Fiona's Blog

We have finally been having some glorious weather here in the Wairarapa and Sunday was no exception and dawned clear-skied and still. Having been abandoned by the dearly beloved for a few days while he did some bike riding of his own some quick networking was surely needed to see if I could gather up my friends and head off for a girls own bike ride on our Ducatis. No trouble at all….they were as keen as mustard and we agreed to meet in Greytown to plan our assault of the ‘Rapa roads’ and have the first of a few coffees for the day – we then headed off on our merry way. The fact that the three of us ride Ducati Monsters is sheer coincidence (it does show that we do have good taste…..:-)) but it does attract attention as we pull up on our red, yellow and white Ducatis – do we enjoy that attention….yes of course!! We had a fabulous day with lots of fun and laughs finishing back in Greytown again for a wine and pizza at the famous Cuckoo Cafe…..very much needed after 6 hours of riding around the fabulous Wairarapa roads. All good things have to come to an end though and I now have to knuckle down and get all your Fiona Bassant Cushions made and sent off to you. That’s good fun too……

As we headed down to our local pub for their monthly Cross Creek Blues night we knew we were in for a treat as the ’star act’ was playing a repeat performance and he is good. Very good! What we got though was a lot more than that – we were treated to a medley of musicians. This gig has steadily been gaining a loyal following and last night it was packed out. It kicked off with the Tauherenikau Blues Band followed by the Honky Tonk Hero’s who were joined by Phaedra for their final number. She is one of the organizers of the night and her singing is impressive. At this point the ’star act’ Nick Charles appeared from around the corner and by the look of his smile and bobbing head and enthusiastic clapping she went down a treat with him as well. Let’s hope we hear more of her next time. They were followed by Wayne Manson with a couple of originals and then the very affable Pat McKenna and Mike Dew took to the stage dedicating two of their songs to the ‘old girls in the front row’ – they were clearly in seventh heaven. Kate Marshall joined them for a bit of a jam on the last number.  Bob Cooper-Grundy and Kate then took to the stage and gave us a small version of their magic and they were as fantastic as ever. We were then treated to an hour of Nick Charles and his guitar. Magnificent! All this for 2 bucks for members and 5 for others – that’s country hospitality for you – thanks Marcus and the Cross Creek Blues Club for a great nights entertainment.

Now that we are well and truly past the silly season, it is time to get into some serious business!

For the first time, the Bassant girls will be selling their beautiful silk and pashmina scarves at the two Martinborough Fairs http://www.martinboroughfair.org.nz/. The first of which is this coming Saturday the 6^th February and will be a fabulous day out.

There is food, drinks and an awesome array of product to be purchased. However, your main reason to be there is to check out our gorgeous range of handpicked scarves straight from Vietnam! There is something for everyone, with a range of colours, shapes and sizes. Also available for sale will be a good selection of my cushions, and if I haven’t got what you want I am happy to take orders. http://www.fionabassant.co.nz.

Our stall is located on the edge of the Martinborough Square, opposite the BNZ building, on the corner of Cambridge Road. So come on down, bring the family and dearly beloved (and his wallet!) and get amongst it. Mention this blog and you will get a special deal!

See you on Saturday….

We managed to snatch a motorcycle ride this weekend on what seems a rare beautiful sunny Wairarapa day (it is summer after all) and we were riding our usual ‘Rapa Circuit’ and heading down to The Ferry for those famous Fish & Chips and as always there were lots of other bikers heading in the opposite direction. Nothing unusual you say, but the thing is, I’m relatively new to this bike riding phenomenon (well, I guess you could say I’m a born again) and I’m still surprised, delighted and amused by the bikers etiquette of giving me the nod, the fingers, the hand and maybe the full Monty (wave that is) as they pass by me. You see, I clearly remember on many occasions over the years saying to the dearly beloved ‘why on earth do you have to acknowledge every jolly bike rider as they roar past us?’ I mean, heavens above – who gives a toss!! I couldn’t fathom it out at all. Well funny, now I would feel very put out if I was ignored as I headed along the road on my motorcycle – I have come to learn over the past year that bikers are the friendliest bunch of people out there and I will carry on the bikers tradition for as long as I’m on two wheels….you bet!!

Oh dear, I’m really not so sure about this blogging! My web guy has talked me into it – ‘gotta get off your chuff and start cushion blogging Fiona’ he says and he is right of course but hey, this man’s business is all about words & images…it’s even called that. He’s a whiz with them but I’m not – it takes me right out of my comfort zone.

You see, I’m a Scorpio – it’s the one sign in the Horoscope that everyone seems to have an opinion on – just mention you are Scorpio and the eyebrows go up followed by ‘Oooh are you now’  and a smile that suggests ‘hmmm better watch out here!’ God damn-it – what is it about us? A lot evidently. Firstly, we are passionate folk and that surely puts me right up there with the best of them. – I’ve been passionate about design for as long as I can remember – so I guess it’s not surprising that my revamped designer cushions website often repeats the words passion and design…this brand new site is all about bringing you gorgeous designer cushions. But it doesn’t stop there – oh no, I’m passionate about a few other things as well and I’m sure those passions are going to creep into my blogs if I can get my head around this blogging!

Number one is my family and that’s why I have a rather large photo of them all on my site.  They are a great bunch and all talented creative individuals themselves.

Second has to be travel – A late starter but I love nothing better than packing my bags and heading off somewhere when I can convince the dearly beloved why I just have to hightail off again. It was my recent trip to Vietnam with Rosie and Phoebe (daughters) to buy Silk and Pashmina scarves that I purchased the stunning silk for my latest Vietnam Cushion Collection.

I was also lucky enough in 09 to be invited by Matthew (son) to join him for a months traveling around South America – absolutely fabulous fun and worth a blog one day maybe….

I love music as well – not an expert but I know what I like and listen to a lot and regularly head down to Wellington for a damn good night of fun and music!

Then there’s motorcycles – this biker from way back overcame some fears and got herself back on one in 09 – a Ducati Monster 696 – now that is FUN! Peter (husband) is nuts about motorcycles so on fine Sundays we are usually ‘riding the ‘Rapa circuit’ - Lake Ferry for their famous Fish and Chips, Martinborough for coffee and The Gladdy for a pint. The perfect Sunday!

Finally, if we can snatch a weekend away from it all we will head out to the Bach by the sea if one of you isn’t there enjoying it already. It’s the perfect spot to escape to and you are all welcome.  It’s at Tora, east of Martinborough, Wairarapa on that wild rugged coastline that from childhood camping got under my skin and just stayed there.

So now, the second thing that I’ll admit to about Scorpios is that we are secretive. Get it? A blog, oh no! But wait, last year I read the book ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’- I didn’t realize that fear will always be there as long as I keep pushing myself out of that comfort zone. I really thought it was all about being comfortable – apparently it’s not! So, this blog is just part of continuing down the road to just get out there and do it – fear and all! So please take a look around my exciting  revamped cushion site and I hope you love the cushions as much as I do and you get in touch very soon – I’d love to hear from you -  but go easy on me with this blogging… and I promise I will never use that Scorpion sting…:-)

If you haven’t already, please check out my new and improved cushions website – includes a brand new limited edition range of Vietnamese silk cushion covers.

You can also now shop online for my cushions!