Daylesford Dispatch - Saturday, 2nd March 2013

Dear Friends, I’m sending this a day early – firstly to celebrate the start of Autumn and secondly because tomorrow morning will be spent cleaning up Daylesford Cemetery & the afternoon at our friends, Bill & Sue Longley’s 50^th Wedding Anniversary which is being held at Sailors Falls Estate winery.

I’ve just returned from the Farmers Market, where Wes & I did a double shift as no-one came to relieve us at 10am! It was quite cold, but we enjoyed interacting with the visitors and locals & we had International Women’s Day ribbons to give out to the first 50 females who came through the gates. It was a great day for children as there was an Animal Nursery as well as the chooks that are usually for sale. We thought the numbers were fewer than usual, but everyone stayed much longer & went out laden with fruit & vegetables, honey, plants, chooks, emu oil products, local cheeses, wines, beers & barbecued snags in bread.

Wes has driven to Ballarat to visit our friend, David Reilly, who had a double knee reconstruction earlier in the week, and is recovering from that big operation. It sounds as though he has had a few blood transfusions and today they are stopping all the drugs except Panadol!

              Greta & Harry with baby Penny on Day 2

We’ve had lots of rain here in Daylesford which has been wonderful, but we were only able to play golf once, on Monday morning, where Wes birdied the last hole, which means he is champing at the bit to return! Because of my gym work, I am hitting the ball further, but my short game remains in need of practice and I count any hole where I score a bogey or double bogey as a good result.

Viva aged two

When I was speaking to Viva on Tuesday after she had seen her local doctor and received a very good report, she told me that she & Leanne had been given the flu injection. So I rang our clinic and got an appointment for later that day. Wes was home from hydro with Barbara in Ballarat by then, so he came with me in case I had a reaction. Because I am asthmatic I am entitled to a free injection, even though the free flu clinics weren’t operating. The nurse told me that it takes 2 weeks before your body is immune, so I am pleased I was able to get the injection early. However, ever since, I feel as though I have a different strain of flu each day and my days have been quite short & punctuated by tiredness, coughing & headaches.

Lovely snap of Manny & Joyce Spiteri at a NIBA ball in 1993

Apart from gym, I’ve spent time with Dot, who rang to say she couldn’t play Mah Jong on Wednesday as she was having her stitches out after her knee operation, so we caught up at Harvest Café for a cuppa & chat; Rhonda was available on Thursday afternoon, so we rendezvoused at The Larder, which I haven’t entered since they did drastic renovations about 18 months ago, & yesterday Wes and I met Judi for Morning Tea at Gracenotes Café to celebrate her birthday, which is today.

It’s probably just as well that I have no energy and am spending each afternoon reading, doing crosswords, Words with Friends, Logic Puzzles or watching old episodes of Poirot & Midsummer Murders, as I only halfway through my list of 14 authors to read by 21^st March when we meet to discuss female detective fiction. So far the best new author I have come across is another Icelandic one - Ysra Sigurdardóttir, whose main character is a lawyer, Thóra Gudmunsdóttir, and a Swedish writer, Helene Tursten, whose character is Detective Inspector Irene Huss.

Viva’s mother, Doll Munro, with my sister, Paun, in 1989

Our good friend, Marjorie Atkinson, turned 80 yesterday & celebrated with friends by having yum cha next to the Sunshine Police Station on the Ballarat Road! Wes rang her in the morning & she was most excited about her achievement. Viva celebrates her 91^st birthday next Friday & she assured me this morning she is more than ready to reach this milestone. We will be visiting her & Leanne, probably for morning tea, and Peter & Anka will be in Melbourne for the weekend, so she will see them as well, which is lovely. We missed last year’s 90^th as we were overseas, and were determined we wouldn’t be away on 8^th March this year.

As usual the Labour Day Long Weekend in Daylesford will be very busy, with ChillOut activities in particular, including the Street Parade & a huge celebration at Victoria Park on the Sunday. Danny & Kim are coming to stay with us, so I am not sure when I’ll get to send the next Dispatch.