An almost perfect Perth weekend

We experienced some more magnificent conditions over the weekend in Perth. It feels like spring has arrived early.

I managed to get out on my bike for my Saturday morning ride with friends for the first time in a few weeks. It was great to be able to push myself a little harder than I normally do on the daily ride to work and back. I’ve had back pain which has prevented me riding too hard for the last few weeks and while my back isn’t feeling 100% it is certainly a lot better than it was.

The scenery we get to take in on our ride is such a bonus. We live in the heart of suburbia yet it always amazes me that in just the fifty kilometres we ride together we get to experience the magnificent Swan Valley then paddocks of cows and sheep out through Hazelmere and Helena Valley before we head back into civilization to grab a coffee. I reckon it’s the perfect way to start a weekend.

On Saturday afternoon I headed to Bassendean Oval to see Swan Districts Football Club play a brilliant game against Subiaco … at least for the first three quarters. The mighty black and whites were slightly ahead until five minutes into the last quarter when Subi ran away with it. Oh well, it was a great day for watching football.

After church yesterday we headed into the Swan Valley to the Margaret River Chocolate Company. It was beautiful weather for sipping coffee in the valley but unfortunately the venue left a lot to be desired. I love going to the Margaret River Chocolate Company and sampling their wares but they were extremely busy and no one was bothering to clean up the tables in the outside cafe area. Time and time again we saw waitresses carry orders out to patrons before walking empty handed back to the cafe. Would it really hurt to grab some of the piles of dishes on your way back?

On top of that they had three reasonably talented musos playing some live music. They’re repertoire was pretty much ‘golden oldies’ but they sounded OK. Unfortunately management decided the best place to put them would be right next to several of the cafe tables. The only table we could find when we first arrived was near the ‘band’. While they weren’t turned all the way up to eleven, it was still way too loud for us to be able to chat. If I want to go to a concert, I’ll go to a concert. I don’t mind a bit of background music but if I’m sharing a coffee with family I want to be able to hear the conversation. My tip – never go to the Margaret River Chocolate Company on a nice day when they’re likely to be busy.

Now that my whinge is out of the way, it was good to catch up with family and overall the weekend was a good one.



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Ice Cream Therapy

ice_cream_cone.gifHow was your weekend? It was a rather relaxing weekend for our family.

We took advantage of Perth’s beautiful weather yesterday afternoon to take a drive into the Swan Valley for ice cream at Oggies. Very nice.

I’m a bit predictable when it comes to choosing flavours. If an ice cream shop is offering macadamia ice cream that’s what I’ll usually end up buying.

It was a very relaxing way to spend some of the day. It’s amazing how much stress is released through the simple act of eating an ice cream cone.

I think that eating ice cream cones should be a recognised therapy and that we should get a rebate from our health insurance company every time we buy one.



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Carols in the Valley

carols_small.jpgI love Christmas in Australia. It’s so good to be able to wander around in shorts and T-shirts and to enjoy the great outdoors on warm summer evenings.

On Sunday night we’ll be at Sandalford Wines for Carols in the Valley, presented by Swan City Church.

The event organisers do a fantastic job each year. Between seven and eight thousand people have enjoyed themselves on the grassy slopes of the winery for the annual Christmas event over the past couple of years. The venue is just perfect for an outdoor event.

The evening will feature Zoe Kikiros from WA Opera, vocalist Dave Smith, Heaven’s Strings Quartet, Outrage Childrens Entertainment and a fifty voice choir as well as a magnificent fireworks finale. There’s always something wonderful about fireworks close up.

A team of us from 98.5 Sonshine FM will be there to say hello to the assembled masses. I always enjoy being able to meet listeners and to promote the radio station to others who are not yet listeners.



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