Chloe Alexis Dunn It was either Spain or Morocco, can't seem to remember!
Hi Pat,
Where are you?
I’ve
been monitoring your blog etc but no new news is appearing – are you
having trouble finding an internet connection in the eastern seaboard!
Hope
you are all well and enjoying yourselves; all here are ok except Tina
has just had to have a fractured tooth extracted so isn’t really happy
at the moment.
We
have the two girls for a few days next week so are taking the
opportunity of taking them over to visit Kirsty and Chris – should be
interesting!
Went
with Terry and Pauline to see the film Margin Call – basically about
the Fanny Mae etc banking fiasco that precipitated the Global Financial
Crisis – I thought it was quite good but Tina thought it was boring!
Afterwards we had a great supper at a little Thai restaurant on Norwood Parade = stunning food but the service was a bit slack.
Ooroo for now Tina and Trevor
Hi TNT!
Greetings from Brisbane! Trust life in Tea Tree Gully goes swimmingly. Will be in Brisbane with Claire and Greg, friends of our hosts, Elly/Tony, until April 15th when we fly to Cairns for a little less than a week. Then on to Darwin for us, 10 days, about three nights in Kakadu in the middle of stay, F/S back to Vancouver. We will spend a week with friends, Kathleen and Steve, after Darwin/overnight in Sydney and before Japan.
next extended trip.
Off to explore Brisbane on a walking tour, shortly, guided by our hosts. Wonderful BBQ last night with a number of our accumulated wine purchases. Fondestos from The Gang of Four! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Jill!
We'll be flying to Darwin, from Cairns, on April 20th so have a drink for us at the Pub Night! Actually, we'll be in Darwin the day before you start drinking beer due to the International Date Line!
Left the Gold Coast today, at around 11:00am, to follow the Pacific Motorway, M1, taking Exit 5 to put ourselves on Ipswich Road, following Tony's Tom-Tom, (our version of Garmin Goil), to #6 Real Street, the address Antonio had entered into the GPS. We pulled into the driveway at around 12:30pm and I went up to the front door to see if anyone was home. When we had talked to Greg on the phone the day before he had mentioned that although Claire was working, he would be home and waiting, eagerly, for us to walk in the door. Surprised, therefore, that nobody was at home we decided to find a spot for lunch and come back in an hour or so, hoping the Greg had just popped out to run an errand or two.
We found a Nando's, a casual fast food chain, originally from South Africa, from a Portuguese/Mozambique community in Johannesburg, and enjoyed a pleasant enough meal, for me a quarter chicken with PIRi-PIRi sauce, composed, in the main, of African Birds Eye Chilli, and chips, sprinkled with a dry version of the spice, a fiery little customer with other special herbs and spices and a touch of garlic to give a zing with a kick! After finishing their meals, The Sisterhood went to find a Chemist's while Sarge and I stayed at the table, Sarge to read, I to scribe. When the Goils returned we made for #6 Real Street, once again to find nobody at home. Concerned that we had, in fact, the wrong address, I called to a neighbour in the next backyard and she confirmed that Claire and Greg did not live in the house Tony had entered into his Tom-Tom, nor had they ever lived there. The chatty neighbour informed us that the current owner was a writer and the second owner, the first owners definitely not Claire and Greg!
Had a bit of trouble with technology, at this point, as we had not bothered to take down C's/G's phone numbers as we assumed we knew where we were going and we had never called them from either Sarge's Blackberry or Flamin's cheapo Samsung. Eventually Sarge dredged up an old email from Greg which happily, for us, had been sent from his work email account and included his cell number in his signature. Once we called him, he informed us that they lived at #16 Real Avenue! Fortunately we were only about fifteen minutes away from where we were supposed to be and were soon pulling intot he right driveway, Canadian and RCMP flags adorning the gate!
Greg welcomed us in and we unloaded the car into their very comfortable home, almost completey rennovated and enlarged since they first purchased it in 2000 and then moved into it in 2003. Claire was still at work so we visted on the large covered patio off their kitchen. Greg had thought we might take a quick trip downtown to see the Surveyor's Museum, in his office building, but by the time we had had cups of tea/java and visited, (We last saw them both in September, 2010, when we waved goodbye in Auxerre, towards the end of our canal barge trip.), it was time for Greg to pick up Claire from work. While Greg nipped downtown, (they live but 10-15 minutes from the CBD, 3K as the crow flies), everyone did a bit more unpacking or read or surfed the InterWeb.
They were home by around 4:00pm and we visited with Claire over more cold drinks, Crown Lager for Sarge and Greg, tea/java fro the rest of us. By 6:00pm Claire brought out a wonderful array of appetizers, cheeses, crackers, salami, pickled artichokes and mushrooms and small onions pickled in balsamic vinegar. We opened a McLeish Estate, Hunter Valley, 2010 Verdelho, 13.4% and when that was finished Claire brought out a 2000 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, 14.5%, they had bought from a neighbour who was selling off part of her extensive wine cellar to raise money for women and girls in Africa. Catherine Skippington has committed herself to a charity event run by Peaks Foundation, to climb Mt Kenya, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru, so this was one of her fund raising events.
I was under the impression that much of the red wine produced in the Hunter is sourced from grapes grown elesewhere, McLaren Vale or Orange, per esempio, so was surprised when the label indicated that the grapes were grown in the Hunter. This being the case I looked up their website and found the following:
Graveyard Vineyard is the jewel in the Brokenwood crown, responsible for the company's flagship white and red wines. The vineyard was initially planted with Shiraz vines in 1970. With extremely heavy clay soils, yields are low, but fruit flavour is intense through employment of meticulous vinification techniques. The plans from the original cemetery, dating back to 1882, which occupied the land are displayed in the Brokenwood tasting room. Currently standing at some 14 hectares under vine, the Graveyard Vineyard is comprised of the following: Shiraz - 25.5 acres (13.5 acres young vine on rootstock; 12 acres old vine; 4 young vines, own roots and cuttings off old vines)
2000
The 18th Brokenwood vintage and 17th of Graveyard Shiraz for Winemaker / Managing Director Iain Riggs. The 1999 year was the wettest in the Hunter Valley since the torrential early start to 1990. It just beat 1992 by 40mm. An unusually wet winter leading to excellent spring growth, and continued rain. The new millennium favoured the Hunter Valley with one of the best vintages on record. Excellent yields, sugars and fruit flavours especially for Graveyard Shiraz.
Thanking our generous hosts for the magnifient wine, I poured myself another large glassful! By this time Greg was about to put steaks and sausages on the bbq so I had a quick shower and by time I was abluted, dinner was served: aforementioned grilled meat together with two salads, a green one and a pasta one, as well as a tasty rice dish. We spent a leisurely time over the meal, managing to consume three more bottles without much apparent effort: Warrabilla 2009, Durif, Cleanskin, 15.5%; Pauletts, Clare, Polish Hill River, 2008 Shiraz, 14.5% and a Bowen Estate, Coonawarra, 2009 Cabbage, 14.5%. By 10:00pm The Sisterhood were starting to flag. Everyone helped to clear the table and after the dishwasher was loaded, The Goils hied themselves off to bed and books while the Lads returned to the patio.
Grog brought out an array of maltage and he and Sarge pounded paedestrian, anaemic Glenlivet 12 year old, 40%, with Crown Lager, 4.9%, chasers, the plonk which Mongrels, Ferals, Bogans, Ockers and Gorillas, (Ockers without necks), in their singlets, driving utes with a Blue Heeler, Cattle Dog or Bitzer, (bits of this, bits of that), in the back, weaving down the highway, knock-back, while I hoi aristoied my way through a number of drams of X.O Hennessy, 40%, Dear Reader!
By 11:00pm even I had had enough so I said goodnight to my compadres and made my way to bed, careful not to wake the Gently Snoring Coramandel! To be continued...
Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi TNT!
Greetings from Brisbane! Trust life in Tea Tree Gully goes swimmingly. Will be in Brisbane with Claire and Greg, friends of our hosts, Elly/Tony, until April 15th when we fly to Cairns for a little less than a week. Then on to Darwin for us, 10 days, about three nights in Kakadu in the middle of stay, F/S back to Vancouver. We will spend a week with friends, Kathleen and Steve, after Darwin/overnight in Sydney and before Japan.
next extended trip.
Off to explore Brisbane on a walking tour, shortly, guided by our hosts. Wonderful BBQ last night with a number of our accumulated wine purchases. Fondestos from The Gang of Four! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Jill!
We'll be flying to Darwin, from Cairns, on April 20th so have a drink for us at the Pub Night! Actually, we'll be in Darwin the day before you start drinking beer due to the International Date Line!
Left the Gold Coast today, at around 11:00am, to follow the Pacific Motorway, M1, taking Exit 5 to put ourselves on Ipswich Road, following Tony's Tom-Tom, (our version of Garmin Goil), to #6 Real Street, the address Antonio had entered into the GPS. We pulled into the driveway at around 12:30pm and I went up to the front door to see if anyone was home. When we had talked to Greg on the phone the day before he had mentioned that although Claire was working, he would be home and waiting, eagerly, for us to walk in the door. Surprised, therefore, that nobody was at home we decided to find a spot for lunch and come back in an hour or so, hoping the Greg had just popped out to run an errand or two.
We found a Nando's, a casual fast food chain, originally from South Africa, from a Portuguese/Mozambique community in Johannesburg, and enjoyed a pleasant enough meal, for me a quarter chicken with PIRi-PIRi sauce, composed, in the main, of African Birds Eye Chilli, and chips, sprinkled with a dry version of the spice, a fiery little customer with other special herbs and spices and a touch of garlic to give a zing with a kick! After finishing their meals, The Sisterhood went to find a Chemist's while Sarge and I stayed at the table, Sarge to read, I to scribe. When the Goils returned we made for #6 Real Street, once again to find nobody at home. Concerned that we had, in fact, the wrong address, I called to a neighbour in the next backyard and she confirmed that Claire and Greg did not live in the house Tony had entered into his Tom-Tom, nor had they ever lived there. The chatty neighbour informed us that the current owner was a writer and the second owner, the first owners definitely not Claire and Greg!
Had a bit of trouble with technology, at this point, as we had not bothered to take down C's/G's phone numbers as we assumed we knew where we were going and we had never called them from either Sarge's Blackberry or Flamin's cheapo Samsung. Eventually Sarge dredged up an old email from Greg which happily, for us, had been sent from his work email account and included his cell number in his signature. Once we called him, he informed us that they lived at #16 Real Avenue! Fortunately we were only about fifteen minutes away from where we were supposed to be and were soon pulling intot he right driveway, Canadian and RCMP flags adorning the gate!
Greg welcomed us in and we unloaded the car into their very comfortable home, almost completey rennovated and enlarged since they first purchased it in 2000 and then moved into it in 2003. Claire was still at work so we visted on the large covered patio off their kitchen. Greg had thought we might take a quick trip downtown to see the Surveyor's Museum, in his office building, but by the time we had had cups of tea/java and visited, (We last saw them both in September, 2010, when we waved goodbye in Auxerre, towards the end of our canal barge trip.), it was time for Greg to pick up Claire from work. While Greg nipped downtown, (they live but 10-15 minutes from the CBD, 3K as the crow flies), everyone did a bit more unpacking or read or surfed the InterWeb.
They were home by around 4:00pm and we visited with Claire over more cold drinks, Crown Lager for Sarge and Greg, tea/java fro the rest of us. By 6:00pm Claire brought out a wonderful array of appetizers, cheeses, crackers, salami, pickled artichokes and mushrooms and small onions pickled in balsamic vinegar. We opened a McLeish Estate, Hunter Valley, 2010 Verdelho, 13.4% and when that was finished Claire brought out a 2000 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, 14.5%, they had bought from a neighbour who was selling off part of her extensive wine cellar to raise money for women and girls in Africa. Catherine Skippington has committed herself to a charity event run by Peaks Foundation, to climb Mt Kenya, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru, so this was one of her fund raising events.
I was under the impression that much of the red wine produced in the Hunter is sourced from grapes grown elesewhere, McLaren Vale or Orange, per esempio, so was surprised when the label indicated that the grapes were grown in the Hunter. This being the case I looked up their website and found the following:
Graveyard Vineyard is the jewel in the Brokenwood crown, responsible for the company's flagship white and red wines. The vineyard was initially planted with Shiraz vines in 1970. With extremely heavy clay soils, yields are low, but fruit flavour is intense through employment of meticulous vinification techniques. The plans from the original cemetery, dating back to 1882, which occupied the land are displayed in the Brokenwood tasting room. Currently standing at some 14 hectares under vine, the Graveyard Vineyard is comprised of the following: Shiraz - 25.5 acres (13.5 acres young vine on rootstock; 12 acres old vine; 4 young vines, own roots and cuttings off old vines)
2000
The 18th Brokenwood vintage and 17th of Graveyard Shiraz for Winemaker / Managing Director Iain Riggs. The 1999 year was the wettest in the Hunter Valley since the torrential early start to 1990. It just beat 1992 by 40mm. An unusually wet winter leading to excellent spring growth, and continued rain. The new millennium favoured the Hunter Valley with one of the best vintages on record. Excellent yields, sugars and fruit flavours especially for Graveyard Shiraz.
Thanking our generous hosts for the magnifient wine, I poured myself another large glassful! By this time Greg was about to put steaks and sausages on the bbq so I had a quick shower and by time I was abluted, dinner was served: aforementioned grilled meat together with two salads, a green one and a pasta one, as well as a tasty rice dish. We spent a leisurely time over the meal, managing to consume three more bottles without much apparent effort: Warrabilla 2009, Durif, Cleanskin, 15.5%; Pauletts, Clare, Polish Hill River, 2008 Shiraz, 14.5% and a Bowen Estate, Coonawarra, 2009 Cabbage, 14.5%. By 10:00pm The Sisterhood were starting to flag. Everyone helped to clear the table and after the dishwasher was loaded, The Goils hied themselves off to bed and books while the Lads returned to the patio.
Grog brought out an array of maltage and he and Sarge pounded paedestrian, anaemic Glenlivet 12 year old, 40%, with Crown Lager, 4.9%, chasers, the plonk which Mongrels, Ferals, Bogans, Ockers and Gorillas, (Ockers without necks), in their singlets, driving utes with a Blue Heeler, Cattle Dog or Bitzer, (bits of this, bits of that), in the back, weaving down the highway, knock-back, while I hoi aristoied my way through a number of drams of X.O Hennessy, 40%, Dear Reader!
By 11:00pm even I had had enough so I said goodnight to my compadres and made my way to bed, careful not to wake the Gently Snoring Coramandel! To be continued...
Cheers, Patrizzio!
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