Australians invited to celebrate all things Scottish

Australians will be invited to pay tribute to the art, music and culture of Scottish cities, highlands, lochs, moors and isles with 35 festivals across Australia signing on to participate in the Year of Scotland in Australia 2020. 

Edinburgh, Scotland

YOSA 2020 will begin at Woodford Folk Festival on December 27, 2019, going on to incorporate events in every Australian state and territory until January 1, 2021.

These two traditional Hogmanay celebrations will bookmark hundreds of activities across the year showcasing the quality and diversity of Scottish musical culture.

YOSA 2020 activities include expansions to the National Celtic Festival's annual ceilidh trail, Scottish artists touring regional and remote areas via the Festival of Small Halls Australia, food and drink events as well as a renewed focus on Scottish cultural celebrations such as Burns Night, St Andrew's Day, Highland Games and Clan Gatherings.

Festivals and events of all sizes – from a 125,000-capacity celebration to an intimate 50-person event – will experience the best of Scottish music and culture. 

Organisers say the year-long program of events came about collaboratively after a group of festival directors and agents were welcomed to Scotland in August 2018.

Argyle, Tobermory

As 2020 marks the year of Coasts and Waters in Scotland – a celebration of the country's 10,000km coastline and spectacular lochs, seas, streams and rivers – YOSA 2020 will incorporate a program of music, art and activities referencing the Celtic lifeblood. 

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs for the Scottish Government said: “Scotland maintains an enduring relationship with Australia that dates back many years, and this is a phenomenal opportunity to further this with musicians on both sides of the globe sharing our dynamic traditional music scene.”

“This will leave a lasting legacy for our artists and performers to tour in Australia and share our culture even more. My hope is that countless people 'down under' will be introduced to our music, heritage and culture, and that new working partnerships will be delivered creating demand from audiences for continued Scottish performances beyond next year.”

The 2016 Australian census showed 119,416 Australian residents were born in Scotland, while over two million claimed Scottish ancestry.

YOSA 2020 is supported by a range of organisations across Scotland including Showcase Scotland Expo, The Scottish Government, Visit Scotland, Creative Scotland and the Scottish Music Centre. In Australia, YOSA 2020 is produced by Woodfordia Inc.

See www.yearofscotlandaustralia2020.com

Taste the fusion food of Macao in Sydney

Macao is one of the more interesting Asian destinations, particularly for its food.

Macao's fusion food will be one of the star attractions at the 2019 Good Food and Wine Show at the International Convention Centre Sydney, from June 21-23.

As a designated UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, the Asian centre will have a virtual kitchen at the annual consumer show preparing and serving visitors traditional Macanese favourites as African chicken (above) and minchi (below) along with popular signature dessert, serradura.

Macanese food is considered one of the world's earliest forms of fusion cuisine, dating back to the 16th century when the first Portuguese seafarers settled in this corner of China.

A melange of Portuguese, Chinese, South East Asian and African ingredients ensures the cuisine's uniqueness to the region.

Visitors to the Macao stand will also have a chance to win $2000 credit towards flights to Macao through leading online travel agent www.trip.com along with discounts on hotel options.

The competition is part of Macao's 20th anniversary celebrations as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Helen Wong, managing director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (Australia and New Zealand), said the Good Food and Wine Show provided a perfect platform for Macao to showcase Macanese food, and its heritage.

She said Macao's inclusion on the elite global list of UNESCO Creative Cities indicated how important a role food played in tourism to the Greater Bay Region of China, not just Macao.

“To be included on the list is not only an honour, it's a great achievement, and highlights the city's endeavours to work towards such important aspects as sustainability,” she said. “It's important for Macao's future.”

For details on Macao phone the Macao Government Tourism Office on (02) 9264 1488 or visit www.visitmacao.com.au

"Small but stunning" 2019 vintage in New Zealand

It concerns me when I see New Zealand sauvignon blanc offered on special for $9.99 a bottle.

It concerns me because I know the producers cannot be making any profit - and because Kwi savvy blanc is best enjoyed when young a vibrant. Ye there is still a fair amount of 2017 on the shop shelves.

New Zealand Winegrowers has announced a "small but stunning" 2019 vintage with a total of 413,000 tonnes harvested.

This is the third small harvest in a row for the Kiwis, which will hamper volume growth.

NZ Winegrowers’ CEO Philip Gregan said: “Smaller vintages in 2017 and 2018 meant wineries had to work to manage product shortages, and many of our members hoped for a larger harvest this year. Another smaller-than-expected vintage will mean more supply and demand tension overall.”

This should, in theory, keep prices keen. But why are there so many cheapies on offer?

Gregan added: “We have an international reputation for premium quality and innovation. Every vintage is different, but winemakers are excited about the calibre of wine that will be delivered to the bottle and we are confident 2019 vintage wines will be enjoyed by consumers around the world.”  

Hong Kong cancels major tourism drawcard

Tough luck for the thousands of tourists flocking to Hong Kong this weekend for the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival.

The event has become a victim of the mass protests in Hong Kong, with the Hong Kong Tourism Board cancelling the event at the last moment in view of continuing unrest.

The HKTB made the decision to cancel "after careful consideration" and with Hong Kong protest leaders calling for another mass rally on Sunday.

People have been out in force on the streets protesting a controversial extradition bill, forcing the closure of most government offices.

The Dragon Boat Carnival was to be held at the Central Harbourfront from today through Sunday.

It is one of the most popular dragon boat events in the world attracting thousands of visitors, with beer tents, food, kids' activities and boat races.

The HKTB said it will inform the travel trade and visitors of relevant arrangements through various channels. Far too late, in my opinion. Most visitors will have already have arrived before the announcement. 

Donald Trump talks wine, but doesn't make a lot of sense

US President Donald Trump wants to do something about wine.

The problem is that it he was just about incoherent when talking about the subject on CNBC, The Drinks Business reports.

Trump doesn't seem to understand that the whole world wants to drink fine wine from France, but is not really that keen on wine from the US. 

Expensive wines from California, in fact, only sell seriously well in the US.

Here's what the teetotal leader of the free world had to say on CNBC this week.

He was talking about the imposition of tariffs on China, when he raised the “unfair” issue of tariffs on wine.

“France charges us a lot for the wine and yet we charge them little for French wine,” he said, promising to “do something” about it.

He further said "the wineries" themselves had approached him to complain about having to pay to import their wines into France.

“The wineries come to me and they say – the California guys, they come to me: Sir, we are paying a lot of money to put our products into France and you’re letting – meaning, this country is allowing this French wine which is great, we have great wine, too, allowing it to come in for nothing.

“It is not fair. And you know what, it’s not fair. We’ll do something about it.”

Trump has previously complained on Twitter about how difficult it was to sell US wines in France, blaming high tariffs, while the US “makes it easy for French wines”.

In November last year he said this was “Not fair, must change!’”.

As a member of the EU, France does not set its own tariff, but is subject to those set by the EU as a trading block.

Indelible Ink: Air New Zealand reverses ban on tattoos

It seems like just about everyone under 30 has a tattoo or two.

Some go the Full Monty with ink on their faces and necks, others opt for something a little more discreet.

Air New Zealand has just reversed its long-term ban on visible tattoos, amid criticism it was discriminating against potential indigenous Maori employees.

Like most other airlines, Air NZ hadn't permitted customer-facing staff from sporting visible tattoos, which included the traditional Maori ta moko tattoo designs.

That is changing from September 1. The airline will now allow ta moko and other general tattoos as long as they are not deemed offensive.

"I'm extremely proud to be making this announcement. It reinforces our position at the forefront of the airline industry in embracing diversity and enabling employees to express individuality or cultural heritage," said Air NZ CEO Christopher Luxon.

"We want to liberate all our staff, including uniform wearers such as cabin crew, pilots, and airport customer service teams, who will, for the first time, be able to have non-offensive tattoos visible when wearing their uniforms.''

Critics had called out Air New Zealand's use of Maori traditions to promote its business, using traditional emblems but not allowing workers to do the same.

The airline will allow all other tattoos as long as they do not cause controversy.

"Where the situation is not clear, we will have a Tattoo Review Panel to assist employees and managers to determine whether a tattoo is aligned with our policy," the airline said.

"In the same way you shouldn't swear, make hateful comments, lewd jokes, or use violent language in the workplace for example, the same goes for tattoos."