Mount Majura - Project C

Project C - as in Centenary. Canberra is celebrating is 100 year anniversary in 2013 so the team at Mount Majura are calling their staff winemaking project (last year was Project X as we couldn't decide on a name), now Project C!

Due to life and a lack of time, I've had to finish up my infrequent cellar-door work at Mount Majura Vineyard in Canberra... however when the team got together for the staff wine-making project this year, I was lucky enough to be invited back for a cameo appearance.

So a bunch of us got together on a Saturday morning to pick our Pinot Noir, donated by MMV and their winemaker Frank Van Der Loo. Great viticulturists and a great vintage meant great fruit; which means easy picking! We motored through the two rows and ended up with less fruit than expected. Sales Manager Fergus then put a call into Frank asking 'what our options were'... as in, 'what else can we use, Frank?' Generously, Frank gave us two rows of Cab-Franc-Merlot from the Dinny's Block which gave us a total of around 400kg of fruit. It's ended up around one third Pinot, two thirds Cab-Franc-Merlot... picked at around 14 baume. We left much of the Pinot Noir as whole bunches for ferment and plunged it daily for around a week or so. Now it's in barrel being looked after closely by the team at MMV... what a great day!

Give gifts to friends.... All the time

This morning I arrived to work and my friend Ceshton said, 'Deano, did you give me a bottle of wine?' It sounds like something I would do... My workmate then went on to explain that she was cooking a meal at home where the recipe called for white wine. So she went to cupboard where there was only ONE bottle of white which she subsequently had to use. Whilst cooking, she decided that SHE ALSO called for white wine so poured herself a glass. Apparently it was amazing... here 'tis.

I think I remember, did it have a pink blush? I asked... YES! It did! It was really, really nice. Thanks so much. Oh yeah, I remember that wine... I must have given you a bottle when I had that case delivered to work? Cool...

Which really brought a smile to my face... what was a relatively unremarkable gesture by me three years ago had ended up making someone's night. Which now upon reflection makes me realise that I do this often. These small gifts... small gestures. And the effect on my friend Ceshton was greater than the effort it took to hand over a bottle across the office. 

I'm a big believer in life that we always need to make small changes; always need to make small efforts all the time. A text to a friend, a hand-written note to a lover, send flowers to your Mum on mothers day, make a mixed-album for a friend, gift a bottle of wine to a workmate... 

Give gifts to friends... All the time.

Anniversary Weekend - Part 2

A little slow coming, but the second half of our anniversary weekend in Beechworth, Victoria.

 

33 at 33... as at April, 2013

Knocking them off the list!!!

1. Lose 10kg - 7 down, 3 to go.
2. Type a letter to a friend on my vintage typewriter

3. Go to an N.B.L basketball game (so I have a formal basis for hating that league).
4. Complete the Canberra Year of the Steak blog with my mate Craig - It's underway!
5. Have a romantic picnic with my wife. DONE!
6. Help Lauren achieve a photography exhibition.
7. Finish reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
8. Do a weekend in Melbourne to catch up with Kat, Leela and others.
9. Bake a cake.
10. Dunk in a basketball game.
11. Build a chicken-coop and get some chickens. DONE!
12. Pay out a credit card.
13. Install a rain-water tank at home.
14. Cook a meal at Shawfoot Manor from my new Italian cookbook. DONE! 
15. Make a will.
16. Build an outdoor cinema in my backyard and invite friends over to watch old movies.
17. Go for a massage.
18. Hire a luxury car for a day, suit up and hit the road with my lady.
19. Shoot a roll of film with Lauren's Hasselblad.
20. Travel to another country.

21. Go to another city/town for the sole reason of watching live music. DONE! I went to Sydney January 4th to the Opera House to watch Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Possibly the best live gig I've ever seen.
22. Go to a gig at the Phoenix in Canberra.

23. Eat dinner at a 'three hatted' restaurant.
24. Go to an arcade and play video games.
25. Go to a zoo. DONE!
26. Go the the dentist. DONE!
27. Take a photograph that I’m proud enough to frame and hang on the wall at home.
28. Host a dress-up party.
29. French Night at home with my wife... French food, wine, cheese and movie.
30. Buy something awesome from a country/flea market

31. Teach my friends how to play Mahjong.

32. Buy a really NICE belt. I don't have a really nice belt!

33. Play Blackjack at a casino

So 6 down, 27 to go!

 

Family Christmas 2012

Family Christmas is what we have every year in Canberra when our group of friends get together to celebrate Christmas before most people leave our Nation's Capital, returning to their home-towns for Chrissi. We refer to eachother as our Canberra Family. Hence, Family Christmas!

This year, Family Christmas was a rainy and overcast day. We originally had grand plans of spending the day at a park on Lake Burley Griffin, however our plans were thwarted by the weather. So the lovely Larry and I opened our home for Family Christmas. Wonderful people, great food, great wine, laughs, love, bocce, music, more laughs, more wine, more food...

My People - Kat

Kat and I have a friendiversary... yes, 'friendiversary'. As in, the date you became friends. And that day is tomorrow so it's only fitting that I write about her now.

Kat and I became friends on the 22nd April, 2006. My childhood friend Michaela was getting married and I went to their wedding solo. Whilst I knew a few people from high school I was a little nervous going to a wedding on my own. As luck would have it, I met Kat. We were introduced and proceeded to dominate the cheese platter where we became instant friends. Since then whenever practical, we have celebrated our friendiversary or at the very least just pick up the phone. I think it's a pretty special thing to acknowledge and celebrate when you have a friendship with someone you love, value and respect.

Kat is a good person and a very smart lady. She has a brilliant sense of humour; balancing clever timing with intellect and her occasionally filthy mouth. I love it! Kat is the most environmentally conscious person I know; she also places great importance on sustainability and living life in a way we'll look back on and be proud. One of my favorite things about Kat is with her beliefs, she always manages to create an awareness about an issue, getting you to understand her point of view without ever feeling like you are being beaten over the head with the moral-stick, the environmental-stick or the various other sticks people wield. To me, that's a brilliant quality to have.

I love Kat.

She's one of my people.

Big Daddy Brown at Playground, Vol II

For the second week of 'Sliders, Ciders and Soul' at Playground, I did my best to kick things off by playing a bunch of tracks I'd not played the week before. Mind you, I'm gonna exhaust my vinyl collection pretty quickly... means I'm gonna have to go vinyl shopping very soon!

Big Daddy Brown at Playground, Vol II

Little Child Runnin' Wild - Curtis Mayfield
Younger than Springtime - Oscar Peterson and the Great Connection
I'm so tired - Billy Preston
PYT - Michael Jackson
Never can say goodbye - Gloria Gaynor
Soothe me - Sam & Dave
Oye Como Va - Santana
On Broadway (Live) - George Benson
For once in my life - Stevie Wonder
Spinning Wheel - Sammy Davis Jr
Reach Out - Four Tops
Yes we can can - The Pointer Sisters
Compared to what - Roberta Flack
The Reason - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Don't let the Joneses get you down - The Temptations

...then after that I just flowed through the rest of my collection whilst I enjoyed a lamb & fig slider with a sweet apple cider. I know, sounds awesome doesn't it?

Playground Martini & Tapas Bar, Garema Place, Canberra City. I'm there every Wednesday night from 6pm putting out some soul until further notice. Come on down and dig it.

I'm a guy who plays music

My friends at Playground Martini and Tapas Bar recently kicked off a new weekly event on a Wednesday night called 'Sliders, Ciders and Soul'. They kindly asked me if I'd like to come down and play some vinyl. The only condition was that I wear tweed. No worries...

 
I nervously rocked up to Playground with my personal selection of vinyl and tweed suit as promised. Once I got a few pointers about what I had to do I was right on it. Great fun. Great sliders. Great music (I'm told) and I figured it was worth sharing my set-list. Where the tracks are lesser-known, I've tried to include a link to the song.

Don't stop till you get enough - Michael Jackson
Compared to what - Roberta Flack
Little Child Runnin' Wild - Curtis Mayfield
Little Ghetto Boy - Donny Hathaway (live)
John Henry - Billy Preston
Yes, we can can - Pointer Sisters
Better Things - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Wrap it up - Sam and Dave
When love has grown - Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack
Natural Man - Lou Rawls
On Broadway - George Benson (live)
Who's lovin' you? - Jackson Five
Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight and the Pips
Band of Gold - Freda Payne
Spinning Wheel - Sammy Davis Jr
Swing Down Chariot - Billy Preston
Rock with you - Michael Jackson
Honeydripper - Delores Ealy and the Kenyattas
Back Stabbers - The O'Jays
Them from 'Shaft' - Isaac Hayes
Give me your love - Curtis Mayfield
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Hold on, I'm comin' - Sam and Dave
I wrote a simple song - Billy Preston
Working Day & Night - Michael Jackson
What's goin' on? - Mr Clean and the Soul Inc
High Heel Sneakers - Sammy Davis Jr
Super Cool Brother - L.A Bare Faxx
Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
Dead End Street - Lou Rawls
Window Shopping - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Unchain my heart - Ray Charles
Weekend in LA - George Benson (live)
Livin' for the City - Stevie Wonder
Hit the Road, Jack - Ray Charles
I who have nothing (am somebody) - Ray Frazier and the Shades of Madness
The Ghetto - Donny Hathaway (live)

33 at 33, making progress

I've set myself the goal of achieving 33 things in 2013 for the year I turn 33... here's what's cracking so far: 

1. Lose 10kg - 5 down, 5 to go.
2. Type a letter to a friend on my vintage typewriter

3. Go to an NBL basketball game (so I have a formal basis for hating that league).
4. Complete the Canberra Year of the Steak blog with my mate Craig - It's underway!
5. Have a romantic picnic with my wife. DONE!
6. Help Lauren achieve a photography exhibition.
7. Finish reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
8. Do a weekend in Melbourne to catch up with Kat, Leela and others.
9. Bake a cake.
10. Dunk in a basketball game.
11. Build a chicken-coop and get some chickens. DONE!
12. Pay out a credit card.
13. Install a rain-water tank at home.
14. Cook a meal at Shawfoot Manor from my new Italian cookbook.
15. Make a will.
16. Build an outdoor cinema in my backyard and invite friends over to watch old movies.
17. Go for a massage.
18. Hire a luxury car for a day, suit up and hit the road with my lady.
19. Organise an outdoor basketball tournament.
20. Travel to another country.

21. Go to another city/town for the sole reason of watching live music. DONE! I went to Sydney January 4th to the Opera House to watch Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Possibly the best live gig I've ever seen.
22. Go to a gig at the Phoenix in Canberra.

23. Eat dinner at a 'three hatted' restaurant.
24. Go to an arcade and play video games.
25. Go to a zoo. DONE!
26. Go the the dentist.
27. Take a photograph that I’m proud enough to frame and hang on the wall at home.
28. Host a dress-up party.
29. French Night at home with my wife... French food, wine, cheese and movie.
30. Buy something awesome from a country/flea market

31. Teach my friends how to play Mahjong.

32. Buy a really NICE belt. I don't have a really nice belt!

33. Play Blackjack at a casino

So 4 down, 29 to go!

 

My People - Den

Den is my old man, my Dad.

He's not perfect my old boy. I remember him having a hell of a temper when I was a kid and he'd only have to look at my brothers and I like he was pissed off and we'd sh*t ourselves. Then as he got older, he softened up... and as I matured I started to develop a proper relationship with the old boy. I remember the first conversation I had with my Dad about a girl. I was 14 years old and I think the old man was a little shocked but he was very cool about it all. Then as a teenager and a young adult my brothers and I got into cars where we were spending most weekends hanging out with Dad in the garage; and we all became very close. When I married my beautiful wife Lauren, in my speech I told everyone that Dad always led by example with us boys. He showed us how to be a man just by being a man. That's Dad.

Before the beautiful Lauren (or Larry, as I call her) made me the luckiest man alive by becoming my wife... I went through a divorce the 'first time around' when I was 25 years old. I got married young, had been married for 3 years and when the separation came... it came out of nowhere; really put me on my ass. All of a sudden I was on my own. The divorce and the reasons behind it aren't important anymore... but the relationship with my Dad is. The very next day, my Mum and Dad drove the 4 hours to my house where my Dad spent the next week with me. We talked, cried, drank coffee and listened to music. All the while, my Dad was pointing me in the right direction... helping me get back on my feet without me realising it. Talking me through everything, helping me turn a home originally meant for two into a home for me in my next phase of life. Not to mention helping me with the all important packing up my soon-to-be-ex-wife's things. My Dad was not just getting me to do the right things, but to think the right way. At a time when I was all over the place, he got me focused on using my energy and emotions for positive, not negative. He made sure all my efforts were to handle the situation with dignity, maturity and most importantly to move forward. I'd had my heart ripped out by someone I was married to, but with my Dad's influence... I handled it all like a man. My whole family was there to support me through all of that, but it was my Dad who was the difference. He's an amazing man.

My Dad. My old man. One of my people.