Lords Of The Manor

Lording It At Lords of The Manor

Gorgeously mellow – Lords of The Manor. Pic: Alison Plummer

Apart from our own piece of paradise in the Hunter, the beautiful Lords of The Manor, a member of Small Luxury Hotels, has to be the most relaxing place I have ever stayed. It must be something in the air at Upper Slaughter (from an old English word for mud) in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, but it just makes you want to give in to all the indulgences such as a gourmet afternoon tea (the best in the area) and a la carte dining at the hotel's Michelin Starred restaurant.

Think Cornish red mullet and crab steamed in a courgette flower on a warm aubergine gateau; sirloin of Cotswold Longhorn beef, fricassee of Hereford snails and broad beans, cep purée, red wine auce; roasted Creedy Carver Devonshire duck, Cox's farm pear puree, pan fried foie gras; fillet of Loch Duart salmon,  Cox's Farm asparagus.

The whole Cotswold area has become a gourmet experience with farm shops to visit, farm gates and fabulous local produce. The ancient city of Cirencester has gracious buildings and laneways with intriguing shops and cafes such as Made by Bob, a stylish, modern café opposite Hobbs House Bakery, while nearby are Cirencester Cupcakes, Jesse Smith Butchers with  Jesse Smith Bistro and the New Wave fishmonger


Cirencester Cupcakes:

All just right for a leisurely drive and flying in to Birmingham on Emirates makes the whole journey very simple. Oh - made myself hungry now ...

 www.lordsofthemanor.com www.slh.com/ www.emirates.com/au
www.visitbritain.com




See my story in The Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/cheese-cheer-and-tasty-puds/story -e6f rg8rf-1225955102120 

Lords of The Manor Gourmet Afternoon Tea

Potted Shrimps with Granary Toast

A selection of Homemade Finger Sandwiches including:
- Cox’s Farm Cucumber
- Single Gloucester Cheddar
- Our own Smoked Salmon
- Cotswold Legbar Egg Mayonnaise and
Spring Onion

Freshly Baked Scones with Clotted Cream and Homemade Preserve,
Butter Shortbread and a selection of delicious handcrafted Pastries

Harvesting oysters on the beautiful  Hawkesbury River, NSW

Orchid time

Spring is here and these little Corybas Orchids have popped up. Gorgeous.

Whispering Brook

Creating a destination complete with a vineyard and olive grove producing delicious Whispering Brook Olive Oil, Adam Bell and Susan Frazier welcomed visitors to their delightful property for the Olive Long Table Luncheon which promises to become a fixture on the annual calendar for many. Whispering Brook Wine Club members mixed with suppliers and members of the press to experience a taste of what the Broke Fordwich region has to offer and learned about the terra rossa soil which makes this area so special.

Chef Carolyn Scott, a Slow Food advocate and owner of Redgate Farm, designed the menu to complement whispering Brook wines which included a rosemary lamb shoulder braised for 12 hours and with a sour dough and tarragon stuffing with slow-cooked ratatouille, potatoes and dressed bitter greens.

Visit the website for an overview of Whispering Brook, its accommodation and more.

www.whispering-brook.com/
Image ©Whispering Brook.

Fraser Suites, Sydney

 I was invited by the fantastic team at Klick to celebrate at one of the Penthouses, Fraser Suites, Sydney. I have stayed at Fraser Suites but the Penthouse was occupied so I couldn't look around. The three-bedroom apartment has fantastic city views from floor to ceiling windows and is a flexible option for those who need space or are travelling with a family. Fraser Suites and Apartments are located around the globe, located in the the best business locations and suitable for both long and short term stays for execs and perfect for leisure stays in the world's most exciting cities.
Fraser Suites, Sydney is on Kent Street, a 42-storey glass tower designed by Foster + Partners. There are 201 studios, one and two bedroom suites and two duplex Penthouses. The 20-metre heated lap pool is cantilevered over the  Regent Place shopping precinct. 



I wrote the cover story about Edinburgh for this issue, shown.

sydney.frasershospitality.com/

Very Vietnam

The Perfume River flows through Hue in central Vietnam and we are proceeding upriver on a tourist boat, watching life go by. Mum is on the phone here while the boys keep a steady course. Hue is busy but laid-back compared with the big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.  As a guest of Vietnam Airlines I was lucky to spend time here and on the road to Quang Binh to the north and then in Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon.
(Image ©Alison Plummer/True Blue Cockatoo.)
www.vietnamairlines.com.vn

Melbourne Jazz Festival

We drove down to Melbourne for the Jazz Festival last week complete with film gear, a double bass, keyboards and an alto sax plus my brand new Nikon D300s which was couriered to me the night before we left! I should have taken a photo of the 4WD piled high with gear, but the camera was so newly out of the box that it sat on my knee for most of the trip. I love it! 

We filmed the Mothership with John Hollenbeck and Theo Bleckmann, rehearsing at Bennetts Lane, performing at the BMW Edge space and then again at the Basement in Sydney. The Mothership is a fantastic orchestra - go hear them when they play next.

We also saw Charles Lloyd with Zakkir Hussain and drummer Eric Harland. Pure magic!


PS Buy all your music from Birdland in Sydney www.birdland.com.au