Wes
made sure we went past Shane Warne’s statue, as Leigh is such a fan, and she
was thrilled as you can see. Sadly, I’ve chopped Shane’s head off in my photo,
but you get the general idea.
We
found our seats, which were on the roofline on the ground level and went for a
quick drink before play started. Wes and I were most disappointed that Carlton
had left their wonderful attacking game at home – they put up a poor show
against the Saints and Leigh didn’t get too many chances to cheer. Simon &
Charlotte were bemused by Aussie Rules, but Charlotte asked lots of good
questions and was very taken by the fact that supporters of both sides sat
together.
At
half time, we went for a quick tour of the MCC, starting on the 4th
Level and making our way back down via the Library, Long Room & Members’
Dining room.
At
the end of the game, because it was Sunday, there was kick to kick after the
siren, so we walked on the MCG and had great fun dodging footies.
We
left the ground via the Great Southern Stand and all five of us piled into the
Mazda 2 and set off for St Kilda, with a slight deviation so Simon could see
the Grand Prix site. We then drove home, while the Murrins prepared to catch up
with Terry, Mary & Jessie over dinner that night.
On
Monday, after walks, gym & a massage, we had brunch with Mick & Suzanne
Leahy, good friends from Brunswick Rotary days that we have not seen in a long
time. We went to the Boathouse Daylesford and waited for them, wondering what
had happened – they had gone to the Lake House instead!
We
had cancelled our usual activities for Tuesday & Wednesday to be ready for
the arrival of the Murrins in Daylesford. However, Wes went to Howe Automotive
to pick up a new battery for the Mazda 6, so that we wouldn’t have any
embarrassing moments during the next day’s tour. The Murrins visited Viva’s
grave in the morning and then spent a lovely time catching up with Leanne at
Strathmore before driving here and checking into Lake Daylesford Cottage.
They
drove to our place in pouring rain, bearing lovely gifts and being thrilled by
the Carlton pyjama pants we had left for them all, as well as Tim Tams &
chocolate Teddy Bears. Wes cooked a brilliant fish pie, honey soy chicken
drumsticks & steamed beans, which he followed with an Eton mess (made with
Charlotte’s help) and some cheeses. He also taught Charlotte how to taste wines
and she seemed very appreciative of the lesson.
We
met Leigh & Simon at 7.15am outside Lake Daylesford Cottage, introduced
them to Barry the fisherman, and walked around the lake for an hour. It was
very peaceful and we all enjoyed the time together. At 9am, we went to
Boathouse Daylesford to meet the three of them for breakfast, and Doug, the
waiter, was busy trying to get the fire going without smoking out the café. He
asked Wes for help and they had fun deciding it would be best to let the fire
go out, as the customers would probably prefer the doors closed and no internal
smoke. Breakfast was very yummy and Simon declared the Istra bacon to be the best
he had ever tasted.
Wes
then drove us all on the $35 tour – taking in Jubilee Lake; East Street natural
spring; Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens; Musk; Trentham; Trentham Falls; Little
Hampton; Mt Franklin; Dry Diggings; the Chocolate Mill (where the Murrins had
fun drinking hot chocolates & choosing their chockies to take away); Franklinford;
Shepherds Flat; Hepburn; the Hepburn Springs Golf Club (only 2 kangaroos & too
far away to see clearly), and finally Vincent Street Daylesford and a chance to
stretch our legs and inspect the shops.
Wandering along Vincent St, Daylesford
I
went home after that for a rest, while Wes took the Murrins to Sailors Falls
Estate, where Rob & Marg had opened their winery especially for us. I think
it was another good experience and Wes certainly came home with plenty of his
favourite Pinot Gris for our cellar.
We
had invited Judi & Michael, Barbara & Gillie to come at 5.30pm for
Aperitifs and to meet the Murrins, so we lit the fire, put out lots of nibbles,
and welcomed our guests, who came bearing some beautiful wines. Michael helped
Wes produce a yummy salmon & fennel pasta, while the rest of us chatted and
got stuck into the wine, cheese & nibbles. It was a lovely night, and
everyone was home again by 8pm.
Fortunately,
Wayne, from Barclays in Ballarat, had fixed our dishwasher that morning and we
were very grateful to Sandra, who stayed around our house until Wayne was
finished rather than leaving him to lock up and put the keys back under the
mat. After 8 weeks without a dishwasher, we were more than ready to get back
into stacking & forgetting mode!
The
next morning Wes and I had planned a sleep-in – instead we were wide awake at
4.30am, so he got up & dressed, cleaned out the fireplace, did some chores,
had breakfast and eventually went back to bed with the Age to read. I got up
slowly after a pot of tea, went around to Lake Daylesford Cottage to say
goodbye again to the Murrins; walked Bilbo around the Lake; filled up with
petrol; delivered Glenn’s mail to his home in anticipation of his arrival back
today, and came back to watch the Olympic swimming (wouldn’t mind a call of the
races instead of a commentary of where an Australian is or isn’t)! We were both
hungry by midday and enjoyed some leftovers as Wes usually manages to cater for
double the number of guests we have!
Lunch for the Murrins
in Lakes Entrance – flathead tails, fish, chips, dim sims & potato cakes!
The
next morning, my two boys went for their usual early walk, while I stayed in
bed drinking tea until I had solved DA’s not so dastardly Friday cryptic
crossword. Wes headed off to Trentham Golf Course for a lovely, but cold 10
holes, fitted in a visit to Trentham cemetery, and ended up at Chaplin’s
meeting Noel Harvey, who wanted to run an idea past him. I did some shopping
for Leanne, pumped water at Leitches Creek, and did a few more loads in the
dishwasher.
That
afternoon late, we drove to Melbourne to see Collingwood play the Western
Bulldogs at the Docklands Stadium. As an MCC member, I can buy a seat for
myself & a guest in the Centre Wing area on Level 2. We had a great view
and as we were early, headed to the special club area for a glass or two of Shiraz.
Every table had a container of peanuts with a spare container for the shells.
We immediately thought of the peanut man, who used to visit all the suburban
grounds on a Saturday afternoon with a sack of paper bags full of peanuts – ‘peanuts, shilling a bag, peanuts’. I
also thought of my dear father, Perc, who loved peanuts in their shells and
would have approved of this offering.
We
were lucky enough to see a stunning close game of footy, where the scores were
level 11 times and the Doggies held on to win by 3 points on their home ground.
We were most impressed by the free water bottles on offer and the free water
filling stations situated all around the ground. There was a young bulldog as a
mascot and unlike most other teams, their scoreboard showed highlights from
both sides during the breaks. If only the Blues had been able to match the
Saints and played a close exciting game like this for the Murrins last Sunday.
We
were so tired yesterday morning that we slept in and woke to find Brigadoon had
descended on Daylesford and we couldn’t see past our decking. It was a tea
& toast & watching the Olympics morning, followed by footy in the
afternoon. Wes got very frustrated with Carlton again and retreated to the
bedroom to watch a video. I had to let him know that the Blues were back in the
game, and they only lost by 4 points in the end to a very determined Brisbane
Lions outfit. We have been listening to the Olympics on the radio to get a
rounder commentary, but it is very frustrating, as the TV is about 30 seconds
behind real time.
Last
night was the first Gay Pride AFL footy game between St Kilda & Sydney
& there was a great atmosphere at the Docklands. It was an even first half,
but the Swans ran riot in the second half and left the Saints in their wake.
This
morning, it is a cool, damp morning – the boys have been for their early walk
and I will take Bilbo to the Sunday Market shortly. After breakfast, we are
driving to Torquay to have lunch with Robert & Marilyn Preston, where we
will swap stories about our Scotland trips. Meanwhile the Murrins will catch up
with Peter & Anka this afternoon, which means they will have seen all Leigh’s
cousins on this trip to Oz.
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