When nuclear war kills off all the human inhabitants of Earth, it opens the way for new sentient life forms to arise. Super-intelligent dolphins with arms and legs — having evolved rapidly due to all the radiation — now stand on the beach (in the region of Australia that was once called Melbourne, of course ), ready to establish the first land-based colony of what they plan to be a better civilisation than that of their self-destructive primate predecessors. But they are not the only beings intent on achieving supremacy in this brave new world. For the surviving birds have also evolved into something closely resembling their ancient ancestors, the dinosaurs...

(And no, I haven't been drinking anything more potent than Earl Grey tea this evening, honestly. )

The Mushroom Tapes 

This not-quite Melbournian "whodunit", using taped evidence of the case, fingered a notorious pastry chef, subsequently found guilty in a court of law, of using death cap mushrooms as ingredients, when several people died after tucking into what were otherwise perfectly cooked & presented meals, with pastry to die for - literally.  

Brave New World.

@courtenay (And no, I haven't been drinking anything more potent than Earl Grey tea this evening, honestly.)

Never mind the Earl Grey tea, what were you eating with it, I wonders? 

By the way, Ava Gardner, Gregory Peck & Fred Astaire starred in the 1959 filming of Australian author, Neville Shute's 1957 novel, On the beach, which was actually filmed in Melbourne. Ava Gardner's notorious opinion of Melbourne even made its way into politics.  

The sequel to Disney's Brave, in which Merida, Princess of Dunbroch, through her own feisty impulsiveness, brings an evil witch into Scotland from another world, via a wood full of enchanted pools. Trying to return the witch to her own world before she causes irrevocable destruction, Merida instead finds herself and the witch and an assortment of other characters entering a dark, empty place where nothing yet exists — until the song of a great Lion brings this new world to life... oh hang on, I have a feeling I've heard this story somewhere before...

The Dark is Rising 

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

This not-quite Melbournian "whodunit"... 

Thought you'd recognise the real-life case in question. The town where it occurred is only 20 minutes' drive from my own home town, where I grew up and where my parents still live, so I know it well (though I don't know any of the people involved) and it's all literally very close to home.  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

By the way, Ava Gardner, Gregory Peck & Fred Astaire starred in the 1959 filming of Australian author, Neville Shute's 1957 novel, On the beach, which was actually filmed in Melbourne. Ava Gardner's notorious opinion of Melbourne even made its way into politics.

I know, and I'm aware of the said notorious opinion, which is why I made sure to mention Melbourne! 

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Never mind the Earl Grey tea, what were you eating with it, I wonders? 

 

Ah, now that would be telling...  

A historical novel, which might well have been set in either early 1942 Timor or Darwin, when definitely, the "Dark is/was rising", describes the aftermath, in both places, of the fall of Singapore to the Japanese on 15th February in 1942. The novel concerns the adventures of Sparrow Force guerillas or their like, before, during & subsequent to the Battle of both Dutch & Portuguese Timor against the invading Japanese, on 19th February and the catastrophic Bombing of Darwin, earlier on the same day. Much has been said about the ensuing Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea in Australian territory in the following June that year, but little has been said about the deeds of the Sparrow Force, gallant though they might have been. 

A town like Alice

____________________________________________________________________

@courtenay Thought you'd recognise the real-life case in question. The town where it occurred is only 20 minutes' drive from my own hometown, where I grew up and where my parents still live, so I know it well (though I don't know any of the people involved) and it's all literally very close to home.

Never mind, the culprit in question is safely in gaol, where I suppose kitchen duties involving cooking or food preparation will be off limits. Yes, that story was in the papers for what seemed months. A Daily Telegraph photograph of a sample of the remains of the fatal meal, demonstrated all too clearly the culprit's undoubted skill in pastry cooking.

I've tried Beef Wellington, at a Tasmanian motel our group stopped at in 2017, but the pastry was limp, soggy and disappointing . I agree that Beef Wellington is a fiddly & expensive sort of dish to make, which is why I have never tried to make it, even to impress visiting family members. And so, I can't remember if a recipe of Beef Wellington of necessity included mushrooms of any sort, let alone the quantity, whether bought from the store, growing wild like death-cap mushrooms, or even so-called "magic" mushrooms. A Gordon Ramsay recipe suggests only 4 specifically Portobello mushrooms would be necessary, so I suspect they could be omitted altogether. 

As an adult, Alice — famous for her adventures in Wonderland and through the looking-glass — builds a town based on those adventures, complete with elaborately costumed actors as all the different characters she met. So now, at a very reasonable price for a day ticket, visitors can join in with the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, play croquet with the Queen of Hearts, converse with Humpty Dumpty or with Tweedledee and Tweedledum, re-enact the legendary quest to slay the Jabberwock... (The shrinking and growing effects of certain foods and drinks haven't successfully been reproduced yet, however.)

Tom's Midnight Garden

In this story, Tom found a second-hand book which claimed all the best gardens are sown at midnight, in Spring. He put this theory to the test & could be found looking after his new garden at midnight for several weeks. Unfortunately, with such disturbed sleep he grew very tired, started sleepwalking in his pyjamas, finally falling asleep in the garden bed, squashing all his seedlings.

Pastures of the Blue Crane

A nonfiction book about the migratory patterns and destinations of the blue crane.

The Silent Bells

According to internet, church bells were first introduced in 400 AD, & by 604 AD, their widespread use had been officially integrated as a part of church worship by Pope Sabinian. This non-fiction book shows how the 636-7 capture of Jerusalem by the Rashidum Caliphate, which also captured the rest of The Levant, silenced these church bells when it & succeeding Caliphates, went on to capture not only North Africa but also Spain. 

The Year of Living Dangerously 

A formerly reserved and proper middle-aged British woman, realising on New Year's Day that life is passing her by, resolves to spend the entire coming year doing things that are truly dangerous and downright edgy. Like jumping queues, standing on the left* on London Underground escalators, refusing to drink tea at social gatherings, and eating "After Eight" chocolate mints at 7.30.

* Seriously, even though it's the other way around in most of the rest of Britain, the rule on escalators in London is always stand on the right, walk on the left. Anybody who breaches this will be severely tutted at.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Jemima is the thinnest and lightest girl in her class at school. She feels embarrassed, and sometimes her lightness seems unbearable.  This humorous book for children, following the pattern of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, describes and depict the huge food list that Jemima eats her way through one week to try to make herself fatter and heavier. 

The Good Logs of Algidus.

Logs are another name for the journals kept by the captains of ships traversing the high seas, and Algidus, a noted explorer, was known for his meticulously kept logs, enabling later seafarers to consult them for information about different parts of the world.

Till we have faces

An actress between roles suffers depression as she feels she is nobody until she has put on her stage makeup 'face' for each character. 

The Hills Is Lonely 

In the back yard of an abandoned house in rural Australia, a forgotten clothes hoist stands sadly rusting, longing for the day when people will come and hang their washing on it (and kids will swing on it) again.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A literary salute to the many notable astronomers from Nicholas Copernicus, on to Galileo & right up to the present, and including the USA's manned moon exploration, finishing in December, in 1972. 

Longtime dreaming