We are still doing Petits Fours at college, which I am enjoying but they are a bit fiddly and a little bit of a pain in the ass.
We made…
Financiers, Choux Paste Fancies, Lemon Meringue Tartlets & Petit Four Glace
Remind me never to go into fine dining…not my thing at all!
After work I went to see ‘The Jammed’…was grim but great.
You know from the start that this film isn’t going to have a happy ending. The caption warning that it was inspired by Australian court transcripts is one clue; opening scenes involving a vacant-eyed Chinese prostitute being interrogated by immigration officers, and the frustrated white woman who turns up to help her, hammer the point home.
But in the world of dramatic cinema, happy endings can be overrated - and never more so than when the alternative is a film such as The Jammed. In a time when every other idiot seems to have a story to tell and, worse still, a wide variety of forums to clog up doing so, here’s a tale actually worth telling. It doesn’t hurt, either, that this film is so superbly put together.
The prostitute being questioned answers to the name of Crystal (Emma Lung, from Peaches) and it’s her hellish Australian experience we flash back to see unfold. Crystal was sent to Sydney to sort out a family debt she thought she was going to pay off by dancing on tables. Having been brutally set straight, she is driven to an illegal Melbourne brothel to work off her debt along with two other young women in similar circumstances, the Russian Vanya (Saskia Burmeister) and the Chinese Rubi (Sun Park).
In a more affluent part of town, a glimmer of hope appears when a bored office worker named Ashley (Veronica Sywak) gets roped into giving a Chinese stranger a lift. This desperate older woman is looking for her missing daughter and, despite Ashley’s instinct to mind her own business, her humanity gets the better of her and she gets drawn into the search. She’ll confront many unpredictable scenarios in her quest to help, but ultimately how much can she help, if at all? As the story races on, the meaning of the film’s title becomes harrowingly accurate.
That this film was made in Australia and mainly by natives (although writer-director Dee McLachlan is South African) is all well and good but really neither here nor there; what’s important is that The Jammed will be revelatory and powerful to most audiences anywhere. It’s dynamically lit and filmed and credibly acted, with an elegant score to boot, but there’s much more to it than that. It isn’t provocative for the sake of being provocative, nor is it merely some worthy exercise in politically correct filmmaking.
Sexual trafficking, modern slavery, call it what you want - the point is there’s a terrifying amount of truth in what this film depicts.
Rarely do you come across a film that everyone could learn from.
I had a good day at college today…didn’t miss the train, didn’t have any mental cases sitting next to me (lately I have been attracting them), didn’t arrive late and was given the best teacher…very happy.
We did Petits fours today…
Macaroons & Vanilla Crescents
Sable Biscuits
Langues des chats
My petits fours in my opinion weren’t small enough though everything did turn out ok. Bring on November 18th…my Christmas Holidays
…however, I did find it painful to get out of bed this morning, which led to me missing the train and getting to college really really late!
When I got there though, for the first time in a long time (possibly because we were working alone) all my dishes (in my opinion) came out really well and I was really pleased.
Lately, we have had to work in pairs in the Kitchen. I am not blaming anyone else on some of my dishes not working out the way I wanted but I will say that I really like being in control of what I make.
Here is what I made today…
Mixed Fruit Meringue Torte
Which started out like this…
…and I cut off the top and filled the hollow inside with Chantilly Cream and Raspberries…
…and I dusted the top of the Meringue with Chocolate
Then I made…
Traditional Scottish Shortbread
…hmmm, certainly tasty but none can match my Gran’s Shortbread.
Then we made…
Almond Parfait with Orange Cherry Salad
…we were supposed to make a caramel sauce, but I watered mine down a lot with juices from the orange and cherries and it just seemed a lot nicer consistancy and had a much better taste.
Especially when you can see it…the flashing barrier comes down and no matter how fast I run over the bridge I will still miss it, so I might as well just stand there and pout.
College was actually good today…my grades are still shit, but whatever!
I was supposed to meet up with Lou to watch the NZ game but I still wasn’t feeling 100%, so I just crashed on the couch.
Mairz came round, then Jess and we took a taxi to Felix Bar to meet up with everyone for Kimmy’s Birthday.
Was great to see everyone again, of course the night turned into a blur with me rambling on about all sorts of rubbish, hope you had a great night my wife x
I made Kim’s Cake in the afternoon (which was a monster and left chocolate sprinkles all over the house) and then I made the most of having a Friday off watching Season 2 of Green Wing. This show is so funny…I love Sue White.
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