In the centre of Melbourne lies a large Anglican cathedral. There are benches set in the grounds, right by the bustling street. A few weeks ago I noticed this sign set into the pavement in front of one of the seats.
Presumably it dates from a time when Ladies might need some respite and a sit down, but obviously couldn't share a public bench with a man.
It was a little reminder of a different age, while a very 21st century crowd raced past- including me with my modern smart phone on which I took the photo, used software to 'antique' it, and I am even writing this post on the phone - all while thinking of crinolines.
This doesn't look very exciting, but it could be. These are a collection of handwritten recipe books, plus some torn from newspapers, mostly from my mother in law's mother, some from my MiL herself. The earliest goes back to 1913.
I have started slowly going through them and identifying recipes to try out. I find them fascinating from a social history point of view as they show a different way of life going back a century.
There is a lot of duplication, of course, and stuff that doesn't suit most modern tastes, plus recipes that one or the other of our immediate family members would not, or could not, eat. But I thought it would be fun and instructive to work through some of them, test cook them and turn them into modern day recipes.
Progress reports will be posted here. I am still in the very early stages of picking out potential recipes so there won't be photos for a while though.
