Daylesford Dispatch, Sunday, 17th July 2011

Dear Friends, thanks again for all the good wishes for Viva’s speedy recovery.

I left you last week with the big day of back-to-back footy games post breakfast. Rhonda joined us at Café 3460 and we caught up on her recent Fiji trip as well as enjoying some spirited discussion about Art Galleries pursuant to Wes and Glenn’s trip the day before to Healesville to see the Archibald paintings. We decided to drive to Docklands, park the car at our usual spot ($8 instead of $20 because we were early) and catch the train to the MCG. We did that, got to our seats which were half in and half out of the rain, and watched the Pies annihilate North by nearly 20 goals, which was very disappointing for all their supporters.

Then onto the train back to Spencer Street and into Docklands where we had good seats near the action and the roof was closed, so the rain wasn’t an issue. It was a very exciting and tense game, worthy of a Final, and when Carlton pulled away in the second quarter it looked all over. Amazingly the Doggies clawed their way back and managed to win. We left just before the end and got a good run home where the boys were very pleased to see us.

On Monday I drove to Melbourne to visit Viva who looks better each time I see her. She had really enjoyed Peter’s visit, but was longing to get home instead of wasting her days sitting around for hours on end with physio and meals her only interruptions. We had a good chat and after getting her settled with lunch I drove back here again. Wes had a ROMAC meeting with John Smith, so I made minestrone for dinner and we caught up on episodes of Taggart.

No golf again this week as it has been raining every morning. Wes has been putting in long hours at the computer, busy with all his projects, both personal and Rotary. I had a cuppa at Gracenotes Café with Sheila Hollingworth during the morning as she and her sister, Liz, left for overseas for 7 weeks yesterday. She and her husband, Vaughan, had to put down their much-loved Labrador, Daisy, unexpectedly a few weeks ago, so I took the boys with me to give her a Labrador fix!

In the afternoon I had a salt scrub with Ann, which was absolutely delightful. I came home feeling as though my whole body was soft and smooth and slept very well as a result. We watched episodes of ‘Kingdom’, with Stephen Fry, that we are really enjoying, over dinner last night.

On Wednesday the boys missed out on a walk as it was quite wet early, but the rain moved away in time for me to walk to Mah Jong. Wes had a busy morning on the computer while Carol, Dot, Valerie and I shared the Mah Jongs evenly for a change. Valerie drove me home as it was raining and I was able to give her some books to read. Then I had a manicure with Michelle, who now lives in the next street. By the time Rotary was due, I was back in bed, nearly asleep, so Wes went on his own and the boys and I had an early night.

We spent a most enjoyable day together in Melbourne on Thursday – I drove to the hospital (and Wes drove home) to see Viva, where we had a good visit and left her dipping into her lunch delights. We then drove to Malvern to visit Joan Testro, who was thrilled to see us both and entertained us regally. She has been in assisted accommodation for some time and was to go home on Friday, with the help of Lexie, who is moving in for a while, and Mandy, who is moving heaven and earth to make life at home easier for her. We were about to drive back here, when we realised we had 2 tickets to see ‘The Trip’, so drove to the Nova and duly saw it. We are so pleased we did – it is a good celebration of blokes out together, and although, we don’t know the two main characters, they were both most interesting and provided quite an intellectual challenge with their impersonations and poetry. Do see it if you get a chance. The boys were delighted to see us arrive home and we were all in bed early after a quick, late dinner.

 Friday was quiet – we were pleased to have no appointments apart from Wes’s early morning walk with Judi and the dogs, and I washed the cars, did the ironing, some gardening, computer work and crosswords, while he continued with all his projects.

It seems like a good time to continue with my chat about changes – one is going to happen shortly in our little bit of Duke Street – my masseuse, Ann Holden, is moving to West Street. Her daughter and son-in-law have bought a holiday home there and it was chosen with her in mind, as it has a detached studio on the block, which will enable her to work from there and will offer a much nicer environment than she currently has. The only drawback is that I will have to drive, but that is counterbalanced for Judi as Ann is now within walking distance of her.

When we first moved here, there were very few homes, holiday or otherwise, between us and the Lake. Now even the smallest block of land has a couple of places on it and the older houses in King Street immediately in front of us are all being modernised and put on the short-term accommodation market. Our neighbours, Geoff and Dorothy Bracher have moved to Ballarat and their home on the corner of King and Houston has been sold. Wonder what will happen there? As well, the Lake House is a much bigger complex than when we arrived. Alla and Alan have built waterfront suites, a conference/wedding centre and a day spa. The downside is that non-residents are no longer welcome for breakfast, morning or afternoon teas or just a drink on the veranda. We can still go to lunch or dinner of course. Alla is busy putting the finishing touches to her latest project in the Botanical Gardens – Wombat Hill House, which will be a café and store. Some years ago, Allan, Alla and their daughter, Larissa, moved up to live on Cornish Hill, which gives them a little distance from all their projects.

Yesterday Wes had a breakfast meeting with Ivor Bowen re Hepburn Voices, then went to visit Carol Bruce to set up our laptop for her to use while her computer is being repaired. Meanwhile I drove to Melbourne and had a good visit with Viva, who is recovering slowly but surely. I parked at Danny’s place in Northcote and caught the train to the MCG where I spent the afternoon with Matthew Spiteri, which was lovely. The match was terrific and Carlton played very well considering their injuries. Collingwood had been in the news for all the wrong reasons with Heath Shaw’s suspension for betting on footy and I thought we might not play well enough to beat Carlton as a result. There were 85,000+ at the game which was televised live, so Wes and Barbara watched it together at her place.

That night I went back to Danny’s where Greta, Harry and Celia had been watching the game, and then we went out to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant in Preston. Celia had to go home, but it was lovely to catch up with the other three and hear all about Danny’s 60^th birthday party.

 

This morning I left Northcote at 7am and drove back here to mist and rain and a good welcome from my three boys. We have just returned from breakfast at Café 3460, where eight of us enjoyed Kim’s treats, Gail’s conversation and some funny stories from our hospital visits. I think it will be a very quiet day for me reading the papers and listening to footy. The boys are asleep at our feet and very happy to be there, even though they missed out on their toast this morning, as it was too wet to take them to the Café.