GateWAy Blog

Great Southern Wine & Food Festival

The Great Southern Wine and Food Festival has moved to April and teamed up with the Harboursound Music Festival to produce a festival that takes advantage of the mild autumn weather and quality entertainment available in Albany at the time.

The major tasting event on Sunday 18 April showcases twenty of the best Great Southern wineries, regional produce and encore performances from some of the international and national entertainment provided through the Harboursound Music Festival.

‘We’ve moved the Festival from December to April to coincide with Harboursound,’ said Great Southern Wine Producers’ Association (GSWPA) Executive Officer John Gates, ‘this should give both Festivals a better chance of sustainability and help to turn autumn in the Great Southern into a really exciting Festival season’.

‘With Harboursound concerts and workshops and GSWPA member satellite events scheduled over the whole weekend, this will be a great weekend to be in Albany’, he said.

The Festival will be held in and around a large marquee on the Grassy Knoll in central Albany on Sunday 18 April. Details are available from www.greatsouthernwines.com.au.

There is a designated area for dogs on Middleton Beach – a very generous stretch of sand – so please would dog owners desist  from using the beach close to where people swim and where they know that they can walk without the risk of stepping on a dog mess. (more…)

Do you ever stick to your new year resolutions for more than a few weeks/ days? I am hopeless but love hearing what other people plan for a fresh start from January 1 – or 2 or whenever….

The usual ones include losing weight, getting fit, more exercise, washing up breakfast straight after breakfast, making the beds every morning and so on. Nothing overly challenging really, but in my case, rarely achieved. (more…)

Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is busy with food, food and more food – and the prospect of expanding girths to attend to afterwards. I found this recipe for Stuffed Dormice ( from Apicius – a Roman Cookery Book) in the front of my well thumbed Kenya High School cookery book which was published in 1959 to raise money for the new school chapel.

Ingredients: Several dormice, pork, pepper, pine kernals, asafoetida, (a gum resin with an obnoxious smell)and  liquamen. (Does anyone know what liquamen is/was?)

Method: Stuff dormice with minced pork and the meat of whole dormice (minced), pounded with pepper, pine kernels, asafoetida and liquamen.  Sew up the dormice, place on a tile and put in the oven, presumably with a bit of fat. Very tasty!

Does anyone have any recipes to rival this one for sheer revulsion and age?

Get practicing for the Mount Barker Cherry Pip Spitting championships which are on throughout  the Community Fair on the 28th Nov at the Visitor Centre Stall.

The biggest spitter will win $100.00 for their nominated club or charity also $50.00 cash to keep.Should the winner make it to the 2nd round in Manjimup  then  another Mt Barker winner will be off to New Zealand again as a prize. Also collecting $50.00 for making the trip to Manjimup.
There will be spot prizes  on the day for  both adults and kids. The cost will be $2.00 per spit and any money raised will go to the Mount Barker Visitor Centre.
Ring 98531110 for more Information.

What would you like to see in York Street on a Saturday afternoon,
when the sun is shining and you have nothing much to do except window shop, scout for an elusive cup of coffee and dream of sitting Subiaco-style on the footpath for a leisurely hour or so?

Here’s one idea to think about. (more…)

With the demise of a local brewery, comments were made by the company spokesman that Albany was not ready for an inovative hospitality industry. It’s not the first time a concept has failed in Albany but has thrived in other cities. Is it true that Albany clings to it’s old habits?  So instead of a trendy Tangleheads, we are getting back “our” White Star Hotel. (more…)

In recent years we have seen increased community awareness
about the threats of climate change and its association with the
accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Businesses have also become more aware of the threat of
climate change and, both in response to regulatory measures
and under their own steam, have begun to take action to
measure and manage their carbon footprints. (more…)

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Seminar was held on the 7th October 2009 in Mount Barker. The seminar was designed to provide land managers, local councils, small business operators and residents with the latest information and background on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which may have a major impact on and opportunities for the local economy in the Great Southern. (more…)

Next months Albany Blues Club event is set to go with the Sneaky Weasel Gang on the 6th August at the Stirling Club. 
Many of you may have seen them in or around the great southern area over the last year or so.  Originally from Mandurah, this 3 piece outfit are sure to bring a tap to your toes.

Supporting the Weasels’ will be our very own House Band “Mooseknuckle”. Rarely do the House Band get an opportunity to let their hair down at the club these days [ hair? good one ] so they will no doubt be busting at the seams to blast out some blues tunes. (more…)