Blues, Brews and BBQ's

,

It is the drink of men who think
And feel or fear nor fetter -
Who do not drink to senseless sink,
But drink to think the better.

I'm feeling better. My cough is almost gone. It's time to get back out onto the social scene and what better way to start than a day out at one of the Mount's most popular events - Blues, Brews and BBQ's!

It was held on January 8th from 2pm-10pm. This was the 14th annual B,B&B - all profits from the festival are made available for donation to local community groups, charities and for youth activities making the Western Bay of Plenty a better place to live. A great reason to go out and contribute to the community!

Blues, Brews & BBQ's is a celebration of everything that is unique about the traditional Kiwi summer lifestyle; their love of outdoor cooking, great music and enjoying a fine ale or two with good friends and family. It's no wonder that it's described as an extravaganza of great music, fine ales and culinary cuisine! Let me tell you, the food was incredible! All we did was eat - ALL DAY LONG! Here I am tasting Kangaroo, Wild Crocodile and Ostrich skewers for the first time. They were really tasty! Kangaroo was a little chewy but it wasn't as gamey as I expected. I've heard that crocodile tastes similar to chicken but my opinion is that it didn't have a strong flavour at all and a firm fish texture. Ostrich was DELICIOUS! It was tender, juicy and had a really great flavour.

They had an incredible variety of food - wild pork sandwiches, whitebait fritters, mexican food, wood fired pizzas, lamb shanks, butter chicken, German soft pretzels and sausages... just to name a few. Check out this Paella - cooked on site including king prawns, mussels, calamari, baby octopus, chicken, sausages and bacon. OMG! So yummy!

B,B&B is the main fundraiser of the local service club - Tauranga Round Table - and through this they have been able to make a difference to many people in our community. This organization is comprised of a group of responsible men under the age of 45 (or so they claim to be responsible) with a strong sense of community spirit. Round Table offers opportunities for personal development, growing friendships, community involvement and promoting international understanding and goodwill. They are always looking for new members... so it might be something you'll consider doing in 2009. The president - Andrew Scott - is one of my clients.


Beer is one of the oldest drinks known to civilisations. It may even have been the cause of civilisation. Relics used for the production of beer have been dated back as far as 5000 years ago. The first beers are believed to have been made from bread, evidence of which has been found on stone drawings showing bread being baked and then crumbled into a drink that is recorded as having made people feel "exhilerated, wonderful and blissful". It was a great opportunity to taste premium beer made in some of the smaller microbreweries around the country. As a Canadian, I can really appreciate a fine lager. My favourite choice was this delicious Honey Beer...

A Quiet Festive Season

Phew, I'm getting there. Nearly caught up. Now I'm into 2009! Christmas and New Year passed without much excitement. I got tonsillitis mid-December and didn't finish my course of antibiotics... so just before Christmas the tonsillitis returned with avengence! My immune system was pretty run down so I also ended up getting bronchitis.

I managed to run the Christmas Eve Children's Service at church. It's my favourite service of the year - we dress the tree and the children learn the meaning of the decorations and the Christian connection to them. I dressed up as a beach angel and lead the service. It was loads of fun. Thanks to James who was my faithful sidekick and did all of the readings for the evening with his usual flair. A number of people told us it was the best Christmas Eve service they'd ever been to. I'm just sorry I don't have any photos.

I spent Christmas at home. The last thing I wanted to do was get anyone sick and I was not in a social mood. I needed rest. A few years ago the thought of spending Christmas alone would have depressed me but I actually enjoyed the solitude this year. I had a few invitations to Christmas dinner (thank you John and Bonnie) but I opted to stay home.

The same went for New Year's Eve. I was feeling even worse by then and my cough was dreadful. There were some good movies on television so I snuggled up on the couch and rang in the New Year quietly. I know this is going to be a great year.

Hope the same rings true for all of you.

Agrodome Adventures

There's a lot to catch you up on. I'm shocked at how lazy I've been at updating this... and now I'm making up for it! I want to catch up before I head to CanTeen National Camp this week because Lord knows, I'm gonna have lots to write about that!

So this entry is about our Bay of Plenty branch CanTeen trip to the Agrodome. I've said it time and again - CanTeen is an absolutely FANTASTIC organization supporting teenagers affected by cancer. I didn't have this kind of support when I was a kid growing up with cancer... it's invaluable. As a kid with cancer, you may not want to be different - but you ARE. Once you have cancer, you will NEVER be the same. It affects you in ways you can't even explain.


That's why CanTeen and organizations like it are so important. It is a place where other people "get it". You are no longer the only "special" one... because there is bound to be someone you'll meet who is even more amazingly strong than you. For a young person with cancer, this is an incredible relief. It's hard to explain... but I "get it".

So as I said earlier, I didn't have this kind of support when I was growing up... but I'm making up for lost time now. How fortunate I am - how BLESSED - to be a part of this! As an adult volunteer, I can experience all this awesomely cool stuff with the kids!

We meet every month and this time we were off to the Agrodome for some FUN! The Agrodome has loads of stuff to see and do - sort of like an amusement park but with extreme activities such as the freefall extreme (simulates the freefall feeling you get jumping out of a plane)...


The shweeb (a monorail rollercoaster that you peddle like a bicycle)...


The agrojet (a highspeed boat that races around a small course and scares the living bejesus out of you)...

And the swoop (a bungy drop in a body bag with up to three people).


I did the swoop with CanTeener Megan and Member Liason Co-ordinator Bex. Have a look at our photos in the next blog entry. Enjoy!