MISSING MOST

There are so many things I'm going to miss in moving from Melbourne to Perth:

- friends, obviously, but I can visit and so can they 

- Melbourne Theatre Company, but I have trips and shows booked already

- Haigh's Chocolates, although I will be able to do an online order once the weather cools down 

- the comfort of Palace Pentridge Cinema with its bookable seats, comfortable reclining chairs, free parking and quality choc tops

- Victoria's beautiful range of goldrush towns, all within an hour or so of Pascoe Vale South, but I'm sure it will be interesting to rediscover some WA historic towns

- the ease of popping on a tram every few minutes and exploring the city, but I'll just have to learn to be patient with the longer wait times here.

But most of all, I'm going to miss Beechworth Honey. Beechworth is a charming country town about three hours north east of Melbourne. It's in one of those Victorian landscapes that glows during Autumn with the changing colours of deciduous trees.




 
Beechworth Honey make a wonderful array of single flower honeys (my favourites are Blackberry and Macadamia) but also a gloriously tasty range of creamed honeys with infusions of cinnamon, strawberry and passionfruit. But they aren't allowed across the border into WA so I will never be able to experience them again.

I've done my research and even though there are none of the creamed fruit honeys to be had here, I found a specialist shop that offers tastings so I have discovered some new monofloral honeys such as a Melaleuca harvested by an indigenous company in Broome and a Jarrah honey, unique to WA. Jarrahs only blossom every 2- 3 years so there isn't much to be had. To my taste it has a light caramel flavour and apparently it's very high in antimicrobial activity.

I became a honey addict early through my Uncle Pete, down in the Porongorups. He would have a spoonful of honey each morning, harvested by a farmer friend. Years later, I discovered that Horrie, the farmer, put his hives illegally in a nearby national park which is probably why his crystalline honey was so rich in flavour. 

Peter played football for West Subiaco and then Subiaco in his youth. He was short and slender and fleet of foot as a winger. In our clearing up process, we found a cup that he'd won in 1934. I contacted the Subiaco Football Club and they were happy to receive it back for display. We still have some of his other trophies in the form of gold medals. The one I wear sometimes with pride is labelled "best placed man". He was a kind and gentle soul and the pleasure of honey will always be connected to him.

Peter Mackay (front) in a West Australian photography from the 1930s

Susan, Uncle Peter, Henry the lamb, Ann - 1960s



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