Author Archives: sheg4184

Tasting Port in Porto

On the banks of the Douro River, a stone’s throw from the sea, snuggles a city of terracotta roof tiles atop narrow houses, their facades decorated in coloured tiles. Clustered tightly together, they stagger unsteadily up winding cobbled lanes that … Continue reading

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Designer Dining

On the flight to London, I watched a movie starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, and Ralph Fiennes reprising his role as Voldemort but in chef’s attire. Touted as a sinister dark comedy, The Menu explores the philosophies of top-tier chefs … Continue reading

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A Final Glimpse of Tasmania, Past, Present and Bucolic

‘Scrimshaw.’ My favourite new word for the week. What is scrimshaw? A character from Harry Potter perhaps? No, not quite. That was Rufus Scrimgeour, I believe. Scrimshaw is, in fact, the art of engraving images on objects made from whale … Continue reading

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The Joy of Cheese

“Dessert without cheese is like a beauty with only one eye” ~ Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin When we first visited Tasmania, back in the late eighties, it was known as a destination for serious hikers, those keen to explore the wilderness … Continue reading

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‘A Pack of Thieves’

Port Arthur. Today, it is an hour and a half’s drive from the pretty, waterside city of Hobart. Two hundred years ago, it was a day’s sailing from the decidedly seedy and often violent waterfront of Hobart Town, which had … Continue reading

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Wildlife Among the Gumtrees

‘Give me a home among the gumtrees, with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a kangaroo, a  clothesline out the back, verandah out the front, and an old rocking chair’  – John Williamson Craggy Peaks. An old golf … Continue reading

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Return to Tasmania

This summer, we finally realized a dream of long-standing: to return to Tasmania. You may remember that I wrote about my first visit in the late 1980s, when the One & Only took me on a trek to Frenchman’s Cap? … Continue reading

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“Core of my heart, my country!”

An opal-hearted country,A wilful lavish land –All you who have not loved her,You will not understand –Though earth has many splendours,Wherever I may day,I know to what brown countryMy homing thoughts will fly. For many Australians, the words of poet … Continue reading

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Of swimming, surfboards, and River Cats…

It’s only 7am, but already the beach is awash with bodies: walkers, joggers and surfers, canoes and paddle boards skim along the edge of the sea. The coffee shop is buzzing, and families are hoeing into enormous plates of eggs … Continue reading

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Post Production Ponderings

November arrived with a clash of cymbals, a tarantara of trumpets and thunderous drum rolls. I submitted my thesis on the first of the month, which was a huge weight off my shoulders. The following day, the Lyceum Club Adelaide … Continue reading

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