July 3, 2021 Amanda Cochran

60 Seconds With—Belinda Neame from Hold Cottage // GGCo. Community Musings

Belinda Neame Hold Cottage Tim Bean Photography Grampians Goods Co - by the railway

In this instalment of 60 Seconds With, we're chatting to Belinda Neame (or 'B'), from Hold Cottage in Gunning in NSW. You'll get to know B in this short and snappy 'get to know you' piece, including her favourite cake and soup recipes, books, magazines, podcasts and music.

All images by Tim Bean Photography

Skip to the section you're interested in:

LISTEN (Podcasts + Music)
READ (Books + Magazines)
EAT (Recipes)
TRAVEL (Bucket list destination)

Train platform Belinda Neame Hold Cottage Tim Bean Photography Grampians Goods Co

Stay at home fireplace Belinda Neame Hold Cottage Tim Bean Photography Grampians Goods Co

PODCASTS

It’s taken me a while to get into a routine of listening to podcasts but now I’m on the train, I can’t get off!

I love listening to podcasts that I can relate to, and that remind me where I am in my life right now.

I love hearing real life and real business stories in and around rural and regional Australia; the untold stories of the ‘little guys’.

Here are my top 5 podcasts at the moment:

MUSIC

I’m not much of a muso but I am an 80’s tragic and don’t really listen to anything else other than some classic 80’s song lists on Spotify or I crank up the old record player and put the 80’s vinyls on repeat.

Here are some of my favourite playlists:

BOOKS

I’m a cookbook tragic (the addiction is quite the issue actually!). I also LOVE interior books to keep my creative juices flowing for the cottage.

Here are some of my favourite books:

MAGAZINES

I’m a print magazine addict; the smell of freshly printed pages—there’s nothing quite like it. To me, it’s the simplicity of that ritual that makes me happy.

Reading magazines is quite the ritual for me—it keeps me away from a phone screen. Coffee in hand, woollen blanket wrapped around my shoulders, poring through fresh new magazine pages.

Picnic with thermos at home Belinda Neame Hold Cottage Tim Bean Photography Grampians Goods Co

LUNCH

My Roasted Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup is a delicious, heart-warming dish, that will get the thumbs up from the whole family.

DESSERT

You can't go wrong with a warm cinnamon teacake. It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and half an hour to bake and you are good to go. The smell is like a big, warm cinnamon doughnut!

I have strong memories of my Grandma baking apple pies when I was little. She was that grandmother that could bake, sew, play the piano and turn her hand to nearly anything. She was a fiercely independent woman.

It wasn’t until I had time as a ‘stay at home mum’ with my two children, that I started to dabble in baking. By that time my Grandma had passed away and still to this day, I dream of spending time with her as an adult. Time to learn and absorb all of her wisdom. I guess it’s just ‘in my blood’ as they say, so it always felt natural for me to spend time in the kitchen. For 8 years I also ran and operated a cupcake shop but that’s a story for another day!

Picnic with teacake at home Belinda Neame Hold Cottage Tim Bean Photography Grampians Goods Co

BUCKETLIST REGIONAL DESTINATION

Mudgee has been on the top of my NSW bucketlist since pre COVID. I can’t wait to explore the area. And it will come as no surprise that the Grampians is at the top of our list in VIC! I cannot wait to check in at Salt Creek Cottage and discover the beautiful Grampians region.

FAVOURITE THING TO DO IN NEW TOWNS

I LOVE to walk the streets when we visit new towns. It’s one of the things that I love most about small country towns – the fact that you can walk everywhere. Old buildings, sweet laneways and the wonder as you walk, the mystery, the history and the thoughts of those who lived there all those years ago. I am also quite the foodie so I love discovering the cafes and restaurants and I especially love a good wine tasting at local cellar doors.