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Sunday, February 2, 2014

Upper Reach Winery and Broads Cafe

We live half an hours drive from the Swan Valley.  Popping up for lunch is something we could easily do, yet rarely get around to.


For this year's annibirthary ( a word we have coined to cover the convergence of  our anniversary and Craig's birthday) we booked the cottage at Upper Reach Winery for Friday and Saturday night.


The Cottage sits at the front of the property, fenced off from the road for privacy. It is the only accommodation on the vineyard and despite the fact you have a clear view of the next door property it feels very private. It is all high ceilings and creaky floor boards that gives a lovely character feel.  The kitchen is well equipped and there is everything there you could need, except a cheese knife. A small and forgivable oversight in our view.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Say Cheese... The Cheese Barrel in the Swan Valley

The Cheese Barrel was a chance discovery for us, which is surprising because we live in Perth and we LOVE cheese. 

 

We were on our way to Upper Reach Winery, where we had booked the cottage for the weekend, and spotted the sign on Great Northern Highway. No further discussion was required about where we would be having lunch the next day.

The Cheese Barrel sits alongside Olive Farm Wines and has as extensive a list of cheeses as the Olive Farm does wines.

They don't make the cheese they serve, which they tell you as you walk in the door. I got the vibe that some people obviously think they do and hat has caused them grief in the past. They do, however, import some amazing cheeses from all over the world.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

The Hobbit - The Movie

I didn't race out to the cinema when The Hobbit was first released.  In fact, I waited a full year, and watched it on DVD.  This was not because I'd read bad reviews, in fact I don't think I read any.  Nor was it lack of interest.  I loved the book when I was a child, and enjoyed all of the Lord of the Rings films as well. I'm not normally one of those people who wants to book to make an exact picture image in my head either.

However, there was something suspicious about them splitting what was a rollicking tale of some 95,000 words into more than one movie. It didn't feel like a decisions born of a desire to do the book justice (as would have been the case with the TV series they should have made out of the recently released Ender's Game), but felt as if the project had been taken over by either accountants wanting to squeeze every last cent out of the franchise, or nerdy Tolkien types who weren't ready to let go of Middle Earth yet and who knew they would never get the opportunity to make anything from the Simarillion. Or perhaps both.