My Monthly Chronicles: May 2026

 

May promised to be quieter and we did have some busy days - Mothers Day, cafes, the farmers market, the history society, plus some interesting outings to a Distraction exhibition, art house cinema and a shop that makes its tofu on the premises.  However we had a couple of weekends that were fairly quiet, which was lovely after some interesting months but I am still feeling behind on everything.

More about our food this month at In My Kitchen: May 2026.

Smith and Deli, Collingwood 

I have been visiting Smith and Deli  (107 Cambridge Street) since its second day of trading in its first location in Fitzroy, often when we visited the Fitzroy Market when it was in the nearby school.  It has made me feel nostalgic for those days as they have been revisiting some of the Smith and Deli favourite sandwiches that I wrote about in 2016, with different old versions each week.  Sylvia has been there for a few of these back to Fitzroy specials.  She has had the Foghorn Leghorn and Maury Ballstein without me but I could not resist coming for the Home Alone.  That is definitely the best festive vegan sandwich.  

Sylvia and I bought two sandwiches and had half of each.  We got there early and had the Home Alone: house made turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cabbage, gravy and cranberry sauce on a turkish roll ($21, up from $15 in 2015) and the Wiggum: fried tofu, pickles, house made slaw, BBQ sauce and aioli on fresh sourdough bread ($18, up from $12 in 2015).  They were excellent.  I was sad that the brussel sprouts in the original were replaced with cabbage and also preferred the long bread roll in the original Home Alone but it was gret to have one again.  It was so filling that I took my half of the Wiggum to eat when I met at friend at the Melbourne Connect courtyard for lunch before seeing the Distraction exhibition.

Distraction exhibition at The Science Gallery, Carlton

I had been keen to see the Distraction exhibition at the Science Gallery in Melbourne Connect  (700 Swanston Street) because I get distracted so easily these days.  I enjoyed walking through with a friend and laughing about how it affects both of us, but in different ways.  This spinning wheel offered options for Bye Bye Brain Rot.  My favourite of the solutions on the wheel were Brick Mode: "on land put your phone in airplane mode [holds up phone] 'this thing, it's a brick!'  Talk to people.  See things.  Do things" and Away Message: "When are you most able to focus?  Block your schedule during your power hours.  Your auto reply: I'm zapping distractions right now.  Sorry.  Bye."

There was lots else in the Distraction exhibition.  The video game with the message "my original game got deleted on accident so enjoy hanging out as a cute pigeon."  The cat island montage of cat videos from Ainoshima Island, Japan was quite mesmerizing.  You can see my friend playing with the option of standing on the spot and making cat ears for his shadow.  Ww also spent time in the area where we were invited to lean back and get lost in time for a while, using a simple crochet chain stitch.  It was such a zen activity to sit and crochet in a quite space.  I loved seeing the my friend who is a tall guy who loves sports and science but enjoyed sitting in an rocking chair crocheting with bright pink wool.  

Upfield bike path street art, Brunswick

Sylvia and I had a long walk along the Upfield bike path.  We almost made it to Tofu Shoten but it was getting late and we took a tram for the last few blocks so that we got there before it closed.  On the way I snapped this photo on the wall of Ima Pantry.  I just love this omusabi on the bike with a little pussy cat on it's head.

Tofu Shoten, Brunswick

Tofu Shoten (6B Saxon St) is an artisan store that sells tofu, soy milk and okara, all made on the premises.  It is not the cheapest tofu you will buy but it is really lovely.   It is quite unusual to see a bag of okara (the fibrous byproduct of making the soy milk) for sale.  We made a few purchases and sat on a bench nearby - behind the Brunswick Library - to sample the wares.  

Sylvia had a pandan soy milk which sold for $9.50 for a 500ml bottle.  Hers was by the cup but I did not note the price.  It was a lovely green and tasted strongly of soy.  The banana bread soy milk that we took home was much nicer with the banana and spices being the dominant flavour.  We shared an Okara Biscuit Sando filled with Pumpkin and Spiced Apple ($5.50).  It was really delicious and unusual.  We need to return for more of these sandos which have different fillings.  You can see more about my purchases at In My Kitchen: May 2026.

Kevabs, Brunswick

Ad we were finished at Tofu Shoten around 5pm on a Friday, I suggested we bring forward our plans to have a Mothers Day lunch at Kevabs (89 Sydney Road). I visited there years ago and really enjoyed the vegan Middle Eastern food.  It is very casual with games and a huge floral map of the world on the wall.  We tried the Fusball game while we waited but were not very good at it.  We were better at digging into the salads, especially the delicious pesto pasta salad.  The bean salad and kale cesar salad with falafel were nice but weren't fought over in the same way as the pesto salad.  

The other highlight at Kevabs was the dirty fries (with gravy and veagn cheese) .  The gravy was the real hero of the dish.  It was thick and tasty and made the fresh hot chips taste even better.  The vegan cheese shreds were ok but I am always less of a fan of cold vegan cheese compared to melted, and especially on hot chips.

Melbourne Writers Festival

I snapped up tickets to see some of my independent media heroes at the Melbourne Writers Festival before realising that it was Mothers Day.  I managed to spend time with my daughter and my mum on the day so no regrets.  It was amazing to see a panel of Antoinette Latouf, Antoun Isssa and Amy Remeikis with Osman Faruki as moderator on the topid of Breaking News: The Rise of Independent Media at the gorgeous location (what is it' name) in the city.  

It was so interesting to hear them discuss the challenges of working in the mainstream media and then moving to independent news platforms.  Some of the topics were about being told their cultural backgrounds made them biased as though bias is not something we all carry; the press gallery being too close to politicians to report objectively; and the influence of billionaires on mainstream media.  I loved the hope, the intelligence, the passion and the cameraderie of the panel.  These independent journalists are well worth following (check out Ette Media, Deep Cut, The Point).

Mothers Day at Archive, Geelong

After the Melbourne Writers Festival panel and doughnuts at home with Sylvia, I drove to Geelong for a late afternoon catch up with my mum and family at Archive Wine Bar (140 High Street, Belmont).  It was great to sip on non alcoholic bubbly, nibble on the snack boards and catch up with family.  (Photo by my sister, Fran).

Tylers Milk Bar, Preston

We had a flying visit to Tylers (656 Plenty Road) before an appointment.  Sylvia had a vegan cheese and tofu bacon toastie, I had a zucchini and parmesan muffin with dressed leaves on the side.  It was quick and filled the spot.  Sylvia was very impressed the with drink special: Hot Malt Mocha Latte which was served with choc malt dirt around the rim and melting down the side.  We took away a funfetti cookie and a rhubarb, blackberry and ginger muffin that were very good.

Mister Nice Guy, Ascot Vale 

It has been a long time since I have been to Mister Nice Guy's vegan bakery (151 Union Road).  Too long!  We got a window seat where I had a Spinach and tofu quiche and a Popcorn mudslide cupcake.  I liked that the quiche had a good firm texture with a lot of unseasoned tofu in it.  I topped it with sauce and really enjoyed it.  The chocolate cupcake was lovely with a mound of frosting.  I ate more frosting than I usually would because I was busy hunting for the caramelised popcorn with chocolate drizzle on top of this mound.  Sylvia had a cheese and spinach scroll that was really soft (even a bit much) and really loved her raspberry white chocolate cheesecake that I dare to say was the pick of of purchases.

Mokum, Brunswick 

It was great to return to the Mokum (359 Sydney Road) for lunch.  Sylvia and I embraced the 'Dutch' dishes on offer.  She was excited to have some great fried tempeh with her Nasi Goreng,   I had Aruban cornbread with pumpkin puree, smashed avocado, vegan feta, radish and I ordered some Dutch cheese on the side.  E went with a plainer fried egg in a brekky bun with a rosti.  We were very pleased with our lunch before seeing Daisies.  I plan to write more about Mokum soon.

Update: I now have a post on Mokum, Dutch Café & Bar.

Daisies, Brunswick Picture House

I was fascinated and delighted to see Daisies as part of the Brunswick Underground Film Festival (BUFF) at the Brunswick Picture House (510-512 Sydney Road).  It is a 1966 Czech New Wave film made about two young women's pranks.  They take advantage of the men they date, misbehave in a cabaret audience and most spectacularly swing from the chandelier and have a food fight in a room set up for a formal dinner party.  It is a visual feast of colourful and bold images accompanied by much giggling.  The subversive political messages are a cinematic resistance to authoritarianism and patriarchy.

Market Gardens history talk, Coburg History Society

I was excited at going to a talk on the history of Chinese market gardens in Coburg by Sophie Loy Wilson.  It made me hunt out my post grad writings on market gardens history and find that long before I ever had anything to do with Coburg, I had written about Coburg's market garden history.  I really enjoyed hearing about Sophie finding information from the perspective of the Chinese market gardeners through court documents.  She is a fascinating researcher.

Coburg Farmers Market 

We went along to the Coburg Farmers Market twice in May and you can see more of what we purchased at In My Kitchen: May 2026.  I have seen the Big Springs food truck many times at the market and this month I finally tried one.  And then had another on our next visit.  You can see a photo of the innards of a Big Spring in the top photo.   There is also one in the above photo.  It is skulking in the background of wonderful Better Now Bakes baking: Pistachio and olive oil cake with strawberry sumac glaze, Smashed potato and mushroom xo sauce, Chive, pickle and dill scone,  and a lovely green Pandan and coconut cake.  We didn't get through all of it at the market but we enjoyed it all, especially the pistachio cake.

Bike pumps at the servo

I have some petrol stations that I go every now and again to pump up the tyres on my bike.  I went to one of them recently only to be told they don't have the regular attachment for the bike.  So I went down the road to another only to find it is now totally self service.  No staff on site at all.  

I remember when we would drive into the servo (as we would call the petrol station) and the mechanic would ask "fill 'er up?" because we sat in the car while he filled up the petrol. Self service then became filling up the car and then paying at the counter.  Now the meaning of self serve is changing again.  

I much prefer having staff on site but some aren't that helpful.  At the third petrol station I asked if they had a pump for bike tyres and was told no.  By now I was desperate and looked around again and found the pump in the picture which I was able to use to for my bike.  It was a relief to have the wheels pumped tight because it makes riding so much easier.

Croix Croissants, Flemington

We saw the specials at Croix croissant bakery (185 Mt Alexander Rd) and on a whim headed there to share the Earl Grey chocolate croissant and the Pumpkin pie cruffin.  These were excellent flaky veagn bakes.  The cruffin had spiced pumpkin puree and a custard filling.  The croissant was my favourite with a lovely chocolate filling with a pleasant floral flavour.  

Plant Based Alternative, Woolworths Supermarket, Moonee Ponds 

Another change I was surprised to notice was the sign in the Moonee Ponds Woolworth in the fridge section saying "Plant based alternatives".  It still amazes me that there is so much available for vegans and vegetarians in the supermarket these days!  Lots of tofu, vegan cheese, sausages and other mock meats.

Wild Timor, Coburg

 I have been impressed with a couple of vegan selections on the specials board at Wild Timor (282 Sydney Rd).  Now that it is cooler they have been serving soups.  I had a sweet potato and leek soup (pictured) that was served with croutons, sweet potato crisps, and sourtough toast, as well as a floral garnish.  I loved the presentation and it tasted great.  I also tried the Polenta bites with relish.  They were delicious fried rectangles of polenta with a mildly spiced tomato sauce.  

In the News

In Australia, the commentary on the Federal government's Budget announcements was mixed.  Treasurer Jim Chalmers was either a communist or had not gone far enough with the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax to improve opportunities for young people to be home owners.  Meanwhile the government chose to slash the NDIS funds that improve the lives of the vulnerable people in our society while giving huge tax breaks to the wealthiest including gas corporations.  The complexities of the political landscape are also reflected by One Nation's win in the Farrar byelection and Andy Burnham's campaign for the Makerfield byelection in the UK.  

Shaken staff and an author exodus: how a picture book plunged an acclaimed Australian publisher (QUP) into a crisis over antisemitism, The Guardian, 2 May 2026.

The rules-based order is breaking down before our eyes, Gillian Triggs speech on the 125th anniversary of the opening of Australian Parliament at the Melbourne Exhibition Buildings, in Pearls and Irritations, 13 May 2026

Big batteries took a bite out of gas generators’ evening peak party, then they ate the whole dinner (how battery storage (battery storage  is replacing the gas evening peak in Queensland), Renew Economy, 14 May 2026.

Andy Burnham runs — and Keir Starmer must oversee his own demise, Goodall and Good Luck substack, 15 May 2026.

The Gazification of Lebanon, by Ayoub Khan, in the Tribune, 18 May 2026.

5 reasons Stephen Colbert is one of the most important satirists in American history (reflections on his final show), by Sophia A McClennen, in The Conversation, 20 May 2026. 

Australians allege they were abused after IDF intercepted Gaza flotilla and Itamar Ben-Gvir taunted them, The Guardian, 22 May 2026.

"This is the most violent experience I've ever been through": Sam Woripa Watson safe after over 80 hours in Israeli detention (Wangerriburra and Birri Gubba filmmaker and activist speaks of the abuse suffered when the Gaza flotilla was intercepted), Black Witness, 23 May 2026.

One Nation Is The Wrong Answer To The Right Question, Sue Barrett: every solution becomes a conversation Substack, 23 May 2026.

Everyone Wants Reform Until Reform Arrives, by The Snarky Gherkin Substack, 25 May 2026.

Friday essay: How to Sell a Genocide exposes the double standards of reporting on Gaza, by Jeff Sparrow, in The Conversation, 29 May 2026. 

Watching and Reading

Films

• The Wonderful story of Henry Sugar - gorgeous playful sets and an impressive British cast make for enjoyable viewing of the clever and thoughtful short films based on Roald Dahl's short stories. 
• Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget - fun and colourful Aardman animations.  I couldn't help but wonder if the film was an attempt to horrify children about the idea of eating chicken nuggts.
• Da Kath and Kim Code - enjoyable despite being so suburbanly silly.
• Jurassic Park - I was curious to see a classic movie I had never seen before.  It was scary and silly and makes me wish for the Sam Neill character to be running the world. Oh for a reluctant hero in politics who turns out to be brave and intelligent!  
• Madame Web: we enjoyed this Marvel film despite it's terrible reception. The action was fast and hard to keep up with at times but the interaction between past and future were interesting.

TV:

• Kath and Kim - iconic Melbourne suburban comedy about a mother and daughter - It's noice, it's different, it's unusual!
• Upper Middle Bogan - Sylvia followed Glen Robbins from Kath and Kim to this comedy about an upper class woman finding out she was adopted and meeting her bogan working class birth family.

History:

• Hitler's plan for Australia? in the Snarky Gherkin substack, May 24, 2026 - wonderful piece of historical inquiry that delves into not just what-if but explores the world view of authoritarian government on a country such as Australia.

Books: 

• Inconvenient Women: Australian Radical Writers 1900-1970 by Jacqueline Kent - this history of women writers in the Twentieth Century, learning a lot about writers I have loved, books I would love to read and books I want to re-read, and the history of radicalism, especially communisim, in Australia.  This wonderful book made me nostalgic for my days of studying 20th Centure history and literature at university.
• Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell - fascinating insight into the life of poverty as a dish pig in Paris and a tramp in London.  I hope that the French restaurant kitchens are no longer as filthy as described and I wish I could say that Orwell's advocacy for the poor had made greater improvements than we see today.  Of course, this is a book to read in the context of the 1920s culture's prejudices and expectations.

Article on benefits of the liberal arts education

"This is water" (on James Clear's website) is a speech originally delivered by David Foster Wallace as the 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, USA.  I loved his reflections on how a liberal arts education really teaches us how to think.  This is the sort of considerations I would love to be in the minds of all politicians when making decisions on funding universities.

Here are a few of the ideas in the speech that he fleshes out with insight and stories:

"... one part of what teaching me how to think is ... [t]o be just a little less arrogant. To have just a little critical awareness about myself and my certainties. Because a huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded."

"... learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. " 

"there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talk about much in the great outside world of wanting and achieving…. The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day." 

Other posts I uploaded on Green Gourmet Giraffe in May 2026:

Cloudehill Gardens, Miss Marples Tearoom and Ripe ...

Rococo Italian Restaurant and Monarch Cakes, St Kilda

Street Art in Melbourne: Northcote 2026

Rococo Italian Restaurant and Monarch Cakes, St Kilda

We first encountered Rococo a couple of years ago and were wowed by the potato pizza as we sat on the pavement in Acland Street enjoying the buzz of hipster St Kilda.  Two years later Sylvia is vegan and was excited to discover that they have a large vegan menu.  We were delighted that we could continue our plans to explore the menu further.  After a delicious meal, we walked a few doors up to the iconic Monarch Cake shop to go back in time to experience the old St Kilda where migrants settled to escape the upheaval in Eastern Europe in the first half of the 20th Century.

The pavement tables at Rococo are shaded by black and white striped umbrellas and are a fine place for people watching.  It always looks busy and inviting.  

Rococo opened in 2005 and feels well established in Acland Street among the many fine places to eat and shop.  Like others popular streets in inner Melbourne, this area has gone through phases of being the-place-to be followed by shabby followed by revival.  Since opening, Rococo has established restaurants in Hawthorn, Point Cook and Mordialloc.

This is the Smashed potato pizza we first had back in 2023.  Actually this photo is from when we returned at the start of 2024 for more pizza.  Both times it was superb with chunks of roast potato, melty oozy taleggio cheese, rosemary, sea salt and caramelised onion on a beautiful pizza base with an amazing puffy charred crust.  Ever since we have talked about going back for more of this pizza.  Of course we wanted to explore the menu more too but this pizza was so good.

 

On our first trip we were also keen to try more than the pizza.  I had the hearty superfood salad: with mixed grains, broccolini, roasted cauliflower, baby beets, candied pumpkin, asparagus, spinach, capers, beetroot, hummus, fetta, chickpeas, toasted nuts & seeds.  It was great but I had pizza envy.  

We also shared some garlic bread. When I think of garlic bread it is a buttered baguette baked in foil so it comes out soft inside with crisp crusts.  Rococo's garlic bread was larger bread slices fried or grilled on both sides so they were crispy and buttery.  It was unexpectedly delicious but filling.  As I had to help out Sylvia was that scrumptious pizza, I took salad and garlic bread home for dinner.  

For drinks, Sylvia got an apple juice and I got a Passionate Times mocktail of apple juice, passion fruit, fresh lime, dry ginger.  Mine was wonderfully refreshing but it was hard to drink with a straw because the passionfruit seeds kept getting stuck in it.  Worth it!

When Sylvia went vegan, she gave up all hope of every having that wonderful pizza again.  Then recently she discovered that they have a large separate vegan menu.  And so we returned with my parents and E last month.  We sat inside for the first time.  It is a big space divided into more intimate areas that combine the traditional and the modern with shelves of old wine bottles and trailing vines against white brick walls.

The waiter was a larger than life character, as one would expect in a good Italian restaurant.  After we ordered the drinks, a latte was brought to our table.  We insisted it was the wrong table.  The waiter was amused when he checked his notes and found that that when my dad had ordered a "light ale", he had written latte.  He then proceeded to explain that some beers were light but not ales, especially in Australia.  It made my dad's drink order far more memorable than the rest of ours.

Sylvia wanted to try a few of the dishes on the vegan menu so I shared a few dishes with her.  First we had the Chickpea dip ($16).  The dip was served with an attractive arrangement of chickpeas, smoked paprika, semi-dried tomatoes, pickled onion, herbs and a couple of generous chunks of toasted focaccia on the side.  It was a fine  way to start our meal.

Of course we had to try the Smashed Roasted Potato, Rosemary & Sea Salt Pizza ($29) which is the vegan version of the one above that we both loved so much.  It came with caramelised onion, a melted cheese and crumbled vegan feta.  Sylvia loved it but found that the feta cheese had an aftertaste of coconut oil.  .  I thought it lovely with the same wonderful charred crust and chunks of potato but the vegan cheese was no match for the gooey crispy cheese on the dairy version that had more flavour, crisp edges and stretchy strings.  As a lacto ovo vegetarian, I would go for the regular potato pizza but I am really glad that as a vegan Sylvia can have a fantastic version of this favourite pizza.

I was interested to compared the regular and vegan menus so I looked at the pizzas.  On the regular menu are 24 pizzas with 6 being vegetarian.  On the vegan menu are 8 pizzas and it was interesting to see that three of them were not on the regular menu. Also both dairy and non-dairy potato pizzas were the same price.  Those who were vegan and/or dairy free were well looked after.

As well as the pizza for our mains, we had the Spaghetti 'Bolognese' ($35) which had an amazing slow cooked lentil, eggplant & mushroom ragu, and was topped with vegan parmesan and herbs.  I loved how the ragu was rich and flavoursome with a good protein but did not have any mock meat.  I much prefer a menu like this vegan menu which had some plant based dairy products but is mainly lots of vegetables and legumes rather than mock meats.

Finally we had a side dish of Mixed Leaf Salad with olive oil, balsamic ($10).  It was excellent lots of variety in the salad leaves and a great dressing.  

Everyone else enjoyed their meal.  My mum had the Brodo: a classic clear chicken broth with 
house-made chicken tortellini and parsley.  My dad and E had the Char Grlled Chicken and Bacon risotto with leek, baby spinach, tomato and basil.

We were full after our lunch but Acland Street is famous for its cake shops.  We could not resist going to the oldest of them all.  Monarch Cakes dates back to 1934 when it was founded by Pearl Levine, a Polish Jewish immigrant who had been a baker in Poland before immigrating to Melbourne.  She brought her recipes with her and they have been passed on to subsequent owners.  

The cake store is fondly remembered for being part of the old St Kilda that was where Eastern European Jewish families of Melbourne met and ate cake before they moved to Caulfield in the 1980s.  There are a few of the cake shops left and it still a joy to admire the cakes in their windows.  Monarch Cakes has a lot of traditional cakes unlike some other stores that have more of the colourful and modern cakes.

Inside the counter tells the stories of over 90 years of being part of the local community with photos of the St Kilda Aussie rules footy club and fading photos of the manager with visitors.  A set of old fashioned scales sits on the counter alongside cakes on display.  The cluttered vintage European charm is one of a place that has seen many years.

We look for a table inside for our group of 5 and slowly discover that the Reserved signs on the table actually say, reserved for groups of 3 of more.  However only 4 can fit on a table so we have to sit across two tables with a walkway in between us.  

 

The wooden shelves are crammed with old magazines and photos.  A charming assortment of vintage vinyl chairs add to the sense of the place having being here for many years.  It is like stepping back in time to a cafe where writers  and bohemians hold spirited conversation over their coffee and cigarettes.  It is markedly different to there modern hipster cafes with brick walls and brightly painted bookshelves where students and creatives take their laptops these days.

We can't resist having cake.  I choose the famous kooglhoupf with its chocolate layers between the sweet yeasted cake.  I have a square of the the slab.  It is delicious with rich smooth chocolate and layers of cake so think they are like pancakes. Only later do I see it also comes in a bundt cake with chocolate swirls.  I think I might like to try this at another visit.  I also would love to come back and try the poppy seed slice.

My parents share a piece of the famous plum cake which is excellent with large pieces of juicy fruit in it.  E has the lemon tart which he describes as being light and lovely.  Sylvia can only find one vegan cake - the brownie which has been dipped in chocolate.  It is very nice but oh so rich.  Everyone but me has a coffee and speaks highly of it too.

Then we walk down Acland Street to browse in Readings Bookstore.  It is always a joy to see all the wonderful books and greeting cards in there.  E buys a book and we leave.  I know that long time residents of St Kilda miss when the era when it had more of the Eastern European community.  I have never known it and am very happy to be able to visit occasionally and enjoy the buzz of the street life with palm trees, street art and interesting places to visit as well as the nearby attractions of St Kilda beach, Luna Park and the Palais Theatre.  Even the expensive parking cannot dampen the joy of a day out in St Kilda. 

Rococo
85 – 91 Acland Street, St Kilda
Open: Monday – Sunday: 12pm – 10pm
https://www.rococo.net.au/

Monarch Cakes
103 Acland Street, St Kilda
Open: Weekdays: 8.30am - 6pm, Weekends: 9am - 6 30pm
https://www.monarchcakes.com.au/ 

 
More St Kilda posts on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

The Beachcomber cafe  

Sister of Soul cafe

The Snug, Amanda Palmer and Missy Higgins in St Kilda 

St Kilda Farmers Market (Fitzroy Street)   

Coconut and chocolate layer cake -- for blog anniversary (and cake picnic)

When we were planning to go to the cake picnic, I panicked about my cake needing to be a layer cake to fulfill the requirement that it was at least 7cm high.  I am not one for lots of frosting and my experiences with layer cakes have had not always been the most stable creations.  Today marks my 19th blog anniversary and each year I celebrate by sharing a fancy cake.  So today I bring you the story of baking a coconut and chocolate layer cake for the Melbourne Cake Picnic.

The Cake Picnic was a huge and daunting experience.  I don't have many layer cakes in my repertoire and don't feel comfortable making them..  I also wanted some decoration, but this is as challenging for me as creating layer cakes.  To add more complications, my daughter Sylvia, who had also booked to take a cake to the Cake Picnic, was in hospital on a drip for acute tonsillitis two days before the picnic.  I had also agreed to take a vegan cake in solidarity with Sylvia has become vegan at the start of the year.

The practice cake

When I looked at previous of my cake recipes that I have loved, not many are layer cakes.  After considering a number of previous looked at quite a few possible cakes but ended up with one that I loved.  Like most of my cakes, it did not meet the minimum 7cm high required for entry to the Cake Picnic.  It had been previously shared with friends who were impressed.  This time it had to be a layer cake!  Gulp!

One of the best parts of my chosen Coconut and chocolate chunk cake was that it was not over sweet, it had bits in it and had a simple but wonderful roasted coconut and melty chocolate topping with a light drizzle of icing.  Plus it was vegan!  These were not the ingredients for a fancy Cake Picnic layer cake.  

I made a practice cake the weekend before the cake picnic.  It looked impressive without the icing but a complete mess once the icing was added.  

The beautiful and unusual topping is one of my favourite parts of the recipe but sadly did not make it into the final layer cake.  I have thought about whether it was a mistake to lose it and am still not sure.  When I made my practice cake, the roasted coconut seemed difficult to slice through cleanly.  It was not the only problem.  The drizzle split and looked like curdled milk.  The buttercream frosting was soft and oozy.    In retrospect I also blame my impatience.  We cooled the cakes just long enough to layer and ice them and then sampled the result.

 A layer cake is not made to be eaten fresh, which is how we sampled it.  A layer cake should have time to compose itself, to cool before being iced and then to allow the icing (or frosting) to firm up before it is presented and sliced as a showstopper!  I am not a showstopper sort of person!  Perhaps this is why I love cakes less than 7cm high that can be sliced up warm from the oven without the collapsing mess of a fresh layer cake.

Another reason I don't make layer cakes often is that they are made to be shared at an event.   I was fine to take a large cake to a cake picnic but found it challenging to make a large cake at home for practice.  It felt wasteful and greedy.  And because it collapsed, it did not look great for slicing or storing.  I ended up having some at home for us and Sylvia shared some with E.  Most of it I packed into a large box and took into work including a lot of crumbs.  My colleagues were very grateful and ate most of it over a week.  I came back at the end of that week to find a couple fo  crumbly slices left in the cake box that some kind soul had put in the fridge.  It still tasted wonderful.  Yes, I finished it off!

Considering how to refine the recipe 

I was so unhappy about the presentation of my cake that I considered making something else.  However firstly it tasted amazing, and secondly I didn't have time or the stomach for another practice.  Instead of finding another recipe, I spent a lot of time thinking how to improve this one.  How to make it slice neatly.  How to make stable frosting!  How to make the frosting less tooth-achingly sweet!  How to decorate it!

One of the issues I found really difficult was how soft the frosting was.  Vegan butter (I used Nuttalex) is softer than dairy.  I needed some ballast so the frosting would hold up the top layer.  I read online and found useful advice at Life, Love and Sugar.  She has some great tutorials on frosting cakes and recommended using vegetable shortening.  Can't stop 

Cakers Paradise had a good post on How to use Vegetable Shortening with an Australia perspective.  They describe the buttercream with shortening as more stable and less likely to slide off the cake.  That really appealed to me as a baker who has had the top slide off layer cakes in the past!  It was in this article that I found that Solite is the Australian version of Crisco in America.  Can't stop Baking also has useful advice on shortening in Australia and describes it as giving the icing a velvety soft 

I searched online to find where to buy Solite locally.  It is available at cake stores (not supermarkets) but often in bulk.  I found a 500g tub for $7.95 at My Dream Cake Decorating Supplier SuperStore in Sunshine.  I only used 95g but it is shelf stable and I am told it can be used in pastry and cake recipes.  I was also pleased to get cake boards and cake boxes fairly cheaply there.  It is the first time I have ever used a cake box and it is so long since I bought cake boards that I can't remember where it was.  They were really useful for the cake picnic so this shopping trip reduced my stress levels.

One of the attractions of the coconut and chocolate topping was that it meant very little need for fancy decoration.  However when it did not quite work I had to think more about decoration.  This is not my forte.  The cake has some orange zest in it so I decided to use some dried orange slices.  (Ironically I never used enough orange to add much to the flavour.)

I was gobsmacked that Woolworths supermarket sold a large 125g jar of dried orange slices for $24.  I looked elsewhere.  Our local Al Alamy Middle Eastern grocer had a 150g tub of dried orange slices for about $5-8.  I can't remember the exact price but I do remember laughing with the guy who sold it to me about how ridiculously expensive they were in Woollies.  Like the Solite I have not used the rest of them since despite good intentions! 

Baking the second and final cake

I had planned to make cakes on Friday, the day before the cake picnic.  Sylvia would make her own.  Our plans were thrown out after we unexpectedly spent hours on the Thursday afternoon prior as she was hooked up to a drip in the Emergency Department for acute tonsillitis.  The doctor cleared her to go out on Saturday but her energy levels were still low.  So I baked the four cakes for our two layer cakes on Friday but Sylvia helped with decoration.  That's her thing!

I adjusted the recipe slightly to use desiccated coconut instead of the larger shreds and I cut the chocolate chunks a tad smaller.  I am not sure it made  a huge difference to slicing but I missed the larger bits.  Maybe I would not do that next time.  You can see in the picture above just how much chocolate is added to the cake.  I think this is one of the reasons I love it so much.  It is so satisfying to bite into a chunk of dark chocolate that counters the sweetness of the cake batter.

I really love cakes fresh out of the oven.  This is not why I kept a small amount of the mixture aside to bake a mini cake.  It was my worries about the texture and flavour not being quite right.  I hate taking a cake to a gathering that I have not had a chance to test taste.  It makes me nervous.  Having a taste of this cake prior to the picnic reassured me.

Frosting the cake

The icing that I made was excellent.  I decided to add some cocoa and salt after the practice icing was far too sweet, especially for a cake that was not overly sweet.  This worked well to give it flavour rather than just sweetness.  I also was pleased that the frosting recipe at Life, Love and Sugar directed to just add the icing sugar in two lots.  Other recipes have said to add the icing gradually in a constant cloud of sweet dust because I have been told that too much will crush out the air that was beaten into the butter.

Just look at how that icing holds its shape!  I piped the icing onto the bottom cake in (wonky) circles so that I could spread it out evenly.  (I also trimmed the top of this cake to make sure that the top cake sat neatly on the bottom.)  We have a cake decorating turntable (that gets very little use) that helped with even piping around the cake.  One of us would pipe and the other would gradually rotate the cake.

My decorations and Sylvia's matcha layer cake

When it comes to cake decorating ideas, I go blank.  Just like I have the best ideas about what to say when it is too late, I also get much better ideas after I finish decorating a cake.  I wish we hadn't been so unexpectedly busy in the run up to the cake picnic so I had time to practice the decoration.  If I had my time over, I would do this differently.  I would focus more on chocolate and coconut but this wasn't too bad for a time-stretched amateur such as me.  

The halves of dried orange slices sat in blob of frosting.  I finely chopped dark chocolate for the centre.  In mind I had planned gorgeous chocolate curls but did not have the energy or time.  Sylvia used a fine pair of tweezers to arrange the gold stars on the spaces and I sprayed some gold dust over it. 

 

Sylvia is very creative when it comes to decoration.  After I baked her Matcha layer cake we were disappointed that the matcha was too old to make it a lovely green like the first version of this cake about a year ago.  You can see the cake turntable in the top left of the above photo collage.  (I had suggested she make a practice cake but she told me she did not need to!)  Top right is her jam dam!  I don't know how she knew to make the dam for the apricot jam as we have never done it before but she did it with style.  After the first layer she added some matcha to the frosting which made it a lovely pale green.

On top of the cake, she had a lake of apricot jam surrounded by swirly icing (bottom left photo above).  She then added halved dried orange slices, gold sprinkles, gold spray and arranged gold stars one by one.  I was in admiration of her patience.  If we had thought of it earlier, all the frosting would have been green but she added gold stars to the edge of the middle layer of frosting to mirror the gold on top.  Above in the bottom right photo you can see the final version that was finished at 11.30pm on the Friday!

The Cake Picnic 

We stored our cakes in cake boxes in the fridge overnight and took them along to the cake picnic the next day.  Here is my cake in the marque with other cakes in the background.  I felt good about my offering even if it wasn't as jaw dropping as some of the cakes.  At the end about three quarters of my cake was eaten and I took the rest home to store in the freezer (it was too messy to share).  Occasionally I have a chunk.  A lot of it is still frozen waiting for a moment that demands cake!

You can read more on my blog about my experience at the Melbourne Cake Picnic 2026.

Here is a slice of my cake on my messy platter of cake picnic slices.  In the rush to select the best of the 1600 cakes at the cake picnic we were guided by our eyes rather than flavour.  While my cake was not the prettiest, it was one of my favourite cakes there.  It is great to try other people's cakes but I know what I like and baked for my preferences!  

Reflections on 19 years of blogging and how it helped make this cake 

As it is the 19th anniversary of my blog, I will close with reflections about how much I have learnt from the blog.  It is one thing to bake a lot.  It is another to constantly be photographing, recording and reflecting on recipes, and to have all this to look back over when I want to bake a cake or cook a meal.  Without my index of all that I have made, choosing this cake would have been far harder.  It was stressful making it but so much less than it would be without my blog as an important aid in baking, and learning about developing recipes.  Crucial to this is the support and inspiration of the online community.  

I have learnt so much and made such amazing creations over the 19 years since I thought I might like to start a blog.  At the start I didn't know what I was doing.  It was sometimes a bit of a car crash.  (It sometimes still is!)  Who could have known how much it would have nourished my love of food, photography and writing; fed my curiosity; and more than satisfied my desire for an amzing meal.  Today as I look back over those years, it has made my life a lot richer and exciting.  I thank you,  dear readers, for joining me along the journey!

More layer cakes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

• Butterscotch layer cake 
• Carrot cake (with cream cheese frosting and fondant carrots)   
• Floating Malteser cake with fudgy buttercream frosting 
• Ginger Fluff Sponge (gf) 
• Matcha layer cake with strawberry and cream 
• Vegan chocolate (layer) cake (v)   
• Vegan Victoria sponge cake (v)
• Zucchini layer cake with cream cheese frosting (gf, v) 

Coconut and chocolate layer cake
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe 

Dry ingredients:
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
2 cups shredded or desiccated coconut
1 1/2 cups raw sugar 
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
240g vegan butter, melted
2 cup coconut milk
1 cup applesauce
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

300g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Icing (see below recipe) 
Additional decorations such as chocolate flakes, coconut flakes, oranges and stars as desired. 

Baking the cake 

Preheat oven to 180 C and grease and line 2 x 20cm round cake tins.

Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a small mixing bowl or large jug.  Pour the wet into the dry and mix until just combined.  Mix in the 300g dark chocolate chunks.

Scrape mixture into prepared cake tins.  To get even cakes, weigh the mixture (mine was about 11000g for each cake.)

Bake for about 40-45 minutes (or 60 minutes if your oven is a bit slow like mine).  Test the cakes with a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (try to avoid the melted chocolate if possible but even if you don't you should see if the mixture clings to the skewer).  if cakes are getting too dark before it is cooked, cover with some foil.   Cool baked cakes in the tin for at least 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Frosting and assembling the cake 

I left my cakes to cool for 4-5 hours but overnight is fine.  Before frosting, check if cakes are level for layering by sitting them atop each other without frosting.  Now trim top of one cake to make sure it is flat enough tso the second cake sits neatly on top..  I did not trim the top cake.  

Place the bottom cake onto a cake board (or plate).  Pipe the icing in an even swirl onto the cake using a thick nozzle.  Use a spatula to spread the icing neatly and place the second cake on top gently.  Spread icing on top of the second cake.  At this stage you can finish or you can decorate the cake.  

I piped blobs of frosting around the edge and press half rounds of dried oranges into these and put thinly sliced flakes of chocolate in the middle and use a pair of tweezers to place gold stars onto the icing.  If I did it again I would like wedges or lines of alternating chocolate and coconut with lines of frosting between to make it look neater.  There are so many options.

NOTES:

If you look at the recipe I used as a base, you can see it has chocolate and coconut baked on top, which I really liked but did not do this here due to concerns about neat slicing.

Icing sugar and icing are Australian terms - Americans will be more familiar with powdered sugar and frosting! 

I have not specified an amount of buttercream because it depends how much decoration you want to do.  I prefer minimal icing and used much less than half the recipe below but it keeps in the fridge for ages. 

I used Whittakers Dark Ghana chocolate which is vegan.  I worked out that 50g of their chocolate is about 9 squares of chocolate.  When I chopped the chocolate into chunks my notes say that I chopped each square into about 3-4 pieces.

Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Icing (Frosting)
Adapted from Life, Love and Sugar

115g vegan butter
95 g shortening
460g icing sugar
15g cocoa
2 tbsp coconut cream (or milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Beat butter and shortening together until soft and creamy.  Beat in half icing sugar until well mixed and repeat with second half of icing sugar and cocoa.  Beat in coconut cream, vanilla and salt.  (If needed you can adjust thickness as desired by either adding more liquid to make it softer or more icing sugar to make it thicker.)  Use straightaway or store in the fridge if not using that day and bring it back to room temperature just before you are ready to use it.  Leftovers can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

On the stereo:
Forever is a feeling: the Archives - Lucy Dacus

My Monthly Chronicles: March 2026

 

March was filled with many amazing events that kept me taking many photos and spending too much tune deleting photos on my phone to make space for more. I have written separate posts about our whirlwind trip to Sydney and the delightful Cake Picnic (links in this post) but I would love to write posts about the Pulp gig, Sydney Road Street Festival, Big Elma cafe, my sister's wedding, the Vegan Market and so much more.  I console myself with having this monthly round up of eating out and other outings where I can share a few photos.  If only I had the time to write all the posts I wish I could!  (I have written more about my month at In My Kitchen: March 2026)

Pulp at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl 

I was delighted to see Pulp perform at the Myer Music Bowl.  This is my favourite band and it was fantastic to see them perform in Melbourne.  Previously I have seen them in the UK at Kinross (T in the Park), Elgin and Cardiff, as well as a solo support by frontman Jarvis Cocker at the Pixies gig at the Myer Music Bowl.  I went through a huge Pulp phase years ago so I found it very nostalgic when they dedicated "Something Changed" to band member, Steve Mackey who died 3 years ago to the day, and reflected on their history with a photo slide show of Pulp photos over the years (see above photo).

The support act was Bleak Squad (a Melbourne supergroup of Adalita (Magic Dirt), Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), Mick Turner (Dirty Three), and Marty Brown (Sodastream). They were playing as I arrived.  I had intended to get there earlier but I stopped to eat a box of Lord of Fries chips (to keep me going before a late gnocchi bake when I got home).  I spent time in the queue for merchandise where I listened to most of their set before I settled in my seat.  The Guardian newspaper beautifully described it as "a quality set of songs tailor-made for those long, dark nights of the soul".

I know the songs so well up to and including This is Hardcore. I could sing along to most songs in the set because they mainly performed song from Different Class and His'n'Hers albums. The lighting was alternatively fun and reflective.  I could listen all night to Jarvis' laconic chatter with his long vowels and dropped consonants from Sheffield.  He struts around the stage and pulls awkward rockstar poses with his lanky limbs.  His wry sense of humour can be seen in announcing that he is about to play an ABBA song and then unsettling expectations by playing the obscure "The Day Before You Came".  

I would have loved them to play some of the older songs (such as My Lighthouse, My Legendary Girlfriend, Blue Girls) or more than just the title track from This is Hardcore (such as The Fear, Dishes, TV movie).  They just have too many great songs!  I loved so many of the songs they performed including: Razzamatazz, Do you Remember the First Time, Sorted for Es and Whizz, Babies, Acrylic Afternoons, Mis-shapes, Disco 2000 and the wonderful Common People whose biting social commentary is every bit as relevant today as in 1995.  So much youthful angst, insolence, joy, anger and insight.  My favourite of the newer songs was the gorgeous Sunrise.  

I booked to see Pulp on the morning that tickets went on sale and wanted the front seated section but only got the terrace section behind it.  I was pleased when I arrived to see there was a ledge in front of the terrace behind a walkway.  I could sit there and chat while we waited and then stand and dance and sing along when Pulp started and I had a pretty good view.  (As a short person, I find myself looking for gaps between heads when standing and hoping the people in front of me don't move.)

I had hoped to be able to see the blood moon while I watched the gig.  The Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor venue.  However my seat was so close that I had to crane my head back to see the big video screens for those who could not see as much detail as me.  I can't complain about that even if I was at the edge of the covered area and could not see the blood red moon in the sky.  I'd prefer to see more of Jarvis and less of the moon.  It was only when I walked back to Flinders Street Train Station that I saw the blood moon.  It is a small dot in the above photo so it is not so easy to see that it is a pink colour.  It was past its reddest moment by then!

Street Art, Warburton Lane, CBD 

 

On a ride to the CBD, I had a look at the street art on Warburton Lane off Little Bourke Street in the CBD.  The artwork of quaint French stores and Eiffel Tower is gorgeous.  I heard about it on the local radio from a commentator whose political views often anger me.  It was good to find something I liked about her!  I hope to share more of these photos soon.

Sydney Road Street Party, Brunswick 

I hadn't planned to go to the Sydney Road Street Party but as I was out on my bike, I stopped there briefly to have a look at the local colour and catch up with Sylvia and E.  There were some fun things to see.  I loved the chonky orange decorated crockery for sale by hellomaë.  In the craft stalls on Dawson St were so many gorgeous creations and it was even lovelier to see an Indigenous artist at work.  I was surprised to discover that Brunswick has a lacrosse team.  I was so happy to eat a free slice of watermelon from the Greens (political party)'s stall.  I was so hungry but then but waited to get home to have my lunch.  (Sylvia had been pleased to  the Mokum mushroom bitterbollen aka fritters.)

Brunswick is a suburb with a history of activism and this continues today.  So it was no surprise to see the  have pockets of it today.  I loved that the Victorian Socialists had a booth for anti-racism screen printing and banner painting.  More shocking and amusing was the Smash Fascism pinatas (pictured above).  A group had made lots of orange trump face pinatas and charged people for whacks while the pinata was placed on top of a ladder.  I did not yield to be temptation!

Big Elma's cafe, Coburg

My friend Alison was in Melbourne so we had lunch at Big Elma (138 Nicholson Street).  We all had toasties ($16 each).  Alison and I had the Potato: creamy taleggio, rosemary roasted potato, caramelised onion.  Sylvia had the Kimchi and Cheese: miso mayo, vegan kimchi, mozzarella, spring onion.  

Sylvia and I both had a vegan European hot chocolate.  They were delicious but intense.  Sylvia loved the vegan whipped cream topping and I loved the dense chocolate drink that was so thick it was more pudding than drink.  I ate it with my spoon.  We should have shared one.

Family Wedding, Archive wine bar, Geelong 

My youngest sister had a small marriage service at a local wine bar and and invited us to join her and her new husband for the reception in the same location.  It was a really lovely afternoon with finger food (excellent mini cheese toasties), music, flowers, (gluten free) chocolate cake, speeches and lots of photos.

Everyone had a great time but we were sad that my older sister and her son wer unable to get to the wedding after her flight from Dublin got turned back.  There are far worse outcomes of the Iran war for others and we were able to take lots of photos to share.  

Holiday in Sydney 

We went to Sydney at short notice to use the tickets my sister and her son could not use after the Iran war scuppered their holiday plans It was great to spend time in Sydney with my parents, to enjoy the spectacle of the harbour and eat at some great vegan restaurants. It was also sad that my sister and nephew could not be there with my parents.  

To read more about our Sydney trip, check out there posts:. 

Duke of Clarence, QVB, Uchilounge (City centre), Sydney

Miss Sina, Oh My Days, Sappho Books (Glebe and Marrickville) Sydney

University of Sydney Quadrangle, Camperdown

Bills, Bourke St Bakery, Shift Eatery (Surry Hills), the Rocks, Airports, Sydney  

Opera Bar and Sydney Harbour 2026

Sydney street art 2026

    

Cake Picnic, King's Domain

I went to the Cake Picnic that was held in Kings Domain as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.  It was amazing, delicious, beautiful and at times too much cake and too much waste but I am glad we went.  You can see more photos and read more at my post on the Cake Picnic, Melbourne 2026.

Vegan Market, Coburg Town Hall

Sylvia was keen to go to the Vegan Market at the Coburg Town Hall.  There were Easter eggs, bakes, gorgeous crockery, candles,  art prints,  and animal rights organisations.  Outside were food trucks for the hardy vegans who could brave the rain between bouts of sunshine.  Sylvia was excited to buy from Better New Bakes and I could not resist the Little Sweet Things Dubai Chocolate slice or the slabs of panisse.  (See more about them at n My Kitchen: March 2026.)
 

There was lots of good vegan food to eat there.  We shared a Spinach and cheese borek from Chef's Borek.  It was so good and flaky.  

Sylvia had good memories of Woking Amazing's food truck's offerings and could not wait to try it again.  She ordered the "Kyiv Mushroom Tempura Burger: Crispy oyster mushroom & fresh baby cos lettuce drizzled with Smokey Aioli & Garlic Butter in a toasted sesame seed bun" with smoky fries on the side.  She really enjoyed it but it was so filling that she took some home.  She also had a chai tea which was nice but a bit sweet for her.

Coburg Farmers Market 

We love a reason to go to Coburg farmers market.  When I bought panisse at the Vegan Market, I decided we needed good bread to go with it and there is always a good sourdough at the farmers market.  So we walked across the road in search of bread and were delighted by all the beautiful colourful vegetables that you can see in these photos.  

 

Green Man's Arms, Carlton and Project Hail Mary

I got out to the Cinema Nova with my friend Heather to see Project Hail Mary (an interesting and fun movie about a scientist in space on a mission to save the world and who doesn't love ryan gosling's cheeky grin).  Afterwards we had dinner at the Green Man's Arms (418 Lygon Street).  

Heather had the House Made Gnocchi with carrot puree, thyme beurre monte and almond cream ($30).  I had a taste and it was really good and I wished I had ordered it.  My reason was that we were having a couple of gnocchi meals that week but really, given it shows a love for gnocchi, I should have taken the chance to eat an amazing gnocchi dish!

My choice of dish was the Massaman Curry with roasted purple sweet potato, pickled thai eggplant, toasted cashews served on steamed rice. ($30)  They kindly service the chilli oil on the side so I could choose how much to have.  It was pretty mild without and I probably should have added some but didn't feel brave.  It was a great comforting curry.  I was not so enthused about the pickled eggplan but loved the slices of sweet potato with crispy skin.  Both our dishes were both gluten free and vegan.

In the News

The news was dominated by Trump and Netanyahu unleashing war on Iran with which was horrible to watch unfold.  The death and destruction in the Middle East, the travel disruptions and the world wide anxiety about fuel prices and the economy has made everyone sadder, less trusting and more anxious.  Thank goodness for Afroman to cheer us up!

Extreme rhetoric in Australia's right-wing political circles deserves more attention, by Gareth Hutchens, ABC News, 1 March 2026.

Neither preemptive nor legal, US‑Israeli strikes on Iran have blown up international law, in the Conversation, 1 March 2026.

Trump, the Six-Year Itch, and the Mirage of a Quick Victory in Iran, by The Snarky Gherkin substack, 2 March 2026.

Read these words from 100 years ago about immigrants in Britain – and see how history is chillingly repeating itself, by George Monbiot in The Guardian, 5 March 2026.

The government granted Iranian footballers asylum. Then, it moved to block 7000 Iranians from Australia, in 9 News, 12 March 2026 

Raising rates while petrol prices soar shows the RBA ignoring reality and basic economics, by Greg Jericho, The Point, 17 March 2026.
'The Reserve Bank has completely misread the economy and risked sending more Australians into poverty on Jobseeker by raising the cash rate to 4.1%.'

The media wants disabled people to be locked inside until they die (disinformation on NDIS funding), by Jon Delmenico, The Shot, 18 March 2026.

Afroman prevails in cops' music video defamation suit after a brief but viral trial, in NPR on 19 March 2026.  
'Afroman was just trying to turn lemons into "Lemon Pound Cake" when he started making music videos and social media posts mocking the law enforcement officers who conducted a heavy-handed raid on his Ohio home.'  Also check out the hilarious Jon Stewart Show report.

The left brought a thesaurus to a knife fight, in The New Daily, 20 March 2026

Growing up means realizing that none of the worst villains are in prison, by Caitlin Johnstone, 31 March 2026

Watching, Listening and Reading: 

How to get to heaven from Belfast: a hilarious ridiculous and brilliant show with a convoluted plot. The middle age characters aren't quite as loveable as the creator's previous show Derry Girls, but they have baggage and unrealised dreams as well as odd anxieties and quirks.!  

Coal Black Mornings: a beautifully written autobiography by Suede's Brett Anderson of his council house childhood in the home counties and student days in London where he channeled his life as a misfit and a dreamer into becoming a musician.

It by Pulp (which is meant to read as Pulpit) : I've enjoyed listening to their debut album in 1983 with the wide-eyed dreaminess 19 year old Jarvis Cocker and wishing they played some of the song at their gig this month.

How Can We Live When the World Feels Broken? The Stoics: By Carrying On, by Jack Maden on Philosophy Break: this was shared by Nupur on her One Hot Stove blog who writes with such warmth and thoughtfulness in every post.  I found this post comforting to read when the world around us is filled with leaders that let us down and make the world feel unsafe.

Dirty Dancing: I've never watched this 1980s iconic movie and was surprised to discover it was set in the 1960s.  It was a enjoyable enough but the lead actors don't really appeal to me.  (Give me Rebel without a Cause over this any day!)

Building an Underground Shipping Container Pool Home - I've watched this video too many times and dreamed of a bedroom with the light rippling in through the swimming pool on the other side of the window.