Sunday 24 May 2020

Monday 25th - Friday 29th May 2020 - Week 10 of Unemployment

Monday 25th May 2020
Another week of unemployment.
I start today with a shower, wash any  dishes and a quick breakfast of leftover pizza from last night as not to waste food ( I didn't enjoy the chicken and bacon pizza last night - had not eaten bacon for so long and really did not like it at all).

Next it was a catchup episode of last night's Masterchef.

I am at home watching the news and it is after 9 am waiting for my Zoom session at 10 am  ( which I have downloaded onto this phone and read up a bit on how to use) for my volunteering position I applied for. I hope it goes ahead ok.

After my Zoom session I plan to catch up with my studies online and iron fold and put away my laundry.

It is absolutely awful outside windy overcast cold and generally miserable- a good day not to have to venture out. It looks as if it wants to rain although it hasn't yet.

It is now past 10am and still no Zoom session.

10.04 am and I get an email with a link to my volunteer meeting but not without multiple problems.

First link sent did not work, it required me to download the app which was not Zoom but Jitsi Meet. So I download the app on my phone. Nope can't get it to work . I receive a phone call from the volunteer manager and advised her that her link that she sent me via her email did not work and she sends me a new link.

I click on the new link I receive and the same thing happens. She phones me again and when I advised her that I thought it was Zoom she explained to me that she was using Jitsi Meet and not Zoom because Zoom is not encrypted. When I mentioned I had clicked on the link on my phone and not on a computer she worked out why - the link works on a computer and not on a phone. I questioned why, an app should work across all platforms but apparently not. I wonder if Zoom has the same problems. While we were talking I said I will try again on my tablet but my tablet decides to perform an update when I turn the power on. So I advise her and she said that's ok and to ring her back when I have set it up. In the mean time she needed 4 forms of ID from me to be forwarded to her in order for her to do a police check. So I forwarded her photos of my passport, a bankcard, photo I'd ( as I don't drive)  and Medicare card ( Just as well I had all these on hand!)  Plus an extra private health insurance card ( I did not realise how much ID you needed just to get a police check! Which I was advised at a Federal level is only valid now for 3 years - so much for me randomly walking into a police station out of curiosity many years ago requesting a police check on myself!). So while she was completing the police check forms, I was trying to make the Jitsi Meet session work.

I managed to access my gmail on my tablet and clicked on the link however a message pops up advising me that this app is not supported by my browser and to try downloading Chrome ( damn you Microsoft!). So I download hopefully the latest version from a link provided without thinking about the customisation of it - yes I want to make Chrome the default browser on my tablet ( ie go away  Microsoft Edge and MSN and Bing). As soon as I think Chrome had completed its download  I tried again to click on the link and it wasn"t letting me so I shut the windows down and logged into my gmail account again and clicked on the link sent to me. I saw my face pop up on the screen and  put my earphones in with the volumn on almost max ( I actually didn't check) as well as allowed Jitsi Meet to access my microphone and camera and nothing was happening but I knew it was at least working as I could see my face on the screen. I then call the volunteer manager back to adviser her that I think I was ready to go. She sends me a third link although it took me a while to receive it.

So I click on the link and presto! I  connect and can see her face however I found it very difficult to hear her which I worked out was because of the position of my tablet. I had to keep my tablet up at a certain angle and very still otherwise the sound would start to stutter in and out and I could not understand her. I dare not touch the volume although it was a bit loud or move to turn off my tv in the background. The video meeting was an hour long but went quite well. There is so much paperwork involved just to volunteer but this is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while. ID, police checks, record keeping, memorandum, training sessions, physical volunteer meet ups, etc etc. but really keen to start. Throughout the hour meeting my arm was starting to shake from holding up the tablet in a certain position at a certain angle. I could not even get a tissue to wipe my watery eyes from my allergies. I have no idea what the volunteer manager was seeing on the other side but towards the end she needed to see my my face next to my forms of photo IDs and I had to keep asking if she could see me and my forms of IDs. There was a lot of moving to the right or up or down but not to the left much. It was past 11.30 am and I was tempted to ask  her if I needed to end this video meeting as I knew she had another one at 11.30 am this morning. My final question to her before ending the video meeting was not related to volunteering but how to end the video meeting properly as people have been know not to hang up properly after video meetings, webinars or video calls. After instructions she said she would hang up as well on her end. She did before I did. She will be in contact with me after the police check. I did my own police check many years ago as I was curious and it came back clean and cost me I think $140 . If I don't hear back from the volunteer manager I will be doing my own police check again - it should be clean- no criminal records and definitely no traffic or parking offenses as I don't even have a driver's license.

Jitsi maybe relatively easy to use but not easy to set up - thank goodness for the free reliable WiFi in my apartment block!

Next it is now time to prepare lunch - should I attempt a Thai grren curry chicken and vegetable soup in my new slow cooker today ? I just unpacked it read the instruction booklet and put it together - the ceramic pot insert doesn't sit properly , it is wobbling around. Will this matter? If I want soup I will have to wash the pot and lid first then wash and cut up all the vegetables and chicken before adding the condiments.

I have not owned a slow cooker before so this is my first attempt at making a Thai chicken and vegetable green curry soup in one. I had to read up on how long it will take to actually cook the soup. It says 4 hours on high or 7 hours on low! No way I have it on high at the moment and it is gradually heating up but has not come to a  boil yet. I think I will leave it on high for 2 - 3 hours as it is only a 3.5 L slow cooker. Still trying to iron fold and put away my laundry but keep getting distracted watching the SBS Food Channel and blogging and reading stuff on the internet.

It is really wet dark windy, cold and just plain miserable outside now. The constant heavy swishing sound of motor vehicles outside my window in the rain ( yes it is raining constantly now) is really loud! I have my window open to let some fresh air in as my slow cooker will heat up my apartment quite quickly. Can't wait for the end result. A hot pot of soup is perfect for a day like today!




What's in my new slow cooker? My Thai green curry soup? Chicken breast pieces, frozen peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, potato, carrots,  celery, mini capsicum, shallots, coriander, green curry paste, warm water, molasses, jasmine rice, coconut milk powder.



Not quite in time for lunch but a delicious hot dinner! The soup split but still tastes good.

I finally ironed and folded my laundry but still need to put it all away.

I managed to stay awake  to watch the entire episode of Masterchef  as well as all of Have You Been Paying Attention afterwards.

Time to sleep. I didn't quite get my study done but will try and catch up on both weeks tomorrow now that the video interview for the rather long but interesting volunteering position I applied for has been completed.

One final thing I did before going to bed. I sent a text message to my senior citizen ex bus buddy who lives on her own to check she is still ok. No response yet. Hope she is still ok as the weather is getting quite unpleasant towards the Winter months therefore you wouldn't be out and about as much even with some social restrictions being lifted slightly.

Tuesday 26th May 2020.
Garbage day. I slept i  today and heard the garbage trucks drive by. Not much on today.

Made myself breakfast of nutella tasty cheese and banana on wholemeal bread. It's quite a nice combination actually and sime water.

Checked Facebook blogged a bit and watched some YouTube and after reading the response I received from my ex bus buddy from the text I sent to her last night before texting back, it is already 12 noon. I have nothing to do today and the morning is not as miserable as yezterday - the sun is trying to peep out but its still overcast but it has stopped raining and it looks drier outside my window and there is no wind at all. No tv all morning - oh that's right I dpent all morning trying to sort out my Testra overcharge complaint! Still unresolved they say I owe $70 after a credit they are giving me, I say they owe me $10 in credit. I had to set out my calculation for them. I think they have given up because I haven't heard back from them since I sent them my step by step calculation of both my April and May bills. The left hand NEVER knows what the right hand is doing at Telstra!

Today I didn't go out but watched tv in the afternoon. Lunch was left over lasagne which taste so much better the longer you leave it in the fridge. That was the end of it.

I tried to do a bit more of the online IT course but didn't get as far as I would have liked. It is at least getting a little more mathematical and I am beginning to understand the course content now.

More good news, the Art Gallery is reopening on 1st June  - NSW is a lot more cautious with places of interest reopening the Victoria is. Their ski resorts are opening before NSW ski resorts and other tourist attractions such as the Aquarium and Legoland are opening earlier the NSW tourist attractions.

I also applied to become a volunteer at the NSW Art Gallery as my aunt apparently volunteered for an art gallery although I am unsure if it was for the Art Gallery of NSW.

I have made a cider bread dough and am leaving it overnight to prove.

This bread dough is very sticky made with plain flour salt baking powder flavoured alcoholic cider LSL lemon thyme and a touch of molasses - no added yeast. It was left overnight in the same mixing bowl that the dough was bought together in and covered with Glad wrap on the bench to prove overnight.

Wednesday 27th May 2020
More attractions are beginning to reopen gradually in June. Besides Sydney Living Museum venues reopening from 1st June and the NSW Art Gallery reopening on the 1st June with  tickets available for sale online from 28th May 2020 for June 2020, the MCA has announced that it is reopening on 16th June. As life gets back to normal its now 10 weeks since I first became unemoyed and I am still unemployed and I have tried almost everything to find employment - I've posted and reposted my advertisement looking for employment on Gumtree, I searched through SEEK online and applied for as many applicable jobs as I could ( probably on average at least 1 job a week since the beginning), I applied to countless organisations through SEEK and those that I have been a member of and even organisations I might be intetested in volunteering for, I even written to organisations that may not have advertised any positions vacant but I might be interested in working for in the future and written to any contacts I have seeking employment or at least forwarding my expression of interest to. I am now tempted to even ask the store across the road from where reside if they have any positions available or even ask if I can help out there pro bono. I have one last resort I am also tempted to try and I have briefly mentioned this before and that set up a Go Fund Me page . I thought it might be a creative way to not ask people to donate money to me but donate a job to me. I am already starting to think about what to write how I should write it. It probably won't work but I can always try. Finally and reluctantly I sent a message to my exmanager this morning to say hi after 10 weeks of not  contacting anyone relating to my previous work. I don't expect to hear back from her and they probably won't want me back to work for them as they probably don't have any work for me but at least I finally sent a message to my exmanager. This has been on my mind for the entire time. When I left and received my Employment separation certificate, everything hapoened so quickly and all i could think about was applying for welfare at the time. My redundancy seemed so final. I still have their key and I had left behind a few things - I even forgot about my necklace I was trying to sell on consignment which is still left behind at the antique store which is what triggered the other things I had forgotten I left behind. Unsure what to do as I still would like things back ( especially the discontinued vegemite teatowel which I hope hasn't been sold to someone else).

It's been 2 days now and i still haven't heard back from the volunteer organisation I had a video meeting with on Monday. Did I waste my time again with yet another volunteer organisation? They have all my ID records which I am a bit worried about. What if something is found against my police record check? I hope not. I might actually do one myself just in case something is wrong as it should be clean.

Just got a text back from my exmanager - nothing about work but her much loved goat became really sick before the Corona virus and had to be put down in April ( she did not have the Corona virus).

Just heard that the company did apply for the JobKeeper scheme. Probably too late for me. I didn't want to delve further. I therefore assume that because I havent been getting paid the Jobkeeper payments from the ATO passed onto my exemployer then forwarded to me,  it means I wasn't nominated as am employee to receive it which answers my question - I no longer am employed by them however I read that employees who weren't eligible for JobKeeper should now apply for JobSeek - which I am already on! - it's all to complicated.

ok so my vegemite teatowel is still out the back. Good to know it is now a collectors item  no longer produced - I think I took vone of last ones available since production of them stopped (Kraft and Bega had a bit of a legal dispute over trademark and copyright).


I take my hot crusty loaf of cider bread out of the oven. It worked! I have a nice loaf of bread which has split open down one side because I forgot to make a split on the top of the dough but it rose really well. Smells really good too and I didn't use any yeast just flavoured cider I have had in my fridge from Aldi for months probably years which makes it even better as it has fermented with age giving it a really nice yeast smell to the raw dough whilst proofing.


The result after baking for 30 minutes in the oven. It was a little dense in a patch in the middle so a little longer in the oven and at a slightly higher temperature would have eliminated these problems. Other then that I could taste the lemon thyme in the bread and with a little Promite it was just yum. A homage to my time overseas working in a bagel bakery cafe where I created a manager's special tasting tray of vegemite spread on bagels as a joke and getting customers to taste it and the time the manager there who is a chef by trade invited me to have Christmas dinner with him and his family where he had baked his homemade loaf of bread with some lemon thyme I believe from his herb garden followed by garlic prawns I think - so long ago! Just watched a similar easy bread recipe on Tiktok except instead of cider instant yeast was used - either or it works!


Othe tourist attractions and events to reopen are announced - Taronga Zoo on 1st June 2020 and Biannale of Sydney Nirin has been reopened and dates ectended into September 2020.


Just can't get into my study today. Hope to take the rubbish out tomorrow and grap some groceries as well as book a ticket to the Art Gallery of NSW for 2nd May 2020.


Another 3 ingredient recipe from YouTube - banana  chocolate chip and rolled oat biscuits. That was the original 3 ingredients however it did say you could add other ingredients such as honey or molasses for extra sweetness or cinnamon.  I happened to have leftover date and rosewater paste I made over a week ago so added this to my biscuit mixture. It also said to spoon small balls onto a baking tray and press them down as the mixture does not expand much. I decided to press the mixture into a small rectangular ceramic baking dish lined with baking paper so it will resemble  a large granola slice. I left the mixture out to "set" a little before baking to enable the rolled oats to absorb the date rosewater and mashed up banana as the chocolate chips are solid not melted therefore don't really do anything to help bind the mixture.

Looking like a giant chocolate chip muesli  bar but it is not ready to eat yet as it still needs to be baked.

I fell asleep watching Masterchef again. It's been a busy day today but still not a single response from any jobs paid or unpaid that I have applied for.

I paid the balance of my maintenance fees today and completed a survey regarding how you feel returning to live dance classes at SDC when the time comes. I have started to record a few of my job searches onto the diary under the job active site which is linked with my Centrelink account under the mygov account. It is not the easiest thing to find or do. My third entry did not save and its difficult to edit if you make a mistake.

Thursday 28th May 2020
I would like to thank once again everyone who has continued to read my blog throughout this COVID - 19 pandemic. Analytics show that the number of readers are still gradually increasing and in the similar "clumpy" pattern prior to the pandemic. I hope readers will continue to read my blog.

I woke up at 2 am this morning and first thing I did was watch a catchup episode of Masterchef .

I went back to sleep and wake up around 6 am.

I take my  biscuits I had baked the day before out of the oven and cut them up into small slices , putting them into a snaplock bag. I try 2 slices for breakfast with a hot mug of green tea.3 ingredient banana,  chocolate chip & oat biscuits another YouTube recipe success! Photo below.

Some for now, some for later. Not a bad  soft chewy dairy free, gluten free, egg free and almost fat and sugar free snack ( sugar and fat is mostly in the dark chocolate chips which can be substituted with other ingredients )!

Nothing is wasted - the rest of my breakfast was some of the Thai chicken and vegetable green curry I made previously and the rest of my lemon thyme LSL bread I baked previously with some mascapone cheese. 

I am still putting away the pile of clothes I previously ironed and folded. A stack is still hanging up and still a little damp so I have rehung them with the blind up on my window to let the maximum sunlight in to help dry them. It is a perfect sunny day today but must have been a cold night as the condensation on the inside of my windows this morning was quite bad - I actually had to squeegee my windows down this morning and as I did so could see the stream of moisture run down the drainage hole down the outside of my window sill. 

I must make myself go out but before I do so do a few things like vacuum again - the apartment gets so dusty! and maybe clean the bathroom again - still can't figure out if there is a leak somewhere as it is really wet somedays and mould is forming in spots behind the door and only in sime parts on the floor which I keep quite clean and dry. I may have to resort to the bleach as the mould removal natural spray I am using is not work.

I have to remember to prebook a ticket to the reopening of The Art Gallery of NSW too.
I am itching to see as much of Bienale 2020 as possible eventhough it has bern extended until September. I need to get it out of the way as there will be so many other places of interest  and events that I will want to attend and visit as they gradually reopen.

The owner of the store just rang me today and told me that I no longer had a job and he didn't put me on JobKeeper because if there's no work for me then there was no point. I suspect there is some more to it then that as I could hear him shaking in the background and I suspect that I was the only staff member who was not rehired although it wasn't mention who else was still working there. He also hung up very quickly.  I asked if I could you him as a reference and he said yes. He also mention that he was working between the 2 stores and struggling to pay the bills. I didn't ring them as I wanted to give them some time to  see how their business was doing since they reopened on 1st May 2020. I could be wrong but I tend to see things differently to others. I still have their key and was told to post it - it is not safe everyone knows that although the owner didn't seem to think so. I said I left some things behind so will pop in. He advised that if I turn up on a Tuesday he will be there otherwise the manager will be there and he will let her know that I might pop in. I will spring a surprise visit on them - I don't know when I can actually get there anyway.

Still dealing with my Telstra complaint. I seem to be spending to much time on things I should not be spending time on.


This is a strange email - there is meant to be an Eden Monaro By Election which is not my electorate - so why was I suddenly sent an email requesting me to enrol to vote or update my details - they haven't changed? I have responded to the AEC and advised them that I am enrolled to vote already.

I am getting a little worried again about identity fraud. How do i know the emails I am sending or thr information I providing is safe from cyber theft? I just had Telstra send me an authentication sms to let me know that is Telstra i am dealing with and not a fraudulent company. I made them provide all details to me. The AEC sent me a sms response to my email which makes me question if someone is trying to obtain my contact information without my consent. I am not willing to update my information or enrol to vote therefore have ignored the email. I think I deleted it as well. 

It's getting dark and I will not be venturing out today even being late night shopping.

I still think I should have studied law as I am constantly fighting for my rights. It doesn't matter what it is , I am always having to work extra hard for things others would not have problems with. I sometimes get tired of having to work twice as hard to achieve things. Even if I'm in the right or things are already perfect, there is always something - I seem to be constantly climbing up mountains and never getting to the top. There have been so many times that I have been left off, left out or forgotten about - even at work.

I just finished lodging an enquiry to Fairwork as I believe i may have been unfairly dismissed  or my former employer does not understand industrial relations or tax law.

Here's the quote I found after I found out my former employer had applied for the jobKeeper payment scheme and questioning 
what happens if your employer does not nominate you for the jobkeeper payment?

"And according to the ATO, the answer is no. “If you decide to participate in the JobKeeperpayment scheme, you must nominate all your eligible employees,” the Tax Office clarified. ... "Employers are not meant to pick and choosebetween their eligible employees," the Tax Office added.Apr 22, 2020 "


In my case my former employer did pick and choose between eligible employees and I was the eligible employee not nominated for JobKeeper. I am eligible because the criteria was you had to have been working as a casual for 12 months which i have been 10 years as a casual and even if you were stood down after 1st of March 2020 which I was on 22nd Match 2020. There were 3 criteria that an employee could not get Jobkeeper and they were because they chose not too, had another job so they can only claim it from one employer, nomination form not returned to employer on time and one other criteria. 

A mentioned previously if I was receiving JobKeeper payments as well as JobSeeker payments it would be my responsibility to report it to Centrelink as not to double dip. An employer having no work for me now and even into the future is not an excuse to exclude (me) an eligible employee(s). It is not actually an out of pocket expense for  the employer as they are not paying the wages of their eligible employees to nominated for the jobKeeper payments - the ATO is subsidizing the wages and paying it to the employer to forward onto it's employees. The whole point of the JobKeeper package was to keep jobs. Therefore my employer basically advising me never to return as there was no work for me and not nominating me for JobKeeper payment is a form of unfair dismissal.  I think there is more to it - if industrial relations law changes which there is a big "discussion" about at the moment in relation to casuals and the following laws are changed for long term casual workers 
1. casual to be made permanent after 12 months
2. casuals to be paid personal and annual leave like part and full timers as well as some contract workers and back paid leave

thst means my exemployer will have to back pay me for the past 10 years any personal and annual leave owing as well as the potential to make me a permanent employee. He had enough trouble paying me my LSL and wanted to get it off his books as soon as he could therefore forcing me to take it in a lump sum rather then allowing me to take it as required which was the arrangement earlier on. I believe the day after I was made redundant and LSL paid out legislation was about to change or changed. Too late for me. The other factor which may have led to my unfair dismissal is the fact i had approached my employer quite a while ago to become a permanent part time employee as i was working a regular 3 days a week. I was told to leave it with him however this never eventuated and when I bought it up again I was advised that there was no position at the time. At present tge law indicates you can  aporoach your employer to become a permanent employee after a reasonable amount of time working as a casual with a company however they don't have to comply .  If  my exemployer has kept and nominated other employees fir the jobKeeper payments at least 2 of these casuals will also be up for LSL in a few years time and are already entitled to prorata of it now as they have both bedn with the company for over 5 - 7 years now.

I have written so much today and had to deal with so much  I forgot to eat lunch and buy a ticket to the Art Gallery of NSW. Not really hungry anyway. Think I will skip dinner as well. 

Texted my exbus buddy about what found out today she hasn't responded - probably not interested. This is the longest time I have been unemployed and I can't even get into the GoFundMe account to create my page to help me find employment.


Still no word from the volunteer poisition I applied for.

I will watch Masterchef tonight and go to sleep. I have paid my weekly rent in advance and submitted my complsint to Fairwork. Tomortow i need to report to Centrelink online my fortnightly income which is zero again.

Friday 29th May 2020
It has now been a full 10 weeks of unemployment and my chances of now finding a job are close to zero. I might as well start training myself to live on the streets as I will become homeless. 

I don't feel like doing anything today or venturing out again.

I know I have to log in to report to Cenrelink in order to continue to receive welfare payments.

Late last night I could not sleep so forwarded my expression of interest to the MCA for yet another volunteer position. 

I received a response to the volunteering position I had a video meeting for on Monday.  It is such a slow process to even volunteer. Not even up to a police check yet.
I need to read and sign the information before they submit it. I have to be careful as I don't want my details ending up somewhere that will reactivate another identity fraud situation for me to have to deal with again.

Still no responses from any job applications to date. Not in the mood to blog.

Still no response from my ex bus buddy either. I think she has also lost interest in being my friend.

Centrelink reporting done. Reference number of submission recorded. 

Checked my emails delete delete delete unsubscribe unscubscribe. Nothing intetesting Finders keepers Markets rebranded as At Home back as a virtual market this year. 

Another email from the MCA notifying their reopening and the Bianale 2020 Nirin exhibition .

It looks very overcast this morning and looks as if it is going to rain. Yep it's a miserable rainy day again.

Applied to volunteer at Vinnies via onsite and by email. 

Centrelink responses to my letter of enquiry by phone. Mutual obligation still being reviewed due to covid 19 rrstrictions - I am now linked as requested to an employment service provider Salvation Army  Employment Plus with appointment next available on Thursday 2.30 pm . Tax reduction requested now noted with first deduction taken out on Monday's payment. phone number and temporary pin given to set up to voice print . Advice to link other services recommended.

Voice print set up. I wonder if this works and how secure it is - all you had to do was repeat the phrase " In Australia my voice identifies me" 3 times. After that whenever I  call the same number dialed, it will automatically identify me without having to log into the centrelink website online.

Breakfast was an unhealthy bowl of  homemade potato wedges oven baked and a piece of baked chrispy skin salmon and cup of tea. Not feeling any better over yesterday's situation.


Both memorandum  and police check documents signed and returned to Volunteer to volunteer position applied for from Monday's video meeting . No printer therefore had to download sign with stylus and save as before reattaching and sending.


Email received regarding click and collect  between restricted opening hours of Willoughby library from 1st June received


I tried to continue my online IT related  course but just can't concentrate. I am still midway through week 2 when I should be almost completing week 3 by now. Will try and continue tomorrow.

I need to try and resend my completed police check documents again as apparently there is no signatures on the ones I sent back. I am sure there was. So frustrating. I need to try again tomorrow. So much trouble just to volunteer.

Randomly watch The beach on SBS. 

I still need to have a shower and wash the dishes. How appropriate The Beach is about a man in self isolation with only his 3 free range chickens to talk to.  There is a lot of cooking in the movie. It is similar to Australia's river cottage or  Australia's Gormet farmer except based in the Northern Territory.

I fell asleep - just as well my tv has an auto off after a certain amount of hours left on.
Unsure what to do tomorrow.

I have wanted to do this for a while and this is my first practice run of painting a mandala with food colouring onto a flat round of fondant. 

This is the result and it is far from perfect as I did not have all the proper tools and ingredients with me. I used whatever I could find.

I made a makeshift cake board or round flat surface out of the old cardboard I had saved from the chicken & bacon pizza I ate previously and covered it with foil.

I hardly had enough expired sample white fondant to cover the surface of the makeshift cake board so it was very dry and thin hence cracking a lot after it had been rolled out. The white fondant was so hard I had to warm it up before kneading and rolling it out.

I purchased a cheap plastic artist pellet and found some thin wooden skewers and dual tipped cotton buds to use as tools. It did not matter about hygeine as this was a practice run only and not covering a real cake.

I would normally use gel or paste food colouring as the colours and consistency can be controlled better however only had liquid food colours so made do with these. To thicken these i just added a little bit of pure icing sugar to them which is not ideal but will do for this test run.

In a proper run I would use better fondant eg Bakels not Fontastic and would have it covered over a proper cake and use gel or paste food colours not liquid food colouring such as Colourmill instead of Queens ( Queens liquid food colouring is great for other things such as colouring cakes) to minimise bleeding on fondant . Notice I just stuck to the 3 primary colours and 1 secondary colour. 

You will notice a lot of bleeding of colours due to inconsistency of the food colourings and fondant cracking  - I don't think it is the fluff from the cotton bud tips used. 

It gets quite messy therefore an apron and gloves recommended as food colouring can stain for days although I managed to not get a single drop of food colouring on me anywhere. 

I also managed to clean my plastic artist pallet completely clean with just tissues and hot water and disposing all of my tools covered in food colouring into the bin.











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