The Three Little Pigs!

I was travelling to Bundanoon with my hubby for the Easter break. While he was driving, I was thinking about how lucky I was to have a week off work, but somehow I found my mind was back at work organising the next Family Story time at Penshurst Library.

The theme is “Pigs” and the first thing that popped into my head was the famous fairy tale of “The Three Little Pigs”. I started to think about the mother of The Three Little Pigs. What was it like for her to have her 3 boys leave home all on the one day? Was she overjoyed, thinking about how much more food she will have in the house, or was she sad to see them all leave?

Over a year ago, 3 of my 4 children left home in 3 months! I thought that was hard. I don’t know how Mrs Piggy coped having her “babies” all leave on the one day! I cried every time one of my kids left home. Of course I was happy they were spreading their wings and making a new life of their own, but my heart had to let go of my kids. One of my kids moved into a wooden house and 2 into a brick house. At least one didn’t move into a house built of straw!!

I also wondered; did Mrs Piggy have any other little piglets at home? 1, 2, 3, or maybe none. I have one of my children left at home and I love her being at home, but I know it is hard for her to be the only one left. Oh, and what about Mr Piggy? How was he feeling about his 3 sons moving out?

On top of all these thoughts, my mind wandered back to a trip my family had a couple of years ago to Tanna, Vanuatu. Tanna was the island that recently copped a direct hit from a category 5 cyclone “Pam”. We spent 2 weeks at a school in Tanna. My job at the school was to help in the library. I decided to do a theme on fairy tales. I was telling them the story of The Three Little Pigs. They hadn’t heard it before. By the time I as half way through the story I was feeling that this probably wasn’t the best fairy tale to read to them. I was up to the part where the little pig made his house out of straw and the big bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew his house down. I realised while telling this story that pretty much all of the houses on Tanna are made out of straw or sticks!!

In the recent cyclone so many of the houses in the villages were flattened!! Thankfully the school buildings remained intact and sheltered the villagers from a storm none of them had experienced in their life time. The buildings are still sheltering the villagers until they rebuild their homes. So I guess The Three Little Pigs really does teach us some life lessons.

Anyway, if you have kids, come along to Penshurst Library’s family story time and we will retell the story of “The Three Little Pigs”, play piggy games, and have lots of piggy fun!

Date: Wednesday 13 May 2015
Time: 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Cost: Free
Venue: Penshurst Branch Library
630 Forest Road, Penshurst NSW 2222

Click here to book online to attend this storytime session.

- Jacqui.

Hurstville Family Recipes

Hurstville and its surrounding suburbs are a melting pot of vibrant food and culture.

We asked people from our community to send us recipes of some of their favourite foods that they love to make for family and friends.

Our second Hurstville Family Recipe is from Jacqui! Who is sharing with all of us a wonderful and Easy 1,2,3 recipe.

I love having recipes that remind me of family and friends. When I receive a recipe from someone, I always include their name in the recipe. The following recipe belonged to my Nan “Hilda”.

Nan Hilda's 1,2,3's

Difficulty: Easy        Recipe type: Desserts

Serves: 6                 Preparation time: 10 mins           Cooking time: 20 - 30 mins  

Ingredients

1 cup caster sugar

2 egg whites

3 cups cornflakes

Whipped cream to serve

Special Equipment

Mix master.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 140*C.
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
3. In the mix master beat egg whites until stiff. Beat sugar in gradually.
4. Fold in cornflakes.
5. Place 1-2 tablespoon of the mixture onto baking tray, and put in the oven for 25- 30 minutes.
6. Do not leave out in air or they will go soft. Store in airtight container when they have cooled down.
   Will keep 1-2 days.
7. Whip some cream and serve immediately.
   
   Tip: Really yummy with strawberries and grated chocolate.

I used to love it when I went to her house and she had made 1,2,3’s. As a little girl I clearly remember her reciting the recipe when I asked her why they were called 1.2.3’s, as I thought that was such a funny name. Her reply was, 1 cup of sugar, 2 egg whites and 3 cups of cornflakes. It is now a family favourite with my own children and now and known as Nanna Lapham’s 1,2,3.s!!

Let us know how you go trying this recipe. #HurstvilleFamilyRecipes 

Have a look for #HurstvilleFamilyRecipes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and join our Family Recipes Community and add a snap of your special food.

Do you live, work or play in Hurstville or surrounding suburbs? Are there dishes you make on special occasions?

Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery would like you to share your family’s recipes with the community.

Whatever you cook, sweet or savory, we would love for you to share it with us!

If you would like to participate in this project, please follow the link to our What's On Page for more information.

Images courtesy of Jacqui.

H is for Hawk - Helen Macdonald

Completely overwhelmed by grief at the sudden death of her father, Helen McDonald tried to distance herself from her acute sorrow by undertaking the rearing and training of a goshawk. She struggled to maintain any semblance of a normal life during her chosen method of recovery from loss, and she found parallels in her own fractured existence and that of the writer T. H. White, who had also withdrawn from the world to find a strange solace in the training of a goshawk. 

H is For Hawk is, at turns, a sometimes harrowing meditation on the unbalancing effects of her unforeseen bereavement, a frequently painful account of the taming of this most difficult of raptors and a haunting commentary on the tragic life of T. H. White.

Remembering them: People of St George & the First World War

Homefront support: Hurstville's carnivals and sport demonstrations

Soon after the war broke out in 1914, music and theatre events, carnivals and sport demonstrations were regularly held in the local area to raise funds to support the nation during the war.

The carnival programs, many of them held at Hurstville Oval, would include games such as egg and spoon races, handicap wood chopping and greased pig chasing.

In November 1914, a ‘sports demonstration’ involving athletic events, processions and displays by school children and military units was staged at Hurstville Oval for the benefit of the Patriotic
Fund. The fund had been founded by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Alderman P.W. Richards, to support the families of the Australian military personnel.

The Hurstville Propeller reported on 4 December 1914, p. 2:

"Saturday last was a gala day in Hurstville, when the sports demonstration arranged by the combined lodges and the citizen committee took place."

Hurstville Propeller, 4.12.1914, p.2.
Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery collection. 

Patriotic sports, Hurstville Oval, November 1914.
Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery collection. 

School children's display, Hurstville Oval, November 1914.
Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery collection.

Another carnival was held at Hurstville Oval on 20 April 1918, in aid of the local War Relief Fund, "to gather funds to disburse among local soldiers or their dependants who may be in need" (Hurstville Propeller, 12 April 1018, p. 2). Despite heavy rain, around 5000 to 6000 people enjoyed the event. Only the night program was cancelled due to the bad weather (St George Call, 27 April 1918, p. 6).

Hurstville Propeller, 19 April 1918, p. 2.
Hurstville City Library Museum & Gallery collection.

Do you want to find out more about Hurstville's homefront support? Come and visit our exhibition

Remembering them: People of St George & the First World War on show until 31 May 2015.

Follow our Commemorating WW1 and Anzac Day Pinterest board.

Boy bands!

Are One Directon bigger than 5 Seconds of Summer?

According to these pictures, 1D have more members and double exposure.

So, well, yeah! But if you disagree, check out these DVD biographies!

Click here to view Up Close and Personal / 5SOS

Click here to view All for One: The Unauthorised Biography from X Factor / One Direction

The Art of Asking (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help) by Amanda Palmer

"From what I've seen, it isn't so much the act of asking that paralyzes us--it's what lies beneath: the fear of being vulnerable, the fear of rejection, the fear of looking needy or weak. The fear of being seen as a burdensome member of the community instead of a productive one." - The Art of Asking, Amanda Palmer

Half autobiography, half self-help book, The Art of Asking takes you on a journey through the ups and downs of Amanda Palmer’s life and how she learned that both asking and accepting offers for help is ok!

If you’ve never heard of Amanda Palmer, or are a diehard fan of her music – it doesn’t really matter. This book is very honest and explores the ongoing relationship of trust that Amanda Palmer has with the world. I loved reading the ‘rockstar’ stories of her life as a living statue and couchsurfing as she played gigs across the world, alongside her personal battles like dealing with a friends illness and falling in love with someone unexpected (in this case, writer Neil Gaiman). 

I put the book down thinking that maybe she is right about some things – maybe we should all “take the flower” when it’s offered and trust in people just a little bit more.

 - Beth

A book review from our teen fiction collection

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Park is a quiet boy who loathes attention. Eleanor is a big, red-headed new girl whose gawkiness and style makes her stand out like a sore thumb. On Eleanor's first day, Park hesitantly invites her to sit next to him on the crowded bus and the pair share awkward trips to and from school, until they begin to realise they amicably share similar tastes in comic books and music. As time passes they both fall into a flurry of first love and nothing is ever the same.

I owned this book for a year before I decided to read it and I can't believe that I waited so long! Rainbow Rowell never fails to produce an amazing story and Eleanor and Park is no exception. I can see myself re-reading it in the future because the story was so captivating and I'm so fond of the characters.

It's easy to identify with the characters in this book. Park is an introvert who finds that the best way to deal with his teenage angst is to listen to music and keep to himself. Eleanor wants to be an individual, to stand out from the rest, and she expresses this through an outrageous style of fashion. If you read this book, not only will you fall in love with the story, but you will fall in love with the characters too.

This is a story that has won over my heart and I won't ever forget it. It's beautiful and it perfectly depicts the awkwardness and clumsiness of falling in love for the first time. Although this is categorised as a teen fiction/young adult novel, I believe know that this is a book that can also be enjoyed by adults.

Eleanor and Park is available for loan at Hurstville City Library. Don't cheat yourself out of reading this beautiful book! Click here to view Eleanor and Park in the Hurstville City Library catalogue.

- Holly.