Photos©Alison Plummer |
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Blues Point walk, Sydney
There's nowhere like Sydney Harbour on a sparkling blue sunny day! The foreshore holds many secrets, walks and vantage points and it was a special experience today to walk along a path beside the water at Blues Point, admiring the city from afar and then rounding a bend to a spectacular view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Find more Harbour secrets at https://www.harbourtrust.gov.au
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Best Asparagus, Vale of Evesham
Asparagus with mushroom and garlic filled pasta, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Photo Alison Plummer.© |
The British asparagus season is from March to June and Vale of Evesham Asparagus has Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status under the EU protected food name scheme covering regional and traditional foods whose authenticity and origin can be guaranteed. The PGI mark is awarded if produce 'has a reputation, characteristics or qualities that are a result of the area it’s associated with'.
Find farm shops, delis, greengrocers selling asparagus around the Vale of Evesham area including:
Revills Farm Shop at Defford near Pershore, sells only PGI status Vale of Evesham Asparagus and is close to Croome Court and on the way to the fabulous Malvern Hills, home of the Morgan Motor Company (you'll see many Morgans on the roads). There's a Farmhouse Cafe for light lunches and afternoon teas with a selection of yummy cakes daily. All-day breakfast at weekends.
Ellenden Farm Shop, Harvington near Evesham. 2019 Midlands Regional Winners for the Countryside Alliance local food and drink award, offering a wide range of fresh vegetables, fruit and other delicious local produce, home-farmed meats. Merguez sausages! The inviting cafe serves breakfast, coffee, freshly-prepared dishes, afternoon tea, cakes. Close to The Valley shopping and garden centre, Golls Garden Centre and not far from Coughton Court. The Ellenden newsletter is a lovely connection to the seasons and produce news in the Vale of Evesham.
Hillers Farm Shop, cafe, gift shop and garden centre with beautiful show gardens to wander through. Near 'Roman' Alcester and not far from Ragley Hall and Coughton Court.
Castle Nurseries Farm Shop on Broadway Road off the A46.
Fruit Salad 48 High Street, Pershore, an attractive town for shopping, bakeries, foodie haunts and cafes plus the wonderful Pershore Abbey, now a parish church.
Wayside Farm Shop on the Broadway Road between Evesham and Broadway, with a teashop.
Broadway Deli in beautiful Broadway village – the great choice as a base for exploring the Vale of Evesham and the Cotswolds.
The historic Fleece Inn at Bretforton is the home of the National Asparagus Festival, asparagus auctions and many events during the season. (Great range of beers and ciders.)
The Round of Gras pub is named after the traditional rounds (bunches) of asparagus in the Vale of Evesham market gardening region. April-June asparagus menu as well as fish and chips and other pub grub and carvery days – traditional roast with all the trimmings.
Asparagus is on seasonal restaurant menus and find specialist produce in the shops. Abbey Butchers, High Street, Pershore, makes an asparagus pork pie and Vale Porker sausages with black pepper and asparagus.
Tiddesley Wood, above and below. Photos Alison Plummer.© |
Big shout out and thanks to fabulous friends Fiona and Neil whose FB post inspired me to go hunting for Tiddesley Wood in the first place. I am so envious of your orchid finds – native orchids in NSW, Australia, are a passion of mine but I haven't looked at the British ones, until now. Thanks also to John and Mardy for John's birthday celebrations at the Round of Gras, so much enjoyed.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
The Farmstead at Royal Malewane opens in the Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa
Photo © The Royal Portfolio |
This looks inviting! The Farmstead at Royal Malewane safari lodge is the latest addition to The Royal Portfolio with three Luxury Farm Suites and The Farmhouse – a three and a half bedroom villa offering private services. The interiors by Liz Biden, owner and Founder of The Royal Portfolio, are described as combining the contemporary style of The Silo Hotel and the capricious opulence of La Residence. Light oak, tin rooves, wrought iron and gentle hues of blue and white define the style with lively splashes of emerald and ruby.
Photo © The Royal Portfolio |
https://www.theroyalportfolio.com
Bookings:
reservations@trp.travel
The Royal Portfolio collection of hotels in South Africa is owned and run by the Biden family and includes Royal Malewane in the Greater Kruger National Park, Birkenhead House in Hermanus, La Residence in Franschhoek and The Silo Hotel in Cape Town.
Source: Press release.
AGNSW Packing Room Prize Winner
Through the looking glass, by Tessa MacKay©. Photo: AGNSW |
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) has announced the finalists for this year's Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes, the finalists for the Young Archie competition and the Packing Room Prize winner, Perth artist Tessa MacKay.
Newcomer finalist Tessa MacKay said she was ‘thrilled’. “David's thoughtful gaze in the middle of the work is a kind of anchor. The portrait is about stepping into David's world. I like to think that his somewhat pensive eyes, lost in thought, are another kind of ‘looking glass’ that we're peering into,” MacKay said.
David Wenham said he felt privileged to sit for MacKay who he met through her husband, a writer/director. "Aware of my fondness for sitting, people watching and general day dreaming, Tess had a very clear vision of what the look, feel and purpose of the portrait should be."
Now in its 10th year, the 2019 Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes exhibition is proudly presented by ANZ.
Source: AGNSW press release.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Why Brits Love to Kew
Dale Chihuly: Summer Sun. Photo By Alison Plummer.© |
In the gardens it's a seriously perfect spring day. The leaves are dressing the trees in fresh spring shades of green, the tulips are showy in their splendid attire. Multiple-headed narcissi are strewn beneath showy magnolias with petals like porcelain.
i |
'Flaming Parrot' tulips, above, and below with Chihuly Paintbrushes. Photos by Alison Plummer.© |
The entire Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a UNESCO World Heritage site containing more than 50,000 plants in diverse collections in the grounds and in the famous glasshouses. The restored Temperate House, the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world, re-opened in 2018 after a five year renovation and houses over 10,000 rare and endangered plants.
What's fascinating to contemplate is that the exhibition will remain in place until October 2019 and so the outdoor settings will change seasonally from spring to summer planting followed by autumn colours. I think my friend will get more than her money's worth from her membership! Living on the doorstep, popping in for a look will be irresistible. As we leave after three hours there's still a queue - busy, OK spicy, indeed!
Chihuly Cattails and Copper Birch Reeds top left and right. Chihuly Neodymium Reeds and Turquoise Marlins, above. Images ©AP |
Ethereal White Persian Pond. Image © Alison Plummer. |
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, above. The Hive, below. Images © Aison Plummer |
All photos © Alison Plummer |
Chihuly at Kew: Reflections on nature
13 April – 27 October 2109
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Tickets and prices
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Run Away to Sea on a World Cruise
Newsflash: Considering a world cruise? This could be your moment with the potential for possible savings if you book by the end of this month.
'Myths, Marvels & Monuments: A Cultural Mosaic' is the title of Crystal Cruises 2022 World Cruise aboard Crystal Serenity with several embarkation/disembarkation options, from 86 – 116 nights. All-inclusive fares (cruise only) begin at US$37,989 per person, with segments from US$4,769 per person, based on double occupancy. Book by April 30, 2019, to save up to US$20,000 per stateroom on this voyage as part of Crystal’s Book Now Savings program, subject to availability and terms and conditions. See the video at Crystal Serenity World Cruise.
Source: Press Release, The Brandman Agency, Sydney
'Myths, Marvels & Monuments: A Cultural Mosaic' is the title of Crystal Cruises 2022 World Cruise aboard Crystal Serenity with several embarkation/disembarkation options, from 86 – 116 nights. All-inclusive fares (cruise only) begin at US$37,989 per person, with segments from US$4,769 per person, based on double occupancy. Book by April 30, 2019, to save up to US$20,000 per stateroom on this voyage as part of Crystal’s Book Now Savings program, subject to availability and terms and conditions. See the video at Crystal Serenity World Cruise.
Source: Press Release, The Brandman Agency, Sydney
Thursday, April 11, 2019
The Haute-Savoie: Annecy, Talloires, a magical alpine hideaway and mouthwateringly melty cheeses in France.
Talloires, France. Photo ©Alison Plummer |
Lake Annecy from Talloires. Photo © Alison Plummer |
It would be so easy to just relax and enjoy the view, but there are places to go, things to do. A walk into the village for coffee and a stroll around the picture postcard waterfront for starters, checking out the bike hire.
Basecamp Cafe and Bike Hire, Talloires. Photo © Alison Plummer |
Annecy. Photo © Alison Plummer |
Local produce markets are held on Tuesdays (the best day for cheese, I'm told), Fridays and Sundays with a craft market on the final Sunday of the month. Rain stalks us on our market visit, but doesn't diminish the vibrant colours and range of local produce from the surrounding Haute- Savoie region. Cheese is a speciality of the area, made with the milk of the cows and goats that feed in the alpine meadows of the mountains and including Comte and Raclette, melty cheeses used in dishes served on both the French and Swiss sides of the Alps. Tomme (or Tome) is the generic name for a range of cheeses made from cow's, goat's or ewe's milk - here, Tomme de Savoie is made from cow's milk from local breeds such as Abondance.
Annecy Markets, above. Photos © Alison Plummer. |
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