ashulz world

FebFast, What the and Why am I doing it

Hello my name is Ashul and I am an alcoholic

I love my drink and lets face it to say I am not an alcoholic probably is a lie. We live a busy life and we look forward to a drink at the end of the day, to refresh the soul! (that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!)

Growing up in Kenya where beer drinking is a national sport and pastime, then moving across the Indian ocean to Australia where the same culture exists does not help in pursuing a non-drinking lifestyle.

End of Jan after a big trip back to Kenya, Jane editor of Flourish Magazine sent me a link asking if I would join her team..

So I decided to FebFast

It seemed like a good idea - stop drinking alcohol for one month Feb seems ideal - shortest month in year, 28 days should be easy!

Nature was against me

The heat, is conducive to a Pinot Gris, SSB, Chardy or a Fat Yak or Feral perhaps even a Little Creatures Pale ale.. You get the idea.. 

The world was against me

Wife's birthday, Valentines, More birthdays, Australia Vs England at the WACA 

I was taunted, called boring, party pooper, not the same without Ashul... 

My body turned against me

I have had the worst weeks of my life, wake up with headaches, legs that were fine from running started hurting, felt tired, wanted to go to sleep and not have any energy.. 

I read about alcohol, I opened my eyes

I read about damage young people were doing to their bodies, about fights and glassings

The statistics are sobering:

• On average, 1 in 4 hospitalisations of 15-25 year olds happen because of alcohol.
• 70 Australians under 25 will be hospitalised due to alcohol-caused assault in an average week.
• 4 Australians under 25 die due to alcohol related injuries in an average week.

I understood

I realised by doing this I have the ability to help those that help young people.  Given the situation people are in the world, earthquakes, cyclones, famine I have certainly not done a big sacrifice, I have certainly not done anything that will change the world.  But I can help in some way to create awareness that will help even one person it will be worth it.

If you want to donate $5 or $50 or whatever you choose to help NGO's that work with youth to help with alcohol problems - click here and make it all worthwhile for me ;)

 

 

Broadbean Fusilli

Quick and easy broadbean fusilli, serves 4(-6)

Depends on hunger levels and what you have been biting on!

Friday night at home

Vino, tequila chilli & lime olives and pool..

What more can you ask for?

Harris River Estate 2005 Merlot

This baby is drinking so well that a sip ended up to be almost the whole bottle :)

The climate makes a big difference, whereas the Margaret River Merlot's tend to be almost sugary sweet, the cooler climate and French Oak based aging and fermentation gives this baby some real body.. I matched it perfectly with Air ;)

Probably one of the best winery cafe's down south

Yes that is a big call!

We discovered a little winery and cafe called Harris River Estate tucked away some 7km from Collie, a coal mining town about 200km south of Perth in Western Australia.

Given we were a group of 20, and booking at the last minute on Easter Monday, chances of sourcing a booking in Margaret River would have been impossible. We expected the same in Collie.  We were pleasantly surprised when we called HRE they said they were more than happy to accommodate us, but we will have a smaller menu to choose from (pasta, fish or steak).

When we got to the winery we were surprised there was none of the standard razzle dazzle of cellar doors that we see so much in the established wine growing regions down south. This is a simple, yet very functional labour of love establishment and it shows..

Not really sure how the pics will work if you don't have flash, also if you want to see the captions might be better to view the slide show in full screen or on the flickr site

The tasting

Whilst the kids were organised we got down to the tasting.. The wines were just to die for, and the winemaker Jane Gilham had put together some bold mixes to get away from the norm that we are all accustomed to.. enter the tickle me pink series.. As Julie Lawson (gun HR person in a former life and still provides seminars at the winery) took us through the wines, Karl Hellier the owner decided to take us all on a tour to show us how it is done..

It then dawned upon me, that we often complain about how expensive wines are at the cellar door, and how cheap bottle shops (liquor stores) are.. Our complaints are unfounded.  What we pay for is literally craft fashioned from the love of wine making. Pushing the art to the limit and creating a perfect brew, has to have an artistic value to it otherwise they might as well be a Fosters production line blazing out bland drinks that are a dime to the dozen.. 

Just like in my industry where web design companies take pride in their work and expect to churn out stuff that is different from the rest, wineries are no different..

The Food

Scrumptious, filling and well worth the price best describes the food.  The stand-outs were the grilled fish and the home made chilli sauce.  Coffee left a bit to be desired but I am very fussy when it comes to coffee!  At about $30 per head including the wines, dessert and Easter surcharge it was reasonably priced as well!

A big thank you to Karl, Julie and Kacey for making our visit a memorable one and I am sure we will always visit the winery if we ever pass through again!

This wine had my name on it

My kind of driftwood

Nothing like finding a driftwood after a long swim in the ocean