Dates for your diary

1st and 2nd May - Burra Antique and Collectables Fair

The beautifully refurbished historic Burra Town Hall and the school gymnasium will be filled with antiques and collectables for sale for the 19th annual fair. Held over 2 days the fair features dealers from around Australia, all coming to town to sell their wares. As well there is free antique appraisal on both days and of course Burra's six antique shops will all be open for business.

At only $9 for a weekend pass this a great value event and a fun way to spend a weekend.

15 and 16 May - Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend 2010

The tables will be set for the 2010 Clare Valley Gourmet weekend when the region's premium wines will be matched with indulgent fine dining experiences and live entertainment. A great way to enjoy our fabulous South Australian produce and have some fun while you do it!

Easter opening hours

You can hop into Gaslight any time over Easter. To be sure we don't miss the Easter Bunny we will be here every day from 10am to 5pm , so come in and join us for a delicious coffee and a hot cross bun.

Sweet treats

With the days getting shorter and the evenings getting cooler we decided it was time for a new treat to help keep out the winter chills. Our delicious Orange Almond and Yogurt Cake is just the thing.

If you're looking to spoil yourself over Easter, but have had enough chocolate try our special Easter shortbread. Cute and scrumptious!

Knit and natter

“On the Sheep’s Back” is an exciting new exhibition at the Burra Regional Art Gallery and features works by some fabulous fabric and visual artists. It demonstrates the many ways it which wool can be worked to create innovative works of art - weaving, knitting, felting, spinning, clothing, fabric, and painting and photography.

We'd like to say a big thank you to Gaslight regulars and talented knitters, Rebecca Clark-Dollman and Janine Weatherstone who demonstrated their remarkable knitting skills as part of the the exhibition launch.

"On the Sheep's Back" is on display until March 31st.

Gaslight is open from 10am to 5pm daily and is a great place for a coffee, a natter and a bit of clever crafting so drop in and see us soon.

Left overs

What happens at Gaslight if we have scones left at the end of the day? Well, sometimes they go to Martine's chickens, sometimes they go to the ducks in Burra Creek and sometimes - if they're very lucky - they go to Mary Woollacott's kangaroos. According to the kangaroos they are the best scones in Burra. High praise indeed.

A few days off....

Gaslight will be closed for a few days next week while we do a little bit of maintenance and housekeeping.

We will close at 5pm on Saturday afternoon (20th February) and we will reopen at 10am on Saturday 27th February.

We look forward to seeing you all then!

Very cool!

At Gaslight we're famous for our scrumptious Iced Coffee and Iced Chocolate - just perfect on a hot summers day. Yum! This year we have added Iced Chai Latte and Banana Smoothies to our menu, so if you're need to cool down and want to try something a little bit different, head into Gaslight for a delicious treat.

New art exhibitions at the Galllery

There are 3 fabulous new art exhibitions opening tonight at the Burra Regional Art Gallery. These very varied exhibitions include

"Focus on Variety", featuring the artists of the Germain Art Focus group

"Terowie Terrors", the children of Terowie paint their town, and

"My Story", Regional Artists curated by Heather Parker for Mental Health Week 2009.

The Gallery is open 7 days a week from 1pm - 4pm and the exhibitions are on show until 3 March.

Special guests at Gaslight

This week we've been enjoying a lovely visit from Gaslight regular (and our very special grand-daughter), Ruby.

She was snapped here trying her first babycinno which seemed to get her 1 year old tick of approval.

Ruby was a bit disappointed not to see her good friends, Olive and Lois, but is looking forward to catching up with them on her next visit.

Free kittens!

Our favourite four year old customer demonstrating our new sign. Thanks Lauren!

Happy Australia Day!

At Gaslight we're celebrating Australia Day with delicious pavlova, and a free flag for every customer.

As you can see not everyone was taking our national holiday quite as seriously as we did. Helen, (left) a born and bred Kiwi, had trouble mastering her Australia Day hat, but fortunately Liz (an Aussie now living in NZ) had more success!

Happy Australia Day everyone!

Sunday morning

Sunday morning sitting in the sun, having coffee and scones at Gaslight - does it get any better than this?? We don't think so!

The Tour Down Under

Stage 1 of this year's Santos Tour Down Under starts at 11am on Tuesday in Clare and will see the riders head south to Tanunda. They will pass through Penwortham, Saddleworth, Riverton and Kapunda on the way to the Barossa Valley, as part of what should be one of the prettiest legs of the race.

The fun has kicked off in the Clare Valley this weekend with the four day Clare Breakaway Festival and the riders are sure of a warm mid north welcome when they line up to start the race on Tuesday morning.

Gaslight is backing BMC Racing, headed up by Australia's own Cadel Evans. Go Cadel!

Vauxhalls everywhere!

Burra was happy to welcome many of the participants in the 35th National Vauxhall Rally this weekend. The Rally runs from 7th - 14th January so many of these lovely old cars will be seen out and about in the Clare Valley over the next few days.

The cars will be on display on the Clare Oval tomorrow (Sunday 10th January) if you would like to see them up close and have a chat with their proud owners.

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.