Welcome to the Team Jill

Welcome to Jill, our newest member of staff pictured here with Di.  She helped fill the gap left by Chris being on holiday  in Bali but is now working with us full time.  Hoping you and Jeff  (when he finally gets here!)enjoy your new life up here on Cocos.

Here is Amber aka Bar Fly enjoying a quiet beer in the Cafe at 10.00 in the morning!  Hang on a sec, isn't that an iPod she's slurping from?? 

Margaret ( pictured here with Jill) patiently waiting for her Iced Coffee at Dory's. She was up here for a month  with husband Doug visiting Sally, Digger and the Grand Kids. 

August Visitors

Sandy returned to the Island  with Mum in tow this year, to inspire us with more ideas for art from the ocean (Art Afloat at The Big Barge with Emma).She was a delightful, frequent customer and we all loved her morning hugs and sunny smile. A perfect start to our day at the Cafe as we caught her enthusiasm for life and for Dory's Crepes!

John and Marj made an entrance on Marj's last day here before returning to Perth to see the twins. We hadn't seen them at all since they returned to their Cocos Home but they graced us with their presence for a moment or two prior to Marj's departure!  Perhaps she suggested that John could come to us for a feed after a long hard day out on his kite board. We didn't see him though!










That Danish Fella Neils was back up here again this year  Wind Surfing. Here he is  having his morning breakfast of Eggs Benedict with Arti before going out for another day on the water.


One of the SERCO workers came in the other day with her eye balls hanging out from lack of sleep. She asked for a Cappa on white bread which threw Di into a turmoil for a moment. Was this some new morning tea "Christmas Island style" that we had yet to discover? Was she expected to  dunk the sandwich prior to serving or did the customer  want it perched on top of the bread on same plate??  Once she saw Di's puzzled look the situation was quickly resolved with the customer re ordering from our menu!

Exciting news filtered its way to the Cafe last Sunday (via the never ending Cocos grapevine)  about the  engagement of two prominent locals. We had lots of fun and laughter as we got each customer to guess who the culprits might be.  Congratulations Jocka and Christine.  Enjoy yourselves on Christmas Island.

Wise words I heard on the TV recently:

               "It will all work out in the end.  If it's not working out, it's not the end!"

Miniscule Bugs at Dory’s Cafe

Dave, the pest controller from Perth, was recently brought back to Cocos to investigate a report of bugs in Dory’s Café. It didn’t take long for him to track down the culprits.

Sally’s Miniscules, pictured here have since been eaten. Henry scored the catapillar! 

Sally and Pam searching for bugs in the display cabinet.

Staff Development Program on Direction Island

Brenda, Jill (our newest member of staff, more about her later) and Pam had fun attending Emma's Art Afloat Project at the Big Barge Art Centre on West Island.  We collected stuff that has floated in from the sea and made floating art pieces with help and guidance from Emma and Sandy.

 Brenda's (top) was created from thongs, floats and fishing net as well as other plastic accessories she found on her beach walks.  Jill's (middle) was created with rope, fishing net, thongs and drinking bottles and Pam (bottom) used a float, bottles and materials found on the inside of rope to create her floating blob.

The four week project culminated in an exhibition on Direction Island last Saturday and Di joined us for a relaxed day viewing the exhibits from above as well as below the water.

Di and Brenda pictured here viewing the map of the exhibits on their way back from DI.

Familiar faces return to Cocos

Larissa Powell, Heather Prance and Ryan Breadsell were regulars at the café over the holidays. It was great to see them back on Island again and to hear how life was going for them back on the mainland. 

Cocos Unwrapped

Suzie Buckland aka Tequila (middle), recently left the Island with her family to live in Margaret River. “Cocos Unwrapped” was the final in a series of “Cocos Wrapped Up” broadcasts on 6CKI radio that Kelly aka Bees Knees (right) and Sally aka Foxy Lady (left) presented weekly with Tequila. The program was a lot of fun for both the presenters and the listeners and word on the street is that there may even be a new program on the way…. This of course is another of Sally's creations commemorating the event.

Sweet Pam!

OK  Di, Chris and Brenda, I can hear you saying "sweet Pam????" in disbelief! But here I am as sweet as can be, made out of sugar paste.

Sally called around on Saturday afternoon having spent the entire day making this little model. I'm sat on a coffee jar full of buttons with my feet up on a pot of icing colouring, a little scared to move in case I can't fit  on anything else. Sally was inspired by the earlier pictures in my blog of sugar paste figures on cakes in Oxford.  She bought Lilly a Sugar Paste Kit and together they came up with this, their first creation!

Sally's culinary expertise and creativity never fails to amaze me. I feel very honoured to be the object of their creativity but have also taken note of the fact that I need to loose some weight particularly around the ankle area!

Cycling, walking, swimming, weights, here I come..... Di and Chris are coming too.  I'll keep you posted on out progress.

Dee's last coffee at Dory's Cafe

Dee, Jack, Fairy Sophie (the ballet dancer) and Peter have been regular customers at Dory's for the past couple of years. They have gone to  Queensland for Pete's new job. We will miss their daily visits to the Cafe and Sunday morning breakfasts at Dory's will be quieter at "the big table" for the time being. Geoff and Helen are looking forward to Trish and Tiger coming back for a couple of weeks to keep them company over the Saturday papers.   

Wet and soggy Oriental Pratencole

Geof and I found this dear little Oriental Pratencole at the north end of the airstrip.  He was having a rest on West Island before continuing his journey north.  I think he'd been told it was nice and warm and sunny here but on arrival it was pouring with rain.  I think his expression says it all!

Dory's update

Sorry for the lack of blog updates.  The "followers" section  disappeared and I can't get onto the blog from home to update it.  I'm in  the process of trying to work out what has gone wrong and will keep you updated on my progress.  Kelly at the Resource Centre is getting me back on track!

While I'm here, a quick update.  Di is back on Island and keeping us all sane at work with her calming influence. Brenda is now famous for her Vanilla Slices.  Moe and Digger had called them Snot Blocks in  days gone by. Must be a Victorian thing.  We are a lot more cultured over here in the West.

While I'm writing, here in the Resource Centre, Tequila and Kel are scoffing down  Dorys Ham and Salad Sandwiches with extra beetroot.  I just heard Tequila say "Wow! this is the best sandwich I have ever eaten".  I must remember to pass on the compliment to Christine when I get back to the cafe.

Lunch at Riverford Field Kitchen at last!

I have wanted to visit Riverford Field Kitchen  http://www.riverford.co.uk/ near Totnes in Devon, ever since I saw an article about it in some Permaculture magazine or other many moons ago. The Restaurant uses food from its own organic farm and the set menu is made up of organic fruits, vegetables and meats available on the day.

On arrival guests are seated informally at large tables and there is the opportunity to strike up conversations with like minded people you haven't met before. The set menu is written on a blackboard for all to see and there is a vegetarian option available.  I had a couple of delicious organic beers with my meal.

All the dishes are brought to the table freshly cooked and guests help themselves. There was plenty to go round and everything was absolutely delicious.

I would love to do something similar at Dory's one day.  We could grow our own vegetables in raised beds outside the cafe and irrigate it with water from a tank attached to the guttering. Organic chicken, eggs and goats milk/cheese from the farm down the road (resurrected); Graham's desicated coconut, coconut  milk and cream; locally caught fish, salts and other produce from Home Island. I can see it all now....!  I can feel a grant application coming on!

I caught the hat bug at Dory's Cafe!



We had to start wearing hats at the cafe not long before I left to come to England. I actually like wearing them now and am pictured here with two wintery ones on.  Very suitable for the current weather conditions in UK!



Day out in Oxford

Here I am outside an amazing cake shop at the indoor  market in Oxford (wearing the lovely scarf that Jose gave me).  The cakes pictured are in one of the windows on display and in the next window you can watch the girls at work making and decorating the cakes. It looked like a great job with all the best equipment on hand.


Here are two examples of what they get up to, a Birthday Cake and a Wedding Cake.

Not far from there in the same market was a very famous Butcher's. They go to a lot of trouble to make the meat look amazing on display (unlike the semi defrosted, torn packaging look that most of the meat at Cocos IslandCo-op has!).

Wouldn't it be great to have access to food like this on a daily basis?

Finally, a walk by the River Thames (or Isis) in the lovely afternoon sunshine.  We  had delicious food  at "The Head of the River " pub, washed down with a pint of yummy English beer.  Lots of blooming daffodils, young students out in punts and ducks and geese enjoying the warmth.

And now I'm in England...

After a long and tedious journey, I finally made it to England and here I am with my mother and brother checking out the food and coffee in Witney.

The weather has been fantastic. Not at all cold or windy. Sunny days!

I have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and been out bird watching.  Pictured here is a Blue Tit in a Willow Tree and a couple of Mallard Ducks in a stream near my Mothers house.

Fantastic Team looking after Dory's Cafe while Pam absconds

I (Pam)  flew off to Perth on 17th March leaving the Cafe in the capable hands of Brenda, Di and Chrissie.  Christine has come in for some extra days too, so that the cafe can happily remain open while I'm away. Geof is in charge of pie making and as he knows his way around the stock both at home and the cafe, will keep things ticking along in that department.

A huge thank you to all concerned for keeping this essential Island service going while I am away! Two days after I left they had the busiest day ever and I felt really guilty about leaving.  Since then things appear to have returned to normal.





Here is a picture of the freshly painted unit I went to Perth to sort out for sale.I scraped all the paint off the tiles in the kitchen and also scraped off a covering that had been sprayed on the bench tops by someone many moons ago.  It all came up quite well as the paint had been protecting the surfaces underneath all this time. Neutral coloured paint in dining room and lounge, IKEA pictures on the wall, carpet cleaned and hey presto, inside done.

Next stop, the garden. Jan (my best friend in Perth) came over and helped me and we worked well into the evening; sweeping, clearing out the dead stuff and repotting the brave plants that had managed to survive months of neglect. Lots of watering, and finally the duck that a previous tennent had left behind was placed in a strategic position to complete the picture. One unit, ready for sale!

I stayed with Chris and Mel (my son and his girlfriend) when I got to Perth and then moved into the unit while I was doing it up. Chris has now got his drivers licence and is the proud owner of a tray back ute. Mel was busy studying for nursing exams.

Chris and Mel joined me for an entertaining dinner at Jack and Lyns. They were in the process of packing for Cocos and will be up there by now. They are hoping that fish wraps will be on the menu at the cafe.

I had a lovely evening with Jeff and Jill who are in the process of moving up to Cocos.  Jill cooked a delicious dinner and Jes (windsurfer) and Amanda went along too.  Jeff and Jill were also kind enough to take me to the airport the next day as I was flying off to England to see my family.Jill will help us out at the cafe when she finally gets there.