Dear
Friends, we enjoyed a different Sunday last week – the sun shone nearly all
day! Bilbo and I pumped water at Leitches Creek before going to the Sunday
Market for fruit, vegetables, honey & cabbage leaves. Breakfast was most
enjoyable with Pasquale serenading us before everyone else arrived; Judi
telling us about her trip to Caloundra to see her mother; Margot excited to be
going to Coolangatta the next day for 5 weeks; Barbara keen to buy the latest Harry
Potter book, and Janine relating her unexpected trip to Daylesford Hospital
with a painful muscle spasm in her back. Bilbo was overfed bacon & eggs by
Margot, who will miss her weekly ritual.
Pasquale in full
operatic voice at 8.55am
When
we arrived back home, I made a big pot of minestrone to get us through our busy
week, and Wes did some Ancestry work before heading to the Daylesford Cinema to
show the film, ‘Me Before You’. I joined about 20 others, who all enjoyed this
funny, moving, moderately accurate portrayal of life for a wealthy young man
who becomes a quadriplegic after an accident, and the effect he & his young
female carer have on each other. It was well cast & acted and, apart from
glossing over the more unpleasant day to day effects of quadriplegia, succeeded
very well in giving us a glimpse into life in a wheelchair.
Afterwards
we met at the Food Gallery for a quick cuppa and debrief. The café had closed
for the day, but Pasquale assured us we wouldn’t be in the way if we had hot
drinks in the centre of the room, where no one could see us! So we did.
We
woke on Monday to light rain, so the boys went for their usual sodden walk
around the Lake and arrived back just before the heavens opened. All thoughts
of gardening were cancelled; Barry sent a message that he was too unwell to run
gym classes, so I had an extra hour or so before meeting Judi for pots of
Jasmine tea at Muffins & More.
We
headed off to Jackie’s on Vincent for a long overdue lunch with our first
Daylesford friends – Glenda, who sold us our house, and her husband, Joe, who
introduced me to the Info Centre. We sat happily over a bottle of Passing
Clouds pinot noir and Jackie’s yummy food for an hour and a half, hearing all
about their recent trip to Canada, Alaska & Hawaii. When we arrived home,
there was a message from Barbara that she couldn’t close her garage door, so
Wes went straight over to solve the problem.
Latest crop of beanies
& berets – coming to the end of Viva’s wool!
I
washed both our cars on Tuesday morning, as they were so dirty after all the
rain, and I needn’t have bothered as they look dirty again! Mike Hill’s funeral
was held that day, so we set off via Trentham, where we collected Bob White,
and joined 500-600 other mourners at the Coburg Town Hall. It was a wonderful
celebration of Mike’s life and achievements, and I was very proud when one
speaker quoted Warren’s tribute on Facebook as something that couldn’t be
better expressed, and another speaker, friend, Elisabeth Jackson, chose to
relate a story about early Council days, when Mike & Warren first met and
the plans they hatched together. We saw quite a few familiar faces, including
John & Jim Connor, Rocco Di Zio, Peter Russo, Alan Austin & his wife,
Kelvin Templeton MP & others from Councils, VLGA etc. We were very pleased
to find Mike’s partner, Lorna Pitt, as we were leaving, and gave her extra big
hugs.
On
the way home, we stopped at The Trentham Collective for a very late lunch &
hot drink sitting in front of an open fire. Bob was very grateful for the lift
there & back & shouted lunch, which was very generous of him. We came
home exhausted after our big day and were in bed early.
It
was raining again on Wednesday and quite cold in the wind. The boys walked
early and I went to gym, after dropping off the latest crop of berets &
beanies. Afterwards I had a fringe trim with Lyndal, before coming home to drink
Jasmine tea and rub Deep Heat on a pulled muscle in my neck. I think I must
have done it the day before, swivelling my head around to chat with Bob who was
in the back of the car. Wes spent the morning at Barbara’s place helping out
and filling bins.
We
had a sleep in the next morning as we were both tired – Wes wasn’t feeling well
& I was in some pain, so it was lovely not to have to get up early for a
change. I headed off to EKO to have a facial & pedicure, and Wes opted for
a quiet day inside, instead of doing all the chores that were on his list.
On
Friday, it was icy cold with -1º, before the sun came out during the late
morning & hung around for a while. Wes & Bilbo walked, and later I took
Bilbo for another walk to the Post Office and around Lake Daylesford. I got out
DA’s cryptic crossword, our passports arrived and we printed out updated
information for Peter Russo, our solicitor, to drop in as we drove into
Melbourne for the footy.
We
had a very easy drive into town and were safely parked and queued up before the
MCC gates opened. Once in, we put our bags down in our seats & repaired to
the Hugh Trumble café for a drink and catch up with David Lazzaro, who was
meeting his best friend, Matt, who lives in Tassie and gets over for one or two
games each year. Sadly, the Pies weren’t up to the task of beating Richmond,
but the game was close until the very end, so we remained entertained until the
final siren.
How
lovely to get home just on midnight to find Bilbo sound asleep on his
bed, but he was very happy to move into our bedroom and zed away the rest of
the night. Leigh & Simon & Charlotte flew into Melbourne early
yesterday morning and it was lovely to speak with her.
In
the afternoon, we went to watch Daylesford play Smythesdale at Victoria Park.
As the Melbourne vs Hawthorn game was so exciting, we had the radio on
listening to it while applauding the Doggies as they kicked lots of goals.
Suddenly the radio died and we realised the battery was flat. At ¾ time, Wes
used the jump leads to attach us to the next-door car and we drove home in time
for him to get to the Daylesford Cinema to show the 5.30pm film. I did the
ironing while watching the end of the Melbourne match, which was a famous
victory for the Club.
Bilbo facing the wrong
way to watch the local footy
This
morning when Wes and Bilbo went walking the battery was flat again, so Wes jump
started the car and drove it for about 40 minutes in the hope that it will get
Bilbo and I to the Sunday Market. After that, we are driving to Melbourne (in
the other car) to catch up for brunch at the Square & Compass with Leigh,
Simon & Charlotte, before walking to the MCG to see Carlton play St Kilda.
Leigh is a Carlton film, and her big request months ago, when she was planning
this trip, was to see the Blues play.
After
the game we will drop them at their Airbnb apartment in Robe Street, St Kilda, (where
they are meeting my brother, Terry & his wife, Mary, for dinner), before
driving back here.
On
Tuesday, after visiting Leanne, the Murrin family will come to Daylesford and
spend two nights at Lake Daylesford Cottage, just across the Lake from us. We
are looking forward to showing Simon & Charlotte where we live, and
reacquainting Leigh with one of her favourite places that she has already
visited twice before.
Lovely
photo of David & Jane Knox after Jane was released from hospital, where the
doctors found a heart irregularity that can be handled by the taking of tablets
– great news!
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