A parcel from America

  One of our goals whilst travelling around Australia is to learn to tune into our senses and use them to embrace our world and learn of new places and towns. This has also included broadening our knowledge of places outside of Australia via the use of the internet. Modern technology is an amazing tool that used correctly and to our benefit can take us places we could not ordinarily go. It is due to the technology of computers that Good Gabble is distributed worldwide.

  So with technology at our fingertips we have been spending time talking to our new friends in America and have embarked on a journey of parcel swapping to enhance our senses of touch, taste and smell and learn more of American culture and our common ( or not so common ) link.

   Thank you William for sending us our wonderful parcel. This was an experience that will remain in our minds for a life time. The box was filled with lots of goodies that we spent an afternoon sinking our teeth into and reviewing. We sat out the front of our caravan and laughed and shared. Sam ran away with the chocolate and Alex got high on Mountain Dew. Celeste just adored her soft cuddly raccoon and I fell in love with Fannie May Chocolates.

  Below is a list of the items that were in our parcel with a description as sent to us by William. We are currently putting together a package full of our Australian goodies and will add a photo at a later date.

  If you would like to swap a parcel with us and enjoy the experience we would be more than happy to share. It does not have to be overseas but can be interstate, from anywhere in Australia. We can share information leaflets, stickers, homemade jams - the imagination being the only limit.

GooGoo Clusters - an American candy bar sold since 1912 in Nashville, Tennessee. The disk shaped candy bar contains marshmallow, caramel and roasted peanuts covered in milk chocolate. GooGoo Cluster is considered the first combination candy bar, meaning it contained several types of candy rather than an all-chocolate bar. During the Great Depression, GooGoo Clusters were advertised as "a nourishing lunch for a nickel"

Moonpie - A classic American snack food, Moonpie originated in 1917 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Moonpie is a graham-like cracker, marshmallow covered with frosting such as chocolate, vanilla or bannana flavour. It's similar to a homemade campfire treat called a S'more ( graham crackers, marshmallow and melted chocolate bars ), which is apparently also unknown outside of American culture. Moonpies are considered old fashioned. They are still sold in "all 50 states", but difficult to find outside the south. William had to put in a special request to get them - we are so honoured, thank you!

Fannie May - is a chocolate company that originated in Chicago in the 1920s and is still only available in the Chicago area where William is from. William included some samples of different items they sell, including Mint Meltaways, Trinidads and one of their chocolate bar types.

Twizzlers - are a popular brand of fruit flavoured candy in the United States and Canada ( often called a licorice candy). William sent us a strawberry flavoured one.

Twinkies - are a popular, even iconic, American snack cake made and distributed by Hostess Brands. They are marketed as a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling". Twinkies were invented in Schiller Park, Illinois about 1930.

Ho Hos - are cylindrical, frosted, cream filled cakes that are also made by the Hostess Company and are sold throughout the United States.

Mountain Dew Baja Blast - A tropical lime flavoured "Mountain Dew" drink. Mountain Dew is high in caffeine and a very popular drink in the USA. This particular flavour is ONLY available as a fountain drink at Taco Bell restaurants. William brought an extra large and resealed it in a regular Mountain Dew bottle to send it to us. Regular Mountain Dew is lemon flavoured and yellow coloured.

Arby's - A popular fast food restuarant chain in the United States and Canada. It is as common as Subway here, but almost never seen overseas. Arby's is primarily known for selling roast beef items. William included some of their best known sauces - Arby's sauce and Horsey sauce.

American Money - All American coins denominations, including the penny, nickel, dime, quarter ( included 3 types of state quarters out of 50 possible!), half dollar, dollar coin and the new dollar coin. We also received an email from William with further currency details.

Hollywood Movies - Included were three films. 1776, a musical made in 1976 for the 200th anniversary of American independence about how the USA came to be. One of the stars is Gwyneth Paltrow's mum, who was five months pregnant with Gwenyth when the movie was made.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, a really crazy teen comedy from the 80's starring Matthew Broderick. It takes place in Chicago and was filmed entirely on location, so you'll see the region of the USA where William is from. Some of it's famous landmarks are in the film.
Star Trek - The 2009 reinventaion of the world's greatest sci-fi franchise. Made by people who never watched Star Trek before and made to appeal specifically to non-Trek fans, It was the 5th highest grossing film of 2009. It stars several Aussie and NZ actors. The world premier was held at the Sydney Opera House, but Aussie still didn't pay any attention. William is a huge Star Trek fan.

Raccoon Plush for Celeste - North America's most famous animal, I suppose the American version of a Kangaroo since they are indigenous ONLY to North America. The toy version is almost life-sized! Raccoons are adorable looking creatures and very playful, but dangerous because they constantly steal things and often carry rabies, so they can't be kept as pets.

Pokemon figure for Alex 

INXS CD's for Sammi - An Aussie item and not American ( sorry!). One of Australia's most legendary bands, but 'too 1980's' for today's teens. Michael Hutchisence was their famous singer, he died in 1997 and included was their last album he recorded along with the first with their new Canadian lead singer. They had a reality TV show to name a replacement and a Chicago came in 2nd place and in 3rd was a young Aussie teen heartthrob of Filipino decent.

  A few items that William wanted to send but ran out of space - Illinois fact book, sports memoriabillia ( stickers, decals etc ) of all their major league sports teams in the Chicago area. Ah well! Maybe next time!

We also received a taste test of Captain Crunch cereal as requested by Sam and Alex.

Checking out the Twinkies

Chocolate faced Celeste with her Raccoon she named Ruby.

A cautious bite!

Fannie May heaven!

Wait! Bring back that chocolate!

Murray Bridge South Australia

   Last week was spent in Murray Bridge S.A taking in the views of the Murray River and surrounding areas. Murray Bridge is situated 80 kms east of Adelaide and is a drawcard to the beautiful Murray River.

  Our stay there was relaxing, to an extent, but as a group who prefer smaller quieter towns that allow us to embrace nature we could not wait to leave the hustle and bustle of city traffic behind. Whilst there we stayed at Princes Highway caravan park - a review can be seen on this site.

  As well as spending time around our camp site putting together upcoming issues of Good Gabble we got fit walking and visiting local parks. Our walk along the Murray River saw us saying hello to a pelican and being greeted by honking geese. We stopped to put a dollar coin in slot to feed the bunyip and watched as he roared and emerged from the depths of his lagoon cage. This was not such an enjoyable experience for Celeste as she cried and I had to move away but she soon became engrossed as younger children stood by and watched.

  The edge of the Murray River hosts a lovely reserve where time was spent on the play equipment that was suitable for both the young and young at heart. Even the dog enjoyed time roaming the reserve and rolling in the fresh green grass.

A little bit of poetry

As I travel ‘round Australia
I’ll write a poem or two
Of emu’s and their mate the roo
Of sheep and cows and poo

I’ll visit all the little towns
With history that’s true blue
I’ll stop to munch on a meat pie
The flies can share some too!

A pee stop at the road house
with some petrol for the car
I think I’ll write about my van
and the miles that we did tow

So if you see a women
Who’s typing on her phone
Give her a nudge and then a wink
As a poem is on the go

(c) Jennifer Deaves

A Little Bit Of Possum Magic!

  Last night we had the most amazing and touching experience. One that little Celeste has been talking about all day today and one that will stay in our memories forever.

  We are currently staying at the caravan park in Keith SA. Over the years we have come back and forth to this caravan as we are made feel very welcome. It is a lovely community caravan park that is neat and tidy and cheap. Everytime we attend we spend our time possum spotting with our torch as the park is known for its nightly visit. There is also a nature reserve next door that is run by the local school as part of the education program. Here we enjoy watching the wallabies graze and play.

   Last night as Celeste and I were returning to our camp after visiting the amenities we were startled by a possum running across our path to the closest tree. This tree was very close to our van. As we stopped to have a look it became evident that he had startled us more than we him. He sat at shoulder height in the fork of the tree looking at us as if to say hello. We stood for a while and quietly spoke to him before I called Samantha, suggesting she grab her camera.

  To our amazement possum friend soon decided to disembark from his tree and come down to ground level to greet us. Whilst being very cautious, listening to every sound, he sat in front of us on his back legs as though begging. As Samantha started to take photo's he progressed forward as though attracted by the light of the flash. It was only when she screamed, as he was going to climb into her lap, that he ran back up into the tree. Although disturbed a little he still allowed Samantha to get up close and personal as he posed for the camera, leaning out to kiss the lens ( or was that eat it! ).

   After some amazing photo's we thanked him for brightening our night and left him in peace. We feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to share a moment of his night........but not as privileged to be given the opportunity to share our tent and van with a mouse.......but that is a story for another night.

Animal magnetism

Upon returning to our tent Celeste and I curled up into bed, discussed the possum and wrote this little poem together. It now sits on the wall of our van with a photo of the possum as a memory of our experience.

Possum, little possum

Sitting in the tree

Smiling for a photo

Looking down at me

A wonder of our nature

A part of this vast land

I will never hurt thee

but pass as I had planned

(c) Jennifer Deaves

A Call That Made My Day.

  Today I received a phone call that brightened my day and made me feel that Good Gabble is making a difference. Good Gabble does not make us money but we do it with passion in our heart, hope for a better world and the goal of making a difference to at least one person every day, if it only be for 5 mins. Today we achieved.

  As I answered my mobile this morning I was greeted by a cheerful and excited voice on the other end who informed me that her name was Maggie Vescio. In our May issue we ran an article titled 'Enjoy Your Nectarine' by Keith Ready. This article spoke of the outstanding service that Maggie, and Nick Quattroville, provide at Nick's Quality Fruit Supply in Naraweena NSW.

  At Good Gabble we feel it is important that "the little man" is given recognition for the good work and service that he provides, therefore it was with pleasure that we ran Keith's article about two people who where going beyond the call of duty and touching the lives of their customers. To also show our recognition we felt it important that we present Maggie and Nick with a laminated certificate that they could display with pride in their shop.

  Maggie and Nick had no idea that we had published the article so were shocked when complimentary copies and the certificate arrived in the mail. Maggie did not have to take the time to ring me and personally thank me but did. It was this small gesture that made my day and made me feel what we are doing is worthwhile. The excitement and cheer in her voice was priceless. We had a lovely chat and I hope to be able to drop in for a visit when we are in NSW.

If we bottled what Maggie and Nick offered this world we would never sell it as how do you put a price tag on something so valuable.

 Thank you Maggie for taking the time to contact me, my day has been brighter because of you.


Do you know someone who deserves recognition? We would love to give them the credit they deserve...contact us at goodgabble@gmail.com




Article published in Good Gabble Issue 4 may 2010

Enjoy Your Nectarine

. . . . and remember genuine service and quality product builds a great business

I live in an area where there a number of what can be described as the traditional family run corner store. From my perspective, the success and viability of the corner store business is totally dependent on good product, good service and convenience combined with great people working behind and in front of the counter. In recent years there has been a resurgence in the corner store business, mainly because many of us are now extremely time poor and need convenience when we shop. Enough of the background, now to my story.

Within walking distance of my home is a unique corner store business. It is owned and run by a local family and it offers a variety of general groceries and convenience items, plus some really great ‘cooked on the premises’ food that you can take home, heat up and eat plus a sensational selection of really good quality fruit and vegetables.

For the last three years I have been a regular customer and mainly for one product - fresh red apples, which I have then given away at the conclusion of training and workshop programs I have conducted on delivering exceptional customer service. Over that time, I estimate that I have purchased in excess of 1500 apples from this corner store because they always have fresh, crunchy, quality red apples with no bruises and dints in them. I am sure you would not be surprised when I tell you that in all that time, I have not had a bad apple.

What has always amazed me about this business is that often just as I am about to leave, the father who the business is named after, presents me with a fresh piece of fruit, such as a nectarine. Just before this happens, I usually see him out of the corner of my eye go over to the fruit section - pick out a piece of fruit, give it the once over and an affectionate polish on his apron, then with a big smile on his face - he offers it to me with his compliments. Now call this what you wish, I see this gesture as a simple expression of appreciation for my business and that he wants to make his customers feel good. The pay off is that I keep coming back to shop not just for the great apples and the free piece of fresh fruit, but because he makes me feel extra special and appreciated.

Nick’s Quality Fruit Supply in Narraweena is owned and run by Nick (the father), Maggie (his daughter) and the other members of the family. They always smile, acknowledge and talk to their customers in a warm and friendly manner and as you would expect they know most of their customers by their first name, including me.

I am sure that Nick, Maggie and all the family also know instinctively that if you treat your customers with genuine courtesy and respect, do the little things very well, appreciate them, offer them the best quality product and are always pleased to be of service - you will create a very successful business and they have.

So what is the message behind this story - when you have your business running with all the right ingredients in place and working well, you have time to do the extra little things that make your customers feel special and talk about you!

Put simply, when we get it all going right, then we can deliver the nectarines in our business.

Written by Keith Ready - Inspired by Maggie and her family

So What Do We Do In Our Spare Time?

We read and we read and we read!

As homeschoolers, lovers of literature and art and writers we love to read and learn. I have been reviewing primary and secondary books for Allen and Unwin for over two years, passing the books onto my own children to read when I have finished. This has not only instilled a love for reading and literature but has allowed us to share some wonderful discussions on the books, what they meant to us, our favourite parts and taken us on research journeys beyond the books.

Whilst we travel this vast land we will continue with our reviewing for Allen and Unwin and along the way, with the help of Good Gabble, will review books for other publishers and authors, expanding our knowledge and sharing our joy with our readers.

Each month I will endeavour to include within this blog spot at least one book review. It is here that you can find my personal expressions of the books that are run as a media release within Good Gabble and also books that have not been mentioned in Good Gabble as they are reviewed for other purposes.

To kick my book reviews off I have chosen to blog Bushfire by Elizabeth Mellor. I received an email from Debbie Higgs of Palmer Higgs books some months ago introducing me to Bushfire and asking if I would run a media release in Good Gabble. This release, along with a competition to win a copy of the book that Debbie kindly donated, was run in our May issue. Here I include my review as a recommendation of a book that is informative, educational and a great resource that provides children with an insight into bushfires and the bushfire plan. Samantha has also included a review to give readers a feel of the book from that of one much younger than myself.

We hope you enjoy our reviews and look forward to your feedback. Have you read a good book lately? We would love to hear about it.

Bushfire –Elizabeth Mellor

review by Jennifer Deaves

Bushfire by Elizabeth Mellor, a reflection of loss, a celebration of life and a book that heals.Having first hand experience of the terror of a bushfire in 2002, Elizabeth writes with truth and detail that takes the reader within the life of Ruby, her family and their hardship and joys.

It all starts on a hot sultry day as Ruby sits under the peppercorn tree with her dog Gypsy. Ruby lives on a property out of town with her mother and her father. Life is soon to change as a bushfire rages across their property. With howling winds, fireballs landing in trees and heat that is described as 'sitting in the middle of a furnace', there is no time for this family to stop as they defend their property and protect themselves against the forces of nature. Ruby hates wearing all the clothing that her parents insist will protect her from the fire but she does not complain. With her lungs filled with smoke and her eyes stinging she unites as a team, with her parents,searching the house for amber's and distinguishing them before fire takes hold. There is little time for the family to stop and no time for sleep as the fire rages through the property.

From the heat and fear of the fire the journey continues as reality sets in and the family are left to clean up the mess left behind and sort out their lives. For days they are alone on their property, with little supplies, left wondering if they were the only lucky ones and hoping that their friends and neighbours are alright. Ruby and her parents, along with Gypsy, soon find themselves amongst others within the community in a camp set up at the local cricket ground. It is here the reader meets the many different characters of the town and is taken on a journey of the affects that the devastation of fire can have on different people.With the use of descriptive detail and emotional statements Elizabeth takes the reader on a journey of heartache and loss, fear and pain but also of joy and elation, mateship and unity. She shows the true meaning of friendship and of community as all work together to help each other get through a time of hardship.

During her time at the cricket ground Ruby meets up with many of her school friends but worries of the whereabouts of her best friend and next door neighbour, Joe. It is not until she goes back to school that she learns, within the playground, of the loss of her friend. This loss is not only felt by Ruby but also by her parents who, over the years, had formed a close friendship with Joe's family. Together Ruby and her family cope with the loss, joining together to remember their friends, the good times they had and returning to the remains of the house where they perished.

The ending of Bushfire is one that leaves the reader feeling an immense loss but also the joy of the celebration of survival and the rebirth of nature. Six months after the devastation Ruby and her parents organise a barbecue for the community at their property. Here they hold a memorial for those friends and family that passed, grieving together,supporting each other. Each takes turns to read the name of a deceased and light a candle in their memory. Tears flow but everyone understands, 'the relief of grieving together was huge'. Finally there were the celebrations. Celebrations of a new life, new friends, new beginnings.

Elizabeth Mellor has done a wonderful job with Bushfire. She has used her life experience combined with her experiences as a qualified social worker and counselor to weave magic into a topic that is often difficult to approach and explain to children. In the early chapters of the book Elizabeth cleverly describes the actions to be taken in the event of a fire and precautions to take to prevent disaster if a fire should hit. In Chapter 2 the reader is introduced to the wearing of fire safe clothing as Ruby and her family dress in their fire gear which includes woollen socks, jeans and long sleeved heavy cotton shirts, they place on their cotton hat and grab their face masks. It is in this chapter that Ruby is given the task of making sure all the windows and curtains are closed and wet towels are placed against all of the outside doors. In Chapter 3, Fire Storm,the reader is introduced to the onslaught of the raging fire. It is here that Jack, Ruby's father, addresses the family describing tasks that must be done to protect themselves and the house. He talks of checking to see that blankets and towels are in the bath, of grabbing buckets and filling them with water and patrolling the house for sparks. Bushfire takes children through the steps of a fire plan, prevention and defense, in a non threatening manner. It is a book that should be read in all classrooms promoting a program of awareness and opening discussions with adults on how to cope in a fire,before it happens and it is too late. Although Ruby and her family experience a bushfire, this book could be used to approach the topic of any sort of fire within any community.

Elizabeth Mellor has written and provides ,as downloads,a parent guide and teachers guide. Both are available free of charge at www.bushfirebook.com.au. Both guides are set out in chapter by chapter format making them easy to follow and use. The teachers guide includes questions and worksheets to be used in conjunction with the book, a valuable resource in any classroom or for the homeschooling family. Also
available on the same site is bushfire information containing helpful websites and organisation to contact. The book and guides provide a very useful, informative resource that is well thought out and compliment each other with great success.

ISBN: 978-0-646-52891-5

Published: 2010

 


Review by Samantha Lo

Bushfire is an inspiring book about a girl named Ruby and her beloved dog Gypsy, who get caught in life threatening fires. Through the book you follow Rudy on her emotional journey. You are with Ruby through the lose of her best friend, the adventure of making new friends and through the building of a new life. I felt the heartache that Ruby felt when she found out her best friend had perished in the fires and I felt the warmth of the community spirit as they pulled together.

I found this book enlightening, warming and heartfelt. Once I had finished reading I felt refreshed and close to Ruby. The book has made me more fire aware and I now feel ready if the time ever arises that I'm stuck in a fire. I found the book to lag in some places, but it was easy to pick up again as I was dying to find out what happened in the end.

Elizabeth Mellor has done a wonderful job at writing a touching book. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an inspiring read of the journey of life after tragedy.

Circus Olympia - A Feast Of Entertainment

  Vibrant colours, glistening gowns and music that moves you is what greets one as they are captivated by Circus Olympia. For the ladies, muscly men flex their stuff, whilst the men are kept engrossed by the well toned bodies of the women in outfits that will leave them drooling. Whilst mum and dad are entertained the little's will be laughing in their seats with the jolly pranks of the clowns and the amazing skills of the farmyard animals.

  We were lucky enough to attend Circus Olympia during it's visit to Mt Gambier SA. It all started with a behind the scenes visit with the local homeschooling group. During this visit we were kindly shown around the circus community by Kyra who answered all our questions and more. Did you know it takes a team of
10 -12 men to put up the tent. It takes one and a half days to erect using hydraulic equipment and 6 hours to dismantle. Should the hydraulics fail it is out with the mallets and by hand each huge peg must be pounded. There are 29 members of the Circus Olympia community with approximately 10 performers. Tasks range from selling tickets and popcorn to taking photo's of the crowd, showing people to their seats and assisting with acts. It is all hands on deck as the circus community unite and join as one.

  I was so inspired by our homeschooling visit that at the end I approach Kyra with my questions on the community within, how it functions, how they all get along and what life is really about. It was then that I met Chavella in the ticket office who was quick to give me a further insight into their life, if only by her interaction with Kyra, and further information on their touring venues and dates. Chavella kindly invited us to the show that evening to give us the opportunity to take photo's of the performance and see how it is all put together when it matters most.

  Circus Olympia took me back to the days of my childhood when attending the circus was a regular family event. The clowns still made me laugh as they pulled a prank or two, interacted with the crowd and filled the gap in between acts. I was still amazed at the skill of the juggling, the flexibility of the acrobats and the discipline of the performers. Circus Olympia showed me that it is possible to take the old and create new. To stay with the tradition but to mold it to suit the next generation.

  My children were just as thrilled and engrossed as I was. Little Celeste just loved the farmyard animals. Who would have thought you could train ducks to obey command, cows to stand on a pedestal and doves to fly and land as required. Of course there was the traditional ponies but this time they threw in the goats as a compliment. One thing I did miss was the cute cuddly dog act which I am so accustomed to seeing in a circus. When I later mentioned this to the children they did not seem to feel the same.

  For my older children ( 12 and 16) there was the thrills and anticipation of the acrobatics with modern music and dance moves thrown in to get all clapping and grooving. I noticed during the performance that there was a row of teenage girls toward the back who on regular occasions were up in front of their seats clapping and dancing, just as they would at a concert.

   Intermission,halfway through the show, did not take away from the suspense and excitement. Time seemed to go past quickly as there was the toilet stop and the purchase of popcorn or fairy floss. For the young, and young at heart, there was the traditional balls in the clowns mouth to try your luck with.

  The second half of the show was full of suspense and intrigue as fire was juggled from high above and fire hoops twirled around the waist whilst suspended in mid air. The clown revved things up a bit with balloons that burst and in ring participation from audience members, oh ! And not to forget the beach ball through the crowd trick.

  After two hours of being enthralled and entertained we left feeling enlightened and on top of the world. Ready to rush out and buy some hula hoops I wonder how many I could twirl all at one time – oh! the days of the old school yard. I questioned how anyone could possibly bend their body like they did and how one can have such perfect balance when I can't even stand on one leg.

  Circus Olympia – Highly recommended for the whole family. With tickets starting at $65 for a family, snacks and souvenirs well priced and entertainment that leaves you feeling breathless how can one go wrong.

  Read more about life in a circus community in July issue of Good Gabble Newzine.

  Grab your copy at http://goodgabble.blogspot.com 


  Find out where you can see Circus Olympia at:    www.circusolympia.com.au