Macfarlane's journey begins on the Icknield Way, which runs over the chalk downs of Sussex. He starts out on a bicycle along an old Roman road that runs past an Iron Age hill-fort. As he cycles past the hill-fort he falls, damages his bicyle, and breaks a rib.However, Macfarlane gets up and continues his journey. He views the accident as

A warning, I thought superstitiously, had been issued to me: that the going would not be easy and that romanticism would be quickly punished. It was only a few miles later that I remembered the letter a friend had sent me when I told him about my plan to walk the Icknield Way. Take care as you pass the ring-fort, he had written back. When I mentioned the fall later, he was unamazed."This was an entry fee to the old ways, charged at one of the usual tollbooths, " he said. "Now you can proceed. You're in. Bone for chalk: you've paid your due." It was the first of several incidents along the old ways that I still find hard to explain away rationally." (p.43).

Throughout the book, Macfarlane risks meeting the supernatural. He spends the nights camping near Iron Age barrows. He sleeps in circular Pictish shielings. Finally he decides to sleep in Chanctonbury RIng in Sussex because author Laurie Lee had slept there while walking over England in the 1930's.

I first learned about Chanctonbury Ring when I read about called Sussex Cottage written by Esther Meynell in 1936. The ring contains a temple built by the Romans on a previously inhabited Bronze and Iron Age fort site. According to legend, Julius Caesar and his legions ride around the ring. It is also possible to summon the devil by running around it a certain number of times. There are a number of internet sites with chilling stories of uncanny experiences in Chanctonbury Ring:

http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/saaf/chanctonbury.html#folk

http://www.delcoghosts.com/chanctonbury.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/6454719/Devils-Dyke-is-not-for-the-faint-hearted-walker.html

http://ufofreeparanormal.com/node/62


Oblivious to the possibility that he may be rousing some kind of supernatural being, Macfarlane spends a night in Chanctonbury Ring, but gets little rest. First he walks around the ring, then beds down for the night. He is awoken by  human-sounding voices moving around the ring until two voices meet directly over his head. Eventually the voices go away and he is able to go back to sleep although he does not feel rested in the morning. Later in the day Macfarlane meets up up with an archaeologist friend and they discuss why it was a bad idea to sleep in the ring. However, it is not until he gets home that Macfarlane researches the folklore of Chanctonbury Ring and realizes that it is one of the most malevolently haunted spots in England.

What's interesting is that while Macfarlane is aware of the many centuries of human history that his paths have run through, and of the theories that the paths exist throughout time, he does little research on the supernatural history of the places where he travels. These places seem to do their best to make him aware of their history and their special qualities. The supernatural seems to forcibly come to him although he does his best to remain ignorant of its existence.

Recently while listening to WNYC, I heard a segment about the lack of diversity in children's literature. While the US's population is becoming more diverse, it is apparently not reflected in children's books. Lucy Maria Boston was a head of the curve since four of the Green Knowe books could be regarded as multicultural since they contain not only Asian and African main characters but also a physically disabled character and deal with the issues of slavery and exile due to war.

Ping, a young refugee from Burma, is the main human character in A Stranger at Greene Knowe and a supporting character in The River at Green Knowe and An Enemy at Green Knowe. Ping has spent most of his life in a hostel for displaced children and goes to stay at Green Knowe during his summer holiday. He is eventually asked by Mrs. Oldknow to live with her and Tolly at Green Knowe. His experiences as a homeless child trapped in the grey world of the London home cause him to appreciate not only the natural world around the house but also to empathize with the escaped gorilla, Hanno. Boston wanted to dedicate Stranger to a gorilla keeper that she knew but was forbidden to do so by the zoo since it portrayed captivity for animals as cruel and harmful to the animal. When Green Knowe is under siege from evil in Enemy, Ping calls back Hanno with a traditional prayer to help save the house.

Jacob, in Treasure at Green Knowe, is bought as a child in a slave auction by Captain Oldknowe as a companion for the Captain's blind daughter, Susan. Susan's mother is uninterested in Susan since she views her as an unmarriageable burden. Susan's blindness puts her outside of the normal constraints for an upper-class girl so she can spend her time climbing trees with Jacob and learning how to write with him and their tutor Jonathan. Susan's brother Sefton views Jacob as less than human, buying him clothes patterned on those of an organ-grinder's monkey. Both Jacob and Susan rely on each other to navigate the rules of a society that views them as worthless because of their respective race and disability. They work together to educate themselves and lead successful adult lives despite their differences in race, sex, and station.

Despite the fifty or so years since they were written, the books still hold up due to the quality of the writing, the strong characterizations, and the universal themes. They are well-worth being placed on any reading list, multicultural or not. Good children's books should be read whether or not they are written by US authors.

BRUSSELS — While the European Union has called on Member States to expand channels for foreign workers as a way to meet labour market needs and potentially tackle spontaneous migration, they have struggled to deliver on this pledge. To date, policies have focused more on attracting high-skilled workers, but less attention has been paid to admission of low- or middle-skilled nationals. Policymakers would do well not to overestimate the potential of legal channels to reduce irregular migration.

WASHINGTON — Latinos and immigrants are at least twice as likely to lack health insurance coverage as the overall population in three central Kansas City metro counties, a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) study reveals. In fact, they are four times as likely to be uninsured in Johnson County, Kansas. 

BRUSSELS — Even as the number of refugees in need of protection has reached an all-time high, the resettlement spots offered by countries in 2018 were less than half the level in 2016—and future commitments may shrink further. With refugee needs high and generosity dimming, there is increasing urgency for humanitarian actors to find new ways to bring refugees to safety as well as to rebuild public interest and consensus around the importance of protection.

WASHINGTON — Asylum seekers and refugees who arrived in Germany in the leadup to and during the 2015-16 European migration crisis have integrated into the labor market at a slightly faster rate than previous refugee cohorts, a Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report finds.

WASHINGTON — A new age of migration has been ushered in by large-scale spontaneous migration flows on both sides of the Atlantic, which have upended asylum adjudications systems and placed enormous stress on reception, housing and social services, particularly in Europe.

WASHINGTON – Even as governments in Latin America and the Caribbean have taken generous and innovative steps to address forced displacement from Venezuela and more recently Nicaragua, the warm welcome has cooled in places amid the vast scale of the inflows, strains on public services and growing public concern.

WASHINGTON – A pesar de que los gobiernos de América Latina y el Caribe han tomado medidas generosas e innovadoras para lidiar con el desplazamiento forzado desde Venezuela y más recientemente desde Nicaragua, la cálida bienvenida se ha enfriado en algunos lugares a medida que el número de entradas, la presión sobre los servicios públicos y la preocupación del público aumenta.

WASHINGTON – Four years since the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have developed accountability plans that include blueprints for serving English Learners (ELs), as well as measuring these students’ progress and being accountable for their outcomes. This marked a significant development, as EL performance was previously not well integrated with factors that determined whether a school was performing well or poorly.

Findings will be discussed during 25 February MPI Europe – SVR webinar

Brussels and Gütersloh, 05.03.2020 — Anticipated reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which was high on the agenda as nearly 2 million asylum seekers arrived at Europe’s door in 2015-16, quickly fell victim to EU Member State competing views on what constitutes equal burden-sharing, domestic politics around migration and the urgency of first addressing overtaxed national asylum systems.

WASHINGTON — Six million immigrant workers are at the frontlines of keeping U.S. residents healthy, safe and fed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data issued today. While the foreign born represented 17 percent of the 156 million civilians working in 2018, they account for larger shares in pandemic-response frontline occupations: 29 percent of all physicians in the United States, 38 percent of home health aides and 23 percent of retail-store pharmacists, for example.

WASHINGTON – Even as 1.5 million immigrants and refugees are already employed in the U.S. health care system as doctors, registered nurses and pharmacists, another 263,000 foreign-born health care graduates are on the sidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic—many of them because of difficulties getting their credentials accepted by employers and licensing bodies.

WASHINGTON – As more than 33 million U.S. workers have lost their jobs since March amid the pandemic-induced economic crisis, immigrants are among the most vulnerable: They are more likely than the U.S. born to be laid off and to live in communities with high COVID-19 infection rates, and less likely to have health insurance coverage and access to a doctor or other usual source of health care.

This MPI webinar marks the release of a policy brief that explores program and policy opportunities to improve home visiting services for immigrant and DLL families currently underparticipating in these programs due to a lack of culturally and linguistically responsive programming and other barriers

As the top destination in Europe for asylum seekers in recent years, Germany has rolled out a number of integration policy changes. Based on an early look at how newcomers’ integration is progressing, the report finds the policies have had ambiguous implications. The report also provides insights into the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the asylum seeker and refugee population.

As migrant- and refugee-receiving countries in Europe, North America, and beyond prioritize services that are focused on employment, language instruction, and civic integration, newcomers who are not in the workplace are at high risk for social isolation. As a result, societies should reconsider what successful integration looks like for vulnerable newcomers who will never find traditional employment or who need a longer-than-average timeline to get there.

Addressing the deep-rooted integration challenges unearthed by large-scale migration and rapid social change will require a combination of strategies. Governments in Europe and North America must create a new social contract for increasingly diverse societies that are confronting cycles of disruption. This report sketches a blueprint for an adaptive process oriented by skill needs rather than national origins.

India is the world's largest source for immigrant physicians, and for Indian-trained doctors and nurses the allure of working abroad is strong despite an acute domestic shortage of health-care workers. Against this pull, the Indian government has enacted a number of policies to limit and regulate the emigration of health-care professionals, though these have been more ad hoc in nature and not part of a fully realized strategy.

Arancini balls are yummy way to use leftover rice, either for a party snack or dinner.

A new take on that old favourite, potato salad. The sesame and miso adds interest, while the walnuts add taste and crunch. So substantial it could be a meal in itself.

This delicious, easy to make sauce keeps for up to 10 days in the refrigerator. It's perfect for spooning over cooked pears or apples, chocolate cake or brownies, muffins, apple pie, icecream, waffles, crepes and more.

Make these a few days before gifting - unless you decide to keep them! Walnuts will remain crisp for a few days only but that shouldn't be a problem. Serve walnuts as a nibble, sprinkle over a leafy green salad or roast vegetables, use to decorate panna cotta, cheesecakes, a frozen dessert, or serve on a cheese board.

This syrup is delicious and well worth the time involved. While it tastes sweet it is natural and sugar-free. Add a tablespoonful to any chopped fresh fruit - berries, mango, pineapple, papaya, banana, grapes - and it will balance and enhance the flavours. It's also great served over waffles, crepes or ice cream.

Cheesecake: 1/4 cups chocolate or coconut biscuit crumbs 80g butter, melted 500g cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup caster sugar 2 teaspoons gelatine dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water 200g dark chocolate melted and cooled slightly 2 splashes of rum 1 cup Baffle Creek Cream, softly whipped Salted Caramel Popcorn: 1 1/2 cup caster sugar 1/2 cup water 2/3 cup brown sugar 300ml thickened cream 1/2 - 1 tablespoon sea salt flakes 200g popcorn, popped

This recipe was featured on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment with Raf Epstein on Drive, 774 ABC Melbourne, 3:30 PM, courtesy of George Calombaris. George's new book is called "Greek."

This recipe was featured on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment with Raf Epstein on Drive, 774 ABC Melbourne, 3:30 PM, courtesy of George Calombaris. George's new book is called "Greek."

A delicious treat for the serious chocolate lover

This light and lovely salad is designed to go with ham, turkey, pork, chicken or quail. You could even add shredded, smoked chicken to the recipe and serve as a luncheon or light dinner dish.

This recipe was featured on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment with Richelle Hunt on Drive, 774 ABC Melbourne, 3:30 PM, courtesy of Hana Assafiri. Hana's new book is called "Moroccan Soup Bar: Recipes of a Spoken Menu."

4X 200G SKINLESS SALMON FILLETS 1 TSP. HIMALAYAN PINK SALT 1 TSP. GROUND WHITE PEPPER 60ML. COCONUT CREAM 1 TSP. GROUND TURMERIC SUNFLOWER OIL FOR BRUSHING TO SERVE: STEAMED RICE AND WILTED ASIAN GREENS

This recipe for Mango Alphonso featured on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment with Raf Epsteion on Drive, 774 ABC Melbourne, 3.30PM, courtesy of Christy Tania, head chef at the Aldelphi Hotel's Om Nom restaurant.

1/2 cup chicken stock 1 pinch of saffron olive oil, for cooking 1 small brown onion, diced 1 tbsp. tomato paste 150 g Carnaroli rice or Arborio rice Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper 100 ml white wine 60 g grated parmesan finely grated zest of 1 lemon 100 g grated mozzarella 3 eggs 125 ml (1/2 cup) milk 50 g plain flour 160 g panko breadcrumbs (see Note) vegetable oil, for deep-frying

This recipe features on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment on 774 Drive with Raf Epstein, 3.30PM, courtesy of Alice Zaslavsky aka Alice in Frames. Alice's latest book is "Alice's Food A-Z: Edible Adventures".

Figs are such a versatile fruit, they can be eaten raw, cooked, and sweet or savoury. Here I am baking them with goat's curd which is truly delicious. Wrapping them in prosciutto adds texture and saltiness and the mint salad adds a lovely freshness to the dish.

1/4 small watermelon vegetable oil, for deep-frying 50 g vine leaves in brine 1/3 cup plain flour 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to garnish 500 g calamari, cleaned, scored and cut into bite-sized pieces, tentacles reserved salt flakes and cracked pepper 200 g green olives 200 g goat's curd, broken into small pieces

4 salmon fillets, skin on (175g per portion) 2 tbs soy sauce 1 tbs rice wine vinegar 1 tbs olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tbs ginger, mined 1 small red chilli 1 lime, juiced

Three large oranges Six eggs 250g caster sugar 1 tsp baking powder 250g almond meal (ground almonds)

This recipe features on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment on 774 Drive with Raf Epstein, 3.30PM, courtesy of Kathy Tsaples.

140g unsalted butter 200g dark chocolate 100g light brown sugar 100g caster sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 85g plain flour 55g macadamia nuts, lightly toasted, chopped 30g crystallised ginger, chopped Sifted cocoa powder, to dust

This recipe features on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment on 774 Drive with Raf Epstein, 3.30PM, courtesy of Tad Lombardo Director & Head Chocolatier at Cioccolato Lombardo.

A short, crunchy crust that breaks open with a burst of flavour and just a touch of heat.

Pumpkin soup on it's own can be rather plain but with interesting garnishes, the ordinary becomes delicious. This variation on a classic pesto, which uses pine nuts, incorporates roasted almonds instead, giving this ubiquitous winter soup a greater depth of flavour and crunch.

Fortunately Tuscan black kale (cavolo nero) with its sweet, earthy flavour is readily available now, however as it's gratifyingly hardy and easy to grow, if you have a small patch or pot to put some in I can't encourage you enough to do so; it will pay you back in spades. The crinkly blue/green leaves are quite tough, but with long, slow cooking they become tender and gently sweet, and that's the quality they give to this stick-to-your-ribs soup. I usually make it on the weekend when I have a bit more time to potter around in the kitchen, and love that it makes rather a lot (I've never been one to cook by halves! Although by all means make half the recipe if you'd rather not have leftovers) as having a tub tucked away in the fridge is like gold in the bank in a busy week. There's a fair bit of chopping required to start with, however once that's done the recipe is really straightforward.

Seafood in a different way by the Golden Pig.

Atlantic Salmon is Australia's most popular farmed fish and is a healthy weekly staple for many people. This recipe offers a marinade more commonly thought of for chicken however is simply delicious with salmon. Enjoy with a fresh local limes, which are in season from early April to mid September.

1 1/2 cups fine semolina 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cups Greek yogurt 2 tsps. baking soda 1/2 tsp ground mastic resin, we are substituting ground fennel 3-4 tbsps. butter, melted slivered almonds For the syrup: 2 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups water 1 lemon, cut in half 1/2 tsp. rose water Dash of vanilla extract 1 cinnamon stick

This recipe features on Foodie Tuesday, a weekly segment on 774 Drive with Raf Epstein, 3.30PM, courtesy of Tony Twitchett, Taxi Kitchen