stabilize it)
300 ml of thickened cream (some use milk but I think cream makes them fluffy)
300 mls of water (I like to use soda water or lemonade to give added lightness)
Note: if adding sultanas soak them in a little milk overnight. (more…)

Bitchin’ Kitchen: Hot Crossed Buns

There is a certain knack to being able to make things rise successfully and my buns have been known to be quite popular. As an apprentice, I was taught about food chemistry and how yeast works and I wanted to make a traditional yeast bun at home. From the first week of January through until Easter, you can buy them in super markets but there is a certain satisfaction in baking them yourself. Needless to say they are delicious. (more…)

Belle Of The Pall

Belfast and the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland make for good times both urban and rural—no matter what the weather.

Gay and Irish. Imagine the deliciously humorous remarks resulting from THAT genetic combination. Self-effacing as always, the locals would probably say they are merely normal. If that’s the case, there’s no hope for the rest of us would-be comedians. (more…)

Cultivating The Right Attitude

February was a brilliant month in the garden. At least I think it was. Unless of course you were a plant in my garden. Then, well, you would have appreciated the time I spent learning how to be a better gardener this month… as you withered away from an overly enthusiastic combination of sun and easterly. Being too hot outside I thought I would spend my time usefully learning something at a couple of garden lectures instead. (more…)

Subaru Liberty

The mid-size Subaru Liberty, known as the Legacy in most other parts of the world, has been completely redesigned for 2010, and it’s grown larger inside and out, including a refreshed power train lineup, with upgraded engines in the turbocharged 2.5GT and six-cylinder 3.6R models. While the outgoing Liberty could trace a few of its components all the way back to 1989, the new version is built on a new platform, based somewhat on the Impreza and WRX, and shares nothing with the 2009 model. (more…)

Grrl On Grrl Action Rolls Into Town

It’s rough, its wild, it has an aesthetic somewhere between burlesque and punk and it’s fast becoming the ultimate in women’s sport entertainment.

Roller derby as a sport has its origins in the 1920’s and 30’s and was hugely popular in the United States for many years. Originally started as an endurance sport for both men and women, the game was modified in the 30’s to allow for more physical contact and became a predominantly, but not exclusively, women’s sport. (more…)

Andrea Goldsmith

Andrea Goldsmith isn’t yet a national treasure, but it’s hoped she will be. Soon. Goldsmith, the partner of the late Australian poet Dorothy Porter, has successfully carved a name for herself as an accomplished novelist. Her latest work, Reunion, deals with notions of friendship and how we perceive our own pasts. (more…)

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls

Directed by Leanne Pooley

If you haven’t heard of the world’s only comedic, country singing, dancing, and yodelling lesbian twin sisters, then you had better get yourself acquainted with the Topp Twins – and fast.

Jools and Lynda Topp started performing at 17 years of age, busking in Auckland and drawing such huge crowds they were in trouble with the police. Speaking to OUTinPerth from her home in New Zealand, Lynda recalled action-packed days early in the twins’ career. Particularly memorable was being arrested by two police constables and having to draw on her best Ironside knowledge of the law when they turned up to court to defend the charge of obstructing the footpath. The charge was dismissed because the twins were not actually obstructing the footpath – the crowd was. (more…)