Daylesford Dispatch - Sunday, 30th November 2014

Dear Everyone, we started our week with a very successful couple of visits on Sunday. Firstly we drove to Arcare in Kooyong Road, Caulfield North, where we found Joan Testro looking fabulous and very happy and settled in her new home. We spent about an hour with her until she ran out of voice (only because she is on oxygen, not because she didn’t have any more to say) and went away thrilled to see her looking so good and so happy there. It is a beautiful place, with great staff and very easy to visit.

From there we drove to Brunswick to catch up with old friends, Mike Hill & Lorna Pitt, who live in West Wyck Eco Village, which occupies the building and grounds of the former Brunswick West Primary School in Hunter Street. The night before they had celebrated 21 years of sustainable development on the site with lots of current and old participants attending. We were amazed that they were able to butter up the next afternoon and spend some time with us! Wes enjoyed the political chats with Mike, Lorna and Kate Nash, who also joined us for red wine, cheesy biscuits and carrot cake. Eventually we had to leave as we knew Bilbo would have started crying around 5pm when I wasn’t there to feed him, even though he had demolished a bone, some cabbage leaves, celery and toast before 10am that morning.

Mike & Lorna’s kitchen where we sat

Wes made pumpkin & olive pizzas when we arrived back home – possibly his finest combination ever, and we tried to stay awake for the end of the cricket, but failed yet again!

On Monday it was raining, hailing, thundering and occasionally lightning was striking, so we didn’t play golf. Wes started on a walk with Bilbo, but came back home, so I took him out around 7.15am and we lasted about 35 minutes before Wes rescued us from getting drenched. We got stuck into the Christmas cards during the morning and then I went to Gracenotes Café to meet up with good friend, Trish Nield, who had lots of news to tell me, as well as wanting to hear about our trip. We sat happily until after the second hailstorm and then decided it would be good to try and get home without getting wet, which I just made!

That night Wes and Bob White had dinner together at the Pig & Whistle Hotel in Trentham East and a very fine night they made of it indeed. Wes really enjoyed his meal, as well as catching up with Bob and later had a tour of his garden, which is really looking good.

Bob’s flowering Tulip Tree

Understandably it was a slow start in the morning, so I went off to gym, walking there and back, as I am missing all the lovely walks we did in Scotland, and have decided I just need to take advantage of the fine, or not so fine, weather here. After gym we went to Wombat Nursery to buy some passionfruit plants that are guaranteed to grow in Daylesford....our previous attempt turned out to be those passionfruit that flower profusely, but don’t actually fruit. I had bought Wes a most beautiful rose on Sunday from Ken Rae and he planted it out the front where it looks very happy indeed.

The Golden Child rose with a beautiful perfume to match its lovely colour

I finally managed to get up and go walking with Wes and Bilbo at 5am on Wednesday and we did enjoy watching the sky turn pink as we walked in the half-light around Lake Daylesford. Barry the fisherman had caught a 7kg carp and was weighing it just as we arrived, so we watched him as he photographed it and then gently put it back in the water, where it swam away happily.

Dot, Valerie and I all played Mah Jong in between telling stories and laughing at ourselves and each other. After lunch with Valerie, I came straight home here as the repair-person was due from Barclays in Ballarat. She duly arrived, was named Karen, and declared the dishwasher needed to go into their factory to see why it was showing an error message that of course didn’t show while she was here.

Wes spent the afternoon in bed after working on weeding at our place, then fixing the sprinkler system at Barbara’s and hacking into her blackberries for her. He was exhausted when he came home and may have caught a chill when he got wet while playing with the sprinklers. We had thought about going to Aperitifs, which was at Kyle and Donna’s home, the Old Glenlyon Primary School, but called it off when Wes was so shivery.  

Wes made the very sensible decision to spend Thursday in bed and give himself a chance to recover completely from his unwellness. I went to gym, did a bit of shopping and then came home to make and cook the Christmas pudding, which takes 7 hours in total. Doing this is one of my favourite parts of Christmas preparation and I use a recipe that belonged to Viva. My only changes are to update the quantities to metric and add a little more fruit and rum!

On Thursday afternoon, along with much of the cricket world, we were shocked and sad to hear of the death of Phil Hughes, whose injury was so unexpected and yet so fatal. The Age newspaper has given us some wonderful stories and thoughts from their journalists and from other cricketers. The ABC has treated his death with respect and gravitas both on TV and the radio, and FB has been inundated with photos and videos of his life. I love the celebration of his life through a minute’s silence, through the retirement of his one-day number, through the poignant tributes of flowers, bats and caps, and to the postponement of the start of the 1^st Test in Brisbane next week.

                                                                                                                              

Fortunately Wes woke feeling much better on Friday and was able to take Bilbo for a walk, before sitting down at the computer to catch up on his emails and phone calls. I joined the Bushwalkers and we all drove to Nolan’s Crossing, where four of us branched off to do the shorter walk. I had taken Bilbo with me and drove Josie there and back. Bilbo was very well behaved and really enjoyed the adventure, including a couple of dips into some creeks we crossed. We got a little lost on our way back and ended up coming home along the road as that was the shortest distance to travel and we were all tired and needed to be back in Daylesford.

Nellie Kelly passionfruit

Wes was waiting for me to come back as he had to drive to Geoff Howard’s office in Ballarat to collect voting materials as he was opening the Clarkes Hill Primary School election booth yesterday morning. I had set off with keys to both cars, so Wes was stuck at home until I arrived back, whereupon he left and Bilbo and I had a rest. We had a very late lunch of seared fresh tuna and salad from our garden, before resting up again for a couple of hours, as we had been invited next door by Rob & Dene to tell a few Scottish stories, drink a sparkling red or two and eat some yummy serious nibbles.

Yesterday we were both up early – Wes to walk Bilbo and then head off for 3 hours on the polling booth – me to go supermarket shopping and do some serious re-potting of Roma tomatoes, chilies and Italian parsley. We had postal voted last week, so didn’t need to join the long queues at Daylesford Primary School, or even the non-existent queues at Hepburn Primary School.

We were delighted with Labor’s victory, which seemed assured almost from the very start of counting and Denis Napthine gave a very gracious concession speech around 10pm. It was good to see the Greens poll so well and we can only hope that our new State Government is a little less high-handed than its predecessors and that it resists the temptation to blame everything on the previous government – a tactic that never fails to irritate.

We are expecting a very hot day for our last day of Spring and it is already 20°. Wes has taken Bilbo for his early walk and now Bilbo is sitting at my feet in case I think of visiting the market without him. After that we will meet up with Judi, Janine, Barbara & Aileen for breakfast and later in the day we are off to Sailors Falls Estate Winery for drinks & finger food to celebrate Rob McDonald’s 70^th birthday.

Sunrise over Lake Daylesford yesterday morning

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 23rd November 2014

Dear Everyone, I left you last Sunday as we were about to have a busy day. Rhonda & I enjoyed a good catch-up over breakfast and at another table, John, Jan, Jan’s sister, Jen, and Barbara, were also having breakfast at Gracenotes Café. After taking their little Daylesford home off the market, John & Jan were made an offer they couldn’t refuse, and Daisy-Lea has sold. We will be sorry that they are no longer a regular part of our lives in Daylesford, and they have been good friends to Barbara as well, inviting her to join them for meals, cuppas etc.

A selection of roses from our garden including Don Bradman, Freesia, Dioressence, Hot Cocoa & Perfume Passion

During our busy day, we received an unexpected and very welcome visit from Kathy & Gerard Lazzaro, who had decided to drive to Daylesford on the spur of the moment. After spending some time chatting here, we persuaded them to follow us to Trentham, where we were meeting Wes’s cousin, Glenn Testro, for a drink at the Cosmopolitan. Not only did Glenn arrive, but also Bob White and his friend, Kevin, who had been to Woodend to a concert. We made a fun group sitting around a table chatting over the latest release of Passing Clouds very yummy shiraz cabernet. We said goodbye after a couple of hours and drove home, picking up fish and chips on the way.

The next morning was too wet for golf, which was a blessing, as we slept in. During the night a fuse blew and turned out all the clock radios, TV lights etc and I woke in a fright as everywhere was so very dark. At 3.30am Wes got up and reset the power in the fuse box and everything returned to normal, except that none of us wakened at 5am, not even Bilbo. As it was Wes’s birthday, I persuaded him to have tea and toast in bed reading the paper, while Bilbo enjoyed a late yummy bone.

Birthday cuddles!

Wes had an important meeting with the CEO of the Hepburn Shire, so spent some time getting ready for that and was pleased to get a good hearing over 90 minutes, as he tried to inspire Aaron to get excited about the Lake Daylesford precinct. After that Wes arrived back home and decided to make one of his yummy risottos and we sat down over drinks while it was cooking. I had found a bottle of the Edradour Whisky which Wes had loved so much when we visited their tiny distillery in Pitlochry, and Judi had dropped by with a bottle of Talisker Whisky, that is made in Carbost on the Isle of Skye and is a lovely memory of our time there.

On Tuesday Wes and Bilbo had a long early walk around town and I went to gym, before we had a quick visit from Glenn Mack armed with a loaf of ciabatta, and then Nick Massaro arrived to give me a long-overdue massage, which I enjoyed very much and can now turn my head more easily in each direction! That afternoon we visited David Hall, whose wife, Lorelle, died 6 months ago. We were looked after with shiraz and smoked salmon delicacies and had a great chat with a man who never stops seeing the big picture and whose head is always full of great ideas.

Again a fuse blew and we realised that something was wrong with the dishwasher, so consulted the Daylesford Community Grapevine on Facebook to find someone reliable to come and fix it. Everyone recommended Barclays in Ballarat, so I rang them and they will be out next Wednesday. In the meantime, it is back to washing up and the tea-towels are getting a good workout.

Mah Jong on Wednesday was enjoyable, although we discovered that our friends, Gail & Terry White, had put down their cat, Aladdin, the previous day, and were very upset, as Laddie had been a great friend for many years, especially here in Daylesford. I dropped in to see Gail with some roses from the garden, and lots and lots of books for her to read. Meanwhile Wes spent the morning working at Barbara’s place before she took him to lunch at the Farmers’ Arms Hotel.

Bilbo turned 10 on Thursday, so we sang Happy Birthday and gave him an extra treat of a dog biscuit coated in Vegemite, which he loved, before he tucked into his morning bone. After gym I cut some more roses, packed the laptop and photos and headed to Strathmore to visit Leanne. We enjoyed an excellent visit, catching up on each other’s news and I was able to show her some of the photos of our trip, and particularly the ones taken at St Columba’s Isle at Skeabost on the Isle of Skye. Leanne had sent home a yummy carrot cake and her gift to Wes was a bottle of Jamieson Irish Whisky, so he is now spoiled for choice! I arrived back here mid-afternoon quite tired from the drive and had a couple of hours rest before driving Wes and David Hall to Neil’s place in Hepburn Springs for a Boys’ Night out. Wes had spent hours in the garden and taken Barbara for a big shop, which was well overdue, and was looking forward to a night of nonsense while watching a comedy.

The Bushwalking Group travelled to Fryerstown on Friday and I took Judi & Di in my car. We joined up with 6 others to do the shorter walk, which took about 2 hours, and was very well led by Josie, who had lots of pieces of information to give us, as well as making sure that we stayed together. I had hoped to take Bilbo, but Josie had suggested the walk would be too hard for him. However the dog that did accompany us didn’t have any problems, so I am a bit sorry that I didn’t follow my instinct to bring him anyway. We were a very happy and congenial group and I did enjoy especially spending time with Judi, Di & Josie and catching up on their news.

The Autumnal view from our window in Pitlochry

When I got home Wes was not long home from Ballarat where he had been for a haircut; to get some underwear, socks & shoes, and most importantly, to buy his birthday gift of a new office chair. Sadly it comes in a flat pack and needs to be erected! I quickly showered and changed and we drove to Glenn Mack’s home, where he had invited us & Gillie for a seafood laksa lunch. I’m sorry I don’t have any photos, as lunch was a work of art and tasted as good as it looked.

Yesterday morning after Bilbo had been on two walks – the early one with Wes and a later one with me, we met our old friend, Ron Prophet, and his partner, Debbie, at Gracenotes Café for a catch-up breakfast as they were in town for 36 hours or so. We all enjoyed a very yummy meal and chattered away happily for about 90 minutes. 

One highlight was the arrival of Chris & Malcolm, with Chris hobbling and looking hung-over – he’d been to his work break-up the night before and danced the night away! Malcolm was the designated driver, hadn’t had a drink or a dance, and looked in much better shape than Chris.

There is big excitement in Vincent Street, with a new improved pedestrian crossing that includes two trees and some very ugly plants in planter boxes. This has taken about 6 weeks to create and includes a raised hump where pedestrians walk, which forces cars to make way instead of playing Russian roulette with them.

Last night we watched the first half of the International Rules game in Perth against the Irish in the hybrid game that is neither one thing nor the other. There was one marked improvement in the match and that was the performance of the Aussies, who have been lacklustre for the past 4 years. They had a big enough lead at half-time to stave off the late Irish charge in front of 38,000+.

Today after Bilbo and I return from the Sunday Market, we will have breakfast at the Food Gallery with Judi, Janine, Barbara, Gillie and Aileen. Then we are on the road to Melbourne, where we hope to visit Joan Testro in Prahran and Mike Hill in Brunswick.

Wes at the grave of Rob Roy McGregor’s family and yes, it was raining when I took this!

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 16th November 2014

 Dear Everyone, although it is lovely to be home, we are missing those wonderful Scottish mountains, the deep greens and the flowing water. I keep asking Wes to put in a waterfall somewhere to remind us of Scotland! 
We are well and truly over jetlag and back to normal, although it did take some time.

Last Sunday we drove to Carlton North to visit the Robinsons and spent a very enjoyable short visit with them. Robbo is very thin, still on liquids only, but definitely on the road to recovery. We sat in their peaceful lounge together for about 40 minutes, before we thought we should go, in case we were starting to tire him out. On our way home we detoured looking for Christmas cards and eventually found some at Robinsons Bookstore – quite a coincidence!

We had planned to go to the 4pm session of The Lunch Box at the Daylesford Cinema, but arrived back just as it would be starting, and as we were both tired, decided to have a quiet night at home. I’m sure Bilbo was pleased with that decision.

On Monday, the wind was cold, but the weather was fine, so we headed off to Trentham Golf Club and played our first game of golf together since March. We were surprised to find we could still hit the ball and enjoyed our first few holes, especially the 7^th where Wes made par. On the 8^th everything deserted him, and on the 9^th I went to pieces, so we decided not to play the 10^th and walked off the course moderately content with our first foray in ages.

Our latest rose, Munstead Wood, with a beautiful perfume to boot!

Back home it was time for a henna, and then Wes did some gardening, before turning his hand to a baked trout with Kipfler potatoes, which was very yummy. I was worried about him after his busy morning and he decided to have a sleep, while I spent the afternoon sorting out Energy Australia, which had abruptly stopped debiting our direct payments while we were away and then sending threatening letters, which Judi opened and scanned and sent to me. The good news is that I have sorted that issue to everyone’s satisfaction, and Wes woke after 3 hours looking and feeling so much better for the deep sleep.

He was due to chair an ALP meeting that night, but most of the members were apologies, so he held an informal drinks session at the Daylesford Hotel, which was attended by Eddie & Jenny Beacham, and David & Penny Reilly. I would love to have gone with him to see how I coped with an easy night activity, but I was tired as well after my day, and was asleep by 8pm!

On Tuesday I went back to gym and enjoyed being there again. Everyone welcomed me enthusiastically and I tried not to overdo it for the first time back. Then off to Lyndal at The Cutting Studio for a fringe trim, before spending a couple of hours with Emma at EKO, having a face rub and getting my fingers & toes looking good again. Wes and Barbara had gone together to the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph and we all arrived home at the same time. Joe Rozen dropped in shortly afterwards to catch up with us, which was lovely.

We have enjoyed some beautiful Spring weather this week and it is tempting to spend all day in the garden weeding, but there are still lots of computer activities to be done and early Wednesday morning was spent making sure everything on the laptop had been handled or transferred to our computers, before Wes went out into the garden and I went to Mah Jong. Dot, Valerie and I did enjoy catching up and we even fitted in a few games as well as chatting.

That afternoon I dropped into Brick Lane to see Gail & Terry and found them talking to John Smith who was visiting Daylesford briefly! I was sorry to see that Gail is still not recovered from her awful cough and hope she will be much better soon. It seems to be a rotten thing to catch and I am grateful that neither of us did catch it.

Wes had been asked to open the Swiss & Italian Festa Landscape Exhibition upstairs at The Rex that night and I decided I would like to go with him, especially as it was a 6pm start. I spent a quiet afternoon, but Wes had heaps of energy after his good sleep, so he spent about 4 hours over at Barbara’s tidying up her garden, as well as working on our own.

The Exhibition was good and I enjoyed catching up with old and new friends, while Wes did a great job, with no briefing, of opening the Exhibition. Cr Kate Redwood, the incoming Mayor of Daylesford, was there as Council’s only representative, and he praised her commitment to Art and expressed the hope that Council would send some more money in that direction. We were pleasantly surprised with the standard of the entries in the Art Show and they were hung to advantage in a good space. The Winners were popular decisions, as were the Highly Commended, and hopefully there were some sales after we left.

We both slept in on Thursday and Bilbo had to make do with a bone and no walk, but we both awake to find ourselves with energy and no ill effects of our late (for us) night. I headed off to gym and, apart from some phone calls, and bill paying, had appointments locally and in Ballarat.

In between them I spent a very pleasant time with Judi, as we hadn’t really seen each other since our return from Scotland. Wes did some more mowing here in the back and then watered everywhere – our tanks are full and we can afford to soak the ground.

Wes went off to Trentham to play golf again on Friday morning, while I geared myself up to return to the Bushwalking Group after an absence of some years. It was a perfect morning for a walk, and I joined the small group which were doing the shorter walk as a way to ease back in. Many of the old gang gave me a lovely welcome back and I did enjoy catching up with them and then walking along the railway line and back into town over a couple of hours with friends.

We then collected Gillie and Glenn and headed to the latest sensation in Hepburn Springs – a Turkish café called Moor Please, which has been getting rave reviews. I don’t know what Gillie & Glenn thought, but we were underwhelmed....the space is good, the service is good, the music is too loud, you can’t book a table and they don’t take credit cards. Three of us had pizzas, which were overpriced at $20+ each and Glenn’s dozen oysters were $33 which seemed extravagant, even though they came with a splash of arak. However, it was lovely to catch up with both these dear friends and to hear a little of Gillie’s travels, as she has been away, mostly in Italy, since August.

Bilbo doing what he does best!

Yesterday Wes spent the morning getting the garden in good shape – mowing, weeding, clipping and watering, before washing down the decking, as we were having an unexpected visit from old Brunswick friends, Rocco di Zio and family, who were up for the Swiss & Italian Festa.

I went to Coles and Tonnas early to make sure we had provisions for afternoon tea, then potted some baby spinach and planted out our five grosse lisse tomato plants, as well as putting some Italian parsley seedlings in the greenhouse, where they are already thriving.

Slowly but surely we are getting back to our routines, catching up on phone calls with Melbourne friends, spending time with Daylesford friends, discovering all the changes that happened while we were away, and getting Fawlty Towers back in full use by the local rosellas.

It was lovely to see Rocco, his wife, Elsa, their daughter, Vera, and a young friend, Claudia, who arrived mid-afternoon, having spent a few hours down at the Hepburn Springs Reserve enjoying all the Swiss & Italian Festa entertainment. Rocco used to be a journalist with Il Globo and we had a lot to do with him when Wes was on Brunswick Council in the 80s.

This morning after the Sunday Market, I am having breakfast with Rhonda Lubin, at Gracenotes Café, as our usual breakfast has been cancelled. We hope to visit Aileen, who has been in Perth and see how she and her mother, Dorothy, are coping these days, and later on, drive to Trentham to see Wes’s cousin, Glenn, and hear how he is finding life in the country these days. And if we have the energy, there is a new exhibition opening at the Convent Gallery, which looks quite exciting.

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 9th November 2014

 Dear Everyone, when I last wrote we were about to spend our last day in Scotland. We rose early, enjoyed a last breakfast at Greystones and drove 2 hours to the pretty little town of Colintraive to catch the 5-minute ferry to the Isle of Bute. Our interest in this island came because Emily Knox, daughter of Jane & David, is happily living in London with Alan Kinnear, who hails from there. We arrived in perfect sunshine at the top of the island, and drove 30 minutes or so to visit the Fernery at Ascog House. We had read about the Fernery and I emailed the owner, Karin, to find out if they would be open. She said they had closed officially but would be happy to let us see the garden for £2 each.

We knocked on the door, but there was no answer and we didn’t like to trespass so left a note and went onto our next site – St Blane’s Chapel at the very bottom of the island. Well we couldn’t find it and by this time the rain was bucketing down so we headed back to Kingarth and spotted the Three Standing Stones on our way (having missed them the first time). Lunch at the pub was a treat – wood fire, haunch of venison on the menu, wooden carriers with 9 different sauces & vinegars on each table, as well as fresh flowers, and although we got drenched getting in the welcome was warm. Thanks to Emily for the suggestion.

After lunch, we headed into the capital, Rothesay, which reminded us very much of St Kilda, with lots of Victorian architecture, including a Victorian toilet block, which is worth the 30p entrance fee. The Museum was closed, but we enjoyed the Interpretive Centre, which is housed in an enclosed gazebo-like building and tells the history of Bute. When the rain eased off, we headed for the Castle, but there was no-one to collect tickets and audios from, so we bravely walked across the moat and had a look around. It was meaningless without some audio assistance and the rain was getting heavier, so we set off to visit the other side of the island.

Eventually it was time to catch the 4pm ferry to another pretty town, Wemyss, and that took about 40 minutes and brought us closer to Glasgow. Night was falling and Wes did well to negotiate about 100 roundabouts before we found the airport and more particularly the Avis car return area.

We checked in, discovered we couldn’t talk our way into the Emirates Lounge, so sat in the Caledonian bar, where one of the girls behind the bar thought Prosecco was a brand, and Wes mellowed with a couple of Oban whiskies, while I had a prosecco and then a red wine.

Our flight was OK – the seats in the plane were uncomfortable, the blanket was thin, as were the pillows and after watching an episode of Wallander, I skipped dinner and tried to sleep for the rest of the 7 hours we were in the air.

Making notes in Dubai

We arrived in Dubai and, as we were flying Qantas on this last leg, had no trouble getting into the Emirates Lounge, where we confirmed our domestic tickets from Sydney to Melbourne, I had a shower and Wes got the results of the Melbourne Cup including the very sad death of Admire Rakti.

The next 14 hours were some of the best we have ever spent in the air – we can’t fault the crew – from the moment we arrived and were greeted with warm smiles and some friendly banter until we left the plane in Sydney. Our crew really seemed to enjoy working with each other, and as well as showing infinite patience with us all, they didn’t stop working. The toilets were in constant use and were cleaned frequently; we were frequently offered glasses of cold water; given bags of chips; later bags of M&Ms, and lastly, fresh bananas. The seats were comfortable, the pillows and blanket more than adequate and when we tired of watching films, we did manage to get some sleep.

I’ve now caught up on the following films – Jersey Boys (which I loved), Grace of Monaco (which was good to see on a plane), Closed Circuit (which was great), and an old favourite, Notting Hill. Our welcome in Sydney was good, we were able to collect our boarding passes, check in our luggage and sit quietly in the Qantas Club waiting for the final 90 minutes of flying to be over.

Of course it soon was and we landed in Melbourne to very warm greetings from Immigration and no interest at all from Customs, and outside to find huge queues for buses and taxis, almost as though it was Christmas. The van from Andrew’s arrived quickly; we collected our car and set off for home, admiring the unbroken skies and the colours of Spring on our way.

Red poppies in our back yard

After unpacking and starting the first load of washing, we headed for bed, where Wes fell asleep instantly and I caught up with the local papers as well as The Age. We had something to eat around 8pm, and then tried to sleep and found ourselves with pots of tea, reading and eating mince pies at 2am. The mince pies were courtesy of Dene & Rob from next door and were very welcome indeed. Judi had left us beautiful lilies, tomatoes, cheese, fresh bread and juice, so we could survive until the next day.

On Thursday morning we were awake early so I went shopping at Coles and Tonnas and once it was a civilised hour, Wes did the first mow of our rather long grass. Then he drove to Ballarat to pick up Bilbo, while I tried to balance our accounts on Reckon. Bilbo arrived crying with excitement and seemed to spend the first few minutes looking for Frodo, before he finally accepted that Frodo wasn’t around and settled down to enjoying the comforts of home. He looked very clean and fluffy after his bath, if a little tubby – apparently Andrew & Annette couldn’t resist spoiling him!

Wes spent the afternoon visiting Barbara and helping her with various things that needed doing, including shifting back her furniture which had been moved by the chaps installing her blinds and not replaced. I went to bed and eventually to sleep, which was a mistake as I was wide awake at 12.30am and didn’t get much more sleep, while Wes and Bilbo enjoyed close to 11 hours and both looked much better for it.

We both got lots done on our computers, handled the mail, copied everything from the laptop back to our own computers and started to feel in control of our lives again. I spoke with Leanne, who sounded good, and delivered thank you gifts to Judi & Jeff, who had been so very helpful during the 5 weeks we were away. By early afternoon I was sound asleep and managed to sleep most of the night, so felt much better yesterday morning.

Wes walked Bilbo very early and I washed the cars, before doing some more shopping, pumping mineral water at Lake Daylesford and doing some more computer work. After helping a friend who had gotten into difficulties with an undesirable client, Wes cooked another lovely lunch, (which makes three in a row), before he tackled mowing in the bottom part of the garden. The rest of the day we rested as we have a busy one today.

Bilbo & I are off to the Sunday Market, and then we three are off to breakfast, where we will catch up with Judi, Janine, Margot & Barbara, before heading to Melbourne to visit the Robinsons and see for ourselves that Ian is really on the road to recovery.

There are lots of seats in Rothesay and all are dedicated to people who have died...some of them have flowers tied to them like this seat.

Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 2nd November 2014

 Dear Friends, after another yummy breakfast on Friday, we decided to head out on the road again – Wes had found a few spots that were of interest and we were keen to enjoy more of the countryside. Our first stop was at Dalmally, where we followed a narrow road up onto a hill where we found a Monument to Duncan Ban MacIntyre, Poet & Soldier, which had been erected after his death by his friends. Duncan was illiterate, but is the best known Scottish Gaelic poet.

Getting there, the Monument, the words and the view

 We also stopped at Balquhidder, where most of Rob Roy McGregor’s family is buried, although he isn’t! The Church was closed so we couldn’t look at it, but we wandered around the graveyard and took a couple of photos to remember it by.

Then onto the very pretty town of Callander, in Stirling, the gateway to the Highlands. Sadly there were serious roadworks going on and it was easier not to stop! We did think it would be a very pretty place to spend some time during another trip! There is a pink building called the Roman Camp Hotel, which is sited near Roman ruins, and gets rave reviews for its accommodation and afternoon teas.

Delightful road sign in Callander

 We followed another road to look for the Inchmahome Priory and discovered that it was the last day to visit. You pull up at a little shed, walk to the end of the pier and summon the boat which takes you to the island in the Lake of Menteith. Sadly we were too late to do this as the last boat home was at 3pm and it was getting close to that time.

On we drove by the side of Loch Venachar, which is between Callander & the wonderfully named Brig o’Turk. Wes had read about a café/restaurant that served lunch until 4pm and got rave reviews from Trip Advisor. We are so pleased we persevered and found The Harbour Café, as it delivered in spades. We each chose a whole baked rainbow trout, sourced from the Loch, and it would give Tuki Trout a run for its money. The only downside was that it was served without the head, but when we waylaid the chef to congratulate him, he agreed that it would be better if the head was left on, but 80% of his customers disagreed.

The photo doesn’t do the meal justice, but you can see the little vase of fresh flowers, the loch in the background, and other happy diners. Great service as well.

We drove back home through torrential rain and inky blackness as well, as wintry weather has set in by 5pm most days.

Yesterday we decided to have a break from driving and went for a lovely long walk around parts of Oban we haven’t seen before. We walked out along the shore to find the Lighthouse Pier, and managed to walk about a mile beyond it before discovering it was private property and we couldn’t get to it all.

We wandered around The Coliseum, aka McHaig’s Monument, found an old Carmelite Convent, now a private home, as well as two more churches we had not seen here before.

While Wes fossicked in one of the many charity shops here looking for a new book (Michael Dibdin hasn’t hit the spot for him), I went to the hairdresser to see if I could get a fringe trim. The young girl who did the trim was thrilled that I had come back after having a fringe trim last year and confessed that although she was now a redhead and fully-qualified, she had been the blonde apprentice who cut my fringe back in July 2013.

At 2pm we headed off to Ee-Usk on the pier for lunch and enjoyed the finest oysters we can remember. We followed them by a cold dish of salmon three ways – hot smoked, cold smoked and cold cooked with salad and tiny chips. This was a stunning meal and we finished it off with a great chat with the couple at the next table, who had moved here from England, and were loving life in Oban.

Back in our room, Wes decided it was time to try out the deep bath in the middle of our bathroom, and has declared it best bath ever! I’m sure the whisky helped give that impression.

This morning we woke early to the sound of rain battering the seven windows in our room and made a decision to cancel the short ferry trip to one of the small islands, where we had planned an 11km walk.

Instead we set off when the rain eased down and drove up to Pulpit Hill, which offers stunning views of Oban Harbour, then back down to the shoreline to see where the ferry we had planned to catch left from, and discovered it was a tiny, standing-room only affair.

Then off to visit Carnasserie Castle (1570s), a spectacular ruin, just outside of Kilmartin. You can climb 5 levels at one point and 3 at another, each of 95 steps and the very top provides great views of the surrounding countryside, which is Pictish in character. The rain held off while we walked the .5km to this Castle and explored it, and stayed away while we wandered the churchyard of the historic Kilmartin Church of Scotland. The Kilmartin Stones is an important collection of early Christian & medieval carved stones, some housed in a mausoleum & others lying in the graveyard.

Fun and games squeezing through this entrance to the walk to the Castle

I must thank everyone back in Daylesford who has made our trip away so much easier. A special thanks to Judi Allen, who has been collecting & checking the mail; as well as visiting Maloney Folly frequently, especially through the stormy days; and keeping plants watered and happy.

Thanks also to Jeff Bain, who has taken over my job of Bin Monitor for our piece of Duke Street; to our next-door neighbours, Rob & Dene, who have looked after Maloney Folly on weekends; to Barbara Simpson, who oversaw the repair of our bedroom blind cord; and to our Facebook friends, especially Jane Barrett, Lyndall Jenkin, Carol Bruce, Rod & Marg McDonald & Caroline Storm, who haven’t stopped commenting on our trip and/or keeping us up to date with local news.

Thanks to Jeff & Kev Hoolihan for following us so closely from Lincolnshire and to Leigh & Simon who delayed moving home for a weekend to join us on the Isle of Skye.

We head off early tomorrow to drive to Glasgow and hope that the rain isn’t too heavy and that we can tick off a couple more special things before returning the car at the airport and spending the next 24 hours in the air.

Good news also to read that Ian Robinson is home from hospital and on the slow road to recovery. Warren Pengilley remains in hospital in Melbourne and we hope that he will soon be home again as well. It feels strange to be missing the Daylesford Art Show and especially the Spring Racing Carnival, although with the help of tips from Leanne & Danny, we have managed to back the Cox Plate & Derby winners so far. We will be in the air when the Cup is run and will find out the result when we land in Sydney.

View from our window of the ornamental grape through the rain

Finally a big thank you to Viva, whose legacy made this five weeks happen – we know she would have been thrilled that we spent this time in Scotland that she loved so much.