Thursday, 1 May 2014
Another day we introduced Ellen & Tom Chester to
our special friends and their unique enterprises -
Murray Douglas and his partner, Helen _ Te Mata Figgery
Helen took us on a personal tour, thus we wandered amongst the fig trees and sampled all the varieties as she explained the uniqueness of each fig type and what they did with them before we did some buying of the delicious products - jams, relishes, sauces, etc.
(A side note - Murray and I were at primary school together over 55 years ago!
Denise Greer is a tour guide at the Church Road Winery.
For an hour or so, Denise took us on a personal tour of the winery,
explaining as we watched each process from the grapes being
delivered, testing of them, crushing of them and then the liquid result
being poured into the stainless steel vats or wooden barrels
(although we did not see the bottling as that is done elsewhere).
We then toured underground where 100 years ago the wine used to be
stored in concrete holding tanks/vats before being placed into wooden
barrels until it was bottled. Nowadays, the dividing walls between
each concrete vat have been removed and are now filled with
old photographs and all the old equipment that they used.
Really interesting.
explaining as we watched each process from the grapes being
delivered, testing of them, crushing of them and then the liquid result
being poured into the stainless steel vats or wooden barrels
(although we did not see the bottling as that is done elsewhere).
We then toured underground where 100 years ago the wine used to be
stored in concrete holding tanks/vats before being placed into wooden
barrels until it was bottled. Nowadays, the dividing walls between
each concrete vat have been removed and are now filled with
old photographs and all the old equipment that they used.
Really interesting.
Afterwards we sat in the garden of the winery and enjoyed
a beautiful lunch - sampling wines with the different foods.
Yummy!
a beautiful lunch - sampling wines with the different foods.
Yummy!
Laurel Judd : fibre artist extraordinaire
Laurel has the most amazing
creative talent and won
so many awards - year after year.
She also designs
the most beautiful knitwear
for one to purchase.
Both Ellen and myself had a spend!
Deb Bell : another very artistic lady
Fashion designer, painter
& glass/jewellery artist.
& glass/jewellery artist.
Deb makes the most
exquisite pieces
of jewellery
(necklaces, bracelets,
earrings and rings) -
the shapes of the beads
or ornaments
of the jewellery
being created by her
from coloured
glass rods.
exquisite pieces
of jewellery
(necklaces, bracelets,
earrings and rings) -
the shapes of the beads
or ornaments
of the jewellery
being created by her
from coloured
glass rods.
I purchased a necklace from her a few years ago and wear it
as often as possible.
as often as possible.
Besides the beautiful traditionalstyle of jewellery that feature
flowers (such as roses or pansies, etc.)
she also makes what I call
“whacky” pieces.
For example:
wrapped lollies; liquorice allsorts.
Mave & Dave : Keith’s sister and her husband
One evening we went to their beautiful home that sits
on the top of one of the Havelock Hills and has the most
outstanding view of the bay
on the top of one of the Havelock Hills and has the most
outstanding view of the bay
Mave has an awesome garden which we wandered about
and a home full of wonderful antique furniture and china.
Mave is a very good cook and so she introduced Ellen & Tom
to a traditional Kiwi Sunday roast - that is, roasted lamb, potato,
pumpkin, kumara & parsnip, accompanied with cauliflower cheese,
carrots & peas and gravy & freshly made mint sauce.
I had asked Mave to make another kiwi icon - a pavlova -
but she opted to do a lovely raspberry custard & sponge dessert instead.
Fortunately Ellen & Tom were able to indulge in the delights of a pavlova
covered with whipped cream, strawberries and passionfruit when in Australia.
And so, they didn’t miss out on this treat when “down under”.
pumpkin, kumara & parsnip, accompanied with cauliflower cheese,
carrots & peas and gravy & freshly made mint sauce.
I had asked Mave to make another kiwi icon - a pavlova -
but she opted to do a lovely raspberry custard & sponge dessert instead.
Fortunately Ellen & Tom were able to indulge in the delights of a pavlova
covered with whipped cream, strawberries and passionfruit when in Australia.
And so, they didn’t miss out on this treat when “down under”.
To view photos taken by Tom & Ellen of some of their experiences,
visit Ellen’s blog - www.withmyneedle-ellen.blogspot.com
OLDER POSTS : APRIL 2014
That’s all for the moment.
