Saturday, July 01, 2017

Enjoy Christmas in July at NSW Parliament at the Bohemian Strangers Dining Room ...

“An author frequently chooses solemn or overwhelming subjects to write about; he is so impressed at writing about Life and Death that he does not notice that he is saying nothing of the slightest importance about either.”
~ Randall Jarrell, “Ten Books” (The Southern Review, Autumn 1935)

 Afternoon high tea, art and Black Rod are just a few of the experiences you can enjoy if you make trip down to Mother of Parliaments ...


The Stranger’s Dining Room overlooks The Domain and is located within Australia’s first and oldest Parliament.
Visitors are also encouraged to explore other parts of the precinct including the beautiful Fountain Court with its monthly art exhibitions and the Legislative Chambers, including the formidable Bear Pit. The newly opened public café features a gift shop, where visitors can now purchase a memento of their time in the House.

With gorgeous garden views over The Domain and the opportunity to dine in a room steeped in history, there’s nowhere quite like NSW Parliament House to enjoy High Tea.


High Tea at NSW ParliamentMacquarie St bear pit hosts dainty high teas
AFTER a successful test run, high tea will continue at Parliament House in Macquarie St, with a stand-alone restaurant in the Strangers' Dining ...

High Tea In The House

Story image for high tea parliament house from The Australian
The Parliament of NSW in the CBD has launched an experience like no other

It’s a somewhat secret experience at the moment, as so few people are aware of this high tea. When combined with the limited seating option available, this high tea becomes Sydney’s most reclusive, and exclusive, afternoon tea experience.

Hosted on site at Australia’s first and oldest Parliament, this is a high tea venue quite unlike the rest. Served in the Stranger’s Dining Room on the last Friday of each month, ‘High tea in the House’ is an opportunity to visit areas of Parliament usually reserved only for members.
The team of chefs, led by award winning Executive Chef David Learmonth (ex Biota, Bowral and Eshalot, Berrima to name a few), have taken the traditional high tea and added some flourishes that even the most staunch traditionalist of the Country Women’s Association would approve of. Everything is made on site, using NSW produce, which considering the history of the location is a nice touch.
With panoramic views across Sydney’s Domain the soft green interior feels like an extension of the lush green lawns outdoors. The fresh cut flowers on each table, thick white tablecloths and Wedgwood table service (all with the NSW parliament crest embossed) complete the setting.
High Tea
 Enjoy Christmas in July at NSW Parliament




Join the Parliamentary Catering in celebrating Christmas in July here at NSW Parliament House with a special pop up restaurant in the Strangers' Dining Room


NSW Parliament House high tea | Daily Telegraph





The High Tea in the House was created by Executive Chef David Learmonth and his team of expert chefs. While not every component was made in-house, every ingredient on the menu was sourced from NSW.
High Tea at Parliament House via christineknight.me

From Monday 3 - Friday 28 July, visitors can sit down to a delicious lunch in a place normally reserved for politicians, visiting dignitaries and even royalty!
Our chefs have created an exciting menu with an in-House twist on classic Christmas dishes, all created using the best seasonal NSW produce.
High Tea at Parliament House via christineknight.me
The restaurant will be open for lunch between 12.00pm – 03.00pm, Monday to Friday (excluding weekends)

Reservations are essential and can be made via email to dps.catering@parliament.nsw.gov.au or by phoning our friendly team on 02 9230 3709
We look forward to welcoming you to our House!
Strangers Dining Room


High Tea in The House - NSW Parliamentary Catering


Enjoy High Tea in Sydney's iconic NSW Parliament House, with delicacies such as macadamia soda scones and red velvet swiss rolls.




How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people — first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to a frugal life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing an undue amount of the labor of my fellow-men. I regard class distinctions as unjustified and, in the last resort, based on force. I also believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically and mentally.

Reflecting on the irreplicable subjectivity of the notion of “the meaning of life,” Einstein considers his own:


To inquire after the meaning or object of one’s own existence or that of all creatures has always seemed to me absurd from an objective point of view. And yet everybody has certain ideals which determine the direction of his endeavors and his judgments. In this sense I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves — this ethical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed to me empty.



 A Prix Fixe menu will be available with 2 courses and petit fours for $45.00 p.p and 3 courses with petit fours and 
a glass of dessert wine for $55.00 p.p
Sample Menu
Entrée
Avocado, Clarence river prawn, samphire salad, horseradish cocktail
Gruyere, ash goat cheese soufflé, eggplant caviar, tomato, olive, basil
Berkshire pork cheek, cabbage, roast capsicum, warm lentil tabouleh
Main
Roast wagyu rib cap au poivre, red onion escabeche, silver beet, black barley
Turkey – duck confit Ballantine, pumpkin potato bake, caramelised pepita, cranberry
Milly hill low temperature shank crepinette, crumbed cutlet, picallili & pea
Dessert
White Christmas, coconut everything bombe Alaska
Parliament House Christmas pudding, vanilla brandied custard, berry sorbet
Raspberry textures, vahlrona white chocolate mousse, pistachio
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Emotional tribute to his terminally ill sister



Social Health Atlas maps the state of cancers nationwide


Samuel Johnson's emotional tribute to his terminally ill sister


Actor Samuel Johnson has paid an emotional tribute to his sister, who recently stopped treatment for terminal cancer, on his Love Your Sister Facebook page.

Once I believed my Tato was made of steel. My Tato went from greeting
the morning from "Good morning, God!" to greetings which were more
like, "Good God ... morning?"

Did I hear my Tato finish his sentences?, 'To outlive a child is the
cruellest thing. A life sentence ..."

*Emotional PM talks to Sydney school kids about his late father




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Winding Up Wellbeing


Winding Up Wellbeing



I recently wrote about the importance of personal wellbeing in sustainable peak performance. We need to take care of ourselves first before we can fully succeed and take care of other areas of our lives. When it comes to happiness and wellbeing the notion exists that we are happy if negative emotions are absent from our lives. And the other way round. If you’re stressed or anxious, you won’t be feeling happy.

 This is where many of us go wrong according to Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at University of Pennsylvania. In our pursuit of happiness, he says, we should stop focusing so much on negative emotions and spending time to eliminate those. Instead it’s more important to actively cultivate wellbeing. I like it.

 Seligman suggests four exercises that can help us to readjust our focus when it comes to happiness.

 1) Identify your Strengths: When were you at your best? Write it down and think about the strengths you showed in that situation.

 2) Find the Good: Each night write down three things that went well that day.

 3) Make a Gratitude Visit: Have you thanked people who showed kindness towards you in the past? Think of someone you haven’t thanked, write a letter. If you’re feeling brave, meet that person and tell them.

 4) Respond Constructively: That’s a good one. Instead of saying ‘that’s great’ next time somebody shares good news with you, show more enthusiasm. Celebrate others accomplishments. There’s nothing better than sharing a celebration with somebody and some red wine.

 I’m a radical optimist – shifting focus towards the positive rather than dwelling on the bad just makes sense. Being an optimist might mean slightly different things to everybody.
POSTED BY KEVIN ROBERTS&nbsp
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The Hidden Stories of Copper Skies


“The skies above your head shall be copper, and the earth under you iron.”
~ Deuteronomy 28:23

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O and M sniffing out falsehoods - May God Bless Meek Souls ;-) ... 

Here's Pico, keeping morale high at Full Fact's offices on #BringYourDogToWorkDay

Elite Australian Defence Force unit tackles cyber crime


Elite Predictors - China Needs Room To Expand: 4 million, 5 million, 8 million: How big is too big for liveable Melbourne?

Look at the size of us! Melbourne, a city on steroids. Burgeoning population, booming economy, bulging outline. Every day more than 300 people added, a Ballarat-sized city each year

Dixon, KKR in $190m pub deal

US/Chinese? private equity giant KKR has bought into Australia's gastro pub boom, taking a majority stake in Melbourne-based industry consolidator Dixon Hospitality in a deal valuing the company at about $190 million.

Xi Jinping gives Hong Kongers a glimpse of the rule of iron



How standover tactics brought a Sydney underworld figure and carpet seller together


While Assaad had no stake in the business, as business records show, police sources believed he worked at the tyre shop at some point before he started providing protection.

The idea was that, if local criminals knew H was protecting the Lewins' business interests, they wouldn't try to extort them.

Police say the practice is common in south-west Sydney where criminals use a feared family or gang name to stand over business people.

"They will see an opportunity to move in and stand over that particular person, their business, and start demanding money," Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS) commander Detective Superintendent Peter McErlain said.

"A lot of that goes unreported because of the fear factor."






 

Fact-checking has never been this important. Come define its future



Low-income workers who live in RVs are being ‘chased out’ of Silicon Valley streets Guardian. Resilc: “At least slaves had quarters in 1850.”
New York Times copy desk to top editors: ‘You have turned your backs on us’ Poynter. No wonder the Times thinks it doesn’t need copy editors. They do fact checking!
 Note I’ve already seen a big glitch at the Grey Lady: a lead DealBook story with an incomplete sentence in the first paragraph:
This is the end—or is it? Real World Economics Review (Micael). On neoliberalism.
Politics after National Development: Explaining the Populist Rise under Late Capitalism: Globalizations: Vol 0, No 0. Taylor & Francis Online. UserFriendly: “Nothing new here but if someone who didn’t know the word neoliberalism asked me what is wrong with the world I’d send this link. It’s a great summery.”


New research: Writing a better fact czech

The number of fact-checking stories produced by journalists has increased dramatically over the last decade, but only recently have we truly explored how those stories could be better at attacking misinformation. Leslie Caughell, a political science professor at Virginia Wesleyan University, discusses what reporters might do (or not do) to make their fact-checks more effective.





Robots working alongside humans could help solve the looming skills shortage in UK manufacturing, but the cobots must be made safe. Read more



The British really love charity singles and benefit concerts. What’s behind this obsession?

Behavioural Insights Team opens up in Manchester and Singapore, and expands in Sydney

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), also known as ‘the Nudge Unit’, is opening two new offices in Singapore and Manchester. BIT, the world’s first government institution dedicated to the application of behavioural sciences, adds these two new offices to its London and New York operations whilst also expanding its existing team in Sydney. The opening […]

 It was standing room at the L Library only for the "Helping library users navigate fake news" session at the American Library Association's annual conference this week


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