There are many things that Lolo Houbein makes look easy. She's an amazing woman, and her book, One Magic Square: Growing your own food on one square metre, has been a bestseller at Wakefield Press for several years now. She has inspired many of the most unlikely veggie gardeners. But the trick is in showing everyone how easy it is – as you'll see when you read this, the introduction to her book. It turns out,…
Continue readingOne of our enduring favourites over here at Wakefield HQ is Dogs in Australian Art. Even the cat-lovers agree: it's a brilliant book. From Ivor Hele's sketch of a great dane to Lin Onus's painting of a dingo surfing, there are some real Aussie icons in the mix, and a lot of them have a great sense of humour. The same could be said of Rodney Pople's I feel so pretty, so witty (2004), and yet, it's equally likely…
Continue readingDo you eat your almonds raw or 'activated'? Do you swear by them as a hangover cure? In her book Willunga Almonds Helen Bennetts discusses some of the real and imagined health benefits of almonds over the years. We've also included her delicious recipe for Smoked trout, almond and potato salad. Perfection! Since ancient times various health benefits have been attributed to almonds. Greek physician Hippocrates and his followers used almonds to treat coughs, as an aphrodisiac and for weight…
Continue reading'The Subway System' is a poem from Bel Schenk's groundbreaking verse novel Every Time You Close Your Eyes, which is set across two blackouts in New York. The first is the famous blackout of 1977, when this excerpt is set, and which was remembered for widespread looting and arson. The second blackout, in 2003, forms a counterpoint – but you'll have to read the book to find out more! The Subway System People on the platform…
Continue readingIn October 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, Torrens Island off Port Adelaide was turned into an internment camp. It is a lesser known impact of war in Australia, but it is an ugly chapter in our history. Thanks to the diary kept by Frank Bungardy and the photos of Paul Dubotzky, historians Peter Monteath, Mandy Paul and Rebecca Martin have been able to recreate the conditions of the camp in Interned: Torrens Island…
Continue readingOne of the most familiar impacts of the voyages of Flindes and Baudin around Australia is the names that they gave to places. While many of Flinders names are still in use today, Baudin left very few place names in his wake. Jean Fornasiero, Peter Monteath and John West-Sooby explain why in Encountering Terra Australis. One of the most distinctive and recognisable symbols of any nation is the outline of the country its citizens inhabit. Determining the…
Continue readingRobert Dickson remembers the opening of the Little Theatre at Adelaide University in Addicted to Architecture. It was obviously a 'suitably anarchic' affair involving a hefty number of streakers … The Little Theatre The Little Theatre was the great gain. It was a 120-seat thrust-stage theatre with sophisticated control facilities and a small theatre bar. Students and other University users could use the theatre and operate all the sound and lighting equipment without any paid staff being there. The theatre consultant was…
Continue readingThere's been a lot of talk about cycling in Adelaide recently. The Tour Down Under opens tomorrow, and recently the City Council has devoted a lot of time to installing and ripping up bike pathways all over the city! But it's not like this is a new thing for us. Adelaidians have been mad-keen cyclists for yonks, as Denis Molyneux investigates in Time for Play, his history of recreation and leisure in SA. Check out the pics --…
Continue readingSarah Blunden and Angie Willcocks's The Sensible Sleep Solution is a refreshing take on helping mum and bub through those first few months. Blunden and Willcocks's tips for getting a restless baby to sleep are moderate, tested and easy to put in place. Here, they give some advice on what to do if your baby won't stop crying – and stress the importance of taking care of yourself as a parent, too! Also, ever wondered what colic…
Continue readingSally van Gent's Clay Gully is one of those rare books: a delightful read that transports without exaggerating. In these first few pages, she describes the process of finding the house and their decision to grow an apple orchard. All accompanied by Sally's lovely illustrations. The perfect book to read for anyone planning a big life change in 2017 … After several months of fruitless searching around Bendigo in central Victoria, the agent calls to tell us he…
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