Entries by Debbie Worgan

The Labyrinth

Reviewed by Heather O’Connor

Amanda Lohrey

Text Publishing, $24.99

This is the winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Award and currently shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year – a great reward for the 74-year old Tasmanian writer. It tells the story of a woman who moves to a small village on the south coast of NSW in order to be close to her son, recently sentenced to years in a local prison for homicidal … Read more »

Robbie Hart  – 20 years of miracles

Georgina Adamson

I chanced on Robbie Hart late one quiet afternoon outside her salon, Miracles by the Sea, watering her little bit of vertical garden. She proudly told me that it was the twenty-year anniversary of Miracles offering hair-care services to the community. That’s a lot of heads.

Robbie has always maintained a gentle, quiet but important presence in the community. She is well and truly a local – a fourth generation member of the McVeity family, starting life … Read more »

After Story

Reviewed by Heather O’Connor

Larissa Behrendt

This is the most enjoyable book I have read this year. Thanks again to the wonderful staff at Candelo Books for the recommendation.

An Indigenous mother and daughter travel to the UK for a literary tour that introduces the mother, Della, to Sherlock Holmes, Virginia Woolf, DH Lawrence, the Brontë sisters, Dickens, Jane Austen and others, most of whom she only knows through television shows. Her daughter, Jasmine, is a trainee lawyer; for her, literature has been a life-long comfort. She was only three when her … Read more »

Spring – the time is right

Keith Mundy

With spring now with us, I thought it opportune to discuss some issues that are relevant to this period in the gardening calendar.

Plants expend an enormous amount of energy in spring doing what they do, like flowering and fruiting or extending their size through new growth and now is the time to help them along with some additional nutrients.

There are some fertilisers that can be applied to nearly all plants, like blood and bone, but these don’t have all the nutrients available that are specifically required by … Read more »

Ellie’s Caramel Slice

I have been asked to feature three of my special recipes. Currently in our lockdown and after going through the bushfires and trying to keep our lovely store in Quaama operating, I offer you a little insight. I am a country girl born and bred on Monaro. These recipes are dedicated to our ancestors and to my love of cooking.

Prepare your slice tin with a light spray of canola oil and line with baking paper. Prepare the base which consists of 1 cup … Read more »

Ellie’s Mini Quiches

You will need a couple of small flat bottom tins like small muffin trays
1 packet of frozen shortcrust or puff pastry – set out and thaw.
When thawed out, use a glass or cutter to make the size fit the tins
Mix 1/2 cup grated tasty cheese with 2 eggs and 1 cup of thickened cream.
Just add some pepper and a little pinch of salt.
Set aside and prepare your fillings:
Thawed frozen spinach, mushrooms slowly cooked … Read more »