Hey there wild, cool & swingin’ cats – how you all doin’?
It’s been a while I know but I’ve been just treading the boards, doing my thing, caffeinating you all, sending you love, hugging up, listening to some mighty fine tunes and vibing out – its all good man!
Wait……….Let’s start again, change of scene, its Gabrielle here, I’ve taken over the cyber pen while Adrian away and really just wanted to do my best impersonation of his writing style to grab your attention! Hope it worked!
I promise my love letter to you all will be brief and I won’t wax lyrical about existentialism or any other ‘ism’ for that matter but what I will share is all the good news from Art of Espresso.
So the last time you heard from us we were hosting a very important RUOK day campaign in the espresso bar. We are so proud to inform you all that we managed to raise $1200 from coffee sales alone on the day and donated all of the monies to the local
Hilltops suicide prevention network in Young,
Pictured here is Mr Eris Gleeson accepting the cheque on behalf of the Hilltops suicide prevention network. Massive heartfelt love & gratitude to all who supported the day and helped raise vital funding for the cause. I must also thank all of the gorgeous gentlemen who made the ‘local’ campaign so much more meaningful with their modelling skills.
Skip forward to December and we once again hosted the delightful Harry Hookey, supported by his brother Jack from Small Town Aliens……for those of you that have seen Jack perform live you will probably blush at the memory – he is ever so talented,very cheeky and often alarmingly wrong, yet he gets it so right! Harry, of course, brought some respect back to the family name and had us all dancing, singing along and hanging on his every word from lyrics so heartfelt and raw. As it was also our last gig of the year we may have all partied on well into the night and some tabletop dancing may have been witnessed……..of course will not divulge who was up on the tables first!
Christmas and the holidays came and went with a lovely much needed break for The Capras but upon our return we had to bid farewell to our loyal and trusty ‘hairy’ steed, Mario. After 5 years in Young, straight off the plane from Rome, Adrian’s brother from another mother (cousin really) has left the countryside behind him for a new chapter by the sea. What was originally meant to be an espresso bar in Ocean Shores for Mario, the tides changed and we are so pleased to say he is now the official owner of
‘Howl & Moan’ record store in Byron Bay…….who’d have thought!!
No need for me to explain to you Adrian’s excitement at this project (it took every inch of my strength to keep him here in Greenethorpe and not run away in the kombi to join his compadre in all things vinyl!) Of course there is a coffee machine installed in the record bar so when you’re next in Byron, drop by and see the new ‘surfie’ Mario, no shoes, slightly less hair & a smile from ear to ear. We miss him dearly but know he will do incredibly well in his new alternative lifestyle….besides its a great excuse for us to head North more often.
Now deep into the first quarter of 2017 and its back to Randwick for Adrian as he does his yearly pilgrimage to Newmarket for the Inglis Thoroughbred Yearling Sales. Proudly wearing his Arrowfield Stud hat he will swan and fluff and smooch his way through ‘pretending’ to work for the next 2 weeks. We have been involved with these sales for 18 years now and are so thankful for the opportunities we have been given and the people we have met along the way……. Adrian, as you can imagine, is well respected and loved in the equine industry as the gun barista and all round great guy…….one of the reasons I married him some 24 years ago…….just so long as he doesn’t come home with a horse!
Speaking of marriage, we have just celebrated 27 years together, still as loved up and happy as when we met! We celebrated this milestone at the Blue Mountains Mud/(Sorry) Folk Festival where we were fortunate enough to see some of our all time favourites: The Waifs & PaulKelly were of course our highlights and bands such as Bustamento and Hot Potato Band sure got us up and moving. Much to our sons disappointment, as all that rain meant he was missing out on riding his motorbike in the mud at home on the farm – our girls however were in their element up on stage with one of the bands as their back up dancers (wonder where they got that trait from!) Such a wonderful festival, if ever you get the chance we highly recommend it.
On the subject of daughters, keep your eye out for a certain passenger soon to be hitting the road with her Dad as she joins him on some road trips to visit clients. We are taking a bit of an Art of Espresso approach to schooling, starting off small and one day creating something big…….from the words of above mentioned Australian legend
“ from little things, big things grow”
We are hoping this introduction to the business will instill a strong work ethic, gain a wider appreciation of the big world out there and also to appreciate the value of establishing relationships and connections with all people we come in contact with, no judgement, no segregation, non denominational values that will give our children the most valuable tools for life skills. Sounds pretty cool huh and a little different to the work I endured with my dad: shifting sheep, checking for flies and if we were lucky, allowing the inner pyromaniacs in us to help ‘burn off’! I wouldn’t swap that upbringing at all as I had a blessed childhood but I am in awe of wonder and excitement by the possibilities that our children face in the world today.
So it seems I can write as much verbal verbosity as my partner in crime and I haven’t even got to the really exciting bit yet……….after 4 long years of waiting we have finally managed to secure the divine……
Ruby Boots to come sing for us at our latest ‘espresso sessions’ event on Saturday May 13TH.
This stunning Australian artist, now based in Nashville, will be gracing our humble little keyhole with her red wine stained soulful voice that crackles with swagger and sorrow. Ruby will be delivering an alluring mix of Americana, Rock, Folk & Blues….it wont get much more raw than this. Ruby is a must see and as a BIG fan of her latest album ‘Solitude’ I will find it hard to hold back the tears on one of my favourite tracks ‘middle of nowhere’. Luckily,, I will have plenty of champagne flowing and will share a free glass on arrival with all the other mammas out there who come along for the gig as a celebration of all the women in our lives (especially our mum’s) and of course as it will be Mothers Day the day after Ruby’s gig………panadol for breakfast for me please kids!
Grab you tix here via link, only $25, doors open 6:30pm
http://www.artofespresso.com.au/events/ruby-boots
