When will Australia produce its own food again?

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, Old Koreelah said:

I trust your pizza oven is also home-made...

Wash your mouth out with home brew! Of course it's homemade. Just like the minestrone soup that's currently simmering away in the crock pot.

 

I went to the two big supermarkets this morning looking for some simple, plain biscuits. Have you ever noticed that the biscuit section is overrun with crackers an savoury shapes, with very few old favourites? The only way you'll get the old favourites is by buying a Family assortment. They just don't sell the types in their own packets.

 

Can anyone remember the days when the grocer had biscuits loose in 4-gallon tins, and you could buy 3d worth of broken biscuits?

[nomadpete]

I grew up in Villawood. Our local shop (there was only one shop) did that. And my thruppence worth of broken biscuits were served in a brown paper bag.

[onetrack]

Nope, can't recall broken biscuits being sold for thruppence. Maybe because there were few shops nearby in the remote rural area where I lived as a child, 11 miles out of Perth!

 

Neither did we have any electric power, nor mains water, nor any rubbish collection service. And we didn't get a sealed road until 1955.

 

But I do remember being able to buy smaller-than-standard-size ice cream cones from the shop near our primary school, for 3d. A standard Peters ice cream cone was 6d in those days, and that was serious money.

 

Maybe OME can scrounge up one of Peters old ice cream cone machines! These machines made 72 ice cream cones in 1-1/2 mins, and wrapped and packed them as well!

 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83213182

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, nomadpete said:

served in a brown paper bag.

And you gave the paper bag to your Mum, who ironed the creases out of it and used it for yout tuckshop order on Monday. You only got a tuckshop lunch on Mondays because Mum was out of fresh bread on Mondays. 

[pmccarthy]

Three was a flat Nestles chocolate that came for 3d with an Aviation Card!

[old man emu]

[nomadpete]

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

And you gave the paper bag to your Mum, who ironed the creases out of it and used it for yout tuckshop order on Monday. You only got a tuckshop lunch on Mondays because Mum was out of fresh bread on Mondays. 

Nah, we didn't have a tuckshop. Mum repurposed the paper bag for my lunch the next day - usually a Kraft processed Cheddar cheese sandwich made from two slices of white bread curling up at the corners after it had sat in the sun for half a day.

 

Not surprisingly none of the other kids in my class offered to swap lunches with me. Come to think of it some kids didn't bring lunches. We didn't see that as odd. We just saw them having more time for playing (or bullying) during lunchtime!

 

To this day I can't abide soapy Kraft processed cheddar cheese!

 

Oh, and my mum didn't own an iron. She rebelled against anything that sounded like housework.

Edited February 3, 2021 by nomadpete
Afterthought added

[old man emu]

Did you ever have peanuts in tomato sauce sandwiches?

[nomadpete]

Threepence - Tray

Sixpence - Zac

shilling - Bob

Deena?

 

Are there others?

 

I think these were corruption a of European words. We had about half of our school population filled with European migrant kids. I didn't know they were wogs etc, until I went to a high school that didn't have the diversity that I enjoyed during primary school years. To me they were just other kids, whose mums and dads didn't speak very well.

[old man emu]

Deener was another name for a shilling.

a "pound" was a fiddly-did

A "pony" was five pounds.

A "spin" was five pounds

A "brick" was ten pounds. The note was the same colour as the current $20 note. Famous horse race caller, Ken Howard, was want to use the phrase, "London to a brick, on" meaning that the punter is so confident of winning the bet that he is prepared to put all of London on the horse to win one brick, or in Howard's case, the result of a photo-finish would go a certain way.

 

In the 21st Century, Australians have become so dumbed down by the tripe they are fed from the USA that the sparkle has gone out of the language that was once so distinctive. How many younger people do you know who have a witty nickname, or nickname at all? As for names for money, now it's all "tip'n'go" electronic transfer. People think that you are odd if you sprinkle your conversation with similes and metaphors. 

[nomadpete]

True, when I had to deal with aprentiles, I had to repeatedly stop to interpret for them. They had no sense of rhyming slang at all

[pmccarthy]

Deena was the same size and shape as the Iraqi dinar, it was a term brought back from the WW1 blokes.

[old man emu]

500 pounds was known as a "monkey". Referring to £500, this term is derived from the Indian 500 rupee note of that era, which featured a monkey on one side.

[willedoo]

9 hours ago, nomadpete said:

Nah, we didn't have a tuckshop. Mum repurposed the paper bag for my lunch the next day - usually a Kraft processed Cheddar cheese sandwich made from two slices of white bread curling up at the corners after it had sat in the sun for half a day.

 

Not surprisingly none of the other kids in my class offered to swap lunches with me. Come to think of it some kids didn't bring lunches. We didn't see that as odd. We just saw them having more time for playing (or bullying) during lunchtime!

 

To this day I can't abide soapy Kraft processed cheddar cheese!

 

Oh, and my mum didn't own an iron. She rebelled against anything that sounded like housework.

I still don't eat butter because of those awful primary school era sandwiches. As you say, white bread curled on the corners by the sun. And in my case, a nauseous mix of sun melted butter and jam or vegemite in the centre. And those state government supplied little milk bottles in the middle of summer. They were dropped off in the morning after we were in school, left in the sun in crates. By little lunch they were boiling hot. By the end of the day, we were all glad to get on that old Bedford bus and get the hell out of there.

[Jerry_Atrick]

On 30/01/2021 at 5:38 AM, Yenn said:

Working on the farm for the dole is not going to happen. The farms are way away from the out of work population.

I have heard that the farmers were wanting workers, because Covid stopped backpackers coming in. I have also heard that they were not interested in Aussies who could supply their own accomodation. The rort was that labour hire companies provide workers for farmers, but the rip off the workers by providing third rate accomodation at high prices.

I have seen that accomodation a few years ago when i stayed at a caravan park near Stanthorpe. The backpackers were in humpies and old caravans, covered with tarps to keep out the rain, All messing together in a big camp kitchen and enjoying the life, but they would not want to live like that for very long. It was nearly as bad as i put up with in the peacetime British army in the fifties.

I think there is a simple way to change the above..

 

To entice the unemployed out to the farms.. For the able-bodied and able-minded (OK... this will bea bit tricky)... You can keep the dole, but, if you are offered farm work and refuse it, you get to keep the dole, but lose the concessions - see a GO - you have to pay the gap, pay full price for travel, etc. etc..

 

For the farmers ripping off the labourers with extortionate rents, a simple comparison to like rentals in the area and they pay 3x the difference in tax should sort that out.. Or, if an employee can get the same or better accommodation cheaper in nearby locations, the farmer has to pay the difference between the price the employee pays for rent and what they were wanting to charge.. you will see things normalising (BTW, I see a few faults in the above, but, it was a quick thought - I am sure with more thinking, I could do better).

 

Where there's a will, there'sa way...
 

On 30/01/2021 at 10:06 AM, willedoo said:

There's some crook jobs around. When I looked after my dad when he was sick, I qualified for seven hours respite per fortnight funded by the DVA. Our care provider was RSL Care and I opted to have the seven hours of a free carer in one period once a fortnight. This gave me a few hours off per fortnight to buy groceries etc. and have a short break. The lady carer who regularly came out was a wonderful carer, a 12 out of 10. Carers do a hard and often thankless job, and in her case, she was only on about $22 per hour. They provided their own car, but got a fairly good per klm. rate paid to compensate.

 

She showed up one day and told me it was her last visit as she'd quit her job. On one of her rostered days off, the woman in charge (Stalin's daughter I think it was) rang and asked her at short notice to come in and do a half hour caring job for someone. She was expected to get ready for work and drive miles out into the country for $11 on her day off. So she told the Commandant 'No thanks, can you find someone else to do it'. When she next arrived at work, she was told by the Commisar that if she wanted to keep her job, she had to undergo a re-education course to correct her attitude. Needless to say she told her boss to stick her job. All that for a miserable $22 per hour. I couldn't believe how badly paid and treated they were considering the type of job they do.

I sympathise with her.. If you think about it, some of the more important jobs are paid the worst and treated as if they are disposable.

 

What I hate is the compartmentalisation of people. This is what I call the "Harvard School of Management Way".. Even before the onslaught of technology, have you thought about how we classified and compartmentalised people for work.. If you are in a position of management, then you know better than any underling.. right? If you have a degree - or have a folio of certifications - you are better than the person who has been doing the job and above it for many years - right?

 

To be honest, Australia is even worse than this than America. Everything is done to a formula - you fit the formula and you are good; you don't and you are bad. The carer obviosuly didn't fit the corporate mentality formula, yet she was effective at what she did - and no dount loved it. But, she has a life, too.  I went for a job at a prominent Aussie bank based in Sydney - just fined $1.3bn for regulaotry failures around payments (after they had already been fined some $200m a year ago, I think). It was all online - no speaking to anyone. After submitting my CV, I had to do an online psycometric test... FFS - it was about an hour.. They are so easy to game.. 1/2 waty throgh, I realised the sort of person theyare after - and it was certainly not me.. They think their tests will yield results - well, they will give you a certain compliant person... The reality is, if anyone does org psychology, that propers tests take a long time, and part of it has to be done in person..

 

Has anyone had a really great ab-initio flight instructor - the person who will probably be most responsible for your flying regardless of whatecver level you achieve - yet the great instrucor will be paid a pittance.. Something is wrong - it#s not about socialisim - it's about value to society.

 

 

On 30/01/2021 at 1:06 PM, spacesailor said:

My daughter has applied for a " front desk " job at a Dr,s. 

last week she did 3 days training,

BUT was only offered a ONE DAY A WEEK JOB.

spacesailor

Welcome to Job sharing - A great way to hide unemployment by those seeking re-election.

 

On 30/01/2021 at 8:57 PM, Old Koreelah said:

Across this nation (and lots of others) aging women are the hidden casualties of our foreign wars. They spent their lives caring for an alcoholic, violent, mentally-maimed husband or father. When his torment finally ceased, they were left with plenty of health problems of their own, but also homeless, unemployed, without savings or work qualifications.

 

Meanwhile, obscenely well-paid lackeys of the weapons industry retire to their mansions and their expensive toys.

 

 

Only one thing to say to this.. (I couldn't find a salute).

 

On 31/01/2021 at 3:28 AM, Yenn said:

Now it is not lackeys of the weapons industry, but CEOs and directors of just about any business. Most of them are paid 20 or more times what the person who does the work gets and never do any work at all.

The more work a person does, the less they get paid.

I am only glad that I did my working life before this happened, but now the money I managed to save is worth nothing. The percentage return on savings or even the return from top quality shares is miserable.

On the annuity thing - I feel fo you... Which is one reason why I can't see myself ever retiring (until I am too numb to worry about it). I know there has been some upward pressure on interest rates, but the reality is that central banks have been doing QE for so long, an increase in rates may cost them dearly as the value of what they have plummets and they have to over it to allow them to do their job of stabilising their economies. Ultra low interest rates can't last forever, but when they rise, the fallout may well be such that any increase in absolute returns is worthless...

 

Of course, I have been wrong before.. many times..

 

On 31/01/2021 at 4:10 AM, spacesailor said:

YEN ,

l totally agree,

what,s got up my nose with CEO,S, is /was, the fact they can have a ROLLS ROYCE, as their ride !.

All payed for by under paying their Share members a reasonable return.

EVEN MORE is the CEO,S of charity organisation's, were only a Pittance goes to the needy !.

spacesailor

For some reason, hitting winner wasn't working.. Winner!

 

On 02/02/2021 at 9:54 PM, old man emu said:

I'll think about how to make them while I'm making some pizza dough for a homemade pizza tonight. Ground beef and onion topping with caramelised onion, capsicum and mushrooms.

And you don't habe a Pizzeria because?

 

On 03/02/2021 at 2:09 AM, old man emu said:

Wash your mouth out with home brew! Of course it's homemade. Just like the minestrone soup that's currently simmering away in the crock pot.

 

I went to the two big supermarkets this morning looking for some simple, plain biscuits. Have you ever noticed that the biscuit section is overrun with crackers an savoury shapes, with very few old favourites? The only way you'll get the old favourites is by buying a Family assortment. They just don't sell the types in their own packets.

 

Can anyone remember the days when the grocer had biscuits loose in 4-gallon tins, and you could buy 3d worth of broken biscuits?

Nope.. but I do remember those tins.. We still get tins of some sort here... Yummo.. Tin tastesso much etter than nickel 😉

 

 

On 03/02/2021 at 3:26 AM, old man emu said:

And you gave the paper bag to your Mum, who ironed the creases out of it and used it for yout tuckshop order on Monday. You only got a tuckshop lunch on Mondays because Mum was out of fresh bread on Mondays. 

Do I miss the paper bag tuck shp orders and at lunch time, the hot Four 'n 20 pie and sauce.. They were 22c, and I always got 3c change... Musk Sticks all around...

On 03/02/2021 at 5:23 AM, old man emu said:

Did you ever have peanuts in tomato sauce sandwiches?

Maybe put a hold on that Pizzeria idea!

[nomadpete]

Thank you Jerry. I had run out of books to read.

[old man emu]

2 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

And you don't habe a Pizzeria because?

I haven't got enough dough to pay Uber for delivery.

[facthunter]

No buses went the way I did. A near 2 mile walk each way from age 4. Did most of it in a storm drain and got Crorchies (yabbies) on the way. Last mile along a railway line. Get out of the way when a train came. Lumps of coal that fell off the trucks kept all our fires going including the copper. Lit by me on Mondays to boil the clothes. Nev

[spacesailor]

Jerry A,

Back-packers  working on farms ,.

Do n,t you remember the pig farmer !, who,s cheap labour moved on, but never called Home again.

Had his drains blocked by thousands of Human teeth, found by the plumber, who called the bobby,s.

Not even satisfied with ripping them off, but used them as extra pig food, must have been cheaper than shop bought swill !.

spacesailor

[nomadpete]

Nev, you lucky barsteward.

What a great story! You had great physical fitness from a young age. And as for bringing home seafood and coal, you were taught the importance of contributing to the well-being of the whole family, too.

Such lessons must have been an asset throughout life!

[Jerry_Atrick]

18 hours ago, nomadpete said:

Thank you Jerry. I had run out of books to read.

🙂 When I havean Aussie red, no probs, but drinking a NZ white, I am a blubbering mess.. Thakfully I didn't write too much..

 

17 hours ago, old man emu said:

I haven't got enough dough to pay Uber for delivery.

The idea is to make the dough.. .

 

14 hours ago, spacesailor said:

Jerry A,

Back-packers  working on farms ,.

Do n,t you remember the pig farmer !, who,s cheap labour moved on, but never called Home again.

Had his drains blocked by thousands of Human teeth, found by the plumber, who called the bobby,s.

Not even satisfied with ripping them off, but used them as extra pig food, must have been cheaper than shop bought swill !.

spacesailor

Hmm.. Be wary of those GPs.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman Though I seriously doubt he hung himself...

 

10 hours ago, nomadpete said:

Nev, you lucky barsteward.

What a great story! You had great physical fitness from a young age. And as for bringing home seafood and coal, you were taught the importance of contributing to the well-being of the whole family, too.

Such lessons must have been an asset throughout life!

Jest as ye may... but if the youngans today had to do it.. they world would probably be a better place... Of course, I wouldn't need to have done it...

[nomadpete]

My comment to Nev was serious.

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

A month ago, my oldest grandkid ( footballing 17 year-old ) tried to get one of those fruitpicking jobs at Shepparton. He would have got there himself.

Alas, the terrible shortages were just hot air, and he was not wanted at all.

His great-grandfather ( my father ) used to ride his bike from Port Adelaide to Renmark ( nearly 300km ) to get fruitpicking work. Well at least the work was really there.

[facthunter]

Thanks Pete. I probably thought that by going the way I did, I was less likely to be mugged than on a bus and it cost money and didn't tie up well  for connecting both ends either.' I also started body surfing at Cooks Hill SLSC at a very young age. My Uncle was a notable there and he double dinked me on the bar of his pushbike. from Adamstown..  I was a pretty fast runner over short distances and that's a good asset when you are  a little kid, about on your own.. Nev

[Marty_d]

On 05/02/2021 at 12:32 PM, old man emu said:

I haven't got enough dough to pay Uber for delivery.

And you have to stretch the dough you have.  But if you end up with a square meal, you've done it wrong.