Karen Maloney's Dispatch: Daylesford Spring Dispatch

We headed off to Castlemaine last Sunday after breakfast and spent a very useful 2.5 hours with Valerie making her computer more easily accessible and sorting out a few issues with her new phone. She was tickled pink and is enjoying using Skype already. When we arrived back here there was an email from Yvonne at the Sunday Market – her father had died during the week and she desperately wanted an A4 photo of him to sit on his coffin during the service the next day. We had one sheet of A4 photo paper left and miraculously were able to produce a perfect photo. She was in tears when I delivered it to her at Wheatsheaf.

On Monday I had hoped to play Mah Jong with Jane & Liz again, but as we had guests for lunch, and as I had to do last-minute shopping, ring Viva, set the table, arrange the flowers and do a quick clean-up, I decided it was too much to have everything ready and be at Hepburn Springs by 9.30am. This was a very wise decision – I even found time to clean our dirty cars, which encouraged the rain to fall even more heavily.

Lunch went well, we hadn’t seen two of our guests for many years and it was good to catch up with them and local friends, Di & Jeff. Wes cooked pork ribs and his famous fish pie, with green beans followed by yummy cheeses and Eton mess for sweets. The last guest left at 4.30pm, by which time we were all exhausted, but very happy it had gone so well.

Lovely photo of Wes on Girvan Beach, Scotland

Tuesday was another cold day, but not as wet, so Wes was able to do some weeding after gym. I think he was ready for a sleep by lunchtime as he had walked the boys early and then bathed them before gym. I had a manicure with Michelle in between tackling the washing and ironing.

Beautiful purple rhodadendron in our front garden – thank you Glenn Mack

Even though it was another cold morning on Wednesday, Wes walked the boys, then gardened for an hour or so before settling down to the computer. He took Barbara to lunch at Gracenotes Café and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Rotary. It is Art Show time, and although we are no longer the organisers, there is plenty for all Rotarians to do in setting up and manning the desks. I went to Mah Jong with Dot & Valerie, and we had our usual fun morning with lots of chat before, during and after the games.

During the afternoon I received two lovely welcome phone calls – the first from David Lazzaro who had time for a chat as well as a tip for Cup Day, and the second from Celia who rang to say she had finally received our card and parcel welcoming Isla. I didn’t realise she & Cory had moved, so sent the package to their old address and have been feeling sick since I discovered this. When Wes finally arrived home at 8pm, he was very weary, but had enjoyed a delightful interlude with Brian Nash, Ron Brown & Secundus at the Daylesford Hotel.

On Thursday we both had lots to do before settling in for the Art Show. I am in search of a round tin tray to replace the beautiful one I bought in Liberty, London in the 80/90s and it seems that round tin trays are no longer in fashion. Gail had found three in The Mill Markets, but none was quite right, so I will continue to look. Judi & Michael offered us their firewood so Wes collected a boot load before settling into gardening and mowing for the afternoon.

This amazing maple, which lives in our front garden, starts to fan out its foliage from the base of the trunk before slowly moving upwards…stunning

I have been reading a new author, Asa Larsson, suggested to me by Mary Goodall, who also enjoys Scandanavian detective fiction. Asa is Swedish and a tax lawyer by profession, so she has made her heroine, Rebecka Martinsson, one as well. I found her first book, The Savage Altar, remarkable in that I didn’t really like any of her characters – she does a good job of presenting them warts and all. However, the two dogs that featured were very lovable indeed! This book is set in Kiruna, in the far north of Sweden, which seems to be a very, very cold spot indeed.

While Wes spent most of Friday at the Town Hall preparing for and then being part of the Opening Night of the Daylesford Art Show, I attended a Special General Meeting of the U3A upstairs at The Food Gallery, to adopt the new Model Rules, which were passed unanimously. We are so lucky that many of the businesses in town see themselves as part of the community and are happy to host events such as this and foster goodwill among the locals, not just the visitors.

It was such a lovely day that we were able to sit outside for lunch, which Wes made – a very yummy vegetable risotto using our own spinach. We sat looking out over the Lake, over the Wombat Forest and over the many beautiful trees that are looking at their best at present, and thought how lucky we are to be living here with two of the best Labradors you could meet at our feet.

Another special labrador, Casper Cuddlepie, in Becky & Paul’s carry basket (no longer required by 1992) in the kitchen at 246 Brunswick Road

Later that afternoon a beautiful arrangement of flowers arrived from Jan Pengilley to say she was thinking of me and grateful for all the work I had done in the past three years of the Art Show. What a delightful surprise! Wes went off to look after the judge, Gordon Morrison, and his wife, Trish, while Jan had a break from the Town Hall and prepared for the evening. Wes was supposed to be on the floor canvasing sales, but he ended up being MC and dishpig, not at the same time. The night went well and 9 paintings were sold, which is a good start.

We did the early shift at the Farmers’ Market yesterday, which was quiet early as many of the locals and visitors were in Hepburn preparing for, and then enjoying, the Swiss & Italian Festa Grand Parade. We decided to have a late breakfast at The Good Food Store, in Howe Street, where we each enjoyed a very yummy omelette filled with mushrooms, spinach & tomatoes. The boys running this place used to have the Chowder House in Hepburn and are very popular. The little café is bright, bustling and very friendly – we’ll be back.

Our afternoon shift at the Art Show went well and there were lots of happy visitors. The Show is improved this year by a garden setting as you walk down to the entrance. Sales are steady and everyone seems very pleased with how it is going. We arrived home exhausted to discover that Ruscello, part-owned by Robert Preston, had won the Lexus Stakes, and was now into the Melbourne Cup, even if the trainer had to be persuaded. We watched the Victoria Derby, which was won in fine style by Polanski.