Beachside Bugle October 2012

4 Tingira Cres

t: 4232 4990

littleblowholecafe@westnet.com.au www.littleblowholecafe.com October 2012

Beachside Bugle Brought to you monthly by Cathy and her team at your local cafe

See you at the Kiama Wine Show For a change I won’t be working at the Kiama Wine Show Tasting Night and Awards Ceremony this year, so I’ll be able to relax and enjoy the evening from the other side.

The event has become a highlight on the Kiama Social Calendar, as it not only gives an opportunity to mix with like-minded wine buffs, but the chance to chat to local wine makers while tasting their best produce.

Some local identities enjoy last year’s Show

Now in its 9th year, the Wine Show plays an important role in encouraging the local wine industry by giving its makers a chance to have their wines judged against an international standard.

According to Wine Show Chairman John Kelly, ‘The wines entered each year include those from vineyards in the temperate coastal climate of the Shoalhaven, the cooler Southern Highlands and Goulburn wine growing regions.

This makes for a more interesting show demonstrating several climate variations.”

The wine judging panel this year ibrings back Christian Gaffey as Chair, wine judges Brendan Heath, Dan Binet and Sam Miranda, and associate judges, Eddy Rossi, Shane Bricker and Jeremy Nascimben.

The judges have a range of specialist knowledge from the cool-climate growing region of Victoria and the temperate climate of the Hunter, meaning winemakers will benefit from expert assessment of their wines in the closed session with judges following the official judging.

Christian Gaffey is Senior Procurement Manager at Wine Selectors, Australia’s largest independent direct marketer of wine. He is the winemaker at Jackson’s Hill in the Hunter Valley and is a highly respected international wine judge. Since 2004 he has judged as a Panel Chair at the London International Wine Show.

Last year Christian was very impressed by the good winemaking in the area, particularly given the difficult 2011 vintage. The best wines in 16 different categories will be announced on the night, with over 120 wines available for tasting. including the award winning wines.

Details: Kiama Pavilion, Friday Oct 12 6-8pm Tickets are $25 each from the Kiama Visitors Centre at Blowhole Point or on the night.

Strictly over 18 event.

Further info at www.kiamawineshow.org.au

CRAVE comes South

Music round-up

Once again we are participating in the CRAVE Sydney International Food Festival, to help fly the flag for South Coast produce.

Sunday October 14

Last year, we were part of the South Coast team that won the 100 Mile Challenge, a mega lunch pitting five NSW regions against each other.

Disappointingly (as we were keen to defend our title), the Challenge wasn’t able to obtain funding this year so isn’t part of the Program.

However we and some like-minded advocates of our region’s food - including Berry Sourdough Bakery, Hungry Duck and its offshoot Wharf Rd, South Coast Providores, Foodscape Tours, Cuppits Winery and Caveau - are doing our bit to fuel the momentum of last year’s success.

Instead of inviting Sydneysiders to our already popular dinners, we thought we’d entice them down to brunch on South Coast produce on any of the weekends of the Festival.

Rather than offer just the standard one brunch dish for the entire month, we have ambitiously decided to offer a special changing Festival menu, so that you can enjoy a range of food from the South Coast. Our regular menu will still be available.

I’m so committed to South Coast food that I spent a couple of hours of my rare time off helping out at the Greenbox stall at the recent Future Food Fest at Bundanon! Much of the food at our brunches will come via Greenbox.

We have a number of copies of the CRAVE Program at the Café if you’d like one. Or you could check it out online at ww.cravesydney.com.au Details: Saturdays and Sundays in October, available from 9am to 2pm. $25 including coffee Bookings recommended.

Folk in the Foothills Jamberoo Valley Lodge 8.30 am – 7pm 15 artists, 5 venues, 25 performances.

Featuring Le Vent du Nord, Mr Gregory Page, Sunas, Bruce Watson, Stetson Family, No Such Thing, The Con Artists and so much more. Book by Oct 13 adult early bird ticket $40 (normally $50).

Plenty of parking, bring a picnic or there will be good food & drink to buy. www.illawarrafolkfestival.com.au/page/ FolkintheFoothills Festival of the Choirs & Afternoon Tea The Pavilion, Kiama Showground 2pm This afternoon of astounding choir singing promises to be quite an event with The Berkely Songbirds, Intermezzo, The Kiama Probus Mens’s Choir, Choir of the Southern Lights and Wollongong Harmony Chorus.

Only $30 pp or $25 conc, or $60 for a family of four, including afternoon tea.

Tickets from Kiama Visitors Centre.

Fundraising event for Polio Plus, Fresh Water for PNG, Oceania Medical Aid for Children and a number of other charities.

19-21 October Kangaroo Valley Folk Festival Billed as a celebration of music, poetry, dancing and craft in Australia’s most beautiful valley. This year’s Festival is presented in six small venues, and includes Woohoo Revue, Le Vent du Nord, Karen Lynne, Paul Greene, Nick Rheinberger, Doctor Stovepipe and more. Find out more at www.kangaroovalleyfolkfestival.com.au

27 October Jazz & Blues Bash Kiama Bowling Club, 7.30pm Kiama Jazz club invites you to ‘come and shake your tail feather’ at a great fundraiser for next year’s Jazz & Blues Festival.

The bill features The Jacky Howellers, Chicken Shack Trio and our own Sunday Session favourite James Vann. All this for a gold coin entry donation.

Join in Australia’s toughest fun run:

The Saddleback Smash Congratulations to Kiama Rotary for bringing a big annual fitness event to our region.

The Saddleback Smash has all the ingredients necessary to make it a ‘must do’ event for people from around the country. Last year’s Smash attracted over 100 entrants and I’m sure this year already has more registrations.

The Smash invites people to run or ride their bikes up Saddleback Mountain in one of five categories: elite runners, joggers, walkers, graded cyclists and social cyclists.

Plenty of excuses to stop and admire the view if it is a day like this!

Starting at the High School, there is a 6km uphill climb to the Lookout. The final ascent will put Sydney’s City to Surf’s Heartbreak Hill into perspective… Free shuttle buses have been arranged to bring runners (and walkers) back down to sea level. Cyclists will enjoy the ride downhill.

Unfortunately I will be busy working that day so won’t be able to participate. To encourage our regulars to go in my place, I’m offering a free coffee once you get back if you show you me pictures of yourself at the top!

Details: Sunday 7 October, 8am start from the High School on Saddleback Mt Rd. Early bird entry of $35 is available online until 4pm on Saturday. Otherwise a donation of $50 will be required to register on the day. www.saddlebacksmash.com.au

Or you could walk/ cycle to Jamberoo If you prefer your walking to be more on the level, then check out the new shared walkway along the Minnamurra River. It is the path that you can tantalisingly see from the freeway heading into town from the north.

The new section of our network of paths runs from Henry Parks Drive in Gainsborough to Swamp Rd. From there you can follow the road to Jamberoo, missing out on the bends.

Just two Dinners Nights remaining in 2012 Hard to believe but true. Our last Dinner Night is traditionally in November, as there is just too much going for all of us on after that.

Our next Dinner Celebrates the South Coast on 19 October. If you want to join us for an evening of delicious regional food then book a table soon. $50/head.

For the November Dinner, we will be returning to Indonesia to enjoy the breath of culinary delights from the Spice Islands. Just the right cuisine for a sultry summer evening.

Steve puts the path to the test

Our dinners are always boisterous affairs — ideal for getting together with friends.

Kiama Council to go digital Belated congratulations to the new Kiama Councillors. Amongst their challenges and opportunities, they have been elected as the Council is a step closer to becoming Australia’s first Digital Local Government under funding from the Federal Government’s NBN program.

‘This program enables council to better engage our residents and those outside the Municipality, particularly those groups that are traditionally hard to reach, such as our senior citizens, the disabled, those who work out of the area, at-home mothers and our youth,’ he said.

It hasn’t got much press elsewhere, but recently Evidence Technology was awarded the contract to implement a digital solution for the delivery of Kiama Council Services.

Kiama Council is to be the first council in Australia to become a Digital Local Government, under the Federal Government NBN grants. Obviously the prototype developed there will then be able to be rolled out to benefit other communities.

Work will now begin to establish state-ofthe-art videoconferencing hardware at various points in the Kiama Municipality.

This new hardware and IT solution will enable up to 350 remote users and thousands of web viewers to log in to Council workshops and community engagement sessions over the internet.

While it is a bit hard for some of us to get our heads around the technology, all we really have to understand is the outcome.

This technology introduces a new way for local government to engage with the community. It will enable residents to liaise face-to-face with Council using videoconferencing via a variety of devices. Community engagement sessions on important planning issues, information session on waste minimisation, gardening workshops and children’s story time from the library are just some examples of Council services that will be revolutionised by this new system.

‘The new videoconferencing solution we are implementing is like Skype, but enables hundreds more users to engage with Council simultaneously using their home computer, laptop, ipad or smart phone,’ said General Manager Michael Forsyth.

This is just one of the NBN-related initiatives being undertaken at Council. I’m looking forward to seeing how it will all work once we finally get connected to the Network at the end of the year.

Noticeboard Tiles going cheap If you have admired our big grey tiles at the Café, then here’s your opportunity to grab some at a ridiculously cheap price (considering they are expensive porcelain oens). We’ve got somewhere over 5m sq, and they are yours for just $10/m. Pop into the Café and talk to Steve.

Reach your local audience Don’t forget if you want to get the attention of Beachside residents you can place an ad here for the princely sum of $20. Just talk to Cathy next time you are in for a coffee. The very fact that you are reading this proves how effective your ad will be!

Please note: While we try to get everything right, we are only human and cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions.