Bed and Breakfast in the Cowichan Bay - The Damali · Tuesday May 7, 2013 by colin newell
Andrea and I did a wine and cheese pairing in Cowichan Bay a few weekend ago – and in the name of safety and enjoyment we decided to spring for a good Bed and Breakfast in the Cobble Hill – Cowichan Bay area. And it was on very short notice that I did a quick Google of B&B’s in the area. Some very attractive places jumped out and one of the most attractive was the Damali B&B Lavender Farm and Winery. Inasmuch as that is quite the mouthful, the website was very compelling and attractive.
The Damali B&B is a purpose built building that feels somewhat more like a spa-lodge for its spacious layout, awesome great room and cozy kitchen area. The folks that run the place really loving presenting this multipurpose facility and it shows – with a wide variety of loving touches, impeccable cleanliness, thoughtful extras and all that passion that you really need to engage strangers (like Andrea and I) on a regular basis.
And good for us as we literally phoned in less than 48 hours earlier looking for a place to sleep – luck would have it, all 2 rooms were available.
Damali, as I mentioned above, has a lot on the go – from a functional lavender farm to a winery. So, depending on the time of the year there are a lot of neat things to do there.
As we were attending a special event that night (At the Cow Bay Conference Center) hosted by Hilary’s’ Cheese of Victoria and Cow Bay, we had the good fortune of hanging out with two of the partners from the Damali Farm; Dave and Marsha – great folks who love their job.
The Damali B&B Winery and Lavender Farm are on 13 Acres on Telegraph Bay Rd. (on the left 50 yards before the Hutchinson Rd Junction — pay attention for the sign, you might miss it!)
By and large it is a great location, whisper quiet apart from the occasional dog bark and the evening air is filled with the sounds of crickets.
Check in is pretty informal – a quick orientation, and introduction to Chevy Chase, the sweet Jack Russell Terrier and a discussion of how and when we would like our breakfast and we are off to the events of the evening.
Sleep came super-easy in the comfortable and well-appointed rooms — the bonus being the quiet and darkness and the fresh air – knocks you out in minutes!
Breakfast was a brilliantly presented combo of fresh fruit in Yogurt, and a set of proteins; an nice egg dish with some thick cut bacon and artisan whole grain bread – tasty and perfectly portioned for a weekend morning.
Overall, a great experience – the only regret was leaving after one night! I could have stayed a week.
You can contact the Damali at:
3500 Telegraph Road, Cobble Hill,
British Columbia, Canada V0R 1L4
For BED & BREAKFAST Requests & Bookings
Email: info@damali.ca Phone: 250 743-4100 Fax: 250 743-4170
Toll Free: 1 877 743-5170
Waiting on the farmers and public market chapter one · Tuesday May 7, 2013 by colin newell
Hey everyone! Thank you for your patience. It has been a while since I have blogged regularly – no excuse at this point… and it is not like there isn’t a lot going on to report on… because there is. So let’s dig in already!
Living in the urban environment of Victoria B.C. comes with a dynamic and ever changing set of variables when it comes to hunting and gathering – because let’s face it folks: Food and drink is the one thing that you spend the most time thinking about – go ahead, deny it. It is likely true.
For instance, when I am making breakfast, I am probably thinking about lunch and dinner (the latter more likely) and I am often looking forward a couple of days. Our weeks (lucky us) almost always include a date night. And date night means a dinner out – generally on Thursdays. We cook in virtually all the other nights and this is our reward. It is also a good habit to get into – it is good for the economy and it is great for a relationship.
And for those people that know Andrea and I, I might just be a little guilty of frequenting favorite places to the exclusion of a little variety and risk taking. But that is OK too – because becoming a regular at one or more local joints has it advantages.
Back to the gathering for a moment. One of my bad habits, locally, is not making much effort to do fully sensible shopping – and that would include going to farmers markets, local markets, even corner stores or natural food stores that go that extra mile to bring you local produce and products. I will not name any names but I shop at a local “Canadian owned” mega-mart that used to (they probably still do…) sends Island grown products to Vancouver for sorting – and then ships them back to Victoria – which is utterly and inexcusably bad on so many levels.
Anyway – just around the corner is the June opening of the Hudson’s Public Market in the old Hudson’s Bay building on Douglas, Blanshard, Herald and Fisgard blocks. I am so ready for this – and yes, I know there are markets like the “Moss” that is closer that I do not currently take advantage of. My bad. Baby steps right.
Victoria’s last year round Public market closed in the late 50’s – so technically, I have been waiting that entire time for a public market in Victoria. There have been a few sad attempts in Victoria… but clearly, they never succeeded. So. It’s coming. I am excited. And I really hope that the city of Victoria embraces this market – because we need it – for Oh so many reasons.
On one hand, there are great food products around us – which is awesome. On the other hand, there are some fabulous products and foods being produced on the Island that are not readily available – maybe until now – and yes, I get that there are various neighborhood markets… but they are only open on the weekend.
So expect to see me in the front of the line on opening day!
This is the first in a series of hunting and gathering on southern Vancouver Island – how important it is to better understand our food supply – and to embrace and preserve natural, healthy and holistic food production on Vancouver Island.
Stay tuned!
Puccini's Tosca - by the Pacific Opera Company - reviewed · Thursday April 4, 2013 by colin newell
In my life I have seen around a dozen opera’s – many of them classical – some of them I fit into the category of Pop Opera (Like Phantom of the Opera – a modern piece with its feet firmly grounded in the 21st Century…) Puccini’s Tosca fits into that classic tragic opera niche – standard elements, straightforward story line – 2 and 1/2 hours and a body count.
Puccini’s tale of tyranny and love has thrilled audiences since its first appearance in 1900. With all the ingredients for classic opera; – lust, jealousy, murder, suicide, love triangles, plot twists, and a memorable and somewhat by the book score.
Many hard nosed purists would rate Tosca as the “beginners opera” – a simple story line, all the basic elements that make up a classic tragedy – something that most people could follow – even if it is in Italian.
I had the good fortune (Saturday afternoon) in sitting in on a casual rehearsal as well as the Tuesday dress rehearsal – there is nothing more entertaining (for me anyway) of seeing (and hearing) the contextual displacement of a story set in 1900 being performed full voice in 501 Levi jeans and T-shirts (on the tenor and the soprano!) and getting to stand stage left a few feet away from one of the principal singers as they belt it out.
But what of the story?
Political repression, revolution, art and deception unfold, as Tosca – played by the very talented Joni Henson – racked with jealousy over an imagined lover from a canvas, she struggles for comfort and reassurance that is fleeting. Painter Mario Cavaradossi (played by tenor Luc Robert) goes head to head with the sadistic and lascivious police chief Scarpia (played with wicked aplomb by Luxembourg resident and singer David John Pike), who only has eyes of conquest for Tosca – who betrays her knowledge in exchange for Cavaradossi’s life… which turns out to be an additional twist and deception. And so on.
There are opportunities for a more complex narrative and story arc in Puccini’s Tosca – but that would defeat the purpose of keeping it simple. It is, after all, true to the formula of tragic opera with no additional decoration or even the bare smidgen of humor.
The cast is well matched and believable – no one voice rises much above another. If anything, Joni (as the soprano) had fire power to spare but held back just enough.
Impressions: Andrea and I did the dress rehearsal. Consequently, it is a lively evening with a large contingent of opera clubs (middle school students, aspiring musicians, University students) making upwards of 75% of the enthusiastic audience. Sold out in fact.
For ticket holders for the main event this week and weekend, I say – strap yourself in for some good old fashioned classic tragic opera that will please newcomers to this old entertainment genre and those veterans of this music form returning for some twists and surprises.
Hot Wheels · Monday April 1, 2013 by colin newell
Hot Wheels. Got my first one in 1968. Played with them for a long time. Loved them. So long ago. Eventually, one has to move from one set of toys to a newer, brighter and faster set of toys…
Which brings up to this blog – hosted on a server that I run myself… to serve you better.
Welcome to the Coffeecrew.com Blog on my own server cluster — administered by… me.
AND (whoops!) sorry for the brief black-out. Look who forgot to do some pointing and clicking and setting this and that!
And now that I am getting into some more stable hosting, please expect some more regular blogging! And to those that have been with me through the years… Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
Colin
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