Hunter-Gatherer-Boozer

Above: Hanging Tree vineyard, Hunter Valley

So, I forgot it was Monday yesterday on account of going to the British Consul-General's house for a trade reception. Never mind.

Last week was pretty unspectacular. On Thursday, Jen and I went to the Commonwealth Bank's Pink High Tea at The Tea Room (QVB) highlighting their support of breast cancer research. They had an opera singer there and everything - Bennelong eat your heart out.

That evening we went to the Corner Bar with Mandy (up from Melbourne for a few days) and Lozzie (who came to see Mandy) and Colin, who stayed for a little bit. I didn't end up leaving until 11.15pm, very tipsy, which was about an hour after Jen had left and two very drunk blokes tried to engage us in converesation. We were kindly saved by the barman suggesting they leave.

On Friday, Ass and I saw 'God of Carnage' at the Opera House (Drama Theatre). It was actually highly amusing, though not ROTFLMAO funny as many audience members found it. I thought it was more enjoyable than 'A Streetcar Named Desire'; the characters were in some respects caricatures but there was a fine line for the actors in not going over the top, so a very nuanced performance and very good cast dynamic.

Early Saturday morning, Sir, Ass and I headed to the Hunter Valley. We ended up stopping in Swansea, where I almost got run over (no, I won't tell the story), then became semi-lost as we tried to get back onto the freeway. Eventually we made it to the Hunter Valley Motel in time to get picked up by the wine tour bus.

To cut a long, boozy day short we went to four wineries (Savannah, Hanging Tree, Kevin Sobels, Golden Grape), the Smelly Cheese Factory, the Hunter Valley Chocolate Shop and the Bluetongue (Beer) Brewery, as well as visited the Tempus Two complex for lunch. We had a very good bus crew, a good mix of cheerful people, and Sir and I between us ended up purchasing almost 4 dozen bottles of wine...

Unfortunately on Sunday the good weather deserted us, plus Assie fell sick (not booze-related - she didn't drink very much at all) so we took in a cruisy brunch at Taste of the Country at the Hunter Valley and then dropped in again at Hanging Tree because Sir decided she wanted to buy a bottle of something she missed out on the day before (she ended up with another CASE). It also meant I could take proper pictures of the place because I'd forgotten to bring my camera on the tour bus (maybe a good thing?).

We left at around 2pm; at first there was some scenic mist, but then it rained pretty heavily on the way to Sydney so it took us ages to get home. Unpacking the wine from the car was quite a feat. Can't wait to get stuck into mine. Methinks I've become a booze hag.

That's about all. I've entered the calm before the storm. Hope I can batten down the hatches sufficiently to keep my hair on over the next few weeks.