FIKAPAUS: JUNE EDITION

Winter in Australia is a time and place like no other. Where I live especially – right next to bushland, the heat of summer has burrowed deep into the trees, light glows like ember from the white eucalypt bark, and gum leaves like red and green feathers mimicking the lorikeets, or the other way around. Many of our fika suggestions are Australian, but this June we thought we’d lay our culture on a bit more thickly. Just how I like my Vegemite. Enjoy!

READ

When I was younger I loved short stories. They were a whirlwind of wordsmithery, or a surgical cross section into the anatomy of a moment. Words aren’t wasted or minced, storylines surge rather than meander. That’s not to say all short stories are grandiose rollercoasters of emotion, the more subtle plots often show the significance, beauty and substance of fleeting moments, that they were important enough to put down in words. It compliments the spirit of fika superbly.

Also some of us have short attention spans. There’s nothing wrong with that.

New Australian Fiction: This is a collection of Australian contemporary short stories from some acclaimed and emerging authors to get you started.

EAT

Cheese and Vegemite scrolls. Doesn’t need much more of an introduction than this!

DRINK

Australia has really good gin. Here are one or two I’ve tried and enjoyed, and kept the bottle for later use as a candle holder.

Poor Tom’s. Super floral and delicate. Good for light G&T’s, or over ice, or in an Ethiopian cold brew

Melbourne Gin Company. Well rounded and smooth. Good negroni grub.

Four Pillars. Citrus and spice. Also good in a negroni or over ice.

On my wish list: Distillery Botannica Rather Royal. Ingredients are picked from the Royal Botanical Gardens, and proceeds go towards conservation programmes of the gardens. And I like the bottle.

LISTEN

Just focusing on Australian music does not help narrow the search one little bit. So here’s a few songs for you to enjoy!

Winston Surfshirt: Make A Move. This is on my wake up alarm playlist, and it’s groovy enough to make me actually want to get out of bed to boogie for a minute (before hitting snooze and getting back into bed)

The Waifs: Up All Night. What a classic album. Great for singing along pretending you know how to harmonise. 

Baker Boy: Mr La Di Da Di. Perfect for strutting down the street, driving downtown with the windows down, or chopping carrots. But julienne with care, it gets groovy.