ajft

The annual production of “A Midsummer Night's Dream” is on in the Royal Botanic Gardens, one of Jo's friends has been organising a get together with a group of friends there for some years. Despite the heat — 38°C some time this afternoon — it was a great evening. An hour or two before hand spent lazing around in the Corner Hotel beer-garden, gathering our strength over an ale or two, then a long and very slow walk through the stifling heat across to the gardens. An endless supply of picnic foods and chilled drinks, good company, then as the sun went down the show commenced.

It all got a bit too exciting near the intermission, the Chinese New Year celebration fireworks from over the river nearly deafened and blinded us all, but the cast didn't skip a beat, even throwing in a joke about it all as the scene ended.

Where better to go on the fourth or fifth day of a heatwave than off inland to a hot, dry, dusty paddock to eat chillis and other hot foods! The Redback Chilli company's annual Hot Sauce and Fiery Foods Festival — their eighth — was on this weekend out at Jindivick, its always fun, even if I can never quite remember how to get there and the websites are hopelessly out of date.