Post 11 : 17 Months In!

You could be forgiven for wondering if this Blog had been discontinued but due to popular demand (mainly my dear Mum) I thought it well about time to provide an update since the last one back in August – a staggering 6 months! It’s certainly been a busy 6 months and for fear of losing anyone before the first paragraph is out, I’ll provide an executive summary for the time poor among you.

Executive Summary

• We enjoyed a fantastic trip back to the UK and thoroughly enjoyed catching up with all our friends and family;
• We have been running the Drunken Admiral for 16 months now and have looked after 61,000 covers over that period;
• Brierlie and I are now engaged to be married!! We have set the date and venue : Saturday the 23^rd of February 2013 at Quamby Estate, Tasmania;
• Wiki celebrated his first birthday;
• We have been spoilt with visitors which has been a great deal of fun – two deserve special mention for the distance they travelled to stay with us : Natalie and my bro Oliver;
• I am currently recovering from knee surgery – some bone had to be removed where a shard of glass had perforated my left tibia (which was a little bit painful);
• Phase 1 of project “Garden” has completed to time (if not cost);
• Brierlie’s foray into the Hobart cake scene is proving to be oven-hot!
• All booked up for our next visit back to the “land of the Angles”(Engla land) in April;

Our European Adventure

In August 2011 we took our first big break from the restaurant and headed back to the UK for a couple of weeks to catch up with our greatly missed friends and family. We had a really enjoyable trip and packed lots in – including a party-hard getaway to Ibiza together with Ollie, Sam and Stephanie.

Enjoying the delights of the New Forest

Bora Bora Beach, Ibiza Baby!

It was kind of trippy to be back in Putney, feeling very much like we hadn’t been away for enough time for a monthly travel card to expire, staying in the flat I know so well, yet at the same time to be a guest in my old home and to know that I had another life (kind of on hold) all the way round the other side of the world. I was a little nervous about how I might feel about leaving for Australia again but aside from the obvious emotional roller-coaster of saying goodbye to some of the most important people in my life, overall I was ready to head back to Hobart and get stuck back into the not-so-new life that we have been building over here. And it certainly didn’t hurt to be stopping over in Phuket on the return journey where we enjoyed an action-packed adventure scuba-diving and island hopping round the Phi Phi islands.

Maya Bay, Phi Phi Islands

The Drunken AdVenture

So we are now 17 months into taking the helm at the restaurant and I am pleased to say that we are really enjoying ourselves. Obviously there are some ups and downs along the way that are part and parcel of the hospitality industry – difficult customers and high staff turnover being the first couple that spring to mind – but all-day “workshops”, PowerPoint presentations, picking sandwich crumbs from between laptop keys following another lunch at my desk, rush-hour on the tube and an Outlook inbox that was impossible to keep up with are not aspects of working life that I miss terribly if truth be told.

New Year's Eve at the Drunken Admiral

The restaurant itself is going strong – we’re back in the middle of the summer season, Hobart’s population has temporarily swollen in size for a few months and it’s been a busy time for us all, particularly amidst having guests to stay, the “silly season”, wanting to take some time off for ourselves and staff shortages. That said, we are very pleased with the current team and long may that continue!

Drunken Admiral Staff Party - Australia Day 2012

A Decent Proposal

As many of you will know by now Brierlie and I are engaged to be married. I popped the question – which was a complete surprise to Brierlie – whilst we were away together soaking up the sun-drenched paradise of the Whitsunday Islands in November. In terms of the proposal itself, suffice to say it involved Whitehaven Beach, a helicopter and a 40m long “Will You Marry Me” banner and a small item of jewellery.

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands

As you might imagine, I was delighted that Brierlie accepted my proposal. Even if it did require two attempts as Brierlie was in shock for my first go – perhaps a direct result of the helicopter screaming round in a tight little circle for us to have another look at the banner (which she assumed was for someone else!) on the beach below as I broadcast my offer of engagement over Queensland radio airspace for all and sundry.

Since that time, it’s been a whirlwind of planning and decisions – most importantly setting a date and booking a venue. Knowing that Brierlie would want at least a year’s run-up, we have set the wedding for Saturday the 23^rd of February at the Quamby Estate in Tasmania. It was a tough decision, particularly given how many of our friends and family are on the other side of the world. But having also seriously considered a UK wedding and a “destination” wedding, we fell in love with Quamby when we visited and it just felt right for us.

Hotel Glebe

We have been very fortunate to have some very special friends and family to stay with us over the last couple of months – in our newly renovated “guest bedroom” (complete with an antique four poster bed!). As well as thoroughly enjoying spending time with them, it’s also a perfect excuse for us to take time to explore more of this amazing island.

Wine Glass Bay

Whilst Oliver was here with us we road-tripped around the west coast of Tasmania – a truly remote part of the world with spectacular scenery to match. It is quite incredible just how diverse, dramatic and varied the landscape is within what is actually a relatively small space : 364 km (226 mi) long from its northernmost to its southernmost points, and 306 km (190 mi) from west to east. It is about the same size as Switzerland but whilst there are roughly 500,000 people in Tasmania, compare that to the 7.5 million in Switzerland and you get an idea of how wild and uninhabited the state is.

Touching down on the Gordon River (just before we lost the front of the propeller!)

Amity & Jeremy's wedding day (Peppermint Bay)

A right ol’ knees up!

To add to my growing list of restaurant-related injuries, I had surgery last week on my left knee to remove a shard of glass that had perforated the tibia bone. It was a shame in a way as I remember the accident itself where I knelt in some broken glass (very small pieces left over from an earlier breakage I suppose), cleaned up the wound and carried on.

It would seem that the wound healed perfectly thankfully – that is until about 4 weeks later and I knelt on that same part of the knee and it felt like someone had skilfully skewered my knee with a knitting needle. Other than the intense pain which soon subsided I didn’t think too much of it at the time but to cut a long story short, that kneeling moment simply drove the shard of glass lying quietly beneath the skin into bone and the rest is history. The surgery itself involved chipping away the bone where the “foreign body” had lodged itself – all through which I remained perfectly conscious (whilst sedated) which was a surreal experience as I saw the surgeon take the hammer to my open knee. Since then, it's been crutches and dramas in the shower. That is until someone called in sick to the restaurant at the last minute and I had to cover 4 days after the op. As you can imagine, the crutches were soon banished.

Pretty I know

Phase 1 Project “Garden”: Complete

Since my last blog, myself and Wiki have spent a considerable amount of time in the garden making a terrible mess. A mess so consuming that visitors to the house would took a look at the apparent crime scene in the garden and you could see genuine concern (for either my mental well-being or Brierlie’s patience – or both) flash across their faces before attempting to offer some encouraging words.

A definite case of which mess to clear up first???

However, roll on a few months and I am pleased to say that phase 1 of the effort is now complete – just in time for our engagement party on Boxing Day (which was a major concern in the household I can tell you). Perhaps even more disturbingly, I have genuinely enjoyed the journey and I’d like to think that I have learnt quite a bit along the way.

Enjoying the fruits of my labour

Despite getting quotes for a professional to undertake some of the work (like the digging and paving, or the turfing for example) I ended up doing the whole lot myself and by hand. Yes, that might well be because I became increasingly aware of the escalating wedding budget or maybe even a factor of the garden’s aspect making it virtually impossible to manoeuvre machinery into the equation. Needless to say I had very little need of the gym for a good couple of months.

A real-life game of Tetris

The Queen of Tarts

No, I’m not being in any way unpleasant about Brierlie, this is her new pseudonym here in Hobart as she takes the cake world here by storm. I can only say that I am in awe of her latest creations – she’s a true artist where slabs of chocolate mud-cake and fondant icing serve as her canvas and paints. Not only is she exceptionally good at what she does but she seems to revel in her edible passion. The KitchenAid I bought for one of her last birthdays doesn’t seem like such an extravagant kitchen gadget any more.

Queen of Tarts Facebook Page

The Queen of Tarts in action

…So that brings you pretty much up to date with our news. We will be back to the UK in April (just a couple of months away now) for my sister Sam’s wedding which we’re very much looking forward to. (No prizes for guessing who’s doing the cake!) For those of you around and about the UK during the second half of April, I very much hope we can catch up with you then…

Some more random photos

Happy Birthday Wiki!

The Lesser Spotted Dook

Who needs a ute?

My invaluable assistant

Taking five. (Rome was not built in a day.)

It's not all fits 'n giggles

Ocean Beach, Strahan

Henty Dunes 

St John's Falls

The Roaring 40's

Sunset at the Cable Station (Stanley)

Post 10 : School’s (Nearly) Out!!

...And into double digits we go - who'd have thought? I can't quite believe it but it's nearly been 4 months since my last update. That time has really flown and I decided that a posting was well overdue. Especially since we are very shortly to take a break from the restaurant and head back to the UK to spend some time with friends and family - and we're very excited!!

I've had a little think about how it might feel to be so far from the restaurant for the 3 weeks that we'll be away. And I imagine that it will feel a little odd as up until now, we haven't left the country or had a break for more than 3 consecutive nights. On the one hand, it will be incredible to have such a lengthy break but on the other I expect that we'll miss the place, the team and we'll certainly miss our furry baby!! It's a little bit odd but the restaurant still doesn't feel like "work" from my perspective. I can only imagine that's because it's such a huge departure from my previous career and lifestyle.

I don't intend on boring the most generous (with their time) readers of this update with a mind-numbingly tedious dissertation - instead I thought I'd succinctly (hopefully!) share a few "highlights" and some "lowlights" (perhaps 3 of each to balance it out) from our last four months of Tassie life...

HIGHLIGHTS (in no particular order)

1. The Drunken Admiral remains afloat

In the 307 days of operating since we were handed the helm on October 1st 2010, we have looked after very nearly 39,000 paying customers. I am pleased to say that the vast majority of those seem to have genuinely enjoyed their dining experience with us and a good many have become regular and loyal customers. In fact, we inadvertently scooped the "Hobart's Best Restaurant" category following a local radio station listener poll last month! And together with the accolade came $3,000 worth of advertising spend with the station and so we have a radio ad running at at the moment which can't be a bad thing from a return on investment perspective. We have also the benefit of a fantastic team around us that we're very proud of and would be in serious trouble without.

No expense spared on presentation ;-)

2. Friends' visits

A major and fortunately recurring highlight has been to have some very good friends and family come and visit us here in Tassie - and long may this continue! Since my last update, we had the pleasure of a visit from Justin and Gill which we thoroughly enjoyed and then more recently a fleeting visit from Tom - which was a pleasure. We have plenty of pictures to share from the Justin and Gill visit but unfortunately not so after Tom's on account of two reasons: (1) the weather was shocking - the "Roaring 40's" lived up to their name and (2) a couple of photos I did take on my iPhone have been lost to the data junkyard after another seriously frustrating telecommunications glitch we've endured with our telecom provider (and was very nearly a proud recipient of a podium position on my "Lowlights" list if I didn't want to simply blank this episode from my consciousness).

Me, Brierlie, Justin, Rich, Eriko & Gill (Russell Falls)

The obligatory DA Fish Stew shot

3. Green Fingers & Muddy Paws

Don't ask me how or why but for some unaccountable reason, I seem to have developed a growing and deeply unnerving interest in our garden that seems to have germinated out of nowhere (like a seedless grape). It's early days and in truth I have probably been responsible for developing more of a disaster zone than anything aesthetically pleasing so far, but I have really enjoyed the weeding, digging, planting, sewing, composting, pruning, chopping, painting, building, leveling and landscaping activities that my gardening journey has introduced me to so far. And to say that Wiki enjoys the time we spend outside in the garden (generally with him helpfully un-doing whatever I've just done - which he displays a natural flair for) would be an understatement. Together with the gardening, I have also created a suburban wild bird haven in the back garden which is the talk of the avian community round these parts. And before anyone may be concerned that I am threatening to become an ornithologist (hiding in the garden shed with a pair of binoculars, a flat cap and pipe), fear not as Brierlie has already beaten you in raising such a concern. Anyway, I will include a "before" shot of the back garden so that in time I may be able to share an "after" shot if indeed there are to be any fruits from my labours... We're told that Rome was not built in a day and I can certainly empathise with that sentiment currently.

On the hunt for something to obliterate into 342 individual pieces

Rosellas - like giant budgies dipped in an artist's colour wheel

LOWLIGHTS (in no particular order)

1. Wiki versus vehicle

Probably the single most prominent lowlight for me over the last few months was to helplessly watch Wiki charging down the road in hot pursuit of another dog's barking (with me desperately sprinting behind futilely attempting to catch up) as he ran straight in front of a moving car and came flying out the other side yelping and spinning on the spot like he was pinned to the road. The next 60 minutes remain a bit of a blur for me but I vaguely remember picking him up off the road and flagging down a driver to race us to the animal hospital. I am very pleased to say that despite the unfavourable odds of Wiki taking on a moving car, he actually came out absolutely fine and after a couple of puppy Ibuprofen's, he was home the same day and without even a limp within 24 hours! Anyone who has ever met Wiki will comment on how floppy he is when he's held (just like a rag doll without the slightest hint of any musculature) and I assume that this must have been a saving grace when he was hit by the car.

Wicket Hunter Godfrey-Kemp (after being presented with his latest playmate)

2. Restroom nightmare

Undoubtedly my lowest moment in the restaurant so far... It's a busy weekend night and the restaurant is full and we probably don't have enough staff on as it is. A customer informs me that there must be a blockage somewhere as the men's toilets are flooding. Being the only male on the floor that evening and probably the person that the buck would have fallen to anyway, this became my issue. Without going into gory detail, picture this: the urinals have clearly been blocked for some time (who knows whether through deliberate act or an unlucky set of circumstances) but male diners have continued to use the facilities regardless until the issue was pointed out to me. The flooding (now seeping out onto the carpeted restaurant floor) is obviously an unpleasant mix of urine and the incessant flow of water to wash the urinals clean every couple of minutes. My next hour is spent resolving this situation (in an unfortunately hands on manner) whilst a certain biker gang in for dinner insists on using the urinals literally adding to the problem at hand. Not one of the most enjoyable hours from my perspective - but a character building one I'm certain.

3. Head versus structural beam

To set the scene, it was about 6.30pm on a Saturday night - probably the single most critical period in our hospitality week from both a customer numbers point of view as well as making sure we're on track for the second sitting of the Saturday night. The restaurant is full to the brim and the team is stretched to the max already. I have a mental "to do" list as long as the bar and the kitchen bell (signalling that hot meals need to be run out to tables) is ringing off the hook. I race back to the bar in order to complete two more tasks before responding to the frenzied bell and "BANG". My forehead smacks a very solid wooden beam at full force as I'm airborne between two steps. I don't have a great recollection of the sequence of events that followed but I'm told that as I picked myself off the floor and stood upright I had blood pouring down my face whilst telling everyone in the vicinity that I was absolutely fine. Once I'd been convinced that I was not absolutely fine I was ushered out back where I was met by a paramedic team that had been called to the restaurant. Suffice to say, I was treated in the restaurant's stock room out back and as I wasn't feeling too bad, I actually went back to work as I am only too aware of just how much difference even one extra person can make on the floor when we're flat out. And if anyone picked up on a strangely swaying waiter that night with an odd looking bandage across his forehead, they were too polite to say anything...

You can probably just make out remnants of the work place injury on my forehead

And whilst there are of course many more stories to tell from the last few months of Tassie and restaurant life, I will draw an end to this account of some of the High's and Low's as hopefully I will see many of you in the flesh very shortly...! To round things off nicely, I will include a few headlines and some pic's taken recently.

30 second newsflash:

1. Congratulations to my sister who is now engaged to be married to Chris in April 2012!
2. Brierlie (and her baking) have been awarded their very own stand at the renowned Salamanca Market;
3. Oliver is now a fully qualified Pilates instructor! Bookings advised...

The 2011 Rip Curl Team poses ahead of the world championships

Brierlie & I in the middle of a coffee (Barista) tutorial - worth every penny

The Jurassic Park feel to Mount Field

Brierlie brings the Jungle Book to life in sugar

On the hunt for the N37 to get back to Putney

Brierlie's current PT likes to get hands on when it comes to bicep curls

Full steam ahead! (Just like Brierlie's baking prowess.)

Sometimes (and only sometimes) it is the better idea to go where the path may lead (Hartz National Park)

Thought I'd try something a little different at the barbers (A La Wiki)