Festivals and Parks

Another weekend; another festival - this time the Canberra Food and Wine Festival. It was pouring outside as we indulged in some tasty delights. We had ash brie, chocolate-covered coffee beans, Ding the Recipe harissa, frugli gelato of coconut and salted caramel, Tar 10 chipotle chilli mayonnaise, and a gourmet kransky cheese kransky with cheese and onions. Here's some food:

 

Happy Alley!

The bloke at Short Sheep Winery (who was from Luton) explained how they use a special breed of short sheep to trim the grass in the vineyard. He instantly guessed that Him Outdoors was from Burnley and was happy to talk about wine and football - what else is there? We liked the Shiraz and the Shiraz Rose best.

Short Sheep wines

We also tried the wines at Mount Alexander (their pinot noir was similar to those of Central Otago), Andrew Peace wines (the Tempranillo; Shiraz Malbec; a Tall Poppy Cabernet Sauvignon which was very tasty and jammy; and a Vintage Port), and Shaw Vineyard Estate (their ricato was not as sweet as moscato; and the sparkling cuvee made with only semillon grapes was very nice and clean). 

As well as the wine, there was Tusker malt, African beer, mango beer and mango cider from Matso's Brewery, D'cider 50% made from Batlow Pink Lady apples, and Sun Shack cider made with feijoa and elderflower. One of our favourites was the Gallagher sparkling Duet, which is made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The chap from Gallagher Wines

A handy way to carry the can(s)

There was an outfit there who dealt in bones and muscles; their purpose was to train muscles that you don't usually use. They tested fitness, balance and co-ordination and printed them out on a graph. Him Outdoors signed up for a session and was told that, although he was very fit, he had the equivalent balance of an eighty year old. This is what his graph looks like:

 After all this talk of food and drink, it seemed only natural to go to the Wig and Pen for a curry and a pint.

Dinner at the Wig and Pen

Explaining British socio-geopolitics with the aid of beer mats

A few days later, a run at Urambi Hills shows how hot and dry it all is.

But a welcome rain-shower made Glebe Park look fresh and green. The grabite and pavers state The Glebe (2002) is made from a single block of granite, segmented to represent the subdivision of the original glebe allotment of 119 acres. 

The house shape of each block refers to European settlement of the area. The carved cross on the first signifies this place's historical ties to the church; the highly polished face of the second encourages reflection and contemplation; the spiraling surface of the third represents time - past, present. future.

The Glebe (2002) by Hew Chee Fong and L. M. Noonan

Egle, Queen of the Serpents by Ieva Pocius (a gift from the Australian Lithuanian Community to mark Australia's Bicentennial Celebrations)

The statue of Mahatma Gandhi by Ram Sutar presides over the park. It was given as a gift from the government and people of India to Australia in 2002. Gandhi's guidelines for life are set forth on the plinth below his feet.

Statue of Mahatma Gandhi by Ram Sutar