Music in the Monster Mine

Saturday 6th February 2010

Music in the Monster Mine is one of our favourite Burra events. It all happens at the edge of the magnificent Burra Mine pool and this unique location sets the scene for a great night. This year's entertainment will be provided by E-Type Jazz and the Sass-E-Singers. There will be continuous music and dancing from 6pm until midnight and at only $45 a ticket it's a great value event.

For all the information about the evening, as well as booking details, give the friendly staff at the Burra Visitor Centre a call on 8892 2154.

Christmas opening hours

We are having a few days off to celebrate Christmas with our friends and family so the shop will be closed from Christmas Day and will reopen at 10am on Wednesday 30th December.

We wish all our customers a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Father Christmas arrives in Burra!

Father Christmas picked the perfect evening to arrive in Burra and a very excited crowd gathered to welcome him to town last night. Around 200 children took part in the Santa Trail and collected bags of goodies around the town before they visited Santa in the Rotunda.

Congratulations to the organisers for another terrific community event in our lovely town.

Great ideas for Christmas

With Christmas only 2 weeks away (aaaahhh) we have some great ideas for special gifts.

How about a funky "Toaster" teapot from The Teapottery in Yorkshire ($155) ?

Or perhaps a 'Kennel' or a 'Caravan' at $195 each.

A pretty watering can from Somerton Green ($27.50)

... or something special from the bright and colourful Old Tupton Ware range. Prices start at $35.

This Art Deco set of five lidded canisters is something quite unique and is only $175.

If you're just after some inspiration why not come into the shop and have a look around. You can browse while you enjoy a coffee and a cake and with stock arriving every week there's always something new to see.

The Caffeine Combination ALMOST wins the pub quiz!

This is just some of the motley crew who make up the "Caffiene Combination" - the Gaslight/Burra Stationers pub quiz team. In a very tense battle last Wednesday we fell just four points short of winning this year's $500 prize. So it's hearty congratulations to the "Burra Crays" and a big thank you to Stammy, Bill and all the Burra Hotel staff who have made the quiz nights such fun over the past 12 months.

Just watch out Crays - we'll be back bigger and better next year!

Christmas Shortbread

If you need a stocking filler, or you're looking for a small gift, you can't go past our delicious Christmas shortbread. It comes in all sorts of Christmas shapes and is packaged in a cellophane bag with a bright ribbon. At just $6 a bag it's the perfect Christmas treat.

Ho Ho Ho!

Christmas is on its way and we are busy getting ready with lots of ideas for gifts that are just a little bit different. Bob has been busy at the auctions and we will be unpacking all the new stock over the next few days so drop in to the shop and see what's new.

Delicious!

After a long hot day serving coffee we do enjoy sitting on our balcony and having something cool drink - and no, I don't mean an iced chocolate. We have just discovered the latest offering from Burra Creek Wines - a scrumptious sparkling red which slips down very nicely on a hot summer evening. Princess Royal Station is home to Burra Creek Wines and as well as this delicious drop they have other bottlings including a shiraz and a cabernet shiraz.

Apart from being just plain yummy the Sparkling Shiraz is only $10 a bottle! We think it will be just perfect for Christmas. Have a look at the Burra Creek Wines website for information on how to get some for yourself - just make sure you leave some for us!

30th anniversary screening

"Breaker Morant" is the story of the court marshall of Harry "Breaker" Morant and two other Australian soldiers serving in South Africa during the second Boer War. Filmed on location almost entirely in and around Burra the film stared Edward Woodward as well as an array of Australian favourites including Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson, John Waters and Bud Tingwell.

The film was a top performer at the 1980 Australian Film Institute awards, with ten wins, including: best film, best direction, leading actor, supporting actor, screenplay, art direction, cinematography, and editing. It was also nominated for the 1980 Academy Award for the Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium).

To mark the 30th anniversary of the making of 'Breaker Morant' a special showing has been arranged at Burra's Redruth Jail. It should be a great night so come along and join the celebrations.

BREAKER MORANT

30 Year Anniversary Screening

November 28th 2009 – 6 p.m.

Redruth Gaol, Burra

2009 South Australian Tourism Awards

Last night we went down to Adelaide and joined around 600 people from tourism ventures across the state at the 2009 South Australian Tourism Awards. The winner of our category ( Tourism Restaurants and Catering) was the Brasserie @ Hilton Adelaide, but we were very surprised and excited to be awarded a Silver Medal! A very big thank you to all our customers and staff who make Gaslight so much fun.

Congratulations to all the other award recipients, especially to Wild Saffron and Brice Hill Country Lodge over in Clare and Sevenhills Cellars at Sevenhills.

Wildlife Wonderland

It's been all about the wildlife this week at Gaslight. Last Saturday we watched the rescue of a cat trapped in a tree across the road from the shop. The 3 hour rescue involved the fire brigade, a crane and several exciting maneuvers among the foliage. All this was watched by an ever increasing group of on-lookers before the cat was brought down to earth to cheers and applause of the crowd.

We had only just recovered from that excitement when a gentleman dropped into the shop yesterday to ask us if we knew there was a brown snake on our footpath. No!!! Bob quickly swept the timid critter into a crate and Steve took him out to the bush and released him.

Introducing Charlotte

We had a lovely surprise yesterday when Kathryn (who makes our delicious cakes), dropped into the shop with her beautiful daughter. Charlotte was born last Friday and we were very pleased to meet this delightful young lady.

High Tea in the Garden

"High Tea in the Garden", written by Dianne Hall from Newman's Nursery in Tea Tree Gully, is now in stock at Gaslight. This beautiful book would make a perfect gift, but at only $45 you may find it hard to give away once you have a copy!

Some of the delicious recipes we've been drooling over include Orange Almond and Yogurt Cake with Coconut Icing, Tangy Lemon Tart, Topiary Gourmet Fruit Cake and Persimmon Pudding with Lemon Sauce. Yumm!

Catching up with old friends

Ruby has been on hand this week to assist our customers in the shop. Here she is with Olive, (one of her particular favourites), providing a level of table service rarely seen in modern eateries.

Welcome Charlotte!

It’s a girl!

Congratulations to Kathryn - our fabulous cake maker - and to Hamish, William and Henry, on the birth of Charlotte Lois, who arrived this morning at the Clare Hospital. All are doing well and we hope to have photos for you in the next few days.

It was a day of arrivals in Burra and we also send happy congratulations to Casey, Mel and Cash on the arrival of their little girl (Emmy-Lou) this afternoon. The town is awash with pink balloons!

Back from the auctions

Jill is back from a day at the auctions and she and Teresa have been busy rearranging the shop to make everything fit. They are being ably assisted by Keith, our favourite postman from Booborowie.

Two gorgeous Bjorn Wiinblad figurines

Gilded fighting cocks

Chinese crackle glaze vases

A Quimper bowl

....and Keith!

Art of the Flower and Gardens

Burra gardeners are busy preparing their gardens for the Art of the Flower and Garden weekend on Saturday October 31st and Sunday November 1st. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see the beautiful gardens of Burra and meet the gardeners who have worked so hard to have them looking beautiful for this special weekend. Entrance is by gold coin donation. Flyers about the locations are available from the Burra Visitor Information Centre.

To compliment the open gardens there will be a botanical themed exhibition, "Art of the Flower and Garden", at the Burra Regional Art Gallery. The exhibition will be opened by Jacki Mattey on Saturday 31st October at 5.30pm (all welcome) and will run until early January. This exhibition is an annual event and one of Burra's favourites so make sure you get along and enjoy the work of our talented local artists.

Summer is coming

Ruby, the youngest member of the Gaslight team, is seen here modeling her new Gaslight t-shirt She's all ready for summer and her next visit to Burra.

All the fun of the fair!

Join in all the fun this weekend at the 132nd Burra Show.

• Sideshows & show bags
• Food & drink stalls
• Kids corner
• Miss Showgirl and Prince of the Show
• Horses in action
• Sheep dog demonstrations
• Fun for everyone!

Saturday 10th October at the Burra Showgrounds. See you there!

School holidays

The School Holidays are nearly over and we say a big thank you to Rachael (left), Paige (right) and Madi (somewhere else entirely) for helping out in the shop during their holidays. It has been a busy time, but we had fun and we hope our customers did too.

Goodbye to Tom and Charlie

Everyone at Gaslight is very sad to say goodbye to our favourite twins, Tom and Charlie, who are leaving Burra with their lovely family and moving to the South East. We wish them all good luck in their new venture and hope to see them all back in Burra for a visit soon.

New Art Glass

We have a new collection of art glass animals in store. Apart from this very grand rooster there is a cat, a dog, a bird and a yellow whale.

Spring has sprung!

Spring is in the air and while the Gaslight garden (pictured) is definitely a work in progress it's lovely to see the cheerful splashes of colour around the town. We will be posting information soon about Burra's Open Garden weekend (31 October/1 November) when many of Burra's beautiful gardens will be open to the public.

There are lots of weeds among our flowers, but fortunately we have Agnes - that well known gardening dog - to help out!

Small Business Month

October is Small Business Month and Bob and Jill were happy to accept an invitation to its launch at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide. Speakers at the breakfast launch included the Minister for Small Business, Paul Holloway and inspirational gold medal para Olympian Katrina Webb. A great event, but the 7am start was a little challenging!

Go the mighty Rams!

Can BBH (Burra, Booborowie, Hallett) take out the North Eastern Football League Grand Final when they face off against Blyth/Snowtown at Riverton this weekend? Yes, they can say the team at Gaslight!!! If the A Grade run out winners on Saturday it will be their first flag since the amalgamation of the three teams, and the first flag for any of its communities since Burra's 1978 win. The stakes are high and Burra is showing its support with red, white and blue streamers and balloons popping up all over town.

Good luck to the BBH team from everyone at Gaslight. Go the Mighty Rams!!

18 September 5.00pm update

BBH has run out winners by 27 points. Congratulations BBH!!! Way to go!

Biggles flies in

Our new display of children's books contains many old favourites, including Biggles, the Abbey girls, Amelia Jane and Robin Hood. It features authors such as Mary Grant Bruce, Enid Blyton, Mark Twain, Captain W. E. Johns and Elsie Oxenham. Come in and take a trip down memory lane!

More new stock

September's been a busy time at Gaslight with the arrival of lots of new stock. Do drop in and see us and take some time to see the lovely new pieces we have on display.

Happy Birthday Helen!

This is a photo taken while Helen was still in her 50's - just 9 hours before midnight strikes and she officially becomes "old"!! Happy birthday Helen from all your friends at Gaslight (and Oggy). Have a wonderful 60th birthday tomorrow.

Football fever hits Gaslight!

As the last Saturday in September approaches there are serious football discussions taking place at Gaslight. Bob (pictured) is making no secret about who he is supporting and was happy to share his superior footy knowledge with Cyril and Len.

In the local league BBH (Burra, Booborowie and Hallett) had a great win this weekend which saw them go straight into the Grand Final. Go the mighty Rams!!

Coming up in Burra

 

There's always something exciting to do in Burra and we're coming up to one of our busiest times of the year. September and October are always fun - the weather starts to warm up and the town is busy with tourists and holiday makers. 

For those with a spirit of adventure, the Bush to Burra Trail Ride will start on Thursday 1st October at Gum Creek Station west of Burra and will finish at Old Canowie Station east of Jamestown on Monday 5th October 2009. For more information about the ride Information Packs are available from the Burra Visitor Centre  or call 8892 2154.

There are many special drives from Burra including the Dares Hill drive, Clare Valley wineries and more. The Goyder Tourism Committee have developed northern and southern scenic driving trails throughout the Council region. These are available from the Burra Visitor Centre.

    

For walkers and cyclists, both the Heysen and Mawson Trails run right through the middle of Burra. To find out more, go to www.heysentrail.asn.au  for information on the Heysen Trail or www.bikesa.asn.au for more on the Mawson Trail.

 

If you enjoy a game of golf bring your sticks and have a round Burra's 18 hole course… yes we have greens and the green fees are only $20 a round!

And at the end of whatever activities you choose to enjoy, you can always join us for a delicious afternoon tea at Gaslight! Hope to see you here soon.

Old Tupton Ware

We’ve just taken delivery of several pieces from the Old Tupton Ware range. All the pieces are hand painted in gorgeous, bright colours. Old Tupton Ware has only been produced since about 2002, but because of its beautiful designs and distinctive bold colours it’s already become very collectable.