Ode to the Haggis!

Last night we were fortunate enough to attend St Andrews Day celebrations at the historic Maldon Penny School Gallery & Cafe. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and the feast of St Andrew is held on the 30 November (more info about St Andrew can be found here).

After a short stroll to the Penny School, we were greeted at the petanque piste by the sound of pipes and a complimentary dram (one of many throughout the evening!). Before long the old school ground was filled with tartan from many clans and we were soon piped into the building to start the festivities.

The building was very well decorated inside with beautiful table settings and St Andrew’s flag bunting adorning the ceiling. The Penny School does a fantastic job at pulling out all the stops for these events – hats off to Barry and Marilyn! There is a real air of history in the building, and rightly so as the building is classified by the National Trust and Heritage Victoria. It was build as a multi-denominational school during the gold rush and it is believed the name “Penny School” comes from the cost of tuition. Depending on how lucky the parents were on the goldfields ultimately decided on how much education a child received…

After being shown to our table we were witness to the “Ode of the Haggis” with a fantastic poetry reading by local poet Richard “Skreitch” Leech after which the Haggis was paraded around the room before being carved and served. It was a great tasting dish, nice and spicy and it really hit the spot with a local Blue Pyrenees Estate Viognier!

The main course was a true Scottish buffet with dishes which would appeal to anyone – the roast beef with whiskey gravy was a great success. Desert of summer pudding followed which was made with sumptuous berries which were tart and balanced the dish very well. Between courses we were treated to Scottish and Australian bush poetry and a few songs about the ol’ country. We finished the night with shortbread, chocolate thistles and a serving of Atholl Brose, a mixture of oatmeal, honey, and whisky. Legend has it that the Duke of Atholl overcame his enemies, during a Highland rebellion in 1745, by filling their well with this intoxicating mixture and after a the amount of food plied on us we can see how this could be the case!

After a chorus of Auld Lang Syne we wandered back home and were greeted by our well trimmed hedges and garden lights, not to mention Rex who seemed to forgive us for leaving him on his lonesome for a few hours. I don’t even feel guilty for having a sleep in this morning…

Mt Tarrengower Vintage Car Hill Climb

The smell of burning rubber and exhaust hung over the Mount’ during the recent Mt Tarrengower Vintage Car Hill Climb.  This is a very well attended event which spans two days and brings hundreds of vintage cars and motorbikes to town.  We had two competitors driving race model MGs and two representatives from Shannon’s Car Insurance staying with us – it was an odd site having race cars on trailers set up in the car park!

Palm House included in top 52 accommodation destinations!

Today Palm House was included in the annual The Age – Good Weekend magazine’s top 52 accommodation destinations!  The phone has been ringing all day which must mean people agree with the publication’s endorsement.  We realise that we promised more photos of the garden but this was exciting enough to take preference.

Rex in the car

After getting up early to intercept the paper we headed to Bendigo to purchase some essentials for our renovations – Leigh hit the hardware shop like a mad thing while Wendy brought some pull cords for the new energy efficient downlight’s we’ve installed in the servant’s quarters.  Another suprise purchase was an antique desk for  upstairs which we were lucky enough to get our hands on before it was restored.  Talk about a snap purchase!

Aside form this news, we took Rex to the annual Castlemaine Sheep-dog trials today (you wouldn’t know he was excited from the photo to the right!).  He met a lot of Boarder Collies who were doing their job but he seemed content to sit down and lap up attention from other Boarder Collie owners.  After today it seems certain Rex will have a new friend to play with soon…

Grow Me The Money Public Report Launch

Grow Me The Money

We were recently invited to attend Grow Me The Money’s 18 month public report launch in Melbourne. As part of the launch, Palm House B&B and 19 other businesses were chosen to produce “Testimonial Boards”. A professional photographer was sent to us and got some superb shots of our environmentally sustainable practices. These images were reproduced on our testimonial board and in the report itself. One of the other businesses chosen to produce a board was fellow Maldon Taste of Gold member – Zen Eden, a fantastic organic cafe and produce store.

The report was very well attended by participants of the Grow Me The Money program as well as the Hon. Gavin Jennings – Minister for the Environment, Mick Bourke – Chairman of EPA Victoria and Wayne Kayler-Thomson – CEO VECCI. Putting the VIPs to one side, we found it was great putting faces to all the people in the program we’ve been working with since we joined Grow Me The Money.

We’re very proud to have our achievements recognised by Grow Me The Money and will continue to work through the program to reduce our businesses imapct on the environment.

Escaping Renovations

 

Dig Cafe at Newstead

We took a few hours respite today to head over to Newstead to have an explore and escape the (organised) chaos back at the house; with half the house enveloped in scaffolding erected for painters, and the interior layered in plaster dust it seemed like an opportune time to check out another Maldon and Beyond Taste of Gold member.

We popped Rex in the car and headed to Oz Candles where he delighted the staff on their tea break by climbing all over the inside of the car whilst Wendy purchased a few candles to trial for the business. The rose candle is so beautifully made that you don’t even need to light the wick to appreciate the scent – the fact it lasts for 160 hours is also rather impressive!.

Just before lunch we stopped in to look at the collectibles in the Red Store. There is an eclectic selection comprising of cups, spoons and plates, to furniture, walking sticks and travel trunks. If you can think of it, you may well find it.

After a hard mornings work we headed to Dig Cafe, one of our fellow Maldon and Beyond Taste of Gold trail members for some sustenance. We sat with Rex in the courtyard amongst the herb garden. Leigh enjoyed a beer and Wendy savored a local Pengally Lane Reisling which was perfect whilst basking in the warm sun shine. Having sampling the salads and sandwiches on the lunch menu, we’ve decided to go back for diner for the much lauded pizza nights.

Back to work for now…

Taste of Gold Members Event

Wine-ding up the Taste of Gold Members Event

We just got back from the Taste of Gold Maldon & Beyond Trail members event held at Lake Cairn Curran Vinyard. It was a great chance for members to see the vineyard as well as have a relaxed dinner with other businesses whom we don’t often get to see. Everyone came with a dish (Wendy made her famous tomato tarts and French pizza slices, Leigh stuffed mushrooms) and the resulting spread was a great example of all our region’s food and wine.

An Introduction.

Welcome to the Palm House B&B Weblog!  This blog focuses on life in and around Palm House B&B in the historic township of Maldon, Victoria, Australia.  The house was originally constructed in the 1860′s (during the Goldrush) and it is thought to have been built for one of the local doctors.  The house is set across 3 cottage blocks with extensive gardens and a private car park for the guests (more on the gardens in a latter post!).

Palm House B&B

The B&B consists of 4 guest rooms, a kitchen and a large lounge and dining room complete with chesterfield lounges and a grand open fireplace.  We’ll give you a full tour of the house in our next post.  Wendy is the owner/operator of the B&B and lives in the old servants quarters under the house along with Leigh (who is writing this post) and Rex her faithful Border Collie.  If you’re lucky we may show you what life is like in the servants area.

Rex and WRX out in the Oak Forest.

The aim of this blog is to keep readers up to date with things we’re doing around the property, from renovations (sigh) to fun places we’ve visited on our days off.