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and Scala turned out to be part of our family. He adored our two year old daughter and her wish was his command.

One night, long into the early hours, a knock came to the door. It was Wyra, Scala’s cousin who with Scala and his family lived in a modest hut at the rear of the property. ‘Come quick; Scala is very ill.’ I told him I would get dressed and would be there ASAP.

Scala was sitting on his bed and looked like I had never seen him before. He spoke so quietly I could hardly hear.

I asked him what was wrong and said that I would take him to the hospital. I offered this a number of times, but he then said no, men were coming to kill him. I said I would phone the police and they would come with their guns to protect him. He then said, ‘No, this would be no good because the police bullets would just go through them and do no harm.’ h ello Grass Roots People, In the last issue, GR 276, there were a number of zucchini recipes on page 51 including what I thought was a great idea using BREAD SLI c ES AS A BASE for tartlets in a muffin tray. I realised you could fill these with almost anything you want along with the beaten egg mix and topped with cheese. These ones were a hit with the kids and just had some chopped up capsicum, mushroom and onion. I will be making them again for sure.

Jas Maree, Go ULBURN oVENS , V I c. Dear Feedback, The hUMAN T RIL o G y .

In 1959 as a young man I visited Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. It was an interesting and unique experience. Ten years later in 1969 my wife and I together with our very young children returned. I had been offered a four year contract in the banking industry. It was fulfilling work for me in helping to establish rural development in a country where the financial system of the Western world was completely foreign. On the other hand, the ways of the indigenous culture were just as foreign to us.

I was not inclined to have domestic help as I felt the concept of having servants was one with which I was not comfortable. However, my work colleagues put forward a compelling argument that by employing local help I would be helping them financially to improve their way of life.

New friends of ours were ‘going south’ and wondered if we would employ Scala, their Papuan domestic helper (I’m still not comfortable with the word servant). We did,

It was then that the penny dropped. He was not being attacked by humans but by spirits. He then went on to say that his uncle was coming up from their village and his powers were greater than those of his spiritual assailants. He would tie rope around the hut and sit on the roof and his power would protect Scala.

Some days later Scala was back to his old self. The curse or ‘pouri-pouri’ as it is known had lifted and been defeated.

As I reflected on this event it brought back to me that we are not just body and soul (mind and personality), but also have a spirit. We are a tripod being, and when one of the three legs is missing we have difficulty standing. I coined the phrase, ‘We are spiritual beings with a physical dimension. Not a physical being with a spiritual dimension.’ It’s only when we reflect on this that life as we know it starts to make sense.

In the Western world we think we are so self-sufficient that we have lost touch with our spiritual self. We would do well to reach out to our spiritual uncle.

Ken, NSW.

Dear GR,

I’m writing in about pesky Mo T h S , one or two always seem to chew through a woollie or scarf over summer, despite hanging moth repellent packs in the wardrobe and lavender sachets in drawers.

I read recently that a candle cut up into pieces and placed in drawers etc and even among stored clothes will deter these moths. Has anyone heard of this? Has anyone tried it? I don’t like the smell of mothballs and don’t like the commercial chemical-based products. Please share your experiences in Feedback.

c lare c rawford, K URRAJ o NG , NSW.