focussocial.
social scene.
with Donna Carrier from Bent on Food. Kim Honan stretching Mozzarella.
Chainsaw comp Town and Country.
know I say this every September, but I do love spring; there is the beautiful scent of fresh flowers, especially the jasmine growing in the back yard of the café. There are new beginnings everywhere, with baby foals and lambs and at my place, a beautiful little alpaca made his way into the world. I love that we can head out to the beach and possibly see a whale with a calf in tow. What a special part of the world we live in. One very special place is Honeycomb Valley Farm in Nabiac, which is owned by Anna and Andrew and their adorable children. It is also home to a menagerie of animals, with the newest addition a bee motel. We were invited to the official opening of Honeycomb Valley Farm’s new inspirational and useful plant gardens, native bee sanctuary, and farmgate shop on 17 September, where we had a fabulous time meeting the bees and tasting some of the new produce. This fabulous project has received the support of the Australian Government under T-QUAL Grants, and the NSW Government through Destination NSW’s 2011/12 Regional Tourism Product Development Program, with the aim of improving tourism experiences in regional NSW. Honeycomb Valley Farm is a fabulous place to visit, especially if you really want to see sustainability at its best and to meet a passionate family who care about the future and love to share their passion. It is a plus that you get to meet some pretty cool animals too. Wingham Rotary Town and Country weekend was a great success, with loads of information on everything rural, along with some terrific entertainment including bands, a snake expert, cooking demonstrations, candlemaking and silk dying. I especially enjoyed the chainsaw competition, where I was able to sit with a quiet (or not so quiet, really) beer at the end of the day, to watch the skills of these men as they competed. I also learnt a little about bee keeping and ate my fair share of handmade chocolate. All money raised at the expo
I
Bee motel honeycomb.
this year went to prostate research. The hard working committee is now planning next year’s event. I was fortunate to attend a workshop at Artisans on the Hill run by the very effervescent Bronwyn Clarke of Eyecatchers Solutions, who is one of Australia’s leading consultants on Contact Relationship Management (CRM). It was an informative day, at a great relaxed venue. I learnt more than I expected, with many tips for saving time and doing things a little better, to make me much more organised, I hope! On the last Sunday morning of every month, the Hallidays Point Social Triathlon Group meets for an 800 metre swim, a 20 km bike ride and a 6.5 km run; I am tired just thinking about it! They do relax with a coffee afterwards and also enjoy a social dinner once a month. The September dinner was held at the Black Head Tavern, with 16 members enjoying a meal and a relaxing drink. Attendees last month included Alan and Helen Pursch, Natalie Carrier, Peter and Ann Ryall. Renowned cheesemaking teacher Carole Willman visited the cookery school on September 22 and 23 to teach an Italian cheesemaking workshop. Carole is an amazing teacher, having taught over 1,000 classes. I have been at many of her classes as she has been visiting Wingham for at least 7 years now, and I really enjoy working with her. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, but mostly the Mozzarella making, which just has to be the most fun you can have making cheese. All that stretching and pulling and making little balls is a great deal of fun – not to mention that it is therapeutic and made even more fun with a great bunch of participants. We were fortunate to make some great cheese and meet some wonderful people on the weekend, and I look forward to our next workshop. Bent on Food was the venue for Vern Harvey’s 70th birthday party recently; around 30 close friends attended to wish Vern a happy birthday and enjoy a fabulous evening. Warren Targett played some great tunes, and
Greg and Lauren Linga Longa.
Honeycomb Valley launch.
guests dined on canapés, a lovely buffet and a cake made with cheese, which was proudly crafted by me! And now to another of my favourite subjects – motorbikes! We love it when the motorbikes come to town. Renowned for liking a good coffee fix and a decent meal, these guys and girls are always welcome at our place – not to mention that many of my staff likes a good motorbike to look at. The 2012 BMW GS Safari set out in Ballina on Sunday September 16 and headed off into The Great Dividing Range for an off-road GS odyssey, that took them back to the coast in Forster on Friday, September 21. On their way through, a few hundred bike riders called by to see us, and they were a lovely bunch of very patient people who had some great yarns to tell. The BMW Safari concept began about 15 years ago as a non-competitive motorcycle riding event designed to cater specifically to riders of BMW Motorcycles. It is unique to Australia. The Safari typically runs as a touring style event for 5 days, staying in a different location each night. Last but not least, the Manning Valley Business Awards were held on Friday 21 September. Around 275 guests attended the event. Awards were given across 14 categories, with the Business of the Year award going to Wingham and Valley Vets. The winners were thrilled to accept their awards, with many of them highlighting the support they receive from their customers and attributing success to the hard work of their staff. Music was by Matt Zarb, with an enlightening talk by guest speakers Sharon and Allan Cohrs, who told their story of being the first Australian born couple to reach the summit of Mt Everest. It was a wonderful night, and congratulations to all the winners, runners up and finalists; you do the Manning Valley proud! I would love to hear from you if you have any social events, weddings, parties ... anything! Send pics and info to donna.carrier@bigpond.com Cheers, Donna.
manning-great lakes focus 21