Events – Page 4 – CONVENT AND CHAPEL

Yee Ha! Footstomping Fun at Ilford

Published on September 5, 2014September 5, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

Last night I did the country music thing with some Sydney friends. Every few months some of the intrepid locals organise a country music night at one of the village halls with live music and a country hospitality style feed. To make it even better, local buses pick up and drop people off at their doorsteps.

Ilford is a tiny village around 20ks from Kandos – no shops just a local community with a hall down a country road surrounded by paddocks. Locals told us that in true community spirit, the hall was built during the day and a dance held that same night.

The country music night kicked off with supper – for $3 you had a choice of sausage sizzle laden with caramelised onion or a delicious lamb stew topped with mashed potato. We were warned to hold off overdoing it as supper was still to come.

The group playing was Peter Coad and the Coad sisters – and how talented were they!?! Obviously a group that had much more than made their name at Tamworth having performed widely in the States with many of the top line C&W Nashville greats. I’ve always said, “never underestimate the drummer” and it could not have been more true in this case with the drummer, Jim Hermel, turning out to be a guitar virtuoso, although the jury is still out on whether he was better than his talented wife, Virginia.

After a generous session, we broke for supper which turned out to be a lip-smacking country hospitality style spread of hot finger food, cakes and slices, including much to my Sydney visitor’s delight, scones with jam and cream. Back for some more rollicking music. After so much more than our money’s worth of three hours of toe tapping, foot stomping singalong music, the night came to a reluctant end. The band were still going strong with as much of an adrenaline rush as they had started the night. Fantastic value.

As we boarded the bus back home on a cold dark and damp night, I couldn’t help but reflect as my name was called out during the roll call (God forbid if anyone missed the bus back home!) how much my life has changed over the past two years and that I wouldn’t have missed a minute of it.

Readying for Spring

Published on August 21, 2014 by conventandchapel1 Comment

We are now in the countdown to Spring, which means a focus on the garden – quite a contrast to my first sleepy mid Winter in residence here in Kandos.

The last few weeks has since me increasing my time outside – weeding, clearing, pruning, feeding and mulching and, of course, planting. The Convent will be on show for the Centenary Celebrations over the long weekend in October and again for Cementa_15 in April. To ensure the garden makes an impact, I’ve been planting out existing beds and creating a few new or extended areas.

For anyone who saw the place last year, the startling difference will be the privet demolition – not sure if it will have started to strike shoots by October. The roses were also so new before. Hopefully they will now get a kick-along and be a little showy for the garden opening.

I kept seeds from last years’ flowers and am sewing these in the hope of some success. The garden work is substantially different from this time last year when it was hard graft digging and laying new garden beds and so much planting. This time around, there’s still some planting but to a greatly reduced degree and really mainly focussing on now filling in the “in-between” areas. However I wouldn’t underestimate the work in pruning, clearing up, mulching and feeding. I always wondered what people would buy the ginormous 10k buckets of rose food and now admit I’ve turned into one of those people. I think I’ve already used 6 bales of straw mulch – and I only use that on some of my garden beds. I’m also up to around 5 large bags of Eucy mulch and reminder for next year – at least 6 large bags of pine bark mulch for the back bed. There’s also probably half a dozen bags of Dynamic Lifter in the garden, much to the dogs’ delight!

Popcorn loves a good raised garden bed with friable soil!

He's also partial to pot toppling. This one had Fuchsia cuttings. — He’s also partial to pot toppling. This one had Fuchsia cuttings.

The dogs love being out in the garden with me and all have their different interests. Tango oversees hole digging, to the point that I can only put the shovel into a hole once and then have to move onto a new area. She’s making sure she doesn’t miss out on any of those tasty grubs! Roxy just plonks herself down where I’m working – not near, actually on. If there’s freshly turned turf, newly planted areas or newly mulched areas, she’s lying there. Popcorn is an expert at the kissing attack. If he sees me kneeling in the garden, you can bet he thinks I’m fair game for a set of sneaky slobbers. He’s also King of the Diggers and, as a big dog, can dig some mighty holes. Of course they all love Dynamic Lifter and act as Hoovers when it’s spread in the garden.

It’s so rewarding to see the plants start to come back to life. Some of the plants I’m yet to see any growth on as they were almost dormant when I planted them, so to watch them through a leafing and flowering period will be exciting – a little like your children’s milestones.

The Delft Blue Hyacinths are lovely but not quite as vibrant as last year.

Erlicher Daffodils – the first of the daffodils and always reliable, with a lovely scent.

In the meantime, some of the bulbs are doing their thing – mainly the snowdrops, delft blue hyacinths and Erlicheer daffodils, with a few yellow daffodils beginning to sneak their way in.

Little Snowflakes – dependable and pretty, and the first bulb of the year.

This Blog is now becoming useful to me as a diary to see what the garden was up to last year and when I might expect to see plants in action. I’m hopeful there will be surprises and delights in store that hold on through to April next year.

Kandos Hoedown

Published on August 2, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

I’m constantly surprised at the stream of activities here. I’m sure it’s because it’s not the city with a zillion things happening that most of the community supports local events wholeheartedly.

This weekend the brave team at Kandos Events who are responsible for the annual Bob Marley Festival put on the second Kandos Hoedown.

The concert was held in the Community Hall which is an attractive and imposing building complete with a good stage. Four acts in all provided around five hours of foot-tapping entertainment, including the local Bush Rock, Brooke Cornwall, Kerry Shaw and Dale Hooper, a Johnny Cash tribute singer, as the main act.

Great to see the community support, singsongs and even some dancing. Thanks to Sue, Dave and Mary for their continued efforts on Kandos’ behalf.

The Man in Black – Dale Hooper’s Johnny Cash Tribute, endorsed by the Cash family.

Joining in Locally

Published on June 30, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

Now I’m permanently settled, it’s time to get more involved locally – to keep myself busy with activities, as well as meet more people and contribute to the local community. I’m very fortunate that a good friend has also taken the bold step of moving from city life to Kandos so I have a partner in crime, although everyone here is very welcoming.

After the Bread and Pizza making classes in Mudgee, I’ve joined Mudgee Fine Foods, which host the monthly Farmers Market and organises Farm Walks. The last visit to the Farmers Market yielded a bounty of local produce, including amazing paddock to plate cured meats from Pipeclay Pumphouse. I came away with truffle salami, coppa and pork terrine. You need to get in early for the proscuitto.

My friend and I also popped in for a warm welcome at Mudgee Knitters’ Guild which I think will become a regular outing and we’ve also joined the local CWA. All of which are noble country pursuits. Combined with Museum duties and potentially gardening activities, not to mention my Rylstone Artisan Markets monthly stall, should see me well occupied for some time.

A Winter Market Day

Published on June 13, 2014 by conventandchapel1 Comment

Beanies galore! The top ones are new. Hoping the spiral Noro beanies are a hit.

After my recent successes at the Rylstone Artisan Markets, I have stocked up heavily (which has also meant lots of knitting). My big sellers to date have been the lacy mohair and silk scarves as well as the fingerless mitts, with beanie sales increasing now the weather is chilly.

And of course lots of mitts for frozen hands. Good for a cold Winter Market day.

This is the first “Winter” market and I’m hoping to continue my fortunate streak. This time I’ve added a stack of Noro beanies – spiral and plain, as well as a bumper load of mitts in gorgeous yarns. The markets let me indulge, with my main yarns so far being Rowan Silk Haze, Noro – Kureyon and Silk Garden, and for the linen stitch scarves a bit of a mix with alpaca, merino and mohair blends. Peartree is wonderful to work with and provides a great finished item. This month I’ve experimented with Madelinetosh Sock yarn and I’m also using some of the wonderful vintage Lush hand dyed yarns I bought a few years ago. It’s rewarding to be playing with a stash that I’ve been building up.

Linen stitch scarves - such a different woven texture to normal knitting. These let me play with wonderful colour and texture combinations. — Linen stitch scarves – such a different woven texture to normal knitting. These let me play with wonderful colour and texture combinations.

Nippy weather usually means cold fingers and ears – making the mitts in particular popular items, with mitts and beanies usually donned on the spot.

I now have a much better sense of how to set up for the markets and what people like and I’m also very pleased with how my stall looks. I’ll let you know how I go this round.

Fishnet lace scarves in a silk/kid mohair blend that could float away in a breeze. These have been popular as gifts, particularly to post. — Fishnet lace scarves in a silk/kid mohair blend that could float away in a breeze. These have been popular as gifts, particularly to post or take overseas.

Bread and Pizzas

Published on June 4, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

A friendly local (not that all local’s aren’t friendly here) directed me to Mudgee Fine Foods who co-ordinate lots of foodie activities and promote local producers. Last weekend friends and I attended Bread, Sourdough and Pizza-making class in Mudgee.

My team's dough posing for a photo — My team’s dough posing for a photo

For a ridiculously small price, an intimate class had two artisan bakers teach us the finer points of bread-making, culminating in us gobbling down delicious pizzas we had contributed to in the class.

It was all highly practical, hands on and we also were given techniques on preparing the starter for our own sourdough. We left the class with pizza dough to use at home (which I didn’t do justice to) and starter for our sourdough. Whilst I have a bread maker, I can see lots of bread kneading in my future.

Mudgee Fine Foods have great events, including Farm Walks where you get to see local producers close up. I’ll be keeping an eye on their website in future.

I was too busy eating the cooked pizzas to take photos!

Kandos Centenary Celebrations

Published on June 3, 2014June 3, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

100 years ago, Kandos was born. Kandos has a different history to most Australian towns as it was basically founded as a “private” town. A number of entrepreneurs decided it was the ideal location for a cement works and bought parcels of land which they used for their cement works, as well as subdividing blocks to sell off to workers. Before then Kandos did not exist – basically, they named and built their own town centred around what is known locally as “The Works”.

This makes Kandos unique as both a twentieth century town and having a basis more as an industrial and private town, unlike so many towns that were based on pastoral activities. Anyway, this year marks Kandos’ centenary – somewhat ironic as the cement works that so defined the town have now closed down and the main buildings for the works will also be demolished this year.

It is an exciting but also somewhat daunting time for the town as it now finds its feet independently – somewhat like an adolescent leaving parents. The town has so much going for it in terms of natural beauty, closeness to Sydney (3 hours), a wonderful welcoming community with so may activities to be involved in and very reasonable real estate prices that are yet to catch up with some of the other more trendy regions.

Over the long weekend in October, many activities have been planned to help celebrate 100 years of Kandos and many Kandos expats are expected to return for the celebrations. The Convent is also participating by opening the garden and doors for Sunday and Monday, which means no slacking off with the gardening! I’m hoping locals and ex’s will bring along copies of photos of their family at the Convent – weddings, Christenings, school photos … to help build a social history of the Convent.

The Convent has now had a few “opens” to the community and it is always so rewarding to have people come along and tell their stories. For now, it’s making sure I have the garden at its best for October.

A Day at the Auctions – well, Online

Published on May 2, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

An unexpected bargain - an old iron kerosine stand makes a wonderful stand for a candle in the Cloisters. — An unexpected bargain – an old iron kerosine lamp stand makes a wonderful stand for a candle in the Cloisters.

Over the weekend, one of the major quality auction houses, Vickers and Hoad, held a massive auction of the contents from an historic old homestead in Maitland in the Hunter Valley.

It was obviously sad for the family to see their old home go as well as all the contents and I believe the family had been there for many generations. This also meant that quality old items would be on sale with the downside being that the sale would attract heaps of buyers (which also usually means inflated prices).

A rather splendid bird's eye maple frame for a large engraving of Mary of Scotland Mourning, complete with a priest and Bishop. — A rather splendid bird’s eye maple frame for a large engraving of Mary of Scotland Mourning, complete with a priest and Bishop now at home in the dining room.

The auction houses are well organised for online bidders, with the catalogues going online a few days before, complete with photos, descriptions and usually a price guide. Since being in the country, I’ve been using absentee bid forms and often felt I’ve just missed out on many items, so am now venturing into the world of live online bidding, which is a great system, watching the auction live and having screen facilities tracking the bids and letting you enter your own bid and confirming if it’s the highest. But it also can be dangerous if you don’t hold to a strong discipline.

Armed with my list of “interesting” lots, I spent a long day (yes, it takes up a lot of the day if you sit through the whole auction) for a slow paced auction (only slow because of the number of bidders – in the room, absentee and online). It was a bumper day in terms of high sales for the owners and auctioneers, but also a rewarding one for me as I managed to gain some gems.

A very rustic French provincial antique walnut side table.

I limited myself to smaller items that would fit in the car as courier costs are prohibitive. That being said, I missed out on many but ended up with a successful day. One of the aspects of antique auctions I enjoy is learning more. I’m not too bad on styles, periods, some of the manufacturers but there are always more levels of detail. This auction I learnt about bird’s eye maple, that provides a rather splendid frame surrounding a large engraving now hanging in the dining room. I also discovered reverse glass painting which happens to be the style used in a small painting featuring nuns.

Other purchases included:

an small antique oak hall table
a small rustic French provincial walnut side table
a very rustic painted timber bird cage
two gorgeous old copper pots for outside
a character-filled iron kerosine lamp stand which looks right at home on the back verandah

A small brass spark screen for the fireplace under restoration.

All in all, a great day which meant a very long day following as I made my way to Maitland and back to collect my items. The exercise was badly marred by my first kangaroo kill. So far I must have avoided 20 or 30 roos on the road and prided myself of taking care. Unfortunately I was not so lucky this time and didn’t have a chance to miss the poor kangaroo. No damage to the car, but lots of tears and guilt which took some of the shine off the auction results.

A very rustic old painted bird cage which has taken up residence in the garden.

A Bumper Market Day

Published on April 19, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

My old tapestry stand provided an ideal display for scarves and helped highlight the stall.

Easter is one of the bigger market days for Rylstone Artisan Markets. I’ve only held my stall there since Christmas and we are just beginning to hit the time when woollies are becoming more of a priority.

The markets this weekend were highly successful. It seemed like lots of visitors each time I looked around and this translated into my best sales to date by far. The lacy light scarves were again highly popular and have proved to be a mainstay – now requiring serious replenishing. The new linen stitch scarves were also a hit with men and women alike. Beanies and mitts also easily found new homes.

I thought I was really well stocked but now face another solid month of knitting to replace stock. Hopefully I’m recognising the trends and can focus on what seems to be selling well. I’ve been careful not to overprice and it’s refreshing to hear people say what good value the knits are and that perhaps they are underpriced.

People appear to appreciate the use of fine yarns and a sense of individuality and the quality of the knits. No doubt the identification with the Convent is an element of interest and some self-promotion with my prize ribbons doesn’t go unnoticed. My customers appear to be a healthy mix of visitors and locals and I now have a number of return customers. The kits are also proving popular with knitters, with the chance to complete an item with quality yarns.

I’m now looking forward to the cooler market months and may fit in a couple of different local markets as well. In the meantime, those needles won’t have much downtime.

The linen stitch scarves were a hit and also provide another kit for keen knitters. These are not a quick knit.

The Bob Marley Festival – A Feast of Reggae … and more

Published on March 23, 2014 by conventandchapelLeave a comment

Yesterday was what is now the annual Bob Marley Festival held on the Railway Green at Kandos. This year built on last with a bigger crowd, more varied market stalls including Jamaican food and more reggae bands.

It’s a fantastic day out with a long afternoon of live bands and people celebrating reggae music and just getting out and having a lot of fun. For the locals, it’s a vibrant and colourful change and many don Rastafarian beanies and dreads for the day. The headline act is Errol Renaud with his band Caribbean Soul , however I particularly liked Joe Tee and Afrodisia, who stayed after their performance and were dancing with all the locals – especially Big Mama.

This year included a Jamaican food stall that was hugely popular with its Jerk Chicken, however my friend and I were encouraged to try the goat curry which was delicious with the rice and beans.

It was wonderful to see the locals – from toddlers to great grandparents, dancing to the music. Cowboys mixed with dreadlocked colourful beanies along with other costumes, such as the little girls in their spangly belly dancing costumes. Not to mention the very cute little girl dressed as Snow White. Another fantastic day in Kandos. Well done Sue, Dave and Mary!