Dammitalltohell!!!!!!
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Woulda made the Greeks all happy and such, too!
They might even have borne gifts?
Love to see those Oz-Greeks happy! Too bad!
Specially in Melbourne it is good!
Ah, suvlaki, dolmades, saganaki, spanikopita, pastistos . . . i just love that there greek grub . . .
Indeedy doody.... 'tis good grub an' all!
There's a dish which is made with tzatziki (sour cream sometimes substituted), garlic, artichoke hearts and lamb, in a sort of stew--i've only ever had it at the Parthenon, one of the two big-time Greek restaurants in Chicago. I've not ever seen it on the menu since, even on the Danforth in Tarana, known as "Greek Town." A few months back, i had rented a car while the jeep was in the shop. When she was ready to go, the rental agency provided me a ride to the mechanics. The guy who drove turned out to be a Cypriot, and he knew exactly what i was talkin' about. Told me the name of the dish, too. Don't remember now. Anyway, if it is a Cypriot specialty, i'm not likely to find it in Greek Town.
Msolga?
You are challenged!
(She lives in the city with the biggest Greek population outside Athens!)
dlowan wrote:Msolga?
You are challenged!
(She lives in the city with the biggest Greek population outside Athens!)
Indeed, Dlowan! Greek heaven here in Melbourne!
... Love Greek food, Greek attitude to life & Greek politics! I have been in many a march/protest in the company of my Greek Melbournians ... Love em!
Setanta, I'm certain you'd find your dish in one of Richmond's or Fitzroy's Greek cafes ... These are the inner-city cafes where Melbournians go for a fix of Greek food & Greek pleasures!
Don't forget the Greek men !!! <THUD>
Hmmmmmm - yes. I do not know all that many, to be honest.
"How do you separate the men from the boys in Greece?"
"Crowbar . . . "
An oldie and a groaner . . .
Well, i ain'ta gonna plop down a couple a thou just to fly to Melbourne for a plate of lamb stew, be it ever so tasty . . . but, then, if i'm ever down that way . . .
Setanta wrote:"How do you separate the men from the boys in Greece?"
"Crowbar . . . "
An oldie and a groaner . . .
Call me dumb - but I did not get the joke
Sigh - he was suggesting that they were stuck together firmly at the level of the naughty bits....
Aaaaaaaah !!! Sorry - have been too preoccupied with my half yearly performance appraisal today to think of naughty thoughts !
Well! Such ado in Oz about corruption!
In my state, South Australia:
1. There having been a police corruption branch inquiry into certain dealings allegedly by the Attorney General's office which I will explain in a bit, (though you will prolly not read them from boredom - thought there is scandal and such) - a very senior staffer from the Premier's Office is to be charged with abuse of office! Unheard of! And a Premier who is seen as squeaky clean - if arrogant. Hmmmm.
The Attorney general has been cleared.
So - the back story.
Once upon a time there was a Labor Party "heavy" who became a Member of Parliament in the State Government.
He became very unpopular with his own party - because of his way of dealing with people - but maintained a sort of power base. He became annoyed with how his party was treating him, (they were gradually attempting to get rid of him as an embarrassment)and began to accuse others of ill doing - the ilk of those at which he is (allegedly) a past master - like branch-stacking and such. He took elements of his own party to court, and won.
In the middle of all this, his (extremely odd) partner accused him of domestic violence, and the matter went to trial. In the middle of the trial, some "matters" came to the attention of the Director of Public Prosecutions (your DA's office?) which caused the crown to lodge a nolle prosequi in the matter of the assault trial, and everyone went home.
The MP was still an MP - but a most unhappy and turbulent one. The Party managed to get rid of him. He was still unhappy, and accused the Attorney General of something or other - the matter was to go to court.
Later, he accused the Attorney General of offering him blandishments to drop the case. The Attorney General stood down while the matter was investigated.
Now - a senior minder (senior minders here are very active politically and in their parties - many will go on to have their own political careers - they can be veeeerrrry powerful) from the Premier's Office is charged! Yikes....
2. Our current government, though a slightly left wing one, has decided to win votes by "getting tough on crime". Some of their actions have been a little odd, to say the least.
Then - there was a trial recently of a very well to do young man, who had become agitated by calls for help from some young women of his acquaintance, who said they were being stalked by a man in a van in the early hours of the am.
He and cousins got in a car, raced to help them - he with a gun he had taken from his father's collection - a man in a van was shortly thereafter shot in the face - losing the use of an eye. It appears he was the wrong man in a van.
The young men fled.
His daddy got him a very good lawyer - and the matter was plea-bargained down from attempted murder to a lesser charge, the Director of Public Prosecutions having formed a solid opinion that the greater charge would be hard to prove beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge gave the young man a 3 year suspended sentence.
The victim was not happy - and the case has caused a furore - about courts being too soft on crime, plea-bargaining, the DPP, rich people getting easy sentencing etc.
Our Premier got involved - ordering a Solicitor General's inquiry and, as a result, ordering the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal the sentence.
Separation of powers, anyone? Hmmmmmmmm? The DPP does not think the case can get up - but CAN, despite many guarantees of independence in the law, apparently be ordered to do this.
The legal folk (and I, as it happens) are in an uproar re separation of powers. The local Bar Association considered an amicus curiae (spelling?) application to challenge the ordering of the DPP to appeal, but has decided against it.
These matters amuse we locals greatly. (Well, they make me aghast, actually, but I guess that is amusing!)
I bet nobody reads all this! heehee
And, federally, our Prime Minister's Office stands accused, by an intelligence organisation operative who resigned in protest, of "sexing up" intelligence reports from Iraq prior to the war, in order to gain public support for it. This has come out in a Parliamentary Inquiry into how intelligence reports were handled by the government in the lead-up to the war. The PM denies any wrongdoing. The hearings continue.
