Dulcie's Pumpkin Fruit Cake

3 cups of chopped pumpkin

125g of butter

1 level cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 and a half cups of self raising flour

1 cup of sultanas

Put the chopped pumpkin in a small pan with about ¼ inch of water, put on the lid and bring to the boil. Simmer until soft. Drain the pumpkin well and mash it.

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. (Fan assisted ovens heat to150 degrees C)

Put the butter in the microwave briefly to melt it slightly.

Cover the bottom of a square cake tin with baking paper cut to fit. Grease the sides of the tin and the edges of the baking paper with a little of the softened butter.

In a bowl cream the butter and the sugar then add the mashed pumpkin and beat it in.

Add the 2 eggs and beat them in.

Sift in the self raising flour and fold it into the mixture with a spoon.

Add the sultanas and mix them in.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and spread it evenly with the spoon.

Place in the top of the oven.

In fan assisted ovens bake for 1 hour.

If no fan bake for 30 mins then turn tin 180 degrees and bake for another 30 mins.

Enjoy!

The Blue Faced Honey Eater

We saw one of these in the garden this morning!

The cast of Women in Voice 2013

(Left to Right)Annie Lee,Naomi Price, Alison St Ledger,Jac Stone and Carita Farrer Spencer.

Women in Voice

So...yesterday found us at the Judith Wright Centre in Brisbane for the 20^th Anniversary Women in Voice.“Women in Voice is a phenomenon. A courageous concept showcasing talented female vocalists in an upfront, uncomplicated manner, resulting in the liveliest, funniest and one of the longest-running series Brisbane has ever produced.”http://www.womeninvoice.com/I did not know anything about it but had been told I would love it. We were at the matinee performance. It was done cabaret style and we were sat at a table right at the front, by the stage, with our lovely friends Ros and Andrew.  Andrew had booked the table as soon as the tickets became available. All the shows were sold out.Annie Peterson who was in the band ‘One Straw’ with Will was one of the producers. Alison St Ledger started everything off in the style of Shirley Bassey singing ‘History Repeating’. She introduced Jac Stone. Jac had reached the final of ‘The Voice’ here in Australia. Her first song Bob Dylan’s ‘You’re going to make me lonesome when you go’ made me cry! It was only the second song of the show! I just loved Jac’s voice. Annie Lee was on next. Annie is also one of the hilarious Kransky Sisters so we were soon laughing at her portrayal of an awkward and desperate spinster with O.C.D.The second half began with Naomi Price...who sounded Australian to me when she spoke...but was originally from the U.K. She had an incredible voice and sang songs only meant for men to sing. She certainly played up to and was a big hit with the lesbians in the audience. She was talented but Will and I connected least with her. Each show had a guest appearance from someone who had performed in past Women in Voice shows and our guest appearance was by someone they referred to as ‘Crone’! She was pure aussie, full of energy and belted out her song ‘New Yoick style’ complete with high kicks at the end, which was impressive given how big her bones were...if you catch my drift. As in all good shows the best was saved until last...’Dame Farrar’ (Carita Farrer Spencer). I have not laughed so much in ages from the moment she stepped onto the stage in her Carmen Miranda headdress, stumbling, shaking and obviously under the influence of too much alcohol to the moment she was dragged unceremoniously (literally)  off stage by a helpful stage hand. It was an absolute joy! The joy was only marred briefly when she stumbled into the audience, obviously on a man hunt and I was very aware that there were very few men within easy range. Happily she chose stage left and not right, where we were sitting.When it was over I felt quite drained and was unsure if the tears I was still wiping away were those of laughter or sorrow that I had missed the last 19 years of this wonderful show.Afterwards we went to Tibetan Kitchen for a Tibetan Feast, of momos, bhajis, tofu curry, lamb curry and tandoori chicken.It was a wonderful day out!

The 'Chastine Maersk'

The ship carrying our belongings to Oz.What a lovely shade of blue!...I approve and hope itwill blend into the horizon so that Somali Piratesdon't see it!