Heathen!!!

Ok ... well the parental visit is almost over ... and I have to say that I am somewhat relieved. I know you all think that I'm being terribly stoney-hearted ... but seriously ... there's a reason why you eventually leave home and break the family ties!!!

"leave the breast, and then the nest, and then regret you ever left" (hhmm ... don't think so)

Just a couple of choice sayings from good ole daddy-o:

(i) there's no bible in this house

(ii) (said to me) ... it has been an enjoyable visit ... only problem ... (pause here for some dramatic sighing and slight shakings of the head) ... my son is a heathen.

HEATHEN???? Is that even a word now? Should it not have been excised from all existing dictionaries around the world ... along with my stylistic hyperbole (blame my indian roots for that)??? OMG ... 2007 peops!!! WTF?? I know my Dad is old ... but we're not talking Jurassic here!!

Oh and this is what he said about my brother ... he mentioned the fact that he reads Fantasy books as if that was an indication that he lived in a fantasy world and had no grip on reality!!! WHAT THE ... ???? He reads fantasy because he likes that genre of novel ... and its probably his only reliable outlet from all the rest of the issues he is dealing with right now ... (oh and as a comparison ... Dad mentioned some other novels of my brothers that he has enjoyed reading like James Mitchener??? Hhmmm ... bestselling author of the 70s ... enough said)

Now ... it wasn't all doom and gloom ... we spent 2 nights in Mining country using Castlemaine as our base. Firstly, can I say that Kyneton Rox!!!! It has all these really cool shops and galleries and a restaurant with a really interesting menu (sorry can't remember the name) which we fully intend to check out as soon as we get a chance.

Old Steam Mill in Kyneton - now a bakery and museum

We stayed in this lovely self contained unit called the Overlander Guest House ... when I say self contained, it was literally a doublefronted weatherboard house in a residential street, metres away from one of the main drags of Castlemaine. It had 3 large bedrooms, a spa bath, excellent and well stocked kitchen ... a great backyard with a bar area and bbq ... real party house actually.

 Backyard of The Overlander

Castlemaine was our base ... and before I round off this tedious expose on our weekend away ... I would like to say that I should write to the Tourism board and tell them to inform all visitors to Regional Victoria to only travel on the weekends, as every fucking bloody attraction is closed on weekdays!!!! The Butterfly sanctuary was closed, the Colliers chocolate factory was closed, Castlemaine Gaol was closed to the public ... it was annoying the shit out of me. Oh and also, if you have a travel book that is more than a year old ... Bin it Honey and save yourself the heartache. I was so excited to read about a Dingo sanctuary in Chewton, when we drove into town we had to ask the local milkbar owner and his mail-order wife where the darn place was as there was no signage ... when we eventually arrived at the gate after navigating through bush (and M pointing out yet another fucking water race) there was a big sign saying Private Property ... eventually this 4 wheel drive (which we passed along the way) pulled up and M spoke to the guy (scottish accent apparently) driving and he was quite brusque and didn't really offer much apart from the fact that he had taken over the joint about 3 years ago and that it was no longer a tourist attraction ... I was actually glad that we left soon after ... its was all starting to become a bit too Wolf Creek-ish for my liking. So word of advice ... when you hit Chewton on the Calder ... just keep on trucking!!

Now same goes for eateries ... yeah let them tell you that there are some cool places to eat in these towns ... but bear in mind that they don't tell you that these places are also closed on weekdays!! We were lucky that Saff's Cafe just doors away from the Overlander was open 7 days a week. So we ended up having all 3 meals there at some point - breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had a fantastic Prawn Risotto with Preserved lemon ... it was to die for!!! So if you're ever in Castlemaine go to Saff's Cafe on Mostyn Street ... definitely worth a visit, or at least a detour. And of course you can't go past the Malmsbury Bakery en route. (Everyone is AS there!!!)

Nearly there ... you have to check out the Castlemaine Art Gallery ... some amazing pieces in there ... including a room full of Watercolours ... which I'm not such a fan of ... but I appreciated!!! There's a Jeffrey Smart, Fred Williams, Margaret Preston, Boyd, Streeton, Dupain, Rees ... all the Aussie greats!

And also check out Buda House on Hunter Street (short for Budapest) which is a great rambling house with amazing artwork ... including some actual Preston prints which I was terribly excited about.

Ok chookers ... here's to Autumn and all the colours that she brings ...

PS - I learnt 2 new words ... mullockheap and poppethead!!! (check dictionary.com yourselves ... muthafuckers!!)

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Comments:

Temasek wrote:

 

Oh my one and only faithful reader (well actually one of two) ... Give me a reason to come to Sydney .. and he better be taller than me ... chiselled jawed and with a hairy chest ... haha ... kidding!!! MARRIED!! *flips the birdy* My only response is what I've picked up from chatrooms of ill-repute which is: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

19 Apr.

Danise wrote:   I just spat tea all over myself laughing at your blog!!! Give your daddy a huge hug from moi. Kytenton however you spell it is truly beautiful. JEalous now. sydney sux. Come and see me soon. luv ya my sinful friend. xxooxx 18 Apr