Hi Paul,

Thanks for the information about fish and for your advice.
It's been a learning curve. We'll go to the local fish
shop that we know and trust next time - even though it's
further away.

I watched Q and A this morning. Excellent show. Very relevant.
It raised the topic of the parties ignoring raising the
JobSeeker allowance which apparently is just $46.00 dollars
a day. Who the heck can live on that? But both parties
are avoiding serious discussions on the subject.

Chris Bowen was one of the guests - and even he deflected
when asked some serious questions by a member of the
audience.

Disappointing.

To paraphrase some of Dr Seuss and make it my own:

I moan and groan when I try to walk
I repeat myself when I do talk
I need glasses to help me see
And I'm far to old to hold my pee

So bear with me - the church bells are ringing
Faithful voices are joyously singing
Christ has risen, Easter is here
The Easter bunny is drawing near

Chocolates and eggs, big and small
Will gladly be shared by one and all
Happy days with family
Will be spent with joy quite happily

HAPPY EASTER TO ONE AND ALL!

Hi Again Foxy,

A story, some years back we had a friend and his wife visit us in Sydney from the South Coast. We took them to a rather flash resistant in the city. Joe ordered the 'Surf and Turf' in the menu advertised as rump steak topped with Barramundi , which is a little usual as its normally topped with lobster in the best restaurants, but fish it was. After the meal the head waiter enquired as to how was the meal, Joe our friend said "Well, the turf was lovely, but the surf was disappointing." HW; "Why is that sir?"...Joe: "The fish wasn't Barramundi, it was Gem Fish"....HW; "Oh no sir it was Barramundi"....I said to the HW; " I wouldn't argue with the gentleman, as he's a commercial fisherman (showing his licence in his wallet) and knows Gem Fish from Barramundi." We got free glasses of Grandfather Port, for any "misunderstanding" as the HW put it, but no apology for the deceitful substitution.

I have basa quite often. I'm pretty sure you'll find that all basa sold in Australia are sourced from fish farms on the Mekong that meet our standards of cleanliness and are pollution free.

I bake it in a parmesan and parsley coating. Only the most discerning fish eater could distinguish it from barramundi. My kids were raised on it.

Barramundi's a type of Sea Bass, so I can see how some people might confuse it with Basa. But they taste quite different, and to sell Basa as Barramundi (or indeed as Cod) is illegal under the Fair Trading Act (1987 in SA, the exact year may vary among states but they did try to harmonise the legislation).

It's not toxic and I have eaten it before, but the texture's not good and I'd rate it as worse than Hoki.

Albanese has not learnt anything about illegal entry to Australia since Rudd's disastrous open border policy that had boats doing a conga line, people drowning , and survivors put up in hotels before the inevitable release into the community and the dole, medicare and housing for life. Now there is not enough housing for people already here.

No offshore processing for Albo, who reckons 'stop the boats' removes the need for it. He has forgotten or doesn't care how 'well' that policy worked for his Ruddian government.

Under an Albanese - or any other Labor government - we would be again flooded with illegal arrivals when we still have some, recently and stupidly released, who have been detained here for 10 years. Who knows how many more we are paying to keep.

A Labor/Green/Voices Of coalition would take us back to Year Kevin O7; even Year Zero a la Pol Pot if that maniac Bandt could manage to get our coal and gas exports banned as he says he would like to. Greens last on the lower house ticket; nowhere on the senate ticket.