Mixology...

I am very much looking forward to our cocktail party tonight. 

There will be a lot of liberal mixing and generous portions, unlike a recent experience at one of the local bars in Dubbo...

I had gone into town one evening after work to what I was told was one of the better public bars in the area, 'The Milestone'. I was meeting a colleague for a drink and tete a tete. The moment I entered the establishment my heart sank, on a scale of 1-10 it failed to register for its lack of ambiance  Trying to be good sport and not judge it on its first impression I went up to the bar and ordered two G&Ts from the very pleasant girl behind the bar.

What followed was gob smacking. She took out two glass thimbles (they were an odd shape and wouldn't have held more than 150mls. She then proceeded to very accurately measure a nip of gin into each before well over-flooding both with tonic water from a post-mix dispenser. I grimaced. It had been a stressful day and a glass of soft drink was not what I had been looking forward to. It would have been bad enough if the story ended there, however any trace of gin that may have been left in the glass was soon to be displaced by ice liberally scooped into the vessel with an Archimedeal effect. She smiled sweetly and asked me if I would like a slice of lemon with it. Feeling that any remonstration would be completely lost on her, and remove any possibility of enjoyment from the evening, I stopped grinding my teeth, smiled, and forced a "Yes, thank you" from my lips. 

Having finished the insipid mixture I thought I would head for the wine list. Surely One couldn't  stuff-up pouring a glass of wine. Oh, but evidently One can. Having chosen two glasses of a promising sounding Shiraz, I then watched the same girl get out an old kitchen measuring cup, dribble into it an aliquot from the bottle and the tip it into each glass. My dear readers, over the years I have refrained from using my blog for complaining, complaining is borish and seldom makes for an interesting read, but the sheer dismay of this experience has compelled me to expurgate the memory through writing!

So, now you may understand just how much I am looking forward to a charming cocktail party such as we are throwing this evening. We shall be mingling away till the early hours, when we have to leave to catch our flight to Sydney, and thence on to Malaysia.

Addendum: Cocktail Party Photos...

Kenneth, Our Highland Bull has Arrived...

We have successfully stuck to our plan and sold three of our Highland calves, and used the proceeds to purchase a pedigree bull to service our remaining 3 pedigree cows. We have named him Kenneth in memory of a dear friend no longer with us, who always took a keen interest in Willowbrook and the Rare Breeds Farm.

He is a lovely tame creature, who although only at WBP for 3 days, has settled into the Highland fold already.

My cousin James is looking after him and all the other animals on the farm for the next week as Peter is coming over to join me for a holiday. In fact, he is due to touch down any minute at the airport, so I'm off to collect him.

Entrance Progress...

This is the second of three posts chronicling our entrance's progress. This post covers from the laying of the foundations to the completion of the block work. The next post will show the finished wall and post box prior to the wrought iron gates being fitted.

Above: The masonry blocks arrived

Below: The trenches were dug out for our foundations

They were then filled with concrete...

Once the foundations had hardened the block work started...

The block work is reinforced with iron rods from the foundations to the caps, and then filled internally with concrete, making them incredibly solid and strong enough to withstand a car crash or similar. We were not going to have the average walls, into which vandals could kick holes etc.

Above: You can see the smaller retaining wall in front of the main wall for the soil for the box hedge garden.

Now they are busy placing all the capitals and coping. We designed the capitals and coping ourselves, and then our builders made wooden prototypes before creating latex molds to cast as many caps as we need. The next step will be for the whole wall to be rendered in plaster and then coloured to resemble sandstone.

Above: Before

Below: After (so far)

Meanwhile, on the other side of the road, the power company was installing  new power pole and transformer, and then thrust-boring the cables under the road, eventually into a circuit box hidden behind our front wall.

Inside the digger has removed several tonnes of top soil and replaced it with bedrock for the driveway. The driveway is Ca. 250 yards long and 6 yards wide...

Above and Below: The straight part of the driveway, looking back from the first curve towards the entrance. The straight part will be lined on either side with an avenue of plane trees. We planted the trees 3 years ago, but will need to get in a hydraulic tree-spade to shift them this winter, to realign them perfectly symmetrically on either side of the drive, as its course is not where we had originally planned.

Above: Middle straight heading towards second curve

Below: Looking back at  second curve

Below: The last corner /third curve before it straightens northward into the front courtyard...

A video of the first dive down our driveway...

Happy Easter

Happy Easter 2013 from Peter and David

My Ode to Autumn...

Gold and scarlet painted leaves

hang delicately on the trees.

They fall and float upon the breeze,

the Zephyr's captive slaves.

Then dance and twirl upon the earth

crunch underfoot, erstwhile the turf

grows cold and damp; the shadows long,

til Summer's faded rose is gone.

Like embers in a fun'ral pyre

they leap and dance amidst the fire.

Like secrets hid: my heart's desire,

they brittle, live no more.

Wet and cold, lain dead they moulder, 

in trenches, drains, and gutters deep,

and decompose, the worms to feed - 

slain soldiers in a heap. 

We all are leaves, Our season's now,

so laugh and grow upon the bough:

for someday soon, I know not when,

the light will fade again.

(C) David Lord Cowell, March 2013.