Another Bonnington Batch hits the Bottle

Our friends over at Bonnington Brewery are in production today. The picture above is of their Bottling and Packaging Unit. Click here for the full story of Batch #8.

The Great British Beer Festival

Is on right now. One of the highlights of the British Beer Year. Wish I was there....

Here's a BBC rundown of this year's event.

Still, the 3rd Hobart Beer Festival is only four months away. Here's Tassibelather's rundown of last year's.

A bit of cross promotion

The Bonnington Brewery Story:

#1: The Source:

Click here for the lowdown.

Bonnington. It's Beer.

Theatre Royal Hotel: What's happening?

I was waiting for Katie to finish work this afternoon, and with fifteen minutes to spare, thought I'd drop in for a quick ten ounce at the Theatre Royal Hotel, which is just opposite Katie's office at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and immediately next door to the Theatre Royal. Imagine my surprise when I got to the door at four fifteen on a Monday afternoon to find the doors locked and the bar dark.

Does anybody know if the TRH is still operating? I know there's been a few instances this year with the pub being shut on Friday and Saturday nights when there were big shows running in the Theatre. The licensee's name has been blacked off the board at the front of the pub, there's no answer on the phone, and their webpage is malfunctioning. Any clues? Drop me a comment.

Sunday stroll up Knocklofty

A few of us went for a quick Sunday morning sojourn up Knocklofty, the range that runs between West and South Hobart. It took about twenty minutes to get to the end of our road and the beginning of the Knocklofty Reserve. There's some beautiful bushland and views up there. And all in our backyard.

The photo the left was taken from the same vantage point John Glover used when he painted this in 1831:

As usual, here's the album from our expedition. I'll be checking a few more of the tracks out soon.

Hobart's a pretty speccy place, eh?

A Saturday morning ride over the river

Katie and I went to Rob's 40th birthday shindig last night over at the Bellerive Yacht Club. Consequently, I needed to recover the car on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful crisp am, so I jumped on the iron horse and rode down to the city, along the intercity cycleway, across the Tasman Bridge and around the eastern foreshore to Kangaroo Bay and the BYC car park. Of course, I took along my new camera to see what I could grab along the way.

There's a dozen or so shots here.

Wurst ist gut at Salamanca

One of Hobart's best hangover cures is the Silver Hills Bratwurst stall at Salamanca Market:

Five bucks for a beaut pork wurst with saukraut and proper German senf.

Having said that, nuthin really compares to the real deal in der fatherland:

Bruny Island for the weekend

Katie and I loaded up the trusty 121 and took off for Bruny Island this weekend. We were aiming for the 9.45am ferry on Saturday, but after the inevitable post work drinks (Vic Tav happy hour and then the Marquis of Hastings) with Richard, Ingrid, Ros and Kev, the 11.05 seemed a lot more attainable. The ferry's only half an hour or so, so we were on the island by midday. I don't think I'd been on Bruny since 1992 or so, so it was with a bit of a fresh perspective.

We stopped at the penguin rookery and lookout that's on the neck connecting North and South Bruny, which was quit spectacular. Unfortunately, the only penguin we spotted all weekend was a deceased one on Sunday. It was delicious (Steve). We sampled some of the fine gourmet food that seems to have sprung up as a mini industry on the island (cheese, wine and oysters) on our way around and about. We stayed in a fine example of the Millard fifteen footer at the Adventure Bay (Captain Cook Memorial) Caravan Park.

It was nice being there in the off season, as there were bugger all people around the place. We scoped out a fair bit of the island, from the Cape Bruny lighthouse on the southernmost point, near Pedra Banca rock (where I read the bluefin are biting at the moment), to a brief walk to Grass Point, site of one of the many whaling stations that were quite a part of Tassie's early European history, to Dennes Point and Barnes Bay in the North. With plenty of spectacular scenery in between.

The fishing wasn't too much to write home about. Well not for me, anyway. People seemed to be landing some decent squid at the Adventure Bay jetty, but my brilliant new squid jig just wasn't bringing 'em in. ....

Anyway, it was tops to get away from Hobart for the weekend. The first real roadtrip we've done since our return. And the weather was dry. Bloody cold, but dry.

There's some more photos of our adventure right here.

Remembering James, 5 years on

This week marked the fifth anniversary of James being knocked off his bike and killed in London. His friends and family got together in london and Hobart to toast, talk, ride, and remember him. In London, a posse went down to Mosquito Cycles, polished the plaque that's there in his memory, put a new sprig of Eucalyptus Risdonii behind it, and had some chips and Guinness. In Hobart, a few of us went for a quick ride up the rivulet track after work, and then down to Knopwood's for a few bevvies in the big guy's honour.

There's some photos from both ends of the earth here.

And here's some press Steve got in the UK regarding James and the Ghostcycle project.

See them being made

All that talk of pigs and associated food products got the better of me when I saw slabs of pigskin down at woolies for $4 a kilo! I'd always wanted to make my own pork scratchings, so that I did. Luckily Braz came round to visit, as I'd left them in the oven and forgotten about them...cue a kitchenful of smoke and hot bubbling pigfat about to do what hot pigfat does.

Anyhow, who's for a coronary?

Gone down to Gordons Knob

Tim & Katie & I went down to Duncan & Jeannie's place at Gardeners Bay for a Saturday night feed. Part of the property is a hill called "Gordon's Knob". It's a beautiful piece of land, with a great house and dams, sheds and all sorts of rural kinda stuff. Some of it used to be a vineyard, but is now rapidly getting back to virgin bushland. Star of the show undoubetdly is Darcy the sow, a very sociable one year old, 120kg pig. For the knackery Darcy is not destined. Her primary role will be kids entertainer (people stop by her field to say hello), and matriach of all the yummy bacon, ham and sausage producers she will undoubetdly mother. Katie & I have seen Hugh Fearnley Whittinstall's Pig in a Day, and are keen to sponsor one of the piglets. Yummy.

For dinner, Tim whipped up a massive paella, and Jeannie conquered all with her English Onion soup and apple crumble dessert. In bed, stuffed by midnight. I think we'll be regular visitors down the knob.

There's a few more pix of proceedings here...

Afternoon on the Derwent

Rob & Tim & I took Rob's boat out from Geilston Bay this afternoon for a spot of Bream fishing. 'Twas great...I think the first time I've been out fishing on the river for quite some years. While my re-christened beginner's luck wasn't really up to what it shoulda been (ie I caught nothing), Rob managed to score first with a two pound plus Bream.

Tim quickly followed with a (foul hooked) mullet, followed by a couplea cocky salmon and a couple of flathead. It was spurely a sporting trip...everything got thrown back...mainly cos it ain't safe to eat fish from the Derwent.

Anyway, great afternoon with a couple of beers, and as is only possible in Hobart, it was four hours from walking out the door to getting home.

There's some more photos of the voyage here.

Warporn and other images

My mate Adam, who's been putting out various forms of art for at least a couple of decades has gone cyber. His (almost complete) website showcases a fair bit of his stuff, from his "1% of Waterloo" exhibition piece (a plasticene recreation of the Battle of Waterloo, with 1% of the total number of soldiers) to some of his early and quite dark clay work to his amazing scale model warships (the one in the picture here is about four feet long, and floats) to his latest effort "Warporn", which is a series of graphic recreations of war scenes, shot in his West Hobart backyard. Check out his website at

http://adamcuthbert.com

Return of the Weekend BBQ

To celebrate the demise of John Howard's Workchoices legislation and associated AWA's, the Tasmanian Labor Team had a "Return of the Weekend BBQ" event on Sunday May 4. Special guest was Bill Shorten, MP. Michael & I BBQ'd 250 Woolies snags, a personal record.

There's some more photos here.

Simon & Holly hit Tassie

We've got Simon & Holly down here for the weekend. Surprisingly, main features of their visit have been:

• Food
• Drink
• Trying to convince them to move here

And we did a nice roadtrip to Cockle Creek/Recherche Bay.
Venison and Curried Scallop pies from the German bakery in Dover (not in the same pie!) were quite enjoyable. We're about to head to the Cascade Pub in South Hobart for the infamous Sicey's Steak n Schnitzel. The surf n turf has to be seen to be believed. I'll take the camera along actually.
Here's a few pics of mine, and here's some from Simon's camera.

Burger Off! The Housewarming Party

3 Bonnington Road was well and truly warmed last night with the inaugural "Burger Off!™" Burger cookin comp. The idea: We supply the buns n extras, you supply your own take on the hamburger pattie. There were many bloody good takes on the humble burger. Honorable mentions include:

• Richard for his Chicken Diavlo (evolved from his days at Solo Pasta).
• Kev for the prawn, pork and water chestnut served with sweet chili sauce.
• Katie's beef n herb a la St Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.
• Duncan's Garlic n Rosemary Langers, served with a thick Cornish accent.
• Jennifer's Beef and home grown Knocklofty vegetables.
• One word: Brazburger.
  
• Caroline, the Queen of Quinceburger.
  
• Tim's steamin Habanero.
• Mark and Lisa's star burgers deluxe.
• Mary's "Flashing Mao" Patties of the People.

All of which wouldn't look outta place down at the Lansdowne Cafe, or in fact would be a bloody good deal better than what they were serving up at the Derwent Valley Festival last weekend. Unfortunately, not much in the way of marsupial was served up, but I do hear that Jenny and John have a freezer full of Skippy at Lauderdale. Can't wait.

But, premier prize has to go to Harry for his Terriaki Beef and Chicken, complete with cheese,PRE FRIED EGG, and olive reamed skewer to hold the construction together (which I managed to pierce my chin with). The exact recipe remains a secret, but I did hear there was more than a splash of sherry involved. And some in the burger too.

Anyhow, I thoroughly recommend the Burger Off! Party concept. In fact, contact me for your local franchise kit. Fees negotiable.

There's a few further fotografic tasters here.

Settled in the West of the South

Gday all, we've finally set up house in boho West Hobart. Not quite as many prams as Stoke Newington, but that's cos everybody's drivin their progeny round in a Subaru. We do have The Hill Street Grocer (part of the Axis of Evil) five minutes walk away...a must for your fresh organic purple sprouting broccoli and nine dollar bucket of pasta salad.....we love it! Oh, and we've got The Lansdowne Cafe twenty seconds from the back door...great coffee and eggs ben, seven days a week. Not to mention what could be the best pizzeria and videomats in town just round the Crescent. Oh, times they are a-grand!

We've got Duncan and Jeannie, exiles from the Duchy of Cornwall staying with us at the moment. They've decided to swap the force eight gales of Portreath for the relative comfort of eleven degrees and drizzle in Hobart. Well that's today. Tommorrow there could be bushfires.

Anyhow, drop round and try some of me homebrew. Katie and I trudged up the mountain to get the water 'n all.

For those of you that can't get around pronto, there's a real-estate style photo presentation right here.

ps there's a housewarming in the offing real soon, by the way.

Phone backups are worth their weight in gold

I'm up in Sydney to go on Martin's Bucks weekend on a Hawkesbury River Houseboat, and won't be back in Tassie until next Thursday.  When I fired up my phone off the plane in Sydney, it had died.  Become an ex-phone.  Kaput.  Luckily, I've been backing up the data, messages, pictures, etc on it using My Phone Explorer, some shareware specifically for Sony Ericsson phones.  I called Dad, who exported and emailed my phone numbers as a csv file, and lo and behold I'm back in communication (thanks also to Martin for lending me his spare handset).  I can't recommend My Phone Explorer enough.  It's so much more friendly than Sony Ericsson's own software.

Anybody got an old Sony Ericsson handset they don't want?

The QE2's last visit to Hobart

Perhaps the last great liner from pre-747 age, the Queen Elizabeth 2 visited Hobart today for the final time before she is pensioned off to end her days as a static museum piece in Dubai.

While QE2 probably doesn't have her own Oxygen Bar or four storey shopping mall, she certainly cuts a much better figure than the floating apartment blocks that are today's Disney-esque "Cruise Ships" (with "Lust For Life" as the theme for their TV ads. Skating on thin ice, Iggy....). Anyway, both Dad and myself took a few shots of the old tub while she was tied up, and just as she was leaving her berth.

They be right here, me hearties.

Snow on Mt Wellington in February

Last night, and for the first time in at least a decade, snow settled on the top of Mt Wellington in February (for my antipodean readers, that's the middle of summer down this way).

Katie and I ascended to the summit (1270m above sea level) in the trusty 121 to investigate, photograph, and collect some raw ingredients for my next batch of home brew. The wind was knock-you-over strong and the chill factor must have bought the temperature down to minus two or so. Some locals had even half buried their car to turn it into a snowboard ramp.

Going up there reaquainted me with the strange Hobart custom of decorating the roof and bonnet of your car with kilos of snow for the journey back home. It also reminded me of a story when, back in 1986, the premier of Tasmania at the time, a rather unlikeable character by the name of Robin Gray made a statement along the lines of "...the day I am a dictator is the day that snow settles on the GPO steps...". Within the space of a few days, lo and behold, down came the heaviest snowfall in Hobart for sixty five years. The GPO steps, and indeed everything right down to the waterfront was blanketed in snow and the city came to a standstill.

It's great to be back.

There's a few more photos right here.