Last time we suggested that 'Strine, the language spoken here in Oz, was becoming too Americanized. Perhaps we were a little too hasty. In one week we encountered hoons, kip, chalk and cheese, cheque-butt, job and knock, to skite and Zimmer frames. What?

This remarkable sculpture by Sophie Hoppe titled Spheres floats off Cottesloe Beach as part of the 5th Sculpture By The Sea Exhibition; the other 61 sculptures are scattered on shore. Sophie says she "envisioned the sphere as an invisible constraint in a sea of freedom."

Cottesloe is a spectacular beach that was closed for a couple of days last month because of sharks. But, with the life savers on duty during the exhibition, everyone was safe.

By Denise Pepper & Brooke Zeligman

News & Notes

• Dan and Tomoko enjoyed a weekend of R & R in Savannah recently. Though they visited several sights and went to see the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the 'trip report' seemed to include a lot of mention of chocolate. They are busy planning their trip to Greece and on to Cyprus to visit us in May.

• Dave had an entertaining piece accepted for McSweeney's on 7-11's Monster Biscuit. At the time of this writing, it's first on the list, but if not, scroll down.

• L returned to the US for a National Research Council meeting in Washington DC. He can attest to the fact that it is a long way from Perth -- in fact, 1/2 of the circumference of the earth. There was time for a day of sight-seeing with Jan Cuny and Steve Robinson; Steve has joined the Obama Administration's Department of Education. On the trip home -- it's just as long -- L enjoyed a restful layover in Sydney in Alan Fekete and Shirley Goldrei's newly completed guest suite.

• J spent a week in Thames New Zealand visiting Jeamy and Peter Feran. Jeamy and Julie like to cook when they're together. Jeamy is also an accomplished watercolorist and she combined her two talents into a lovely cookbook, French Cooking In New Zealand. The first printing is sold out, but we'll let you know when the next printing is ready. The photo at left is her apple tatin. Find more pictures on Jeamy's Web site including J cooking crêpes at the Saturday Market.
  
  Between bites there was plenty of time to check out Feran's garden, chat and hike, including a walk to Cathedral Cove, one of the North Island's most famous sights.
  

  

• Oh, yes.Translating the vocabulary into American: hoons are dangerous speeders, kip is a nap, chalk-and-cheese is "apples and oranges", cheque-butt is a check stub, job and knock means to show up for your job, and then quickly knock off for the day without clocking out, to skite is to brag, and Zimmer frame is a walker for the elderly.