Making sloe gin

The kindness of friends in our local community in making sure we had food in the house during our self-isolation period after returning from Germany has been extremely humbling. While I feel a little guilty as I am not sick (touch wood), I am so very grateful. Without their support and offers of help, it would have been challenging to have a normal-ish life at home. These lovely people have dropped off milk, bread, eggs, vegetables, home made soup, Tim Tams and even great German beer, which will be perfect for washing away the disappointment of cutting short our holiday.

Among the doorstep deliveries was a bag of sloes. Sloe gin is something I hadn't tried until moving to Tasmania. My top tips for the local ones would be those from McHenry and Nonesuch Distillery, quite different but both delicious. Now I'm about to try making some myself, using this recipe from 'Gourmet Farmer' Matthew Evans. We'll get to find out what it tastes like in somewhere between three and six months time.

Auf Wiedersehen, Göttingen

It's been crickets here for a while, I know. I worked long hours in January and February for various reasons: it was planning and budgeting season, the coronavirus (COVID-19) was ramping up in Asia, I was getting ready for eight weeks long service leave, and of course there were a few of those those random requests that send you chasing your tail for no outcome at all. Gotta love those.

On 28 February I started my long service leave, and on the same day, got on a flight to Germany to do a language course. Studying at the Goethe Institut in Germany and doing the level C2 exam (a proficiency standard for European languages) has been top of my bucket list for years. David wanted to come with me and do a beginners German course. We were supposed to be gone for just over a month, but the Coronavirus situation escalated very quickly. Die Welt has published a fantastic animated graphic showing just how quickly things moved in countries outside China from late February. Every morning we got up something else had changed.

On Sunday night 15 March we learned that our German courses were cancelled along with the exam I was studying for. It was unavoidable but annoying, as both of us were really enjoying the course. Within two weeks, I had gone from being quite terrified and certain I would be unable to pass the exam to confident that I could. We cancelled our planned trip to Berlin at the end of the month. Then, the Australian government advised that citizens should return home as soon as possible, and there were rumours about the financial viability of airlines including one we were flying with.

The beautiful city of Göttingen where we were based started to close down. Shops and restaurants shut, public transport stopped taking cash and then started cutting services. Unable to contact the airlines as contact centres failed, we hot tailed it to Frankfurt airport to try and bring our flights forward in person, to no avail. Then the Tasmanian government announced new entry restrictions. We ended up forking out $3,800 on new flights to get home before even tougher travel restrictions came into force. Which we won't get back as travel insurance does not cover you in a pandemic.

I won't deny that having to say goodbye to my dream and the prospect of having nothing to look forward to again sent me into a bit of a downward spiral. But compared to the impact of this crisis on other people's lives and livelihoods, it's nothing. We're now into day two of 14 days self-isolation. I definitely won't be bored, as there is a long list of things I was planning to do in April, many of which can be done at home. Posting here is one of them.

The three amigos

In the camping ground on the Franklin foreshore, there are three greedy ducks that can often be seen around breakfast or dinner time, accosting people sitting outside their campervan, caravan or tents. They stand patiently in a queue, waiting for food. Cheeky chaps. But cute. And yes, it's the same trio each time.

Global village

Our little village of Franklin is filled with accents from around the world, as the fruit pickers come to stay and work in nearby orchards. Over the past month, we've met young people from Canada, the USA, France, Italy, China and Taiwan. There's a nice summery vibe in town with all the visitors. A tent city has sprung up in the camping ground on the river. Friends are hosting pickers in their homes and Kon's pub (a.k.a. the Franklin Tavern) is full. Unfortunately it seems the fruit season hasn't been so good this year - for cherries anyway - and the work may dry up early. Not good news, for the growers or the pickers.

The cannery

There's been a lot of buzz about the Cannery Kitchen and Bar since it opened in December, and it did not disappoint. We visited for Saturday lunch with friends early in the new year and shared some fantastic pizzas from the wood-fired oven, a salad and some broad beans, washed down (as Les Norton would say) with local wine, beer and house sodas.

My first thought as we entered the restaurant was, wow, where did the money come from? They must have some deep pocketed investors. It's stunning. The two enormous wood heaters were attracting a fair bit of attention. Staff were welcoming and helpful. Parents seemed very happy with the kid friendly outdoor area too. Wonder if we could bring the dog? Coming soon: a function space which we could see under development. It would be a fabulous wedding venue.

We will definitely be back soon. I am especially looking forward to the 'European baked goods' for Sunday breakfast, sounds perfect.

A very Huon New Year

I'm a bit of a grinch when it comes to New Years Eve. Big parties, crowds, fireworks, lots of alcohol and overpriced dinners are not the way I want to see in the new year. In the past I have found it to be a letdown and kind of depressing. Happily, this year was a quiet one. We popped in on friends who were hosting a group of fruit pickers from China at their lovely home right on the Huon River. There were cherries, cheese, cider and snacks and a fire pit on the river bank, with good company and plenty of laughs. We were home watching an episode of The Crown and messaging friends in Europe by 9.30pm and in bed ten minutes before midnight. At midnight we heard a neighbour pull a party popper and say "yay!" and that was it! At 9am on New Years Day we were doing Geeveston parkrun with 47 other people making a great start to 2020. I hope yours is brilliant!

The train that never was

During our trip to Tasmania's wild west coast just before Christmas, we had booked a full day trip on the West Coast Wilderness Railway from Strahan to Queenstown and return. Unfortunately, just 15 minutes into the journey the loco broke down and we were returned to the main station with a full refund. The staff were all really good about it. And at least we have completed half of the journey before. We'll go back one day no doubt.

So that left us with a lot of free time that day. I sat on the front verandah of the terrace cottage we were staying in with views over Macquarie Harbour and read most of Tasmanian author Heather Rose's terrific book Bruny.  Before dinner, we went to see the longest running play in Australia (25 years and still going strong), The Ship That Never Was. It didn't sound like quite my thing and we were in two minds about going, but with unexpected free time we decided to go. I'm glad we did. The cast tell the story of a group of convicts who stole a ship being built at the Sarah Island penal settlement and sailed to South America - but in a fun, entertaining and participatory kind of way. Heave-ho.