Dear
Friends, we started our week very well with a good trip to the Sunday Market, a
fun breakfast, where Bilbo got more than his share of bacon & eggs on
toast, and arrived back home for me to make a big pot of minestrone soup, and
Wes to spend some time in the garden.
You can just see Bilbo
in his Collingwood coat sitting outside the window waiting for Barbara, Margot,
Judi & Janine to arrive and say hello.
After
a cold morning, the sun came out in the afternoon in time for us to attend our
first ever ‘Commitment Ceremony’ between old friend, Chris Dobson, and new
friend, Suzanne Brimacomb. There were nearly 100 invited guests and we were
very adequately contained within a marquee extension of the garage and kitchen.
Everyone we have spoken with agrees it was a loving and meaningful ceremony,
and we can all only hope that they can be married within the next 12 months.
We
arrived home to find ourselves quite exhausted after all our socialising from
Friday to Sunday, and were in bed and sound asleep very early.
I
went to gym the next morning and then enjoyed a very welcome massage from Nick
Massaro, who was not long back from a lovely holiday in Rockhampton with his
wife, Robyn. Wes made his famous fish pie for lunch and we watched episode 2 of
the BBC’s Undercover, which we are really enjoying.
Wes
spent 2.5 hours later in the day helping Margot with her computer, which
desperately needed updates and was very pleased to come home to tea and toast.
It
wasn’t cold on Tuesday, but very foggy – Wes & Bilbo walked early and I
delivered my latest crop of beanies & berets to Mell Sappho, who runs
Keeping Daylesford Warm. She is always very appreciative, which keeps me going!
Berets & beanies
are at the top of the page
Wes, Lauren & Malcolm, AKA the A Team,
were showing ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ but I needed to go to Ballarat more
than I needed to see that film, so off I went in the fog to pick up a few
things that I just can’t get in Daylesford, as well as visit the NAB ATM to
change card pin numbers & get out cash. The film was well received and the
Daylesford Cinema decided to have an encore performance on Wednesday night as
it was so popular.
In
the afternoon, we had an appointment at our local Post Office, to apply
formally for our new passports. It took about 10 minutes, including photos, and
we found it a very easy and relaxing way to renew passports. We aren’t planning
on travelling anywhere this year, but we both felt it would be a shame if the
opportunity arose and we were unable to take it.
On
Wednesday after gym, Wes and I headed to Muffins & More for a catch-up with
Dot & John Smith & Valerie Lefel, as Dot & John are off to Coff’s
Harbour for 5-6 weeks on the weekend. We had originally planned lunch, but John
had double-booked, so Wes came in early for coffee and a chat.
John, wearing the Fair
Isle jumper I knitted him, deep in conversation with Wes.
In
the afternoon, I took Bilbo for a walk around the Gardens, while Wes took
Barbara to do a big shop at Coles and to fill her car up with petrol. They had planned
to do this in the morning, but Barbara very kindly agreed to the change of time
so Wes could get to the café.
On
Thursday, we headed off to Castlemaine on one of our regular outings exploring
areas around where we live. We started at the Old Castlemaine Gaol, with a
cuppa at the Governor’s Café, which was quite underwhelming as you can see from
the look on Warren’s face! After that, we headed on our self-guided tour (you
can go anywhere but upstairs!) and were even more underwhelmed, if that is possible.
What a disaster this is and it could be such a wonderful and interesting place
for locals & visitors in Castlemaine. Signage was appalling, finding out
where to buy a ticket was difficult and we, along with other visitors, hadn’t
worked out that the initials OCG meant Old Castlemaine Gaol and thought they
referred to some Government Department that must have been using the many out
of bounds areas.
Our
next stop was the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens, where we did a circuit and
encountered a few locals walking dogs, some mothers & kids in the excellent
playground, and a few signs telling us about the fountain, lake, trees &
old tearooms. We eventually spotted two workers inspecting new growth, but
didn’t come away feeling that this was a particularly loved spot, bounded as it
is by the railway line and streets.
We
decided to visit Das Kaffeehaus for lunch, as we had planned to do some months
ago, when we were going to meet Lovely & Malcolm in Castlemaine, but I was
too sick to go. What a delightful spot – we loved the Viennese style of the
décor, enjoyed the smiling, helpful greeting & service and best of all,
found interesting meals that we tucked into! This place has that very rare
person these days – a maître d’ and ours was a very attentive well-dressed
female who seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, making sure no one was
neglected.
My meal was a special called serviettenknödel
(friend bread dumplings with scrambled eggs & salad), while Wes asked for
the best sausage on the menu, which came served with two kinds of sauerkraut
& three mustards
After
lunch, we headed for the Castlemaine Art Gallery, which is always worth a
visit. Sadly, two couples were using the Australian artists’ room as a venue
for catching up, so we exited quickly and found ourselves in the very back
room, where there was a fascinating display entitled Beards & Influence.
Clayton Tremlett has 12 large self-portraits of himself as various Australian
bushrangers and it was amazing how different beards & facial hair make him
look immediately identifiable as Ned Kelly or Martin Cash for example.
Down
in the refurbished museum, we learnt much about Castlemaine’s history and early
persons of note & influence, including Nellie Sheehan, who was their first
female Councillor in 1942 & Mayor in 1954-5. We also read that the
Campbell’s Creek cemetery had a Chinese Burial Oven and decided to visit it on
our way home.
What
a wonderful cemetery – we loved it – it is easily the biggest country one we
have ever seen and gives the Chinese a prominent spot on a hill, where there is
a marble plaque celebrating their achievements, particularly on the goldfields.
The oven is bigger than the one at Maldon, but not in such good repair.
However, we are not suggesting for a minute that this cemetery isn’t well
looked after. It is immaculate, beautifully set out and on our drive through,
we discovered that old headstones, those had fallen over, had been replaced
carefully along the path, supported by the base of the hill.
We
drove home thinking that our day had been a big success, except for the Gaol,
which is desperately in need of TLC. Bilbo was delighted with our return and
the countdown to his dinnertime.
During
that night & early morning, there was a wild storm, which brought rain
everywhere, so that even cars under cover were completely covered in water. It
was too wet & wild to walk, or even to garden later, but I did go and pump
water, plus do the shopping at Coles in between showers.
In
the afternoon, I drove to Danny’s place in Northcote, so we could go to the
footy together that night. We met Danny’s friend, Nu, who is a North supporter,
and had a couple of drinks before going to our seats in the Docklands Stadium.
Danny & Nu were seated on Level 1, behind the goals, but I was on the
second tier, in an area available to MCC Members, which was a very good view.
Sadly, the Pies didn’t bring their best footy to the Docklands, and we
Collingwood supporters were most disappointed, after having gone to the game with
some hope of a win.
Yesterday
morning, Danny & I had breakfast at Square & Compass in East Melbourne,
before heading our separate ways. Danny had a busy day visiting his daughter,
Greta, and family; having an early dinner with a friend, and then driving to
Bentleigh to a Trivia Night to support his son-in-law, Cory, who is married to
Celia. I drove to Strathmore to spend the morning with Leanne and later drove
back here through pouring rain, in time to watch Carlton just fail to topple
the Swans at the SCG.
Wes
had been to a poetry reading on Friday night, to support Penny Reilly, who was
reading some of her poems in company with Amit Dahiyabadshah, an Indian Poet
Laureate. He was most impressed and is planning to spend time with Amit &
Penny again today, while I recover from my travels and disappointment!
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