You'd never run out of wine in the Hunter Valley

WW1 Trench 303
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Bit cool this morning it got down to 1 degree C. So today was Friday and we decided we had better see a few more wineries and get some more cheese. So first up was the Infantry Museum at Singleton Army Camp. A very good display and a great collection of firearms from the flint days to the latest Uzis. Even had my Tokerov, but a model TT33 which had fixed rear sites. $4.50 for pensioners to get in and well worth the effort. You have to sign in at the gate and get a day pass. Then, because we had bought some Krinklewood white wine on Grays Auction we thought we would visit the winery while here. So after driving 48 kilometers we found them shut only open on weekends. But I did talk to one of the staff and he said what happened was they were unhappy with the labels and the packaging so they sent the whole batch to Grays. Normally the wine sold for $15 at the cellar door and we bought ours delivered to Rockhampton for $6 a bottle, so you can get some bargains. Met some Danish tourists also out there and they were disappointed that Krinklewood was closed too. From there to Tyrrell's, not much has changed there in the last 30 years and then to the Drayton Family Winery. Drayton's have had a lot of bad luck. First Mr & Mrs were killed in a plane crash while heading over to Lord Howe Island. Then there was a fire at the winery which killed a welder and one of the wine maker sons. The Wine Industry and Work Place Health & Safety are still deliberating on the fire and many changes will be introduced in the fermenting rooms for the future. It appears that a welder was working in an area that contained a high quantity of free alcohol in the air and enough to explode causing the 2 deaths and massive structural damage. The male staff member at Drayton's was not friendly, but we still bought three bottles. And to answer a question a few have asked " why do they grow roses at the end of vines" The answer we got was that the bugs eat the roses and leave the vines alone and the both get pruned at the same time. From there back to the Cheese Factory and we bought up three large cheeses to the value of $50, two big Bries and another washed rind. While there some very flash cars came and went. One was a Mazerati. On the way back to the van I decided that we should use what daylight we had and go out to see St Clair Dam. 34 kilometers from Singleton takes you into very steep grazing country and some steep winding roads and suddenly there it is, one huge mass of water held up by a dam wall. On site were about 10 caravans and one tent dweller and all looked set up for the weekend, at least they have plenty of water. And to the RSC (RSL) for dinner, very small club but obviously one that is still afloat. I read a report on the wall that of 76 RSL Clubs in NSW audited for Dec 2007, only 27 showed a profit. Quite funny too.. I was pouring out some water and instead of filling Helens glass, I filled the tumbler with her winnings in it. At least the money stayed cool while we had dinner. Tomorrow will be Singleton town only and fill up with fuel and get ready for a Sunday departure for Bathurst.