Temasek

Had to do a woodblock for an assignment
the brief was City scenes and I played around with some of my images from Singapore as my base idea. Still needs a touch more carving but this is the first proof print- shaping up okay I hope

Something to think about

Catching up on some other things at present and came across this on the web.

My Island Home

I also come from a saltwater people so when I first heard this song- by the Warumpi Band I loved it but this version was great too
especially as the timing of it was a direct swing at our dearly despised (and hopefully soon departed) Prime Minister and his refusal to utter one little word- sorry.
closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in 2000

More mermaid

Not happy but then again I am rarely happy with my work
Wouldnt do the white cut on this one again but the ideas I worked on with the inks are interesting- dark to light is sort of against the 'rules'

I should be getting on with my assignments but I DO have all the equipment out so some block printing on fabric coming up LOL
And it is for a practical purpose after all - want to make a bag I can carry my notebooks and few supplies in but not rely on mass produced monsters

Mermaids again

Doing an assignment for printmaking in three colour reduction lino cut not convinced it will work but this is the image printed like a conventional lino block.
Handprint- not press printed - because I like the softness of handprints
and I was mucking about with blending inks with the brayer on the block.

this made me giggle

And thematically appropriate ;-)


One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her
thimble fell into the river. When she cried out, the Lord appeared and
asked, "My dear child, why are you crying?"
The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that
she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their family.
The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set
with pearls.
"Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.
The seamstress replied, "No."
The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a silver thimble ringed
with sapphires.
"Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.
Again, the seamstress replied, "No."
The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather thimble. "Is this
your thimble?" the Lord asked.
The seamstress replied, "Yes."
The Lord was pleased with the woman's honesty and gave her all three
thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy.
Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the
riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the
water.
When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, "Why are you
crying?"
"Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!"
The Lord went down into the water and came up with George Clooney.
"Is this your husband?" the Lord asked.
"Yes," cried the seamstress.
The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is not true!"
The seamstress replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding.
You see, if I had said 'no' to George Clooney, you would have come up with
Brad Pitt. Then if I said 'no' to him, you would have come up with my
husband. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord,
I'm not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three
husbands, so THAT'S why I said 'yes' to George Clooney.
And so the Lord let her keep him.

The moral of this story is: Whenever a woman lies, it's for a good and
honorable reason, and in the best interest of others. That's our story, and
we're sticking to it.

Signed

All Women

Dahlia days

the tree dahlia is in flower- this came from my grandmother's garden originally and I am not sure if it will survive in the tropics but I am going to try to grow it because the nights on the hills are a lot cooler in winter time up there so it just might make it.
the dahlia usually heralds the cool weather but the sky behind is brilliant blue today but with nice fresh southerly which hopefully will pull in some rain from the Southern Ocean- we can only hope

Pied Oystercatcher and Silver Gulls

birdies

more patterns

photography folio

Playing with an idea about the patterns of nature

birthday season

It is my Auntie's birthday lunch today- this particular Auntie (I have quite a few) is a bit of a favourite of mine because she is only a few years older than moi so we have always had a bit of fun together. She was going to take me to see the Rolling Stones when I was 11 but my Mum put a stop to that little expedition. But there were a few good ones in between. Her birthday is actually tomorrow but she is working.
We dont do big expensive pressies because it is way too ridiculous in a family the size of our clan but I thought she deserved something so I ran this up this morning
Just to wax it and let it dry while I shower and then head off
She is a lady of soul and spirit.
Then back here this afternoon to create a birthday dinner for M.O.T.H and give him his surprise pressie- more on that in case he reads this before I give it to him. It's his birthday today and yes he is a little bit older than this Auntie ;-)

Hiccups over

And a Case Moth colonising my house

silk spirals

This is for a charity auction piece for a girls orphanage in Nepal
I was thinking originally about pleating it as a scarf but i got my spirals working in it at each end and now I am not sure
still have a day or two to decide

Lorikeets

in the garden and everywhere at present.
With the drought the birds are coming into town in search of food and water
This was taken this afternoon in the front of the house
A Rainbow Lorikeet

Paper play day

Had some friends over today to play with paper and have some fun.
It was Shirley's birthday last year around the time my Mum had her bypass and I was crook too so I didnt make it to the party but offered her a play day in lieu. Which she said yes to.
We had lunch and a beautiful autumn afternoon to work and they were able to take home about twenty or so papers for later playing.
I was wandering around with the camera today and took a couple of shots Jessie Rose at the pulp bin and one of Shirley's papers with the sun behind it glowing which sort of made me smile.

Me and my soapbox

I've been published! Or will be tomorrow Oz time when the site is updated.
I wrote a tribute to a man I consider to be very brave. Major Michael Mori USMC.
Now military types are not usually my heroes I tend to like the Gandhi's, Mandela's and Gusmao's of this world but this man is truly a brave individual. To criticise so completely the system the US put in place for the inmates of Guantanomo while working in that system is definitely the act of a brave man.
Preview here:
http://www.unknownnews.org/MichaelMori.html

MAJ MICHAEL MORI, DEFENCE COUNSEL FOR DAVID HICKS: Oh, he knows he can't
get a fair trial. I've told them, "They won't give him a fair trial."
He's been through it. He's been put in a trial where he was removed from
his own trial. He sat there and saw everyone that had been handpicked to
convict him, not for a justice system but for a political trial, for a
show trial. He sat there while all the Brits and Habib went home. You
can't hide it from him, that he's there for - for face saving. It has
nothing to do with the justice system.

Three cheers for the Major from the Marines!!

And Happy Easter everyone

mess or masterpiece? lol

it is only a few degrees that separate the two
this is something I nearly set fire to earlier but it has possibilities

Autumn

and a girl's mind turns to Chillies
well this girl's does!! With the cooler weather approaching my chilli bushes are sparkling with colour at present so time to start putting them down for over winter.
Some chilli pickle Indian style for himself, a batch of sambol oelek for me and the big manzano chillies are nicer than commercial jalapeno chillies when done in vinegar and salt.
This is the result of about 10 minutes of picking in my garden.
Hey does anyone have a good hot sauce recipe? Would love to try to make something like that
More textile work on the way but just tidying up some other stuff before mid semester break before getting down and doing my thing

R & R II

This is just for a certain friend who never got to experience AC/DC with Bon Scott out front- as most Aussie pub rock purists will insist this is Acca Dacca at their best with the ever irreverent Bon doing what he does best.




Enjoy babe

R & R

Having a quiet day today M.O.T.H has decided to paint the bathroom so I am staying out of his way and cooking instead. Our neighbour gave us some pears from his tree so I made a pear and almond cake earlier which is yummy- just HAD to sample some and it is glorious.
Recipe is

PEAR and ALMOND flan

1 tbsp soft brown sugar
150g butter
150g caster sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
150g almond meal
2 tbsp self-raising flour
2 tbsp blanched almonds
3 or 4 pears, skin on
Line a circular flan or cake tin 23cm in diameter with non-stick baking paper. Sprinkle soft brown sugar over the baking paper.
In a bowl, cream together butter and caster sugar to create a smooth, creamy mixture, making sure all the sugar is dissolved. You could do this with a fork, electric beater or a food processor.
Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the creamed mixture. Add the almond meal and flour and mix well.
Cut the pears vertically, leaving the skin on and the stalk. Place the pieces decoratively in the flan dish or cake tin, flat sides down. Fill the gaps with the blanched almonds.
Pour the cake mixture over the pears and almonds and press down.
Bake in preheated oven at 190c for 45 minutes or until the filling feels firm at the centre. Allow to cool.
Ease the flan away from the edge of the flan dish with a knife. Place a large serving plate on top and turn it over. All being well, the flan will be released onto the plate without breaking.
...............................................

quickie

Busy week this week with getting assignments in on time etc but all done. I have a couple of days of household stuff I really need to catch up on before I can get back to my work but I dont really mind because it has to be done sooner or later and the sooner means the sooner I can get this place on the market and move up north.
My little girl has been my constant shadow since we lost Bandit. Miss Jazzy is feeling very lonely without her big protector and now the little kitten from next door has disappeared is even more lonely but that has compensations for me when the cuddly girl curls up next to me of an evening
Back in a few days hopefully with some work to show and tell
A pic of my girl in Bandit's favourite spot which she has now claimed.

Chine colle'

is a special technique in printmaking in which the image is transferred to a surface (usually paper but of course I didnt stop with that ;-)) that is bonded to a heavier support in the printing process. And one of the core items on our printmaking course this year. I LOVE it because it has SO many possibilities- these pics are a bit blurry but for test bits not too bad.
I think this is something I might be exploring a lot further


this first bit is a bit of flocked fabric- just a scrap from my stuff box and simple lay over of an abstract block- the block is inspired by my erigeron daisy- something I will have to leave behind when I head north unless anyone knows any species of daisies that can live in the tropics.


and this one is on some of my own dyed tissue paper - the same block and basically the same ink

I like this technique
/R

Paper and paperwork

Spent the past couple of days getting things organised for the house renovations including sorting out our files and paperwork and tossing piles and piles of it HOORAY lol
But I finally got around to charging up some batteries for the cam and took some quick shots of the paper I made last week. I was able to emboss some at school which came out quite well I thought - didnt need to dampen the paper because of the nature of the beastie makes the fibres quite loose so it lends itself to embossing quite well.
The first one was made with dropping the pulp onto the screen and then pouring water over it to compact it made quite a thick paper more like a pizza box LOL but I like it because it definitely has possibilities


The next one was just mixing the pulps on the screen - I pulped up coloured paper and had a glorious time splashing water everywhere



And this one was dripping the pulp freeform on the mesh, like the edges and the holes



And the embossed one

Ginger, moths and the S word

Well after last week and just trying to keep on top of the workload at VU I didnt get around to blogging much.
I have to do some paper making for printmaking which has been fun and delightfully messy, I have done some test bits which I will photograph but I want to get onto making a mixed paper of silk fibres and pulp in the near future, Looking for ways of making deep dark colours in pulp so that the silk will really sparkle within.I've even peeled back some meleluca bark and boiled it up to make pulp although the blender was NOT impressed with that when I pulped it but the colour is interesting just to see if it works
One really exciting thing in the garden has been our ginger plant flowering. Here in Melbourne would not be considered prime ginger growing country but we planted some in the vegie patch last year and this year it has popped spikes which is amazing.
Even more glorious is the scent, completely magic and heady
Our suburb is rather strange because it has micro climate that can sustain frangipani and hibiscus. All of which this year have been spectacular despite the lack of water. But I must admit I cant wait to get to a climate where all those things are completely at home.
The fluffy kitty of the household has taken to coming to bed with us since losing her big protector. M.O.T.H. reckosns she is not missing him just taking her place as she sees it now but she has barely let me out of her sight over the past week and gets a bit anxious if I am not around. She is good comfort.
and about the only other vaguely exciting thing that happened was the discovery that my pantry was infested with bloody moths. It seems that they got into something in there and have been munching away happily on a block of Indian jaggery - they seem to love brown and raw sugars so all those are now safely in containers and after scrubbing out the shelves and discarding anything with a trace of moth on it I opened the damn thing last night to find another dozen or so. Grrrr the gap between the doors seems to allow them free entry- time to get really nasty with them LOL
While I was cleaning them out I found some of the little darlings copulating!!! Now fair go, food and sex are a great combo but I am not supporting the local moth population any longer!!!!
the quandary is how to repel them from the pantry - a nice stable temperatured place that is quiet etc- without using yukky chemicals. Any suggestions?

Bandit

is no more. We had to take him to the vet this morning to be put to sleep because it was getting to the stage where he was starting to suffer. Ironic really because it is almost 3 years to the day that his little mate went - the anniversary is actually tomorrow and we remember the date because it fell on a family birthday.

Bandit was a scrawny little kitten living under the house of a neighbour and existing on what critters he could catch until he peered out at me and I commented to the neighbour about his kitten. Being retired they didnt want a cat and weren't feeding him because that would make him stay so I went and got a saucer of food and enticed this wild little thing out. After gorging himself he decided living under our house was a MUCH better idea. So began the campaign to tame this little wild one. Surprisingly easy when he was half starved although he retained some wild habits until the end. He had to live under the domination of Socks for about 5 years before emerging as king kitty of the neighbourhood. He and my puppy became completely besotted with each other and would sleep together often. When we lost the little pup Bandit was sad for a long time and would sleep where we buried him most days for at least a year.
He loved nothing more than prawns- and as one of our family observed now he is able to get as many prawns as he wants at the Big Table.
Vale Bandit. you are going to be deeply missed
Even by the fluffy wench

Sometimes

I am intensely proud of the city of Melbourne and never more than this week. I came out of Flinders St station - the main commuter station in the city- to see this hanging off the side of St Paul's Cathedral.
The travesty of justice being imposed by the US on the inmates of Guantanamo Bay is unbelievable
FREE DAVID HICKS
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/hicks-tells-of-torture/2007/03/01/1172338796050.html?page=fullpage

Taken on a Sony Ericsson V800 phone -thanks Anders

Gone but not forgotten

We lost a legend today, one of the seminal influences of Australian Rock and Roll and he will be sadly missed by us 'old' rockers
well not so old LOL

Vale Thorpie- We didnt think you were crazy
we just loved it when you rocked out -without you there wouldnt have been an AC/DC or Midnight Oil.

Another birthday done and dusted

I've stopped counting now! Who needs to know LOL
HAd a great party with family and friends which was laid back and fun- even getting one of my colleagues dressed up in a saree- the wench looked stunning being one of those lovely petite women. Unlike moi being the statuesque type with big knockers LOL
I didnt tell all invited it was my birthday because the party was not really about that- it was about survival of the past year or so and the new phase of life M.O.T.H. and I are about to start.
But it was nice to have my folks down for the evening and I even didnt mind the birthday cakes my sister in law made for me DESPITE the veritable forest fire of candles on top LOL
Rose you looked great

Party time

I am throwing a small party tomorrow and after that past fortnight of getting back into school etc I havent done much work at all- oh well needs must as they say.
I am looking forward to it because I used to have lots of fun entertaining but that has gone by the board over the past couple of years - that hold health issue being the main culprit.
But healthy and more importantly HAPPY again it is time to rejoin the world and have some fun!!!
My Mum is coming too which is a big buzz after her surgery last year she took a bit to recover but has finally finished with dressings and stuff like that. She is being very good about her diet and not eating the bad things any more. She has dropped 7kg since the surgery which is brilliant for her.
So it is food time in our house because even tho' its my birthday party- well that is the excuse even if it is more to celebrate the fact we survived the past few years- I do the cooking because I have always loved to cook but over the past couple of years that interest like many others waned.
I have no idea who is coming - maybe no-one outside a few close friend and family who have responded but I dont really care. I want to cook again because I love it and it give me a chance to cook non vegetarian food. For those who dont know M.O.T.H is a strict vegetarian and has been for over thirty years. This is my chance to load up on some iron LOL
Seriously we live a fairly vegie lifestyle but I am still an omnivore. I love seafood and sometimes I just NEED a steak LOL must be iron I crave I suppose.
Proposed menu is curried Goat, vege curry, rice, salad and chicken for the non spicy eaters. My sister in law is making a cake so that will be dessert.
Although I DO know how to make WICKED desserts LOL
But before all that I am making a birthday cake for my little mate Alex (7yo) whose birthday it is today- mine was yesterday (22nd) and he is coming over tonight to have a barbecue with us and blow out the candle- then hairdressers to get the mop cut,shopping for food and THEN cooking
BLISS

Back at school

School is back on and this week and last week has been a tad hectic but I have finally finished going through all my pics of Nth Qld. Because it was the Wet Season there were fungi everywhere and some really spectacular ones too
The hairy cup shaped ones were taken at the Mossman Gorge and the brilliant yellow ones in my friend's garden. Spectacular colours but like all the colours up there they seem richer and deeper. Certainly when it is a little clouded you get such rich tones and it was cloudy for all but two days really but I didnt mind in the slightest.

Barron Falls

The power of this place!

Frogs

Hmmmn well who ever thought that I would hate a froggy but I did one night
this one frog was singing under the window ALL NIGHT!!

he kept saying STEADY MUM STEADY MUM
it probably had more to do with the peppermint tea I drank that evening BIG MISTAKE lol which led to a bout of insomnia.

Then another night there were frogs all over the place, we went cane toad racing which is a rather strange ritual that involves catching the dreaded Cane toad that is decimating the frog and wildlife populations in tropical Oz. If you're interested you can check out
http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/canetoad.htm
Anyway being ever so slightly mad Australians have a love hate relationship with these really UGLY critters and do weird stuff with them like race them. My nephew David runs races at the Ironbar in Port Douglas and we went along to watch and ended up being involved due to the machinations of his son Nathan.
The participants are meant to pick up their toad and kiss it- no princes come from that kiss let me tell you- and then they are place on the table and you are giving a paper tickler to get the thing moving and you catch it before it leaps onto the floor from the table and place it in the bucket. I came third in my race.
Then later that night back at the house we had a HUGE treefrog in the bath- he usually camps on the front verandah but that night he ended up in the bathroom instead and a few night previously another one was inside and had stayed hidden. And it began jumping around too
but I didnt really mind although for a companion it was all a bit too much

Mossman Gorge -again

It was really interesting to see the Gorge in the Wet
although the contrast here is not as strong as another place I revisited while I was up there.
Still a gorgeous place although the water was a bit COLD but I was wet from the rain anyway (GRIN)

Strange fruit

No not the Billie Holliday song but something I HAVE seen before in Sri Lanka but I have no idea what they are called, M.O.T.H reckons they are Elephant Fruit but I have to do a bit of research. These were beside the road in Cairns. Wild!!

Water water everywhere

During the adventure of the water over the road I was too sh*t scared to pick up my camera- funny that eh? But a couple of days later we went into Cairns for Ken to do some stuff he had to do and made a trip to the Crystal Cascades- which I am sure do look like Crystal in the dry season but looked like a white water rafters wet dream when we were there. REALLY dramatic

Ken's Orchid's

Aren't they simply gorgeous? The pink and yellow one was past its best he kept saying but it was still fabulous. But the other one- the colour is very similar to a pashmina I bought in India in 2005. Certainly the same tonal range - is simply glorious!!
I watched it open from a bud on our first day to the blooms I photographed on my last day.
Aargh what inspiration- I am doing Chine Colle in Printmaking as my first brief this semester and am dying to get into it because I intend to use that orchid as my inspiration. I am doing to dye some silk tissue I have to use instead of just paper and it will glow I am sure- I will probably do some other silk too.
Drooling at the thought LOL

Tropical leaves

Needless to say I had a ball in the tropics during my visit. Because of the drought down here being up there was a complete balm to the soul. GREEN!!! It appeals to the Irishness in me for want of a better term.
I arrived in Cairns late on Thursday night and went for a quick stroll around town to stretch after the flight then to my room at the hotel and beddie byes. Up lateish next morning so I nearly missed brekkie but fed and watered and checked out to pick up my hired 'bomb' and on my way a bit further north.
I dropped in to touch base with my niece and nephew and make plans to catch up and ended up being booked for a cooking session with David. I am a pretty good cook if I say so myself ;-)then up the hill and the long winding road to my final destination to be greeted by a big bear hug and a glass of vino.
M.O.T.H. and I were up there back in August and while I loved it for the beauty etc I was not in the right frame of mind to really fully appreciate it. We did talk about moving then but the whole concept just seemed so huge. It didnt help matters that I ended up with a dose of flu at the time either which on top of my other health issue of the time made it all a bit too much. This visit had a couple of purposes, to see if I could handle the humidity- yes- and to unwind and relax- that took a couple of days longer really.
But after only an hour or so my sketch book was already on my knee while we talked and inspiration was bubbling to the surface. A good sign and a precursor for what was to come.
Saturday morning was spent looking at yachts and Port Douglas then a trip to Mareeba was slated to stock up on supplies. The local supermarkets were not that full because of the heavy rain cutting roads and supplies not getting through. On the way back one of the creeks was well up and we sloshed through with water coming in the doors of the ute- we hadnt taken the little car because of the rain thank goodness- and over the bonnet and washing like a tidal wave onto the windscreen- YYIKES! I didnt lose it - well not completely LOL- until I felt the clutch slip and I swore but was reassured by the calm of the driver saying we were through the deepest bit. PHEW.
Needless to say that needed a couple of drinks when we got back to the house.
My friend's house is glorious, this very talented man pooh poohed my observation it was a work of art but it is. He built it himself and his talent and taste made it a wonderful building and his partner's contributions of colour and details have turned it into a home to envy. The verandah is my favourite place. To sit there and listen to the rain falling gently while dressed in a sarong and tee shirt was just bliss. A sarong is SO comfortable I would love to be able to get away with wearing one most of the time.
The funked up shirts I did a couple of weeks ago now live in the area as pressies for nephews and others too.

Here are a couple of piccies of patterns that inspired me - I can see a lot of green in my work now LOL
More to follow- off to class now
/R

Lush, lovely and sensual

is North Queensland
this pic is just one of a couple of hundred I took during my stay
just sitting on the verandah of my dear friend's house - the perfect place in the rain.
Had no internet since yesterday so I havent been able to upload things and should be getting ready to toddle to Uni so this is just a taster.
A rave about the whole experience is forthcoming
/R

Back home

Well Far North Queensland is definitely the place for me. The wet tropics in the Wet Season is magnificent. Just the balm for this drought ravaged soul but Droughts are made to be broken aren't they?
Staying with a dearly loved and trusted friend was wonderful, long, long chats over a glass of wine or two- even three sometimes!- was just what I needed. And the inspiration for some interesting works in offing
pics to be posted as soon as I can charge up some batteries to get the cam up to download but bedtime first

Away for a bit

I am heading off to North Queensland tomorrow- oops today-and wont be around for a bit. I did some more dyeing today with some really nice dark navy in the mix which gave me the effects I wanted but no pics yet because they are still curing and I probably wont be able to do much more than rinse them tomorrow and really look at them when I get back. Cant wait for that
So I thought I would leave some more music to play while I am away
This is a Billion Dollar Blues Band in my eyes- sure a tad commercial but the leader is Mr King and he does have some pretty hefty back up. Ladies and Gentlemen the legendary Louisiana Gator Boys and one special Gal.
lol see if you can recognise them?



It's a bit of a buzz to realise I have seen quite a few of these characters live

B. B. King - vocals and guitar
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - guitar
Gary U.S. Bonds - vocals
Eric Clapton - vocals and guitar
Clarence Clemons - vocals, tenor saxophone and tambourine
Jack DeJohnette - drums
Bo Diddley - vocals and guitar
Jon Faddis - trumpet
Isaac Hayes - vocals
Dr. John - vocals and piano
Tommy McDonnell - vocals
Charlie Musselwhite - vocals and harmonica
Billy Preston - vocals and synthesizer
Lou Rawls - vocals
Joshua Redman - tenor saxophone
Paul Shaffer - director and vocals
Koko Taylor - vocals
Travis Tritt - vocals and guitar
Jimmie Vaughan - vocals and guitar
Grover Washington, Jr. - baritone saxophone
Willie Weeks - bass guitar
Steve Winwood - vocals and organ.
Enjoy the Music and life and see you around the 12th or so

My Domestic Leopard- Bandit

is not so good at present. Over the past couple of months he has been losing weight but he is an old kitty (nearly 15). He has always been a rangy cat and gets a bit skinny in summer but this time it is walking skeleton- not quite but he IS very thin. His coat and teeth etc are in good nick but his kidney function is that of a 15 yo kitty -working okay at present and possibly could improve a little with treatment - so the vet is recommending drugs to improve the condition.
I love my 'kids' but I am realistic about their care and treatment- being brought up in the country saw to that. I was wondering if anyone had been through this and whether in the end it is worth it- emotionally for me to keep him going would be fabulous of course but quality of life for my Bandit is the issue.
I cant abide those people who keep an animal alive for their emotional benefit over the welfare and well-being of the animal.

I will always have a soft spot for Bandit because he chose me! He moved in one hot summer as a kitten to backstop my older cat at the time and befriended my puppy and they became inseperable. Bandit mourned for that dog as much as we did when we had to let him go when he got sick. Despite being a very good hunter as a youngster- too good for comfort actually- he is a very gentle cat with us and our friends and family but is feral in his behaviour to strangers.
He became the toughest cat in the neighbourhood purely by default and virtue of his size - the older cat I had when he arrived WAS the toughest cat in the neighbourhood so Bandit never really had to fight for his place in the world.

An Experiment

A dear friend of mine knows about my 'experiments' well this one is completely innocent
a sample of the kind of music I love
the one and only Mr BB King and his slowhandedness Eric Clapton