Tassie On My Mind, December 2010
- it's all good

Why is it all good? Well it's that time of the year for enjoying good food, good company, good music, good breaks, great shopping and pretty scenes. (Good shopping and good scenes just didn't seem to have the right ring somehow...)

This issue:

• Festive sounds
• Sensational Taste
• Summer at Port Arthur
• How sweet it is
• Bowled over by Tasmania

Plus... your chance to be a part of tasmania-attractions.com!

Festive sounds

What about you - do you enjoy listening to Christmas carols? Well why not go along to Carols by the Bay on 19th December at Sandown Park, Sandy Bay, Hobart. Of course there will be celebrity performers - this year they will include Damien Leith, Jay Laga’aia and Straalen McCallum. Plus you'll get the chance to support a very good cause - Variety - helping sick, disabled and disadvantaged children across Tasmania.

Or maybe you prefer Christmas music that is more classical? Then you will love Christmas with the TSO (Tasmania Symphony Orchestra) on 11th December at the Federation Concert Hall in Hobart.

The program includes:

• HANDEL Messiah (excerpts)
• TCHAIKOVSKY Nutcracker (excerpts)
• CORELLI Christmas Concerto
• Silent Night, O Come all Ye Faithful, The First Nowell

This festive season, make sure you get to enjoy the music you love...

Sensational Taste

Tasmania's largest annual event celebrates Tasmanian food, produce, arts, culture and sporting activities.

I'm excited that there will be:

• a new Brasserie Precinct featuring Tasmania's burgeoning craft brewing and cider making industry along with matched foods
• a renewed focus on Tasmanian provenance and new products
• a new Retail Alley where visitors can buy Tasmanian products
• a new Cafe District where people can meet friends at serviced tables for great coffee and pastries

Admission is free. And not only that, there's free sunscreen and free drinking water available too!

Summer at Port Arthur

You can see these plays at Port Arthur from 28th December:

• The Man Who Threw a Stone
• The Shingle Strike
• A Boy’s Life

• fantascopes
• clothes peg dolls
• convict bricks

Do you know what a fantascope is? I didn't so I did a little research. It is a disc with a series of images set in a ring around the edge. There are small slits between the images. When you spin the disc in front of a mirror, then look through the slits, you see moving images reflected in the mirror! That would have seemed pretty insane before TV came along, I guess. But I must say, even now, the toy has its appeal...

Especially at the Port Arthur Historic Site which, to me, is quite a thought-provoking, exceptional place...

How sweet it is

Two of Australia's much-loved celebrities, swimming champion Ian Thorpe and world-famous restaurateur Tetsuya Wakuda are helping to promote the yellow-skinned fruit.

According to Wakuda, the products do well in Japan, thanks to Tasmania's clean, green image.

From December 16th, cherry farmer Tim Reid along with Thorpe and Wakuda will visit Tokyo for promotion work. Following that, the men will be meeting with key industry stakeholders and investors in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea. Tasmania's Deputy Premier Lara Giddings will be joining them.

According to Giddings, those markets accounted for 42 per cent of Tasmania's merchandise exports and were key to the state's food, tourism and timber industries. Sounds to me like those folks know a good thing when they see it (or taste it)!

I've never thought of myself as a cherry fan but then I've never tried this particular variety before. Yellow skins with a blush of red - intriguing!

Bowled over by Tasmania

Have you ever seen him in the comedy series Blackadder? That's when I first came to know of him. Recently I've been enjoying his adventures on the Time Team series.

I was thrilled to discover the good news that he is now working on a new six-part documentary series called Tony Robinson Digs Australia. The series will feature Australian history with that unique Tony Robinson twist that many of us have come to know and love.

Apparently the film crew have planned to spend a couple of days at Port Arthur. As you would expect, some of Tasmania's fascinating convict history will be covered in the series. I'm certainly excited about that!

I've come across some amazing convict stories already, but always look forward to learning more.

Well that's it for this issue.

Every year I find that I'm surprised when I first see those familiar-looking decorations in the shopping centres. Isn't it a bit early I wonder?

Then I realise, it's late November - we have indeed arrived at the festive season again. It sure does sneak up on me...

Hope you have a safe and happy festive season.

See you in 2011!

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