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Thursday, December 29, 2011

REVIEW - FOXEY'S HANGOUT (THE BOOK) BY CATHY GOWDIE


I am not making this picture bigger because it was explained to me about pixels and by increasing the image I am making it blurry. I do not know the technicalities of this but agree with what was said!

I picked this book as I am right now in Melbourne - my daughter is visiting the Mornington Hill Peninsula for the weekend and my interest is always piqued at how so many people make the change from city dweller to country dweller easily. I know there may be many who have failed, but the ones who have succeeded seemed to have done a 360 degree turn and made such a success story of their lives that I am a bit green with envy.  I seem to have one leg in the city of Colombo (hot, humid, crowded)  very firmly planted there and one leg in Rozella which is our equivalent of country (read tea/vegetable gardening and cool) but I have not made the transition completely (as yet).

This story deals with a young Melburnian couple and their friend and partner who decide to plant vines, open a winery and a restaurant (they call it a cellar door here) and do it very well. Finding a property suitable for their needs, getting the local planning authorities permission which turned out to be difficult, time consuming and filled with objections (???) from all and sundry and finally being able to do so makes this a very enjoyable read.

Filled with beautiful photographs of their area in Victoria, as well as receipes from the author the book is a very pleasant introduction to rural Victoria. Added to their personal story is quite a bit of history of the area including the background story of how Foxey's Hangout got its rather quizzical name.

2 comments:

  1. I like books like this, about real people who have done something to change their lives. I'll look out for this one.

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  2. It's nice to read more about the country you are visiting. Sounds lovely. Happy New Year!

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