Friday Five: Wineries

Yes, of course we did other things in South Australia, but we did visit several wineries - well, you've got to, haven't you?

5 Wineries in South Australia:

1. Jacob's Creek - A big flash building with its own visitors' centre and a number of different tours to cater for all budgets and tastes. We went self-guided. My favourite was the Steingarten Reisling ($48), while Hoggy's was the Centenary Hill Shiraz ($70). Yes, I know; champagne taste on a beer budget...




2. Chateau Tanunda - a lovely chap hosted our tasting, augmented with many recommendations of places to go and things to eat! I tried the Reisling, Chardonnay and blended white; Hoggy got stuck into the Shiraz.




3. Reilly's - located in Mintaro in the Clare Valley; a lovely little village featuring a collection of old stone buildings. I tasted my way through a line-up of delicious Reislings, including a sparkling variety.




4. Pike's River - Good Reislings and an excellent cab sav, but not the best presentation. Renovations are currently underway, so it could well improve.




5. Sevenhill - Sticking to whites, I tried the Reisling, Chardonnay and a fabulous fortified Verdhelo. This was the first winery in the Clare Valley, established by Jesuit monks from Austria in 1851, and it has a very picturesque setting and an underground cellar.

Friday Five: Lounging about

I've always been slightly confused about whether the item of furniture seen in posh houses and vintage settings is called a chaise longue or a chaise lounge - there seems to be no doubt that it is a French chair, but is the point that it is a long chair, or that it is a chair designed for lounging rather than sitting? 

For no apparent reason, I seemed to be surrounded by the things on a recent trip to South Australia, so they became something of a theme...

5 Chaises Longue/Lounge:

1. The hotel room in Adelaide featured one which was very comfy for reading books and watching Liverpool games - unfortunately the score wasn't as satisfying.



2. The Art Gallery of South Australia didn't help, depicting this work by Marcel Breuer as a 'long chair' and imploring punters 'please do not sit'.



3. Another example in the gallery, By Marc Newson, describes itself as a chaise longue, so I think I'm going to stick with that from now on.
   
   
   
   
4. Meanwhile, in Auburn, this innovative design combines a clawfoot bath with the chaise. I like it.



5. At Emily's Bistro and Emporium at Quorn, it is difficult to tell whether the antique furniture and clothing for sale are considered quirky or current.
   
   
   
   

Friday Five: Coward Quotes

Lauren Bacall and Noel Coward in Blithe Spirit

As I am directing Blithe Spirit, my mind is currently full of Cowardisms. Here are five of my favourite.

5 Quotes from Blithe Spirit:

1. "You're awfully irritating when you're determined to be witty at all costs." 
2. "It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit."
3. "I do think it's interesting how easily people allow themselves to be deceived."
4. "Anybody can write books, but it takes an artist to make a dry martini that's dry enough."
5. "I long ago came to the conclusion that nothing has ever been proved about anything."

Friday Five: The Joy of Guests

5 Great Things About Visitors:

1. Eating and drinking out in good pubs and restaurants - any old excuse.
2. Finding things that one likes in one's town and introducing them to others.
3. Discovering new things and places together.
4. Talking and laughing and gossiping and reminiscing and discussing.
5. Finding everyday items in strange places where the guests have put them back - it turns domestic chores into a treasure hunt!

We were having fun, look!

Friday Five: Blooming Spring

The advent of spring brings blossom and flowers. They're pretty and colourful and brighten up the day, so I thought I'd share. 

5 Spring Blooms:

1. Golden wattle

2. Camellia

3. Hellebore

4. Tree Violets

5. Magnolia

Friday Five: TV Programmes

After the excitement of the World Cup, Tour de France and Commonwealth Games, my television viewing has hit a barren patch. There are, however, a few programmes that I will make an effort to watch.

Neil Stuke, Maxine Peake and Rupert Penry-Jones in Silk

Five Programmes I'm Watching:

1. Silk - created by Peter Moffat and starring Maxine Peake, Rupert Penry-Jones and Neil Stuke, this is season three of the adventures of the barristers and clerks of Shoe Lane Chambers. Each episode is a self-contained piece of drama with some fine acting and larger themes of justice and morality.
2. Dr Who - He's back and he's Peter Capaldi. I'm still not impressed with Jenna Coleman's Clara companion, and the signs show no indication that she might fade back into the role of assistant rather than trying to take over. The Doctor, however, has a little more of the edgy madness and less of the cuddly doofus aspect that was threatening to spoil the franchise, so I'm prepared to give it time. (Do you see what I did there?)
3. Utopia - a sort of Australian version of The Thick of It. It's not quite as classy, but office politics and government departments are such rich comedy seams to mine that there are still plenty of nuggets to polish.
4. The Book Club / At the Movies  - personable people having intelligent discussions and reviewing stuff that interests me (i.e. books and films).
5. The Project / Have You Been Paying Attention? - information and questions about current affairs both portrayed in a lighthearted manner, or, as they say themselves, 'It's news delivered differently'.

Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who

Random Dialogue: Theology Debate

The Temptation by William Strang

At home with the Blackhursts. This week: theology.

Me: I read recently that the word Paradise comes from the Old Persian, pairidaeza meaning 'walled garden' and the writer questioned whether the wall was to keep people in or out. But I think the question should be why a wall is required at all.
Him: To keep the bad stuff out.
Me: What bad stuff? It's Paradise!
Him: The snakes.
Me: The snake wasn't necessarily bad.
Him: Yes, he was. He bit them.
Me: No he didn't.
Him: He bit the apple.
Me: No he didn't.
Him: Well, there was a snake and there was an apple. And someone bit the apple, and they all got kicked out.
Me: Eve bit the apple.
Him: That's right, and the snake made her.
Me: Well, the snake suggested it, but she chose to do it.
Him: Well, there you are then. It was a bad snake and so there was a wall to keep it out.
Me: Snakes can slither up walls, can't they?
Him: No, they can only do trees, because they can wrap themselves around the trunk.
Me: What if it's just a small wall?
Him: What, like Hadrian's Wall?
Me: Yes, ok, if you like.
Him: No, I don't like, because Hadrian wasn't in Paradise, so he wouldn't have built a wall.
Me: Well, someone did; if Paradise means 'walled garden', there must have been a wall, so who built it, and why?
Him: God knows.
Me: Quite.