“What I’ve Learned From Marg Is That Nothing Is Impossible”
In South Australia’s Barossa Valley it’s all about community, and few people are more involved in the community than Margaret Lehmann, 77. Apart from helping her husband Peter run the family wine business, Margaret has long been an advocate for the region, including serving as head of the tourism body and instigating the local music festival. She is firm friends with 44-year-old restaurateur Elli Beer, daughter of Marg’s mate and contemporary, Maggie Beer.
MARGARET Elli’s parents Maggie and Alan were friends of ours, and she is a contemporary of our youngest, son Philip. We have always had an easy rapport; she was a delightful child. An early memory of her would be her calling to try to find her parents, who happened to be having dinner here.
ELLI Marg’s sons were peers – we were part of a huge enclave of kids reared together. I do remember ringing around trying to find our parents, who would be inevitably dining together. People tend to be a little scared of Marg, but I have never been intimidated by her. We were surrounded by strong characters growing up.
M When my son Philip married Sarah in 2006, Elli and her sister Sassie ran the whole thing. It was the first time I’d seen them both in action close up, Saskia in the kitchen rattling the pots and pans and Elli out front being the major-domo. I realised how extraordinarily capable they both were. I remember a friend saying that the role the mother of the groom should play is: “She wears beige and keeps her mouth firmly shut.”
E Back when I was working weddings, Marg and I would spend a lot of time at her kitchen table; she loved my horror stories about the frustrating brides. Those conversations really took the lid off the pressure cooker for me and helped me realise it was not worth getting worked up about. I always have something outraging me, often it’s my husband. Marg will stop me in my tracks and say, “Do you think he might have a point there?”
M We tend to catch up over lunch at the kitchen table – it could be as simple as horseshoe rolls from Apex bakery, ham and a fresh tossed salad – and solve the problems of the world. We start with a common concern, our love for the Barossa, and go from there.
E Magic happens at the kitchen table. The conversation segues from one thing to another and somehow hours disappear and I realise I’m supposed to be somewhere else.
M Elli has enormous energy, enormous organisational talents – I was so taken with the execution of the wedding that I recall saying to Colin [Beer, Elli’s dad] she could do over Generals MacArthur and Rommel before lunch then sit to enjoy one of her own. If I need to call on her expertise for a function, I tell her beforehand that it’s Rommel business. It’s become our code word.
E That’s my call to arms: “I need Rommel at the table!”
“We tend to catch up over lunch at the kitchen table – it could be as simple as horseshoe rolls from Apex bakery, ham and a fresh tossed salad – and solve the problems of the world. ”
M One of the most incredibly difficult times was when [my husband] Peter died. Elli sent me an email asking, What can I do, and signed it Rommel. The Beer girls were the first to show up at my door – Saskia brought a whole roast goose, still warm. They are a formidable team – Saskia [who died earlier this year] is still very much alive in my mind – and have always been there when the chips were down.
E We’ve shared some momentously happy days, like my wedding to Brett six years ago. They haven’t all been happy since then, but having Marg as the voice of reason always helps us get our balance back. Her adoring Brett means so much to me, even when it frustrates me – she does love to point out when he’s right. I also admire Marg’s ability to absorb and retain info. I only discovered recently that she was a Chinese history major – at no point before had that ever cropped up. My mind scoops up bright shiny things, so her ability to recall detailed information floors me every time.
M When we get serious, it tends to be about the preservation and promotion of the Barossa. As a community, we forged our core values over the decades. We have an enormous pride in and understanding of what we produce, and we have worked hard to strengthen the local economy and maintain our agricultural identity. It’s wonderful to have Elli and her friends – and there’s a cohort of people in this age group – ready to carry this on.
E What happens in the Barossa is very much volunteer driven. I’ve sat on about six committees but I’ve never volunteered for anything in my bloody life. Marg volunteers me. I get cross at her and say, “Why did you volunteer me?” and she says, “Because you’d be good at it.” She never apologises. But what I’ve learnt from Marg is that nothing is impossible. I’ve watched the impossible happen, I’ve seen the Barossa saved from development thanks to Marg and Mum and many others, and I know that when it’s your turn, you have to step up.
M Elli is talented and fierce and we share an understanding. We have the most wonderfully interesting conversations; she is one of my dear, dear friends.
E It’s all about food and conversation with us – and a glass of wine. And we operate under a cone of silence. If you could Hoover up our words from that kitchen table, we would both be in jail.
Interview_ Ute Junker
Photo_ Supplied