Happy as a pig in mud at #HVMWF 2019

As a bloke in the queue at the bar said to me when I went to fetch a hot spiced cider, "Gumboot people are happy people!" As nice as it would have been to don tatters, face paint and fancy headpieces (we saw lots of beautiful examples), I was extremely happy with my choice of clothing for the Huon Valley Mid Winter Festival on Friday night. I counted the layers I was was wearing - six in total on my upper half! Plus thermals under my jeans and long socks in my gum boots. And I was warm as toast. There was a serious amount of mud, a little rain and a whole lot of happy punters. As I have said before, these people know how to run an event. There is plenty of seating, lots of toilets, undercover areas, fire pits to warm up by and friendly volunteers with a sense of humour. And that's before the great selection of food and beverages, sculptures and awesome music acts. Despite the testing weather conditions, there were plenty of interstate and international visitors. I had squid from the fire bugs at Tasman Quartermasters, some tasty fries, croquettes from Eten and one of Yeastie Beastie's fabulous doughnuts. With hot spiced Willie Smith's Cider in hand, we ran into a few groups of friends and made it out of the paddock car park without needing to be towed out of the mud. Happy days!

A very long weekend

It was a long weekend, and boy was I grateful for this one. We needed the time to adjust to our new one-dog household. Just to give ourselves some space, without obligations. Yesterday we took Gretchen on a short outing to Cygnet. We picked up a few things, popped into a couple of stores that we hadn't been to, had coffee and cake at Lotus Eaters in their nice dog friendly outdoor area. Gretchen is having to get used to being solo dog. Over the weekend she kept looking out the door or around the garden for her missing sister, which was a little heartbreaking. But at least she gets the whole back seat of the car to herself now. We couldn't face going straight back home, so called a kind friend who had offered support and popped in for a chat. It did us both the world of good.

Today we left Gretchen at home alone for a few hours while we headed to the Taste of the Huon. The weather was beautiful, and loads of people came from Hobart and beyond to sample a huge range of food and beverages, a much needed boost for local businesses affected by loss of income during the recent bushfires. We had coffee and doughnuts, sampled some Indonesian fare, bought some local saffron and wine and a take-home pack of ginger beer, then settled down with a Simple Cider to watch a performance artist called Samora Squid pass his entire body through the head of a tennis racket, then swallow a sword. That guy is a true entertainer.

Mid-winter festing

My favourite Tassie festival, over again. This year, friends made the trip down from the north to stay and join us at the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival. Friday night's burning man ceremony was awesome. After the long and tedious preamble last year ("Let me tell you a story...", a very long one that will go for about 40 minutes), it was refreshing and positive to have a woman from the local indigenous community welcome everyone to country, encouraging us to take care of the land we depend on. Then a horde of flaming arrows flew at Big Willie and up he went, to the great delight of the crowd.

I had been looking forward to trying a rabbit pie from The Princess and the Fatman made with sustainably farmed bunnies from Geeveston, and it did not disappoint. Absolutely delicious. Then a pork bun from Fat Pig Farm and some hot mulled Willie Smiths cider. And I simply can't go past Lady Hester's sourdough donuts, oh my god! As always the event is so well organised, with all the basics sorted, like enough seating and toilets, friendly staff keeping the place clean, easy parking and plenty of fire barrels to warm up by. Add the music, costumes and generally jovial atmosphere, what's not to love. Bring on 2019.

Community spirit

At Hobart airport collecting friends after Christmas, I was browsing through the racks of tourist information pamphlets when I spotted this one suggesting a "Foodie's Road Trip" to Frank's Cider Bar and Cafe, which we are lucky enough to have at the end of our road. What stands out is that while of course they are promoting their own business, they've used valuable real estate on their marketing material to list other food and tourism businesses and things to do and see in our town of Franklin, Tasmania. Marketing the destination, not just themselves. Nice job, Frank's, that's the spirit.

#HVMWF17

The Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival is over for another year, and this year we again spent the Friday night in the glorious cold night air in the paddocks around Willie Smith's Apple Shed in Grove. Well, some of it was spent toasting ourselves next to fire barrels. Eating pork cracking and pork buns from Fat Pig Farm, raclette with cheese from Tasmania's Heidi Farm, burritos and divine doughnuts from Lady Hester. Stu from Tasman Quartermasters was wielding the blowtorch, his cooking method of choice. We warmed ourselves up from the inside by sipping hot mulled cider.

It must be said that the 'burning man' ceremony went on a little (OK, way) too long this year, with a man telling a "story" that wasn't and fire dancers who would have been awesome if you could see them. After 35 minutes of this, some Korean tourists standing next to me wielding enormous Samsung phones turned and asked "burning soon?" Then finally, Big Willie was lit and he burned brightly in the Huon Valley sky. It's absolutely one of the best festivals of the year, set up to cater for the crowds and the cold. All my photos were rubbish though. I'm blaming icy fingers!

Funnies at Frank's

My funny husband (pictured above) started a semi-regular comedy room in our little village of Franklin this year. Held at Frank's Cider Bar and Cafe, it's been an awesome addition to the local entertainment scene. I'm not biased at all - just ask anyone who's been! It's a great night of laughs. I'm so proud of him for making it such a success.

Each headline act has been a big name in Australian comedy, starting with Dave Callan in January, Peter Berner in April and last week, the wonderful Rachel Berger (pictured below). Two local Tasmanian comedians have supported them each time, all of them fantastic. The venue seats about 80 people and it's been sold out well in advance every time. That makes for a great atmosphere, warm and welcoming. Upcoming acts include Peter Rowsthorn on 29 June, Bob Franklin on 27 July and Simon Palomares on 7 September. If you live in the Huon Valley and want to laugh along, you'll need to get in quick and buy tickets online. Check out the Frank's Cider Facebook page to find out about upcoming events.

Le Weekend in Cygnet

The French flag flew on top of the Cygnet Town Hall. The car park opposite featured a collection of old and new cars from the French Car Club of Tasmania. The town was draped in blue, white and red. From baguettes to berets, it was all there. Le Weekend Cygnet is such a great idea for a town with a French history. With our (Swiss) dogs in tow, we strolled around town, stopping every few metres to chat with locals and visitors. But the highlight was a relaxing couple of hours spent at Pagan Cider. The dogs were allowed (no, welcomed) inside the shed to hang out with us on the cool cement. French films played and cider flowed. We had a very tasty lunch from the Tickled Rib food van and a couple of blueberry and quince ciders. Just a terrific afternoon. If you like the sound of it, Le Weekend continues tomorrow!

Drink Tasmania(n)

For a girlfriend's birthday, a small group of us 'locals' from Hobart and surrounds joined the Drink Tasmania 'signature tour' last Saturday, together with visitors from Melbourne, USA-via-Sydney and Canada-via-Brisbane. Starting with a 9am coffee and a taste of Lost Pippin wild ferment cider at Brooke Street Pier, our super-friendly and relaxed guide Dolly drove south to Home Hill Winery in Ranelagh where we sampled some of their lovely wines, then Pagan Cider where we tried several delicious ciders including a strawberry and a quince.

We had lunch and a Willie Smiths cider tasting at The Apple Shed in Grove, before heading back into Hobart for a whisky tasting and history lesson at Lark Distillery. From there we headed out to Cambridge to see how Lark's whisky is made. I have been on other distillery tours, and none explained the process as well as our host did at Lark. Finally, I really understand how it it made... and the difference between 'whisky' and 'whiskey'! On the way back into Hobart we popped into a shed in an industrial estate, a.k.a. one of Tasmania's newest breweries, Last Rites, to sample some of their wares.

We had such a lovely day. It reminded me that tourism experiences are not just for tourists. Get out there and see what our beautiful island has to offer.

Sunday sessions at The Apple Shed

Last Sunday we spent a couple of hours relaxing outside at The Apple Shed in Grove. They host regular 'Sunday sessions' featuring different music and catering each time. This time it was reggae - which we love - and the Dos Trucos taco food truck parked out the back. The cuban sandwich was very tasty, as was the cider, as always. It's a seriously pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Lunch with dogs

Frank's Cider Bar & Cafe in Franklin has been "under new management" as they say for the last month or two. There is a new menu with choice of light or full meals. We enjoyed a Sunday morning brunch a few weeks ago. For today's late-ish lunch we shared a trio of dips with warm bread, followed by scones made with apple cider and grated apple - both delicious. They offer a nice selection of Tasmanian drinks: Frank's Cider of course, as well as soft drinks like ginger beer and sparking elderflower.

The interior has been updated with cosy lounges and there are several outside tables, under cover or under umbrellas. The ramp that divided the old church hall (a council requirement) is gone, replaced by an unobtrusive mobility lift in case someone in a wheelchair needs to access the bathrooms. The "no dogs" sign is gone. The Franklin History Group has an excellent display including some of the region's apple growing heritage, a beautiful piano that belonged to Lady Jane Franklin and currently also a fantastic exhibition about local World War I history for the Anzac centenary. If you haven't been back in a while, you should go. And take your (well behaved) dogs if you like.

Dog squad on duty at Taste of the Huon

This year, members of the Huon Valley Dog Walking Association volunteered at the Taste of the Huon for the first time. Dogs are not permitted at the festival, for 'hygiene reasons' it says on the signs at the ticket booths. In previous years there were a few dogs left in hot cars who needed to be broken out by police, perhaps by people who didn't know about the 'no dogs' policy until they got there. So this year we offered to patrol the car parking areas for any dogs in distress. I'm happy to report that there were no such issues this year, although this lovely girl was chained to a fence all day Sunday and we kept returning to disentangle her leg from her chain and make sure she had water.

On Monday afternoon, our group was on the 'clean team', making sure the tables were clean, rubbish was in the bins and the bins were emptied promptly. It was a fun day actually and good exercise! The organisers did a great job and the festival was very busy, with lovely weather, great food and drink and entertainment drawing a record-breaking crowd of 14,000 people on Sunday and almost as many on Monday. On Sunday, David and I got there in time to have lunch. My oysters from Bruny Island, beef pie from Geeveston, Inn Cider from Margate and salted caramel ice cream sandwich were delicious.

I'll have a Frank's, thanks

A crowd of invited guests gathered today at the former St Johns church hall for the official opening of Frank's Cider Bar and Cafe in Franklin. There were state members of parliament of all flavours and Huon Valley councilors elect, family, friends, business partners and other supporters. It was a lovely celebration of the hard work by owners Naomie Clark-Port and Tony Port in establishing the cider company and renovating the historic hall, as well as their winemaker partners behind the product and other business partners and supporters. I won't retell the history behind Frank's that Naomie spoke of - you can read about it here. Premier Will Hodgman spoke about the positioning of Tasmania as the food and beverage paradise that it is, with a visit by celebrity chefs and food critics from around the world next week and the visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping later this month. He unveiled a carved wooden plaque to commemorate the opening. Once again I felt so lucky to be a part of this place. One of my friends said "this is just like one of those community celebrations on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage show" and she was right - that's just how it felt.

The Frank's Cider cellar door and cafe is another welcome piece in the Franklin waterfront precinct revitalisation.  It also means there are now three cider cellar doors open in the Huon Valley, adding a nice loop to the Tasmanian Cider Trail. All using our great locally grown apples, pears and cherries. We are planning to have a Friday after-work drinks evening there soon!