Plan Time

Now that the idea for the blog has been taken off the backburner in my mind and set down for all the world to see, I'm not confident there will be anything too useful remaining there.

I am right and I am wrong. There is a lot happening on the backburner; none of it too constructive at first glance.

Chaos and pandemonium are the order of the day. I can hardly hear myself think. I close my eyes and concentrate. I grasp the situation suddenly; the Plans have taken over the backburner. 

 There is much yelling, shouting and jostling for position among the Plans. I'm overwhelmed. Just what is going on here? 

  A Plan, waving a placard, pushes and shoves through the crowd. "I'm the one you need. I'm absolutely the most important Plan of all. The Team Plan. You need a few people with bright ideas who know about food. Make this blog a one person blog and it's going to be as boring as all-get-out. What I've seen of your cooking talent on that other backburner - that one on the stove by the kitchen cupboard - is laughable. You need all the help you can get."

A second Plan rushes to the front and shouts Team Plan down.

"Ah, shut up and shove off Team Plan. You think you know everything. Listen, Ms Blog Author, You need me - the Challenge Plan. You need to know what your aims are for this blog. Just walking aimlessly around a supermarket reading labels is dumb. Who cares? What are you going to do next? I'll tell you. You're going to listen to me that's...... Ooh!! Ouch!! You lowlife dog,Team Plan. I'll fix you right up. Right now. You're not kicking me and getting away with it" 

  There is much pushing, shoving and a few wild punches are thrown. This free-for-all distracts most of the other Plans and their supporters, who gather round Team Plan and Eating Plan, urging them on in language and terms better suited to an all-in brawl at 2 am in the far end of a dark, suburban pub car park.

I can't help but wonder if there's not a Chaos Plan hidden somewhere among this mob. It would be the right Plan in the right place for this sort of carry-on. 

  Ignoring the melee, another Plan steps forward, speaking quietly and politely.

 " Ms Blog Author, I'd like to introduce myself, I'm the Master Plan. I oversee this lot and although they look a bit rag, tag and bob right this minute and tact is not always their forte, they can come up with some good ideas. They're just a bit over excited about helping out with your blog. We've had an around-the backburner conference and here's our first idea. Excuse me one moment."

Master Plan goes over to the crowd, seizes another Plan which is hauled back to face me.

"This is Survey Plan. Speak your piece Survey Plan."

Survey Plan manages to look surly, blank and bewildered in rapid sequence.

"Oh. You mean about her damned blog. Whoops, just thinking out loud Ms Blog Author. I'm sure the blog will be great once we've taken you in hand. You need to do a short survey, something that will give you an idea of what people might think about buying Australian grown produce and supporting Australian farmers. You might think it's a great idea but other people might think it's a load of rubbish. Old Master Plan here has approved my survey. I can email it to you pronto. Watch'ya think eh?"

I can only nod in agreement. The other Plans have gathered around and are as quiet as mice; their thunder has been stolen by Survey Plan and they are silently aggrieved.

Master Plan and I agree to meet around the backburner again in a few days to discuss further developments. I stress the meeting has to be orderly; I've had enough of unruly, raucous, ill-mannered Plans for today." 

“

The micro food bowl

This is the food bowl of most interest to me.

The food bowl that sits in my kitchen cupboard; sitting and waiting for Ausfood to arrive in my kitchen.

It's time for the search to begin.

Odyssey

n.  od·ys·sey

1. An extended adventurous voyage or trip.

2. An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery.

The idea for an idea

The idea for this blog has been slowly simmering away on the back-burner of my mind for some time now; almost without me realising it.

It was prompted by a phrase that has been bandied about for some time now by the media, when talking about Australia's potential for supplying food to other countries.  Australia is sometimes referred to as the Food bowl of Asia and on days when hyperbole rules, it has even been suggested Australia might be "the food bowl of the world".  Goodness me.  Such aspirations; the mind boggles.

There has been much talk about the Food Bowl Modernisation Project here in Victoria and  in Queensland there was an area touted to be the New Salad Bowl.  When examined in some detail, apart from more standard articles in the daily press, the reading ranges from unbelievably boring government reports to more easily understood articles such as this one. Often talk about the Asian Food Bowl seems to relate more to the benefits of irrigation in areas of Australia that might enable farmers to grow more crops suitable for export to Asia or how, by becoming the Food Bowl of Asia, it will benefit the country economically. 

The above is the macro view and it occured to me that I could take a much closer look.

The micro view.