The best things in life...

The best things in life are free? Well, I've never been given an E-type jag, but I have been given decent health, good friends, a passion for creativity, and an ability to see beauty in little things - from graffiti on bus shelters to roses in bloom or perfectly-cooked parathas. And that's what I consider a gift.

Bus shelter graffiti

Roses in the garden

Ominous clouds with the promise of rain

Drinking with friends

We've been sussing out local restaurants - our quest for the best curry in Canberra is continuous. Dawate E Punjab in Kippax is a good contender.

More graffiti from a run in the rain. I sheltered beneath an underpass and found a riotous expression of colourful creativity. 

The bird life seemed quite happy in the rain. And then the sun came out again.

Part of Christmas at The Smith Family is a massive gift drive. Many people generously give gifts for disadvantaged families; the gifts are sorted into age categories by volunteers; families are contacted by our staff to come and collect the present bags; and we have a day of spreading happiness. 

It's a huge effort requiring a lot of coordination, funding and publicity - last year 100,000 toys and books were delivered to 20,000 children across Australia in one day. Our office does its bit as the boss presents the message to the media and the presents to the children.  

One of the big releases in the beer calendar is that of Feral Tusk: it's a triumph of marketing exercise and hype, and probably a draw-card for whichever venue is lucky enough to get a keg - in this case it was The Durham Castle Arms (a favourite pub of ours) and we hurried along to partake before it all sold out, which it did last year in a few short hours.

The beer itself is a Double IPA, which is very orangey, very malty, very sweet and, at 13.5%, very very big - perhaps too big? At $16 for a half, it's certainly too expensive. But it had to be done. So here I am, doing it.

We are still hard at work rehearsing for Coda for Shirley. There is a lot of fun to be had amidst the script analysis and character development. I know I've said it before, but it's a real treat to work with such a talented group of wonderful women, whether actually rehearsing, or posing for publicity shots!

Here are some of the many faces of Micki Beckett as the titular Shirley and as herself. 

Big sister, Sarah (not my big sister, Sarah) is played with a range of expressions (and several glasses of wine) by Nikki-Lynn Hunter.

And her long-suffering little sister, Jane, is embodied but the ever-versatile and always lovely Elaine Noon.

Rounding out our awesome foursome is the spirited and engaging Alex McPherson as the daughter-in-law-to-be, Jen.

And here they all are together - the fabulous four, ready to set the stage alight!

Canberra Beer Week 2016

Our Canberra Beer Week kicked off with Beer Day Out. Him Outdoors was working on the Festival Beer stand, and they had run out of gas - literally, not figuratively. He asked me if I could bring along the CO2 cylinder, and I didn't want to cart the wrong thing along in a taxi, so I sent a photo to make sure I had the right thing. I did.

The largest queue was at The Festival Bar where patrons waited to taste the beers brewed especially for Beer Day Out. I sampled the Canberra Beer Week Collaborative Beer (five hops; five grains; five Canberra Breweries - very sessionable, like an English Bitter), the Sauvin Nouveau 2016 from Garage Project (fruity and very drinkable), the Chinatown Lager from Southern Bay (refreshing and surprisingly tasty for a lager, with rice in the grist and the addition of ginger and kaffir lime), the Noho Saison from Shambles Brewery (fruity, spicy, Belgian Saison with all the requisite flavours), the Sonic Prayer IPA from Modus Operandi (citrus, stone fruit and pine with some sweet malt to balance the 6% strength), the Mysterio IIPA from Stockade (fantastically fruity, fresh and strong citrus; bitter hop and sweet malt is well balanced), the Lamington Dark Ale from Bacchus Brewing Co (chocolatey coconut sweetness, as you would expect), the B2 Bomber Mach 6.0 from Bridge Road (Belgian, black Imperial IPA - all of the above), and the War Hog American IPA from Feral (hoppy, strong and bitter fun). Yes, they were small amounts, thank you.

I had taken my Dad along with me (well, he was in the country and it would have been remiss not to), so we then proceeded to work our way around the stalls, chatting to the brewers and drinking their wares in the sunshine.

There was a really pleasant atmosphere, with everyone enjoying the fine beers and the plentiful food on offer. The location worked well, with everything contained in a space with both indoor and outdoor seating, and the beer talks and masterclasses were well-attended and successfully received.

BentSpoke Brewing Co, like it says on the sign

A pint of Crankshaft with a Big Nut chaser

Zierholz

Feral

Bill making beer at the Canberra Brewer's stand

Modus Operandi

Garage Project from across the ditch

The Pact crew

The next day we went out to Mitchell for the Cannery Carnival - BentSpoke threw open the doors to their new cannery, with lots of shiny bling, good beer, fine food, music and sunshine (I don' t think they had much to do with the latter, but it went well with the whole chilled back ambiance thing they had going on).

Shiny bling

Tours of said shiny bling

La Sirene beers are among my favourite in this country, so I was not going to miss this tasting. Once again, Costa Nikias didn't disappoint, and the new sour red is an absolute winner. The tasting was held in a great venue too. I've not been to Avenue C Wine Co before, but it's a stylish spot with a sunlit patio and a great selection of fine wine to drink there or take home. We'll be visiting again.

Not the usual tasting

Costa with a great line-up of his artisanal beers

And on to Transit Bar where the regions battled it out for top beer honours. The ACT was represented by Pact Beer Co and Wig & Pen Brewery, while the South Coast NSW was represented by Five Barrel Brewing (Woolongon) and HopDog BeerWorks (Nowra). I'm not actually sure who won the showdown, but I know that enjoyed my beers! 

I had Tennent's Peak from Pact (A really tasty Imperial IPA - very nice indeed), Wee Heavy from Five Barrel (a chewy, flavoursome dark beer with ruby hints of goodness), The Halloween Project 3five9 from HopDog (smoked pumpkin - curious but not unpleasant), and Velvet Cream from Wig & Pen (an always enjoyable rich, full, creamy dark stout).

ACT takes on NSW South Coast at Transit

Saturday saw us at the GIO Stadium, partly because the Wellington Phoenix were playing the Central Coast Mariners, and partly because the Stadium had agreed to serve local craft beer from the participating cities. Hence, Garage Project and BentSpoke cans were available, which made the match much more enjoyable. Also the Phoenix won 2-0, so we were happy. 

Best beer list seen at a sporting venue

Garage Project White Mischief: sour, smart, fruity white beer with tastes of peach and salt - perfect pre-match drink

Garage Project Garagista: serious hopping going on

The Yellow Fever (away supporters)

Garage Project Hapi Daze: really pleasant combination of Kiwi hops

As we left the moon was out, and I managed to get it into a perfect position for this shot of the wheelchair basketball sculpture. (To confirm: I didn't actually manoeuvre the moon; just my camera angle.)

Shooting for the moon

The following day as I had a day-long rehearsal, Him Outdoors cycled off to Pialligo Estate for their sausages and cider event. The Small Acres Cyder was going down well, and the honey and sausages were also liberally sampled.

Sausages and cider menu

We finished off Canberra Beer Week with an outing to our local, The Pot Belly, where Nomad Brewing Company had taken over the taps. I sampled their Saltpan Desert Gose (desert limes up front with a tangy salt finish), Long Reef Pale Ale (earthy hoppy notes; on the English Bitter end of the pale ale spectrum, so I like it), Choc-Wort Orange (a little too bitter orange rather than fruity, which overrides the complexity of the malts), and Wild Mongrel (still one of the sourest beers I've tasted, but a lot more balanced from the keg than the last time I had it in a bottle). It was a wonderfully relaxing way to end the week's drinking.

Choc-Wort Orange, Saltpan Desert Gose and Long Reef Pale Ale from Modus at Pot Belly