'Ageless' Hopkins fires up Blaster ahead of tough fight

SHANNAN Taylor is using the ageless Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins as his inspiration for his IBF Pan Pacific super middleweight title fight at Punchbowl on Saturday night.

Health sector building activity is a life-saver

CONSTRUCTION in the health sector, particularly in Victoria, has a buoyant outlook because of state and federal infrastructure spending, a report says.

... And another thing

DOES anyone really believe that the petrol price "war" between the major supermarkets is anything more than a carefully co-ordinated strategy, designed to send a range of independent retailers out of business?

No one safe as Blues rethink line-up

CARLTON coach Brett Ratten has warned that no one is safe from the chopping block after the Blues' 69-point loss to Essendon - a match he described as the most disappointing of his coaching career.

Applying A Green Coating

JUMPING on the green bandwagon is EarthPan, a range of non-stick frying pans and a wok. The manufacturer's point of difference is that the non-stick coating is made, in part, from sand. It claims that fewer greenhouse gases are produced in the manufacturing and that the temperature reached in sealing the pans is half that of a traditional non-stick pan. We have been using the bottom-of-the-range product (not pictured here) for several months and we can say a few things about our pans. They live ...

A Dash Of Salts

THE specks of black sea salt scattered across our asparagus risotto certainly made it look pretty. But this charcoal-enhanced condiment also added a sharp, earthy pungency to the dish. It's one of a new range of flavoured and very decorative "finishing" salts by Demitri's Feast. Mediterranean sea salt flakes are dried in natural pans first, then flavours such as lemon, rosemary and chilli are infused later, adding the delicate pastel hues. Therosemary salt was a winner in our house, paired with ...

A Tale Of Two Restaurants

Skye Gyngell has swapped her pots and pans in London for a stint in sunny Bondi, writes Judy Adamson.

Promises, Promises, Promises

THE CAULDRON has been lit, the fireworks so sensationally exploded. And now the Chinese Government and International Olympic Committee can sit on the edge of their seats watching how the next fortnight pans out. Their lofty global reputations are firmly on the line. China wants to erase the images of tanks staring down protesting students, of Mao's Little Red Book. The Olympic movement desperately wants to be seen as an important catalyst in this historic change of world perception.

And A Good Time Was Had By All

Warwick Green profiles a club where a cast of Peter Pans sprinkle a touch of cricketing magic.

Heads We Win, Say Manly

Eels 24 Sea Eagles 32 MANLY score great tries and defend like a brick wall, but it's what we can't see that will take them to the top - if that is how this season pans out. Strength of character, self-belief, confidence ... Steve Menzies says the attitude is as good as he's seen at the club - and he's been there for what seems like forever.

Kitschen Cast With An Iron Stomach

Rattle those woks and pans filled with incredible inedibles in a battle for culinary glory.

Among The Pots And Pans Of New York

A New Yorker scribe makes a very un-Orwellian journey to a celebrity eatery. Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-maker and Apprentice to a Butcher in Tuscany By Bill Buford Jonathan Cape, 319pp, $62.95 (hardback)

As Tension Keeps Building, It's The Astrologer Who Sees The Way Ahead

IN time the good will out, the cream will rise to the top and the big hitters will start putting in the big hits, or that is how it usually pans out in this shares race of ours. Give or take the odd win by the dartboard.

Spanish Club

When I walked into my local Spanish deli recently, the musty, sweet, earthy smells, the Spanish banter and the hanging sausages and paella pans took me back to Spain and its pungent, heady paella.

Housewares Feels The Heat In The Kitchen

A KITCHEN can hold only so many plates, cups, pots and pans before the chief cook and bottle-washer calls a halt to family spending.

Children Of The Bordello

A photographer has filmed a unique look into India, writes Gabriella Coslovich. Brothels are no places for children. But in Kolkata's notorious red-light district, Sonagachi, children abound. They fly kites on the rooftops of their squalid buildings while their mothers work. If they are housebound, they draw a curtain and look the other way. They scrub pans, fetch water and do food runs late at night, bringing back curry for their jaded mothers and drunken clients. They are intrinsic to the ...

Iraq Effects May Last Decades

The impact of the Iraq conflict will depend on how the US handover pans out. Peter Weekes reports.

The Drudge Bludge

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but why do pots and pans escape his hands?