February 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Anthony Darby]

Does it set seed Fermi?

[Anthony Darby]

Scilla autumnalis from SRGC seed exchange, sown Feb 2012.

[meanie]

I'm slowly trawling my way through New Zealand beers. Lots of microbreweries here, so some interesting beers. Refreshing to listen to the master brewer on Waiheke Island talk on a recent beer tour. He was waxing lyrical about ales and the nonsense pubs generally commit here - chilled Guinness for goodness sake! You can't taste it at that temperature......................... . I can still get some Yorkshire classics like Black Sheep and Old Peculiar and many others at The English Corner Shop. Here's a good site http://brewersguild.org.nz/.. I have some bottles of Chocolate Moose from http://boundaryroadbrewery.co.nz/.

In all fairness, I've not been back in NZ since '99 so it's good to hear that things are on the up there.
More important to me nowadays, although it was also an issue to me then, is how are things on the tea front? I would be lost without Yorkshire (or Thompsons "Punjana") tea.

Coincidently, the best pint of Guinness that I ever had was in Singapore. Chilled. I may be wrong, but I believe that they have a brewery there.

[arillady]

Fermi and any other Victorian forumist I hope you are not in the vicinity of the 78 fires hitting Victoria at present.

[ashley]

... chilled Guinness for goodness sake! You can't taste it at that temperature.

Agreed Anthony.  Nowadays 'natural' Guinness is almost impossible to get here in Ireland.  My grandfathers would have been amazed and appalled. 
Treating Guinness like this is like serving a red wine or cheese ice-cold - utterly pointless.

More important to me nowadays, although it was also an issue to me then, is how are things on the tea front? I would be lost without Yorkshire (or Thompsons "Punjana") tea.

My daughter tells me that a major supermarket near where she lives in Stirling now offers Barry's Tea (an absolute essential for any Cork ex-pat) ... under 'ethnic foods'

[Lesley Cox]

Really annoys me when I buy a good bit of vintage blue or a really ripe Whitestone Camembert at the market and Roger puts it in the fridge!

[Lesley Cox]

I take it supermarkets were either closed or too far away Lesley? A nice NZ Sav certainly hits the mark if it's well chilled.

Yes Anthony, I didn't get one at the supermarket when I did my weekly shop in Mosgiel, thinking of the parlous state of our housekeeping account but then regretted it as Waihola, a small village beside the lake, has only a dairy-type shop (no liquor licence), a pub, an excellent cafe with great home baking, and a very good fresh fish shop. Oh yes, a service/petrol station too, but no supermarket. Funny how small boxes of beer or cider bottles find their way into the groceries quite often, especially when Roger comes with me. He does at present because he's not allowed to drive, having had a couple of falls and neurology dept at hospital haven't found out why yet. He had an EEG last Wednesday and did, apparently, confirm there is a brain there, just not what's wrong with it.

[Anthony Darby]

We can buy Yorkshire tea in the international section of the supermarkets, but have to go to Bramptons or the English Corner Shop for Tetley's. I suppose it's what you're used to, so Tetley's it is. My sister even sends it in food parcels, along with Scottish tablet and Percy pigs (not for me).

[Paul T]

Anthony,

My Urginea maritima generally sets seed, although with the heat this summer you never know.  I have two clones, ones just finishing flowering now and the second has just sent up a spike.... consistently exactly that way every year.

Glad the fires missed you, Fermi and Will.  Hopefully everyone else is OK too.

[Anthony Darby]

Paul, I used to grow it on my classroom windowsill back in Scotland. Managed to flower it once. This was from a bulb brought back from Portugal by a colleague. He said it took him an hour and a half to dig it up using a hotel spoon!!! He should have checked the fields nearby. Farmers often used the huge bulbs as field boundaries, and you could just about lift them off the pile.

Is there any respite from the heat you are getting in the forecast? They are saying records are being broken in Australia. I had to do a war dance when I was watering my bedding plants yesterday. Bare feet, sun and 28^oC made the concrete drive too hot to stand holding a watering can! What some Australians would do for 28^oC! It's the humidity we have that makes us suffer.

[Paul T]

We're nowhere near as hot as some places.  We're been plenty of 37 to 40'C in the last month or so.  Mid to late January was the first 5 consecutive days of 37'C or over since the 70s, and then we had a week's respite and had 6 consecutive days of the same for the first time on record.  Still, mild compared to what Melbourne, Inner Victoria/Southern NSW and of course Adelaide have had.  I am not sure how they cope with 45'C.  NOT nice I would imagine.

So Yes, it's been damn hot here, and record setting, but we could be worse when you look at it.   

[Rogan]

"Got home to find the bottle said "Produce of South Africa." Thoroughly wrecked my evening. With all due respect to Rogan and our other SA Forumists, their wine is rubbish!"

Aw! Lesley! Our wines aren't that bad! We may have our faults, but I always thought we could make good wine? 

[Lesley Cox]

Think again Laddie! Or better still, come down and try ours.

[Anthony Darby]

Cannae whack a good bottle of Sav, Pinot Noir or Merlot. Any favourites Lesley?

[Maggi Young]

Too much of a digression to the wines, Folks -  this is for celebrating  plants - I and others, would prefer if this did not develop into a thread which upsets every wine growing region as personal opinions are listed.